06/14/2026
Well, I didn’t wanna go down this rabbit hole, but I think it’s about time. I keep making improvements on the motorcycle, but it’s just not quite what it should be. I think some of the changes are just Band-Aids. When I first wrote it in Arizona motorsports park with a bad running motor the chassis wasn’t given a chance to complain.
The first ride at Firebird East, it was positively terrifying. Anytime I was on the brakes hard. I made a change. I don’t remember if it was spring rate or oil level.
The first ride at Arroyo Seca it seemed to skip across the tops of all the bumps. At this point, I made the other change.
When I rode it at Firebird West, it was greatly improved. I did have it skitter across some of the bumps. All along, I’ve been surprised at how uncomfortable I am leaning the thing over. I’ve also got a slightly unsettled, feel under heavy braking. My normal routine was while braking put the rear wheel in the air, so I know what it feels like to be at maximum braking. There was a point where I wasn’t using much travel and I lowered the oil level to make the air spring less Progressive and I didn’t fact get the travel to make sense. I think I did it wrong. I think the travel was actually being limited by having a shim stack that was appropriate for a 400 pound motorcycle and having that installed in a 230 pound motorcycle. So it’s time for me to learn about shim stacks. I’m not sure if Tony worked with kevin on the rear shock or not. It could be that the front end is so bad. I just haven’t noticed the rear. It could be Tony did some work on it. I should be melting knee plugs with this thing on a regular basis. It should be out cornering almost everything on the track. I should have no trouble comfortably out breaking just about anything out there. It shouldn’t be the quickest thing out there, but it should be a bit better even with me on it. I now have a pipe building program that seems to be fairly well. Recommended. I don’t really need any more horsepower but why leave it laying on the table?  I just acquired some rear earth magnets to complete the speed sensor installation. So on the video you’ll be able to see how fast it’s actually going. And I will be sending my RaceBox out for warranty so I can share more data. Going out and racing with Roger Heemsbergen‘s organization, ASMA is really something pretty cool. Not a whole lot of people show up, but it is one damn big happy family. It’s like I’m there so I must be part of the family, it seems people I don’t even know. Don’t wait for me to ask for help. They just show up. If you wanna see what club racing is probably really meant to be, you should consider coming out to one of these events.
