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. :)
Keep up the good work. When do you expect to do another track day? I am hoping to do a track day this year.
ReplyDeleteOne last question, from/through where did you buy your track bike?
Hi Jeremy,
ReplyDeleteI definitely plan on doing another track day (hopefully several) this year. I'm going to be looking into doing track days at Limerock, Montecello, and Loudon. If I can squeeze in 1 day at each track, I'll be very happy. Track days start a little early in the season, but I don't recommend going unless you're going south (VIR, Road Atlanta). The weather in NH stays a bit cool and wet until you're into the summer.
I'll let you know when I start making plans.
I bought my track bike from a friend. It's easiest to pick a good one up when you have friends that race, but in all honesty, you don't have to go any further than the classifieds/craigslist. As long as the bike is mechanically sound, you really don't have to worry about how it looks.
Slap some qualifying tires on there, strip off the non-essentials, and you're good to go.