Anything For A Win

ANYTHING FOR A WIN

With competition getting tougher in club-level Stock Production racing, creative cheating is increasing. One team has used two intake cams in a bike with electronic tach. The intake cam looks just like an exhaust cam, but has more lift. The same team ported a cylinder head, then bead-plasted the ports and used a fine porting tool tip to create imitation casting marks in the enlarged ports. To improve braking on the same bike, the team installed -3 braided stainless steel lines fitted inside stock rubber brake hoses.

Two of the most common cheating techniques are removing the air filter (or airbox cover) and using a degree wheel and slotted cam sprockets to precisely adjust cam timing.

There are legal ways (depending upon local rules) to increase power, such as using the largest oversize pistons listed in the parts book for the particular motorcycle, or changing jetting and timing. Many teams do all that but keep right on going to ensure victory. They can get away with it because bikes entered in club races are inspected for safety before practice, and safety only. Before a motorcycle will be inspected for illegal modifications another rider must file a protest, and usually pay a fee that is returned if the protest is valid. If the protest is not valid, the protested rider gets the money.

Many riders are reluctant to protest other teams because they have hopes of someday being paid to race, and don’t want to risk being black balled. Sometimes teams apply pressure to clubs and riders to withdraw or rule against a protest.

The only way to ensure clean, fair Stock Production racing is for clubs to randomly inspect finishers. Anybody failing an inspection should lose all points accumulated to that date, and any team caught cheating twice should be banished from the club for the remainder of the year.