Off-Season Mid-Week Topic - Chad Watts/RC

mitch199
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mitch199
Edited Date/Time 10/11/2020 5:19pm
Hey gang,
As the thread title states. I follow Chad Watts on Insta (@dcw240) and got to thinking, what happened to make Ricky switch to Goose in 03? I know Chad officially 'retired', but I recall reading somewhere that maybe wasn't the entire story.

Regardless, I think Chad Watts is probably the best bike overall dirtbike builder and finisher on earth. Goose has obviously got the most wins ever, but the attention to detail Chad Watts puts into things is phenomenal.

Living in Aus I'll probably never get to have my things fixed by him, but its nice to see photos of those Gen 3 Alloy CR's he finishes up.
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olds cool
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olds cool 11/26/2018 4:10pm
11/26/2018 4:10pm Edited Date/Time 11/26/2018 4:11pm
Burned out and had some health issues from the box van wreck he had. Was time to get off the road and start a family. Chad is a good guy.
olds cool
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olds cool 11/26/2018 4:58pm
11/26/2018 4:58pm
Just giving the Reader's Digest version of what Chad told me. I don't know RC personally, so his answer may be different.
lostboy819
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lostboy819 11/26/2018 5:16pm
11/26/2018 5:16pm
I think in one of Chads interviews he said that RC was questioning his commitment because he liked to have a good time, but I don't think there was any real soap opera drama like people want to think. Either way RC had great success when Watts was turning the wrenches and his work is awesome.

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H4L
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H4L 11/26/2018 5:21pm
11/26/2018 5:21pm Edited Date/Time 11/26/2018 5:25pm
As lostboy819 mentioned they both have their side of the story. The facts & truth are probably somewhere in between like in most cases.

I feel extremely fortunate to have just picked this bike (07 CR2) up yesterday that has Chad Watts engine mods.. Looking forward to put some laps on it.




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JWACK
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JWACK 10/10/2020 8:43am
10/10/2020 8:43am
H4L wrote:
As lostboy819 mentioned they both have their side of the story. The facts & truth are probably somewhere in between like in most cases. I feel...
As lostboy819 mentioned they both have their side of the story. The facts & truth are probably somewhere in between like in most cases.

I feel extremely fortunate to have just picked this bike (07 CR2) up yesterday that has Chad Watts engine mods.. Looking forward to put some laps on it.




Did you ever put some laps on this chad watts bike? I know you have the pc mods on your other Cr and love them. Can you compare?
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H4L
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H4L 10/11/2020 11:56am
10/11/2020 11:56am
JWACK wrote:
Did you ever put some laps on this chad watts bike? I know you have the pc mods on your other Cr and love them. Can...
Did you ever put some laps on this chad watts bike? I know you have the pc mods on your other Cr and love them. Can you compare?
Yes. The Watts Perfection engine mods on the 05-07 engine are very good. In comparison to the 03 PC engine mods I prefer the 03 do to it having more up top with an extended overrev. I was going to try an HGS pipe & the oem Mikuni TMX on the 07, but I took the bike apart. I believe the FMF Fatty combined with the Keihin (bought it this way) were holding back the engine up top.
The 07 has a gradual pull off the bottom into a good mid to top with a meaty mid range. The 03 engine combined with a Doma exhaust pulls hard off the bottom into an exceptional topend / overrev. I've test ridden the newer KTM / Husky's & the CR engine out performs them.
CPR
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CPR 10/11/2020 4:08pm
10/11/2020 4:08pm
JWACK wrote:
Did you ever put some laps on this chad watts bike? I know you have the pc mods on your other Cr and love them. Can...
Did you ever put some laps on this chad watts bike? I know you have the pc mods on your other Cr and love them. Can you compare?
H4L wrote:
Yes. The Watts Perfection engine mods on the 05-07 engine are very good. In comparison to the 03 PC engine mods I prefer the 03 do...
Yes. The Watts Perfection engine mods on the 05-07 engine are very good. In comparison to the 03 PC engine mods I prefer the 03 do to it having more up top with an extended overrev. I was going to try an HGS pipe & the oem Mikuni TMX on the 07, but I took the bike apart. I believe the FMF Fatty combined with the Keihin (bought it this way) were holding back the engine up top.
The 07 has a gradual pull off the bottom into a good mid to top with a meaty mid range. The 03 engine combined with a Doma exhaust pulls hard off the bottom into an exceptional topend / overrev. I've test ridden the newer KTM / Husky's & the CR engine out performs them.
Sounds like the 07 was modded for SX and the 03 for moto?
H4L
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H4L 10/11/2020 5:19pm
10/11/2020 5:19pm
CPR wrote:
Sounds like the 07 was modded for SX and the 03 for moto?
The PC mods are tailored better for MX. The 07 has more potential up top & feel there are some potential gains left untapped. I believe it will run better up top with the HGS exhaust & TMX Mikuni.
I tried the FMF Fatty & PWK carb on the 03 & it ran similar to the 07. The Fatty seems to enhance the mid range at the sacrifice of some up top. The PWK also feels like it enhances the low-mid while the TMX helps the mid-top. It really depends on where the rider wants the power.
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CPR
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CPR 10/11/2020 7:35pm
10/11/2020 7:35pm
CPR wrote:
Sounds like the 07 was modded for SX and the 03 for moto?
H4L wrote:
The PC mods are tailored better for MX. The 07 has more potential up top & feel there are some potential gains left untapped. I believe...
The PC mods are tailored better for MX. The 07 has more potential up top & feel there are some potential gains left untapped. I believe it will run better up top with the HGS exhaust & TMX Mikuni.
I tried the FMF Fatty & PWK carb on the 03 & it ran similar to the 07. The Fatty seems to enhance the mid range at the sacrifice of some up top. The PWK also feels like it enhances the low-mid while the TMX helps the mid-top. It really depends on where the rider wants the power.
For sure, Fatty’s definitely provide a meaty mid, while the keihin is a popular mod to improve throttle response, I’ve always thought the std mikuni had better over-rev. The mikuni may be a bit more finicky to tune, but it’s worth the effort when you get it right. Try unplugging the TPS and see if you like it.
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