Rain, rain go away!!

Mother's Day weekend brought rain which kept me home instead of competing at the Blackhawk Farms MidWest Region Double Points Weekend and the MidAmerica (MAM) Memorial Day weekend looked to be a washout also, so no racing.

The MAM weekend weather looked really bad in the Omaha area, so that with $3.75 per gallon gas, 5 hours one way on the road and possible tornados in the forecast another race weekend was spent at home.

I'm glad we made that decision as we would have been caught in some very severe weather on the way home which produced several tornados within a 30 mile radius of my home. That would have been a terrible way to end a race weekend!

There is a race at Blackhawk Farms next weekend, May 24 - 25 so Troy Walbaum and I are heading over to race Sunday in Lightweight SuperSport and Lightweight Grand Prix. This is a MidWest Region only race so it won't help our points chase in the Great Plains region but I need to get the bike on a track to check it and myself out.

Let's hope for a sunny day!!

Klingenborg Farms join the team as 2008 sponsors!!

Welcome, Doyle and Deanne Klingenborg to the Longus Motorsports Buell XB12R race program for 2008!!

The Klingenborgs farm in the Stout-New Hartford area and Doyle is a pretty serious kart racer as well. It's going to be great fun to have a farm as a sponsor on a racebike from Iowa! Doyle could have used this sponsorship on his own racing efforts so I've got to work even harder now. That's a good pressure to have!

Thanks, again, Doyle and Deanne!!

New AMSOIL sponsorship secured!!

My local AMSOIL dealer, John Kahrs has helped me secure a sponsorship through AMSOIL's Dealer Co-op Racing Program. John and corporate are splitting the cost of my sponsorship, suppying products, (mainly oil), for my program throughout the racing season.

Check out the complete AMSOIL line at John's website http://www.johnsoils.com/

This is a great opportunity for my program especially since this is just my second season! Thank you, John!!

Getting ready to start the season with a new look!!

Just finished up installing the 1125R fairing and prepping the bike for the upcoming race season.

Silver Eagle HD/Buell sponsored a dyno day on 4/19/08 so even though the race bike spent some time on it over the winter I took it out for one last go. Since the air conditions were better, it turned better numbers, 94.76 horsepower and 80.38 foot pounds of torque!

Unfortunately, I cannot make the opening rounds at Topeka this week because several members of the track team I coach qualified to compete at the Drake Relays. I'm really excited that they make it to Drake so I'll debut at Blackhawk Farms in a few weeks!!

Winter upgrades

It's been a COLD and SNOWY winter here so it seems as though the racing season is a long way off but of course I know it will be here before I know it so now is the time to check the bike over and make any changes.

The race bike proved to be a solid combination last season so the winter upgrades were to improve rideabity without adversely affecting reliability.

The first upgrade required the expertise of ace Buell tech, Reese, who installed the Buell high performance oil pump drive gear which was developed from the Buell racing program to provide additional longevity. After it was back together Reese tweaked the timing and dialed it in on the dyno. Right now it is registering 91hp at the tire which should be more than enough to be competitive in the Amateur Lightweight SuperSport class this summer as long as I can continue to improve my riding skills.

The second upgrade was to replace the 3.5lb transmission pulley with a new aluminum piece from Evolution Industries, weighing in at 15oz, thanks, Gary!! Any weight that can be removed from the rotating mass will equate to a quicker launch out of the corners, plus it's just a bolt-on!

The third upgrade is the intallation of a 1/5th turn racing throttle from Double Z Racing. I hope this will help me maximize all the XB's power by getting to wide open throttle easier and quicker! Thanks, Lohman!!

The fourth upgrade is in the works right now. I'm replacing the stock XB fairing with an 1125R piece for improved aerodynamics and an updated look. The 1125R fairing should have a noticeable "aero" improvement at tracks with long straight-aways like Road America. The big task now is to develop a pair of fiberglass headlight plugs, paint the yellow number plate, add my numbers and get it installed. When the parts came in Troy and I had to do a test fit a the dealership, looks good!! #143 is Troy Walbaum's XB12R race bike.



Well, I'd better get to work!!

Thanks to Troy and everyone at Silver Eagle HD/Buell on the smooth transactions while purchasing my new 1125R. We did the deal on Thursday, a day I had off of work due to snow. I guess if I have to make up a school day in June at least it was worth it!!

The new Buell 1125R has arrived!!

It's finally here!! The new 1125R arrived at my local dealer, Silver Eagle HD/Buell late last night, was unpacked and prepped this morning and here I am ready to ride this afternoon.

Unfortunately, it's 36 degrees with lots of ice and snow still on the roads so this is as close as I going to get to the streets for awhile. I'll miss my trustly XB12R street bike but I'm sure it will end up in a good home.

No racing on this one but I am looking forward to lots of street and trip miles and some laps at a track day or two this summer!