******************************************************************************** ***************************Team Benwell Short Test Report*********************** ******************************************************************************** Test Number: 037 Name: Ian Foxwell Chassis: BD2 Prototype Date: 17-10-02 Time: 15.30 – 17.00 Place: Barham Weather: dry but cold. Damp started to come out of track as day progressed Object of test: Development of Benwell prototype chassis ******************************************************************************** Modifications: BD2 chassis set Benwelled rear damper Benwelled steering damper. No silicon just grease Rake set with adjuster 1 ¼ turns out Swing arm +5mm at pivot. Centre hole Rear shock top mount, bottom front hole Benwelled steering system. 2 o rings + 13mm spring length ******************************************************************************** Results: Run 1 Time:- 25.25 Bike felt good. Excellent rear end traction. Very stable. Minimal cat 2 wobbles although excessive cat 1 wobbles (a lot of this found to be loose front wheel) not very precise in corners **************Already as fast or faster than standard chassis****************** Run2 Time:- 26.00 Increased rake to 2 turns out on adjuster Decreased spring steering pre-load to 14mm Felt great but obviously slow. Didn’t carry any speed through turns. Cured all cat 2 wobbles Run 3 Time:- 25.60 Decreased rake to 4 turns out on adjuster Better but hard to be precise positioning on track. Grip now going and rear tyre breaking away more Probably just track though. Lot more cat 1 wobbles returning Run 4 Time:- 24.90 Increased rake to 3 ½ turns out on adjuster Increased steering preload to 12mm Superb. Quick easy to ride. First 4 laps were under 25 seconds then stopped. Run 5 Time:- 25.66 Increased steering preload to 11mm Less precise, harder to ride Run 6 Time:- 26.20 Increased rake to 4 ½ turns out on adjuster No better in fact getting worse. Steering vague. Bike is very sharp but lacks precision. Track has now lost most of its grip. Bike is now power sliding a lot which is not helping Run 7 Time:- 25.4 1 Extra o ring on steering system This is much better. Possibly best its been all day. Hard to say because of reduced grip but easier to place and carry's lots of speed. The setup is very sharp though keeping rider on his toes. Not for the faint hearted. Conclusions Very simple. BD2 is a big step forward. It fulfils its design expectations perfectly. BD3 with revised radio installation to be tested next along side this. Lessons learnt Steering mech stiffness goes hand in hand with rake angle. The greater the rake angle the slacker the steering and visa versa