Dyno availability at trackdays

speedster_chris

speedster_chris

New Member
A few years ago, there was a dyno + guy to fine tune the bike that was available at a Barber trackday (with NESBA, of course!). I was just wondering if that thought has been entertained by the wonderful NESBA staff?? I know the suspension guys are more pertinent to everyone having a better day, but I think people would definitely still take advantage of this.

Any thoughts?
 
Mikey75702

Mikey75702

Member
I have a guy that wanted to do this and when i asked, it was run up the ladder and I was told it did not fit wrll with nesbas philosophy of making us better riders. It sends the impression that horsepower is more important.

We can see what the higher ups post here though
 
PITZER

PITZER

New Member
I don't remember having a dyno at any of the SE events... But there was a guy in Atlanta that approached us about coming to events. The issue, as I remember it was that he was going to have to pay a vendor fee(per the track not NESBA) of around $250-$300.
Then there is the practicality of it.
1) A member pays for a trackday at rate of $X, does he want to spend the day with the bike on a dyno or the Track?
2) to build a custom map for a specific bike it takes a few hours of testing and running. This is why shops charge $300+ to do this.
3) The tracks do have a noise ordinance where race motors are not allow to run between the hours of Xam and Xpm. (This is an extension of item 1.) This would limit the number of dyno tuning that can happen before of after an event.

I am getting old and my memory is getting bad but this is what I remembered......
 
S

sheepofblue

New Member
Mikey75702;179510 wrote: I have a guy that wanted to do this and when i asked, it was run up the ladder and I was told it did not fit wrll with nesbas philosophy of making us better riders. It sends the impression that horsepower is more important.

We can see what the higher ups post here though
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A proper tune does not necessarily increase HP. I had the RC done and honestly cannot tell you if peak power was increased at all (we did not bother to do a before and after). What it did do was make throttle response nice and smooth and power delivery was greatly improved, worth every penny.

I can see the other point though since the way to make money would be setup to do HP pulls rather than custom maps so people could brag. That would yield less $$ per runs but potentially more runs per hour. Of course this mode would violate philosophy.
 
HondaGalToo

HondaGalToo

Control Rider
What Pitzer said about the time.

As an aside, many many moons ago with some other org at Pocono FUSA they had a guy there just pulling dyno runs to tell folks the hp output. The idiots set the trailer up with the back (and therefore the exhausts of the bikes being tested) pointing directly at the garages where everyone was pitted. Made for a really loud, miserable day for those of us in the garages. Really stupid.
 
Mikey75702

Mikey75702

Member
I understand what the point of a custom tune is. When I had mine done on the tl, it only picked up ~3 HP. But it improved drivability through the rev/throttle range. I was just repeating the answer given to me when i asked on behalf of my dyno guy. He takes his dyno inside his trailer to all of the major bike weeks (ie Daytona) and does the pulls inside the trailer, so he is used to making it mobile. But once told the answer I was, I settled for it because in all actuality, the control riders always seem to say work on your skill, not the bike... so I think they are trying to teach people how to do the best they can with what they have vs buying the latest rocket, and doing the scream and park.
 
slowpoke

slowpoke

New Member
IMHO - a dyno tune is ALL about a nice, smooth power curve much more than HP.

If anyone's at NJMP, Markbilt's dyno room is literally one mile from the paddock and the guy is a jedi master w/ the dyno in addition to his other services.

I get a kick out of some riders bragging about HP #s when you hear their bikes coughing down the straight and going off like a popcorn maker. F- HP, give me a smooth curve.
 
stow

stow

New Member
Vinny from Proline showed up at a NESBA event at Barber about 4 years ago with a dyno. He was doing dyno pulls, I am not sure if he actually did complete tunes. I remember this because a friend of mine took his bike over for the dyno pull and found out his CBR 600 only made 85 horsepower. Come to find out he had the power commander connected to the secondary injectors instead of the primary injectors. It was a great day. :D

EDIT: This could have been at an STT day. And it was more than likely in 2006 and not 2007.
 
speedster_chris

speedster_chris

New Member
stow;179592 wrote: Vinny from Proline showed up at a NESBA event at Barber about 4 years ago with a dyno.
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That must be what I remembered - my dad had his Gixxer 750 tuned that day.

I'm 100% in-line w/NESBA's philosophy, I was just thinking that a short jaunt on the dyno would at least HELP smooth out the power delivery, and would be much easier than taking half a day and going to the local shop. My bike is plenty fast for me - it's taming that power that I'm interested in. But as always, the devil's in the details (i.e., cost).
 
stow

stow

New Member
speedster_chris;179612 wrote: That must be what I remembered - my dad had his Gixxer 750 tuned that day.

I'm 100% in-line w/NESBA's philosophy, I was just thinking that a short jaunt on the dyno would at least HELP smooth out the power delivery, and would be much easier than taking half a day and going to the local shop. My bike is plenty fast for me - it's taming that power that I'm interested in. But as always, the devil's in the details (i.e., cost).
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Where are you located?
 
speedster_chris

speedster_chris

New Member
The traveling circus of 3 green Kawis is based in Asheville, NC. However, I'm several states away. Thus, to have anything done on the bike usually requires that someone else do it.

What would you recommend? Would Jamie James be the best? Also, my bike, a 2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R, has a Bazzaz Z-Fi unit on it, rather than the more common Power Commander. If I do anything, it'd be for Rd. Atlanta, as Barber is in just a couple of days.
 
stow

stow

New Member
Rick Matheny (RM Racing) is just 5 miles East of Road Atlanta. I would give him a call and see if he can work with you the night/day before Road Atlanta. Rick is the man. He built and tuned the engine for Zemke's Daytona 200 bike and was part of the pit crew. He has worked in the AMA paddock for years. I have had a lot of different people work on my bikes over the years, and Rick is by far the best mechanic I have used and the only person I will use now. Actually my new 750 is at his shop right now having the head gone through and getting tuned on the dyno. Oh and Rick can tune any race kit (Yamaha, Kawi, Suzuki, Power Commander, Bazzaz, etc.).

Rick Matheny
RM Racing
86 Merchants Park Drive
Hoschton, GA 30548
706-658-0368
 
dpullen

dpullen

New Member
+1, Rick builds my go-fast stuff. Give him a call - unless he has to be out of town for an AMA event, he has been exceptionally flexible in getting stuff done.

- Dave
 
stow

stow

New Member
You might be able to stop by his shop on the way to Barber. That is if you are coming down I-985.
 
speedster_chris

speedster_chris

New Member
dpullen;179885 wrote: He's on FB a fair bit. If you want his email, let me know.
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Sure!! That'd be great!!


On a side note, with the immediate future of my trackday seasons in question, I may only regret not hooking up with this guy sooner! (I'll be starting grad school in a different state in a couple months.) I'm for sure going to Barber and Rd. A. in April, and will be doing a Keith Code school at VIR North in May, but beyond that is the great unknown... I'm hoping for the best, though!! :)
 
kappy1000

kappy1000

Control Rider
Director
slowpoke;179590 wrote: IMHO - a dyno tune is ALL about a nice, smooth power curve much more than HP.

If anyone's at NJMP, Markbilt's dyno room is literally one mile from the paddock and the guy is a jedi master w/ the dyno in addition to his other services.

I get a kick out of some riders bragging about HP #s when you hear their bikes coughing down the straight and going off like a popcorn maker. F- HP, give me a smooth curve.
Click to expand...
Great point!!!
 
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