Anglesey ( late report ! )

Well people, sorry to have taken soooo long to update since the last report! Holiday and works gets in the way of all the fun!

Well...... Anglesey.... long old drive for me to get there - much delay on the way and a road closed didn't exactly help things along!

The last hour or so was quite a nice drive though along the coast, i was tempted to stop, but just wanted to get there !

Friday night I walked the track, and wow! What a track it is. It's almost as if the circuit is made up of the best elements of several other circuits.... even a mini Laguna Seca corkscrew bend! The 10 degree banked bend looked like it was going to be fun, the main 'straight' (technically a very long curve actually) rose uphill to a blind crest left hander, swiftly followed by a right hander, and a short straight to a right hand bend at the highest part of the circuit, dropping back downhill if you had sufficient time to actually see it there was a superb view straight out to sea! dropping down the corkscrew to another short straight, then a nice left hander back to the start straight you then had another left hander to return you to the banked bend for another lap!

All in all it was a superb circuit, very smooth, however its downside must be its exposure to coastal weather....... which during Friday night / ealry Saturday morning arrived with a vengeance!

The paddock was just littered with broken and bent awnings! The wind and rain had been wild and it was deemed too dangerous to race!

Now I knew rain had been forecast, but unfortunately I had no wet tyres! Carl neath was getting me some rims and Martin Hylands of JustLambretta was going to bring me some Sava Monsum tyres... but unfortunately his bike is still not playing so he did not go. Steve Wright came to the rescue and picked me up some Sava's and tubes from Rayspeed alongwith the new rims for Carl to give to me! So whilst we were sat waiting (hoping) for the wind to drop, I built the wheels and tyres together... a little bit of filing of the stud holes and they eventually fitted together! So then i sat filing the surface off the tyres to 'scrub' them in...... thankfully Phil Bevis walked by and came back with the monster super sharp file that helped take the surface off ( alongwith several bits of skin from my fingers!)

Captain kroozer jealously looked over as he'd also been sat for some considerable time doing his with wet and dry , possible even a girls finger nail file even (!) Actually - apologies Capatin for that comment ( he's a big fella !)

Anyways eventually after half two in the afternoon, we eventually got on track, but racing was cancelled and it was just going to be a practice session for a couple of hours.!

So....... baptism of fire time, as after 13 years away this would be my first wet session! funnily enough I really never felt bad at all about it in fact i actually felt more comfortable in the wet than I had in the dry! In fact I felt so comfortable that after pulling onto the track, the first bend is the banked 180 degree bend, I just went straight round the outside of three of the vintage bikes who were very gently tip toeing around it!

in that first twenty minute session I managed to pass quite a few bikes which was great fun! Just as I thought i was actually going pretty well, the Conneely brothers came by me round the outside with Bert having his knee down! ( Didn't anyone tell him it was wet? )

So the afternoon passed with me going out on track for as many sessions as I possibly could - (I really need the track time) but after a couple of hours the sea mist came in and took away the visiblilty, so it was game over for the day!

Time to pack up and get changed, which was when i realised basically everything was soaking wet! My one pair of shoes was absolutely soaked! Only one thing for it - so I took a drive into Hollyhead to try and catch the shops before they shut! I managed to just grab a pair of dry shoes just as the shop was closing..... and wearing them was heaven!

I picked up a chinese and went back to the circuit to eat it...... and very welcome it was too! Now i don't know what they eat down on the south coast, but Kat and PJ had never eaten banana fritters before!!!!! So of course I shared some with them, and Kats face was a picture as she tried fritters for the first time..... decision..... well...... plain weird she reckons! PJ was quite clear in his assessment though ( doubt he'll be eating them again lol)

Saturday night, and a few drinks and a hot dog standing in the cold with the Hardys, Pollits and Woods's before settling back for an uncomfortable night in the back of the HG van.


Sunday arrived windy again, but dry, which to be honest I was disappointed about as after how I felt on saturday I would have loved it wet again! So as it was my second race in 13 years saw me pootling around, not troubling the front runners, but closer than I was on my first outing at Mallory. The second race saw Charlie Edmonds drop it into the start straight chasing Stuart Day, which was a shame as i reckon the spectators were due to see a Battle Royal between them two! its a rare occurence for Charlie to throw his bike down the track so it was a real shame. the second race I was closer again and it was near the end of the race before the leaders came by (!) which was a big improvement......

So... all in all, I really enjoyed Anglesey, I just need to get lots of track time to get comfortable and quicker, at 45 I'm not going to be troubling the front runners , but I look forward to net being lapped as my first target for improvement!

The scooter ran really well again, with no mechanical gremlins, which i have been really pleased about!

I'm not able to make the next meeting ( Lydden Hill) but am looking forward to Cadwell Park which is at least in the same county as I live in!

Now...... if it rains at Cadwell........... hhhmmmmmm theres a thought!

Thanks to Captain Kroozer for the fuel, Carl Neath and Steve Wright for sorting me the tyres and rims and the Hardy posse for sausages and beer! Steve Pollit for entertainment as always ( and don't mention the tumble!!!!!!!)

Testing Testing 1-2-3

Well ... we are just about through July now, - no race meetings this month!

I was quite pleased with how the scooter ran first time out at Mallory, but I was pretty disappointed with the riders performance - i.e me!

So i figured some track time is necessary to get some decent practice. I felt ok straight line, and braking / slow bends, but really never felt confident at all in the high speed and very very long Gerards bend at Mallory.

I'd never raced at Mallory before and didn't actually appreciate just how flipping long that bend is! I read somewhere its the longest single race track bend in the world...... don't know how true that actually is (!) but it sure goes on for seemingly miles! I was looking at some aerial pictures of Mallory, and a plan of the track and you spend a heck of a lot of the lap on Gerards!

So I found out that Mallory do open motorcyle practice most wednesday afternoons. You just need an ACU licence, and a bike that would pass scrutineering ( if there was any!) Also there were fellow BSSO competitors Scott Chapman, Chris Taylor, and Ed Hocking (Captain Tightwad). Steve Conneely and Martin Wing also turned up to spectate. They were there to see the first exposure(!) of the scooter built on a very tight budget (£285 so far!) by fellow blogger Captain Tightwad. No-one really knew Tightwads true identity until now, as Ed was building the scooter in secret!

so..... heres the Silver Dream Machine! Eds done a great job of begging stealing and borrowing to get his bike on the track..... and not to say brave as well - drum brakes - they are the future!

It just goes to show you can at least get on the track without spending a fortune!

Click > for Captain Tightwads blog

So...... how did it go? Well, i lost most of the first session after a rear brake pedal issue - it has hanging loose! dodgy thread, so only managed a couple of flying laps really!

Second session was better, and immediately on second flying lap was under me best time from the first time out at Mallory last month. Steady improvement continued, and by the end of it i'd gained a bit over three seconds a lap, so was quite chuffed. Still not feeling anywhere near comfortable in the fast sweeping Gerards, and having 600cc bikes and supermotos blasting past you doesn't really help matters! Ed and I were taking a wide line through Gerards to give the much faster bikes the inside so we could stay safely out of their way ( well most of them anyway ! lol )

It was very hot out there though and after 11 or 12 laps we'd about had enough lol.... sticky, sweaty and boiling up inside those leathers! 12 laps is surprisingly tiring, and you certainly know about it!

So a little tinker and check over, refuel, and away we go in the third and last session for the day.

We were straight out this time early doors, and again, immediately faster than the prevoius session. Tyres were really coming in now and the Dunlops felt so sticky. I gradually felt much more confident, was loving the section from Edwina's up to the bus stop, even diving up the inside of a bike at one point which made me grin a little under the helmet. Ed was leading me on coming around the outside and passing me several times round Gerards, then I pass him back after Edwinas up to the hairpin, but it was good fun and gave me something to chase which helped me gain confidence and speed for sure...... so cheers Ed......

after about 12 laps fatigue was setting in and i reckon we'd peaked! we found ourselves in a big group of way faster bikes at this point so we tried to stay out of their way a bit! i had a bit of a tank slapper moment and the session was nearing its end. But we still managed 16 laps in all, but we were about shagged out!

I ended this session a whole 6 seconds faster than first time out, so overall I was quite chuffed. Still a long way to go but was feeling much better on the bike after 13 years away thats for sure! Tyres were very sticky, and worn pretty far off the side, so i was quite chuffed as they passed Mr Conneely's test ! They certainly showed I'd been trying thats for sure!

Performance Art were there taking pictures, which they publish on their web site which is a nice touch as you can buy them....

Take It Easy.......

Take It East They said - So I Did...... very!

Heres how it went! >>

Tell you what …. After 13 years away is F^%$ing scary! The corner speeds they are carrying now are simply amazing! The tyres are so much better…. You can really feel the grip straight away.

I think I was getting carried away before the race with my over expectations! In my mind I was going to make up 2 rows from the start and then hold that place ……. How wrong was I !

First off……. I REALLY should have done a track day! The bike has been ridden up and down our road for 500 yards…. That’s it! I had no idea about how it would handle or anything…. So there I was……. 4 whole laps of practice and then race! Bit silly really!

So……. I don’t know what it like in your neck of the woods, but it was bloody windy at Mallory Park – 50mph + gusts that were coming at you on the straight, turning into cross winds through the first big long sweeping bend…… so I set off down the straight…. Flat out… into the wind grinning like a cheshire cat as the power came in……. which quickly turned to ‘ Oh Fuck!’ as the wind catches you – front end goes light and I’m wavering all over the place in the wind!

Tip into the right hander – but I’m all wrong – is it 3^rd or 4^th? Has to be 3^rd….. not carrying enough speed to make it 4^th,….. oh yes… and practice is mixed, so I got bikes all around me…… so I’m very very tentative around Gerards….. it seems to go on for ever……. As I try to put power on, back end wavering… is that wind or suspension? Get to the straight and off we go again, cruise past a couple of bikes…. Then where the hells the braking point for Edwina’s chicane? I’d been warned about it…… I brake way way too early – over cautious – hang on… back brakes not right – no pedal!

Wobble through the chicane and look down – pedal is just sitting against the floor board doing nothing! Oops… oh well… press on…….. just use the front – cast it from your mind!

So now the real tight up hill hairpin is looming fast – out brake a bike into it which I was quite chuffed with first time into it….. wobble around it, bikes flies past me out of it into bus stop chicane… I have no idea of best line through that so get it all wrong and exit cranked over on rumble strip that nearly chucks me off, then its downhill left flat out back onto start straight and off we go again!

3 laps of that then its back into pits, each lap feels a little better, but I know I’m real slow with corner speeds!

So….. in the pits Jane and Miles arrive – they’ve missed practice by about 10 mins!

The rear brake problem is down to the link pin coming out or shearing off, so I fix a new bolt and nyloc nut through it… check fuel – bugger – I’d used tons! That’s one thirsty motor!

Checked plug….. a bit rich….. will just leave it like that – hopefully in race I’ll be using more revs…

So…… an hour passes and our race is called…… man… I was shaking! Got to the dummy grid then realised I’d not got the orange newcomers bib on…….. back to the van…….. good job I realised in plenty of time!

Back up to the dummy grid…… about a minute passes and we’re off …. I was going to go straight to the grid… forgot all about the sighting lap!... so whack the throttle open again and off we go……… man it feels even windier down the straight, especially at the end of it the front end’s going real light, and we’re drifting all over!.

Now I’m just with scooters I get a chance to see instantly I’m way too slow through the bends…. Straights are fine – but then anyone can go fast in a straight line! – so its all the way around to the start…… take up my grid slot right at the back……. Red flag is held……. Dropped …. Watch the lights…….. hell – where are they? …. There they are …. On …… off after 2 seconds….. away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nerves just disappear and I’m almost alongside the row in front of me through second gear, third gear, gain slightly…….. just catch 4^th, then I’m backing off way way too early for Gerards…. How the hell are they going through it that fast!.... I’m messing round with the rear end weaving, then onto straight, damn…. could have been way earlier on the throttle, stay with them on the straight, and then I’m braking way too early again for Edwina’s and wobble through it. Up to the hairpin for the first time… that felt great…. I was always good on brakes into hairpins, still can’t get the right way to be quicker through the Bus Stop…… but its feeling better, then around for second lap… by now I’m on my own …. Where have they gone?

I’m so slow around Gerards, just no confidence or corner speed……. I’m trying to concentrate on lines and trying to get smoother, after another lap, I venture a look back in the vain hope that theres someone behind me…. There isn’t , but Guy Topper is approaching fast to lap me! Bugger! This early! He’s flying with Charlie Edmonds in hot persuit. Shit…. Now I have to think about being smooth and predictable so the rest know where I’m going … slowly!

All too soon I got Lambretta’s and zips flying round me……. Especially around Gerards, man they are quick.

All too soon the race is over, I’m lapped by most people and I have to say somewhat disappointed and a little pissed off… I expected to be around the back, but not flat last and lapped my most people!

In a funny way Ed Hocking cheers me up as he comes over and immediately bounces the rear end of the scooter – way too soft he says! Well at this point….. maybe I should mention two things I was not 100% confident about with the bike……. One was the front suspension – I’d fitted Taffy springs with 12mm bushes, making it very stiff but was it too stiff? The second was the rear suspension…… the Yamaha rear shock from my road bike still has the original spring, so is more or less solid – way to stiff, so I’d just been left with a standard shock, as I’d run out of kitty really for building the bike,…… the Escort shock was just way to soft really…. And yes – squirming all over. It had felt like that, and Ed said it was just very visible from track side. So I kind of felt better ( slightly) that a squirming rear end was really not going to be helping matters. As it was first time out with the bike, its difficult to tell with some of these things how much is bike, how much is wind because its still blowing a gale!

So for the second race I put on a borrowed Bitubo shock from Chris Geyton ( cheers Chris!). I add a bit to the tyre pressures, after talking to a couple of people it seems a few run tyres pressures way higher than standard, so I added a little to mine.

So… off to the start….. determined to get a better strat this time, I select first as the flag is carried off… wahey… the bikes going forward,,,,,, clutch not freeing…. I’m edging forward… sure no-one will notice as I’m at the back row for goodness sake, flag drops and we’re away….. exactly the same pattern as the first race……. But rear end does feel better! This time I’m a lap further on before Charlie comes flying by first this time on the exit of Edwina’s closely followed by Guy.

James Campen is now watching from the hairpin, and Chris Taylor is now stopped after the bus stop and watching from the bank! Second race I generally feel a bit more confident, but not by anywhere near enough…….. I’m still lapped, but not by as many people – so that must be progress!

The last couple of laps are tricky as gear selection is all over the place – the clutch is not freeing and changing down is really hard. After the race – can’t even change down at all as I’m back in pits….. new cable has either stretched or trunnion slipped. Will adjust / fix for next time! Oh and I have an oil leak from the gearbox gear selecter arm……. Not too bad… but will need a new ‘O’ ring to seal it I reckon.

Its an over simplification, but I just need to feel confident to corner way way faster than I am ! Oh how I wish now I’d done a track day! So that’s it! £110… 4 practice laps, 12 laps of sort of racing……… a track day suddenly seems cheap - £49 for 3 or 4 hours of practice and confidence building. Should have done ….. am definitely going to do it now!

So…….. after 13 years away from the track…….. what do we now know?

Did I enjoy it?……. Well yes – I loved being back on the track and at least trying to get round quickly

Was I happy ? …. Well not really as I was pretty fed up with myself……for being too damn slow

What do I need for next time? ….. some practice at a circuit…. And some bigger testicles

Will I be doing it again…….. well…. Hell yes…..

The main positives – I finished – mechanical reliability is always good, and I was glad I’d prepared the bike well and not rushed and skimped. Other than the rear brake issue, and stretched clutch cable there were no real issues with the scooter ( oh yes… and a new rear shocker will be added for next time! ). The scooter was bright and shiny, and stayed that way! Got some good comments from people seeing it which is always nice. It was rewarding to see it standing on its paddock stand glinting in the sun.

The negatives…….. myself really……. Need to quickly find confidence to go around bends quickly! The cost to do 16 laps!

So……………………….. that was how my first race back after 13 years away went!

Twas the night before!

Well.............. here we are then.............. the night before the first race!

Scooter is all packed in the van, with (hopefully) all the essential gear for its first excursion.

A few things have hit me this week as the day got closer!,... maybe just nerves creeping ... but......

it occured to me that the scooter has covered only maybe 5 or 600 yards .... has only had third and fourth gear selected at walking pace just to make sur ethey work...... has only been run for maybe 10 minutes in total...... has gone no faster than a brief acceleration in first.....

So it's going to be interesting to just get a handful of laps practice and then straight into the first race.
I've never raced at Mallory Park before, although I did once do a few laps in a car! So I don't know the circuit really..... i just wished I'd got my ass into gear a couple of months ago and got the bike ready for Three Sisters which I know really well.

So its going to be a massive learning curve for me for sure! A newly built scooter to bed in and get used to, a new engine to learn, no wet tyres ( courier not delivered!), so basically I'm a long way out of my comfort zone!

So I've decided that best plan of action is to just try and finish the practice and the two races, in actual fact that would be quite an achievement anyway all things considered!

I've spent the last few days putting finishing touched to the scooter, footrests, grip tape to the flooor boards, seat foam, changed the bolts holding most of the bodywork to stainless steel, sorting out my toolbox in readiness......... so although theres a couple of things i intent to change before the next race, it's finally ready to go!

Hopefully scrutineering will pass ok, and I really hope that practice goes on ( will no doubt be very cautious (i.e. slow!) and it will take a while to build my confidence.....


Anyway........................ watch this space as they say! ............................

Numbers ON! Very nearly done now!

Update Progress - Tyres!

Well, Things are really coming together quite nicely now.... which is just as wel because time is ticking down!.....

First off...... Tyres! Chris Taylor has been trying the Schwalbe Pacemans, I really wanted some feedback on them, as I've not really heard of anyone else using them....... unforunately Chris is not stopping on long enough to give a proper feedback ( LOL.,,,,, he'll slag me off for that! No change there then! ) The Schwalbes were a great price at launch (£21.90) but as they are now getting established, the price has gone up to £32. Unfortunately efforts to get a price deal from MB proved fruitless ( would have thought race bikes using Schwalbe tyres and carrying their logo's would have made a good advert!) so Corrado came to the rescue with the tried and tested Dunlop TT92's at his BSSO Racers deal price of £30 each - Cheers Martin! ( Contact Corrado on BSSO race forum)

So the TT92's are now fitted. They have a really firm side wall construction, but the internal ribbing is quite sharp, which would normally be no problem as they are designed to be tubeless really. The problem with fitting them to Lambretta standard rims is that the sharp ribs cause rubbing on the inner tubes - potetially rubbing partially through and risk of punctures. Charlie Edmonds has a fantastic tubes rim from Tino Sacchi....... not cheap..... but would be better suited to these tyres. At the moment tubeless rims are not legal in standard class racing, but I can see Charlies point. Trouble is.... allowing any old tubeless rims allows some very dodgy far east rims which are made from monkey metal and probably more dangerous due to ease of damage whilst fiting rims! I've a feeling there could be a healthy discussion of tyre rims at this years AGM!

Anyway ........... back to the plot! Oil plugs all lockwired now, a few small bits and bobs done and sorted..... and excitement as Signs Express delivered some logos ( bargain price!)........ so tonight was spent putting them on!

They are advertising a new website I'm starting shortly - unashamed plug ! - www.officex.co.uk - due to launch in July OfficeX will be an online office supplies superstore! Pricing to beat Viking - that well known office supplier..... and printer cartridges at PC World beating prices! - If you can't wait till Officex launches - drop me a message with what you want and I'll sort you out some special prices!



Back to the plot...... logo's all applied (well - except for one big one I forgot to order!) This Sunday is a car / bike show at Grantham Carnival, so it will be nice to get the scooter on display looking like a race bike......

Only main thing misisng is the floor boards ( just awaiting a final coat of paint) and the seat - en-route - fingers crossed it gets here for Sunday else its gonna look silly without one lol

Bodywork On!

Sunday broke nice and sunny! Went off on the road bike ( any excuse) to Halfords to find some blue paint for the number panels ................ mask them out ( why does that always take so bloody long??) and on with the paint.


Hang on a minute............ why is that blue not very shiny? Its dried in a matt finish! Examine the can ................ oh silly me .............. its one that needs lacquer!

So......... went off on the road bike ( any excuse) to Halfords.......... (deja vu!) and got some lacquer.


Couple of hours later its dry enough for careful handling, a bit of manhandling and levering the legshields into place ( well actually quite a lot!) and its all now starting to really look like a race scooter!!