Has there been a lot of development in the motor? Barnes: The spec fuel limits us as far as pistons and other internal engine components go. The motor is relatively stock except for some head work. Taken out of context.. i see your point, but in the context of the question, hes' pretty spot on.
I read it. But considering how much power can be pulled out of “some head work” and given how much power they appeared to get out of, I think “relatively stock” is a bit of a stretch. The way they responded is very vague. But I’d guess cams, valves, head gaskets, and all the machining that can go with that stuff is likely more valuable than a “built motor” that just has a bore job with high compression pistons and some new rods.
It happens, valiant effort even getting that thing back on the grid - the bike (and rider) took a beating. I was gutted seeing that as I know the passion you and Kris have, really felt for y’all. Good thing is you’ll be back next round.
Doesn't really matter if it is relatively stock, or if it's full tilt. Only thing that matters is if it's within the technical regulations and I know Bob Robbins wouldn't have it any other way.
i totally agree. I had just replied to the guy that said "saying it's stock is a bit of a stretch", when Barnes never said it was "stock".
So everyone is bringing up the twins class bodywork problem over and over but not the factory Superbike bodywork problem? Hmmm seems like we got some prejudice going on
What factory bodywork problems? Losing a fender from a hit during the race isn't the same thing as not having prior damage repaired/replaced properly.
Did Gerloff get hit? I know the Fong one was obvious but I don't think I ever saw a replay that showed how his happened.
He got hit by something - either rocks or another machine. You can see the hole in his windscreen as he comes to the grid.
That’s the wind screen the front fender should have 4 bolts of sorts. How many times you ever see a front fender come off? In all the years I was at the track I can only think of this happening twice and both times were after the person had the fender off and did not tighten the bolts down all the way.
Watching the video, the fender looks fine entering 6. Scholz passes him on the right middle / exit of 7 and the fender is hanging off at that point, so contact with Scholz is out as he was on the other side. Then they actually do a close up of the left side at turn 12 and I don't see any pieces of the fender hanging on that side. Of course it could have broken off right at the bolts, so hard to say. The team knows and if it was them I am sure it won't happen again.
I see them fly off a lot to be honest, even more so when we did more endurance races and they got hit changing tires. Even with only two bolts total it looked like the one side got knocked/ripped out, I do not remotely think it was an installation error with all the other evidence.
Yeah I have heard "good valve job, just a bit of head work" from southern boys in the past. Moto Course Performance is not know for "slow" motors. But if we have a discussion about "pro racer" we can all agree that Barnes does fall into that category. He did beat Ian Hutchison at Macau! There is a twins class in the top level of US racing and a professional team showed up with a top level bike and a very fast rider.
The fact that he didn't mention an on-track incident in the press release leads me to believe it was mechanic error and he didn't want to throw anyone under the bus. Just my theory.
If it behaves like older Ducati 2 valve motors (through the 1100DS), it will respond very well to some light head work. I dont think the motor design has changed a ton since the 1000DS of the early 2000s when they went to V3 heads.
The factory bodywork usually only has 2 bolts on the fender so they can use quick change style fork setups. I've seen them fall off a few times from larger rocks , which may be the case considering the hole in the windscreen. Then again, maybe it was mechanic error.
Gerloff had a rough weekend. Even though the results don't show it, he had the pace to run at the front. Something he didn't seem to have last year. I'm sure he's disappointed, but he can at least leave round one with confidence in his outright speed. J.D. looked damn good too for his first race on that bike.