I’ll be in Rich Oliver’s Mystery School, Pro Camp, Sept 22-25th. There is still room for you. You don’t need to be a pro racer to learn and enjoy this challenge.

Link: https://www.richoliver.net/collections/courses/products/ultra-pro-camp

I learned to fix stuff in Hawaii where corrosion is a common problem. This was a stuck banjo bolt on a F4 race car coolant tank. Step one is to drill the head off. Step two is to cut the bolt off flush. Step three is to drill out the bold leaving just the threads. Final step is to remove the threads of the bolt and clean up the tank threads.

My SV and TTR125’s are back in the shop after an awesome weekend at Willow with WERA. Three wins and three 2nds on the SV including multiple T-9 passes. On the Monday after the TTR’s did a full day of personal coaching on the Willow Kart Track. Now back to work on the F-4 car.

Controls with slop make for poor control. The aluminum clutch adjuster that I ordered is made for a larger cable end. This just can’t be. So I made a sleeve out of Delrin and put the world back in order. Why yes, that is the stock fork cap on my 2014 SV650. Because it has been winning races with the damper rod forks it came with. The springs are stronger, the oil is thicker and the holes in the rod are different sizes. $385 to rebuild, valve & spring your damper rod forks. Bike builds with this kind of detail cost a little more.

This Mini is a track day car.  The Dr. Seuss looking contraption on the front helps me run a string line along both sides of the car.  Just like using string from the sides of a motorcycle rear wheel past its front wheel.  The string projects the center line outside the edges allowing me to measure the front and rear of the wheels to calculate Toe angle.

The car wheels have been replaced by “Set Up Wheels.”  They are set to match the height of the tires and have bearings on the bottom so they move easily when I make changes to the car set up.  If you change any of the adjusters with the tires installed, the sidewalls flex taking up your change.  Then you have to bounce and roll the car to see what difference your change made.  Set Up Wheels save time and vast amounts of frustration.

Under the Set Up Wheels are four scales.  Just like a motorcycle, the weight balance is critical for happy tires/car/driver.  On a motorcycle you need to think about the weight balance front to back.  With a car you deal with, front to rear, side to side and most complicating, Cross Balance.  That is the left front to the right rear and right front to left rear.  Of course, a change to any one corner effects everything else.  On a street car with the driver on one side, compromise is the best you can do.

The scales are resting on stands that let me correct for the uneven floor and make it much easier to work under the car.

Say it with me: Ride Height, Caster, Camber, Toe, Corner Weight and Repeat.

My SV was for sale, $12,500 on Friday & Saturday and even after practice on Sunday at ACS with WERA. But I won race one, F-II and battled for the win in Lightweight SS and Lightweight Superbike. So a win and two seconds equals my bike is no longer for sale. But I can build one for you. Just to be clear, my bike is SS legal and the other two bikes in that race are superbikes but it’s better to get second in a fun battle than to race by yourself. My new PB lap at ACS was the last lap of the day, 1.40.38

Crew Chief for two riders on Friday at an Auto Club Speedway track day. You can find us in Garage 100.

When measuring for motorcycle set up you need a person on the bike. With a car the driver can be replaced with sand bags. What does that say about car drivers and motorcycle riders? Mostly, it just says cars balance themselves.

What do you do with Twins? Ride them at Apex Kart Track tomorrow, Friday all day!