https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/201...miller-for-tt/
At Isle of Man TT, Macau Grand Prix, and China!
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https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/201...miller-for-tt/
At Isle of Man TT, Macau Grand Prix, and China!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hughlysses
Cool!
And this:
“We’re still confident that we haven’t seen the last of Erik Buell and the EBR company so for us it was a simple decision; either give up on this year, or continue fighting and show the world just how incredible the EBR machines are on the roads. We felt we had a responsibility to all of the guys back at the factory to keep their bikes racing this year,”
Is a very interesting statement. That's not just some guy speculating on the internet. That's coming from somebody who must have contact with people at the factory and must be ensuring parts will be available and making decisions with money on the line.
I feel more confident than ever that somebody will continue making EBR motorcycles. The big questions are 'who' and 'how' and 'where'.
Here's a little Saturday morning boost for y'all: on board video for a full lap with Mark Miller on the Splitlath Racing EBR 1190RS at Isle of Man last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpR-aOV29EE
Getting ready to head over to IOM:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AG8u0d_Qik
:thumb:
A bright moment during a dreary time. Since we know Miller and he's an American, he seems to be getting most of the press, but Hudson Kennaugh sounds like he's got some potential to do very well.
Let's have some fun, and maybe this will open the door to some information about what's really going on behind the scenes. Could Erik show up? On one hand it would seem he has some free time. On the other, I have a feeling he might be very busy behind the scenes.
And he might want to be careful that he doesn't get in front of a reporter and say something he shouldn't.
BTW- Buell/EBR "Homecoming" (yearly Badweather Bikers event in East Troy) starts today. It'll be interesting to see what info those guys turn up in talking to locals/former employees.
From Splitlath's FB page; new color scheme for the bikes:
Attachment 400
Note the #72 bike in the back. I'm betting they got a bike or two and spares from Larry Pegram's defunct WSBK team.
Well that paint scheme is certainly . . . eye catching.
It looks like when manufacturers don't want clear pictures taken of upcoming vehicles.
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by oddball
Yep. I want to see what it looks like at speed. It might look pretty cool at 150 mph.
lol, a bizarre swirling zebra vortex.
Next video from Splitlath, first practice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMDb-eebIj0
Apparently this is a 600 (brand unknown) he's using for early practice sessions. Not sure if he's competing in this class or not.
Cool video!
I'm slack in posting updates. The team was struggling with a fueling issue which resulted in TWO seized engines (compared to NO engine problems during the entire IOM TT practices and races last year). Here's Mark's update from Facebook on Saturday:
Quote:
Isle of Man TT 2015 update 08 -- Windy
Saturday:
Hi all,
The team anticipated Saturday practice but alas two things happened instead.
One, the wind kicked up as expected but gusts up to 60mph brought with it a suspension of all on-track activities.
Two, a private helicopter owner flying only himself found himself touring the racetrack only to kill himself in a solo crash on the side of the mountain in said wind. Real shame.
The boys (men, as they're all old as f**k) eventually haha worked hard and well on obtaining much needed fuel economy numbers regarding our two fuel tanks, information very helpful in devising a scheme for tomorrow's two Superbike pitstops.
As it turned out, our awesome powerful American Made Rotax engines in our EBR race bike consumed more race fuel per minute than the second petrol tank under the subframe could feed our fuel injectors on track. In other words, we found out today with meticulous scientific testing (true story) that our gas-guzzling P-51 Mustang motors were actually producing more power and torque through fossil fuels than our fuel tanks could feed her.
The good news is we found, Tony our lead man, discovered we could double our flow of fuel to the injectors by a fairly simple but substantial tweak.
Okay, we didn't get out on track today, which sucks ass, but we're optimistic that when we next do, our fuel starvation issues of the past are behind us.
During our two pit stops we'll also be now filling both tanks separately each with it's own "gas cap". Should be fun. So, I'll jump off the bike initially to allow the rear tank to be filled followed by the front fuel tank as normal. If all goes to plan we shouldn't lose but a few precious seconds during each pit stop. A massively positive thing as I'll be riding me arse off for every tenth of a second risking my life out on the circuit. Would hate to lose any time in the pits.
The six (6) lap race has effectively become our first serious practice as I've only completed something like five laps to date this year. So be it.
Going to fit a soft Metzler tyre for the first run, then a hard, then a soft again to see how everything compares. Going back to the second soft affords us the opportunity to try some suspension tweaks in the second pit stop.
Getting all this mom?
Summary, we're going racing tomorrow. Heh heh
Big hug around the world,
Mark
And video update number 4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NgYWAHTBLc
***SPOILER ALERT***
Poor Mark can't catch a break. He posted on Facebook earlier today. In today's superbike race, he had to stop within 5 minutes when his gas cap fell off. I guess it was just a goof in the pits. At least he got stopped safely; that could have turned out a lot worse.
Maybe somebody from Hero's on their crew?
Video update #5, recorded on Saturday prior to today's race attempt as noted above:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMCPlpbMyz4
Today's update from Mark. More bad news, but they're gonna give it one more try...
Quote:
Isle of Man TT 2015 update 10 -- One lap, Superstock practice, Monday:Hi family and friends, if interested we got out for one lap of practice tonight but before half way into the lap the third engine in a row seized before even starting the mountain road. Coming into Sulby Bridge after clocking 170mph on the Sulby Straight, I down shifted into the tight 1st gear corner only to have the RPMs drop unexpectedly (again) with the rear wheel stepping out unexpectedly and almost throwing me into the same tree that Jenny Timmoth did a few years ago.
Something's wrong.
Got it safely to a stop, parked the bike against a hedge, again, and got a ride back The Grandstands on the back of another fan's bike, this time a group of cool dudes from Holland. I swear, I've never seen more of this beautiful island in the past 10 years than I have on the back of these fan's bikes this year. They navigate the traffic while I sight see like a tourist, looking out to sea, the hidden houses on the coast, the sheep, the birds, the clouds, the sun, the meadows and little pubs. No foot pegs for the back seat this time, however, for a 45 minute ride. Heh heh
I've helped to coordinate the final plan of action for the Splitlath team now which includes our tired but motivated team members Tony and Peter Ward among others installing our FINAL spare engine, only this time with one new variable (which I cannot discuss). Huge thanks to Ryan Farquhar for his good advice about racing big twin cylinder engines around the roads. Three motors in, three motors broken for this fortnight. Thank God they're only USD$11,000 each. <Cough.> Poor John Dimbylow, the team owner.
Bottom line is we'll start our race tomorrow with yet again a new motor and an unproven overall scheme. Hopefully with any luck we'll finish it for once without incident.
In practice today before we broke I had to negotiate my bike through several crashes on the track. William Dunlop was laying in the middle of the road exiting a blind corner while his brother, Michael, who had rested his bike against the hedge next to the incident, kneeled down beside him.
William is said to be smashed up a bit, broken ribs and punctured something or other internally, but nothing life threatening. His TT is over. Hope he heals up soon. Guy Martin has taken over William's duties on the "Victory" Brammo TTZero entry.
Well done Bruce Anstey for his Superbike win last night and Hutchy for his Supersport win today. Good stuff lads.
Off to bed now, it'll either work tomorrow for us or it won't. I'll be covering the clutch lever with a bit more vigilance in the interim, that's for sure.
Big hugs, good night, Mark
Ps, Here's some visuals from a day or two ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMCPlpbMyz4
I never got around to updating this. Mark managed to start the last race but was DQ'ed during the pit stop at 2 laps in when a minor oil leak was found.
Motopodcast posted an audio interview with Mark Miller here:
http://www.motopodcast.com/episode/e...marcs-dog-days
Mark's interview starts about 1:26:00 in.
They know what caused all their seized engines and they corrected it before the last race. He's not at liberty to say what the problem was due to a "sponsorship conflict". I'm guessing something like the wrong motor oil? Man, that's crazy. What a wasted opportunity due to apparently an easy-to-correct error.