Lots to tell........
First off the scooter! I have been really undecided about gearing, and after much indecision I plumped for a change. However - ! as is always the case when you solicit some opinion you seem to end with with a wide variety of input! - which is great, but of course may just confuse matters further!
Anyways........ as I'm stuck with only currently having the option of a 47T clutch sprocket, some gearing options are limited. On the winter engineering list is a 46T sprocket! I'm using a 6 plate clutch so the slutch sprockets needs to be way deeper than normal.
I've had 16/47 combination so far with an Li150 Pacemaker gearbox. on the first two outings at Mallory and Cadwell I pobably didn't have a feel for the gearing as i was hanging on for grim death alternating between grinning and screaming under the helmet! A few more races and I'm sure I'll be more in tune with exactly whats occuring as i get more comfortable ( he says confidently!)
It would be a big help to actually have a rev counter so I know what the motor is revving too ..... now in comes my old skateboarding mate Pete Trevor. Pete runs a company specialising in motorsport sensors, and has a unit just around the corner! Pete has made me a small didgital rev counter unit up as a temporary measure whilst we design something better. We tested this yesterday on teh road scooter and it all worked, so in true lastminute.com style I'll be making up a bracket to hold it - so fingers crossed at Cadwell I'll actually get to know what the bike is revving to! This will of course allow me to fine tune gearing to teh optimum once i've actually got the hang of keeping the throttle pinned!
Pete is hoping to get to Cadwell at some point over the weekend to have a chat with a few riders about what kind of data they would like to measure on race scooters, and pete may be able to make a scooter specific unit! He does a lot of work in Formula 1 and Superbikes, indeed as i was there to test the rev counter I noticed Leon Haslams rear wheel on a test rig, and his race engineers arrived as I was there! www.kasensors.co.uk for more on the kind of things available!
I treated myself to a nice new Arai Helmet this week. My old helmet was ok, but the visor sealing was pants and wind whistles through and makes eyes run! I had laser surgery on my eyes a couple of years ago, so they are quite sensitive to wind and pressure. The old helmet venting system was not much cop either and at Anglesey on teh Saturday I was having really big problems with visor steaming to the point where i amlost had to stop, so hopefully the Arai will cure that! These guys www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk are just down the road and as i was only 15 miles away on business I called in to the warehouse and they sorted me out a deal. Very efficient they were too and definitely recommended!
Now some mega news......... as a direct result of writing this blog I've managed to be offered some sponsorship for 2009.... and not just a bottle of oil, but a proper amount! All will be revealed shortly, but I'm really pleased and happy to have been offered this. I may not be running at the front, but with some help like this, and the publicity that blogs, pictures and 'doing the extra bit' its really pleasing to know that there are people out there willing to help and support.
I hope that in a small way this sponsorship will help to further publicise and help attract people into racing, and also help the sponsor to achive some benefits too!
That will have you all guessing won't it! All will be revealed shortly!
For 2009 expect a new addition the HG Racing stable (!) with Dave Crampton making a 20 year delayed return to racing! Expect to see a green Gilera Runner in Group 6 !!!!!!!!! Dave's got some great engineering support from Brian Raynor who is an ex bike TT racer and master of techy race parts! More on Daves unique Runner over the next few weeks!
Finally a mention for drunkmonkey! He's out for the first time ( eventually) on a group 6 bike. Bizarrely he's never even seen scooter racing yet has built a race bike!
Watch a video of the bike running !
In closing for this time, good luck to everyone this weekend.... I hope the last 4 races are super close at the front, Watch out for Bert Conneely 667 from 2nd on the grid with a new engine, and Stuart Day hopefully blasting through from the back to challange for the front!
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