The Aftermath of the Dynamometer Disaster

The Red Baron was tied down, thrown on its side, and revved way beyond its limits when it was mistakenly shifted from 2nd gear into 1st, rather than 3rd, during an acceleration run on an inertial dynamometer in the post-season of 2017. In the aftermath, we stripped the motorcycle down to the chassis to check, replace, and rebuild each system. We used red dye to penetrate any cracks in the engine case, particularly around the transmission shaft bearings, which captured our mood… The Red Baron had been hurt, badly.

We could feel the transmission bearings had been damaged when we turned them with a finger and felt areas of roughness and resistance.

We also knew that 1st gear was likely damaged internally from the shock of engaging way beyond red-line RPM, and decided to replace the gear set.

The Red Baron’s swingarm was also severely bent. We turned this lemon into lemonade! We decided to upgrade the swingarm using one from a 500cc Moto Morini which added about 2 inches to the wheelbase length. This improved aerodynamic characteristics of The Red Baron by creating a longer and lower profile.

Nearly two years later, we still reflect on the dynamometer disaster and how we have recovered, learned, and improved from it. Now we are developing a power absorbing unit to conduct our own performance testing!