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Circuit Racing DLRA Speed Week 2015 (Lake Gairdner)

Discussion in 'Motorcycle Racing and Track Days' started by Frankster, Apr 1, 2015.

  1. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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    The gauges have been simplified, after years of watching individual EGT's, the hottest cylinder (#4) is the only one I need to keep an eye on.
    I tend to glue my eyes to the tach, so the obvious place to put the gear position indicator led is right in the middle of that.
    Methanol test run Friday.............
    two.jpg
     
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  2. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    That looks more manageable. Do the EGT sensors restrict the exhaust flow?
     
  3. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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    The probe is only 3mm dia,. it extends 1/2 way thru the pipe. some restriction is unavoidable , but the header od has been increased to 30mm.
    Tiny
     
  4. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Hi Tiny, I hope you're well. I haven't checked the DLRA website for how you went at the salt this year. Was it a successful trip?
     
  5. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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    This year's salt trip started badly, due to the amount of crap needed, 2 x camp setups (pits on the salt, camping off the salt),2 jerry cans
    of Methanol, 3 jerry cans of ULP, 16 ltrs of oil (oil change needed after every run),100 ltrs of block ice, BEER , engle full of tucka, tools
    , fuel spill kit, 2 sets of riding gear etc, the decision was made not to overload the ute so much this time, so 2 vehicles were used, well,
    that was the plan,,until vehicle # 2 decided it wasn't going, it was unloaded, the gear transported 25 K's and loaded into a borrowed
    XF Palcoon ute,, off we went,,,,
    For 40 K's, until the Palcoon died,,the RAA picked it up and dropped it back where it came from, the **** transferred into the last available
    vehicle we had access to,,a powder blue (very powdery) '82 Hiace camper,,one day wasted,,,
    after a sleep, off we go again,,"thundering" down the road @ 90 klm/hr (sometimes),,we finally made it later friday arvo, after an overnite stop
    at the Wilmington pub ($10 Snitzle night)

    We set up the pits saturday, breezed thru sctutineering, then finished setting up out saltbush camp, near the canteen
    (beer tasted nearly as good as the tucka)
    There were over 70 "new" rookie entrants this year, so we decided to run on Tuesday, on the "short" 2 mile track (+ 1 mile shut down)
    That didnt happen,,the salt was too wet to set up the electronic timers @ the 1 3/4 mile, & 2 mile marks,
    The bike would not start !
    I stripped the carb, flushed the tank, reassembled everything,,vrooombah, fire in the hold,,,plan #2 was put in place,,line up at the
    "long" track wed morning, 7am Wed,, a plan that was working well for the startup, the bike was purrrring on the 3 mile ride to the start
    ,I got to sneak into 6th gear and wound the throttle on,,it pulled strongly from a lowly 5,000 rpm,,a GOOD sign it'll like the taller
    gearing (17/42)
    after waiting for 5 hrs in the sun in 40 degree heat, we got close to getting a run, so put my, leathers on, and attempted to warm the bike
    ,,no ******* go! (again), we withdrew from the lineup, and went back to the pits, same proceedure as we went thru the previous day,
    & found the same pilot jet blockage, which was, again fixed (the fuel is filtered by 2 x 30 micron ceramic filters, one before the fuel pump
    , & 1 after, fuel is put into the tank using a sieved funnel, absolutely NO chance of fuel contamination is possible.
    We had an idea what was going on, so decided to trailer the bike to the start line lineup Thursday , 7am & chose not to start it until we got
    there
    , it roared into life, so we shut is down and waited,,than waited some more, another 5 hrs in 40+ degrees, then we were 5 bikes from the start
    (again) so decided to warm it up before putting the leathers on,,which was good idea, 'cos IT WOULDN'T START,,AGAIN!
    We tossed the towel in when the rain started falling,,,,,,,
    Methanol-2-BrokenHill-MS .jpg
    After mass spectrum analysis from the Sydney Uni, my suspicions were confirmed, yup,,,contaminated methanol, toluene, which would not usually be a problem, as the percentage was less than 1 %, but,,,toluene likes to absorb fats, methanol does not,
    WD40 (I use to flush the fuel system after use) contains fats, once the methanol evaporates, it leaves the toluene & fats, when the toluene evaporates, the remaining fats block the 1.5 mm pilot jet & carby orifice, no pilot system fuel, no start,,,
    To be continued in 2018
    Tiny
     
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  6. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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  7. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Hi Tiny, Sorry to hear about your (mis-) adventure. What did you run on your only run?

    I hope to be there next year
     
  8. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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    No runs at all Frankster, 'cept to the 80 K speed limited ride from the pits, to the start line(up) & I have no idea what 5,000 rpm in 6th is without brain strain, but I think it's safe to say I was a "naughty boy"
    There is a Yankee team bringing their twin V8 engined, 4 wd drive streamliner (car) to Oz , it has a 550 mph potential, that'll create a few erections !
    Tiny
     
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  9. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    The DLRA needs a few big draw cards to get more focus on the event. I'm not convinced the traditional owners of the area are behind the event! I'll join the DLRA soon and get my bike ready for a run. Given what I've seen and heard, I'll be rapped if I can get 100mph on the salt. I only have a trailer, so might have to look at borrowing or buying a van. I'll stay in touch and maybe start a thread of the build.
     
  10. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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    The infrastructure to cope with large crowds of spectators is non existent, also, many "visitors" to the event blindly ignore "self sufficiency" requirement, we camp close to the Mt Ive owned & provided ablution block , a basic 2 toilet, 2 cold shower (bore water, supplied by Mt Ive Stn), this can't handle the numbers of visitors,the problem made much worse when 4wd's arrive, and the 1st thing the girls do is take a long shower (bugger me,,if you recon you are dirty on day one,,wait for a week of 40 + days , then you will know what armpits are capable of) while the men take a leak & flush the dunny,,what happened to taking a slash behind a bush ?
    We take our own water (for drinking , showering & cleaning), a porty loo (required) , genset, home made 60 ltr hot water creation, 12v pump etc 'cos once the water tank that the station owners runs out,,,that's it !
    ALL rubbish must be taken home with you when you leave, turds included
    I have even seen some "stealing" buckets of "our" water to use in whatever creature comfort they have to get the stink off, BRING YA BLOODY OWN , read the rules, or don't go.
    There are 2 types of people at the lake, those that love it, and are addicted instantly, and those who hate it, hate the dirtyness, the flies, the WAITING,,,and the relentlessness of the heat.

    Rush , rush, wait,,sums it up, then wait some more.

    Once you get a run, and ya hit top gear, all discomfort dissapears, as does the heat, your head is busy with your "plan", your eyes flick from gauge to gauge, you find that the aerodynamic tuck you practiced at home is no good when wearing leathers, you cant see where you are going unless you lift your head a bit 'cos the helmet eye cutout was not designed very well for a laydown riding position, you are trying not to miss the mile markers to your left, they are one per mile, beyond them, there's just lots of white salt, and regularly spaced track markers either side of the 80 foot wide track that had been dragged for you, these can be seen with your head down, looking out to your left, watching only what you have just ridden past @ warp speed, but 1 extra MPH might the bit you need to steal a record from somebody.
    Holding it flat for 3 miles is a good way to find out how good your tuneup is, but usually the 1 mile section will let you know if it's not.
    How long will it take ya to go from 80% speed @ 60% throttle, to 100% speed before you trigger the 1st timer, and will your engine make the 2nd timer, if so, I bet ya go for #3. to get the best average top speed for a timed mile,,,then it's time to slow down,,,slowly, roll off the throttle (don't snap it closed) gradually start sitting up. waiting for the 1st sign of a wiggle, as your center of gravity changes (that's why steering dampers, and a maximum lock to lock angle of 30 degrees are mandatory, salt tank slappers suck)
    You turn off the track, and onto the return road, which has a speed limit,,it take what seems like hours to get to the "floating island" (your only landmark). then after another couple of minutes, you see a spec in the distance,,the pits, you just blew past 'em flat out a short time ago, how come it's taking so long to get back ?

    Yeah Frankster start a build diary, but 1stly,,download a rule book
    http://www.dlra.org.au/rulebook.htm
    Put it in the dunny, and read it, again, and again, so we don't have to sent ya home without a ride, due to your bike not making it thru scrutineering.
    Tiny
     
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  11. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Thanks Tiny. Great description and good info. I stayed at Mt Ive Station last time I was at the salt. Good spot and having a bar makes it a pleasant experience. We too brought all of our own drinking water, food, cooking equipment etc. I will download and read (repeatedly) the DLRA rule book. I started building a bike for the salt about 12 months ago. I got it running (a bit smokie) and then I had to jump to another project. It's under a cover in the shed, so I'll have to get her out and start making the necessary mods to compete and see if the smoke is terminal or just from the engine not being run for a few years. It's a Kawasaki ZXR250C and I'll be running standard everything to start with. I might shoot you PM if I need some guidance. Cheers Frank

    ZXR250C 4.jpg ZXR250C 5.jpg ZXR250C 2.jpg ZXR250C 3.jpg ZXR250C 1.jpg
     
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  12. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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    Good stuff Frank, My "spare" 250 was a smoker,,then it wasn't, then it was,,lol,,As an experiment, I heated the exhaust can with a butane torch,,,smoke came out,,it seems a good ride will clear the oil from the muffler, I might put it on club rego next year, as it'll turn 30.
     
  13. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    That's what I was hoping. Before I started the engine I did a cold compression test which seemed positive, so hopefully a good run around the block will clear it out. When the engine was running it actually sounded fine. I had done the valve clearances before putting the engine in the frame and all exhausts came up to temp uniformally. Carbs were vacuum tested and balanced, but I didn't get a chance to fine tune the air/fuel, so they're set to default (2 1/4 turns). Carbs have standard jetting for the "C" engine (Mains 122:125:125:122). Was thinking of going a little smaller (120) across all cylinders for the salt. Is that your experience with jetting? go lower? I'm running a standard airbox without a filter or with a hi-flow filter. I'm going to leave gearing as standard too (14T/48T) unless someone tells me otherwise.

    ZXR250C 6.jpg
     
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  14. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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    The idle screw adjustment will have no effect on the mixture on the salt, but the mains sure will, definitely DON'T reduce the stock size, go bigger, the worst that can happen (touch wood) is it might bog down, or foul a plug or two,a rich(ish) a/f ratio will help lower the piston temp, ( they melt too damn easily), you can always go down in main jet size if you need to.
    I'd put colder plugs in it too, although they will foul quickly if ridden "normally"
    You will be up against this record- 250 P-P rider Scott Noonan set in 2015,on a RGV 250 133.606 MPH
    Stock gearing will do unless the fairies give you a tail wind & you hit the redline in top, then if your speed is deemed wind assisted, it won't be recognized as a record
     
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  15. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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  16. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Nice vid. The country look green compared to the last time I was there (2009 I think).
     
  17. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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    Filter magic, it was still dry, even though there was 30mm of wet stuff fell in the lead up to the week.
     
  18. ShaneP

    ShaneP Well-Known Member

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    I'm thinking of working my ZX2R over for a naturally aspirated entry and boost the FZR - it's a long way to go with only one bike if something fails, so why not 2? The jetting may need adjusting for a freer flowing intake and/or exhaust, and often needs reducing in size as well as needle lowering. However, seeing as you are working on the top power end of the tune, the needles won't be as critical if you keep the revs up. But the overheating of pistons is a problem to avoid! And there's the gearing problem. These bikes have peak torque at about 10,000rpm, peak power at 14-15k, so the extra rpm are not useful - hence me wanting to work the motor, change the carbies, etc to get maybe 60hp. So your top speed will be at Max power and that's where your gearing needs to be planned for. You can over-rev to keep the revs high on the gear change, but top speed will be at Max power or your gearing is too low. Take some sprockets with you. The rgv will be hard to better, especially in P-P. But I'm only an armchair expert until I get there...

    My biggest problem is that I looked at the fees and it is over $600 to enter; without the cost of bike, transport (about 2500km each way for me), food and provisions. I might have to budget tightly and sell some more bikes..
     
  19. Gen

    Gen Well-Known Member

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    Yep, gear for max HP at top speed in top gear, trial and error will get you on the right track.
    I estimate (seat of pants feeling only) my power "could be " 70 BHP @ crank tapers off abruptly after an indicated 16,200 rpm, which apparently, is closer to 15,400, I'm geared (17/ 43), that'll give me 125 mph in 5th, and if that happens, my co-rider jockey "should" be able to pull 15,000 (indicated) in 6th:bowdown:
    It's only time & money :commando:
    Tiny
     
  20. ShaneP

    ShaneP Well-Known Member

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    So I thought about it some more, 5,000km at 20cents/km is $1,000 drive. I don't have a vehicle for that sort of trip, either. I could buy the falcon ute off my mate, but that'll be another $2,500. It's a long way to drive, too. I struggle with a 2-day, 1600km trip, not 3-days 2,500km, each way! And a quick online quote is $760 each way for each bike, to Adelaide, and I'd still have to get to the lake... There's no getting around it, just pain getting there and back. Take the mountain bike and going riding along the way could help the back. I can see the need for sponsors: flying to Adelaide then hiring a vehicle to collect the bikes from transport sounds much nicer.... Sigh. We are over $2k and I still don't have a bike, let alone the 2!
     

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