Recently a fellow flat tracker from Michigan said out of the blue, “You know what’s missing from YouTube?” Immediately I answered “sliding” and he said “yep!” Both he and I had been searching the same subject and YouTube has nothing on the subject.
I am planning a YouTube video presentation on this very subject and I’m going to break it all down into detail--things like the two most important parts of a race track and one ain’t the start! Little hint... see this apparently normal DT photo? After my video you’d be able to diagnose instantly what is going on. It is part of my 3% vs 97% observations.
- In time, I suspect this video will be widely watched in the flat track community because there is nothing comparable on line. If you want to be alerted when the video is available, email me at phil@phillittleracing.com. (Do not leave a message for me on Facebook.)
- This project is going to take months to complete at some cost. If your company wants to become a video sponsor on YouTube, email me at phil@phillittleracing.com.
The 2018 X Games/Harley-Davidson Hooligan Qualifier was held in Boise again this year. 98 Hooligan amateurs entered the qualifiers and only 48 made the cut for the invitation to race in the Minneapolis X Games Championship. 57 year old Brad Spencer earned first place over those 98 riders. Several of my customers made the cut and were invited to Minneapolis: Aaron Guardado from the west coast Suicide Machine Company; Brad Spencer from Gilroy, CA rode a SXR Street Tracker built by Aaron Kaufman when he was with Gas Monkey Garage; Dan Mischler from Mischler Harley-Davidson in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and Terry Vestal from Twin Lakes, Wisconsin.
The 48-rider field was divided into eight heats of six riders for the quarter finals in the Minneapolis championship. The top two in each heat (16 riders) transferred to the semi-finals. The top three in each semi yielded just six riders for the final.
I started work on Hooligan street tracker tails for Hooligan racers and street trackers on 2/19/14. That’s been a long time because R&D time is precious when customer fulfilment is on-going. It wasn’t until 9/6/17 that I realized that later Sportys has a different tank with a rounded back end. That was the date I started what has been completed today, the XRX Gen II tail and dedicated parts.
Shown here are the very final molds all waxed and ready to make parts. In the foreground is the tail support piece which doubles as the license plate/taillight mount. To the right is the dedicated seat base. Up top is the two-part tail mold. The shape is so complex that the mold had to be split. See the joint just forward of the middle.
Part A
The Sportster QuikTurn 27° Steering Kit© is now done.
All the parts are complete and the first 10 sets have been made and are ready to ship--8 are left, two have just been sold. If you are a Sportster dirt track racer this steeper steering kit is an unfair advantage over stock Sportsters. Their rake is 30°, yours will be 27°. Simply, you’ll be able to get around corners faster. This inside the steering head kit is $545. Let me know if you want one.
Part B
Hooligan XRX Gen II tail parts to fit later model rounded back 3 gallon Sportster tanks. [883s from 1991 to 2003 and 1200s from 1999 to 2003]. Parts have been sanded down to 2000 grit and pre-mold waxing has begun. Parts are; tail, seat base and support plate. Don’t know when they will be ready to sell but the time has been
Work is happening on the Hooligan XRX Gen II tail parts to fit later model rounded-back Sportster tanks. Here you see the pattern parts prior to making molds. Shown are; tail, seat base and support plate. The shaping process is done. The gray stuff is a super gonzo primer that is sanded from 400 w/d to 2000 w/d. Then it’s polished and waxed, then off to the mold maker it goes. I guess that we are talking about 4 more weeks.