| Author | Message | ||
     Tripper |
#9 on the list at Topeka. Waiting to see the colors, but leaning toward blue. Latest delivery commitment from the dealer.... "In the spring" | ||
| Rocketman |
 Rocket in England | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Sean, Pretty scary ... 989cc twin weighing 36kg and producing 210 horsepower at 17,950rpm! Wow, -JW:>) | ||
| Rocketman |
Sorry, I attempted to enlarge the previous pic. Rocket in England | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Aaron, Maybe we can get Blake to put it on the opening page ... sort'a like BWB theme. S'later, -JW:>) | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Quick, somebody tell Buell they are bringing apples to the race when everybody else brought oranges!  | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Xgecko Sorry for what? Don't worry about it! | ||
| Aaron |
touche'! | ||
| S2no1 |
José, Got to admit, that's probably an accurate assessment. Ever seen spec SCCA racing. That is what Buell really needs to do. Just one manufactuer and similarily set-up car, with a sealed motor racing. Drivers and preparation make a big difference here. Arvel | ||
| Blake |
My take on the Buell racing scenario... I like the way the Speedvision Touring Car Championship series is/was run. You win, you add some weight to your car. Similarly, what is wrong with a class defined by displacement limits for differing engine configurations? SBK sure would be boring as hell without the twin literbikes to break the incessant whining screams of the IL fours. Why is it so whack to allow an air cooled two valve pushrod twin additional displacement compared to water cooled, four valve, OHC, inline fours? The name of the game in bigtime racing is entertainment. The closer a racing competition is, the more entertaining it is. No one should give a hoot what the engine sizes are as long as competitors' bikes are well matched. If Pro-Thunder can maintain close competition between the Ducs and Buells while bringing more bikes into the series, I'm all for it. I do agree with Jose on one major point though, Buell needs to sell what they race and race what they sell. Where's the factory big bore kit and race fairings? Let's hope the XB9R will break new ground for Buell in that arena. We already heard that the fairings will be available, let's hope the other go fast goodies will be as well. | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Arvel, It's called the Formula USA Buell Lightning Series! Very good racing, and the bikes actually resemble the ones you and I can buy, and the parts that they use are reasonably priced, too! The Problem with Pro Thunder is that if it's not a tweaked to the max Buell or a very expensive Duc 748, your only option is an SV650! The class has low participation, is unpopular, and is the first one dropped from the schedule when they need to do something else.
Well, I was told that they were "considering" it, so it's not a done deal If enough people write/call/email about it they might be persuaded that people might actually buy the fairings. I want the Belly Pan! | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Just to clear something up, I scanned that article by Mr. Valine from the Winter 1996 issue of Battle2win. Back to the catfight, er, discussion..... | ||
| Reepicheep |
I am not a huge racing fan anyway, but I don't see the problem with significantly different displacements for different classes of engines either. Sure a two valve pushrod aircooled twin needs nearly twice the displacement to even compete with a watercooled inline four. Big deal. That same watercooled inline four would need almost the same displacement boost to compete with a two stroke version of itself. Big deal. some cool things that could be considered for rules would be.... 1) The bike must be made of readily available parts, either OEM or aftermarket. 2) The cost of the bike and all parts should not exceed some (reasonable) threshold. Say $15,000. 3) A production bike should be able to be converted into the full race trim bike with the specified readily available parts in less then 40 man hours. 4) Bikes are classed by some balance of weight and cost. Who really cares about displacement, an engine is an appliance that produces power, power versus weight versus cost should be the only question. If an inline four does it with high rpms, good for them. If a twin does it be big displacement, good for them. If you want to trade the weight of a water cooling system for more cubic inches, more power to ya. Its your business. 4) The bike must meet reasonable noise and pollution requirements in race trim. Not pure EPA necessarily, but requirements that would let you drive down mainstreet and not immediately get a ticket. Just thinking out loud, I don't know much about racing... Bill | ||
| S320002 |
Just a thought. How about throwing displacement out the window and using MPG as the basis. If you can get the same power from 1500cc as the other guy does from 750cc and still get the same MPG then you race in the same class. Seems like that could have some real world bennifits, or not. Efficiency isn't about getting the most power from the smallest engine. Its about how efficeintly you burn your fuel. Just thinking about different ways to compare fruit. Greg | ||
| Sarodude |
(this really belongs in a different discussion, but...) I always felt that instead of limiting SWEPT VOLUME, limit the engine's EXTERNAL dimensions somehow... First, define exactly what comprises an engine... Internal combustion... Gasoline... Is fuel, electrical, engine management, etc part of the ENGINE? Etc... Then, you can either use external volume or just treat the motor like carry-on luggage - it MUST fit in this box... I imagine this would be a ton of fun for the engineers. -Saro |
