www.HogWildRacing.com
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More Press:
Last week I was contacted by an editor at MOTO magazine (Moscow). They are working on an article about our "very interesting V-Rod sidecar". As soon as their article is published, I'll post it on our web site with all our other press clippings here:
http://HogWildRacing.com/press_clippings
Results of our testing day at El Mirage (14 March, 2004):
We had another successful day in the desert on Sunday at El Mirage. Anytime the bike doesn't break and we don't crash, we come home happy! We got several hours of tough riding in as well as some tuning and adjustments. Each time out we have fewer problems. That's a good sign we're on track for success in the Dakar Rally 2005. Here are a few of the things we were playing with:
Helmet-Cam
We did some playing around with Craig's new helmet camera. It's a cigar sized unit that plugs into a standard Sony video camera. We captured a few hours of desert riding. Some segments look pretty cool. We're working on getting it into MPEG or similar format for viewing over the internet. On our next ride we'll have someone follow us with the helmet-cam to give an even better view of the sidecar and riders in action.
Exhaust Mods:
Our previous exhaust setup was too loud due to an inadequate muffler and poor outlet position. The new setup is much quieter, and allows easier talking between driver and passenger while riding. That's important on long days as in the Dakar. The exhaust still needs a small shield to protect the passenger's right foot (as proven by all the melted plastic on Craig's right boot).
Speedo Calibration:
With our wheel and chain drive being quite different from the stock V-Rod, we added an S&S speedo calibration unit. Out on the dry lake we used a handheld GPS to measure our speed to within 1/2 mph in order to determine the calibration adjustment. Unfortunately, we need a -37% calibration change, and the S&S unit only allows for -29%. So, the speedo and odometer still don't indicate correct values. Our current tires and gearing allow for a top speed of about 90 mph (145km/h) before we hit the rev limiter. The motor is clearly capable of pulling higher gearing despite our very large frontal area. On the smooth dry lake the bike feels very stable at 90mph, even fully loaded with 170 pounds (77kg) of fuel and supplies. I may go for one more tooth on the front sprocket, which will put us close to 100mph.
Fuel Injection Tuning:
The bike has been running very rich since our race at Pikes Peak. I finally got the oxygen sensor back on the bike and did a few test runs to check things out (it shows the engine is still running very rich). We downloaded several progressively leaner fuel maps into the computer with test runs between each. It's still indicating way to rich. I need to take it to a tuner with a dyno to verify this before I over do it!
Headlights:
We have two headlights on the bike. Currently one is a $400 HID, and the other is an 85 watt halogen. They are mounted side-by-side in identical reflector/lense units. We did some night riding to test out the lights. The Halogen is "ok" when on high beam, but quite inadequate on low beam. The HID is amazingly bright. It's so bright, we could hardly notice when the 85 watt halogen high beam was switched on and off. If budget allows, we'll definitely upgrade to dual HID lights for Dakar (and carry a halogen bulb as a backup).
Extra Large Supplies Box:
We tried a larger supplies box to see how it works out with passenger movements. The box is beside the passenger's left foot, and provides space for tools, spare parts, etc, as well as serving as a crude seat for the passenger. The original box holds approximately 1 cubic foot of supplies, while the new larger box holds 1.4 cubic feet. Testing shows the larger box restricts passenger movements a bit too much for comfort. We may stick with the smaller box for Dakar.
What we're working on:
Finding a primary sponsor for Dakar. (top priority)
Fuel map adjustments and dyno testing.
Exhaust heat shield fabrication.
Airflow holes in front panel to cool exhaust.
Larger front sprocket.
Rear tire "grooving" for better off-road traction.
Fabricate 1.5 gallon drinking water tank.
More sand dunes testing.
Prepare for 500 mile Vegas-to-Reno desert race in late June.
That's all for now!
Blasting through the desert at El Mirage (2 hours north of Los Angeles):
Negotiating a nasty downhill:
The 1100cc Harley V-Rod motor squeezed into a custom EML frame:
