Another afternoon on the ice...

Matt and I spent another afternoon trying to dial in the jetting yesterday. Actually, we both made changes at home in the relative comfort of our garages, and tried them out, and the changes seemed to be spot on for both of us. I pulled my plug after several runs and it just looked better each time. So for what it's worth, it seems a 460 main and 65 pilot jet, with the needle clip set in the center (#3) position, is just what the doctor ordered.

Matt's bike has a Lectron carb, which is a different beast altogether. Semi-Flat slide, clear float bowl and the only jets you change are the pilot jets...


I also tried to make my rear tire grip a little better by repositioning the left side screws. Didn't work, the thing is still a bitch to ride. You have to hang off the seat and keep the bike straight up to get any traction. I'm getting too old to mess with that kind of compromise. I just want tires that work.

This is just a quick look at the ugliness.



We ran the oval "backwards" for a session and my rear tire actually worked better turning right. Didn't get any video of that though.

Top Secret Project Revealled

Spy photos of the "Top Secret Project" have surfaced on the internet...right here!
The images of this unfinished OLAC entry were captured this morning, in an unguarded moment.





This appears to be a scale replica of the "Destination Moon" rocket from the famous "The Adventures Of Tintin" book series.

It's looking more like a rocket...

Making more progress on the Top Secret Project.

Body secured to motor mount. Shock cord attached.


Fins on.




Landing gear.

Carburation day

Thursday was carb day at Lake Arrowhead. Matt and I tried out some jetting on our respective freshly rebuilt top ends. We both wound up chasing the right settings, and I don't know that I got much closer to them. But at least we have an oval plowed, so we'll be able to continue the task tomorrow.

Motor Mount

The next phase of the Top Secret project got underway last night. I have a special knack for turning a fifteen minute job into an hour job, and still getting something wrong, but in the end, it's going to work just fine.

Lower body section, motor mount, centering rings, epoxy, instructions, lubricant.


I was supposed to tie the steel cable to the upper centering ring before I glued the centering ring in place....


Because it's hard to tie a knot down there.

Top Secret Project

Yeah, well, it's top secret except for the internet savvy, but you'll still have to guess what I'm building, unless you know already in which case, don't tell anybody.

I spent a few minutes wondering how I was going to round off the bottoms of these ogive nose cones.


I came up with a solution. A bench vice, a drill and some masking tape.


I was even going to cut out a form to use as a guide, but that would've been even more work. In the end I settled on the venerable TLAR method.


The next step was proving to be a little more of a challenge. I was working with a blueprint, but I had to scale it up, and I wasn't sure how to do that. Lot's of scribbling and fuzzy math ensued.


Then I asked Sandy if we had any graph paper...


Once again utilizing the TLAR method, I've made some progress.


Stay tuned for more OLAC build reports.

Progress

Well, I milked a good part of the day just getting the bodywork back on the bike. Cleaning this and that etc., but I did get it done, got it off the work table and started it up. Sounds good as ever. I'll do a couple more heat cycles and have it ready for next weekend.