Wow, I never would have guessed that the toughest part of a Laguna Seca race weekend would be the drive home. That and working hard to qualify sixth in a very competitive field only to cross the line in 16th after the opening lap.
Aside from blowing the first corner, I had a pretty stellar weekend. Team Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki is still playing catch up, but our distance to the front continues to diminish. There’s still lots of room for improvement in my riding, as well as getting what I need out of the bike.
The rear brake caliper on my bike needs to be released from its mooring before the rear wheel can be taken off. This requires the removal of two M8 allen bolts. In order to reach said bolts, a long 3/8-in. extension fitted with the correct allen socket needs to be threaded through one of the gaps in the rear cast-aluminum wheel from the opposite side of the bike. Unfortunately, the holes don’t line up and it’s impossible to get a perfectly straight angle of insertion into the bolt head. Ponder this: Manufacturer Department A didn’t communicate this to Department B, and now you’re alone in your garage, faced with the problem of having to use the tool incorrectly. For removal, you could cleanly muscle the thing off with an allen key fitted with some sort of power extension (Vice Grips, closed end wrench, steel pipe, etc.) But on the re-install how can you accurately follow factory torque specs when you can’t get perfect purchase on the bolt head? And then, even if you do get it torqued, you’ve now likely damaged the six walls of bolt head, so when the time comes to pull it out again, it strips. Hello pain-in-the-arse.
Which brings us to today’s metaphor: The EZ-Out bolt extractor.
Nine-time world dragracing champion (and former Cycle World cover model; May, 2005) Rickey Gadson is gearing up to break the world land-speed record for a naturally aspirated motorcycle.
The attempt will take place on Saturday, August 31, at Loring AFB in Limestone, Maine. The current MPS/F-1650/4 (modified production stock, fuel, 1650cc, four cylinder) record of 225.87 mph is held by Mark DeLuca. Gadson will also go after the MPS/G-1650/F record of 221.82 mph. Chad Millholland holds the latter record.
Tonight Show host Jay Leno hosted Yamaha MotoGP stars Colin Edwards, Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies at his Big Dog Garage in Burbank, California, prior to last weekend’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Multi-time 500cc World Champions Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey also attended the event, as did current AMA Pro American SuperBike title contenders Josh Hayes and Ben Bostrom. Daytona SportBike frontrunners Josh Herrin and Tommy Aquino rounded out the pavement stars.
The Cycle World staff including Mark Cernicky, photographer Jeff Allen and I, were invited out to Racetown 395 in Adelanto, California, yesterday to ride the 2011 KX450F. Here are our first impressions:
Racetown’s perfectly prepped track offered lots of soft soil to test the big KX’s power. We were quite impressed with the linear nature of the engine’s delivery. It offers smooth power without an overly aggressive hit when ridden in the standard ECU setting. Revised fuel-injection response was excellent. Top-end power is very good, too.
Okay, voting about issues that you know nothing about isn’t really smart, but passing on your right to vote altogether, is just lame. But when it comes to motorcycle-related issues one can get completely lost in the jumble. The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) recently announced its online voter guide that was designed to educate AMA members on how their elected officials acted and voted on motorcycle-related issues.
The guide features a fuel-gauge rating for every federal and gubernatorial candidate of the major political parties who returned an AMA questionnaire. The rating shows how closely the candidate’s opinions mirror those held by the AMA, spelling out where they stand on motorcycle-related issues.
“As a nonpartisan organization, the AMA does not endorse political candidates” said Ed Moreland, AMA senior vice president for government relations. “”However, we encourage our members to cast their ballots based on candidates’ positions on motorcycling-related issues, as well as other issues of importance to them. AMA members have long sought a voter guide, and we certainly hope they will take a hard look at our 2010 AMA Voter Guide to see where their candidates stand on issues important to the future of motorcycling before ultimately casting their votes.”
If you’re a diehard two-stroke lover, Husqvarna has added two more two-strokes to its 2011 lineup, which includes the previously announced WR150. Joining the smallest WR are the WR250 and WR300 enduro machines.
With lessons learned from its involvement in the World Enduro Championship, Husky has revised these models for 2011. New graphics, bodywork, integrated LED taillight and the reinforced headlight/number plate are obvious, but a new Ducati Energia ignition improves power delivery, while revised suspension settings (based on the works bikes of riders like Antoine Meo) and improved airboxes have improved overall performance.
American Honda has released information on the first of its planned 2011 rollouts. As is usually the case this early in the cycle, the first bikes announced are dirtbikes. Topping the list is a new CRF450R, which received updates to the engine to broaden its powerband with more bottom- to midrange power. Additionally, a new throttle body is used for improved engine response. A redesigned muffler has a quieter 94-dB sound rating, which is required by various racing organizations. Tweaks were made to suspension for improved ride quality and better rear-wheel traction. The CRF450R will be available in October for $8199.
The CRF250R ($7199) Lites classer gets a new Honda Progressive Steering Damper (HPSD) and new suspension settings front and rear. Changes were made to the tuning of its engine to improve bottom- to midrange power output, as well; it also gets a quieter 94-dB muffler. Other bikes released include the CRF70F ($1899) and CR50F ($1499) playbikes.
Ducati has announced a new seriously hopped-up version of its middleweight sportbike contender called the 848EVO. This model was created to homologate the bike for AMA Daytona SportBike competition, in addition to answering consumer demand for a higher-spec version of the 848.
The 848EVO is powered by a Testastretta Evoluzione engine, which received new cylinder heads, pistons, throttle bodies and camshafts for a claimed output of 140hp at 10,500 rpm and 72.3 ft.-lb. of torque at 9,750 rpm.
“Piston, golf-type,” said Yvon Duhamel’s mechanic, Steve Whitelock, holding up a two-stroke piston just like this one. “Hole-in-one.”
This is a classic case of pre-ignition, which is ignition of the fresh charge long before the timed ignition spark. As this piston came up on compression, it was trying to compress flaming high-pressure combustion gas.
A year after importing just five 2010 models, including the RM-Z250, RM-Z450 and RMX450Z, RM85 and GZ250, American Suzuki announced that it will be importing ten 2011 models. This is still less than 25 percent of the 45 models that the company brought into the U.S. for the 2009 model year (including scooters), but it definitely shows that the market is improving.
According to sources at Suzuki, the situation is market-driven at this point. The company is likely to add more models to the list of 2011s, but that is dependent on the remaining 2009 inventories selling through. As of this writing, Suzuki has announced plans to import the V-Strom 650 ABS, DR650SE, DR-Z400S, Hayabusa (pictured), RM-Z250, RM-Z450, TU250, Boulevard S40, Boulevard M109R and Boulevard M109R Limited.
It never fails to amaze me how much effort it takes to make a competitive race team. Just the hours and experience alone to assemble the bike are daunting, let alone the set up, logistics and cost of the endeavor. Working so closely with Cycle World, Attack Performance, Yoshimura, Suzuki and Team Sho-Air/Specialized has already been an experience; it definitely gives me extra pressure to perform on the bike knowing just how much everyone has bled to make this project move forward.
Rolling out for Friday morning practice at Mid-Ohio in this competitive field on a bike that I saw just two weeks before as a streetbike with mirrors should have been a disaster for me. Couple that with an engine-management system that had never been on the bike and is responsible for engine decel, auto blip and traction control, as well as fuel injection. All this and we had 50 minutes to sort it out before qualifying.
I rolled out on our “home” bike that we had previously tested. After a few laps to feel things out, I switched to the new bike fitted with various toggle switches for different engine-decel maps and the turnsignal button rigged up for traction control with plus or minus adjustments. So with roughly 400 variables to control within reach of my left thumb, I took to the track with 40 minutes remaining on the clock.
Eric Bostrom didn’t finish Sunday’s AMA Pro American SuperBike race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. After qualifying ninth and finishing eighth on Saturday in his debut with Team Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki, the 15-time AMA Superbike race winner was set for an even better result. Overnight revisions to the MoTeC engine-management system and Öhlins suspension in preparation for the 20-minute morning practice session and afternoon race had given Bostrom even greater confidence in his GSX-R1000.
Team Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki rider Eric Bostrom awaits the start of the AMA Pro American SuperBike race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Special thanks to Cyrcèe Perreault, fiancé of racer Steve Rapp, for standing in for the weekend as the team’s umbrella girl.
A blazing sixth-place start from the third row of the grid did indeed put the former factory Kawasaki, Ducati and Yamaha rider immediately in contention for an improved placing among the series’ established teams and riders. From the opening circuit of the scheduled 21-lap race, Bostrom was lapping nearly a second quicker than he had on Saturday, though he was still off the pace set by frontrunners Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden and Graves Yamaha rider Josh Hayes.
Eric Bostrom finished eighth in his AMA Pro American SuperBike debut for Team Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki on Saturday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. This was Bostrom’s first national-level race in more than a year.
“I definitely had a few nervous butterflies,” he admitted. “But once the green flag dropped, it was as though the whole world came into focus. I felt like I was at home and all those butterflies disappeared.”
Overnight suspension fine-tuning helped Bostrom post the ninth-quickest qualifying time with a personal best lap of 1:26.873. Eventual race-winner, Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes, led the 16-rider field with a 1:25.618.
Team Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki is making its AMA Pro Racing debut this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, one round earlier than previously announced.
Team Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki crew chief Richard Stanboli (left) discusses handlebar-mounted electronic controls with rider Eric Bostrom. "I know it's a lot to take in," said Stanboli. "Just take your time."
Rider Eric Bostrom ran as high as fourth in Qualifying 1 on his GSX-R1000, eventually completing the session 10th. His seventh lap was his best: a 1:27.383. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden led the 16-rider field with a 1:25.637, just .002 quicker than Graves Yamaha rider Josh Hayes.
