I just got back from Loring, Maine with Good News and Bad News! The bad news is that the screws behind the outboard bearing plate backed out, grabbed the clutch, stripped all the teeth off the clutch wheel, ripped out all six screws, and spit the primary chain out thru the cases, taking part of the cases with it. I also see that the exhaust valve hit the piston and jammed the follower up into the case where it is now stuck, and blew the end off the exhaust pushrod. I don't yet know if the valve is bent or what is jamming the follower in the up position.
I'm open to suggestions on how best to restore the broken case and stripped screw holes in time for BUB Speed Trials.
I had ignition gremlins during the first four runs, and some handling problems at 125 mph on run number 3 (weaving). Run number four went as planned with the tach showing 8500 RPM's at the timing lights. We got greedy and put on a smaller rear sprocket for the fatal run # 5. My head temperature gauge and oil pressure gauge lasted one day, and my air/fuel ratio gauge never started working this year so I don't have anything to report on the cooling system except I don't appear to have overheated the motor (head off, no unusual discoloration but I see the exhaust valve hit the piston on over rev, probably when the primary chain went bang at 8000 RPM's and full throttle. I'm probably lucky to have anything left after that.
The good news is that the crank still turns, the piston still goes up and down, and we went 136.7 mph. So now I am almost as fast as a CanAm 125!
Tom