Las Vegas II: Ryan Schnitz Friday summary

Schnitz Adjusting to New Ignition System

Ryan Schnitz, Rob Muzzy, and the Trim-Tex/Muzzy's Pro Stock Motorcycle team tested their Buell extensively between the last race at Maple Grove and this weekend's ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals. The bike is sporting a whole new fuel and ignition control system, the Magneti-Marelli unit that has been used so successfully by the G2 Motorsports team. "We tested at a small, tiny local track in Sunrise, Arizona," said Schnitz. "We've tested there in the past and it's a decent track. We got some good data because the weather is very similar there as it is here in Las Vegas."

That testing seemed put to good use in round 1 of qualifying, as Ryan posted the 6th fastest time, 3rd quickest of the Buells in the round.

qualifying round 1

But the bike had a problem in the second round that Ryan attributed to the sensors that feed the ignition system the information it needs. "We had a camshaft and crank sync error," said Schnitz. "As soon as it misfired I shut it off right away."

qualifying round 2

"The crank sensor was a little loose, and the cam sync sensor was a little off of where it should be. So we're hoping that the combination of those is what caused the problem. But everything's fine, it didn't hurt the motor at all. They have a recommended way of doing the cam sync sensor, and we had a different way of doing it that worked fine until that pass. We can change it tomorrow if we have to. But for now we'll head out of here and get a buffet at one of the casinos."

-credit: sr