Distance jump record attempt update

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85 MAX-fan

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OK,
So with the spring weather turning thoughts back to jumping Rockatansky and I decided to do an inspection/tear down on "Skyshot" to get it ready for the season and found the following:
1) Frame back bone cracked cleanly in half about 1/2" from the steering head. WTF??? Did they make the frames on these bikes from balsa wood? OK, no biggie, we purchased some black gas pipe of the appropriate diameter for the repair and welded it. Hose clamps for added strength.
2) Rims (front and back) have flat spots and are egg shaped! The good news is that the foam in the tires did its job.
3) foot pegs bent downward about 18 degrees. Not sure what to do about addressing this.
4) Front fork seals blown, and leaking. This was a cheap fix. Drained the 80-90w, hammered the seals back in and RTV'd them in place. Reinstalled the forks, topped off with hypoid diff lube and are good to go.
5) Engine cases cracked in several places at all mounts, and oil filter housing leaking badly! Would converting to the newer spin on filter be stronger???
We are contemplating using closed cell foam to foam the engine in place, and run without the motor mounts bolted up. This would distribute force evenly in all directions and provide some "give" to the assembly.
6) battery box is torn to pieces, and battery case cracked and leaking. No wonder it was cranking slowly. Gonna ebay the necesary replacement parts.
7) Exhaust head pipes cracked, and collector smashed flat. Need to get some feed back from you guys on whether it might be better to run a different pipe than the Kerker.
8) Mirors drooping. Our mistake for not taking them off at the first jump. We will ash can them.
9) Swingarm bent badly, AND twisted clockwise (viewed from the back). Can't tell if this is from the holeshot torque (pinion trying to climb the ring gear) or if it happened when landing. Oddly, I couldn't tell it in mid air, and we had gusseted all of the welds for increased strength. We are pricing new material, but weight is the issue. Our first attempt on a custom replacement weighed over 182lbs! back to the drawing board on this, and need ideas!
10) Corbin seat is all sacked out, and the base is cracked. Good thing we didn't try to get a ruling on a registered jump attempt as this would likely disqualified us as a non-stock piece. Back to the stocker, but they sure are uncomfortable.....
11) All carb floats out of adjustment as the tabs bent on impact. The good news is that they all bent exactly the same amount. We reinforced with epoxy, and dry set the float levels and were about to reinstall when we found aluminum(?) chunks in the carb boots. Can't see where they came from yet.
12) Head light angled down, brackets bent, and horn doesn't work. Good thing we didn't finish last year with a night jump!!

This is all gonna set us back at least a month. If we were lacking commitment we probably would be giving up about now. It is just not as simple as twisting the go grip and leaving the ground. This is a 16 round brawl for sure.

:boxing00:
 
OK,
So with the spring weather turning thoughts back to jumping Rockatansky and I decided to do an inspection/tear down on "Skyshot" to get it ready for the season and found the following:
1) Frame back bone cracked cleanly in half about 1/2" from the steering head. WTF??? Did they make the frames on these bikes from balsa wood? OK, no biggie, we purchased some black gas pipe of the appropriate diameter for the repair and welded it. Hose clamps for added strength.
2) Rims (front and back) have flat spots and are egg shaped! The good news is that the foam in the tires did its job.
3) foot pegs bent downward about 18 degrees. Not sure what to do about addressing this.
4) Front fork seals blown, and leaking. This was a cheap fix. Drained the 80-90w, hammered the seals back in and RTV'd them in place. Reinstalled the forks, topped off with hypoid diff lube and are good to go.
5) Engine cases cracked in several places at all mounts, and oil filter housing leaking badly! Would converting to the newer spin on filter be stronger???
We are contemplating using closed cell foam to foam the engine in place, and run without the motor mounts bolted up. This would distribute force evenly in all directions and provide some "give" to the assembly.
6) battery box is torn to pieces, and battery case cracked and leaking. No wonder it was cranking slowly. Gonna ebay the necesary replacement parts.
7) Exhaust head pipes cracked, and collector smashed flat. Need to get some feed back from you guys on whether it might be better to run a different pipe than the Kerker.
8) Mirors drooping. Our mistake for not taking them off at the first jump. We will ash can them.
9) Swingarm bent badly, AND twisted clockwise (viewed from the back). Can't tell if this is from the holeshot torque (pinion trying to climb the ring gear) or if it happened when landing. Oddly, I couldn't tell it in mid air, and we had gusseted all of the welds for increased strength. We are pricing new material, but weight is the issue. Our first attempt on a custom replacement weighed over 182lbs! back to the drawing board on this, and need ideas!
10) Corbin seat is all sacked out, and the base is cracked. Good thing we didn't try to get a ruling on a registered jump attempt as this would likely disqualified us as a non-stock piece. Back to the stocker, but they sure are uncomfortable.....
11) All carb floats out of adjustment as the tabs bent on impact. The good news is that they all bent exactly the same amount. We reinforced with epoxy, and dry set the float levels and were about to reinstall when we found aluminum(?) chunks in the carb boots. Can't see where they came from yet.
12) Head light angled down, brackets bent, and horn doesn't work. Good thing we didn't finish last year with a night jump!!

This is all gonna set us back at least a month. If we were lacking commitment we probably would be giving up about now. It is just not as simple as twisting the go grip and leaving the ground. This is a 16 round brawl for sure.

:boxing00:

Just a couple thoughts on some of your issues:

#3...Turn the footpegs upside down, the 'up-angle' will actually help plant you in the bike (well, for the first jump anyhow)

#5...If you don't make any warm-up runs you should be able to run without any oil at all....wouldn't think much damage would happen in that short a time. If it's a long jump, shut the engine off during 'air time,' that should stretch out it's life expectancy considerably!

The foam is a great idea, you could stategically place small pieces of re-bar in the mould before inserting the foam, that'll give you extra rigidity.

#8...I wouldn't really think you would need mirrors at all...there shouldn't be hardly any traffic behind you....right?

#9...Why not leave it alone, just lean slightly to the left at landing to compensate?

#11...Aluminum's OK, being softer than steel it'll get crunched up and spit out the exhaust....you prolly just drove thru some 'airborn aluminum pieces' once, don't worry about them!

#12...Prolly just knocked off a wire.

We're all following this with great anticipation....keep up the great work guys!! :punk:
 
i honestly just have no idea what to make of these posts
 
i'd actually have to see the pics before I add my comments just to make sure i'm not wasting my time on a joke thread lol. IF he's actually jumping the bike there is a crap load of stuff he's going to need to do to survive the landing (it's not the jump that hurts).

Sean
 
Just a couple thoughts on some of your issues:

#3...Turn the footpegs upside down, the 'up-angle' will actually help plant you in the bike (well, for the first jump anyhow)

#5...If you don't make any warm-up runs you should be able to run without any oil at all....wouldn't think much damage would happen in that short a time. If it's a long jump, shut the engine off during 'air time,' that should stretch out it's life expectancy considerably!

The foam is a great idea, you could stategically place small pieces of re-bar in the mould before inserting the foam, that'll give you extra rigidity.

#8...I wouldn't really think you would need mirrors at all...there shouldn't be hardly any traffic behind you....right?

#9...Why not leave it alone, just lean slightly to the left at landing to compensate?

#11...Aluminum's OK, being softer than steel it'll get crunched up and spit out the exhaust....you prolly just drove thru some 'airborn aluminum pieces' once, don't worry about them!

#12...Prolly just knocked off a wire.

We're all following this with great anticipation....keep up the great work guys!! :punk:
Thanks for the foot peg suggestion. The simple things just leave you when you are 10 hours into a marathon wrench session. Rockatansky kept trying to bend the pegs back up straight with a cheater pipe, but the hinge simply folds upward so he couldn't get-r-done.
I don't think I am comfortable running without oil as once we nail down the record I wanted to convert "Skyshot" back to street duty. A siezed piston would throw the ass end up in mid air and I dont even want to think about that. We started welding the case cracks but it is tricky. We really need to pull the mill out of the frame to do it right so it will have to wait a few weeks as I have some business obligations.
Rockatansky is buying some two part foam latter next week when he gets his van back from his brother. We are gonna try to set the foam without a mold, but may try the rebar. This is exactly the kind of creative help we can use.
The mirror thing was our stupid. You know how it gets when you are all excited to ride and just ignore some common sense things. Rockatansky is sticking to the theory that he had angled the mirrors for added lift but I don't believe him.
As far as the swing arm is concerned we cant leave it. The drive shaft is hitting the inside of the tubing and she sounds like a Ronnie James Dio concert anywhere above 25mph. Jump officials would shut us down on a safety/tech violation for sure just by the noise. You don't want to know how much a pallet load of Al6Ti4V alloy costs for the new arm, but I feel we dont have a choice. There is a reason they make fighter planes with this stuff and I want any advantage we can get. I have a aircraft certified welder friend that can help with the fab once he gets rotated back from his latest deployment.
Still cant find out where the aluminum chunks came frome, but even more of a concern is that the spark plug threads in the cylinders are all stripped. WTF??? Could the added cylinder pressure from engine braking when landing cause them to distort and strip? I want to heli-coil them but Rockatansky suggested just welding them in for safety. That idea does have merit.

I fixed the horn, as I just swapped a used piece if from Rockatansky's bike. We will have to see if he even notices! Now its Miller time.
:icon_jook:
 
i honestly just have no idea what to make of these posts

I really don't either. Is it an inside or running joke?

Only time I've ever seen a street bike jumped was on Nitro Circus when Pastrana backflipped an old Yamaha 750 triple. The bike was still together and moving afterward, but who knows what might have been broken or bent.
 
I've actually jumped the hell out of mine (but most of the time by accident and a few times on purpose). I could really help him out if I only knew he was serious.

Sean
 
I really don't either. Is it an inside or running joke?

Only time I've ever seen a street bike jumped was on Nitro Circus when Pastrana backflipped an old Yamaha 750 triple. The bike was still together and moving afterward, but who knows what might have been broken or bent.

yea i'm not sure if i should laugh or attempt some advice.... or both

I've actually jumped the hell out of mine (but most of the time by accident and a few times on purpose). I could really help him out if I only knew he was serious.

Sean

i jump my front tire everytime i launch hard! :rofl_200:
 
yea i'm not sure if i should laugh or attempt some advice.... or both



i jump my front tire everytime i launch hard! :rofl_200:
Serious as a heart attack guys. As I have said on other occasions the record will be mine make no mistake.
Never heard of jumping a street bike??? Hello McFly, anyone home???? You never heard of Evil Knieval?
Try to think outside the box people.
 
Yea, he was half crazy and rode Harleys. His son is a little smarter. At least he uses lightweight equipment. Get some pics of the issues when you get a chance. How about pics of the ramp (that was stolen as I recall).

Sean
 
Pastrana is a poser. He's not in it for the science, just another quick buck artist. We want the record.
I may post some pictures, but the competion reads these pages to try to gain an edge and I not going to educate them. AS for the ramp, yes it was stolen, and some of these developments I am just not going to put into print also. Discretion is part of the battle.
 
I really don't either. Is it an inside or running joke?

Only time I've ever seen a street bike jumped was on Nitro Circus when Pastrana backflipped an old Yamaha 750 triple. The bike was still together and moving afterward, but who knows what might have been broken or bent.

Pastrana referenced above. Knieval Jr does great with 13 inches of progressive suspension but again no stock V-Max record there.
 
I'm pretty sure Pastrana holds quite a few records of his own. While he's not exactly giving away every dime to charity, I wouldn't really call him a "quick buck artist" either. He's enjoying his success, can't fault him for that. I really doubt any of the daredevils are in it for "the science",

And there's no way jumps like that go off perfectly without someone doing the science. Did Evel or Pastrana do that themselves? I doubt it initially, the rider's instinct governs a lot of that. But when they go for the record setting really crazy stuff, you can bet your ass somebody figured it out, told him exactly how fast to hit the ramp at, the length and angle of the ramp, and a host of other variables.

If you want anybody here to take you seriously, you gotta put up some pictures.
 
Thanks for the foot peg suggestion. The simple things just leave you when you are 10 hours into a marathon wrench session. Rockatansky kept trying to bend the pegs back up straight with a cheater pipe, but the hinge simply folds upward so he couldn't get-r-done.
I don't think I am comfortable running without oil as once we nail down the record I wanted to convert "Skyshot" back to street duty. A siezed piston would throw the ass end up in mid air and I dont even want to think about that. We started welding the case cracks but it is tricky. We really need to pull the mill out of the frame to do it right so it will have to wait a few weeks as I have some business obligations.
Rockatansky is buying some two part foam latter next week when he gets his van back from his brother. We are gonna try to set the foam without a mold, but may try the rebar. This is exactly the kind of creative help we can use.
The mirror thing was our stupid. You know how it gets when you are all excited to ride and just ignore some common sense things. Rockatansky is sticking to the theory that he had angled the mirrors for added lift but I don't believe him.
As far as the swing arm is concerned we cant leave it. The drive shaft is hitting the inside of the tubing and she sounds like a Ronnie James Dio concert anywhere above 25mph. Jump officials would shut us down on a safety/tech violation for sure just by the noise. You don't want to know how much a pallet load of Al6Ti4V alloy costs for the new arm, but I feel we dont have a choice. There is a reason they make fighter planes with this stuff and I want any advantage we can get. I have a aircraft certified welder friend that can help with the fab once he gets rotated back from his latest deployment.
Still cant find out where the aluminum chunks came frome, but even more of a concern is that the spark plug threads in the cylinders are all stripped. WTF??? Could the added cylinder pressure from engine braking when landing cause them to distort and strip? I want to heli-coil them but Rockatansky suggested just welding them in for safety. That idea does have merit.

I fixed the horn, as I just swapped a used piece if from Rockatansky's bike. We will have to see if he even notices! Now its Miller time.
:icon_jook:

Got a suggestion....I agree, running without oil is definitely a bad idea but what about this.....I saw an ad one time about a guy who ran Slick 50 in his airplane motor, he broke an oil line and all the oil left the plane. He still managed to land the plane safely without any oil at all!

Why not run Slick 50, drain it out for the jump, then put it back in afterwards....based on the above testimonial there certainly wouldn't be any harm to the motor, just a jump or two, right? Prolly get three easily!

This is exciting stuff, I'm loving every minute!! :punk:
 

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