The R1 needs a steering damper. In fact it needs two steering dampers. The one we have is a transverse-mount hlins unit, which is very cool in that it is an entirely bolt-on affair and mounts out of harm's way. The downside of it, for racing, is that it has to be removed every time the fuel tank has to come off, but it comes off easily. It sells for $571.95, from Parts Unlimited (www.parts-unlimited.com).
Engine Yes, there's one in there, and Kaz tells us it's stock except for some head and valve work and a three- to five-degree advanced intake cam. The starter motor's still there, and right now Kaz estimates 160 horsepower or thereabouts, without the snorkel. With it, Curtis reports a top-speed improvement at the end of Willow's front straight of 10 mph, according to the bike's digital speedo.
The hard part so far has been making the bike carburet right with the snorkel, balancing float-bowl pressure against carb-throat pressure. When it's right, it's very good, and C.A. must chop the throttle to keep from wheelying over backward through Willow's humped Turn Six. When it's bad, it's dangerously bad, but the only way to get it right is through repeated, educated trial and error. A nice bank of flat-slides would be easier to tune and would give more immediate throttle response, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it? And Kaz wouldn't have it. Instead, he's heavily modified the stock CV carbs, including tricky, epoxied-up float bowls with removable plugs that make main jet access possible without removing carbs or airbox. We would've avoided it all if PACE hadn't mandated stock carb bodies for its series.
The LeoVinci Ti exhaust is sweet, light, makes good power, not too loud and not too expensive at $781-but it needs to be removed to drain the oil. We don't like that. (Indigo Sports 770/719-3800 or www.indigosports.com; www.leovinci-america.com.)
It's amazing how quickly this Glorious Racing stuff becomes work. Work for me: I'm a certified tire-changing fool and parts scrounger. Work for Kaz: We're all growing tired of hearing how late he was up last night and how stock the bike is. Mostly though, work for Curtis: He's the poor schmuck who has to ride a bike that I repeatedly take apart and put back together. What a manly man he is, though; Cletus' 100-mph wheelies over Turn Six and flying-squirrel tales of sliding both ends at 150-plus in Turn Eight leave our mouths agape back there in the pits. His daring jabs up the inside of Turn One have the crowd ooohing. and the girls swooning.
And then the big galoot high-sides himself off while pulling out of the garage last week en route to a practice session, on a cold tire-knocked himself out cold and thrashed the right side of our bike. Why do we subject ourselves, after all these years? Why do we keep coming back? It's all right to cry, sometimes'
By Kevin Wing
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