The engine is done. The standard 7,300 rev limit was used for a few years until all problems with it were fixed. The gudgeon pin seizing in the rod small end and cracked pistons were the main issues. An 8,000 rpm redline was tried after those problems were fixed. Rod big end shell life was an issue. Attempts were made to fix that problem with no success. Annual replacement was the solution. The redline was raised to 9,000 rpm. The bolts holding the crankcases together loosened. A crank with a different firing order was used, the counterbalancers were removed, upgraded case bolts were installed, and the case bolt tightening procedure was revised. This cured the loosening problem. The new crank partially cured the rod big end bearing problem. The redline will be is raised to either 9,500 or 10,000 rpm this year. It depends on the peak power rpm. New rods with stronger bolts and caps and polished crank journals are the reliability upgrade changes. Kibblewhite redid the valve spring setup for the higher rpm. It took fourteen years to get to this point. Cranking compression with dry bore was 165 psi on both sides. It was 210 psi on both with some auto trans fluid lubricating the cylinder walls.
An endemic problem with the federal government, regardless of the party in power, is spending too much money that they do not have. Those clowns have no ability to live within a budget. This is especially true of the bunch that is in power now. My fear is big tax increase or a currency devaluation, or both. It cannot be avoided. This is a concern for this guy who is living on a fixed income. It will devistate me financially. The decision is to not build the bike any further with superchargers and other fun stuff. The goal is simply to race what I have while I can still afford to do it.
