[High On Octane]

Going to do a quick oil change and then a few people from the Motorcycle Kids: Denver facebook page and myself are heading up to the I-76 Speedway for Hot Laps!  Here's hoping that the rectifier keeps putting out 12.6 volts for the next 250 miles!    Hopefully, I'll come back this afternoon with me and the bike still in 1 piece and that I have some good video footage of me racing around the dirt track!  Wish me luck!

Scottie J

[gremlin]

replaced my rear trafficators with units off a Yamaha.  got red lenses for then and wired it all up.  Much better tail-light solution.

[Royalista]

Totaled 37 km today: does that count for the Intl Ride? But I got pics from blossoms which was the main purpose. 

[High On Octane]

I don't have any pics of me going around the track but I did get a pic of my bike pissing oil all over the pit! 



Had a really good time, the wind sucked, but now I know that my bike can maintain 70-75mph for at least 30-40 miles.  That's a plus!

[Boston James]

After walking past the bike in the garage all winter I'd had enough of this long never ending winter and decided since it was "Ride One 2014" day it was time for a ride.  Tough sledding getting out of the driveway with all the fresh snow still but I did manage to find enough dry road to put on 60km before few degrees above freezing got the better of me.  Lots of winter road sand on the road made it a bit hairy but sweet to get back going again!!!

[High On Octane]

Hell yeah!  Good for you Boston James!   

[Ducati Scotty]

Scottie, with how hard you flog that bike, it's a testament to your skill and care that it keeps running so well. 

Scitt

[High On Octane]

Scottie, with how hard you flog that bike, it's a testament to your skill and care that it keeps running so well. 

Scitt

Thanks Scott!   

Well, there is an art form to riding hard and rules to abide by for my type of riding style.  Rule #1 - Know your ride's strengths and weaknesses, address them, and cure the weaknesses when possible.  This includes any kind of maintenance upkeep as well, like oil changes , valve and chain adjustments, ect.  Rule #2 - NEVER float the valves for more than a second or 2.  When you are ripping thru gears and you feel the torque and acceleration drop off that is your motor telling you to shift to next gear.  Some people will try rev out their motors all the way until they won't spin any faster.  This is the incorrect way to flog a bike or car and will almost guarantee a motor failure.  Rule #3 - Possibly the most important rule in flogging a bike, Throttle/Clutch Control!  Dumping the clutch is bad, so is riding the clutch, so is riding the clutch and revving the motor excessively.  It is important to know exactly how your motor likes to rev and equally important to know how your clutch reacts and where it starts to engage.

And in case you haven't seen it yet, here I am on the dirt track from yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IrsEQoPtnw&feature=youtu.be

Scottie J

[ace.cafe]

Just watch out if you ever get better valve springs that won't float until an rpm that is higher than the bottom end can take!
That's when a tach comes in real handy!

[gremlin]

I think the jist of scottie's advice was to shift at the torque peak.  better valve springs won't invite further abuse from him (or his minions).

[gashousegorilla]

Thanks Scott!   

Well, there is an art form to riding hard and rules to abide by for my type of riding style.  Rule #1 - Know your ride's strengths and weaknesses, address them, and cure the weaknesses when possible.  This includes any kind of maintenance upkeep as well, like oil changes , valve and chain adjustments, ect.  Rule #2 - NEVER float the valves for more than a second or 2.  When you are ripping thru gears and you feel the torque and acceleration drop off that is your motor telling you to shift to next gear.  Some people will try rev out their motors all the way until they won't spin any faster.  This is the incorrect way to flog a bike or car and will almost guarantee a motor failure.  Rule #3 - Possibly the most important rule in flogging a bike, Throttle/Clutch Control!  Dumping the clutch is bad, so is riding the clutch, so is riding the clutch and revving the motor excessively.  It is important to know exactly how your motor likes to rev and equally important to know how your clutch reacts and where it starts to engage.

And in case you haven't seen it yet, here I am on the dirt track from yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IrsEQoPtnw&feature=youtu.be

Scottie J

   Love It !  Rules for bike flogage....   Wait, just a thought, but are you floating your valves Scottie under peak torque or a little past ?  They might be doing the Hoochie koochie under that?  Are they the replacement  stock one's ?  Were they replaced ?  May have something to do with your quest for the ton.....

[ace.cafe]

Well, I think the torque peak on that 700 twin is probably around 4000 rpm, with hp peak probably up around 5000-6000 rpm somewhere, depending on the model and how tired out it might be.

So, in any case, shifting around torque peak might be okay for normal riding, but for performance riding it would be a lot more productive to shift up at hp peak.

I may have misunderstood the description and he may have meant shift when he feels the power curve flatten-off, which is a valid technique, and which may have been better interpreted by others above, than I did. But if the valves are floating anywhere near torque peak, then they are dead, and need new. The bike should rev to hp peak for performance riding. And the valves should not float until beyond that, because floating the valves at any rpm is bad for the cams and valves and valve gear(among other hazards), and should be avoided. It's not necessary or desireable to ever float the valves. The valves should be fully controlled by the springs in every range of operation, right up to the max redline.

[High On Octane]

The springs are what came with the bike, they're old so they don't perform like they should.  So for me I get valve float at I'm guessing 5K or so.  Tho Ace and Gremlin are both correct. The bottom line is to shift very shortly after you notice the power drop off whether it is due to valve float or passing the peak torque RPM or HP.  The exception would be like Ace just mentioned in a full out race it is better to shift at Higher rpm so that when you enter the next gear you are just below peak torque.  But if the bike is no longer pulling hard it is pointless to remain in that gear unless it is top gear or you are about to enter a turn.

My next mod will be the addition of a tach, followed camshaft swap and new valve springs.  Speaking of valve springs, Tom, can you please shoot me   a PM or give me a call for a price on springs please?  Thanks!

Scottie J

[High On Octane]

It could also be that the current cams are just weak and I am actually hitting peak HP lower than I expected.

[ace.cafe]

It could also be that the current cams are just weak and I am actually hitting peak HP lower than I expected.

It'd be a good idea to get a degree wheel and a dial indicator, and analyze all the valve motion. And while you are at it, you could verify all the igntion timing criteria too.
If you just want to see if the lift is worn out, you can do that with a dial-caliper on the cam lobes pretty easy.
If you need any tips on doing any of this, let me know.

Then, after you know where you're at, a strategy can be worked out for any parts you might want to get. That works out better in the end, if you have a real plan.

Edited to add:
I think the new OEM springs are available from Hitchcock.
If you want the Ace stuff, it will be a little more complicated because our beehives need different hardware, and we might need the head to get it all in there properly.

And another thing, you probably want another set of those steel rods you are having made at R&R, for the Blackhawk too. Those OEM aluminum rods have unknown fatigue life, and we have no idea what they have been put through since 1958, and no way to tell when they will let go.