So, we left the 749R at JHP being tuned.
John has the winning combination of the dyno, the software and leads and the experience of these little bikes, in fact, he's refreshing Stuart Eastons 749R BSB bike right now, which he originally built (I hope to be able to share here).
The Nannelli bike came out at 146 at 11,500. OK, so this is a factory bike, but this is still good power for a nine year old 750.
Since peak power was about 11,000 John set the rev limiter for maximum engine life and tuned the bike to be good on medium throttle opening. I'm not racer, so I don't hit the apex and whack the throttle fully open.
The race ECU uses a specific lead to program the ECU and read the datalogger (I don't have one on this bike). The software runs on an old laptop through the serial port, or through a USB-Serial adapter.
John took me through the process of updating the ECU. Firstly, a run is made on the dyno. The results are analysed and the operator makes adjustments in the map for that specific engine speed, for that cylinder. The map is saved to the computer using MS Windows. Then, the operator exits to DOS ((I guess this is a very old version of Windows) and runs another app which sends the map to the ECU: twice, one per cylinder. The process is repeated until the operator is happy. John spent all day getting this right.
I brought the bike home and looked at the jobs still to be done before I could take it out. The tyres were old and a mix of road front and destroyed slick rear. The suspension hadn't been touched and I had no idea where it was, so new Supercorsa Pros on and I took the bike to Rob at ProTwins to set the suspension. Rob is incredible to watch. He knows how I like to ride and sets the suspension accordingly, changing preload, compression and rebound to provide the right amount of feel while limiting dive under braking and squat under acceleration. He's amazing to watch - all over the bike, turning, bouncing, thinking, bouncing, turning... The 999 and 749 like to have the rider high - this seat has almost 2 inches of padding. After Rob set the sag, I could only just touch the floor.
Off to the track!
A cold day in October may not be the best time to ride a new bike for the first time, but you've got to ride when you can, so it was with some trepidation that I took the little guy out for my first outing.
Brands Hatch is in a natural bowl and attracts damp like nowhere else. I took my Husaberg down as well, intending to use it for the first few sessions until the track dried out, but it refused to start: my kickstart technique is obviously rusty and no amount of 'think positive' kicks would wake it. I need a rear wheel starter. So, the first thing was to get the little guy noise tested. John dyno'd it without the baffles in (it was tuned with baffles out so that it would run a richer mixture with them in - no chance of burning a piston), so I left them out to get tested and see where it was dB-wise. When it fired up, it made a noise like nothing else! The guys sharing the pits with me were sure it would fail, but it just got through at 105dB.
I was in the Fast group that day, so we were first out. The first few laps were taken very carefully - all upright through Druids, which is under trees and slippery. Most of the (eight) riders in Fast pulled in after the sighting laps, but I wanted to get the tyres scrubbed in and just get used to riding the bike, so I stayed out for a few laps more.
As the morning progressed, the track started to dry, the temperature rose and confidence and speeds increased. The 'river' flowing down and across Paddock Hill eventually dried out and we were able to choose our lines towards the end of the morning, even through Druids and Clearways by lunch.
By mid afternoon, I was really gelling with the bike. I was riding the track rather than thinking about the bike and I'm sure lap times were tumbling. One of the guys in the pits was running at a similar pace: he loved the sound of the bike - he said it was like 'two wildcats fighting in a bag' : ) The bike is light - right on the 165kg limit - and it shows when braking and turning in. With the widest bars I've seen for sometime, it flicks very quickly, but it's still incredibly stable. I've been told by many people that when these bikes were raced, they destroyed the opposition on power and speed but lost it all in the corners. They are very stable bikes and can't be turned as quickly as the little 600s. Part of this must be in the frame, and part in the dynamics of an L-twin motor: two big pistons are going to be creating a lot of gyroscopic force and the rider has to overcome that. But at my pace, it turned very well! By the end of the day, I was trail-braking up to the apex, although the tyres were showing that there was a lot more lean and therefore corner speed to go. But, hey, first track ride of the year and 14 degrees air temp!
Acceleration is excellent for a small bike: the Corse box has a very long first gear and shorter 2nd, 3rd etc., so exiting the slower corners I was right in the power band and zap-zap-zap up the box to the next corner. I was able to run mid-pack for most of the day: a few of the Jap litre bikes were coming past every session, but they were very talented riders and running traction control.
The motor is flexible and really wants to rev. It picks up well and gets up into the power band quickly and without any low-down chugging.
Towards the end of the day, a small amount of oil started pooling around the vertical cylinder. Time to stop.
What a bike! It's been over a year since I bought it and almost two since I originally talked to Marco about it. It's taken more money and a lot more time than I'd originally budgeted, but it's absolutely worth it. I've learned a lot (my Italian has improved dramatically - still rubbish, but better), met a lot of very good people, online and in person and I've had the pleasure of sharing it with people from all around the world. Thanks.
Please keep checking in - I have plans!