June 2004
Well, this was a different month altogether. June is a double points month, which means you score twice the usual points for any finish. It also means that EVERYONE comes to race. The grids were really full. I was optimistic because I had spent another month getting the new motor settled in, got the clutch adjusted so it didn't drag, and had things more-or-less set to where I thought I could think about racing again instead of what I needed to fix on the bike.
Some things had changed though. Along with everybody and his brother being ready to race, there were now THREE NEW 749's on the grid. One had Roadracing World's Steve Atlas at the helm, one had Richy Hedley from Santa Barbara Motorsports, and the other was being run by Kenny Kopecky, ex-SuperSport Champion. My chances for BOTT Middleweight Championship were not looking good. With relatively little drama I worked on setup, trying to get more weight on the rear tire because when I get near the limit the rear slides first. Also, with the new configuration, I get pretty frequent head-shake coming out of 9 onto the main straight. Very annoying, but manageable. I am playing with overall height, and rear height, trying to get more ground clearance, and better turn-in on three. I also got time to run the bike over tot he Dyno and have the PC re-mapped. Made a pretty big difference. This motor is not the same as the old motor, and the different exhaust probably matters as well. Pulling about 108bhp on the L&L dyno, which is fine.
So, on Sunday I ran the F-40 Lightweight. Got 7th. Not too bad but I need to do better and I am sure I can once I get settled on the bike. The second race was F-Twins, where I got a 4th since Kenny is now beating me too. I thought I could pull it all together in BOTT MW. I was even more optimistic when I heard that Richy had blown up the 749 (Rod bearing) and was going to be running his old 748. I have beaten him on that bike before, so I was hoping I could do it again. Things were going OK, I was starting to catch up to Kenny, who was right behind Richy, when MY CLUTCH FRIED!!!! Damn it! I have decided I hate the STM Evoluzione clutch. They need really expensive tools to work on, and they are shit. I had to nurse the bike around for a few more laps, finishing 5th! In the process everything associated with the clutch got sooo hot that my boot almost melted on the footpeg!
I am not making the progress I want to be. I am putting a new clutch in and getting back into this. Next month is Jeff's wedding, so I will miss racing, but I will be back in August.