Good luck and keep us informed!
Made it. Was a good day. High 20s outdoors. 1/2" of ice all over the trees and ground. Dark gray skies. Whole scene looked winter gothic. Roads were clear though. Perfectly clear. Off to the dyno it went.
John's driveway was patchy ice. But nothing terrible. Dyno trailer was indoors in its winder habitat behind the motor home. Nice and comfy 60 degrees for tuning.
Red bike did better than I expected. Well enough, in fact, that now I've got to put a clutch in it. It's slipping.
Going in knew this might potentially be an issue. Finally talked myself out of just replacing the clutch while the top end was torn off and waiting to see if it would actually be necessary.
It is.
Even with the slipping clutch got a nice tune done. Bike is very very rideable now. Engine sounds good and feels great. Took it out for 20-25 miles after leaving the dyno and before the freezing rain chased me back to the house. It is going to be a fun ride for sure.
Obviously not going to pre-ordain perfection in hot weather. Neither John nor I saw anything that would suggest later issues though. If there are he'll tweak it of course. But I feel good that it will be ok.
When starting this project I was expecting final numbers in the mid one-teens to perhaps the very low one-twenties. Honestly thought that would be the extent of what this build would produce as I'd made a couple choices with low end rather than high end in mind. I don't ride at high RPM. I do use and enjoy torque at the low end. So that was the goal.
Having planned that way, and with John Golden's artistry and skill dialing it all in, it seems that a bit of both was achieved. Before the clutch really started slipping one run produced an HP # as high as 128.1. Best torque number was 119.8.
It hits 100 foot pounds of torque by 2600-2650 RPM. Is at 85 foot pounds sometime before 2500 (that's the lowest RPM readout on the chart). Climbs to about 105 before 3000. A few RPMs later is where the clutch starts giving way after it got hot. Runs varied more and more as the clutch got hotter.
The top end numbers are certainly pleasing. Seeing 128 and 119 with the clutch's grip dancing suggests that when fully dialed in and fully broke in something in the 130 and 125 range is at least possible. I could care less about the top end though.
By 4500 RPM I'm already seeing 112 foot pounds of torque. The entire cruising and pass-a-truck RPM range of 2600-4000 is above 100 foot pounds and climbing. It is going to be fun to ride it again.
I'll say it again. It is going to be a fun ride again.
No more detuned late arriving power. Just a nice quick snap and a nice sharp pull right where you want it and when you want it. This is going to be great with the trailer behind it. The AFR line, as John's seemingly always are, was beautiful.
John and Sandy leave for Daytona tomorrow. I'll get a clutch replaced sometime in the next couple weeks. John has already asked to tweak it again after that's done. It's not that it really needs it. The tune would be perfectly rideable as it is now. I'd never worry about it or give it a second thought of any kind. He's just that good of a guy and that interested in what he does.
So as spring gets a little closer he'll spin it one more time. We'll see a run then without the dancing dips of a girly clutch after it has been replaced by a big strong boy clutch. Until then, I'm still quite pleased with the result. The red bike has a smile on its face once more. And so do I.
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Topic: It's ALIVE (Read 31462 times)