Kitchener/Waterloo area, c u next trackday riders thread! | Page 227 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Kitchener/Waterloo area, c u next trackday riders thread!

Is it really worth the drive? Probably not, but for me there's a significant degree of nostalgia.

IT's a stupid long drive for sure, and if you're on the road even a hair after 5am you'll get stuck in Toronto traffic.
Agreed on the nostalgia - same for me. Haven't turned 20% of the laps there that Doozer has, but it's got a place in my heart.

Oh yeah, you forgot to mention the crazy curbing that helps keep cars on track - a few of the curbs may as well be anchored down concrete cinder blocks edging the track.... friend of mine fractured several bones on one 2 years ago.
 
I've lost a few knee pucks and bruised some shins along the way. It hasn't been repaved in ~30 years or so. There's about 20 different kinds of pavement. Get comfortable being uncomfortable over all the seams.

IT's a stupid long drive for sure, and if you're on the road even a hair after 5am you'll get stuck in Toronto traffic.
Agreed on the nostalgia - same for me. Haven't turned 20% of the laps there that Doozer has, but it's got a place in my heart.

Oh yeah, you forgot to mention the crazy curbing that helps keep cars on track - a few of the curbs may as well be anchored down concrete cinder blocks edging the track.... friend of mine fractured several bones on one 2 years ago.
 
Friday, Sept.7 - SMP Long Track


The riders meeting was quick with an average number of riders out to enjoy the sunshine. With perfect conditions, by 9:05 the battle ground was ready for the showdown. No rain in the past few days meant the track had a lot of rubber layed on it to let the sticky-ickies do their job. A whirly bird and two military cargo planes were dispatched to capture aerial footage of the event of the century. With 3 different live angles from the sky meant there was no way fans were going to miss any of the action. Eager spectators couldn't buy tickets if they tried.


A half burnt SC2 from mosport (due to some inaccurate pressure readings late in the day) was not the star of the day, but it was sure the entertainment. Like a peice of sidewalk chalk worn down to the nub, it left its mark. Hahaha. Both the tire gauge and rubber were subsequently fired putting an end to their short careers.


The targets for our heros were 2:14 and a 1:55 respectively. Noticing his partner reminiscing about his glory days in the pits but struggling with the foe, the duo went for a team approach. Known for it's humility our enemy, the "stop watch" is feared for it's "take no prisoners" attitude. Fortunately one of the many film crews at the event caught the briefest glimpse of our heros secretly training for the battle:


https://www.facebook.com/181081971942109/videos/328639347682239/


After a great lunch our re-energized protagonists were back in action. A new weapon was revealed into the arena. A new compound medium Dunlop rear slick. Unsure of what to expect, the stage was set. Each would have to negotiate frequent waves of moving obstacles to fine clean air and clear track in search of this enemy. Finally after an opening and a hand full of throttle, it was time. The crowd gaps. But it wasn't going to be that simple. The stopwatch brought a partner in crime as well. The ultimate super weapon that stops enemies in its tracks. The red flag. The red flag, known for it's stealthiness and ability to strike prey when least expected is the crusher of dreams. Every time one of our heroes finds the highly coveted "clean lap", it strikes. A few false alarms but one serious off in 4B took a while to clean up and offer them a chance to think.


The stars aligned and both of our heroes got to work. During the second last session of the day Dave put in a personal best of 2:08. Triumphant, he was told by his partner to take it easy during the last session. He simply replied "you're name is not Julia" and would do no such thing. He hits a 2:05 on the 2nd last lap of the day to prove his point. The crowd went wild. With a few tweaks of the noisy crayon, our other crime fighter managed to set consistent mid to high 1:53's with a 1:53.4 topping the day.


After the epic battle, our news team caught up with our hero, Dave "now I have 3 balls" W. When asked what the secret to success is, all he could say was "it's all in the wrists". Both inspiring and confusing advice for everyone. You can catch the replay on the TSN highlight reel.
 
Lol nice I was there too..

I didn't do quite as good.

Best times 2 years ago on a r6 was 2:05

Yesterday couldn't get under 2:17 on a gsxr 750.

Still can't manage to figure this bike and/or shake off the rust since my crash

1:53 consistently wow

Friday, Sept.7 - SMP Long Track


The riders meeting was quick with an average number of riders out to enjoy the sunshine. With perfect conditions, by 9:05 the battle ground was ready for the showdown. No rain in the past few days meant the track had a lot of rubber layed on it to let the sticky-ickies do their job. A whirly bird and two military cargo planes were dispatched to capture aerial footage of the event of the century. With 3 different live angles from the sky meant there was no way fans were going to miss any of the action. Eager spectators couldn't buy tickets if they tried.


A half burnt SC2 from mosport (due to some inaccurate pressure readings late in the day) was not the star of the day, but it was sure the entertainment. Like a peice of sidewalk chalk worn down to the nub, it left its mark. Hahaha. Both the tire gauge and rubber were subsequently fired putting an end to their short careers.


The targets for our heros were 2:14 and a 1:55 respectively. Noticing his partner reminiscing about his glory days in the pits but struggling with the foe, the duo went for a team approach. Known for it's humility our enemy, the "stop watch" is feared for it's "take no prisoners" attitude. Fortunately one of the many film crews at the event caught the briefest glimpse of our heros secretly training for the battle:


https://www.facebook.com/181081971942109/videos/328639347682239/


After a great lunch our re-energized protagonists were back in action. A new weapon was revealed into the arena. A new compound medium Dunlop rear slick. Unsure of what to expect, the stage was set. Each would have to negotiate frequent waves of moving obstacles to fine clean air and clear track in search of this enemy. Finally after an opening and a hand full of throttle, it was time. The crowd gaps. But it wasn't going to be that simple. The stopwatch brought a partner in crime as well. The ultimate super weapon that stops enemies in its tracks. The red flag. The red flag, known for it's stealthiness and ability to strike prey when least expected is the crusher of dreams. Every time one of our heroes finds the highly coveted "clean lap", it strikes. A few false alarms but one serious off in 4B took a while to clean up and offer them a chance to think.


The stars aligned and both of our heroes got to work. During the second last session of the day Dave put in a personal best of 2:08. Triumphant, he was told by his partner to take it easy during the last session. He simply replied "you're name is not Julia" and would do no such thing. He hits a 2:05 on the 2nd last lap of the day to prove his point. The crowd went wild. With a few tweaks of the noisy crayon, our other crime fighter managed to set consistent mid to high 1:53's with a 1:53.4 topping the day.


After the epic battle, our news team caught up with our hero, Dave "now I have 3 balls" W. When asked what the secret to success is, all he could say was "it's all in the wrists". Both inspiring and confusing advice for everyone. You can catch the replay on the TSN highlight reel.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
Friday, Sept.7 - SMP Long Track


The riders meeting was quick with an average number of riders out to enjoy the sunshine. With perfect conditions, by 9:05 the battle ground was ready for the showdown. No rain in the past few days meant the track had a lot of rubber layed on it to let the sticky-ickies do their job. A whirly bird and two military cargo planes were dispatched to capture aerial footage of the event of the century. With 3 different live angles from the sky meant there was no way fans were going to miss any of the action. Eager spectators couldn't buy tickets if they tried.


A half burnt SC2 from mosport (due to some inaccurate pressure readings late in the day) was not the star of the day, but it was sure the entertainment. Like a peice of sidewalk chalk worn down to the nub, it left its mark. Hahaha. Both the tire gauge and rubber were subsequently fired putting an end to their short careers.


The targets for our heros were 2:14 and a 1:55 respectively. Noticing his partner reminiscing about his glory days in the pits but struggling with the foe, the duo went for a team approach. Known for it's humility our enemy, the "stop watch" is feared for it's "take no prisoners" attitude. Fortunately one of the many film crews at the event caught the briefest glimpse of our heros secretly training for the battle:


https://www.facebook.com/181081971942109/videos/328639347682239/


After a great lunch our re-energized protagonists were back in action. A new weapon was revealed into the arena. A new compound medium Dunlop rear slick. Unsure of what to expect, the stage was set. Each would have to negotiate frequent waves of moving obstacles to fine clean air and clear track in search of this enemy. Finally after an opening and a hand full of throttle, it was time. The crowd gaps. But it wasn't going to be that simple. The stopwatch brought a partner in crime as well. The ultimate super weapon that stops enemies in its tracks. The red flag. The red flag, known for it's stealthiness and ability to strike prey when least expected is the crusher of dreams. Every time one of our heroes finds the highly coveted "clean lap", it strikes. A few false alarms but one serious off in 4B took a while to clean up and offer them a chance to think.


The stars aligned and both of our heroes got to work. During the second last session of the day Dave put in a personal best of 2:08. Triumphant, he was told by his partner to take it easy during the last session. He simply replied "you're name is not Julia" and would do no such thing. He hits a 2:05 on the 2nd last lap of the day to prove his point. The crowd went wild. With a few tweaks of the noisy crayon, our other crime fighter managed to set consistent mid to high 1:53's with a 1:53.4 topping the day.


After the epic battle, our news team caught up with our hero, Dave "now I have 3 balls" W. When asked what the secret to success is, all he could say was "it's all in the wrists". Both inspiring and confusing advice for everyone. You can catch the replay on the TSN highlight reel.
Awesome write up!! Although I think there was just a *little artistic flare....lol!
A HUGE thank you for coming out on track with me, showing me lines and for the constructive criticism at the end of our session. I worked on my problem areas for the rest of the day and it really showed! My last time there I was running in the 2:18-2:20 range so this was a massive improvement!
BigEvilDoer - I'm coming for you!


Oh, and Smergy and I really were in that video clip!
831948de88900c6fb89d82ef74a72ae8.jpg
 
I also offer non-constructive criticism, incase you need some
 
[video=youtube_share;P9LfbaXP6HI]https://youtu.be/P9LfbaXP6HI[/video]
 
Awesome write up!! Although I think there was just a *little artistic flare....lol!
A HUGE thank you for coming out on track with me, showing me lines and for the constructive criticism at the end of our session. I worked on my problem areas for the rest of the day and it really showed! My last time there I was running in the 2:18-2:20 range so this was a massive improvement!
BigEvilDoer - I'm coming for you!

Forget about that tractor... you're coming for me! The best I recorded (only recorded two sessions) last time out was a 2:04.89. Extremely green track though, pushing the front through turn 1 sort of green. Next time I'll see what's left in my sack.

Oh, you might want to have your 3 ball problem looked at by a doctor. :p
 
BigEvilDoer - I'm coming for you!

AH... That explains the earth shaking all around me... like the T-Rex from Jurassic Park... But more like:

[video=youtube;d-sALU_hveA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-sALU_hveA[/video]
 
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The R1 performed beautifully.

To be fair, the conditions were ideal, which helps. Unfortunately the last 2 track days the R1 has developed an issue starting. In particular on cold starts, but warm and hot starts also struggle more than they should. Often it takes multiple attempts to get it fired up. I thought it was the new Shorai battery I put in, but the OEM battery is doing it as well. Voltage looks sufficient, both left on a tender, but I have yet to test current draw and try the heavier VFR battery in it. The OEM battery doesn't feel weak, but its still possible. It has become progressively worse, so I'm thinking its mechanical in nature. Perhaps a worn start motor or start clutch. No error codes. The motor rolls over several times, but often fails to catch. You get the occasional hint of it catching, but its becoming less and less with each start pass. More diagnostics to come, but any thoughts would be welcome.

A rider's biggest fear = the bike won't start and you have no idea why.
 
I did a quick Google search and it seems to be an issue with the crossplane engine going back to 2009. There's a couple of different theories, but the guy in the video swapped out his starter for an R6 one and said that cleared up the issue.

https://youtu.be/50oke4XE0n0
50f6417806c45c192758bfe4b34412f3.jpg
 
Thanks for the ideas guys. The obvious stuff will go first, no fuses blown, voltages look good. I'll make sure we have fuel pressure and ignition to be sure, although she ran fine at SMP, so not the likely culprit. Valves, you never know so they are worth measuring. After that, disconnect the fuel controller and see if anything changes. Pre-2015 models show occasional issues with a faulty crank sensor (no error code, but doesn't mean its right). Other than that, maybe a starter...

The mystery continues for now.
 
So I took most of the R1 apart up to the valve cover. Plugs look good, coils are firm in place, valve clearance is where it should be (and surprisingly consistent between all of the valves). That said the rocker arm/pad setup would make it quite easy to change valve clearance, with what looks like a simple calculation.

It would be nice to measure the current draw of the starter, but i don't have a spec on what it should be, so not particularly helpful, nor do I have a 15 amp multimeter.

I did take the starter apart. Looks fairly clean in there, no burnt wires or obvious signs of problems. Brushes all measure within spec length and resistance. Springs seem fine. 2 of the 4 brushes are soldered in to the housing, so replacing them could require some creativity. Interesting, in the service manual the instructions for the removal of most things is too vauge, i.e. "remove X". Either way cleaned the surfaces, maybe the brush contact is weak for some reason.

I still think its the start motor. We'll reassemble it all and test it. Beyond that, removing the external fuel controller, and pulling the plugs again to validate spark + fuel from the injectors. Maybe a weak relay, who knows. Worst case replace the starter but that's about $500 for a new one and I don't have any indication its actually the problem. *aggravated*
 
So I took most of the R1 apart up to the valve cover. Plugs look good, coils are firm in place, valve clearance is where it should be (and surprisingly consistent between all of the valves). That said the rocker arm/pad setup would make it quite easy to change valve clearance, with what looks like a simple calculation.

It would be nice to measure the current draw of the starter, but i don't have a spec on what it should be, so not particularly helpful, nor do I have a 15 amp multimeter.

I did take the starter apart. Looks fairly clean in there, no burnt wires or obvious signs of problems. Brushes all measure within spec length and resistance. Springs seem fine. 2 of the 4 brushes are soldered in to the housing, so replacing them could require some creativity. Interesting, in the service manual the instructions for the removal of most things is too vauge, i.e. "remove X". Either way cleaned the surfaces, maybe the brush contact is weak for some reason.

I still think its the start motor. We'll reassemble it all and test it. Beyond that, removing the external fuel controller, and pulling the plugs again to validate spark + fuel from the injectors. Maybe a weak relay, who knows. Worst case replace the starter but that's about $500 for a new one and I don't have any indication its actually the problem. *aggravated*

How hard is it to remove the starter? Perhaps you can try someones starter and see if it resolves the issue. It's frustrating not knowing
 
To get to the starter, tank, air box, throttle, a bunch of harnesses, upper and lower injectors, velocity stacks, intakes and drain the coolant (the coolant pipe into the block runs right over top of the starter, but oddly they don't mention it in the manual).
 
After 4 days of searching, the culprit has been identified.

At the track it would take from 1-5 tries before it started in the last couple track days. Once it started, it was good, no hesitation. I thought it was the battery, nope. Then I suspected the starter, since it rolls twice nice then just dies out from lack of power. Maybe it's just rolling too slow. I cleaned up the brushes a little and the mating surface, but it was already pretty clean. Check the fuel injectors with a rag, all 4 spray and leave fuel on a shop towel. Check the pump pressure, seems around 40 psi where it should be. Pull the plugs, clean. Run them I see spark. ok, maybe the timing is just a bit off. There's a crank angle sensor that is common to fail according to the forums, but its integrated in the stator and pricey to just arbitrarily replace. Measures within spec. Ok maybe its the aftermarket fuel controller incorrectly altering the spray, disconnect all 20 harnesses, same deal, no dice. Maybe we just need more voltage, use the truck running at 14.1V. Nope, still no dice but the starter feels strong as can be with the extra voltage. The symptoms say it should be mechanical, not electrical, but I can't find anything mechanically wrong. Nothing has changed electrically. Check all the fuses again, check the grounds, maybe a faulty ground. Nope. To pull the valve cover you have remove the rad + a bunch of other junk. Measure the valves, they are fine. Check the key delete harness. Maybe one of the relay contacts for the starter is flaky, all of it checks out. Check the plug gaps, coil resistance, etc etc. All fine.


Ok, time for a rethink. We need fuel, spark and air. You can feel the valves sucking in air but maybe an air leak? How about we just fire some fuel straight into the velocity stacks and see what happens. She tries to catch, but never gets going. Try again, does the same and fails and now everything is covered in a fine film of fuel. Then I think WWJD or "what would john do", for those that know who I am talking about, this will make sense. Why he would take a piece of vinyl eves trough, cut 4 holes in it, 1 for each stack, duct tape the end of the pipe and duct tape it to the velocity stack (variable length stack). You've heard of forced air induction, how about forced fuel induction? Get a spritzer bottle set at the ultra fine mist setting.

A few squirts into the tube and she comes to life, but then dies. More fuel and she runs fine. Ok, it's a fuel problem. wtf, we had fuel out of the injectors before, pump pressure, every time it started at the track it had must have had pressure. Test the pump again. Pressure seems low now. I dis-assemble the pump. Can't see anything. Just run the pump without the housing, goes, but is not crazy strong but flows. I think there is something caught in the pump. If the pump is able to prime before start, the pressure probably keeps the blockage at bay for the duration until its shut off again. If the blockage moves, the results vary.


Ok a pump, $650 at tricity and backordered until november. Yeah, good one. $400 new from the states all in. More than I want, but used fuel pumps make me worry and were hardly less money online. Most places in the states are back ordered too. Ok, lets validate the theory. So we continue down the "what would John do" road and do some transplant surgery fitting the VFR tank to the R1 for a VFR1, a new hybrid motorcycle :) Turns out the fuel connectors are interechangable with some easy modifications, but the harness is different. Run the pump direct off the battery. Check the fuel pressure, runs like a champ.
 
Sounds like a crap load of work....
Glad you sorted it out though.
No other pumps from other Yamaha models can be fitted?

As for the hybrid... A Honaha or a yamonda?
 
They changed the pumps in '15, you used to be able to fit a 600 pump to the previous model, but I don't believe that is the case anymore.

It's a VFR1 for the record ;)
 
If the pump arrives in time (should be tuesday) and everything works, next trackday target is Sept.25 @ GBM, weather permitting, anyone interested?
 

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