Joined Nov 2001
17K Posts | 774+
Ely, England
sad to see the race & ride report site has very little on racing by it's members!
well anyway, my first meeting for 3 months and first ride for 2. i went to pretty much my favourite track which is whaddon. i didn't have to do anything to the bike as it has been prepped for weeks including two new tyres which is quite rare for me as i usually have one bald one on it somewhere!
the race was a 2 + 2 and we are now using transponders to clock in. when the minute clicked over everyone started bar me as my starter motor 'went through' about 6 times. then it caught and started nicely, making sure not to touch the throttle for a few seconds i let it warm and then got away just as the row behind me got going.
the track is a lovely mixture of grass, ditches, bogs at the low points, single track reed-bed slush and the MX circuit (see my pic left) and it pays to experiment and find new and quicker routes.
i had an excellent morning with just the 4 falls. one was a 3rd gear beauty as i knew i was going down and had 20 yards to think about it!
the new '53' cam was working well and so was a needle that i have had ground to my own spec. i simply don't need any more power on days like this and for once, on a really long straight, i found myself overtaking riders with ease.
as luck would have it i was due in at 12.36 and i arrived at 12.35 so no time penalties! by now it was a constant drizzle and the lunchtime was a sod as you sat in the tailgate trying to keep the rain off.
i put in just 7 litres for the afternoon and the bike now looked to weigh another 50lb's what with all the mud. but i have favourite parts of the track where i try and 'smash' all the mud off at no penalty in time.
i went to start the bike prematurely before my row and the bike would have none of it-dead!
luckily, next to me was #112 on an '03 FE400e and he noticed a spark at the NEGATIVE LEAD TO THE BATTERY so by jamming my finger in there the bike started with no throttle. trusting that the CoC couldn't hear my engine running i set off after a 2 second delay (to disguise any advantage gained) like a scalded cat in what was 'heavy drizzle'.
i caught up with #487 martin smith with whom i had swapped places about 6 times in the morning but he was a spent force after the earlier ordeal and i briskly tore past him. there was this rotten ditch which at 9am i had checked could be jumped if i took advantage of a huump on the right. making sure i landed back wheel first i made the jump for the first two times and after that the track was so wet i couldn't get enough speed up.
i fell a lot! don't ask me how many times! 10-14? because my hamstrings had gone to jelly as we stopped for lunch i was sure that i'd be exhausted in the afternoon but i think the rain and the slower pace saved me. no matter how often i fell i seemed able to pick it up and get going without that 'totally shattered' feeling.
mid way through the 2-hour stint i notice oil down the front of the engine which i took to be a loose rocker cover-but we'll see? the bike, which hardly ever stalls on it's side was still easy to start when it did. however the weather deteriorated even further and nobody could clear their treads. in the morning i had avoided the wet grass and stuck to the dirt tracks and now it was raining i was avoiding the dirt tracks and riding on the grass!
eventually i fell on the last lap when i took a back marker on the wrong side and stalled- the bike would have none of it this time but luckily two marshals wer nearby and we bumped it. alas i fell once more for good measure on that last lap and could not start it! i cleared crap from around the solenoid and pushed and prodded some wires behind the headlamp before i got it started one last time.
i must have lost 10 minutes on that last lap so all my hard work for the day was yet again gone.
last year i had a puncture and a broken ignition wire which meant i couldn't re-start it on the last lap so.....
anyway, i think for the first time i can say that the bike did everything i wanted of it and ran beautifully bar this loose negative wire.
anyone want 20lb's of mud for their garden?
Taffy
well anyway, my first meeting for 3 months and first ride for 2. i went to pretty much my favourite track which is whaddon. i didn't have to do anything to the bike as it has been prepped for weeks including two new tyres which is quite rare for me as i usually have one bald one on it somewhere!
the race was a 2 + 2 and we are now using transponders to clock in. when the minute clicked over everyone started bar me as my starter motor 'went through' about 6 times. then it caught and started nicely, making sure not to touch the throttle for a few seconds i let it warm and then got away just as the row behind me got going.
the track is a lovely mixture of grass, ditches, bogs at the low points, single track reed-bed slush and the MX circuit (see my pic left) and it pays to experiment and find new and quicker routes.
i had an excellent morning with just the 4 falls. one was a 3rd gear beauty as i knew i was going down and had 20 yards to think about it!
the new '53' cam was working well and so was a needle that i have had ground to my own spec. i simply don't need any more power on days like this and for once, on a really long straight, i found myself overtaking riders with ease.
as luck would have it i was due in at 12.36 and i arrived at 12.35 so no time penalties! by now it was a constant drizzle and the lunchtime was a sod as you sat in the tailgate trying to keep the rain off.
i put in just 7 litres for the afternoon and the bike now looked to weigh another 50lb's what with all the mud. but i have favourite parts of the track where i try and 'smash' all the mud off at no penalty in time.
i went to start the bike prematurely before my row and the bike would have none of it-dead!
luckily, next to me was #112 on an '03 FE400e and he noticed a spark at the NEGATIVE LEAD TO THE BATTERY so by jamming my finger in there the bike started with no throttle. trusting that the CoC couldn't hear my engine running i set off after a 2 second delay (to disguise any advantage gained) like a scalded cat in what was 'heavy drizzle'.
i caught up with #487 martin smith with whom i had swapped places about 6 times in the morning but he was a spent force after the earlier ordeal and i briskly tore past him. there was this rotten ditch which at 9am i had checked could be jumped if i took advantage of a huump on the right. making sure i landed back wheel first i made the jump for the first two times and after that the track was so wet i couldn't get enough speed up.
i fell a lot! don't ask me how many times! 10-14? because my hamstrings had gone to jelly as we stopped for lunch i was sure that i'd be exhausted in the afternoon but i think the rain and the slower pace saved me. no matter how often i fell i seemed able to pick it up and get going without that 'totally shattered' feeling.
mid way through the 2-hour stint i notice oil down the front of the engine which i took to be a loose rocker cover-but we'll see? the bike, which hardly ever stalls on it's side was still easy to start when it did. however the weather deteriorated even further and nobody could clear their treads. in the morning i had avoided the wet grass and stuck to the dirt tracks and now it was raining i was avoiding the dirt tracks and riding on the grass!
eventually i fell on the last lap when i took a back marker on the wrong side and stalled- the bike would have none of it this time but luckily two marshals wer nearby and we bumped it. alas i fell once more for good measure on that last lap and could not start it! i cleared crap from around the solenoid and pushed and prodded some wires behind the headlamp before i got it started one last time.
i must have lost 10 minutes on that last lap so all my hard work for the day was yet again gone.
last year i had a puncture and a broken ignition wire which meant i couldn't re-start it on the last lap so.....
anyway, i think for the first time i can say that the bike did everything i wanted of it and ran beautifully bar this loose negative wire.
anyone want 20lb's of mud for their garden?
Taffy
