I've been working in Kenya since Speed Week...internet has been hit & miss at best, I could usually follow along with WOS or the Cook Shoot Out but almost never enough connection to post. I'm back in Dubai and headed home, it's time for an update...
As the coupler had proven to be the weak link previously, we just wanted to test the new one at Speed Week and cautiously move forward. I made a couple of easy passes on the rookie course to break in the new engines, the Double is too long for a bike dyno. We were very pleased when we removed the coupler's cover and found the chain and tensioner to be in excellent shape! The redesigned tensioner and oil bath gave me the confidence to take it to the long course for the first time.
I made 3 passes on the long course at a little over 200, each run rewarded us with a leaking oil cooler. The bike has 4 of them, (oil cooled GSXR) but the same bottom cooler repeatedly failed. Initially when the cooler first failed and we didn't see anything obvious other than the corner of the cooler mount had cracked, I just assumed it was another character building exercise
We lost a day waiting for a replacement cooler but enjoyed spectating and visiting with friends.
I found the first couple of miles very rough on my 2nd long course run, I could see the front forks flexing and never got a chance to open up the throttle until the 3rd mile. The long course was moved over that evening. When we were loading into the trailer, we discovered the new cooler was leaking. We also had a front fender bracket crack, and I assumed the 2nd cooler failure was the result of vibration.
We lost another day waiting for yet another replacement cooler and at this point, had little choice but to just laugh at it...we'd have no luck if it wasn't for bad luck. Again, checked the bike over and it appeared ok. The oil lines were not pulling on the cooler causing stress, there appeared to be enough ground clearance so I didn't think the bike was bottoming out against the oil pan's fittings, again figured it was vibration and we would attempt to isolate it.
It was noon on Thursday before we got the new cooler, it doesn't seem to matter how much I pay for overnight or urgent shipping, the parts show up in Wendover whenever they do. We added rubber to the mounts, double checked the lines and got in line mid-afternoon. The bike worked great but had lots of wheel spin. On my Hayabusa, I can just feather the throttle slightly when it spins and regain traction. When the Double spins, it feels more like an elastic band winding up and releasing, I find that I really have to back out of the throttle before I can open it up again. It's hard to be disappointed with any 200mph run... no leaks! I was determined to just get back in line and go at it again, I wasn't even going to get out of my gear...let's hot lap...the event is over tomorrow...we need to get to impound...and then the corner of the oil cooler started dripping.
We were done, there simply wasn't enough time to get a replacement cooler.
No regrets, I spent a week with friends and family doing something that I enjoy, and watching some of the coolest racers anywhere. The coupler issue is resolved, that was previously a deal breaker...we can go fowards, an oil cooler is a much smaller problem.
When we switched from 18" wheels to 17" in order to comply with the 200+ race rubber rule, we lost some ground clearance. However, there is no evidence of the bottom oil cooler or its fittings coming into contact with anything, just salt spray. The oil coolers worked fine when the bike ran last, so that is puzzling. There are no obstructions in the lines. We are fitting a new body and as a result, the oil coolers will all be replaced with a different set up and relocated with new lines and new mounts.
More to follow...
Cheers,
Scott