NVFR Re: Jeremy McWilliams racing Buell at Daytona

Dave declared: "Anyways Its downright laughable to think a Buell will last
200 hard miles. It would fall apart if you pushed it by hand for 200 miles. It
may go 200 miles going bar hopping in Wisconsin. "
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----------------------------------------

Good hyperbole, Dave, but the point being made is that this isn't a regular
Buell. ;P

If it were based on a production model, it would be closer to being legal.
But it's not, and it will be there, and the Japanese manufacturers aren't going
to lay down for it.

I've met the head engineer for this project, Jamie McNaughton, and he has a
LOT of endurance racing background, as does Erik. It'll hold together just
fine, and it will be a good, relatively inexpensive race bike for privateers in
sprint races.

What it won't be is competitive in a 200 mile race, because the frame doesn't
carry enough fuel to compensate for the increased displacement and horsepower
versus the 600's. They'll make a lot more pit stops, go through more tires,
and they won't have Mat Mladin's Yoshimura team getting them out of there in 28
seconds, either. Oh, and Mat won't be riding one. Or Miguel. Or Jake. Game
over.There's an interesting article on the project in last month's
Roadracingworld Magazine.

I don't think anyone is equating the current street Buells with the early
ones in terms of engineering and build quality. They're improving, getting ever
closer to Ducati and Aprilia's record for unreliability, they're just not as
cute!

If this racing model gets them closer to the day when they can use a modern
engine and the improved geometry that a more compact lump would allow, that's
one day closer to the day we'll have an American sportbike that would be worthy
of consideration, which would be nice.

It makes it a more interesting race, anyway. If they win, maybe Yates will
attack them on the podium!


Dave Solo
MIchigan



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I'm with Dave S on this one. Buell has a great lead engineer on this
project, who has real road racing experience besides the drag racing noted
in the article. It should be interesting. I don't expect Buell to clean
up, but I do expect them to be in the hunt instead of on the sidelines.
This special project should gain the motor company a little more exposure
and I would think translate into future improvements to the base vehicle.



On a side note, I met Erik several years ago when a few VFR riders invaded a
HD dealer when the Lightning was first introduced. We had Erik's undivided
attention talking sport bikes for at least 15 to 20 minutes. It was great
watching all the HD riders and converts (BMW guys who moved to HD when they
became popular) waiting patiently for the 3 of us to stop being a
distraction. Erik was fun to talk to, down to earth, and truly enjoys
riding ... in the mountains and canyons ... and didn't seem to have much
patience for the bar hopping crowd. I hope he can be successful in moving
the company to produce world class bikes.



Carl


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------------------------------------------

Good hyperbole, Dave, but the point being made is that this isn't a regular
Buell. ;P

If it were based on a production model, it would be closer to being legal.
But it's not, and it will be there, and the Japanese manufacturers aren't
going to lay down for it.

I've met the head engineer for this project, Jamie McNaughton, and he has a
LOT of endurance racing background, as does Erik. It'll hold together just
fine, and it will be a good, relatively inexpensive race bike for privateers
in sprint races.

snip


If this racing model gets them closer to the day when they can use a modern
engine and the improved geometry that a more compact lump would allow,
that's one day closer to the day we'll have an American sportbike that would
be worthy of consideration, which would be nice.

It makes it a more interesting race, anyway. If they win, maybe Yates will
attack them on the podium!


Dave Solo
MIchigan




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--- DSoloBF@xxxxxx wrote:
> I don't think anyone is equating the current street
> Buells with the early
> ones in terms of engineering and build quality.
> They're improving, getting ever
> closer to Ducati and Aprilia's record for
> unreliability, they're just not as
> cute!

Perfect analogy!

> If this racing model gets them closer to the day
> when they can use a modern
> engine and the improved geometry that a more compact
> lump would allow, that's
> one day closer to the day we'll have an American
> sportbike that would be worthy
> of consideration, which would be nice.

Yes, I want Buell to succeed, just as much as I want
American cars to outlast and outperform foreign cars.
But I just bought a Camry because the chances of it
getting 245,000 miles mark like my 1990 Mitsubishi 4x4
-- with no breakdowns and no major replacements -- are
very good; you can't say the same about American cars,
although they have improved in the last decade. Geez,
my Mitsubishi still has the original clutch!

I think America should be able to produce the best of
everything: cars, sportbikes, etc., and not have to
resort to (false) patriotism to sell products. (Note:
I'm talking about reliability and performance; other
countries have us outgunned when it comes to price
because there's no way we could compete against
3rd-world cheap labor.) We've got the talent AND the
resources, but for some reason, we simply lack the
will to do it.

Of course, if Buell wins, I'll need a big knife and
fork to help me eat these words :-)

> It makes it a more interesting race, anyway. If they
> win, maybe Yates will
> attack them on the podium!

No, if Yates crashes into McWilliams trying to go
around him, then he'll bust out the kung fu action.
;-)

Warren

PS. Sorry for the rant. I do believe that dissent is
the sincerest form of patriotism, though.

Passion is the difference between living and existing
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Hilarious Dave! Thanks for the belly-laughs!
Cheers,
BKL

--- DSoloBF@xxxxxx wrote:

> Dave declared: "Anyways Its downright laughable to
> think a Buell will last
> 200 hard miles. It would fall apart if you pushed it
> by hand for 200 miles. It
> may go 200 miles going bar hopping in Wisconsin. "
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------
>
> Good hyperbole, Dave, but the point being made is
> that this isn't a regular
> Buell. ;P
>
> If it were based on a production model, it would be
> closer to being legal.
> But it's not, and it will be there, and the Japanese
> manufacturers aren't going
> to lay down for it.
>
> I've met the head engineer for this project, Jamie
> McNaughton, and he has a
> LOT of endurance racing background, as does Erik.
> It'll hold together just
> fine, and it will be a good, relatively inexpensive
> race bike for privateers in
> sprint races.
>
> What it won't be is competitive in a 200 mile race,
> because the frame doesn't
> carry enough fuel to compensate for the increased
> displacement and horsepower
> versus the 600's. They'll make a lot more pit stops,
> go through more tires,
> and they won't have Mat Mladin's Yoshimura team
> getting them out of there in 28
> seconds, either. Oh, and Mat won't be riding one. Or
> Miguel. Or Jake. Game
> over.There's an interesting article on the project
> in last month's
> Roadracingworld Magazine.
>
> I don't think anyone is equating the current street
> Buells with the early
> ones in terms of engineering and build quality.
> They're improving, getting ever
> closer to Ducati and Aprilia's record for
> unreliability, they're just not as
> cute!
>
> If this racing model gets them closer to the day
> when they can use a modern
> engine and the improved geometry that a more compact
> lump would allow, that's
> one day closer to the day we'll have an American
> sportbike that would be worthy
> of consideration, which would be nice.
>
> It makes it a more interesting race, anyway. If they
> win, maybe Yates will
> attack them on the podium!
>
>
> Dave Solo
> MIchigan
>
>
> > _______________________________________________
> Vfr mailing list
> Vfr@xxxxxx
> For subscription and delivery options:
> https://lists.cs.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vfr


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>From: DSoloBF@xxxxxx
>It makes it a more interesting race, anyway. If they win, maybe Yates will
>attack them on the podium!


Yessss! I like it! ;-)

Later...ROB
'99 GL800RR-SP2
Spouse's- '90VTR250
Profile Page: http://profiles.yahoo.com/veefer800canuck
Website: http://www.geocities.com/veefer800canuck/index.html


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