Seemingly what could go wrong – did go wrong for NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Ryan Oehler in the 2022 season.

Oehler finished 10th in the final world standings but only won three rounds in an extremely frustrating season on his Buell.

“Pretty much from the get-go until the very end. We finally got a grip on everything going into the last couple races of the year,” said Oehler, who competed in the full 15 race schedule for the PSM class. “And it really felt good to have honestly really finally turned the page. And it just took basically the whole year to get everything sorted out.”

Oehler had single-round wins in Bristol, Tenn., Dallas, and Las Vegas. The Dallas and Vegas races were in the fall.

“We were plagued by some parts failures from some inadequate parts from a manufacturer that hurt us and showed dramatically right at the point of time where I thought we were getting a grip on it around the U.S. Nationals (in September),” Oehler said. “We honestly, at that moment... We had Chip (Ellis) on the team, and we had good things going. We were starting to get it sorted out. Every time that we would start to see the performance come up, we’d have a failure. It would be a minor failure of some sort at that time, but we’d have to go to backup motors. Then, we’d fall off at that point.

“Then, we left Indy, and we worked extremely hard in that period before Maple Grove (Pa.) to really get our best foot forward. And man, did we have the worst situation really ever happen. We got on the dyno, and we hurt a motor immediately on the dyno. And so, we pulled it off and put another motor in that was running competitive at Indy that we’d just freshened up. Then a rod broke, and it went out of the motor into the lithium-ion battery, blew up, and caught on fire on the dyno.”
That incident just increased Oehler’s woes.

“That was terrible,” he said. “Then, every one of these nights, it’s like 2, 3, 4 in the morning and three, four nights in a row and finally, we got one to run. It was down on power. And we went to Maple Grove, ran slowly, and were surprised. We took the motor apart the next morning and it had destroyed the rod bearings on the run. Meanwhile, we had a motor finished Friday at 9 p.m. It got shipped in and showed up at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in Maple Grove. We put it in. We broke it right off the bat. We just snuck through the event with qualifying and staying in the show and then, we went ahead and made the move to get back home. And by Tuesday after Maple Grove, we were on the dyno with a different concept with different parts and made the most horsepower we’d ever made and then, we got that all to work out in multiple motors.”

 

 

 

After a series of unfortunate events with engines, progress was welcomed by Oehler.

“The problem was the manufacturer had mis-manufactured the rods,” Oehler said. “So, every single motor that we put this new batch of rods in, it just wiped them all out. So then, we went to St. Louis, and we ran strong. And everyone finally got to see it, but it happened with a brilliant showing. We had an oil line pop off just after the starting line, and it emptied the oil tank all the way down the track, spraying it right on the exhaust. So, it made a smoke trail from the starting line to the finish line. And they said I set the new world record for the longest Pro Stock motorcycle oil down, basically from the starting line back to the pit. But we went 6.84 to 198 (mph). 

“So, everyone’s like, ‘Well, they thought he blew it up, but then they don’t blow up and go fast.’ So, then we were able to recreate that, and we went, I think, at a 6.83 or 6.84 in the first round of eliminations. And it was almost like an exact repeat of the first race of the year. Me and Jerry Savoie. Jerry went a 78, and I went an 83. And we basically did that exact same thing again. And at least, we were back on the right track. So then though, you’re on the right track. Then you go to Dallas, and you spend all week on the dyno and really making sure everything’s as good as it can be. And first run at Dallas, we broke something in the valve train and that was my only good set of cams. So, we were automatically in Dallas on the limp with that event.”

After the Vegas race, Oehler tried to get things in order.

“When we got home going into Vegas, we had got three engines all to make the most horsepower that we’ve ever made, all three within one horsepower of each other and it finally showed,” he said. “We didn’t do great in Vegas because we’re just trying to learn... still are trying to learn how to tune out there. But when we went to Pomona, we went quicker every single pass and finished with the best pass of the weekend. Went a 6.80. I think a 6.85 to Karen (Stoffer’s) 6.82. And both had .005 reaction times and we laid down a really good solid run and qualified decent. And everyone felt good about it. So, it was a good way to end the year knowing that hey, exactly where you’re going and where you’re headed. And you know you’re not making any huge changes. The reliability is there.”

 

 

With his massive engine problems seemingly solved, Oehler is ready to tackle 2023.

“Now, we’ve got brand new engines coming in this winter, brand new cylinder heads,” he said. “And we’ve got a really good plan because really, the only thing that’s been lacking just from the combination that we have is the 60 foot, still. So going into the offseason, we’re going to really work this 60-foot. We’re going to come out with a little bit more horsepower, getting a better consistent 60-foot. And then, there’s a whole bunch of stuff if we make more horsepower. The new bike’s going to be done, and we’ll be out with it. If all that adds up to something, that’s all just gravy.”

Oehler took a moment to talk about the new bike he plans on campaigning at some point next season.

 “We’ve been building it all year long,” Oehler said. “It’s the same bodywork as we run, the Buell 1190 RX, but it’s a brand-new chassis that’s a different design. So, it’ll be the first Buell that’s a different design, other than what I guess... Technically, yes. It’ll be the first Buell of a new design, and Mike Mullaney from Mullaney Cycle Works has been building that for us. It sounds like it should... Everyone says, ‘What’s going on? What’s going on?’ I said, ‘Well, technically, to build something new that’s a one-of... This is the third... He had to build three of them just to give me one.’ Because there’s just a lot of trial and error that we’re trying to work through.”

After such a trying 2022 season overflowing with adversity, Oehler tried to see the positive side.

“We learned a lot, and there was a lot of stuff that happened that... People would say, ‘Well man, the two bikes, was that really a good thing?’ I said, ‘Well, two bikes really sped up my failure rate.” 

“If I was going to have failures, I’m glad they happened in a month rather than three or four months because I’d still be having them,” Oehler said. “So being out there pounding it and taking the beating as bad as it was, it still put us in the place that we want to be going into the offseason.”
Oehler has won two NHRA national events and has two runner-up finishes on his resume, so he knows what it takes to be a championship contender again.

“The PRI show (last week in Indianapolis) was huge for me,” Oehler said. There’s a lot of little things I had to do that I wanted to do with some certain subcontractors that is all coming together. We have our engine dyno up and running and we’re working with our development program. We’ll be coming out with our very first set of cylinder heads that are our own design, meaning the port design is our own design. I’ve been Mr. Garage Sale and everything I’ve gotten, I’ve really got from somebody else that had already worked with it. So, this’ll be fairly our first time putting together our package. And I’ve been very fortunate to have people help me. Now, we’re on our own path. We have this sophisticated, new ignition system that took all year to get sorted out. I have help with that department. We have an engine dyno that’s now working that we’ve worked to get it to this program for a long time.

“So, it’s all going to funnel together, but nothing’s going to change. At this moment, the bike I ran in Pomona is sitting there as it was in Pomona and we’re just tweaking on it a little bit. And we want to use that platform to go out and start testing. And meanwhile, the 60 foot is the most important thing because that means that the ET of your motorcycle is just sitting there waiting to be uncovered. It’s there. It doesn’t require any development. It just requires proper tuning. So that’s good because once that comes together, my existing setup becomes competitive. As soon as more horsepower comes down the pipe throughout this offseason, that just goes on top and becomes just an added bonus. And now, you’re right there in the mix.”

Oehler said he’s in no rush to debut his new motorcycle.

“Well, soon as it proves itself to be faster than the other bike,” Oehler said about when he brings out his new motorcycle. Yeah, and it may be in the offseason that we determine it already. It’s coming to my shop within the next week and once it’s at my shop, it’s leaving and going to my tuner’s shop, which that’s Brad McCoy. And he’s out of Mooresville (N.C.). So, we’re going to go spend some time in Mooresville and get all the wiring done and all the oil lines done, all that stuff. And once that’s all done, it’s ready to go to the track. We’re going to be testing just after the new year. So, we’re looking at right in the middle of January, then the first week of February.”

Oehler was quick to thank his sponsors that have allowed him continue his passion of racing a Pro Stock Motorcycle.

The list consists of El Bandido Yankee Tequila, Burromax, NGK, High performance lubricants, Nut Scentz, Worldwide bearings, Bigfoot Forestry, LimeLite graphics, Tampa Bay Race Rentals, Smith Systems, Silver Star Painting, Fast Lane Classic Cars, Gas Jockey graphics, Vita C Energy and Nevco group.