Take the fairies off and narrow it down to tires or set-up.
Bill
I agree with you Bill. Strip her down for a naked run, and get a baseline first. I disagree with Jon's statement-"if it dont feel good at 200 it isnt going to get any better at 280+..." According to Joe himself, last year it was a bit of a handful, until he got over 240+, then he said it "hunkered down, and went straight as an arrow." I suspect there was a transitional range for that bike/body/suspension/tire combo, and once he got up to that speed, the body began to "work." Just a layman's take on things, but I suspect Joe knows what he was talking about! In addition, most racers know that you should only change one thing at a time to KNOW if it made a difference. Joe changed a number of things since last year, and any one, or combination of them could be affecting his handling. Best of luck to you Joe! We're pulling for you back here in SD!
To Bill: Congrats on your fantastic 272+ runs!!
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Rvilhauer,
Please explain to me when a violent tank slapper can get better over 200?
Joe's statements about a handfull last year and got better at speed is a totally different issue then what he was experiencing now. he has always had some uneasy feeling and been able to drive thru them but this is different.
Joe and i talked alot obout taking body off the bike, and he came to conclusion he can not solve nor learn anything from it.
First off now you have induced a totally different air stream which might cause other problems and get away from root cause.
Then there is the packaging issues when you take body off, that have to be delt with, there is alot of stuff under the body.
Actually I am really sorry I said anything about what was going on with it. I just wanted to let people know the status on him.
JonAmo
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Jon,
Let me first begin by offering my sincere apologies. I guess we are disagreeing on semantics here
, not racing.
Your statement, "Joe made a test pass and didn't like what he felt." was interpreted by myself, to mean just what you say in your later reply, "he has always had some uneasy feeling and been able to drive thru them."
Joe mentions this "instability" as he has often experienced it, in his interview with Rocky Robinson.
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/287/5330/Motorcycle-Article/Salt-Addiction-Joe-Amo.aspxI quote from the article, "I’ve always engineered a fair amount of instability into my bike and have gotten close to the markers over the years. This time between the instability that I seem to enjoy............."
I thought you were referring to a similar situation. This, plus my knowledge that he had pulled off during Speed Week because it didn't feel right, only supported my assumption. Had you said, "violent tank slapper ....... over 200," in the first place, I would have better understood what you were reporting, as would others. I would probably have kept my comments to myself. Joe, self admittedly, did drive out of his handling issues last year, and had fantastic success, compared to his run of near 115 MPH at this year's Speed Week.
I also agree with you, having seen the bike many times up close, that there is a lot of stuff under the body, and there could be packaging issues with the body off, that would need to be secured, and addressed. That all being said, please consider the following:
Knowing that Joe had intended to go back to last year's tires, and wheels before he left home for the World Finals, led me to believe he had already done so. It would logically follow then, that he would also be using the same suspension set up as he had with that successful wheel/tire package. If both of these were true, then the new body would become first suspect. A naked run then, under these conditions, would establish if the handling issues were specifically due to the new body. This would be especially true, if his speeds were only in the 100 MPH range, like at Speed Week.
That all being said, I doubt he would "have induced a totally different air stream which might cause other problems and get away from root cause." Air stream on a naked bike, traveling at about 100 MPH would be of little consequence. People ride factory bikes every day which are capable of this.
Your statement of being, "really sorry I said anything about what was going on with it.", then becomes in direct contradiction to your following statement of, "I just wanted to let people know the status on him."
Please try to understand that those of us reading and replying, who also take a great interest in your brother's successes, are glued to ANY report of how he is doing. Had we been following a thread about Drew Brees, of the NFL, Jimmy Johnson of NASCAR, or Michael Jordan's career in the NBA, there would be no lack of information for us to pore over. Since this forum is nearly the only "media" coverage we have, we hang on every word. Joe is, after all, one of an elite few on this planet, who have ever made these kinds of accomplishments in their sport.
At any rate, so as to avoid any more controversy on the forum, I will refrain myself from making ANY further comments. I am merely trying to explain, how, and what I was thinking, and make amends to any who may have been offended. My forum post was based upon the very limited information I was able to get, and my own, obviously incorrect, assumptions. I will keep my thoughts to myself from now on. I tried to remove my comments, after seeing I had misunderstood the information from your original post, but was unable to, since you quoted them in your reply. Please let SSS know he may pull them down if they seemed inappropriate in any way.
Again, my sincere apology for my misunderstanding of the situation as it was reported, and for any hard feelings it may have caused. I assure you that Joe's safety, and best interests, are of my utmost concern.
Respectfully,
Randy Vilhauer
