Sidecar Racing

[jellywrestler]

The long bike is for sale now & he remarked to me, these things are too complex to set up & I cant get on top of it,

in one respect that is the case but on the other side of the coin at least if it's a 'brand' of bike (as opposed to a one off) then there's usually a benchmark setup to work from and with that you can compare with another bike that's as close as possible to yours so that helps some people as the whole sidecar set up for a lot of people is a dark art.

[Kickaha]

Short vs Long, I also don't think one or the other is inherently better than the other, they're just different, if anything though I think the short bikes are generally restricted by the F2 rules that run overseas and the type of front ends they can use

Here there's been other stuff tried like back in the eighties with the AGIP bike and Battletruck being front engined but hub centre steer and this lot latter oufit built in OZ

[Kickaha]

in one respect that is the case but on the other side of the coin at least if it's a 'brand' of bike (as opposed to a one off) then there's usually a benchmark setup to work from and with that you can compare with another bike that's as close as possible to yours so that helps some people as the whole sidecar set up for a lot of people is a dark art.

We had a bit of a struggle with the LCR handling like crap when Dave took delivery of it but with information readily available it was only a few meetings to get it handling a lot better, then a year back we had a guy out from the Uk who went over it with us as well

It too us longer to learn how to ride it than to set it up and I'd say the learning to ride bit hasn't finshed yet

[scrivy]

Here there's been other stuff tried like back in the eighties with the AGIP bike and Battletruck being front engined but hub centre steer and this lot latter oufit built in OZ

That looks exactly what I raced with at the Creek! It was a weapon!! If I was to build a rig, it would be exactly the same as that one!! The Aussie rider reckoned it had cost him $70K AUD up to that point!! That's simply too much coin for me for a hobby. Our Busa wasn't any slower than it (but did weigh about 40kgs heavier), and we beat it 4 out of 4 races. Still it's a bloody nice example of a shorty! Respect!!

[scrivy]

I'd say the learning to ride bit hasn't finshed yet

You'd fuggin hope so.........

[sidecar bob]

Kai, if there were more people like you out there, then our class would be the best bar none!

This year has seen a few teams/and newbies up their game.
The farm boys, upgrading to a 600 weapon,
Des upgrading to a nice long bike from his shorty, (the long bike wasn't out there the previous 6 years),
Robbie Shorter re-powering Westies long chair with a GSXR1000, (the long bike wasn't out there the previous 12 years),
Rob Edwards and his wife buying the Blackbird Zimmerframe, (wasn't out there the previous 4 years - But unfortunately won't be ready for this season),
Kai re-juvenating his machine to bring it into the 2012's!

Who else have I missed?

Who else have you missed??
Only the best rider in the country currently. think about it!!

[Kickaha]

That looks exactly what I raced with at the Creek! !

Might have been, it is an Oz bike and currently for sale

[scrivy]

Who else have you missed??
Only the best rider in the country currently. think about it!!

My bad..........
Sorry, GORDY!!....
How did I miss him!!!?????
Oh, he's also on a bike that was not out there for the last few years....... This years racing will be jam packed!!! Better bring ya KY it'll be that tight at the front...........

[Kickaha]

Oh, he's also on a bike that was not out there for the last few years......

2010 at Levels nationals was that last time that Sidecar was on the track

I'm looking forward to seeing what Gordy has done to it as it was about a decade overdue for a overhaul

[scrivy]

2010 at Levels nationals was that last time that Sidecar was on the track
You are shitting me!!!!?????

I'm looking forward to seeing what Gordy has done to it as it was about a decade overdue for a overhaul

You will spank your monkey!!!

[scrivy]

Might have been, it is an Oz bike and currently for sale

Yip, looks close to the same one - found pics of it still on my camera. Nice rig!! Beautiful workmanship.
There were two of them like it.

[sidecar bob]

My bad..........
Sorry, GORDY!!....
How did I miss him!!!?????
Oh, he's also on a bike that was not out there for the last few years....... This years racing will be jam packed!!! Better bring ya KY it'll be that tight at the front...........

Its going to be fairly tight in the rear too. Theres a few virgins out there this year, or ones that havent done it for ages.
My vote goes to carnage!!

[Fast Eddie]

carnage wooo!!!

its not too late yet - we can still bring up the numbers with some positive encouragement to all those that are remotely keen

that aussie bike is so sweet eh Kick.. i look at it weekly on old stevesplace haha.

looking forward to nationals as well, we will be doing north and south rounds and so will Grant on the long windle down here, and maybe Annan and Kick will get their gay outreach program sponsoring a trip up north again

[Drew]

Cheers for that Kick. I always thought Daves was much later than that. 3K GBP for a shorty!? Fark! That's cheap, and yes, would wipe out the field with a decent rider (oh, and passenger...)!! Why aren't more being imported? What does it cost to get it shipped over here?



See, and this is what I don't understand, why are people spending bigger dollars on flasher machines, when if you imported a shorty, for maybe $9K, you'd go faster than 1.45's also. As for the less weight etc, that's a given for racing, but our rig is pretty much the opposite. Ours doesn't handle (we've never even altered the suspension...), is heavier (by lots...), and the Busa is by all comparisons 'brutal'...
If I was starting out in our class, I'd import a later model, ultra light shorty as you've mentioned. You'd cane up!
They are also far more forgiving than long bikes - from what I've seen.

For me, it's gotta be value for money. We spend fark all, and always have fun.

Have you ever ridden teh short Windle the pirate brought over? I wonder how it would respond to yourself and Steve trying to manhandle it the way you do on the house bus.

You ride completely opposite what every other rider told me to do it. "It's getting out of shape. Yeeehaaaaaaa, twist bitch...TWIST"! No noe else does that, they all swear it needs finesse. The blue pile of shit we rode responded to a brute force attack suck as you ride, but the Windle didn't like it. When the rear stepped out on a right hander, feeding it the message made it sorta bounce the drive wheel. Instead I had to kind of stay with a neutral throttle till it came back in line.

Mind you, I had two days riding experience, and Jimmy had none. So I am probably just guilty of being a noob without a clue.

[Fast Eddie]

Kai, if there were more people like you out there, then our class would be the best bar none!

cher cher bro, I ask everyone I meet if they wanna get into it haha, I take people out during lunch times race day or during test days I invite people out and give everyone whos keen a few laps - everyone loves it.. but taking that next step to commit to buying one seems tricky. Gotta find the key to make them take the plunge eh! We'll get there, its not too late to fire up the class and pick numbers up