Hey all. It feels like it's time to move on. The Super Hawk has been a huge and influential factor in my life. I miss her terribly. But it's time to go see and try some other things.

I have a few things to say in passing:
I hope that my influence and disussions have been helpful. I had a unique opportunity to work with and be guided by my longtime family friend, Bob Hayashida. I am quite sure nobody did as much development work as he did on the VTR, here or anyplace else for that matter. He had dinners in Japan with the Moriwakis and talked extensively with their race mechanics.

I want to say that almost nothing I have said here on this site has been my own. I probably wrote 100 emails and stopped by his house at least twice a month to pick his brain and get suggestions as well as some great deals on his used parts. I hope that I have been able to pass some of this information on to some people who would not have otherwise had access to it.

Some of the things I have said are my own conclusions drawn from the work and riding I did. In some cases I'm sure I have drawn the wrong conclusions. It is a complex system and it's hard to separate one influence from another. that's part of what makes it so infinitely fascinating.

for instance, I was looking at Ozzie's torque curve and trying to guess at what was the cause of a loss in torque a high RPM. it could be mixture, exhaust system, intake, any one of a lot of things. If I had a dyno and not a wife, I'd probably get to the bottom of it! Maybe I just needed to tear the snorkel off my airbox. But I highly doubt it.

Anyway, it was a great project. Oh, the RC51 front end was my idea. I'm sure others had done it but I didn't know about it. I measured my friend's RC and thought it was worth a try and it worked like a charm! What an improvement to the bike.

I've tried to keep it to what worked and what didn't.

So. It's onward for me. Don't have a bike yet. Not sure I will, but also not sure I can not have one and get over it.

Remember this.
Torque and Horsepower are integrally related. If you have torque and RPM you can calculate horsepower. Think of horsepower as "the rate of application of torque."

All for now. Enjoy those VTRs. I'll never have another bike like it.

Rand

 

Sorry to hear you are leaving us, I think most of your posts were informing and intriguing at the least. Oh and BTW you do NOT want to see your race fairing it's not so pretty anymore. I went down on the left side in Dec. with a highside and then face planted in a gravel pit Fri. on the right, after 2 yrs of crash free track riding now twice in 2 months!!

 

No need to leave Rand, it doesn't cost a dime to stick around. Pop in and post when you feel like it and don't feel like it's an obligation or anything.

 

+1

Sorry to see you go, but if you must, ride safe, ride fast, and keep the rubber side down.

 

All the best wishes!

Are you moving on to another bike? Or completely out of two-wheels?

 

Good luck in your future ventures. Feel free to stop by occasionally and impart some of your (or Mr. Hayashida's) wisdom.

 

Damn Rand. You have been awesome and a big impact on my VTR. I have you to thank for my awesome Dyno and the parts that I got from you. I am sure I will love it come spring. And if you are ever in West Michigan make sure to give me a call and I will damn sure make you ride my VTR. i am sure we will see you around the forum.

 

Rand, is Bob still at BVH in Reno ?

 

Good luck eh. Hard to give up two wheels, you may find yourself with another one some time.

Cheers,
Shayne