Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

changed in over 20 years, you have to know it inside and out. If someone was to tell me that they could squeeze more horsepower out of the XR motor than we already are, they'd be full of it." Next, Werner removed the bike's exhaust system, carburetors, fuel tank and tail section so that he could work on the top ends. "You get to know the life-span of most parts," said Werner as he removed the heads. "1 keep track of when I've replaced things and when I should replace them again, but I check most everything between every race." Werner checked the tension of the valve springs before polishing each valve and reassembling the heads. "There was a little carbon buildup on the valves so I polished it off. I know it's infinitesimal, but it's the little things that add up and make a difference." The little things indeed. Werner is meticulously neat as he works; from the way he lays out each part on the workbench to the way h~ polishes each bolt before reinstalling it. "These bikes are like my children," said Werner. "They are a part of me." It was at that moment that I mentioned the claiming rule, and Werner's deep blue eyes nearly turned red with rage. "I think that the claiming rule is absolute bull, I hate it with a passion" said Werner with an intense look on his face. "I've had two motors taken away from me, with about six attempts in all. "America is founded on the basis that anyone who works hard should get ahead, and I like to think that I work hard on these motors. I feel that anyone who can build a better mousetrap should be able to reap the rewards. This motor is my work of art - my painting. It's not fair for someone to be able to just take it away, to buy it just because they want it. "I would never claim someone else's motor. If I can't beat a guy square-up, I'm not going to buy their motor. You can't buy the rider, can you? I think the best rules would be no rules. Let the guys who are good at it make a living of every tuner does that. The only 'trick' things I use are titanium valves, but almost everyone uses those. The titanium valves allow for a couple hundred more rpm, but the average guy won't benefit from that. But you know how it goes - if Scotty Parker has them, they have to have them as well. The titanium valves require you to modify the tops of the pistons because they don't have the dimple in them that the stock steel valves do:' After checking under the pistons. Werner reassembled the engine and whipped out his wallet, something that he did many times throughout the day. In his wallet, Werner carries a small gear ratio conversion chart that is a bit greasy and frayed on the edges - obviously well used. "This thing comes in real handy," said Werner before returning it to his wallet, only to whip it out again a few minutes later. "I just want to make sure:' Before changing the gearing, though, Werner opened his briefcase and proudly displayed what he affectionately calls, The Book, a three-ring notebook tha t contains a wealth of set-up information he has acquired over the years. "At the track, I scribble down every change that we make to the bike, from tire pressure and gearing to the steering offset. When I get home I give my notes to my wife, Vicki, and she enters it all into her computer. By referring to The Book, I can have a basic idea of how to set the bike up before I even arrive at the track:' HI could do all of this stuff with my eyes closed, says Werner of the teardown and maintenance check that he performs between each race. M try settings on the extreme side and sometimes we win, but other times we aren't even in the hunt:' After changing the XR's gearing, Werner and Polasky applied the finishing touch to Parker's race bike - a new coat of wax. Unlike Chris Carr's Kenny Tolbert-tuned Harley-Davidsons that sport various gold-anodized parts, Parker's machine features no special attention to cosmetic details. "I'm not as concerned about the looks of the bike as a lot of guys, (and) maybe that's bad," said Werner with a laugh. "I'll admit that there a lot better looking bikes out there, but I'm more results oriented. In fact, some of the guys hassle me and say that Scotty's bikes are ugly. I could make them pretty, but why? Just because a bike is pretty doesn't mean that it will win it." In 1990, Will Davis, who was riding for Eddie Adkins, claimed one of Werner's motors and upon tearing it down, Adkins claimed there were illegal restrictors in the carburetors. Though Adkins made his "find" well known, the AMA took no disciplinary action. "That whole deal was odd, especially because I had helped Eddie in the past," said Werner. "I asked him why he was claiming my motor, and he replied that it was the only way that he could beat me. Well, he didn't after that. "As for the restrictors, the AMA had handed out a few sets of bad restrictors that year and they knew it. But any advantages gained with the bad ones were almost too small to notice. Maybe there was a set of bad restrictors in it, but we weren't cheating:' When Adkins tore apart the motor, he must have seen the same thing that I saw while watching Werner - a normal Harley-Davidson XR750 that boasted no apparent trick parts, only an incredible amount of attention to detail. Next on Werner's maintenance list were the pistons. Though he didn't completely remove the cylinders, he did raise them high enough to fit a small dentist's mirror under the piston skirts. "There's no need to replace the pistons every race, they'll last at least four to five races. What I do in between each race is check underneath the pistons to see if they had been running excessively hot:' When asked if the pistons he runs are special, Werner replied, "They're special in that I modify each one by hand, but races." The heart of it all. Werner checks under the pistons after each race to make sure that all is well. This time, there were no signs of excessive heal At the track, Werner says that his basic mission is to get the bike's gearing and suspension settings down. "Scotty will ride both bikes, one in each practice, and race the one that feels better. I try not to work on the motor at the track. For one, you're in a dirty environment and you have a lot of people walking around you and getting in the way. We might change the exhaust system or something, and we always change the jetting. There's not a lot of time at a dirt track race to experiment, you only get two or sometimes three practice sessions. That's when having a basic idea before you arrive makes a big difference. I have empathy for those guys out there trying to do it all at the track; I was like that too at one time. "We usually don't experiment with the bike too much during practice, we just try to get the bike as close as possible. We do most of our 'experimenting' during the Camel Challenges. We will lIut then on the other hand, just because a bike runs well, that doesn't mean that the rider will win races, either. "The rider is the biggest part of the winning combination, no doubt," said Werner. "I have been very fortunate to work with the sport's most talented racers. Scotty and I communicate exceptionally well, we have a very similar plane of thought and we understand one another. Honesty is very important, and Scott is real honest with me. If I bust my butt making a change and it doesn't really make a big difference, Scotty won't tell me it does just to save my feelings." At the Pomona Half Mile, Parker finished a close second to teammate Carr after a race-long battle that also included Honda rider Ricky Graham. "Chris just outrode us," Parker said after the race. "My bike? Oh, my bike ran great:' at 17

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