80 HP at 8700RPM by Herb Becker

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Perhaps 'too hot' depends on the way the bike powers and handles ? A Honda RS125 would probably have shit it in.
 
It sounded to me as though Pat Conroy blamed himself for the crash. Earlier in that clip there is a mention of the desirability of a 'nimble' bike in the infield. The Harley XR750 was obviously a 'lurcher' and ran wide.
 
acotrel said:
Perhaps 'too hot' depends on the way the bike powers and handles ? A Honda RS125 would probably have shit it in.
Click to expand...

Too funny Alan. Might I suggest that "perhaps" there is too much speculation, assumption and conjecture on some people's part. Ah, errrh ah, this Harley was going into turn one of Daytona, off throttle so power has nothing to do with it other than peak speed approaching turn one. The bike sure looked pretty nimble and non lurched throughout the track. It really looked like Pat stood it up; maybe he choked a bit. I Can assure you that turn 1 at Daytona can have a high pucker factor with poor visual references.

As the rider said, came in too hot. Maybe best to start a new thread on this
 
In that situation you probably have about 4 choices. You can run straight off as Pat did and you will probably find the fence. You can sit the bike up straight and jump on everything to lose speed then pop the bike on the ground as you leave the bitumen. You can try to go round and when you reach the grass drop the bike and slide in a better direction. If you know the bike tightens it's line when you are on the gas, you can ride out of the situation. To do that you need to do it gently and smoothly, so if you have lost too many revs getting back onto the gas is a problem. If you are doing this with drum brake, pudding basin helmet and megaphone exhaust, it becomes almost impossible. 'Been there, done that' !
I feel sorry for Pat, I was once in exactly that situation. I was using a chrome plated single disc with Lockheed caliper in the front of the Seeley. Because I was leading a friend of mine who was riding a bike I'd built, I persevered when I should not have. I ended up in the slow dive to destruction. The bike came out of it before it reached the edge of the bitumen. These days I use two discs with Lockheed calipers and asbestos pads and the front brake is single finger operation to lock it. Much better if you can simply ride through the problem and become the instant hero.
 
This post has been moved to a new thread - go to - "98.5 HP Commando motor after 97 races"

80 HP at 8700RPM by Herb Becker
 
That compression ratio and alcohol fuel would be beautiful. My motor loves methanol, it feels as though it is turning out 80 BHP and that is on standard compression. I don't know why many jurisdictions ban it, it is a great leveller. In Australia, bikes made before 1973 are allowed to use it in historic racing. Of course it becomes a bit of a joke when the 1100cc Honda CB750s use it, however they CAN be beaten.
 
Got another email from Robert Hood (see sidecar above). I asked him how the Alky pistons and the bore were holding up. See his answer below (he started out with domed pistons but the CR was too high in the 920).

Jim,

Went to flat top pistons after doing a drive side mains. Had 14. something:1 compression. Gained 6HP with the flat top pistons.
The flat tops and new rings went in mid 2013. I have no record of any ring replacement since then.
We did 17 races in 2013 on the new motor, 38 in 2014, 25 in 2015 and we’ve done 17 this year so far. Plus practices and test days. Our Club races are 4 or 5 laps.
We had the head off a few times over last Christmas and noticed no discernible piston wear. Our cylinder PSI cold after a head recon then was around 220 per side.

Cheers
Robert.
 
Lovely outfit. I notice he's also a fan of the long intake manifolds.

Ken
 
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