Archived Posts

[Admin]

Thanks for the tips Jim. Are you saying to cut the strips so that they cover the full sprocket carrier surface, but just have it in a few pieces rather than 1 piece?

Nope - purely as washers between the sprocket and carrier.

Jim

[Admin]

I've seen other guys say that using shims only is dangerous because the two surfaces are not in full contact with each other which I guess could cause stress on the sprocket bolts and potentially fail??

[Admin]

I've seen other guys say that using shims only is dangerous because the two surfaces are not in full contact with each other which I guess could cause stress on the sprocket bolts and potentially fail??

Hey Chris,

Personally, I think it's all relative to the application. If we were talking about a Hayabusa or a GSXR1000 then shims might be a poor idea. Given the sprocket bolts are a beefy 10mm and a racing T500 puts out 50-70 hp on a good day, I wouldn't worry about 1/8" washers causing the sprocket bolts to break. But that's me....

Jim

[Admin]

I've seen a number of different pictures of bikes that various different air intake setups. I'd rather not run without any protection over the intake side of the carbs, but do any of you guys have advice on what to use for racing on the T500's...pod filters or velocity stacks? I've seen some posts and read some other info about the impact both can have on performance, but there doesn't seem to be a clear direction most people take with this bike when racing. Any advice from racers that have either setup?

[Admin]

There seem to be two schools of though here.

One is that it's a race bike and doesn't need filters. I have raced since 1978 and never used filters and it has not been a problem on any of my H models or Y models.

The other school of thought is that a big filter costs little in terms of power and may save you a fortune if you drop the bike or if you run off track and kick up dust.

The latter is probably safer and more sensible. And probably cheaper in the long run.

Friends don't let friends ride without protection - or something like that.

[Admin]

The minimal loss of power is well worth the reduced wear and chance of something getting kicked in a carb. UNI's work very well......

[Admin]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going with the uni's for now. I'm with you on the added bit of protection especially if there is minimal impact on performance. $20 filters sure beat a top end rebuild due to a bird (or small stone as it were) getting sucked into the old engine.

[Admin]

I used to run velocity stacksbut now run Uni Filetes, haven't noticed any appreciable power degradation.

[Admin]

Can anyone tell me if an oil catch pan is required on the T500 when racing? I thought it was required on all bikes per the rule books, but in looking at some racing pictures I can't see it on a lot of the T500 pics that are showing the bikes in action at the track.

[Admin]

Hey Chris,

Yes it is BUT what you can do for a two stroke is sandwich a couple of sheets of oil absorbing pads (from McMaster.com part number 72035T811) between two layers of hardware cloth (chicken wire). We've got to put one into the race bike Mowgli is bringing for Desmocat to race at Mid-Ohio. Are you coming to Mid-Ohio? If so, I'll PM you my cell number and when you get there call me and I'll let you know where we are pitted. You can come look over the race bike to see how everything is safety wired if you want to.

Jim

[Admin]

I'm probably getting a little ahead of myself with the question, because I've still got a way to go with the bike build. I'm in the middle of the frame mods and I wanted to make sure I accounted for any kind of mount for a pan if needed. Then I started to think about where the heck a pan would go given the Jemco pipes I picked up will likely ride up tight to the frame underneath the engine.

When you say chicken wire...do you really mean good old chicken wire fencing material?? Is this the apprach most of the 2 stroke guys go? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for cheap solution that works....just want to make sure I am understanding what you're saying. Also, are there any guidelines as to how big it needs to be or how it is attached?

I won't be out for the Ohio race, but I still have hopes to make a race this year.

[Admin]

Hey Chris,

Yep - chicken wire. Home Depot, Lowes, Sears Hardware, etc... all carry small rolls of the stuff and it's not too expensive. They have "coarse" which has large spaces between the wires, "medium" that's usually about 1 inch grids between the wires, and "fine" which is typically 1/2 inch grids between the wire. Fine works best for this purpose. You size it so that folded a piece of it fits from the back 90 degree bend in the frame tubes up to the front bend. Thinking about it, a double fold would be better so that you have a solid piece as the bottom of your pan and then the side fold in and meet in the middle. That way you have smooth edges on either side. Sandwich two folded pieces of the oil absorbing pad I referenced above (two pieces will easily hold the 1400cc's of oil in your crankcase) and then slide the whole thing in-between the engine and frame. Safety wire it into place. You'll need to be able to pull it out easily to change the oil, show the tech inspector your drain plugs are safety wired, or change the pads as they get old.

I tried to take some detail shots last year at Mid-Ohio for construction purposes but it was a film camera without a "macro/micro" function. I've dusted off one of my older digitals that has this capacity so I hope to be able to post some good detail shots in the future. In the mean time, here's a side view of Eric's bike from last year - you can make out the general shape of the catch pan and how it's placed:

http://springvinmoto.com/gallery/racing ... il_catch_1

Sorry you can't make it to Ohio this year. Any chance you'll be ready by the WERA Beaverun round 8/31?

Jim

[Admin]

This gives me a real good idea of what you're talking about and the picture helps a lot...thanks. Not sure Beaverrun is happening either in terms of having my bike ready, but I may try to convince the wife to make a trip out there so that I can check things out and maybe pic up a few tips. Are you planning on being there on the 8/31?

[Admin]

Although it may have been an off year for most of the Sundial gang, the Sundial and STOGI colors were still seen in competition at Mid-Ohio. In the group shot above from left to right you've got DiamondJ (me), Mowgli (Eugene), and Desmocat (Ralph).

See it all started out at last year's Mid-Ohio. Eugene had bought back the GT500 racer he had built a few years ago and put it back on the track. Only to realize he really preferred racing his '86 GSXR750. So he decided to sell the GT500. At the time I had failed to cobble together a T500 race bike for Mid-Ohio. So a ready to run racer was particularly attractive. We settled on a price, I handed over a deposit, and we agreed we would meet up sometime in the near future to trade the rest of the money for the race bike.

Unfortunately, sometimes "life" is just an alternate way of saying "insanely busy" and we just couldn't match schedules to meet until this year's Mid-Ohio. This also meant that I once again failed to get a race school and a couple of races under my belt before Mid-Ohio thereby failing to meet the requirements to race at Mid-O. So I would have a race bike and no license at Mid-Ohio.....

Meanwhile on the other side of the USA, Desmocat was busy racing his beautiful orange and black T500 in AHRMA races on the West Coast. At the April round at Willow Springs, he suffered a catastrophic engine failure that broke a connecting rod and junked the crank. Time for a rebuild. But not enough time to get it rebuilt for Mid-Ohio.... It looked like Desmocat would be a racer at Mid-O without a race bike.

Just as nature abhors a vacuum, I can't leave well enough alone and decided that Desmo should race my "new" race bike at Mid-Ohio.

Mowgli was naturally pleased to hear that instead of delivering a race bike in need of some minor tweaks to be ready to race, he would have to spend time fettling the GT to get it ready for Mid-Ohio. He started in diligently replacing fork seals, changing oil, cleaning carbs, and the like.

The racer was shod with older Metzler race rubber. Not ancient but not fresh as a daisy either. I did have a fresh set of Avons and offered to bring them along just in case. It was decided that we would try the Metzlers and change to the Avons if we needed them.

Now I just needed to load up my trailer with a '75 T500 (handy spares pit-side) and my GS1000, pack my tools, spare parts, some clothes, race tires, more spare parts, a cooler, camp chairs, an easy-up canopy, the kitchen sink and I would be good to go.....

Mother Nature had other ideas and I awoke Thursday morning (my travel day) to one of the worst thunder storms I have seen in a while..... Not my idea of perfect trailer weather. Would I really drag my two motorcycles out in this weather, particularly since the last time I trailered bikes through this kind of rain, it took me months to get them running correctly again. Hmmm, what to do, what to do........

[Admin]

So it's Thursday morning and the rain is coming down in an almost solid sheet of water. How do I avoid getting my motorcycles soaked in an open trailer over the 466 odd miles to Ohio? Hmmm, I wonder what cargo vans are renting for these days? A quick check of the Enterprise website and I've booked a cargo van for 4 days for $158 with unlimited mileage. Cool! I'll just wheel the race bikes up my ramp to the back of the van, strap them in, and be on my way in an hour or so. My mother-in-law is watching the kids today and can run us all over to the rental office to pick-up the van. Great! The clerk at the office tells me about their "same out, same in" gas policy. I just need to return the van with the same amount of gas as I borrow it with. No problem. It just so happens the van has 1/8 of a tank (and a grand total of 84 miles on it) when I rent it. Clever on the part of the rental company - why should they buy gas when the renters should never let it dip below 1/8 of a tank while it's on the lot? I stop off on the way home at one of the "cheap" gas stations to fill up - might as well get it over with now so I can get on the road. A little bit of sticker shock here as it takes almost $100 in gas. Ouch! Hope this thing gets decent mileage!

So now I'm home and ready to load. The rain has even tapered off so fortune must be smiling upon me. I open up the back of this brand new cargo van to find.... NOT A SINGLE ANCHOR POINT ANYWHERE IN THE CARGO AREA!!!! What the heck???? The floor is completely smooth. The sides of the van are covered in plywood riveted in place. Oh hell, what do I do now?

It's been suggested to me now that it's all over that I should have gotten some of the blind toggle anchor points they make for pick-up truck beds, drilled some holes in the plywood, put in the anchors, and then insisted they were already there when I return the van. Hmmm, great idea. Where the hell were you smart asses on Thursday when I was racking my brains for a solution????

Instead, after an hour or two of pondering I came up with the plywood monstrosity! A 4' x 8' sheet of 3/4" thick plywood with two 5' x 2' sections cut out of another 4' x 8' sheet and bolted onto the ends of the first sheet to form an "I". Then a 2" x 4" stud cut to a 5' length and bolted to the front of the "I" (towards the driver's seat). The remaining bit of 2" x 4" was then cut in half and bolted to either side of the bottom of the "I". Some screw eyes at the needed points, bolt in my wheel chocks towards the front, and lay the whole thing into the van on a section of rubberized carpet padding to keep it from sliding about. And I'm ready to load. Too bad it's 4pm by now and the sun has been shining since noon........

I load the bikes, the tools, the tires, the clothes, the canopy, the chairs, the cooler, etc, etc... I have dinner with the family (why not - I'm going to be driving all night anyway) and finally hit the road at 7 or so.... Ohio here I come......