Project LW Entry for TT Isle of Man

This is an ENORMOUS factor that I can't believe I didn't think of. I crashed during my inaugural TT and fatigue was a major factor. Yours sounds like a pretty good idea - you need to not only be able to physically last the entire race, but mentally last it, too. I had the physical fitness but after four laps my mind wasn't reacting quick enough. Miss a marker by a fraction of a second... not good.

Ever since I've added boxing as a cross-training sport to help train me to remain mentally sharp while physically exhausted. It's fantastic because boxing requires those same split-second reaction times and decision-making skills, and if you let your mind wander you get immediate strong negative feedback - a punch in the face.

 

Sounds like you have the right people giving you advice. I still stand by my advice though. Go this year. See the place. Maybe ask Brandon or one of these guys if you can work or help out. Involve yourself.

 

the build continues... some roadblocks came along but I am staying positive that I will at least have a complete running package by April 24th to at least start the season on the Kawi

 

We have a complete bike together for now and I will be ready to test it during the Loudon Road Race Series at New Hampshire motor speedway during the 24-26 of this month.

Lots of work left to bring to the TT/Manx level but at least I have a complete and safe running race bike to start the season and setting up suspension and other settings.

Will post more details and photos this weekend when we perform some final touches on the bike and fire it up.


as far as travel goes, I recently found out that the UK actually allows drivers and vehicles from outside the European Union to travel on their roads and being customs tax exempt if they are there for a period of time under 6 months.
Finding out more details to ensure plans but the current plan is to pack the 96 Ford E350 "van" that I currently use to transport my bikes with A and B, the gear, tools, etc and ship that as one package. Working with a UK agency and government to obtain details and see how realistic that is. hopefully i will know more soon.

 

Sav, contact Pete Beale on face book who is now replying to the thread, he is a bloody top bloke mate, and has offered you a van to use in the UK and some where to store your gear there if you need it also. You can 100% TRUST this man mate

 

I thought the plan was to find someone totally shady, that way we eventually get to read Sav's harrowing tale of him being woken up by two corner workers the day of the race, discovering he's lying on course, nekid and missing a kidney?

 

wow!!!

Thank you so much! that would be great

so thankful for people like you and Pete and everyone who is being part of this.

 

That only happens after a night out in Macau...

 

so stage 1 is fully completed.
I have a completely running and safe bike to at least start at Loudon Road Race Series on April 24th.
I will be doing Thursday Practice and thats when the suspension dial in will start as well.
Peter Kates from Computrack Boston will be handling all the set up suspension stuff for this bike. Details will be discussed as followed.
Right now the bike has ZX6 front end with GMD internals and Pensker Rear shock and is set up for #200. I am unforunately #160 so it will be a bit stiff for me but it is still a rideable bike that is 100%

Expectation for the motor is to be at Spears Racing within a few weeks. I have two spare motors so that will no create any issues with my racing schedule for now..

Scott Mullin has been great help and Souhegan Valley Motorsports has gotten us all the Kawasaki parts in very short time and amazing customer service. Scott really is an amazing person to deal with and his knowledge on this bikes is beyond any expectations. Very happy he decided to help us with this project.

So Adam Butler and Butler Performance Machining made a lot of parts for this bike. The highlight is the custom subframe for the bike that will be created and offered as a bolt on kit soon. It shaved 8.5lbs off the bike!! It is extremely strong and can easily be replaced in case of a crash. Adam really did a phenomenal work with this one. A sheet of aluminum will be added on the bottom to protect the harness soon too.





8.5 lbs of steel right here:


adam also assisted with creating a custom battery box and other brackets to relocate various parts:



The Vesrys swingarm bolted easily on the bike and Adam created an exhaust hanger for the Arrow Mini Twin Exhaust that also serves as a spacer for the woodcraft rearset:


Mounted everything up and fired her up! the Arrow exhaust sounds AMAZING! The motor runs strong and clean.

I am waiting on the DNA Performance Air filter to put on and then take it to Dyno Solution for John to set up the proper mapping for it..

very excited to ride it in a week and see how it moves around the track..

more updates will follow during the season..

she is now home!

 

Where did you get the Arrow exhaust ?

 

Did you draw that little heart on the frame... Cute

 

new from UK. I think it was $1600 shipped

 

haha that would be Adam... but yeah, lots of love goes in this build/mission.

 

There was a guy on my forum from Canada selling one for $900.
Also, I used to import from DNA. Great filter.
But I'm fairly sure you can use a 09-11 air box on your bike, which would allow you to use a BMC race filter, which is more readily available.

 

ugh i bought the exhaust in November. I looked everywhere I could for this exhaust and a Versys swingarm used... wasnt able to find any for weeks. end up biting the bullet and buying them new.

DNA is a sponsor of mine and i get the filters in large quantities. I believe I will be fine. I assumed they are not so easily available here thats why i dont see them often (or at all). I personally love them and used them on all my bikes when I lived in Greece.

 

so racing is this weekend and practice is this Friday 4/24/15 Championship Cup Series Northeast Region AKA Loudon Road Race Series Round #1 I am pretty excited to ride the bike finally.
the few last touches took place.
I put the new thermostat and O seal on since the old thermostat was broken. Thanks to Scott Mullin and Souhegan Valley Motorsports for getting the parts quick to me although they were on backorder. Unfortunately I did not get the chance to experiment with the Ignition key eliminator but after my discussions with Scott I am pretty sure I know how it will work. I really owe a big thanks to Scott who although we are competitors he is being extremely helpful and shares a lot of his knowledge with me, he really is a great guy and I will be giving him all the business that I can because he stands by his product and services.



Also since I received great support from DNA High Performance Filters I did put in the high flow air filter they make for the EX650 on today. It seems very well build and it fit great just like OEM. Very happy to have that product on the bike as well.





and with that final part on, i headed over to John @ Dyno Solutions - 465 Federal Rd, Brookfield, CT 06804
for the record John is 150 miles each way from my house, i drive by 5 dyno places that I at least know of on my way there but he is awesome to work with and really knows his stuff. Personable and exceptional service will always get my business.



The bike put out 78hp and 45 of torque
I was very happy with the results and we know where we have room for improvement. I was able to compare it to other similar bike builds and more basic builds and i am very happy both with the numbers but also with the way it delivers power and throttle response we saw. Some more additions will happen on the bike over the winter that will help to get an even better performance such as switch to power commander 5 from the 3, the ram air that we will build and of course the new motor from Spears Racing. But all these can wait because now the important thing is suspension and we cannot start messing with that until I ride the bike on the track (3 days ahhhh). Peter Kates provides track side support (thank God) so he will be able to work his magic once I give him feedback about how the bike behaves. I am expecting it to be a bit stiff since it is currently set up for a bit heavier than my weight.

So thank you for following so far and stay tuned because more awesome things will happen as this project moves forward.

 

I'm assuming the motor is stock, other than the exhaust ?
What fuel are you using ?

 

the motor has Cams, mild headwork and throttle bodies, with the arrow exhaust and DNA air filter.
this was on 93 octane pump fuel.

stock on the same dyno the bike pulled 60hp. with power commander and exhaust it pulled 66.

 

Like the way you are going about making this happen man, good on ya.:up:

 

thank you
I am really putting in the work and try to make the best decisions about this.
My biggest roadblock now is shipping and customs. its so confusing and seems like nobody has the right answer. I am not giving up though, not a chance..