I've been out of touch for a while. I can't say I've had any legit reasons to be away for this long. Sorry, but you're about to get a lame excuse:
I've been really busy.
Bullshit aside, I'll give a quick update:
1. I "finished" the track bike (enough to take it on the track). I flushed the brake and clutch. Replaced the clutch plates (it was slipping). Tucked the wiring for the Koso Gauges away, finished mounting parts, swapped the oil, and some other crap I can't remember.
2. Did a track day.
3. Crashed the track bike.
4. Fixed the bike in the pits.
5. Continued riding the track bike for the rest of the day.
Two important take-aways from this experience:
- Bike maintenance for the street is NOT the same as bike maintenance for the track.
- My track bike is STUPID fast: I found out through previous owners/mechanics that the engine was stripped down and completely rebuilt for racing. The stock power output (to the CRANK) on a 748 was roughly 97hp. After then engine was rebuilt and tuned, it was dyno'd at 118hp --TO THE REAR WHEEL!! That's nearly a 25% power increase! On top of the power bump, the bike was stripped of all non-essentials. That's a lot of weight.
When I was riding it on the track, it was hard to get used to; the power was there at lower RPM's, but there was build-up. When the RPM's hit 8k+, the bike turned into a rocket. There was a LOT of power and it came on FAST. It was VERY different from the 1098s- who's power is significant, but much smoother on the buildup -hence easier to control (predictable).
I have some serious adjustments to make in my riding style. The 748 is so incredibly torquey at higher RPMs (in a violent manner) that I really struggled to make smooth throttle adjustments (up or down). That could be a SERIOUS problem when I start picking up speed.
The learning curve on this bike is enormous -in all aspects. But I know it has a lot of potential.
Damage from the crash was minimal and was due to my being a newb and filling up the front brake reservoir with too much brake fluid. Under heavy braking coming off the straight, I heated up the brake fluid --which expanded, and ended up braking for me when I was going through turn 2.
I wasn't hurt, and after a little wrenching (and help from Sean at Seacoast Sport Cycle [Thanks again, man!!]), I was back on the bike for the rest of the day.
I'm swamped until mid January. At that time I should be able to start working on the bike again. Currently, it's stored at my friend's house. The light oil leak has picked up a little and now it's really noticeable when I run the engine. I'm going to have to take off the filter and make sure the filter mounting bolt is ok. It might just be that I put in too much oil. Who knows.
More to come. :)
