Race report!
The first race weekend on the new to the shop Daytona 675. The differences between the 749R and the 675 are night at day. The 675 is lighter which I could really feel in the transitions between Turn 1-3. This being a new race bike, I wanted to show case exactly where we are starting from. The full Penske suspension allowed us to really tune and chase the handling of the track as the temps went up. I started off practice on the AMA Dunlops that were on the bike. ...They are a tough tire and would require a lot of time to develop the feel. After two practices, I decided to go back to the Pirelli tires I had great success with at Roebling and Daytona. I also made a rear sprocket change and compression and rebound adjustments. The GTU race saw times that matched my best times (1:39-1:40) on the 749R. Not bad for a bike I had only ridden for about 30 minutes. Each race I had to start on the back row so getting through traffic was difficult. As temps went up, problems surfaced. First the front brakes began to grip less and less, but dragged worse and worse killing top speed. There will be a very in depth write up on what we do to solve this problem. Handling became the new issue. After playing with the compression and rebound adjustments I was able to bring the lap times back down a little but finished the day at a 1:41. Not the speed we were hoping for but it is at least a starting point. Two top tens for the weekend while disappointing, is something to build on.
The next race this bike will be lighter, make more horsepower, and stay consistent the whole day. I want to thank all of my sponsors: Bell Helmet, Sidi Boots, US DESMO, Spy Optics, Shorai Batteries, Vortex Sprockets, VP Fuels, and Cycle Gear. Look for new paint and parts on this beast!
The first race weekend on the new to the shop Daytona 675. The differences between the 749R and the 675 are night at day. The 675 is lighter which I could really feel in the transitions between Turn 1-3. This being a new race bike, I wanted to show case exactly where we are starting from. The full Penske suspension allowed us to really tune and chase the handling of the track as the temps went up. I started off practice on the AMA Dunlops that were on the bike. ...They are a tough tire and would require a lot of time to develop the feel. After two practices, I decided to go back to the Pirelli tires I had great success with at Roebling and Daytona. I also made a rear sprocket change and compression and rebound adjustments. The GTU race saw times that matched my best times (1:39-1:40) on the 749R. Not bad for a bike I had only ridden for about 30 minutes. Each race I had to start on the back row so getting through traffic was difficult. As temps went up, problems surfaced. First the front brakes began to grip less and less, but dragged worse and worse killing top speed. There will be a very in depth write up on what we do to solve this problem. Handling became the new issue. After playing with the compression and rebound adjustments I was able to bring the lap times back down a little but finished the day at a 1:41. Not the speed we were hoping for but it is at least a starting point. Two top tens for the weekend while disappointing, is something to build on.
The next race this bike will be lighter, make more horsepower, and stay consistent the whole day. I want to thank all of my sponsors: Bell Helmet, Sidi Boots, US DESMO, Spy Optics, Shorai Batteries, Vortex Sprockets, VP Fuels, and Cycle Gear. Look for new paint and parts on this beast!