FTWCo,
I hope you guys have been well.
Not much has been happening since we last spoke, particularly as
we're starting to get into the colder weather in the southern
hemisphere. In saying that though, we have had an unusually warm
& dry autumn, so we've hit the track whenever possible to
continue with testing and development.
We're still working away with the ZX10R.
We've changed to Dunlop NTEC's, the benefits of these over the Pirellis are no limits to heat cycles and reported longer tyre life. However as they have a much harder carcass which means they behave much differently, particularly when hooking up under throttle - so we are fine tuning suspension to make the best of them and getting closer to the ideal set-up.
Also played around with tuning. Simone doesn't blip the throttle on down shifts, so the slipper clutch works over time. I raised the idle significantly which has helped settle the rear tyre on corner entry. It also means the idle is working off the throttle butterflies being partially opened, so when you crack it open to throttle isn't going from closed to open and the mapping isn't going from a road idle map onto a throttle map. Coupled with the other top end/intake mods and over 200HP the acceleration is pretty ferocious.
We've had the supermoto out for some track work and training, which is always good fun and something a bit different.
Other than that, I've been working to get our workshop ready for winter. As most of the work I do is after 8pm and long into the night I had to add some creature comforts to my workshop to battle the sub-zero temperatures. So I added a wood fired heater, which I made up out of an old boiler that was sitting at the back of our property.
Since the heater's been up and working I've been able to work on my winter project, a Buell 1125R. I picked it up cheap as it had been stolen, recovered then picked up with a forklift (WTF?!?!) in the police impound yard which destroyed the exhaust and cracked the crankcase. I've repaired the crankcase, stripped the bike, checked it all over and reassembled it. I also took the opportunity to set-up the forks and shock properly, upgrade the brakes and give everything else a good once over. I was planning to get or make a full race fairing, but I've ended up getting plastics off various Buells that have all been black and had matching scratches... now I can't bring myself to paint or replace them.
I'll finish that up over the coming months and keep you posted with when it's on track.
The only thing else to report on is just regular training, heaps of cycling and some weights/resistance work.
Latest lot of photos are on the google drive under a folder I created for you guys. Let me know if you have any access issues.
We're still working away with the ZX10R.
We've changed to Dunlop NTEC's, the benefits of these over the Pirellis are no limits to heat cycles and reported longer tyre life. However as they have a much harder carcass which means they behave much differently, particularly when hooking up under throttle - so we are fine tuning suspension to make the best of them and getting closer to the ideal set-up.
Also played around with tuning. Simone doesn't blip the throttle on down shifts, so the slipper clutch works over time. I raised the idle significantly which has helped settle the rear tyre on corner entry. It also means the idle is working off the throttle butterflies being partially opened, so when you crack it open to throttle isn't going from closed to open and the mapping isn't going from a road idle map onto a throttle map. Coupled with the other top end/intake mods and over 200HP the acceleration is pretty ferocious.
We've had the supermoto out for some track work and training, which is always good fun and something a bit different.
Other than that, I've been working to get our workshop ready for winter. As most of the work I do is after 8pm and long into the night I had to add some creature comforts to my workshop to battle the sub-zero temperatures. So I added a wood fired heater, which I made up out of an old boiler that was sitting at the back of our property.
Since the heater's been up and working I've been able to work on my winter project, a Buell 1125R. I picked it up cheap as it had been stolen, recovered then picked up with a forklift (WTF?!?!) in the police impound yard which destroyed the exhaust and cracked the crankcase. I've repaired the crankcase, stripped the bike, checked it all over and reassembled it. I also took the opportunity to set-up the forks and shock properly, upgrade the brakes and give everything else a good once over. I was planning to get or make a full race fairing, but I've ended up getting plastics off various Buells that have all been black and had matching scratches... now I can't bring myself to paint or replace them.
I'll finish that up over the coming months and keep you posted with when it's on track.
The only thing else to report on is just regular training, heaps of cycling and some weights/resistance work.
Latest lot of photos are on the google drive under a folder I created for you guys. Let me know if you have any access issues.
Cheers,
Cam