Kickaha
14th April 2010, 22:11
We weren’t particularly organised for this event, although we’d organised 4 Sidecars to attend we ended up with one guy we’d lined up to ride pulling the pin so when we got to the track we had 4 sidecars, 3 riders and 2 swingers, so we were looking to scrounge up some extras:yes:
We hit on Buddha at riders briefing to go out as swinger with Alex, as he’s too soft to swing for a pensioner he declined and said how about he goes out on Dave’s outfit and I ride the spare
So we were up to 4 riders but that meant we still needed two swingers, luckily Buddha’s brother DC has been out a time or two before so he got volunteered by Buddha to come out with me, that still left Alex needing someone so he wandered of and it wasn’t to long before he came back with some random guy who wanted to have a try:shifty:
The outfit I was riding was #77, I’d been the swinger on it for two seasons some 7-8 years ago with Chic n charge riding and we’d had some good results at club level and I’d ridden it myself at a couple of club days with Diesel pig on the side
Practice
Out onto the track and the very first thing I do is change gears the wrong way as I must have started in 2nd gear and it was race pattern, with that sorted away we went, now last time I rode this was some4-5 year ago and I’d forgotten just how uncomfortable they can be
I take it fairly easy for a start, trying the brakes, picking my turn in points and gradually dialling it up a bit harder each lap, it’s pushing the front quite badly on both lefts and rights, so I’m trying a wider entry and get it squared up early and on the gas
I pull in reasonably happy with the way it went but also realising I’m unlikely to be setting any lap records:angry:
Race 1, 5 laps
I’m on grid 3 and expecting the other to pull up in front and beside me, instead they decide they’ll give me the front and they’ll chase:shit:
Lights out and I’ve got it nailed, flick through the chicane and dial it up down the back straight expecting everyone to come past, they let me have a couple of laps in the lead and then pull past, we chop and change places for the next few laps before first Dave and then Alex go past, I try a little bit harder but they edge away over the next lap before the flag comes out
5 laps was about my limit with my hands getting a bit tired and struggling to turn it through the decreasing radius but I’m hoping with more laps I’ll get used to it
Race 2, 4 laps
This time we’re formed up more or less where we should be and Alex nails it past me into T1, he lets me past down the straight and I’m starting to go a bit further under brakes off the end of the back straight and down two gears and drive through, a quick squirt on the throttle, down another gear and drive through the next left into the decreasing radius, round through to the hairpin, I’m going in tight so when it understeers on the way out I’ve got plenty of track to use, next left and then down to the chicane, pop the chair wheel across the kerb through the middle and then get untidy over the bumps as you exit onto the start finish straight
In fact chasing after Alex we got so untidy exiting one time with the front pushing we took to the grass for a bit and even missed the transponder loop, I swear I could hear Buddha pissing himself with laughter :laugh:as him and Dave went past, I think it was the lap previous to that that Dave had also given DC a bit of a “rub” through 1 corner
Another race over and I’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable and looking the outfit over a few minor changes would mean I could push a lot harder than I was
Race 3, 4 laps
Due to the filthy dirty solos crashing their brains out the meeting was running late and our races were being shortened up:mad:
My start was better and I was trying to hammer it a bit harder but as we hit the middle of the chicane at the end of lap 1 the outfit coughed and died, my hand went up straight away as I knew there’d be two more outfits in fairly close proximity and we coasted off the side of the track with a dead engine
We had a pretty good vantage point where we were, so after watching for a few more laps we pushed back to the pits, still unsure of what the problem was that caused it to die but we’re picking a wire has popped off somewhere
So an interesting day at the wrong end of the outfit and while it’s fairly obvious I’m no Steve Webster (http://motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/riderprofiles/steve-webster.php) I would be keen for another go behind the bars with it set up a bit better for me but as another swinger said to me “I don’t get the whole riding them buzz” and I’m not sure that I do either
PS no oil was dropped by any Sidecar in the making of this write up:msn-wink:
We hit on Buddha at riders briefing to go out as swinger with Alex, as he’s too soft to swing for a pensioner he declined and said how about he goes out on Dave’s outfit and I ride the spare
So we were up to 4 riders but that meant we still needed two swingers, luckily Buddha’s brother DC has been out a time or two before so he got volunteered by Buddha to come out with me, that still left Alex needing someone so he wandered of and it wasn’t to long before he came back with some random guy who wanted to have a try:shifty:
The outfit I was riding was #77, I’d been the swinger on it for two seasons some 7-8 years ago with Chic n charge riding and we’d had some good results at club level and I’d ridden it myself at a couple of club days with Diesel pig on the side
Practice
Out onto the track and the very first thing I do is change gears the wrong way as I must have started in 2nd gear and it was race pattern, with that sorted away we went, now last time I rode this was some4-5 year ago and I’d forgotten just how uncomfortable they can be
I take it fairly easy for a start, trying the brakes, picking my turn in points and gradually dialling it up a bit harder each lap, it’s pushing the front quite badly on both lefts and rights, so I’m trying a wider entry and get it squared up early and on the gas
I pull in reasonably happy with the way it went but also realising I’m unlikely to be setting any lap records:angry:
Race 1, 5 laps
I’m on grid 3 and expecting the other to pull up in front and beside me, instead they decide they’ll give me the front and they’ll chase:shit:
Lights out and I’ve got it nailed, flick through the chicane and dial it up down the back straight expecting everyone to come past, they let me have a couple of laps in the lead and then pull past, we chop and change places for the next few laps before first Dave and then Alex go past, I try a little bit harder but they edge away over the next lap before the flag comes out
5 laps was about my limit with my hands getting a bit tired and struggling to turn it through the decreasing radius but I’m hoping with more laps I’ll get used to it
Race 2, 4 laps
This time we’re formed up more or less where we should be and Alex nails it past me into T1, he lets me past down the straight and I’m starting to go a bit further under brakes off the end of the back straight and down two gears and drive through, a quick squirt on the throttle, down another gear and drive through the next left into the decreasing radius, round through to the hairpin, I’m going in tight so when it understeers on the way out I’ve got plenty of track to use, next left and then down to the chicane, pop the chair wheel across the kerb through the middle and then get untidy over the bumps as you exit onto the start finish straight
In fact chasing after Alex we got so untidy exiting one time with the front pushing we took to the grass for a bit and even missed the transponder loop, I swear I could hear Buddha pissing himself with laughter :laugh:as him and Dave went past, I think it was the lap previous to that that Dave had also given DC a bit of a “rub” through 1 corner
Another race over and I’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable and looking the outfit over a few minor changes would mean I could push a lot harder than I was
Race 3, 4 laps
Due to the filthy dirty solos crashing their brains out the meeting was running late and our races were being shortened up:mad:
My start was better and I was trying to hammer it a bit harder but as we hit the middle of the chicane at the end of lap 1 the outfit coughed and died, my hand went up straight away as I knew there’d be two more outfits in fairly close proximity and we coasted off the side of the track with a dead engine
We had a pretty good vantage point where we were, so after watching for a few more laps we pushed back to the pits, still unsure of what the problem was that caused it to die but we’re picking a wire has popped off somewhere
So an interesting day at the wrong end of the outfit and while it’s fairly obvious I’m no Steve Webster (http://motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/riderprofiles/steve-webster.php) I would be keen for another go behind the bars with it set up a bit better for me but as another swinger said to me “I don’t get the whole riding them buzz” and I’m not sure that I do either
PS no oil was dropped by any Sidecar in the making of this write up:msn-wink: