Should I remove my flywheel???!??

[28hodge]

Trackbike only obviously, I've left it in for now as its just more convenient with charging etc, and when only doing trackdays its not making a huge difference to me.

But having started doing some racing I do think I should probably pull it off now, however last month at oulton with Wirral I got really good starts and I don't want this to be effected.

Also I don't want to many variables just at the minute so I can't make my mind up whether to stick with the bike how it is and I understand or keep changing it, lets face it I'm definately holding the bike back more than its holding me back!!

But then I read stray aliens thread and he took 2secs straight off his laptime once the flywheel was removed, I'd like some of that!!! But he also crashed pretty hard the same weekend, not after a piece of that if I can help it!!!

I'm entered at oulton this weekend with bemsee so got all Friday as a test day/quali to re adjust to the bike, I've also got a spare rubber grommet to put in place when I take the stator out!

[StrayAlien]

Hi, my crash was not the fault of the flywheel mod' it was poor rear suspension, a cooling track, and too big a handful of throttle on exit of a notorious corner. My fault. Nothing mechanical to blame. Just me and my throttle control. Best put that to bed.

It does change the way the bike works, faster acceleration means quicker weight transfer rearwards so you may need to consider your rear suspension settings. If you are anywhere near the limit of your tyre grip then a big handful might put you are your arse. I am not an ace rider, but on that day, on that tyre, with the rear suspension setup I was near that limit. A big handful cut it loose and I ran out of tarmac.

Do I recommend the mod? Yes, it will make your bike feel like it has more power, but you have to consider it as a change that may alter the equation of how you and your bike work together.

[CMSMJ1]

Yes. race bike = make it faster.

Best thing I did to mine..

[28hodge]

Tis gone, as is the stator, thank god I had a 30mm socket on 1/2 inch to fit on the windy gun, had a try with just a rachet but there was no way anything was budging, 10secs with the windy gun and job done.

Had a bit of a panic as when I took the casing off the bike it was upright on the stands, I'd stuffed rags in to capture any escaping oil, but there wasn't any!!!! Snipped the lockwire on the dipstick and it was below minimum, shittttttt,

Added 200ml to it and that had it back at minimum, so put another 250ml into it and its about a third of the way up between minimum and max.

It's not smokey and its not shoving it out the overflow but its using it somewhere!!

It was pretty close to full when I changed the oil last and its done 2 trackdays and a race meeting, so it's not using loads and it only ever gets used on track at high revs, do I need to be worried about it??

[CMSMJ1]

Just got to keep an eye on it then mate..

[28hodge]

Yeah I guess, I'll check it a hell of a lot more now, I've got 3 running engines at the minute and one complete one in bits so I'm not short on bits to sort it, I wanna rebuild one from bare cases up so I know I got one strong motor that'll last for ages, but its a winter project as gaskets etc are £££'s that I'd rather spend on track time this summer!

[porndoguk]

would be nice if the vfr had a viewing glass on them, would it be hard to do? 20mm hole, 25mm x 3mm discs - acrylic and clear resin bond between?

just an idea

[lukemillar]

I ran total loss for a while and it pissed the hell out of me. Kept the battery on a tender between meetings, but not starting the bike too frequently meant that on raceday, it was a pig to start and would run the battery down. Last time, I must have run up and down the paddock about 10 times trying to bump it and ended up dropping it. After that I fitted, a lightweight genny and now I don't worry about it! YMMV

[bollo]

interesting read from guys that have done & one that is thinking of doing it, i to am 50/50 as to do it to my race bike or not & i am leaning towards doing it if for nothing else the engine will pick up power faster

[28hodge]

Yeah i was the same Bollo some things I read and it was a bit of a no brainer, quicker spin up and the feeling of more power when there is non, but then there is the hassle factor with batteries and charging and like Luke says if you leave the bike for a couple of weeks without starting it then it can be a nightmare to get them started again and kill batteries.

I've got 2 batteries to go at so I'm going to leave one on charge and use the other then swap them when is convienant.

I have got 8 A123 cells but no matter what I do, I cannot get any solder onto them to allow me to attach battery cable securely, even with a 100w iron and every type of flux ever created!!

If i could get them working then they would run all day no bother, but i would have to buy yet another charger!!

The flywheel and stator are now completely removed, I'm racing this weekend so i'll let you know how it all goes, its the effect it may have on the start that I am most worried about!!