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| Archives - Tech Panel |
RoadBike Tech Panel - From RoadBike Feb./March 2004 (plus updates)
RoadBike Tech Panel The questions we receive from readers usually fall into two main categories: “What’s your opinion?” and “What’s the right answer?” A question in category one could be something like “Should I get a Honda Shadow or a Kawasaki Vulcan for daily commuting?” For category two, an example is “What’s the proper valve overlap cold on my ’92 Ducati 750 SS?” or “Can I run a 280 tire kit on my ’97 Yamaha Road Star?” Giving opinions is easy enough — we give the facts, along with an evaluation of each bike, and let you decide the answer. But the second type of question requires specialized knowledge to answer with the precision that the reader demands. To make sure your technical questions are answered accurately and completely, we’ve assembled a Technical Panel of motorcycle industry gurus with tremendous depth and breadth across the business. These are some of the names you’re familiar with, the people you think about when you think performance. Or customizing. Or touring. Or racing. Or tuning. So sit back and meet the distinguished initial members of RoadBike’s Technical Panel. And don’t be surprised if more gurus join us as time goes on. Shell Barr Triumph joins our Technical Panel this month, represented by Shell Barr. Shell has a varied 32 years of experience with motorcycles. He was lured into it by an advertisement in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, newspaper for a dealer seeking a mechanic. “I owe a lot to that first job,” says Shell. He then went on to a nine-year stint as a service technician, and seven years as parts/accessories manager at a Japanese bike dealership. After that, he became general manager in a Honda dealership he helped design and open. Shell then moved on to an aftermarket motorcycle wholesale parts distributor, before he got a call in 1990 from Cagiva North America. He then became the assistant service manager, then the national service manager, for Ducati and Husqvarna motorcycles in the US. In 1994 Triumph asked him to become part of the brand’s initial launch in America. “My job includes dealer technical support, warranty admin and processing, dealer tech training, and assistance with parts and accessories queries from our dealer network in North and South America.” Shell says he’s ready and happy to take on your Triumph-related tech questions. So bring ’em on. Robert Popiel Bob Popiel, of Alpharetta, Georgia, heads the team responsible for providing Aprilia parts and parts services, technical service for dealership technicians, product quality, warranty service for dealerships, new model assessment, and customer assistance. He began his career on the two-wheel side, joining Husqvarna Motorcycle Company in 1973 and spending the next decade working in dealer and technician support, technical training, motocross and off-road support, and trade shows. Bob perfected his hands-on technical skills by rebuilding numerous engines, managing the Ohlins shock absorber program, rebuilding wheels and forks, and writing the owners’ and dealership training manuals. Before joining Aprilia, Bob spent 16 years at Saab Cars USA and 2 years at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. At Saab, he served as national technical services manager, spearheading product quality, service information, and technical assistance programs. At Rolls-Royce, Bob assisted high-profile customers as well as dealerships with service issues. John Vaughan-Chaldy John has been designing and building custom motorcycles professionally since 1996, with an initial concentration on Yamahas. He is the founder of Baron Custom Accessories, the first independent company to produce an exclusive line of aftermarket accessories for Yamaha’s Star motorcycles. John designed and built the “Full Monte,” the first non-American motorcycle to win the coveted Best of Show award at Laconia. “My first influences, and still the strongest ones, are taken from early automotive styles, particularly from the ’40s and ’50s,” says John. His family operated a large vintage and classic automobile restoration and sales dealership, and he moved from there into customizing Ford and Isuzu vehicles, many for the show circuit. In 1994, John opened a Honda/BMW/Yamaha dealership, then left to “jump in with both feet,” creating custom cruisers and parts. He currently manufactures over 400 different parts for metric cruisers, including his “Bike In A Box” kits. Kevin Erion Kevin is a successful Honda racer, race team manager, and go-fast components developer. “I got into road racing as a club racer in 1986,” says Kevin. By 1987 he had won the Willow Springs Battle of the Twins, and by 1988 the AMA Pro Twins Modified championship. He captured the 1989 AMA GP II Twins championship on a Honda Hawk. Kevin recognizes emerging young talent and knows what riders and mechanics have to do to win. Erion Racing has forged a stellar record in AMA road racing, with Erion bikes and riders dominating the AMA’s big-bore road racing class, winning two 600 Supersport championships with Honda’s CBRR600. “For ’04 we’re running a CBR600RR in the New Formula Extreme Series,” says Kevin, “and a CBR1000RR in two classes.” Kevin’s team has 12 members, including 5 mechanics and engine development personnel. He has developed a line of competition exhausts and markets a line of camshafts and pistons, valve springs, racing stands, and a variety of handling parts. Eraldo Ferracci Eraldo Ferracci is known worldwide as a motorcycle racing champion and world record holder, race team owner, and developer of specialized, high-performance motorcycle components (with special emphasis on Ducati and Husqvarna). In 1967, Eraldo arrived in America to modernize the Benelli motorcycle plant in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. In his spare time, he began to develop high-performance motor-cycle parts, then took up drag racing. As his reputation grew, racers brought their machines to him for tuning and modification, and demand for his custom race bikes and components increased. In the late ’80s, Eraldo formed the first American-based Ducati factory race team. In 1991, Team Fast By Ferracci Ducati won the first of two World Superbike Championships. This was followed by two American (AMA) Superbike Championships. In 2000, Eraldo developed Husqvarna’s factory-supported Team Fast By Ferracci/ Husqvarna. Through its on-and off-track research and development, Fast By Ferracci has become a leading producer of Husqvarna aftermarket parts. Mel Moore Mel has been working at Kawasaki Motors Corp. for 31 years. He spent the first four years with Kawasaki’s research and development group, evaluating new model prototypes and working with professional racing teams. His work covered everything from road-testing bikes to disassembling them, looking for problems, and analyzing wear and tear. “I’ve been a motorcycle street and off-road enthusiast since my teen years,” says Mel. “I enjoy all forms of motorcycle competition. I ride several thousand miles annually on various types of bikes, but my greatest enjoyment still comes from dirt bike and motocross riding.” Now a member of the Media Relations Department, Mel’s extensive tech and riding background makes him an insightful resource. He provides a wide range of information about Kawasaki’s motorcycle models and products. His responsibilities include assisting the motorcycle press with company and product information, coordinating the demo fleet, and organizing new model press introductions. Shelby Kennard Shelby is Manager of Parts and Service and Technical Support for Moto Guzzi North America. He provides technical support and training for all Guzzi dealers in North America and manages the staff in Moto Guzzi North America’s after-sales departments. Born and raised in Prince Georges County in Maryland, Shelby discovered an innate mechanical aptitude “by working on my father’s antique car restorations.” He bought his first Moto Guzzi in 1984, moved by “its ruggedness and mechanical purity. This began my love affair with the Italian make,” says Shelby. In the late 1980s, in his spare time, he assembled and serviced the new display and demo models for the US importer, then based in Baltimore. In March 1992, after working as a computer programmer at NASA for 11 years, he landed a job as a mechanic at the Moto Guzzi importer, now Moto Guzzi North America. Since then, Shelby has worked in and managed all after-sales departments, including service, parts, technical support, warranty, and customer service. This has given him an excellent knowledge and understanding of the brand and its riders. Doug Meyer From four wheels to two, Doug has been on a quest for speed for over 30 years. He’s been active in the motorcycle retail and racing industry since 1976. Before that, he was a professional engine builder for cars in such racing series as CanAm, Formula 5000, F-1, and Indy. Doug owned a Kawasaki/ Honda/Suzuki dealership for 11 years, and then moved to Rob Muzzy’s operation, where he manages marketing and product development. Muzzys is known for its high-performance parts — like crankshafts, piston kits, cams, and exhausts — for Kawasakis and other metrics, and for its highly successful NHRA drag racing effort. Doug has been instrumental in developing Muzzys’ ZX-12R Pro Stock bike, and stresses, “We learn a lot from our racing engine development that can be applied to the benefit of the high-performance street rider.” He has been personally involved in road racing, drag racing, and racing at Bonneville, where he’s worked at setting records for 27 years. "I’m always willing to share opinions and provide answers," says Doug. Jeff Palhegyi Jeff has been working with Yamaha Motor Corporation since 1988. He worked on ATV design and racing projects until 1995, when the Royal Star first hit the market. “Hot rods and custom cars were always one of my interests, and when I was given the opportunity to do a custom bike, I was really excited,” says Jeff. Five to six Royal Star Customs later, he began designing accessories for Yamaha’s Parts and Accessories Division. Jeff’s design group currently provides accessories for all new Yamaha cruisers as well as ATVs. They try to build three to four customs per year, including some basic bikes with paint and accessories, and one or two highly modified customs. You can see in most of Jeff’s customs that a lot of effort is put into trying to keep the original Yamaha design. “Typically, we don’t just add aftermarket fenders and tanks; we try to build special bikes that retain the Yamaha look and style. The more custom and handmade parts you can build and add to a bike, the more it shows itself off,” says Jeff. Nigel Patrick Nigel Patrick has a worldwide reputation as a leading developer of high-performance engine components, with a focus on advanced cylinder head design and manufacturing. “We’re hardcore engine people,” says Nigel. “We don’t do mirrors and footpegs.” Nigel started out as an aircraft engineer in Europe and did a stint with the Cosworth Formula 1 team, but was eventually “called back to road racing motorcycles,” his lifelong passion. In 1980, he took a job with RC Engineering in California, which had a deal to build a top fuel bike for Honda. In 1984, with his own bike, Nigel won both an MDRA Funny Bike title and an AMA Drag Bike Top Fuel National Championship. Patrick Racing opened that year, and Nigel delivered a couple of Pro Stock titles, hanging the effort up in ’95. Nigel developed engine packages for the Yamaha Road Star before the bike was introduced. In 2002, Patrick Racing teamed up with Yamaha to create the Patrick Racing Warrior drag bike, which competes in the AMA/Prostar Hot Rod Cruiser Class. Patrick Racing won the class championship in ’02 and ’03. Mark Reese Mark lives in Southern California and has been involved with Suzuki motor- cycle technology for 20 years. After joining American Suzuki in 1983, Mark spent 14 years in the service department as a technical writer, where he became intimately involved with the entire motorcycle product line. Among his responsibilities was the development of service bulletins, manuals, and technical training materials for Suzuki’s service schools. “I’d also travel to our factory in Japan each year, to prepare a new model technical update seminar for our field service staff, which they would present to Suzuki dealers in their respective territories.” A stint as internal technical liaison to the sales, advertising, and PR departments led to Mark’s position as Press Manager, which he’s held for the past six years. Mark works with technical information across the entire motorcycle/ ATV line, plus road race and motocross teams. If there’s a question he can’t answer, he can get that answer from anywhere in the company. Michael J. Belcher Michael is the Director of Fuel Injection Development at Dynojet Research and is in charge of overseeing the development of current and future fuel injection products. Before taking on this position, he ran the mobile dynamometer operation for Dynojet at the AMA Superbike races, as well as at select World Superbike and British Superbike events. Michael frequently travels to the company’s offices in England, Holland, and Germany, and visits various distributors and manufacturers in Western Europe and Asia. Earlier in his career, he spent nearly three years as crew chief for the Grave Motorsports Racing Team based in the San Fernando Valley. He built engines, set up chassis, and machined/fabricated parts for the team’s race bikes. Graves Motorsports has an in-house CNC machining facility where Michael designed and machined the parts. He developed his machining skills and an eye for detail at his previous post as chief mechanic of Attack Racing. Attack’s owner and engineer, Richard Stanboli, mentored Michael in the art of designing and machining parts by hand using old-school mills and lathes. Michael developed engine building and fabrication skills over a three-year stint with the team. Jeff Johnston Jeff’s career in the motorcycle industry began the way many people’s do — in a bike shop when he was a kid. He started working at A&D Honda in Romulus, Michigan, when he was 15 years old, and has been riding, and occasionally wrenching, ever since. Jeff got into the industry by working as a sales rep for Tucker Rocky, then moved on to become the racing manager at Metzeler. His next move was to Teknic, a motorcycle apparel manufacturer, where he worked as the national sales manager. Today, Jeff is the head of Technical Sales Support for Pirelli. (Pirelli purchased Metzeler in 1987, one of three tire brands the company owns.) He’s also currently a member of the Western Eastern Roadracing Association (WERA) technical board. Through his work at Pirelli, Jeff’s hands-on experience with tires is extensive. Notably, he was the lead development person for the ME33/ME99 road racing tires for the AMA pro road racing and dirt track series. On those tires, Eric Bostrom won the AMA 883 dirt track championship, and Ben Bostrom finished second in the AMA Pro 883 road racing championship, in the 1990s. Dennis Mahan Since the late ’50s, Dennis has been a race tuner for dirt track, road racing, Bonneville salt flat racing, and motocross. He worked as the R&D and racing manager at Yamaha Motor Corp. from ’69 to ’72, then joined Bombardier Ltd. as the engine development supervisor for the Can-Am motorcycle line. From 1977 to 1989, Dennis worked in product and accessory development for motorcycles, ATVs, and jet skis at Kawasaki Motors Corp. During that time, he also did some race tuning for Wayne Rainey, who won the AMA Superbike title for Kawasaki in 1983. Dennis left the OEM and moved on to Hyundai Motor, where he worked in the special projects department. Then, in 1996, he joined K&N Engineering as the powersports R&D manager, his current position. Over the years, he’s built engines that have set 10 land speed records at Bonneville. There are two still in the record book from the ’70s! He’s also been a longtime member of the Trail Blazers, a nonprofit motorcycle group that recognizes people who’ve made an impact on the motorcycle field through racing or other activities. Dennis was inducted into the Trail Blazers Hall of Fame in 2000. |
