First SeasonWell we made it through our first season with the "Junkyard Dog" and had a blast in the endurance series, we finished in a respectable 7th place. Like all new builds we did have our share of problems.
The Shannonville round started off great in practice with lots of power. However, it developed a nasty oil leak from the valve cover area. We suspected the cover gasket and tried to seal it with Yamabond but had no luck, the thing was still leaking. We then replaced the oil cooler lines as they appeared to be wet. We were able to start the race and got a few laps in but when I noticed my leathers and boots were covered in oil we retired the bike. When we got it home and tore things apart the cause of the oil leak was discovered. The valve cover had a chip in it right in the seal area. The rubber gasket was pretty stiff and so was every rubber grommet. Luckily we had another valve cover and replaced the gasket and all the grommets.
The Grand Bend round went pretty well however a few new issues started to develop. The oil leak was now solved and the bike was working well. The handling is not great as the front end feels vague and too soft, something we need to sort out.
During the race we were doing quite well but by the last rider change we started to notice a lack of power and figured it might be jetting since it was pretty hot. However, when talking to the starting grid team while volunteering they said some of the corner workers wanted to black flag us due to smoke from our exhaust. I guess our old engine is starting to show its age.
With little time before Mosport to tear the motor down we decided that the main problem might just be jetting and the smoke was probably just valve seals which would not be terminal. The bike should make it through the last round we could do this season. The bike starts and runs amazingly well so we should be good.
During practice at CTMP the bike was noticeably down on power and it was a struggle to get anywhere near redline down the back straight. Plus, we had a wicked front wheel hop going through #2 for some reason. We played with the front end but it's pretty evident we need to do some serious upgrades to the forks. We will have to run what we brung and cross our fingers it makes it through the endurance race.
The race went well but we were way down on power and the entertaining wheel shake through #2 was still there. When we were struggling to pass P1 bikes down the back straight it was pretty evident our motor is really tired. Surprisingly, we finished the race with no other issues. Our first season was over.
So, now it's the rebuild season and the old girl needs a bunch of work before next year. I thought we would continue this blog and take you through what we find wrong and how we fix it. Stay tuned!
by Steve Shaw » Thu Feb 18, 2016 8:55 pm 
I have a line on another one for a barter deal. I need to update the build cost list, we have spent a bunch more $$ since the last instalment. She is almost ready to start, just waiting for a few items. Big jobs left are to build some rear sets, finish wiring, build the dash, mount the battery, build a seat mounting frame, mount body work, clean up the body work and paint.
