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| July 16-17
WSMC This is a long overdue report, but I didn't want to post anything until I knew what was going on with my bike...yes bike problems again. It never ends. I finally get my suspension, if not perfect then damn close, and my good cylinder cracks and leaks. I spent $1000.00 fixing it. And then.... The bike felt like it was hitting a wall when I got to 11.5K on the tach. As the day went on, it actually slowed down past 11K, like I opened a parachute out the back. We messed with jetting. We tried to get the bike to cool, it was running over 72 degrees C. It was also 107 degrees outside. I was counting on a set of tires and they were sold before I got to the track Saturday morning. Things weren't coming together very well. I pulled out of the 250 race because my visor would not close more than 3/4 of the way. I tried to race with it open, but 107 degree heat blasting into your eyes makes your eyes hurt, and, not surprisingly, it was hard to see. I went to the wrong grid spot at the start of the 125 race, because I was in fourth place in points. I don't know what happened but I was gridded fifth and I had to push my bike backwards and sideways while everyone overheated on the grid. I felt thousands of tiny daggers hit every part of my body, heard them pinging off my bike, felt laser rays burning through me, and flames from every eye on the grid. I don't blame the other racers, I would have wanted to kill me too. My start was abysmal, the bike had no pull. I was dead last until turn one where I passed a few riders on the outside. Then in turn two I passed a couple more riders and held whatever position I was in until the F2 race in front of us was red-flagged. I pitted and skipped the warm up lap when we were called back to try to keep my bike cool, so when I entered the track I went right to my grid spot (the correct one this time) and started immediately, nearly a rolling start. Again, no pull on the start and last into turn one. My tires were shot and sliding everywhere, my pegs and bodywork were scraping the ground in every turn although my suspension was fine (this didn't make sense to me) I fought my way to third and held third for most of the race, until the second to last lap I saved a low side in turn nine with my knee. My tires were just gone. I slowed down on the last lap and the riders behind me caught me and drafted me on the straight on the last lap. I finished 5th. Kevin Murray took my bike home and dynoed it. It made 34 horsepower, due to a burnt clutch. I had just put a new clutch in, but it burnt up quick. My previous clutch lasted over a year! The peg and bodywork scraping now made sense...the motor was just spinning and not propelling the bike forward off the bumps. It didn't feel like the clutch to me...since the tach didn't slip and the bike would plateau and drop power on a curve instead of not pulling. Plus, I had just put a new clutch in... well, I thought it was new...(see the August WSMC race for the thrilling conclusion to this fiasco). |