Half the Wheels, Twice the Crazy

31 Aug Half the Wheels, Twice the Crazy

Not everything Fluid MotorUnion deals with can be classified as an ‘automobile.’ We also do a little bike work here and there.

No, we haven’t started restoring vintage Schwinns for the hipsters in Chicago. We’re talking chain-driven, gas-powered, high revving fury.

We’ve posted a couple small entries on bikes from time to time, but never have we dedicated an actual meat-and-potatoes, words-and-pictures blog entry to one. Until now.

This is our bike, a matte black Honda CBR1000RR. And by our bike, we mean AJ’s.

AJ works at Fluid, but he originally came here looking for a sponsorship. You see, he’d been working on this bike well before he and we crossed paths. On top of impressing us with his background and abilities, he impressed us with his dedication, both to his job and this bike. This is no fly-by-night, trailer-queen, all-show-no-go, egregious-overuse-of-hyphens affair, either. This bike is being built for one purpose and one purpose only — to race the hell out of it.

Racing isn’t all about having the fastest bike. Sure, you can beef up the internals, add some crazy shift kit and be able to outgun everyone else on the track, but that’s not going to help if you can’t keep the bike in line and occasionally stop the thing. AJ adheres to this mantra, and it shows in the modifications to his bike; the CBR’s engine internals remain wholly unmodified, and the story is the same for his transmission and all its associated mechanics. Most of his work is in suspension, brakes, anything related to handling.

As I’d mentioned before, AJ came here looking for a sponsorship. Since he’d already been working on the bike himself, many of the modifications were done before he arrived at Fluid; things like his full Elka suspension setup, Akrapovic exhaust, steel-braided brake lines and Vesper RJL pads arrived on a Honda that was, at the time, painted black, white and red. Upon arrival at FMU, the bike was repainted the matte black you currently see (and may have also seen on one of our project cars, Gold Wheels). Furthermore, Mike Eastway modified the intake a little bit and performed a radiator fan delete, along with a couple other deletes, as well. In short, this bike is all about how it handles, not how fast it goes. Which is okay with AJ, because when it comes down to it, he doesn’t need a whole lot of extra power to compete.

AJ is not a small guy. Coming in at over six feet tall and two hundred plus pounds, one may not immediately consider him aerodynamic (aside from the shaved head), but you’d think that an Olsen twin was on that bike when you see his times on the track. Recently, his lap times at Autobahn Raceway in Joliet, IL, were within one second or so of the leader. Don’t forget about the power discrepancies, either; most of these bikes on the track have internal engine modifications and many more go-fast parts than AJ.

Remember, kids: There’s just no replacement for skill.

As AJ so succinctly put it, “I’m 32 and I’m going up against these kids that are 22, who’ve been racing since they were 12. I didn’t start until about a year ago.” I guess there’s no need to play catch up for that lost time, unless we’re talking about all the bikes behind him on the course. He didn’t get to race too much this year – only about 3 times – but last year was rich with racing, and next year looks to be, as well. In between this year’s racing season and next year’s, there’s a whole winter’s worth of time to work on this bike and get some increased power output. Rumors have it that Fluid MotorUnion’s Craig (of “I fabricate Gallardo exhausts that shoot fireballs” fame) has been tapped to potentially custom-fab an exhaust for the Honda. Will it, too, shoot some serious fireballs? We’ll just have to see.

AJ’s ultimate goal is to enter the Isle of Man TT, the deadliest and most demanding Tourist Trophy race. Since the body sanctioning this event has recently added a “TT Privateer Championship” specifically for solo teams and solo riders, his goal is most definitely within reach. While racing on the Isle of Man is possible in 2011, in all likelihood he won’t be there until the following year, since he still needs to put together a pit crew and deal with the bureaucracy of the international licensing processes.

Here at Fluid MotorUnion, we’re definitely fans of speed and motoring, no matter how many wheels. AJ’s a great addition to our team, and both he and his bike stand as a testament to Fluid’s constant pushing of the envelope.