What blows about mopeds?

Those damn drum brakes!

They suck, suck, suck!  Number one complaint I had during the race event....those awful, terrible, commie bastard drum brakes!!!!!  Grab TWO hand's full...and pray to THE GODS that you slow down enough....crap!  SUCK!

So I'm fixing that problem....with the biggest rotor I can fit on that tiny ass 16" rim.....

Power...plenty.  Fade...non-existent.  Cool factor...exponential!

This is the same rotor used on my TL1000R...and the caliper is from an SV650...a floating 2 pot unit...should grab it plenty hard, but not too much so (I hope).

Problem about to be solved!

Done.

Race Day

October 13th...race day was upon us.

We met at the track early to get in some practice time...and to meet the other riders.  As we were setting up the sunshade, Haas says "you won't believe what I forgot"....well, we already had the frame up, so we elected to keep it up and channel energy from the gods.

There was an outstanding turnout for the final race of the NEMA season....20 riders, and nearly as many support people...the place was packed!

The paparazzi was present as well...complete with 'press pass'

I greet the fans (family!)

Heading out for the first heat...

All 3 members of 'Das Psycho Racers' grouped up...
(there was talk of "misplacing" Haas' gear shift lever, but the bike was lacking in power, so we let it slide)

The whole team ran in the JR class, I also ran in the PRO as well....I was looking for all the track time I could get.  I managed to finish 6 out of 8...not too bad for my first day out.

A bit of a gap had opened, but I was working on it...

Running wide to let the fast guy through...

yeah my tounge is out! ((blow me!))

Closing in for the pass...

Coming into the corner like a bat out of hell!!!

Overall, I don't think a moment passed where someone wasn't laughing or smiling like a Cheshire cat.  We came away with lots of ideas for our bikes, and our confidence built for next year.

Last minute prep

Turtle said it best "Isn't the last minute stuff great!"

It was Thursday night....and I was waiting for my new sprockets to come in before the race on Saturday.  The bike had a 27 tooth up front, and a 20 in back....good for top speed, but acceleration could be measured in minutes, not seconds.  I was waiting for a 24 tooth front sprocket, and 26 tooth rear.  They made it...and what a difference!

Everything was coming together...last thing I needed was a number plate.  I used a plastic cover off a composition notebook, and some green duct-tape....the brass eyelets really stepped it up...looked far cooler than I expected.

Team 'Das Psycho Racers' meet

Haas convinced Turtle to join the team, and we all met for a day of wrenching at the Moto Warehaus.

Turtle landed a Puch Maxi in a seedy side alley deal (dollar amount has yet to be disclosed)...and went to work stripping off every piece that didn't make it faster.

With the front fender and headlight gone, it already looked faster....time to cut off more!

At one point Haas says to me "Freddy, can you hand me that fire extinguisher over there"...figuring this was a preventative measure, I slowly stroll over...grab the extinguisher, and turn...to see a raging fire under his bike!  Laughing the whole time, he put the fire out, and stepped back to let the fog clear.  

Those Germans are crazy!  Ha ha ha!

Just a week to go till the race...

Getting ready for the first race

The next month was spent getting the bike ready for the final NEMA 2012 race (http://www.northeastmopedracing.com/index) at Cherry Valley Motorsports Park.

First step was cutting off the seat and tank mount (garbage), and welding in a new brace across the whole frame.

This brace will take some flex out of the frame, and give me a solid base to properly mount the tank and seat.

New softer shocks and clip-on handlebars were next.  The stock shocks are 280mm, but I had enough room to fit 300mm shocks and have the chain clear the swing arm...so I went with the longer stroke shock.  

I had to modify the clip-on's as they wouldn't stay put no matter how tight I torqued them down...a threaded hole and set screw took care of that problem.

How it all started...

I'm visiting my father in Virginia, and he hands me the telephone...it's Haas...he says "Freddy, want to race mopeds for Moto Warehaus?"  I say "Will it cost me less than a grand?", and he replies "probably 250"....and I say "hell yeah!"  That was August 22nd...on September 11th, I bought a moped for $500 from a guy 20 minutes down the road.  

It had potential, but needed some serious cleaning up....

The headlight, license plate holder, and center stand had to go.  The rear shocks were from a Harley Sportster, and were so stiff, it was like riding a hardtail...no good.  The seat mount was terrible (welding was awful, and nothing was straight).  It was geared for top speed....and couldn't get out of it's own way.  Oh, and the foot-pegs were so long that cornering would be seriously compromised.

It had some things going for it though.  It's black, has a 64cc Airsal piston kit, aftermarket pipe, and a Delorto 16.16 carburetor...all a good start.