In our last issue we detailed the transformation of our '07 Triumph Daytona 675 into a Formula Xtreme racebike using Triumph's kit parts ("Goldenrod," Aug. '08). With the bike complete and a track day at Auto Club (formerly California) Speedway under its belt to find any gremlins, our plan for Part 2 was to find a racer capable of a top-10 AMA finish to ride the 675 in an AMA Formula Xtreme event. It was a good plan. But like many good plans ...
Our rider search led us to 21-year-old Chad Lewin, a former motocrosser who currently rides Suzuki GSX-R machinery in WERA and AMA events and has been roadracing for just three years. But in those three years young Chad has racked up a fistful of wins in club races as well as a top-10 finish in an AMA Superstock race, and he came recommended by some influential people in the industry. As a bonus, there were no conflicts with existing sponsors, and Chad was very familiar with the Pirelli tires used on the Triumph.
Blazingly fast Chad Lewin...
Blazingly fast Chad Lewin volunteered to ride our freshly completed project bike. With numerous club-race wins and a top-10 AMA Superstock finish to his credit, we knew he was capable of getting the most out of the Daytona 675.
Our ragtag team-at that point consisting of Chad, Eric Nugent (who put the bike together in his garage) and I-headed to Buttonwillow Raceway Park for a local WERA race that would let us all get acquainted before heading to the pressure-cooker AMA event at Infineon Raceway. Since the Triumph's initial shakedown run at Auto Club Speedway, Hypercycle's Carry Andrew had installed replacement kit valve springs and added more compression to the engine by skimming the head, and we were anxious to see how the bike would perform.
Conveniently, Buttonwillow is Chad's home track, eliminating that unfamiliarity from the equation and allowing us to concentrate on dialing in the bike. As we knew from past experience with tall, wide 16.5-inch rear slicks, finding a good setup can take some time: In brief, the tall rear tire requires lowering rear ride height to keep geometry in a reasonable ballpark; the tradeoff, however, is that swingarm angle is decreased, sacrificing antisquat and causing the bike to run wide on corner exits. This resultant seesaw experimentation to find a happy medium is especially crucial on the Triumph, as the rear end is already quite high and the swingarm angle somewhat flat in stock form.
Over the course of two days at Buttonwillow, Chad got on well with the 675, citing a definite advantage in midrange grunt when compared with the four-cylinder 600s at the track, with top end only slightly down from the frontrunners. Eric and I chipped away at the bike's setup, and for the last race of the weekend we found a workable compromise that allowed Chad to turn a lap just one second off his best-ever time at Buttonwillow on a race-prepped GSX-R600 and challenge for the lead. But a discharging battery was causing the bike to cut out in corners, and just as a maiden win looked possible our race ended in a cloud of dust.
With only one week before the Infineon round of the AMA series, we had to scramble to repair the bike, but luckily damage was light, with scuffed bodywork and a bent rearset the most apparent. The troublesome, tiny 675 battery was replaced with a larger battery from a Yamaha R6, curing the electrical gremlins. At this point we drafted SR's Test Fleet Manager Michael Candreia to help. He, Eric and I soon had the bike repaired and ready to go. With Chad uninjured and the bike fixed, we were on our way to Infineon Raceway with high hopes.
At a WERA event at Buttonwillow...
At a WERA event at Buttonwillow prior to the AMA race at Infineon, we worked at dialing in the Triumph's suspension to suit its new rider. Making gradual improvements over the course of the weekend, Chad was just one second off his best Buttonwillow lap time ever after only two days on the unfamiliar bike. Here he dices with Christopher Clark (48) for the lead in the B Superbike race, but a weak battery caused the Triumph's engine to cut out in a corner, ending our chance for a win.
The biggest problem with crashing...
The biggest problem with crashing at a desert track such as Buttonwillow is the dirt and dust. We found dirt everywhere, with the air duct packed right up to the filter and every nook and cranny of the engine filled. Note the bent Woodcraft rearset-it's a sturdy piece that along with the GSG frame slider no doubt saved the bike from more extensive damage.
The Triumph was safe in transit...
The Triumph was safe in transit with this Strapless Transport Stand (www.ststands.com). No tie-downs are necessary, and loading/unloading is a breeze. At the track we used a Pit Bull (www.pit-bull.com) rear stand along with a Woodcraft (www.woodcraft-cfm.com) front stand that supports the bike from the steering stem.