Mecanica 900R Testing & Race Day

Test day one - the plan was to run it in then concentrate on getting the jetting right but the handling was terrible. I stayed out for the whole session to get some time on the engine but it felt like it was going to tuck the front every time I turned. I didn't really have any gear to work on geometry but with the help of a couple of mates we managed to raise the front by dropping the forks through 5mm. Completely transformed the handling and gave me the confidence to carry on. On to the jetting. I ended up fitting the smallest jets I had on hand but it was still running rich. Made some good progress over the day but it was going to need some time in the shop to sort a few details.

Test day two - After some more suspension tweaks and smaller jets I went to the track again. Much better all round but the engine still had no top end. I know a big part of the problem is the long manifolds and my plan was to try and compensate with different cam timing so the day before race day more changes were made.

Dialling in the Cams

Race Day - The changes were hard to gauge as there was a strong head wind down the straight making the bike a lot slower anyway. Through the day I kept making incremental little changes to the dampening and was starting to feel pretty comfortable. Always being in a battle group made it very enjoyable and I scored a couple of podiums to boot. A 2nd and a 3rd in Superstock open and best lap time of 1:43.2. Hats off to Steve on his Mecanica M1100RS who took both class wins. First time I have been beaten by one of my own bikes.

Needless to say I'm happy with progress so far and have plenty of plans brewing to make it even better. Watch this space!