Noot

The Doctor

It's been awhile . . . The veteran now chasin' the kid.

I think Rossi can win it again . . . ?
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Marquez is the only one, who can make his Honda work - race after race.

Jammin'

Behind Bars . . .

. . . or in a cage.

It's still Jammin'

I never really understood why they disqualified Smith. Now, it seems fair to me, the AMA gave Bryan Smith (and his team) his earned points and purse money back. When the points are close, and there's that championship on the line, all eyes are lookin' for anything it takes to win. I've watched Smith race a lot of years, and I was a fan way back when Smith was an underdog and took chances, and changed teams and worked hard to win. I don't think he was cheatin' . . . just taking everything to the edge, to win. Whatever it took. The AMA, on a second look . . . didn't think he was cheatin' either. The power of suggestion.
Go Smith Go ! You ain't on a Harley, but I'm rootin' for the rider . . . Good Luck at Santa Rosa . . .

E.K.

Roger Reiman (chief mechanic), E.K.
and Mert Lawwill (tech support)

Note the short, rear brake pedal
Extra lever on the left bar
(to touch rear brake in mid-air,
when you're goin' over backside?)
Battery low & up front
Solid low pegs
Ceriani fork
Jumpy tach
It's a jump bike !

This photo freaks me out - holy shit !
Chrome low pipes (denote an Iron XR)
His best successful jump percentage.

14 straight I guess?

Are those chrome rocker boxes ?

Loss Oiling System

That little black lever (with spring) is hooked to a rod that runs through the lower end. The end of the rod has a cup, and a seal that can open, and let all the oil out of the motor - it just shoots out, on the ground. You can do it running down the road or parked. Then you need to add more oil to the oil tank. This is the only way to keep fresh oil in the lower end. We made a special, small seal to go under the spring to help keep oil from working it's way out the topside too . . .

All the cams just have bushings (like a WL, K model or '57 Sportster). The end of the pinion is accessible from the outside of the gear cover. The VLD. Pretty neat lil' engine. They got big-twin power in a WL-type chassis !

My Right Case Half

I've done (1)Keen-Sert and (2) heli coils. I replaced the damaged oil pump shaft bushing. Now just 3 Heli-Coils, (2) more Keen-Serts, some welding, surfacing, matching - and I can press in a race and a bushing. What a mess ! Oh, and saw off(shorten) the relay mount.

Pan Project: OEM Rocker Arms and Blocks

These rocker arms are for my panhead project I started about a year ago after I'd just got done saying, "I'm not building any more bikes." . . . it's a sickness. 2 done - 1 to go . . .

Shovelhead Exhaust Seat Repair

These heads had incorrectly-ground exhaust seats. Somebody ground them way off. You could see huge amounts of light between the valve and the seat. It's like they ground them without locating a pilot in the guide, or . . . who knows? The motor had no compression, it was all leaking out the exhaust seats. We had our buddy Radar machine out the old exhaust seat, and press in new steel seats - and now they're perfect !
Noot cut new seats, ground the valves, lapped 'em in . . . nice set of heads again.

1948 WR

The 1948 WR is one of the only years this racing model has a vertically mounted magneto (like a Sportster) and a generator block-off plate. The valves are "at angles" in the cylinders, tipped towards the bore. The tappet block bores are angled. The tappet blocks themselves are straight. The small feet on the tappets are angled, and made specific for each cam - the cam lobes are straight. Confused?

I bored these cylinders for the pop-up style pistons. Intake valves and seats are ground at 30 degrees for improved flow (I heard the Indian factory did this too) I ground the exhaust valves and seats at 45 degrees for longer life. Big ports on the WR cylinders !

Ball bearings are used where applicable for the cams. 4 each in the case, 2 each in the gear cove. All the cam shafts must be polished down for a perfect hand-fit (slip fit) into the center of the ball bearings. You don't want a press fit. The OD of the ball bearings are medium press fit into the case and gear cover. I have some special set-up bearings I use that are easily removed for setting the cam end play with special shims I came up with, that are installed behind the ball bearings. These motors take a lot of time. Hours and hours of fitting, spinning and measuring to get it right !

Here's the little "feet" solid cam followers these WRs ran . . . The long feet face-each-other and are site specific for each camshaft. The tappet blocks have no threads for covers. There's an o-ring groove around the top of each tappet, and a set screw to hold the cover. The lower cover just slides over the o-ring - and a hole in the side of the lower cover secures the cover to the tappet block with that small screw. Now I'm confused.

I'll bead blast the tappet blocks and paint them original, Hi-Heat H-D Silver.

The best of times . . .

Life is filled with ups and downs, stress, heartache, pain and agony. However, joy and happiness will usually outweigh all the former - and that makes life worth living. We all know it's not always about joy and happiness for yourself - but, the good you bring and share to those who know you. Last weekend riding this old motorcycle (it could be any motorcycle) with my friends was just so fun. Everyone in their own state of mind, meeting up with others with "like" interests. The weather was just right for cruisin' 72mph down the highway. The sun was never in my eyes. The fields were so green, cattle in the pasture, creeks flowing. It was just the best-of-times which happens every once in awhile, if you're lucky. Now the '64 is all washed up & ready to go again. Somewhere? But, now I have work to do . . . so a few more can do the same thing - and have their own: The best of times . . .

LUNCH: You've Got (1)Hour - Ready, Set, GO !

I worked on other people's shit for 41 minutes. Then I worked on my own shit for 19 minutes. In my 19 minutes, I made a custom throttle cable (twice) for my Dellorto PHM Carburetor which has about 8 different fuel adjustments (of various types) and each of the 8 adjustments has a dozen combinations, so that's about 90+ different combinations. I hope it doesn't take all that ! At the least, it's all hooked up with this Motion Pro Gunner Gasser - with Biltwell Grips and Honda XR75 kill switch. Time is up.

H-D Part No. 165-32

70+ year old product . . . still in the package. Unwrap the cosmoline and oiled wax paper - and the valves are still new. No rust or corrosion. Made with the highest quality. New old stock, right off the shelf. Preserved in time. Only the Egyptians could do it better.

Genuine Motor Factory Replacement Parts

They've passed THE MOST RIGID INSPECTION

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Cosmoline: Was first developed as a petroleum based product for military storage applications requiring a rust inhibitor. It has a thick, oily wax-type viscosity. It can be removed by scraping, or applying gentle heat, and washed off completely with common light solvents. A song was sung by GIs that "cosmoline" will keep my weapon clean . . ! . . .

Jordan Baber #72

Jordan had a bit of an off-night . . . shit. But I got to have some beers and pizza with him later - Fun times JB . . . good to see you again. -Noot

Springfield All Star Short Track

46 Races . . . In case you wondered who was there ?

Kenny Coolbeth ( Exclamation Point ) !

Early evening, the day before The Springfield Mile. This historic track was prepped for a sunny Sunday. Ready to soak up the evening dew . . . fast racing awaits !

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Here's what happened:

#42 Bryan Smith was so fast, all day. His Kawasaki was the fastest motorcycle on the track. The fastest in practice. The fastest in qualifying. The fastest heat. Smith won the Dash-For-Cash by jumpin' to an early lead and pulling away a full (1)second/lap. Chris Carr (announcer) noted that "At this pace . . . Smith potentially could win by a full 25 seconds in the main event." That would be what we call "checking out" or "a run-away" . . . This is a huge margin, since many Springfield Mile finishes are within .0001/sec.

In almost a full field of Kawasaki's . . . Jared Mees' team bikes seemed well prepared and ready.

One of the most popular riders, Mees signed autographs between bites of broccoli and rice.

H-D factory rider Davis Fisher's 750 lacked power to make the main . . . but,. it looked cool !

I caught 9-Time Champ Scott Parker's interview on the big screen. He mostly talked about his bar in Michigan, and how he wants to sell it. Parker is one-of-kind. Love ya Scotty !

As the afternoon sun went down, the grandstands cast a big shadow on the starting line-up. I had my fingers crossed that somebody could at least stay with Smith . . . and not let him get away and break the draft. I think the whole crowd felt the same way - WE ALL WANTED TO SEE A RACE ! . . . and we sure did.

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In all my years of Springfield's . . . I never saw anything quite like it. As expected, after warming the tires with laps one and two . . . Smith tried the break-away in the early laps. It didn't work this time as #2 Kenny Coolbeth hung to Smith's pipes. Breathing in massive amounts of race fumes - lap after lap. You could see Smith subtly trying some different lines - but Kenny stuck to him . . . like on a string. The tension in the crowd built - lap after lap. That's a lot of tension and nerves after 20 laps I'll tell ya ! Smith and Coolbeth holding a 5 sec. gap on the next group, with Cory Texter trying to catch up.

Lap after lap - One wrong slip could allow Smith's Kawasaki to the break the draft - and he'd get away - but the crafty #2 held on his tail . . . The crowd was edgy - veteran fans knew the way this race can go . . . holy shit - the tension was high when the White Flag came out - still, Coolbeth did not pass . . .

As the pair shot the back straight, Coolbeth finally broke loose with a bold draft pass to Smith's outside - taking the lead, and gaining 3 bike lengths in the process. Expecting Smith to counter, the crowd came alive - on their feet ! Screamin' to the finish, Smith went for it - and came up .009 tenths too short. Kenny Coolbeth Jr. wins The Springfield Mile ! It went from one of the most (I hate to say "boring" main events), but - to one of the best ever. Coolbeth announced with pride: "Harley-Davidson Wins Springfield" . . . possibly the most fitting ending which could be the final hurrah for the greatest motorcycle racing engine ever manufactured . . . The XR750. Congratulation Kenny - You made my weekend !

I would like to add that Bryan Smith was most gracious in his 2nd Place speech about the race. Smith is a true champion racer in his own right, and a senior member of the dirt track fraternity. I'd sure like to see Bryan get that #1 plate (it ain't for lack of trying) and congrats to Cory Texter for his on-the-box finish. Texter just gets better on the miles every year, and will see the top spot soon.

Kenny & Hux earlier in the day . . .

Picture perfect - See ya'll soon ! . . -Ricky

Davenport Swap, Race, Party, Sleep?

I'd like to first say it was great to see some of my best 2-wheeled friends like Ricky, Amber, Hux, Sonny, Steve & Toby, Jeff & Fatty, Jordan, Klein & Co., Warren & Kendall, Jeremiah Love, Julie, Hartman, Drew, Jeremiah & Carney, Pete, Dave, Nick Haint, DA & Cyn, Griz, and many others (Hey Sid !) who . . . I'd like to say thank you for taking the time to come and hang out . . . and catch up. It was really really fun. Warren won his class after a little bit of hassle, but totally worth it. The weather held out - and a good time was had by all. Ridiculously awesome this year !