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And now this comes out.
http://wildhogs.movies.go.com/
I did buy a Harley once, 1972 XLH brand new. Paid $2,300. Think I’ll start looking on Craigs List for a scooter.
RB is right on this one. Puting a rotor in the center of the kart does affect a lot of things, including the flex. Many tuners use stiffeners in the center as a way to move the flex to the outside of the bearings.
The bearing acts as a fulcrum point. As the axle flexes upwards under cornering, the center part flexes downward. This is how our Pro axle works, thicker in the center, thinner outboard of the bearings.
But there is another problem with putting a rotor in the center. It too involves axle flex but what happens is the flex distorts the rotating plane in which the rotor spins. Yet the caliper is fixed. So what will happen is the rotor will rub on one of the brake pads creating drag. That is the main reason the caliper is moved so close to the cassette. The farther you mount the rotor away from the fulcrum point, (bearing), the farther you have to retract the pads to prevent rubbing. This greatly increases the pedal travel you need.
Mike wants to know about the heat sink. I’m not sure how valuable they are. I’ve used them, they do seem to reduce heat. But a better solution maybe to just better maintain the brakes.
I found out some interesting info in the past week. Dot 4 and 5 oils do have higher boiling points that Dot 3. However, they also expand more at a given temp than Dot 3. We also use steel brake lines that do not expand when pressure is applied. This creates problems in kart brakes.
If you fill the resevouir to the top, there is no place for the hot oil to expand in to and it causes the brakes to drag. Also, most Euro brakes are not designed to use silicone based fluids and that causes the seals to expand, creating more drag. The best solution is to use a quality Dot 3 and change it out regularly.
If you have actually been to an original Black Sabath concert, raise your hand. Ozzie is just a simple burn out. Too many drugs in the ’70s. Much better was Iggy and The Stooges, or Psycadelic Stooges when I first saw them (1968).
No bat bitting for me.
We have Mojo’s in stock. One “good” thing about them is that will last several outings without falling off. A racer should be able to do the entire challenge and practice with only two sets.
I can only imagine that these two punks will be trying to sneak in the LoDo bars. Actually, with Adrain’s Atlantic schedule and Greg’s race schedule, their apratment will be vacent more than full.
Greg has his own apartment now. He and Adrian are living downtown by Coors Field. I can leave with full confidence that he won’t trash the place. Particullarly since I changed the locks!
No matter what form of racing, it will usually be the guys with more money up front. There are many reasons but two stand out, they spend more time on the track, they spend more time (money) maintaining thier karts.
Winning is all about track time and kart maintenance. Both of those two cost money. Whether your kid karts or shifters, these two things contribute more to being competitive than anything else.
Track time is the single most important thing you can do. It costs tires, motor wear and tear, track rental fees. Maintaining the kart in top condition means replacing bearings, nuts and bolts, and other parts that just wear out.
Making the kart handle better means buying different wheels, axles, hubs and other componetes to change the handling based on changing track conditions. All of these things cost money.
It is in these areas that you will spend money and notice, they have nothing to do with which motor package you choose.
Of all the sealed motor packages, the Rotax gives the best bang for the buck. Its less expensive some of the 4 cycles, and it comes with a warrenty. No motor package other than Rotax has a warrenty.
We will have our stocker again. I don’t know how much Greg will drive it as he wants to concentrate on the Rotax. But then again, Jeff will be back after graduation and I know he would love to drive it.
The stock class is quickly becoming the “Pro” class around here. With Matt and others coming in, the talent level will be the highest of the shifters.
But this brings up a good topic, do you have to race for the “win” to have fun? We have often said that we would rather be in the middle of a big, high quality field than first of 3 or 4 guys. The one thing about a big field, no matter what your level, you have someone to race.
A small field just gets strung out and is little more than organized practice with a trophy at the end. A big field is where the fun is. The race for 10th can be just as fierce, or more so than the race for first. I hope the spec class gets huge.
Where to start? In hind site, we should have brought new tires for practice. Ever the cheap skate, I didn’t’ and it cost us. We were a rocket on Firday morning and haven’t gone as fast since. We were going the wrong wa on handling and we qualified poorly this morning in 28th. Pre final was good to us and Greg finished in 17th. In the main, Greg was on the wrong end of the shuffle and wound up in 36 or 37 after the shuffle He took off and finished 20th.
I wish we had the camera on him but even that went aria. The power lead for the camera was broken when we opened the box and it needs to soldered back together.
Zip has been improving. He’s not last any more. For a while in the main, he was ahead of Greg after the shuffle. In the main, he was running 26th when he spun without help and was clobbered.
Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
There is one thing wrong with owning your own transponder. At the end of the day, some one is at the scales trying to get it from you! :cheers:
This morning I got up at 5:00 am to blow the driveway clear of another 3/4 of a foot of snow. It was only 12 below and blowing hard. All because some customer wanted to come in and build a go kart they won’t be able to drive for weeks!
Oh well, I leave for Florida next week to a bit of racing.
