Lurch and his son Tommy have jumped into this final push full-on and it's starting to pay off. Yesterday we started it up for the first time since the head gasket failures and the upper end is oil tight and strong (thanks to Lurch's skills with a Bridgeport)! Last night about 2 minutes before we turned on the dyno we heard a loud CRACK and like that Detroit went dark. The city had experienced a major power outage due to a storm that rolled through the city so we never got a chance to light the wick. Instead we sat in the dark with a calculator and dialed in all my gear ratio's for the salt. We figured out what final drive sprocket will be used for my record attempt and which ones to use if the bike isn't working the way we designed it to. With Wendover's altitude plugged into the dyno and the power back on hopefully dyno runs can take place this evening.
Last night all the stars aligned and the power went back on in Detroit. Soon after I got the call from Lurch that the dyno runs were a go. Lurch's shop, MOT-R-TEC is located in the Southwest side of the city back down an unmarked ally that looks as intimidating as his shop dog parked outside by the garage door. "He's not for petting" Lurch told me on my first visit - roger that. Anyway, after a few set up runs (and a sprocket change) to make sure everything was solid in the motor and trans we dialed in a 6,000 rpm rev limit on the dyno and lit the wick. The first hi-speed runs were spent on jetting. I think we tried at least 4 different sets before we found the magic one that provided smooth acceleration and no breaking up on the top end. Then it was time to dial in the timing which we did about 4 times making runs after each change to see the numbers. I have to say using a dyno is the whip. There are so many variables that can completely screw everything up so it's nice to see numbers that allow you to quantify and pinpoint both positive and negative changes. We could have never done this on the salt. Run after run we kept getting more and more power and torque. Ultimately we ended up with numbers that were far better than my first (pre-head gasket problems) dyno runs a month ago. We are going just as fast at a much lower rpm which makes my job running the thing down the line far easier. I cannot say enough good things about Lurch, his son Tommy and their shop MOT-R-TEC. They saved my ass for sure. The motor runs better than ever with no leaks, knocks or smoke. If you need any (they do it all) work done on your HD scoot, drop me a line and I'll get you in touch with them. 
