Well it's the day after one week till Christmas, or Saturday if you prefer. It's cold, rainy and terrible weather for a motorcycle rider. I quickly looked through the TV program and found no racing, no college games, no NFL games and whereas I don't get HD channels, I am out of luck. The news on the puter did nothing but darken my day more. Kawasaki released today the news that they were suspending all roadracing programs. Lets see if I got this straight, no Team Green, No Red Riders, the Blue Riders are in-house with Graves, Buell went belly up, and the only real team left is Yoshimura and their main man retired and went back to Aussi-land.

DMG or AMA Pro Racing (that's a hyperbole) announced purse payouts for 2010 and that won't be luring anyone to their ranks soon. I submit for your inspection.

AMERICAN SUPERBIKE
The rules for American SuperBike have had minimal change from 2009. On most event weekends, American SuperBike will have a fifty (50) mile race on Saturday and a second fifty (50) mile race on Sunday. A 2010 SuperBike License and a 2010 AMA Pro Membership is required for participation in this class. The riders earning the three (3) highest point totals on an event weekend will be paid podium bonuses as follows: 1st - $3,500.00, 2nd - $2,000.00, and 3rd - $1,000.00. Competition numbers will be assigned to licensed entrants for registered machines, as in 2009.


DAYTONA SPORTBIKE
The rules for Daytona SportBike have had minimal change from 2009. On most event weekends, Daytona SportBike will have a fifty (50) mile race on Saturday and a second fifty (50) mile race on Sunday. Riders with either a 2010 National Pro Expert License or a 2010 SuperBike License, and a 2010 AMA Pro Membership are eligible for participation in this class. The riders earning the twenty (20) highest point totals on an event weekend will be paid purse awards as follows: 1st - $5,000.00, 2nd - $3,000.00, 3rd - $2,000.00, 4th through 10th - $1,500.00 each, and 11th through 20th - $1,000.00 each. Competition numbers will be assigned to licensed entrants for registered machines, as in 2009.

SUPERSPORT
The 2010 SuperSport equipment rules are very similar to those in place for 2009; however a careful reading of the 2010 rulebook is important to avoid confusion or inadvertent violations. On most event weekends, SuperSport will have a thirty-five (35) mile race on Saturday and a second thirty-five (35) mile race on Sunday. Each SuperSport race will contain two categories of riders competing on the same track at the same time, the Top Guns and the Young Guns. The equipment rules for the two categories differ only in the required use of eligible equipment by the Young Guns riders. Riders in both categories must have a 2010 AMA Pro membership. The riders earning the ten (10) highest overall point totals on an event weekend will be paid purse awards as follows: 1st - $1,500.00, 2nd - $1,000.00, 3rd through 10th - $500.00 each.

That was copied directly from AMA Pro Racing PDF file on their website. To boil it down to it's simplist terms, you can make more money racing in the SportBike class than in the SuperBike class. The noise you just heard was the ah-ha lamp lighting. Why would anyone want to race SuperBike? A guy once asked if I knew how to make a million dollars racing? Start with two million. That was thirty years ago and adjusted for inflation today you would need five million to make a million.

So for the sake of useless tasks, if you won every SuperBike race next year, based on the current schedule a rider could earn $35,000 I'm not sure, but I don't think that will quite cover the cost of going racing. If you race the SportBike class and won every race a rider could take home $50,000. That should cover the costs, if you are a privateer and you and your buddy drive to every race in a van pulling a trailer, stay at Motel 8, eats snacks and drive thru food, don't waste your tires and the engine goes the entire season without breaking or refreshing. Oh! and by the way do not crash. Not only does crashing suck, but it affects cash flow, both in and out.

Lets boil it down a little more: Bike at cost $10,000, Bodywork 2 sets unpainted $2000, Rear shock $1500, Cartridge set front forks $2500, Spare wheels 1 front and 1 rear $1000, Braided lines $200, Stands $275, Tire warmers 2 sets $1500, Rearsets $500, Engine work (no special parts just Supersport spec stuff) $3000, Tires 2 sets $800, Spools and sliders (trinket stuff) $300, and this doesn't include all the other stuff needed to follow the circuit. If you want to be competitive today a rider will need two bikes and then everything doubles. The grand total, not including oil, gas, and all those other little things adds up to, drumroll please....$23,575 and you haven't won a single race yet. Let's see you win $35,000 minus initial outlay $23,575 give you $11,425 to buy vehicle gas, motel rooms, food, extra chain and sprockets, OH! crap I forgot entry fees, $2500 for fees and your partner has to get in so there's another $1000. Now you have $7925. Remember now we only have one bike, so if you want to have a spare bike at $23,575 you are now in the hole, after winning all the races, -$15,650. Where do I sign up? There is still a flaw in my plan, tires for each race are going to run $400 a set and as a guess I would expect a privateer to use at least four sets weekend at $1600 times ten race weekends added to our deficit comes to $31,650.

In 1991, we raced the AMA 600 Supersport series and it cost me $38,000 for the entire year. We didn't race any West coast races that year, staying to the East coast only. Nineteen years later I doubt that you could follow our schedule and not spend that amount twice over. Is professional racing dead in America? I'm not ready to pronounce it dead, but it has had a serious heart attack and rehab needs to be finished before anything good happens.

Where will racers go? I would expect most to go back to their roots, club racing. WERA and CCS still have good programs and there are other local programs that are seemingly enduring. I just received a letter from CCS announcing the reduction in purse payouts, but at least the entry fees are not going up. Based upon rider turnout at the ROC (Race of Champions) it would indicate that the economy has heavily impacted our sport as well.

Rubber Doughnuts

Love them or leave them you gotta have them. TIRES! A riders best friends are one of the most misunderstood items on most riders bikes. There are several things that I have learned over the years about tires:

1. All tires loose air.

2. They work best when properly hot.

3. They cost more than you want to spend on them.

4. If you don't trust them then get rid of them.

5. Shiny tires don't work!

6. Worn tires can cost more than your bike.

7. Used tires should be used to keep your boat from banging against the dock.

8. Bigger may not be be better.

9. It does matter where and when they are made.

10. They work great in wet weather, if you pay attention.

I could list more, but for now these ten points are the most important. So lets talk about them one at time. I know you don't want to hear this, but tires are porous. That means that air can pass through the rubber. It also means that you, the rider are required to check the pressure upon occasion. You should own a good pressure gauge, not the $1.00 special in the checkout lane at your local Dollar General, no offense Dollar General. Spend a few dollars on a good gauge. Go to an auto parts store and get one that is liquid filled, shock covered, with a flex hose that swivels. It will look cool in your tool box and your riding buddies will be impressed. You will also get accurate readings every time. Don't loan it people. Keep it close to your vest and it will reward you with a better handling bike.

Cold days and cold tires are bad for traction. This may sound trite, but it will not be so when you grab a big handful of throttle coming out of a corner. It won't matter if you are on a track or your favorite road. I have seen many experienced racers throw there prized possession down the road on the warm-up lap due to cold tires. I have also talked with many streeet riders who have brought a wrecked baby to me to fix because they did the exact same thing. Basic rule of thumb is; if the ambient air temperature is below 70 degrees then caution should be your byword. I bet there is a study somewhere that gives exact grip to temp ratios, but I could care less, I'm not an engineer. The key is to let your tires warm up before you hammer down. This is true on the street and on the track even if you use tire warmers. Coming from an age of no tire warmers and hard compound tires, it was imperative to properly use your warm up lap to warm your tires. I have seen riders take off their warmers go to the grid and before is time to take their warm up lap the tires had lost 80 degrees of temp. By the way, weaving does not warm up tires.

OK I agree...tires cost alot, especially good ones. But most of the time people either buy more tire than they need or less than they should. Simply put tires should match the bike and the riders ability. For example: Maladin will probably not run sport touring tires on his GSXR and Joe Bob should not run soft slicks on his 250 Rebel. Extreme example I realize, but the point is that if you do track days then you might want to stay away from Oriental tires of unknown origin. I am not going to specifically name brands for fear of reprisal, but if you have never seen a sponsor sticker on the side of a race bike with their name, then I would run away. Enough said about that.

Tires have Karma. Did I say that? I had "TYT" written on duct tape covering the speedo on my racebike and people would ask what that meant. "TRUST YOUR TIRES" It means that I could go race and forget about my tires. I came from a bias tire racing background, they were skinny, hard, slippery and the best of them sucked, and when radials hit the scene I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Tires got better as you rode them. It takes that little worry away and riding becomes much more pleasurable.

Two simple things her...shiny equals slippery tires. Get it? If they are new or you sprayed something on them to make them look better, they are slick when shiny. Don't spray anything on your tires ever, unless it's soapy water. I have had at least twenty people bust their ass in front of my shop seconds after I told them to be careful...new tires are slippery. Two got carted away in the meat wagon with broken body parts. Were they just not listening?

If you can see the inside, you need to stop riding. That white stuff in the middle of your tire is the the tires guts. It could be either a cord or steel bands. There is no traction left unless you can find a way to only ride on the side of the tire. Stop now! Nuff said. Cord = wreck + injury + $$$

Ditto the above paragraph. Stop coming to my shop and asking if I have any used tires for sale. If they are used, then they are done. If you want race takeoffs, I would say be very very careful about what you get. Some race tires do not react well on the street. There is a reason they are called race tires and not street tires. Many will never come up to an operating temp that makes them sticky when used on the street. If you have a race or track day background, then you know what I'm talking about. Buyer beware is the best advice here.

If your rim is 4 inches wide then don't put a 180/55 on it. The tire will roll over on itself and the handling gets weird. I don't care if your buddy did it and said it handled great. You may go one size larger in most instances and things will be fine , but any larger and all bets are off.

On your tire is more information about your tire than most people ever use. Tire size: Width (in mm), Height (% of width), Rim size (inches), Manufacturer, Country of manufacturing, Max load, Max tire press, Date of build (week & year) and some more stuff. The one that's important to sportier riders is the build date. Expressed in weeks and years it tells the reader how old the tire is, for example: 4407 = fortyfourth week of 2007. When you buy a tire online you should be aware of the build date, as older tires may not have the traction qualities of a new one. Tires, batteries and humans don't get better as they get older, except in my case.

I grew up in Florida and it rains a lot there. I have ridden more in the rain than I ever want to again. The grooves on your tires are called sipes or siping and the purpose is to disperse water. If you have a sport tire there is very little siping on the sides. Great for traction on dry roads, terrible for wet roads. The key here is to be aware of lean angle in the wet with these tires. You need to extend braking and be softer on the lever. I raced at Mid-Ohio in the rain two years in a a row. Sitting on the starting grid, I watched the rain approach towards the front straight. When the wall of rain was on the other side of the bridge that crosses the track just before turn one, the green flag fell for the GTO class. I sat there on my GTU bike and watched the entire GTO class disappear into a wall of water. I remember thinking, "This is going to be fun." Shortly thereafter our green flag fell and forty riders charged off into the waterfall. At the completion of the first lap there were riders down in every corner and most corners had more. One and a half hours of drenching rain were in my future. At the halfway my partner would get to have as much fun as I was. At the forty-five minute mark I exceeds the traction limits or my riding ability and fell coming out of the Keyhole. After a trip to the pits for a healthy dose of duct tape I was back on track and lapping almost five seconds faster. Now I knew how fast I could go in the rain and I got comfortable with it. We, my riding partner and I got fourth place in class that day and eleventh overall. You can go fast in the rain, but you need to relax and go with the flow.

Things that make ya go HUH?

Every now and then you run into a problem that defies common sense. It also seems to occur most often with the simplest of things. Recently I had a PW50 kick my butt over a no spark issue. How in the world can such a thing happen? I had a few nights of cognitive dissonance over an electrical system that didn't function correctly and there are only a switch, a coil, a pickup coil, a charge coil, a control unit, CDI unit and the spark plug.

The owner had taken it to another shop and was told it had a bad generator. $200.00 plus labor to fix. Labor was quoted at "a couple of hours". I don't know what that was, but it was probably going to cost at least $300.00 after taxes. They spent $100.00 for the bike. OK it wasn't a cream puff. It's missing the airbox, both fork tubes are bent and the rims wobble a bit. Hey! its a Christmas present for a little kid. If someone had given it to me at his age I would have treated it like a new Aprilla V four.

I first checked the "generator" more accurately an AC Magneto and it was putting out voltage and the pulse coil ohm'd out good. So much for the bad "generator" theory. Next I ohm'd the ignition coil and it checked good. Tried a new plug, still no spark! Checked all the wire connections, all good. PW50's have a unique switch on the throttle side. It has a Start, Run and Stop setting. The purpose is so little Johnny or Mary doesn't pin the throttle and wheelie off into oblivion. First it starts and then you switch it to run and off they go. The stop position is obvious. PW's also have a control unit. It's unclear what it does and the service manual from Yamaha doesn't help clear up it's function either. I know that it has five wires and they need to be checked.

Luckily, I have a good relationship with the local Yamaha dealer and they loaned me a Genuine Yamaha service manual. Armed with the manual I check the control unit. According to the service manual I should have an infinity reading on the W/R wire from positive across the other four wires. I have infinity reading on the W/R wire from negative across the other four wires. The plot thickens!

Go home for the night and read the service manual section on electrical system is my next plan of attack. After reading the section on ignition I realize that I am missing some point. I don't know what it is, but I am sure that I am missing it.

Next morning I decide to start from scratch. I follow the service manual step by step and get the same readings on every step that I had gotten before. The pulse coil checks good in both ohms and output. The charge coil has the same results. The ignition coil checks good on both primary and secondary circuits. All wire connections are good. All wires have continuity. (Thank you for only having a few wires) The handlebar switch has the right connections in all the right positions. The control unit still is basakwards. And there is no check for the CDI. "Replace unit with one of known value to evaluate." Great advice unless you don't happen to have another one.

Now here is the dilemma. I know that something is bad...but what? The control unit is backwards and there is no check for the CDI. Are both bad? Is one bad? Which one? I need a drink. I'm going home. I hope that I will awaken in the middle of the night, sit straight up in bed and go AH HA! That doesn't happen and as dawn arrives I still have no enlightening moment. CRAP!

The next morning the customer calls and asks what I found. I really wish I had a good answer, but as I try to explain the issue, I realize that she has no concept of what I am trying to explain. I finally just say, "I'm still working on it." She wants to know how much it's going to cost. "I don't know at this point." is my response.

"OH!" she says."

"Will it be ready for Christmas?" she asks.

"Yes!" I respond enthusiastically. I do hope I sounded convincing.

It's now time to make a decision. If I want to finish this creature in time for Christmas I will have to order a part and if it's the wrong part I will have order another part and ordering parts takes time. What to do? What to do? The control unit costs $120 and the CDI costs $60.

Time to go home. I need a drink!

I ended up calling a couple of my mechanic friends and talking with a friend here and they were as perplexed as I am. No help there.

End result, I order a CDI. Fed Ex delivers it, I plug it in, I say a prayer and spin the motor and all praise be to Micky Mouse the thing sparks like crazy. Problem solved and I need a drink.

The moral of the story: Service manuals can be wrong and sometimes experience is the best resource. A little luck helps also.

Seriously, after you have been doing this for as long as I have, I need to trust my gut feelings more. I need to have faith in what I know and not second guess my judgements. But, there are times that all you can do is go HUH?

Welcome to my motorcycle mechanics blog!

I am a avid motorcycle rider, racer and mechanic. I started in the motorcycle field when I acquired my first bike in 1960, a little Honda 50. After I got out of the Air Force I went to work full time at a Honda dealership as a mechanic. In 1974 I started college and in 1984 I started teaching Motorcycle Mechanics and Small Gas Engines at Lake Brantley HS in Altamonte Springs, Fl. I retired from teaching in 2005and in 2000 purchased sole ownership of a small repair shop called "Somethin' Extra Cycles." I still own that shop, but we moved from Florida to Knoxville, Tennessee in 2005.

The purpose of this blog is to help people fix their bikes. Other than that, I hope to make a million dollars doing this. (That's a joke!)

I'm not exactly sure were this is going go but it should be fun. If you have a problem and have had a problem getting it fixed give me a shout and maybe we can fix it together. I have lots of service manuals in my library and lots of experience fixing them.

I don't know didlly about Harleys so if you have a problem with one I will only be able to give basic info about mechanics and not be be specific like I can with Japanese an Euro bikes.

I have a successful background in AMA roadracing with a privateer finish of sixth overall in the 1991 600 Supersport Championship. Several entrys in Superbike Racing and the now defunct EBC Endurace Challenge that we raced from 1985 to 1996. Lots of offroad experiencce in MX and Eastern Hare Scrambles.

I love two-strokes and mildly dislike fourstroke dirt bikes for reasons I may go into later. I don't have a favorite brand of bike, but I do own 2 GSXR 750 roadracers and a GSXR 1000 Streetbike. I also own a 76 Goldwing Pickup, a 1992 XR100, a 2000KX250, a 1980 XS650 Streettracker, a 1996 YZF600R Superbike (modeled after a bike that Sport Rider mag built using an FZR crankshaft), a 1988 Honda Hawk 650, a Chinese, (made in Viet Nam) United Motors 90 ATV, and some other stuff that I don't remember right now.

I am also an opinionated proponent of Road racing in America. I got to race in the AMA during the recent glory years and I have strong views of the current state of disrepair in roadracing, but my opinions are not the purpose of this blog. But if you ask I will respond with my opinions.

So if you have a question ask and I will try and help you fix it.

Always remember rubber side down and metal side up.