| Author | Message | ||
     Jens |
Hi, here our trackstory from the Festival Italia Races in the Thunder B.E.A.R.S and Pro Thunder races. More pics: http://www.hillbilly-motors.com/html/festival_italia_2007.html Racepromoter Art-Motor presented the 10th Festival Italia on the Oschersleben Racetrack. This anniversary was including the trackdays on the days before, with more than 600 starters completely sold out. From MV Agusta Racebikes through Ducatis, including nearly any bikes and brands this great bikenation Italy ever produced, not to forget finest Laverdas, Aprillias and Moto Guzzis. In the paddock and pits all well known aftermarket companys presented the newest parts and bikes. One of the highlights the new Kalex project. www.kalex-moto.de . How cool it will be next year to seek the competiton with the watercooled Buells with these state of the art Twins from the greatest italien manufacturers. We are more than happy to took that challenge. But pushrodpower rules forever, our friends from the XBORG Internetforum signed in for the Festival Italia and engaged Tommy Schuler our rider to race that Buell XB 12RSS (S-hort S-troke) Racebike powered by a 1200cc M-Tek Engine in the Pro Thunder 2 Division. A start of the Thors Hammer Racebike at the Thunder-B.E.A.R.S Races was not planned, because of timeproblems. But after Tommy took the victory on the German TT on the first round, we had nothing to think about that... sure that we race! But the TT victory was not easy, because our engine setup give us miracels. Under dry conditions the bike start to loose power after 2 laps and the throttle response getting more bad from lap to lap. After the TT we made the decision to change the complete ignitionside and convert the bike back to alternator. After ignition, coils, cables and all other parts changed we dynoed the Bike at Alex Kucis (M-TeK Engineering) Superflow Dyno against the eddy current brake, rejettet the carbs to the right A/F values and go with the truck on Thursday to Oschersleben. A 3 day race- weekend lies in front of us, weatherreport says sun/rain/sun... so we start on Friday with some final work, because we got no tracktime before the early afternoon. The XB was the first bike out and Tommy reported: all well. Thors Hammer got some quick laps too, than the old problem starts again... long faces, you can believe! What the hell is going on? We have a trackdynamic problem on the fuelside, thats now for sure, what is not to see on the dyno, also not when the bike is running against the brake. Folks dont get me wrong, all the ideas you have now we had too in the next houres, changed and inspected everything and more. Than it starts to rain and the throttle response getting better. Okay we are on the right way, we were thinking... Meanwhile the XB was running like a swiss clockwork and both bikes got under the rain conditions in the timesession positions somewhere at the front. Now it dryed up and the last timesessions for both bikes coming up. The XB passed first time the line and directly afterwards the engine stops with a bad mechanical sound. What the XBORGS have made wrong that the bad luck is following the Team since the start of the season? After the bike came back, we found out that one of the alternator magnets get loose and blocked the rotor to the stator. 3h to go to the saturday Pro Thunder race, 2 guys from the XBORG Team started with the trailer to get an XB for parts. We clean the primary department from debris an check the stator. While we wait for the parts, Tommy go with Thors Hammer in the last timesession, the bike runs again like sh## under dry conditions. Is that the first watercooled Buell? We are nearby the end with our ideas, but Tommy fighted hard with what he had and put the bike on the 9th position for the Thunder B.E.A.R.S race on Sunday. The “organspending” XB arrived, quick we slaughter the alternator rotor and 15 minutes before the Saturday Pro Thunder race the bike is ready -we think... A push on the starterbutton and the next desaster took place, the engine rattling like a scrapbin.... Well, what have these XBORGS guys have done, that... The magnetdebris between rotor and stator bended the crankshaft end. Anyway, whats the next plan B? 150 miles away at M-Tek is standing XBORG Heikos 25.000 Km old M-teK Engine. It´s an 1170cc shortstroke engine... Nothing to think, go and get it! Meanwhile we kick out the engine on the XB, the spareengine is in the bike at 2.00 o clock in the morning. We took a short nap and continued to complete the bike at 7.00. To prevent us from next surprises we assemble a new set of Alto Carbonites on the Hillbilly-Motors slipperclutch. At the warmup the bike runs great. At the race Tommy have to start from the last row because he had no dry qualifying time. He rode the XB like hell and finished 6th, what a great succes. The first finish and first pot for the XBORG raceteam! Congratulation! The Story from the XBORGS. For the Hillbilly-Motors Thors Hammer Racebike the dry conditions on Sunday were poison. We tryed any idea we had, from exotic jet setups to chopped waterbottlebases on the airhorns, -in the end we found something what could do it for some laps. Tommy had to start from row 3, not nice if you know that you have to do your fastest laps at the beginn of the race... But that is the day were 30 Raceryears of track experience count, were Team and Rider give everything for the moment, everything for this single race. I turn up the rev-limiter to a region we only use in hard quaifyingsession, sure that Tommy need everything we have out there to battle with his competitors. 5 minutes to go, the engine sounds great, but we are all sure that our nightmare will visit us from lap 3 on, -latest... At the prestart I looked at our competitors, light and quick bikes from Ducati and Moto Guzzi, what a challenge for this piece of iron from East Troy. It comes in your mind on a weekend like this, “why you do this” ? why not racing an R6 and change just Oil ? It´s the thrill and it is the brand with the name of the man who stand for his dreams. Go out and fight! Tommy get an unbeliviable start and go on 3rd position in the first turn! What a show! Tommy race one full lap with the leading Super B.E.A.R.S Ducatis before he loose the connection to the leaders. He stop also not fighting when the bike start to loose power and finished the race 5th in the Thunder B.E.A.R.S division. The faces on the afterrace Teampicture say everything! (-: Cu on the track, friends of Buell Racing...... and never give up!  | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
Great story! Congratulations on pulling out good finishes from such a difficult weekend~ | ||
| Peterr |
Excellent report ! Well done to Tommy and the team, it's hard to be outgunned sometimes after so much hard work, but all good things come to those who persevere ! That Kalex looks awesome, too ! | ||
| Ebear |
NOW thats called PERSEVERANCE!!!!!.................good job guys!!!!you folks are admirably optimistic and I enjoy reading of your battles! | ||
| Littlefield |
Thanks for the story. Glad you got a decent result. | ||
| Court |
Jens: Thanks for the great reporting but, more importantly, the great way you and your staff represent Buells! Very cool! Court | ||
| Reepicheep |
Great story! Thanks! | ||
| Blake |
Truly inspiring and a great example of how persevering through adversity makes success all the more sweet. Here's wishing you much more and much greater success! | ||
| Imonabuss |
Great stuff, and what real champions are made of! Anyone who thinks an R-6 and oil changes is the way to learn how to go motorcycle racing has never been at the top, and won't get there 'til they wake up. The really fast guys work their butts off because they live for the challenge! As Blake says, the taste of success is sweeter when you have given your all!!! | ||
| Court |
>>>He rode the XB like hell and finished 6th, what a great success. I, for one, want to hear more about this Tommy guy. Tell him has is gaining a fan base in the United States! We want pictures of him and please tell him we are all pulling for him! Court | ||
| Xborgforum |
Hello everyone, this is the race report of the XBORG RACE TEAM. The race team of the German Buell XB Forum. The long road to see the first checkered flag – there’s no other way to describe this weekend! Let’s have a look at the events: Day of arrival for all was Thursday evening, Jens (Hillbilly Motors) drove directly to Oschersleben. Tommy Schuler, Steffi and I lodged with Anke and Heiko in their Hotel Abtshof in Halberstadt. After a little beer we went to bed quite soon, as we planned some wrenching for Friday morning. After having breakfast we went straight to Oschersleben. Jens had already carved out our territory next to the main road of the paddock. Everything was already setup, so we only needed to move in and position our racebike beside Thors Hammer. THANKS A LOT JENS!! After his win at the German TT, Jens decided to start at the Festival Italia as well in the ThunderBEARS class. So Tommy had to drive with two motorcycles – the Hillbilly and XBORG racers. Next, the wrenching started. The racer was ready to start but the motorcycle still had the front forks of Heiko street-XB. After the crash at the Fischereihafenrennen in Bremerhaven the forks had only scrap value. We purchased one on eBay and sent it to HH-RACETECH to work it over. Tommy – who lives near HH-RACETECH – brought it along to the track, including the rear shock matched to his weight. So let’s get out the tools!... Jens, Heiko – and a little bit I – were allowed to wrench. Unfortunately, Christian (Bastelgarage) did not have a vacation day, so he had to arrive in the afternoon. The work continued easily. About 10 AM, the XB-racer was definitely ready for action. In the meantime, Tommy and I cared about TRACK TIME (gosh what WORDS). The training on Friday was regular racing training – open for everybody – and had nothing to do with the event. The Training was fully booked. Fortunately, a participant canceled his training, so we were no longer on the waiting list. So let’s start! As the sun was shining the whole morning, the XBORG-RACER of course had been on slicks. A look at the clouded sky predicted bad news. As a precaution, we put the Bridgestone rain tires on the second set of wheels. Carelessly, I told the team: "Tire changing? No problem. I can do that!" In retrospect to the weekend, I shouldn’t have said this! But I’ll come to this point a little bit later... At last we put the start number 459 onto the motorcycle – finally ready! The waiting started and the both practices took place on a dry track. Tommy rode 6 laps, a little bit of fine-tuning – and then second practice. The second practice was as unspectacular as the first one, the XBORG-racer was running... ..until the next practice, when I heard the words: "Werner, get out the rain tires!"... A heavy rainfall came and the track nearly flooded. Then once more the track dried up... We fitted the slicks ... the next day the XBORG-racer should see at last the checkered flag! Friday evening we made the acceptance inspection, a mere formality. On Saturday we were a little bit more relaxed, as there was nothing to wrench. We started in the PRO THUNDER 2 class. Unfortunately, the first qualifying was together with the THUNDER BEARS class, so we had two motorcycles but only one Pilot. We needed coordination. The Hillbilly Racer had no starter, so Tommy rode the first 10 minutes with Thors Hammer and the second turn with the XBORG-racer. And there was the well known problem: shortly before we had to start the qualifying, it started to rain. "Werner, get the out the rain tires!" The racer ran like a clockwork... Second qualifying: "Werner, get out the rain tires!"... Once again, it was raining during the practice. Before the next qualifying we mounted a new set of Bridgestone BT-002s because the old ones would have never made the race. And then the third final practice followed... At last it was not raining. This was really essential. Tommy started riding and we took our position at the wall of the home stretch to keep time. Then Tommy returned from the first turn. Exactly as he passed us, we heard a real loud metallic sound – and the engine of the racer stopped... Though the racer wasn’t able to return with it’s own strength, we were untroubled by the shame of being carried by the crash truck... We lifted the primary cover and saw metal everywhere.... A magnet from the alternator had broken. This was a replacement part we didn’t keep with us. Helplessness.... then Heiko had a real good idea: Tork’s motorcycle had a broken exhaust stud and was parked in Christian’s garage... so let’s raid it! Tork was working for the organizer "ART MOTOR" in Oschersleben, so we had the chance to ask him immediately if the plan is OK. Tork didn’t hesitate a second to give us the permission to fillet his motorcycle. THANKS a lot Tork, there are not many people who would act like this!! There were 3 hours left so Stefanie, Steffi, and I needed 1:20 hours to drive to Magdeburg 50 km away from the track, load the motorcycle onto the trailer, and return to Oschersleben. That were another 1:40 hours to change the alternator. -Christian, I am really happy that you didn’t tell your girlfriend that it’s possible to drive about 180 km/h with the trailer... I’m sure your unborn son will some day be an exceptionally gifted, wrenching race driver... In the meantime Christian, Heiko, Jens started disassembling and cleaning the XBORG-racer while Thors Hammer pawed with his hooves, waiting for his third chance to ride a fast lap... The alternator of Tork’s motorcycle was removed on the trailer. 20 minutes before the first race the XBORG-racer seemed to be ready to race. Tommy slipped into his racing suit and a few minutes later, he held his head out of the racing transporter: "It’s time. Did anyone test if the motor is running?" Everybody looked at each other. We’ve all tried to forget about this idea and nobody was tough enough to try. Jens was the one who plucked up his courage and pushed the starter. 2 revolutions and he pushed immediately the kill switch – a quite loud metallic noise – something was absolutely not yet OK. We lifted the primary cover once more and tried to start again. The piece of the alternator that was broken had taken the crankshaft with it to the happy hunting grounds. That was the end! We were real sick and you were able to see it in everyones face. Then Heiko said: "I’ve got another one! Another engine of mine is in MTEK Alex Garage. It has 25,000 kms but it is better than none." We definitely wanted to start! The distance was about 200 km one way and it was 05:30 PM, so we would be back at approximately 10:30 PM, and that would be OK. Steffi and I (I was available, no tires to change at the moment) drove to Alex MTEK to get the engine. Christian, Heiko, Tommy, and Jens took care of the other engine to remove it and prepare everything for the "new" one. A little leap in time – perhaps someone of you four can describe shortly how wrenching feels with a crowd of drunken sightseers... Exactly at 10:30 PM, Steffi and I returned. Just in time and the wrenchers immediately ended their union break.. So get on and let’s see. Tommy went back to the hotel, he had to drive in two racings on Sunday. Exactly when the Festival-Italian fireworks started, the frame and the motor became a unit once again. At 2:00 AM we weren’t able to concentrate any more and couldn’t use the compressor and the impact wrench either. We cleaned up a bit, sorted the tools and drove to our hotel (instead of Jens, who slept in his racing-truck). On Sunday morning we had to continue our work to finish, so 4 hours sleeping had to be enough. We woke up at 6:45 AM and went to Oschersleben again. Sunday started like the Saturday had ended – with wrenching... The first warm-up at 9:12 AM was too early, but the second one at 11:29 AM had to be ours! At 10:15 AM Jens tried to start the engine again and... it ran. Jens tested the racer and rode a short trip through the paddock. To the best of one’s knowledge and belief... ready to race!!! Tommy was able to start with the XBORG-racer in the second warm-up. As both categories were put together again, Tommy rode the first laps with the Hillbilly-Motors racer and then... suspense was growing higher... he rode the XBORG-racer... The first two laps were quite reserved, first he had to check all systems if they were functional. From lap to lap he became faster and faster and then the last lap... Tommy is quite close to the wall of the pit lane.... He took the left hand from the handlebar and the thumb was up. We can start! Jubilation at the wall... More waiting began. I saw everyone of the team near of the racer with closed eyes, laying their hands on it. It has to work, it must! Only finishing, from the last starting position, as we had no ambitions to get a cup or a place on the podium. Because we only had the time out of the training in the rain and the others were able to improve their lap times in the third – dry – training. Just see the black and white flag... Tommy’s words: "Werner, don’t worry, I’ll do this... Go and get me a Red Bull." ??? Does he need wings? Ok, everything he wants, he knows what he’s doing. And then – the racing time came. While they started nobody was allowed to stand at the wall. The voice of the announcer became more excited... he shouted "Start" and the crowd darted off. We took a sprint to the wall and looked down the track. Where is he? Not at the end. We looked into the other direction and it seemed that he had a great start. Somebody shouted that he made up some positions. After 1:45 minutes the front came around for the first time. And then counting started. 11th position... So the Red Bull had had his effect... There were only bright faces at the wall, Tommy brought out the best out of the engine and tried to work his way into the top direction. The brightness went and intensity came into our faces. Hopefully the engine will go through the race without breaking down- it’s already 25.000 km old – maybe it will manage another 40 km... Still 15 minutes... 10 minutes... 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 minutes... our fingers were white from crossing them. Just the two last laps... the white flag ... the last lap.. the last 104 seconds... Tommy turned into the homestretch, we all saw the checkered flag and he came across to us, his fingers showed Victory. Thank you so much, Tommy. We all clasp in each others arms, at least the racer had made the finish line. It was worth making the effort. Somehow we tried to look back to the track... it wasn’t all sweat that was gleaming on our faces... Whatever... in this case even the Indians are permitted to cry... Tork – who was the attendent to Artmotor – gave us a signal that meant we finished sixth? That meant a cup! After this weekend this was a real good end! I can guarantee this to you, while the presentation ceremony the sixth got much more applause than the first. Even the commentator had noticed it. Tommy as well, he blushed a little bit.. Finally! a photo of the racing team. After the race we were all smiles. I can’t mention everybody, I would definitely forget someone. So I want to thank everybody who made it possible to cross the finish line and who gave us support. The next racing date will be at the Biketoberfest in Oschersleben, until then there’s a lot of work to do. Many greetings Werner .. Steffi: Thanks for the translation. BobSims: Thanks for the correction  | ||
| M1combat |
Brilliant  . Thanks for the write up . | ||
| Blake |
Werner, Epic! What wonderful perseverance and excellent "never-say-die" attitude! I totally dig it! Thanks so much for sharing your adventure with us here. Good luck at Oschersleben. | ||
| Court |
Werner: GREAT REPORT and I dig that air ducting on the front rotor! . . . Great German engineering! Looking forward to the next report. Court | ||
| Reepicheep |
Wow! The "Terminator" of racing teams... you just won't freaking quit. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Good job guys! I like the front fender on the XB too! is that in the Hillbilly catalog now Jens? and will it fit with the ZTL2 caliper? | ||
| Jens |
@XBORGs,always nice to race with you guys... @Brian, te fender is in the catalog update, it fits ZTl 1 & 2 and 1125R. For now we have it only in carbon, but cheaper version in fiberglas will come soon. Jens |
