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Motorcycle roadracing in the northwest is coming up fast! The 2024 WMRRA season schedule is below. Looks like MotoAmerica is going to be at The Ridge June 28-30th, the weekend after we are there. Always fun to compare lap times 

My pit is always open, feel free to stop by at any round and check things out. Also don't forget about Taste of Racing, where you can take your street bike out on the track over lunch for 20min and chase a WMRRA racer around.

Hope to see you at the track!

Race season is upon us again!  2021 was a weird race year for me. I had surgery in the Spring and that put me out of commission for most of the race weekends. I did take advantage of the latter half of the 2021 season to test some new components however and prepare for this year.

Garrett set me up with a great R5 top end. He made some porting tweaks from the prior 2020 350cc engine and trialed some ideas he had for making the engine work well for my skill level and our tracks. I also dialed in the jetting for his pipes.

Parts ready for the maestro


Parts back!


On the dyno


The new engine made good power so I spent the last rounds of 2021 learning to ride it. Other than forgetting that I still had my hillclimb gearing installed  , things went well but I didn't mount a significant challenge in V750 having missed most of the rounds. I zoomed around and had a good time 

So now the 2022 season is here and it's time to get serious about racing this new iteration of the bike. There are some things to address:

The Good
-The bike brakes well, seems reliable, and makes a lot of power   

The Not So Good
-The higher speeds and power levels have pushed the handling of the bike in undesirable directions. I now have more chatter, some odd oscillation on fast corner exits, and overall the bike is not as settled.

I've got some ideas for the suspension and tires to get the bike settled out and I'm working on improving the aero so I can keep up with the big 750's at faster tracks like Portland.

WMRRA and OMRRA schedules are below and we have 4 shared rounds this season. As per usual, if you'd like to stop by please look me up in the pits. I'll be with the other vintage hooligans, just look for the 494 pit board. See you at the track 

I'm having a brain fart regarding a tuning technique that I have used for years  , hoping someone on the board can set me straight. Not sure how I managed to forget this rule of thumb... Lyn told me about this a decade or so ago and I've used it ever since.

Once the bike will pull cleanly on the MJ (no blubbering), I will go to WOT in top gear and hold it there. As the speed levels out, I'll back off to 7/8 throttle or so and see if the engine picks up a bit.

If the engine picks up a bit, does that indicate the MJ is a little rich or lean?

I've run into a snag on my racebike prep, hoping the brain trust can

I'm switching to a ported R5 top end and VM30's (large frame type) and I realized last night that the stock throttle setup doesn't seem to have the needed adjustment/travel to pull these carbs. I'm going to disassemble the junction block today and see if I can get more travel.

Can the stock R5 throttle setup work with these carbs? If not, I'll need to convince John to 2-day ship one of these   

https://www.economycycle.com/shop/yamaha-rz-350/frame-related-yamaha-rz-350/cables-yamaha-rz-350/vm30-38-throttle-and-cable-kit-not-for-tm/

The pandemic has delayed our roadrace season a bit here in the PNW, but we are finally on the track again! 2020 has held lots of surprises, including a significant injury for me back in January that I am still recovering from. That said, I am getting serious about my next WMRRA race build so it's time to post up some progress.

I've successfully campaigned  in the V250 and V500 classes over the past few years, but it's time for a new challenge. Initially I thought about the V160/175 class, but those losers submitted a rule change to keep 2 strokes out (I think they were sore about that OMRRA guy with the CT-1 that spanked them), so my attention turned to the V750 class......... >:D.

750 Vintage allows disc brakes in WMRRA (and OMRRA) and is dominated by SOHC CB750's with the occasional Seeley-Westlake, Norton, CB720 (550 bored/stroked), GT750, and so on. While a stock CB750 isn't that concerning on the track, most of these are CR750 replicas with fully built engines so it will be a real challenge to bring the fight to the front runners on the DS7. For 2020 I've mothballed the SV650 so I can focus on getting the DS7 updated and dialed in.

I recently pieced together a basket case 71' R5 that I got awhile back. It's had a storied history, but it's all there and runs well. Anyway, prior to startup I put on new oil injection lines (feed and delivery), bled the pump, and everything appeared to be working well (cam turns, plunger works up and down, oil advanced up the lines, etc.). On my test ride though, I was getting lots of smoke, way more than my 72' R5. This bike has 14k miles on it so I figured it was just the pipes burning off, but it never died down and was mosquito fogging everywhere I went.

After 25 miles or so of test riding I looped the injection lines back to the tank, capped the fittings on the jugs, and filled it with 32:1 premix. Smoke dissipated within 5 miles and no more issues.

Hmmmmm... I've never had an oil pump fail, much less flowing too much. Pump plunger still moves as expected (up and drops to the cam position). What am I missing here? 

The 2020 roadracing season is fast approaching in the Northwest  This year WMRRA and OMRRA are working together even more, with 4 combined rounds on the schedule, plus WMRRA has an endurance race in Sept! Looking like it's going to be another great year. 

We have several classes that vintage 2 strokes can race in so if you want to see "what it'll do" on the track, let me know. This year I'm going to change things up a bit and I'm setting my sights on the Vintage 750 class  :evil2:... on a two stroke of course. More on that later. Below is the race schedule.

Guess this is old news, but Bore Tech is no longer doing cylinder boring.


https://bore-tech.com/my404.php


Was planning on using their services for my 2020 season race bike build, guess the search for another reputable bore shop begins.

2019 WMRRA Race Schedule

The season has started  and we have an exciting schedule this year. There are 2 combined rounds with OMRRA and WMRC so the racing will be close for sure! If you are in the Northwest and want to see some racing in person drop by and find me in the pits (#494). Better yet, volunteer for corner working and be part of the action!


Round 1 April 20 & 21 Pacific Raceways
Round 2 May 3, 4 & 5 The Ridge
Round 3 June 7, 8 & 9 The Ridge (OMRRA & WMRC)
Round 4 August 16, 17 & 18 The Ridge
Round 5 September 6th, 7 & 8 Pacific Raceways
Round 6 September 20, 21 & 22 PIR (OMRRA & WMRC)