Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126401
(Above) Harry MaDIet mekes the R8cecrefters Zee fMt. (Below) The bike Is quite a deperture from ..rller. evll-handllng KIIwneki., (Above) Grlmece celipers and Harry Hunt pleslTlll-.preyed discs go up front. (Below) Frame l . modified with OW steeri ng rac... Racecrafte~sZee McLaughlin and Harry Maillet. Steve has 15 years worth of road rac ing experience which has taught him a lot about what does and doesn't work on a racetrack. Maillet, of The Performance Works, is sub-contracted by Racecrafters to do the : mechanical preparation of the bike . The main differences between Steve's chassis and a stock one are in the steering head and the swingarm pivot. Steve has the neck cut off, and in its place he substitutes one that accepts the tapered steering races of a . Yamaha OW ·3!. The races and bearings of the OW ·31 are much larger and stronger than the stock Kawasaki. The pivot point for the swingarm is lowered approximately an inch. (Exact specifications were not revealed because they intend to marke.t a kit.) Their motor is a conglomeration of parts from many different speed manufacturers. The crankshaft is ba lanced and polished, and the flywheels are welded to the crankpins 10 insure that the crank won 't shift under heavy loads . The small ends of the connecting . rods are bored out to accept Oilite bronze bushings. The bushings provide better lubrication and therefore less chance of galling the Denco wristpins. The Denco pins are A likely candidate for Daytona's winner's circle By Pat Eagan Big-bore Kawasakis have a reputation as evilhandlers when pushed to (heir limits in road racing. The Kawasaki that Wes Cooley rode in AMA Nationals in 1977 wobbled so violently 24 that at times his only Mint of contact with the machine was one hand on the bars. . I . Two men who are trymg to I change that reputation are Steve eight grams lighter than stock . The Yoshimura 1015cc pistons are the ll .5 to 1 models, and the skirts are shotpeened, The shotpeening process not only puts the skirts under a prestress that minimizes further collapse of the skirt clearance, bu t it also leaves . the skirt with a matte finish which holds oil. The idea being more lubrication , less friction and less possibility of seizure. . An R.C. Engineering copper head gasket is used between the cylinder block and the Branch Flowmetrics ported cylinder head. Manley stainless steel valves are used , and the sizes are 36mm for the intakes and 30mm on the exhaust. Harry had Denco grind up some special camshafts to his specifications as he wasn't satisfied with the timing characteristics of any of the aftermarket over-the-counter camshafts. Transmitting motion from the crankshaft to cams is a heavy-duty Yoshimura Gold camchain, the strongest in the business. All the tensioners and rollers remain basic ally stock . Transmitting power from the crank shaft 10 the Kawasaki close-ratio transmission is a standard Kawasaki clutch. Maillet feels that the stock clutch is strong enough to hold the 140 horsepower (Branch's dyno). Bead blasting the plates an d the use of Denco clut ch springs are the only