Author Topic: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners  (Read 1437973 times)

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Offline Peter Jack

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #30 on: August 08, 2009, 06:19:31 PM »
Either should work. I usually use either tig or mig. The problem with the gas is that you want to heat the race to red without transferring a lot of heat to the seat. What you're actually accomplishing is shrinking the seat. That's why you let everything cool before dropping the seat out.

Pete

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #31 on: August 11, 2009, 02:27:55 AM »
The fork bolts are all figured out, everything is tested on the street, and its time to prepare for the Speed Trials.  A day or so spent at preventing corrosion now will save many days spent on restoration later.

Lots of salt and brine gets kicked up by the back wheel.  I make a full coverage fender liner out of duck tape.  All of the gaps and cracks around the fender edges are sealed.  The shocks are covered, too.

The rims are taped.  Masking tape is used.  It is easier to mold around the spokes than duck tape.

There is a lot of aluminum on this bike.  The inside of all metalwork is sprayed with ACF 50.  It is expensive but it does what I want it to do.  I get it at the local airport.  I spray ACF-50 all around under the engine and on the oil radiator.  Then I take off the countershaft cover and spray it in there.

The metalwork outsides get a good coat of wax.

I peel off the tape right after I get home.  It is easier to do then.  The tape glue adheres to the bike, rather than the tape, if I wait too long.  Power washers, especially on the hot setting, make a steamy salty spray and they will get salt into everything.  Lots of cold running water works best with no spraying.  I like to carefully wash the salt down.  To do this, I start at the top of the bike and work downward.

 

 

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #32 on: August 13, 2009, 08:28:59 PM »
My street test route has a long, steep, and straight downhill section.  I head down it and I remove my hands from the handlebars.  I need to lean to one side to keep the bike going straight.  This tells me the front and rear wheels are not aligned.

I used the index marks on the swingarm and chain adjusters when I set the chain tension.  Perhaps the marks are no longer properly aligned.  The swingarm was extended and some things must have been slightly out of place when everything was welded together.  Now the string procedure is needed to align the rear wheel.  The rims need to be true and the tires must to be correctly seated on the rims if this procedure is to work.  They are, so I am ready.  I hunt around for some string.  Some mason's twine will work fine.

I wrap the string around the front and rear wheels, then I look down the string on each side of the bike.  The front tire is not as wide as the rear, so this is what I want to see:  the string wraps around the front edges of the front tire, it passes by the rear edges of the front tire with gaps between the string and the tire (the gaps are the same on either side), it bends slightly where it passes over the front edge of the rear tire (the bends are the same on both sides), an it wraps around the rear of the rear tire.

I do not see what I desire.  The string on one side is bent a lot where it passes by the rear tire, and the string on the other side is straight.  The wheels are out of alignment.  Now I tighten one of the chain adjuster bolts until the bends in the string are the same on both sides.  I check the chain tension and then I tighten the axle nut and safety wire it.

The string is a pain to use every time I adjust the chain.  I measure the gaps between the chain adjusters and the swingarm on both sides of the bike with dial calipers.  The gap on one side is 0.050 inches greater than the gap on the other side.  I write this down in my notebook.  Now, every time I adjust the chain I make sure the gap on one side is 0.050 inches more than the gap on the opposite side.  This will keep the wheels in alignment.   

 

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #33 on: August 16, 2009, 01:26:33 PM »
The "New Economic Reality" hit our household today.  We work the in the same jobs as always, with the same responsibilities and worries, and a lot less pay.  It looks like the Triumf and Honda will be thrashed, bashed, and crashed for at least a few more years.  Joe Amo's record on his old bike really raised our team morale.  Along the theme of low budget, here is the compressor story.

We did not have air in the cellar for years.  Sears had a little one-horsepower three-gallon compressor for sale a few years ago.  A good price, so I bought it.  It was too small to do much besides inflate tires and blow the dust off of parts.  It was pretty useless, really.  I did not have the space and money for a big compressor, and I had all of $100 invested in the little guy.

My wife and I watched for sales at Sears.  Months later the compressors were marked down.  It was time to strike.  We came home with a nice shiny one-horsepower seven-gallon compressor.  This is a fairly useless tool by itself, but it does not work alone.  Both compressors are hooked together with a hose and they work like a two-horsepower ten-gallon job.  They have enough blow to run all of my air tools with no problems.  The picture shows them together on the floor.  Actually, most of the time they are crammed up on a shelf under a heating duct.  It is easy to find room for two small compressors.  We take the little one with us to Bonneville. 

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #34 on: August 22, 2009, 02:06:01 AM »
A tethered ignition cut-off switch kills the engine when you fall off of the bike.  They are required by the BUB Speed Trials rules and they are a good idea, even if they are not mandatory.  There are two types.  The choice depends on the power generation system for the ignition. 

Werner needs to fit a tethered switch to his Honda.  The key switch for the ignition will be replaced.  He uses a multimeter to determine that current does not flow through the key switch when it is turned on.  He will use a "magneto" type tethered switch.  Current does not pass through the magneto switch during normal operation and the switch conducts current when the lanyard is pulled.  Werner uses an EMGO tethered switch.  He ordered it from Pingel.

The Triumph has an alternator and battery ignition.  It uses an "alternator" type tethered switch.  Current passes through the switch during normal operation and current is blocked when the lanyard is pulled.  The Triumph switch is homemade.

 

Offline saltwheels262

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #35 on: August 22, 2009, 01:20:55 PM »
sometimes those cheap ones will make or break a
connection with a slight movement of the red cap.

franey
bub '07 - 140.293 a/pg   120" crate street mill  
bub '10 - 158.100  sweetooth gear
lta  7/11 -163.389  7/17/11; 3 run avg.-162.450
ohio -    - 185.076 w/#684      
lta 8/14  - 169.xxx. w/sw2           
'16 -- 0 runs ; 0 events

" it's not as easy as it looks. "
                            - franey  8/2007

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #36 on: August 23, 2009, 02:00:03 PM »
Thanks for the advice.  Werner got a good one but he will be careful.

The BUB/AMA rules require a steering damper.  The Triumph uses a Norman Hyde shock absorber type.  It works good.  There is no room on Werner's Honda for this damper type so we ordered a Scott"s rotary style damper.  The damper body is clamped to the handlebars.  A peg is clamped to the frame at the top of the steering head.  A lever transmits force between the peg and a spindle in the damper.

We sent out a small fortune to order this thing and it arrived in a little box complete with installation instructions for another type of Honda.  We filed and ground on various parts and finally got it to fit.  It worked great in the driveway.  Werner took the bike out into the dez for a trail ride.  The peg shifted up off of the steering stem and the damper would not work.  We rechecked the tightness of the clamp around the top of the steering stem and he went out again.   The same problem occurred.  Werner made some "L" shaped tabs and he screwed them on either side if the peg clamp.  Then he bent a rod into a "U" shape and threaded the ends.  The rod goes around the bottom of the steering head.  The peg does not come loose now.

Werner is young and curious.  He turned the damping screws in and out.  We wanted to reset the high speed damping back to the default setting but there are no instructions about how to do this.  We guessed at a setting.

The BUB/AMA rules state that the damper cannot act as a fork stop.  The damper, as supplied by Scott's, was the fork stop.  This is another piece of poor engineering.  I made a little two piece block that clamps over the original Honda fork stop.  It makes the stop wider.  Now the triple clamp stop tabs contact the frame.

The low speed damper knob does not turn.  There is some sort of defect.  We will take it apart this winter and we will fix it.  This damper gets the official Team Go Dog, Go recommendation for material that needs to be melted down and made into something useful.

 

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #37 on: August 26, 2009, 02:02:17 AM »
A final check.  This is done about three weeks before we leave, ideally.  I do the same routine every year.  The bike is uncovered and I get out the big gear bag.  It is empty and it has enough room for all of my riding gear and it has a pouch in the side for papers.  I find the current rule book.  Emphasis is on "current."  I have read it while building the bike and I reread every section that applies to the bike and myself, including rules of conduct, etc.  I make sure all of my riding gear is OK and I put it in the bag.  The helmet certifications have changed.  My old lid is obsolete.  I go out and buy a new one.  I check everything on the bike to make sure it meets the rules.  Then I make sure all of the correct paperwork is in the bag.  A few years ago I got a copy of the BUB Scrutineer's checklist.  Now I also check that everything is OK on the bike and my riding gear using the Scrutineer's list.  Last, I check the BUB rider's handbook.

It is amazing what I find during these final checks.  We think everything is OK before the check, but things are overlooked.  We sawed off two inches of Werner's rear fender.  It stuck out past the back of the wheel.  We made a chain guard.  A task that we forgot to do.  I drained the gas out of the Triumph.  Now we are ready to go. 

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #38 on: September 06, 2009, 07:54:58 PM »
Werner ran just over 60mph on his bike for an AMA record in his class.  I am a proud father and I will let him post his own story.

The Triumph was ready, sort of.  The cam chain is badly worn.  I discovered this during a last minute valve adjustment.  The cam trailed several degrees behind the crank.  I heard the chain whipping around when I rode the bike but I did not know how serious the problem was.  My plan was to make two runs, maximum.  It was not worth the danger of a broken chain to make any more.

In the past I wound out forth gear and made a high speed shift to fifth.  This made the bike jiggle and increased the chances of a high speed wobble.  I would not do this anymore.  Also, I would slowly reduce the power during the mile after the traps.  This would keep the bike's nose high and it would reduce the chance of a wobble.  I would pull of of the course between mile 4 and 5.  Also, I would tuck down and look through the windshield.  I was always afraid to do this in the past.  I practiced it this summer on the street.  I am used to doing it.

The last year's last run ended in a bad speed wobble.  I have raced enough now to know how dangerous it really is. This was a new chassis setup and I did not know how it would act.  I was really scared and I wanted to puke while I was at mile 0 and waiting my turn to go.  The starter flagged me to the line and my head cleared.   He waved me off.  I slowly accelerated through all five gears.  At mile 1.5 Bonnie was at about 5,000 rpm in fifth at half throttle.  I made sure I was pointed straight down the middle of the course, I snuggled down behind the shield, and I pulled the throttle to the stop.  The bike moved out.  It was at top speed just before mile 2 pulling 7,000 rpm.  This is the perfect engine speed for sustained use.  Everything was dead steady.  No goofy handling.  I zinged through the traps and slowed the bike down under power.  No speed wobble.  I was still alive and very happy.  On the salt I cannot tell how fast I am going.  My daughter, Gretchen, brought me the timing slip.  127 mph.  This was 7 mph faster than last year.  I could not believe it.

Now for the return run.  I did exactly what I did before.  I had my hand on the clutch lever.  I would pull it in quick if the cam chain snapped.  The engine stayed together.  123 mph against a 4 mph headwind.  They measured the engine in impound on Tuesday afternoon and it passed.  790 cc is well below the 1000 cc class limit.

I looked at the data on the timing slips and I thought about it while driving back to Oregon.  We had no money for engine work and none was done.  The engine is the same as last year with 6,000 additional street miles.  The changes that possibly increased speed are lower bars from a 2009 Thruxton so I can tuck better, Nology ignition coils and wires, a Metzeler radial front tire, and the new streamlined back end.

Lots of folks helped me and I have thanked them personally or I will thank them soon.  Thanks to all that have helped me on this forum, either by direct advice or by posting things for others that have helped me.  These were the fastest times of my life and it was on a steady handling bike.  It does not get better than this.   
 

Offline Cole222

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #39 on: September 06, 2009, 09:47:25 PM »
It was nice to meet you and Werner: Congratulations to both of you for a successful week!
Cole
"Form and function are the opposite sides of the same coin." R Reagan

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #40 on: September 07, 2009, 03:17:18 PM »
Thanks, Cole.  We left on Wednesday morning.  We had to get home for family matters.  Werner's record held.  A really fast Ducate ran in my class on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday.  The days of records for me are over.  I race for personal bests and fun from now on.

This winter the engine will get some stronger rods, an 865cc kit with 10.5 to 1 compression, and a new cam chain.  Tom Mellor gave our pit helpers some advice on aero.  They told me what he suggested.  The fairing will be redone this winter.  This build diary will show the basics of engine teardown and the other things we do.

Werner is not sure about what he wants to do for next year.  Tell us how you did.  Your turbo Triumph looks to be real interesting.       

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #41 on: September 11, 2009, 12:33:45 AM »
A good racing chain is an investment.  Salt is very corrosive to chains.  The crystalline structures of the chain's hardened surfaces are especially susceptible to rusting.

Initially, the chain is lubed with a light oil that is rich in moly, graphite, or both.  I use an oil for machine guns that my oldest son found at the local army surplus store.  A hot machine gun mechanism has heat and impact like a racing chain, in my thinking.

A noted racer mentioned in this forum the use of WD40 to lube chains between runs.  This is a good idea.  WD40 is designed to displace water and it is especially useful if the chain is moist or wet.  Unfortunately, WD40 is not designed to be a really high performance lubricant, and I apply another application of gun oil over it if I am energetic.

The chain is pulled off immediately after the last run and it is put into a plastic bag.  I fill the bag with water as shown in the photo.  The water dissolves the salt.  I use a non O-ring chain so the water can get in between the rollers.  Sometimes I use a double rinse if the chain is very salty.  Then I hang the chain up to dry, as shown.  The dry chain is oiled, wrapped in oily paper, and tucked away for next year.  This method works well.  The chain will give me a lot of good service.  It might last longer than me.
 

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #42 on: September 21, 2009, 12:34:16 AM »
The Speed Trials records were posted.  The 125 mph average we ran this this year was not good enough to keep the record.  Especially when the competition ran over 180 mph.  Ouch!  No more records for me.  I race for grins and giggles now.

Awhile back I brought a few little Bonneville salt chunks home for keepsakes.  I could not figure out where to put them so I laid them on the back porch railing.  They slowly disappeared.  I noticed that during more humid days there was moisture or a small puddle under the salt.

The salt absorbed water from the atmosphere.  Some of the salt dissolved when enough water was absorbed.  The salt water soaked into the wood.  The salt did not disappear, it simply changed location.  Now it is in the wood.

This is what happens to a salty bike in a humid climate.  The salt dissolves into a liquid and it penetrates into the cracks and crevices.  It seeps under plating and it gets into electrical components.  This salt water is very corrosive.  A lot of the dry salt we see in mechanisms was originally salt water that seeped in previously and the water has since evaporated.

The trick to minimize damage is to get the salt off of the bike pronto.  I take the bike apart enough to get into all the cracks and crevices with lots of cold running water.  I do not splash water onto electrical parts.  Then I clean and wax everything, lube as needed, and put it all back together.  This takes a whole bunch of time when I would rather be doing something else but it saves money and work in the long term.  The Triumph is a crusty crustacean when I bring it back from the speed trials and I get it cleaned up within two or three weeks.  The reward is worth it.  There is nothing like a clean shiny bike ready to go for the last few weeks of warm weather.  Two photos are shown to provide inspiration.     

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #43 on: September 25, 2009, 12:05:46 PM »
Street tires were needed to replace the knobbys on Werner's bike.  A 300 x 19 rib front and a 3.50 x 16 block pattern rear, to be exact.  None of the local shops had them.  We could order a front tire from a high quality manufacturer but it would cost a lot of money that we did not have.  We resorted to one of the modern era's most useful tools, the internet.  It ranks right up there with the twist-off beer bottle cap.  We searched all of the major internet tire suppliers and had no luck.  No value-oriented, otherwise known as cheap, tires. 

A senior engineer at my job showed me a trick a few years ago, and it is the topic of this post.  It is to type into a search engine any numbers or words unique to the item I am looking for.  I typed in "300 x 19" and "3.50 x 16."  I scanned the info that came up and I figured out that Chen Shing made some tires in this size at one time but they no longer make street tires.  I found a source for the front tire.  Domiracer had one in stock.  Voila, half of the problem was solved.  I also found the Ching Shen model number for the rear tire.  I typed it in and found a tire listed by some folks who sold Sears Allstate bike parts.  Allstates had twin cylinder engines made by Puke of Germany with two pistons sharing a common combustion chamber.  These "twingles" were really good bikes, as I remember.  They had the rear tire in stock.  Problem solved.

This little trick has saved me a lot of time over the years.

  made sining made some at one time, but they no longer make street tires, and we found the old Cheng Shen tire model number..  We

A senior engineer at my job showed me a trick years ago, and it is the topic of this post.  Heenginsome  cheaopo turned to the internet.    q some f and

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Team Go Dog, Go! Modified Partial Streamliners
« Reply #44 on: October 04, 2009, 11:24:49 PM »
The Triumph in this build diary is a 2003 T-100 790cc twin.  Later they were enlarged to 865cc and they were fitted with bigger carbs.  A really clean, stored indoors, very low mileage example is for sale at Cascade Moto-Classics in Beaverton, Oregon info@cascademoto.com (503) 574-3353

This bike is black and red and it is the last model with carburettors and the last made completely in England.   The airbox restrictor plates are removed and it has Norman Hyde Toga pipes.  Maximum torque is 52.28 lbs-ft at 5,900 rpm and 62.52 hp at 7,100 rpm.  These are good numbers for a near-standard T-100.  I know about this bike's history, and unlike mine, this bike has not been thrashed or raced.  It will make someone a happy owner.