AM #771 - Round 3

[Kurlon]

TLDR - Christian has a Power Rangers towel. Quote of the weekend - "I can't get arrested, I work with children!"

[Chippertheripper]

Wtf...you zing-a-linga-ding-dong on that 400 or what?
I want to hear you're into the teens and shit.

[Kurlon]

2nd AM ULSB with a 1:25.435 (New PB, and with 8 finishers that means I earned some Bridgestone money!)

According to my biggest fan (Kid at the track that likes Dana and my bikes) I dropped a 1:24.??? in 2nd practice on Saturday getting my name in the 3rd spot on the big boards. Knowing that plus the fact that I know I'm coasting big time in some areas, my roll speed targets are low in multiple spots, etc, I'm pretty comfortable saying A-ko has no issues being competitive in her native UL tier or going up against the SVs and big Ducs in LW.

So yea, the 400 when it's happy does some serious zing-a-linging! I've got something causing the slides to stick in the carbs and my tank is delaminating itself horribly so I'm likely out for the July event. Fortunately I've got potential repair/replace options lined up on the tank, carbs will be going to Sudco for a full rebuild at Seacoast's advice.

Seeing as I'm going long form, I'd like to thank ECK, RSP, Dana and the rest of the nutters in the garages around us for making this classic one to remember. Between the endurance, spontaneous karting, and a killer BBQ I haven't had this much fun in a looooong time. I WILL be back.

[csmutty]

Way to go!

Like I said you were looking killer on the bike this weekend! Way more comfortable and relaxed. Good to see you again and good luck on the front end and tank adventures!

[Sheppo]

Josh, what tank crosses over? OH and I am still looking for that big syring I found the smaller one.. I'll keep looking.

[Pittenger5]

I still liked Master Of Squirrels advice to simply duct tape a 5 gallon bucket on the frame.

[Rambunctous]

Bridgestone money is nice huh? Thanx for the first race report. These other young whippersnappers are too tired to even type. Congrats on the PB. What garage were you in? I wish I was there to say hi.

[Kurlon]

Sheppo: Unfortunately there are no direct crossovers. There is a possibility with some welding work to adapt certain year YZF600R tanks, but that's still a guess and not confirmed. I've been on the hunt for a replacement tank for 2 years now, the downside to building a bike made in small numbers.

Rambunctous: I try to blend in with the other crazies in Center 15.

[tsorfas]

awesome weekend man! glad to see you comfortable and confident again.
FUCK the Problems! cant wait to see you at 100%
Thanks for all the support and laugs

[Kurlon]

awesome weekend man! glad to see you comfortable and confident again.
FUCK the Problems! cant wait to see you at 100%
Thanks for all the support and laugs

So, you going to Wendy's or what?

[CBR929RE]

what's the problem with the tank? I can ask my buddy if he has a spare that he'd be willing to sell

[Kurlon]

It's a 20 year old carbon fiber tank that's been crashed and repaired, badly, multiple times before I got it. The last 'repair' consisted of cutting a hole in the tank, covering the underside and inside with some black epoxy like coating, and then giving up on the tank. I had the hole properly fiberglassed over but that work was dependent on the prior work being solid which it appears it's not. The coating is flaking apart, and gas is making it's way into the carbon fiber itself, finding all sorts of places to leak out on the outside. As the gas works it's way through it's softening up the other layers causing the whole tank to slowly loose structural integrity.

If you've got a friend with a stash of 3TJ parts or a whole bike and he's thinking of selling... let me know!

[CBR929RE]

well I highly doubt he has a carbon tank but I'll send you his info to see if there's anything you need

[Kurlon]

well I highly doubt he has a carbon tank but I'll send you his info to see if there's anything you need

I'm not picky, a steel 3TJ tank will get me on the track.

[Trouble]

Get that shit fixed! I want to play!

It was great seeing you back on the grid!

[Kurlon]

Get that shit fixed! I want to play!

It was great seeing you back on the grid!

I want to play too! Tank should be delivered for eval today, carbs go in the mail to Sudco today. Looking like the carb issue is directly related to the tank failing, seems like the gas was leaching something from the epoxy and depositing it all along the intake tract from the stacks to the valves... blech. Fortunately it seems to clean off easily with just gas so once I get the tank sorted and carbs clean, running clean gas will clean the intake tract up.

[PainfullySlow]

Great seeing you on the grids and in the pits =) Sorry to hear about the tank issues. If you get absolutely screwed and cannot find anything, get in touch with me. I know a guy...

[Mr. Kurtz]

I cannot imagine we can't jam some inappropriate gas tank onto that motorcycle so you can race in July. If you don't race, hopefully you'll be up to hang? Thanks again for the help Friday during the endurance race, that was a blast and it would have been decidedly the opposite if we didn't have a great crew on pit road to get the bike back out there.

[Kurlon]

At this point, I have two different options for fabbing a replacement should the repair plan not pan out, and more importantly I've got the budget to do it and do it right. I also know the bike and I get along, so for now rather than trying to bodge for one race, if it doesn't pan out for July I'll just plan on rocking Aug like a total Diva with a dialed in weapon.

In the mean time, assuming I can get oncall coverage I'll be up to play random pit monkey in July. If you're extra nice I'll play pasty white boy umbrella holder for ya.

Wear sunglasses.

Scratch that, bring a welding mask if I do this.

[tsorfas]

i call dibs on Josh being my umbrella girl with the welding mask

[Mr. Kurtz]

Good thing we're not in the all same races Sav, cause I want some of that action also.

[Kurlon]

For Sav, I think it'd be more appropriate if I stood out there in shorts, heavy leather gloves, a leather apron, welding mask and a portable TIG setup instead of an umbrella. Maybe with a 4' pyrbar for any 'last minute' tuning.

[Rada]

I say we Tig up a new aluminum tank for that puppy

Nice report dude!

[tsorfas]

Love it

[Kurlon]

Trying to score a steel OEM tank from Japan...

Edit: Bah, 'International Postal regulations prohibit us from shipping oil, fuel or engine parts.' That explains why I have gotten all of the above via EMS from Japan in the past without issue...