[AVL Power!]

Finally some on-board video! Awesome stuff Paul!

[Ice]

WOW i want one 

Are you for certain ? 


  Be forewarned that the only thing more addicting than addiction is motor racing.

[High On Octane]

Great stuff B.W.!  Can't wait to see it go after the tuning is sorted.  What a beast!

[Bullet Whisperer]

Yesterday, we took the 500 and a misbehaving Ducati 250 to a top secret location, for some tweaking and fine tuning.
 Notch by notch, I lowered the needle on the 500's carb from the richest to the leanest notch, testing the changes each time - there is also a spacer under the needle clip which I put in years ago, this can probably go now - an improvement was noted with each change of setting, however, a little lumpiness was still evident on the first bit of throttle when opening up out of corners.
 I checked the slide cutaway - it was a No3. I looked in my tin of carb spares and found a No3 1/2, so I fitted that, with the needle as on the last run.
 Similar work was done on the Ducati and the upshot was I was able to go into and round numerous corners in one gear higher on both machines by the time I had finished.
 The irony with the 500 is although I have ridden it [but not raced it] on both track and dyno, it wasn't until I saw Ian's on board videos that I realised what was troubling him and as a result, once a 'best' carburettor setting for maximum power and good starting had been settled upon some years back, it has never been altered. Until now ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPQihZjiNhc
 B.W.

[ace.cafe]

Sounds like it is responding to treatment!

Very powerful sound, and a lovely bit of countryside too!

Thanks!
 

[AVL Power!]

That torque! I like how it takes off around 0:53 secs in that video.

[ace.cafe]

All of our heads have always liked it on the leaner side.
I realize that with methanol fuel, it's very risky to get too lean.
But, I think you see what I mean. Our heads atomize the fuel very well, and generally don't need to be as rich as many other heads need.
The advantage of this is that since methanol requires a very heavy fuel laden A/F ratio, running less fuel leaves more room in the port for air, and this makes more power. The more room the methanol occupies in the port, the less air can fit in.

Also, it can have slightly better fuel economy, which I am not sure makes any difference in the current racing series, but might make a difference in the future.

[High On Octane]

Very nice stuff!  Cool video too!

[ace.cafe]

Next race is May 16-17.
 

[ace.cafe]

 Next British Historic Racing event coming up this weekend at Anglesey!

The Performance Classics team will be fielding the F.A.B. 500 Bullet with our Ace roller rocker head, and also we will see the debut of the new short stroke 350 racer with a big head and 63mm short-stroked Alpha crank.
Visions of 9000+ rpm are dancing around in our heads with this one. The idea is to surprise the field with something new and exciting....a short stroke 500 Big Head with the reduced displacement of 350.

We will be cheering them on, and I am keen to see the performance of the F.A.B. 500 with the new tune-up that improved the fueling issues that plagued them last race. It raises expectations for an even better finish this coming race! I am hoping to see some more on-board video, such as we saw last race. It was very exciting to watch.

Best of luck to Paul, Ian, and Dave!
 

Tom

[Bullet Whisperer]

Thanks, Ace!
 The new 350 looked very promising indeed on the dyno, pretty much matching the power of the previous engine before 8000 rpm, but, sadly, a piston seizure stopped us in our tracks last night.
 This morning, I honed the bore and fitted a replacement piston, I also changed the cams for some 'softer' ones.
 We ran her up and all seems ok, Ian and Dave have gone on ahead, with the bikes, to attend a track day tomorrow, I shall travel to meet them in the evening before the racing commences on Saturday.
 I think around 38 bhp might be attainable from the 350 once it is 'dialled in', but it will be tuned by the seat of the pants for this meeting. 
 B.W.

[High On Octane]

Your updates are always exciting B.W.  Good luck to you, Ian and Dave!

[ace.cafe]

Thanks, Ace!
 The new 350 looked very promising indeed on the dyno, pretty much matching the power of the previous engine before 8000 rpm, but, sadly, a piston seizure stopped us in our tracks last night.
 This morning, I honed the bore and fitted a replacement piston, I also changed the cams for some 'softer' ones.
 We ran her up and all seems ok, Ian and Dave have gone on ahead, with the bikes, to attend a track day tomorrow, I shall travel to meet them in the evening before the racing commences on Saturday.
 I think around 38 bhp might be attainable from the 350 once it is 'dialled in', but it will be tuned by the seat of the pants for this meeting. 
 B.W.

B.W.,
Well, it's a shame to lose a piston, but at least you got it back together in time! That was good work to get that done for the race.

I think it's great. I view all of this stuff as a process toward the eventual goals. Establish some benchmarks and then make improvements and gauge them against the competition as you go along. It is very rare that anyone would just walk into a competitive venue with a new product and dominate everyone from the get-go. It has happened, but it isn't a common occurrence. It generally requires some time and patience to work it into full potential.

So now, there's a couple of new exotic mills in this stable which have some considerable potential, and can be worked over the season's time to hopefully reach their full potentials.
It's an exciting thing to see, and I am very hopeful to see Ian on some podiums very soon!

We are all cheering for you!
 

[Bill Harris]

Your updates are always exciting B.W.  Good luck to you, Ian and Dave!

+1 from me.  This is good stuff!

Cheers,
Bill

[Adrian II]

Just read the latest update from Performance Classics post Anglesey races on their f/b page. I think B.W. will want to tell you all about it! 

A.