Kickaha's Battle of the Buckets

[Kickaha]

Battle of the Buckets

A pretty good turn out with 45 entries and all credit to El Presidente Dangerous for organising and promoting the event along with El Presidente’s little helpers, a few NI entires with Skunk, Speedpro, SteveK and Mudboy fronting up

SteveK was wandering around looking for another front sprocket as he didn’t think he’d have tall enough gearing and a few guys were fixing a few minor bits and pieces, also met

We roll out for practice and the bike feels good, the tracks a bit damp so I’m not pushing hard and tag onto the back of TonyMac and chase him around for a bit, I’ve fitted wider wheels to the FXR as the stock wheels are a bit narrow for the RS125 slicks and the bike feels more stable, I see Diesel Pig parked at the hairpin and Mike Parker off the track and assume they’ve had a coming together as it turns it Diesel Pig as he came down to the hairpin had his flywheel fall off and pass him and Mike had run over bits of Diesel Pigs disintegrating bike and got a puncture, for some reason the words “gross mechanical incompetence” come to mind, oh yeah the pink fuel cap is a nice touch to :lol:

Race1

I’ve been starting the FXR in 2nd as I always thought 1st was a bit low you hit the limiter real fast although I get an ok start it’s not great, I’m stuck behind Dangerous who’s a bit quicker down the straights and slower in the corners, I get a bit of a run down into the hairpin and go around the outside of him but he gets me back before the next left, so on the next lap I go up the inside of him and make the pass stick, we’re coming up on lapped traffic and through the s bends I go around and in between 3 bikes within two corners and run home in 5th not quite being able to stay with TonyMac and James

Race2

I go back to using first and get a better start although I’m still 5th I’m right on the back of a three way battel with TonyMac, Peter and James, James ends up at the back of the que and I pass him on the inside into the hairpin but he soon comes back at me and try as I might I cant peg him back and have a pretty lonely race

Race3 55 minutes + 1 lap

42 bikes take the start, and as we launch TonyMac is squeezing Glen into the curb as he edges past, Glen reaches across and grab the FXR grab rail and uses it to help pull himself back past, down to hairpin and it’s already looking like being a 55 minute sprint race, into the s bends and there’s Glen falling on his arse after trying to go around Darryl Cotton for the lead

After a couple of laps things settle down, TonyMac, Peter and James are hard out swapping places just in front of me and for the first 20 minutes I stick with them, then Peter pulls a gap on James and TonyMac, I’m passing TonyB as I come up to lap him I think I have plenty of room but a bump at the back of the bike and tyre marks on my exhaust would appear to say otherwise and as I take a quick look over my shoulder I see TonyB take to the dirt and stay upright:Oops:

I’m not far off James and TonyMac and I know James is doing a rider swap with Diesel Pig at the 30 minute mark, I see James pull off and Diesel Pig standing there ready to take over then I’m past, with all the riders and different speeds I’m making between 4-8 passes a lap sometimes I’m making up time and sometimes I’m loosing it depending on where I come up on them, surprisingly quite a few bikes I catch can out accelerate me off the corners and it’s only under brakes or higher corner speed and riding around them which gets me past them

I’ve already lapped Rashika a couple of times when I come up behind her again on the straight so as I go past I reach out and give her a slap on the arse:cool: , I notice Dangerous has done a bike change as he’s already killed his first one (fuck he’s hard on gear) :yes: and I notice Diesel Pig on “hotdog” slowly gaining on me

I’m trying different gears through the infield as in 4th I pulling over redline and 5th is a bit high, I settle on 5th most of the time just to be a bit easier on the motor and try a few different lines, TonyMac has slowly pulled away, it’s only a bike length or two a lap but over 55 minutes it’s added up to a fair bit of distance

10 minutes to go and DC laps me, corner speed is about the same but his bike accelerates so fast I can’t even draft him, I know Diesel Pig has got even closer and I’m hoping I can hold him off, the white flag is out and I still cant hear him but then coming through the s bends I start to go around TygerTung on the club slut and he’s drifting out wide I have to change sides to pass him and loose some momentum and then I can hear “Hotdog” right behind me, over the hump and as I tip in Diesel Pig is along side and past, one corner to go and I’m hard on the gas but he beats me in the run to the line and I finish inches behind him in 6th :weep:

Joni counted a total of 17 combined crashes, blow ups, and cross country excursions so we’re not sure how many finished

A bloody top event :2thumbsup

Also a great big thanks to, Plug,Mr Sensible and Speedygirl for being flaggies for the day :clap: and no doubt we'll see a few photo's up from SuziQ,Far Queue and new KB member Timvenom who turned up and introduced himself

[TygerTung]

Well I had a great time, was looking foward to racing and spent $280 on tires, a 2.50-18 bridgestone BT39SS supersoft and a 3.00-18 Dunlop TT100GP for the back, brought some new heavy duty clutch springs for the might CG125 wacked those in and pulled the lever and it didn't come out! I looked down and the lever had snapped off at the crankcase!

So I went and brought another one from cycletreads who gave it to me for free! Big up to don at cycletreads, definatly recomended.

Put that on, and I brought a new twist grip and made up a new throttle cable and put that on when the bloody end pinged off the throttlecable due to lack of skill on my behalf! So I pulled off the head and fished out the crap only to have the bike not run properly aftert that, stayed up until 12.30 trying to fix it with no luck. I then gave up hoping that I would be able to use the club slut.

Got to the bob in the morning, talked to dangerous and he told me it was in rangiora, so I borrowed my mates van and shot out there, picked it up, and came back just in the nick of time for practise, borrowd a clutch lever off spud racer, got it scrutineered and got out for a bit of a practice, bike felt really bad and the track was wet so I took it easy, wasn't running very well either, but I think that was due to it having some sour smelling fuel in the tank.

Mixed up a bit of premix with some bell-ray fully synthetic in it which I think it loved then went out for the first two races coming to grips with the bike. One race I went to slipstream some dude onto the straight as he came past me only to bump into dangerous, luckely it was only our sholders to touch, I don't think he was too impressed though!

The one hour was pretty good, was having a few battles with the young dude from street and sport at the start, but losing after a while due to the terrible handing of the slut, also did the same with my mate daniel who was on a GL145. The bike felt like it was setup for speedyway or somthing with it cornering better to the left than the right. If you came into a corner too fast and gave it any throttle it would start shuddering and sliding like crazy, although I got used to that after a while. Was following this dude on a green bucket really close to watch him run a bit wide and go off the track and of course, I followed him!

On the last lap I saw nigel on his GP100 come flying past me, lean the bike over just a bit too far, scrape a footpeg, slide straight off the side of the track, onto the grass and go for a big tumble, luckely he wasn't hurt though.

Went back into the pits after and felt the tires.... Stone cold! I checked the pressures and they were at 47 psi! No wonder it was so slippery.

Lowered them to 23 for the bears racing with a huge improvment, would still shudder a slide a wee bit if pushing it really hard but not too bad, I was used to it.

I think a good name for the bike would be the widow maker.... It was certainly a dangerous bike to ride, but after CG experience I have a bit of experience with shit handling bikes.

I think it needs new back shocks and some thick fork oil in the front, but otherwise it's pretty good, has plenty of pep, but the reverse gearshift is a pain, took the whole day to get used to it.

Well It was a gread day and cant wait for the next meeting, I might see if I can get the bucket going for this comign weekend for the motorcycling canterbury meet.:chase:

[Rashika]

Battle of the Buckets
A pretty good turn out with 45 entries and all credit to El Presidente Dangerous for organising and promoting the event along with El Presidente’s little helpers, a few NI entires with Skunk, Speedpro, SteveK and Mudboy fronting up



Bloody AWESOME turnout! 21 prepays so we weren't quite sure what to expect on the day, but was great to see so many people get out there.
Especially good to see the northislanders get their arses down here...but I guess the trophy stays down here this time boys...you'll just have to come back next year huh?!


I’ve already lapped Rashika a couple of times when I come up behind her again on the straight so as I go past I reach out and give her a slap on the arse:cool:
ya little shit ;) ... i was just humming along singing a wee tune to myself trying to stay awake, and to keep the intense pain in my knees at bay...musta been about 2/3 of the way thru and the next thing i know some bloody perve is groping me...suspecting Dangerous's usual tactics, but no it was that kickaha bloke. I thought ..geez I'll get him, so started actually racing again, that kept me going for a couple more laps till the pain kicked in again, cheers K!


Joni counted a total of 17 combined crashes, blow ups, and cross country excursions so we’re not sure how many finished

A bloody top event :2thumbsup

yegads i seriously had doubts about lasting the event...the wise thing might have been to stop for a few seconds and run round the bike a few times to wake the legs up, but no... I just kept going, and started doing leg squats up on the foot pegs on the back straight instead :cool: Musta looked REAL funny to whoever was behind me then i tell ya! But gaddamn I had a ball, just need to sort the bike out so that it fits me a little better and should be sweet.
After doing a practice, 2 races and then the 1 hour on the bucket , I was quite frankly buggered, but still had lots to go so i had a bit of lunch courtesy of Speedygirl .... you ARE the BEST!!! :2thumbsup and decided to get on with the rest of the day

Pre 82
Elsie had her first race and did bloody well!
Practice was cool I stuck in behind the Ducati for a wee bit, then decided bugger that, past her and headed off to find someone else.

First race I seem to recall buggering up the start a little bit, but ended up behind Stanko on his 350 and held onto him for the race. Caught up to a yellow CB350 and just couldn't get past him. Finally Stanko made his move into the hairpin and slipped along past him, not enough for me to do the same so i stuck in behind him....waiting. Next lap I managed to pull exactly the same stunt and blew past him...fkn AWESOME I thought, and headed of to get Stanko again. Managed to catch him but not quite get him at the finish... damn good race and great to have people to chase for once.
2nd race was an exact repeat of the first but managed a better start this time altho still ended up behind Stanko and both of us behind the yellow bike again. He got past and i tried the same move again, succeeded then ballsed it up buy changing down???? instead of up outa the hairpin, so he passed me again. Not only did i do it once, but proceeded to do it again the next lap....think I was exhausted from the days events so decided that was enough on Elsie....she did it great, only the rider blew it...sigh. Just as well really cos I noticed a flat tyre on her a little while later...ah well never mind.

As for the buckets, I was privileged enough to be lent the great no6 from Speedpro for the arvo...OMFKN God, it was AMAZING!
Now I have never riden a 2 stroke bucket before so i had wee practice up and down the road, trying not to run up the arse of Mudboy as he was practicing his stoppies. :banana:
So i lined up waiting to head out with the others and then proceeded to wheelie the bloody bike out... fk was all i was thinking at that point, managed to get to the start line ok. Flag dropped and i then managed to wheelie again, not once but bloody twice before it settled down and I think I was almost last as we started, but I soon made up for it and actually started passing people. Did i mention that I have NEVER wheelied a bike before???? Oh well at least i know how it feels now, it wont shock me as much next time ;)
2nd race was even worse, I was totally last at the start, but made up for it and seemed to pass a couple of people each lap, including pipping Thunder at the post on the last lap, sorry dude!
It was just so good to have the instant throttle response of the 2 stroke....I'm in LOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEE
Just need to sort out my starts and that would a damn fine bike for me (HINT!), it was simply the best, and it was even comfy! Ah well one day ;)
Big thanks to Speedpro for that, and ta for the hints this morning as well dude. Hope you all had a good trip home, you should just about be off the boat by now.
All in all a damn fine day and it has taken me till now to start to liven up a bit...exhausted doesn't even come close to describing how i was feeling last night.

[TonyB]

I’m passing TonyB as I come up to lap him I think I have plenty of room but a bump at the back of the bike and tyre marks on my exhaust would appear to say otherwise and as I take a quick look over my shoulder I see TonyB take to the dirt and stay upright:Oops:

LOL Nah, it wasn't your fault. Stanko and I were stuck behind some proddy bikes- they were riding the bloody wheels off them and I was sure that at any moment one of them would fall and take us all out. My bike was having clearance issues in right handers so I was being a bit tentative, then just as you came around me I realised the throttle was jammed slightly open and I was being forced into the corner. So I have one of those white knuckle moments- and started freaking out and heading off line. My 'line' took me into your back wheel. For a moment I was sure my race was about to end with me going over the bars as the front end tucked in. Then I thought "I AM NOT FUCKING CRASHING!", so I grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and headed for the grass. It's pretty rough out there in that grass!!



Also a great big thanks to, Plug,Mr Sensible and Speedygirl for being flaggies for the day :clap: and no doubt we'll see a few photo's up from SuzeQ,Far Queue and new KB member Timvenom who turned up and introduced himself Too bloody right! Thanks heaps!

[steve k]

Battle of the Buckets

A pretty good turn out with 45 entries and all credit to El Presidente Dangerous for organising and promoting the event along with El Presidente’s little helpers, a few NI entires with Skunk, Speedpro, SteveK and Mudboy fronting up

I am dam sure AJTURBO was learking around there somewhere?:lol:

[F5 Dave]

So Steve, did the bike at least run sort of ok?

[Rashika]

So Steve, did the bike at least run sort of ok?

for the first lap or 2...
It DID get the prettiest bike award tho :whistle:

[Joni]

It was a good day over all... pity the damn wind blew like it did... but hey that did not stop the fun! :D

BOB turned out a huge field of buckets... it was good to see. The hour race and "b" track combination turned out to be too much for some of the bikes... at one stage they were dropping like flies, my last count was 17 down, with a few laps still to go. However I think its fair to say most people had a good day....

Great to see the Northerners making the effort to come down - thanks guys, it was great to see you again, Skunk, Skunk Control and AJ... was good to meet the rest of you as well.

Big congratulations to Dangerous, Tony Mac together with the rest of people that contributed to make the day a huge success.

Rider of the day? Not a KB'er unfortunately... but DC would take that IMO.
My heart went out to Glen on number 24... I know he was not happy about his bin.
Special mention to MudBoy - Keep going little man :ride:

Hopefully next year we can do it again :yes:

[Rashika]

I am dam sure AJTURBO was learking around there somewhere?:lol:

yup, he did quite a bit of that learking stuff :wari: :whistle: I saw him leark past me a couple of times in the 1 hour

[TygerTung]

I remember one dude passing me on the BOB on a 2 stroke bucket and it was leaned over hard with sparks coming off the expansion chamber.

Got lapped a few times by rashika which is a first, because it's usually me overtaking her!

I have never been overtaken so many times as I did yesterday, I thnk I'll donate a good cheng shin sticky and some slightly better shocks for the back of the slut, would give it a huge improvment.

Anyone coming to the motorcycling canterbury meeting this weekend? I heard they have a bucket class?

I'll tell you what though mate, my legs are killing me, they are in soooo much pain, it hurts heaps when you stand up, hopefully they'll heal up soon.

Great pics though, I even managed to get a bit of decent knee down action on the slut once I sorted the tire pressures, you'd still get both the front and the rear shuddering and sliding if you pushed too hard though.

Great fun :scooter:

[TonyB]

I remember one dude passing me on the BOB on a 2 stroke bucket and it was leaned over hard with sparks coming off the expansion chamber.
That may have been me. The soggy rear suspension was allowing the expansion chamber to hit on the right handers. I had to take it easy to avoid wearing a hole in it.



Great pics though, I even managed to get a bit of decent knee down action on the slut once I sorted the tire pressures, you'd still get both the front and the rear shuddering and sliding if you pushed too hard though.
Mate, the way you hang off you could get your knee down while going straight

[Rashika]

I remember one dude passing me on the BOB on a 2 stroke bucket and it was leaned over hard with sparks coming off the expansion chamber.

Got lapped a few times by rashika which is a first, because it's usually me overtaking her!
yeah i noticed that, maybe its a bit of me improving as well as you on an unfamiliar bike ;)


I have never been overtaken so many times as I did yesterday...
yeah but gotta remember just how many laps were done, somewhere around 45-50 I'd say. And in a normal 6 lap race i would just about get lapped. I counted about 6 times that DC went past me, but i might have missed 1 or 2.



Anyone coming to the motorcycling canterbury meeting this weekend? I heard they have a bucket class?

I will be there. I want to run Elsie again (so I can get 3 ticks in my book and MAYBE got to Wyndham street race in November), and there will be buckets combined with street stock class.


I'll tell you what though mate, my legs are killing me, they are in soooo much pain, it hurts heaps when you stand up, hopefully they'll heal up soon.

COMPLETELY agree with you aboout the pain!! :beer: is good for it I think

[TygerTung]

AHA! Sorted the mighty CG!!!

It turns out that the adjuster on the rocker arm vibrated loose and fell off giving me massive valve clearance!

I felt that there was big puffs coming out the carburettor, pulled off the rocker covers and noticed it was missing, had huge valve clearance on the exhaust valve, so I put it back on and she's a sweet runner now, mint!

[Kickaha]

I am dam sure AJTURBO was learking around there somewhere?:lol:

I only mentioned the important people :bleh:

[dangerous]

Big thanks to the all those that came out and either raced, scored or flagied... extra thanks to the BOB committee Rashika, Diesel & Spud. Photographers Farqueue and SuziQ, BEARs, St Johns, mum, dad and who else... ohh yeah God.

My day started of early as, all sort of blurry now, sorting out the start finish line camper and dropping cones out, setting up the sign in table and all that crap that goes with it.

Pratice went as planed as did race 1 & 2.
GP timeand the MT100mb replica cranked up well till the 35min point were it did the old loose power seize-up-die thing, but managed to get back to the main pit era and swap the shitty 2 stroker for the mighty CB125T. completed the race after having a ball out there... tell ya what 1hr was painfull but what a wicked buzz, constant passing, being passed 40 odd bikes spread out meant never a dull moment, fuck it was mint.
Had a moment with Tyger Tung when the two bikes I was hot tailing it behind in front of me passed TT on the outside... but for some reason TT figgered there was no more bikes comming through, a rather hard connection happened but we both brought our shoulders together and the bikes didnt connect... great riding TT... next time tho, use ya bloody mirrors.
during the race i remember seeing a lot of bikes rolling in the dust, must say it all looked impressive.
I reckon considering the riding time and amount of riders on fast and slower bikes riding skills off all sorts... I commend you all on bloody good racing.

Bears rd5 in the arvo meant I raced the CB125T and the Kat in post classics, the CB did me well but I was getting very tired and rather sore... the Kat finished me off tho after 2 races i felt I was losing concentration and called it a day, but not till I took a 3rd place. Mint wheelie off the grid and cocking the hair pin up 3 times... make that 4 times if you include the belly out.

Thanks again people lets do it again, all that raced will receive a certificate. If you dont let me know and Ill sort it, still have a mission ahead sorting proddies and placings.

[dangerous]

Rider of the day? Not a KB'er unfortunately... but DC would take that IMO

Rider of the day... no way, DC was just as tuned into it as he always is nothing different there same with all the top riders, great riding but thats normal.

My Observations after an hour out there would be (and I will have missed menitioning a lot too)
MudBoy, well done man
Tyger Tung, wicked skills on the Slut man... you have joined the few that have not been biffed from the sluts saddle.
Jonny, mate awesome skills on a proddy bucket, very smooth and sweet lines.
SpeedPro, ya old bastard... made me sweat it out before letting you go.
Nipper, for doing the best job on a piston and rod i have ever seen.
Rashika, the only chick with the guts to take on 40+ blokes.
Thunder, ya ridings improving fella go hard man.
The list goes on... so many riders giving it hell and taking on the big boys :2thumbsup

[Thunder]

Thunder, ya ridings improving fella go hard man.

Thanks Dangerous, had a great day, glad I was on my FXR , it was pretty comfy for the hour race. Thanks to the organisers, flag marshall & photographers it was a great event. Also I would to thank Darryl Cotton, Dangerous, Stanko & B31 for helping me get the FXR up and running. Still cant work out the hairpin, even after 4 races + the GP, maybe never will.

[stanko]

Thanks to the dedicated Buckateers that made this happen, it was no small feat. The biggest threat to my days racing was squashing my finger in a folding bike ramp, then some clever clogs showed me the saftey warning sticker about not leaving fingers in ther when folding it up.
The big race was just that Big loads of bikes carnagein the first minute, i had to remind myself that I needed to last an hour. I must have finished mid field cos I lapped a few people and got lapped a few times. Each time I lapped Tyger Tung I thought how brave he was wearing those leathers, good one man your obviously not a fashon victim.
I took Yellow peril out with the intention of running it in the afternoon, but I was happy to lend it to Diesel pig on the condition he tells me what was wrong with it , answer handles like shit but the engine goes good, so there is room for improvment there.
after 40 or 50 goes at the hairpin I think I will need another 40 or 50 to get it sussed.
One of the best things from Sunday was meeting the Northeners. Thanks guys for coming . Bad luck Steve , but people were still admiring your bike even after it was blown up, that s one purdy bike
Once again Thanks Dangerous Rashika Tony Mac and Spud for the many hours of work that we could easily take for granted.
Special thanks to SuzyQ for the CD that turned up at work today with hundreds of brilliant pictures from the meet

[Skunk]

I'd just like to thank everyone down there for the great racing and hospitality, had a great time and was good to put faces to names (even if for some it was after the event).

Thanks to Dangerous and Rashika especially for putting us up (and up with us).

Good sandwiches too, SpeedyGirl. If only I had grabbed some earlier. Thank you all.

[TonyB]

Firstly, huge thanks to the BOB comittee. Well done, and thanks for an awesome morning!

It was a long hard road getting there. My Bucket has been under development for quite a while now. Stanko has spent many hours sorting the thing out, so huge thanks must go to him. As with any modified machine, some times you take a few steps backwards before it all comes together, and my bike was a classic example. We braced the frame, which helped the handling imensely. Months ago we fitted a different expansion chamber, which initally made the bike substantially slower as it no longer worked with the original carb. We threw on the old carb from Dangerous' 2 stroke bucket, and while this made good power it became VERY unreliable. In the meantime we fitted slicks on wire wheels from an NZ250, and I insisted on jacking the rear end up. I didn't realise it at the time, but this made the bike very very difficult to ride. A bears meeting gave a clue as to just how bad it had become, but due to 'mitigating factors' and the heat of racing, I really thought it was all me. After being a total sad sack for a few hours i decided "FUCK THIS!" I realised there were two options- 1) give up racing or 2)practice till I got better. So deciding to follow Koreas lead, I loaded the bucket into the van and found a decent sized carpark in an industrial area. After doing figure eights for a while I realised two things;
1) The bike only turned properly if I stayed right down low.
2) The seat and rear set pegs forced my weight forward all the time, so riding it was like doing a hand stand.
So I bought some GSXR250 clip ons and got Stanko to turn up some spacers for them. And I reshaped the seat so it wasn't tilted forward.

The Have a Go day was supposed to be the day for sorting it out. No such luck. I couldn't even do a full lap.:mad:

So then I commandered Dangerous, and we took the bike and a handful of jets out to Top Secret Proving Ground 1. After a lot of frustration, we began to suspect that the jetting had nothing to do with it. However we did get it making enough power to slip the clutch in all gears:cool: The next morning i pulled the carb apart and found loads of alloy swarf and a big chunk of rust between the inlet spigot and the float valve. Then I went out to Top Secret Proving Ground 2 to see if it worked, and sort the clutch. It definitely worked, so Stanko pulled the clutch to bits and we de-glazed everything. It worked !:cool:

So then the day before I pissed about trying to fix a few small things that might end my race, then i went out and collected the other two bikes I had to take.

BOB day dawned with a Nor'West shower. I roll out of bed at 5:45 and toddled off to the track. After that its kind of a blur, probably because we had;
Practice
2 min break
Race 1
2 min break
Race 2
10 min break
55 mins plus 1 lap!!!

Practice was basicly tentatively wobbling around trying to get used to the bike, which i had never ridden on the track in its current form.
Race 1. blurry as! Had a battle with Stanko, realised just how much ground you loose if you try and the wrong gear through a corner.
Race 2. even blurrier!
55 min- Started further back on the grid as I had a feeling the first few laps would be busy. Shit was I right!! As mentioned above, I was having issues on the first (bumpy) right hander, and the second one wasn't much better. got stuck with Stanko behind some proddy bikes. Next thing I know the leaders are all over us and I have a moment in the second right hander and Kickaha clips my front wheel. Some off road travel got me back on the track, a looong way from the righthander. To add to the amusement, the camelback I had in the hump of my suit was over filled, and it was forcing fluid into me, whether I wanted it or not! I got fuller and fuller, till I became quite bloated and uncomfortable. A huge buuuuurp sorted that out!.

Before the race I had a feeling that I would get faster as the race went on, and it proved to be true. By the end of the race I was able to keeps up with the likes of TonyMac on every corner except the right handers, and I couldn't get the hairpin right. A strong southerly wind had me either a gear too high or a gear too low on the start finish straight- I couldn't accelerate at all untill I got round the kink. But other than that the race was very very encouraging. for one thing the bike went perfectly for the whole hour!!!! Plus it looked like i might actually be able to ride quickly with some more practice. Originally i had planned to economise my movement on the bike, but that theory went out the window and I ended up hanging off for the whole race.... but...

When i got off the bike I couldn't stand for a few minutes- I was not alone, Dangerous colapsed into a trailer and curled up into the foetal position! My wife and brother were there watching the race. MrsB has witnessed me at my worst after recent wasted race days, dissapointment and depression. so when she ran up, gave me a hug and said " Wow thats the best i have ever seen you ride!!" :hug: the air got just a little bit dusty...

[gav]

How about a race report from ya, Skunk?

[dangerous]

We threw on the old carb from Dangerous' 2 stroke bucket, and while this made good power it became VERY unreliable.
The next morning i pulled the carb apart and found loads of alloy swarf and a big chunk of rust between the inlet spigot and the float valve.

I was having issues on the first (bumpy) right hander, and the second one wasn't much better.

Hmmm... just finished looking into the reason my MB seized up, head off and no damage TFFT. So for the 1st time I put a inline filter on the fuel line and drained the tank... in no time the filter was full of all kinds a shit, so off with the carb... and what ya know? yip mostly blocked same place as Tony's carb (suspect as that was my carb that the shit in it came from my tank aswell)
So I guess my bike locked up due to limited fuel and going lean.

1st right hander is smoth as Tony, however it does need to be taken at the right angle.
2nd righty... smoth aswell, I think you need to look at something there.
The bumpy corner I find is the left in between the rights... its a shocker reckon it will be the corner that puts me on my arse, both buckets loose traction and slid/shudder the way through that one.

[Skunk]

How about a race report from ya, Skunk?
OK then...

Practice: Once I saw which way the track went things started coming together better. I had geared the bike with a 34 rear and 14 front hoping that the gap between the gears wasn't too big (4 speed box). I found that over-reving in 3rd just picked up 4th so I had to keep the corner speed up or I would bog on the exit. Made a note to change the gearing before the first race.
Track impressions; it's all sweepers compared to what I normally race on, even the 'hairpin'. I seem to be going too deep into the hairpin on the brakes which unsettles the bike on transition to power. Started to lose the front once but pulled it back with the throttle.
Found I just didn't have enough speed; I was hitting top speed half way between the corner and the start finish line.

Two minutes between the practice and first race! Bugger, no time to fix the gearing.

Race 1: Big field. Good start but held up by a couple of bikes at the kink. Passed a couple into the hairpin on the brakes but went too deep again and lost pace for the exit. Repeat that for the rest of the race. Passed by most, passed a few. Bloody good fun. No idea where I finished.

Race 2: Another good start and again held up at the kink. Shorter race this time so I only got passed by two lead riders.

Battle of the Buckets: Yet another good start and straight away I backed off the pace to try and last the distance. Seems everyone else was out for a sprint race... Saw two crash out on the first couple of laps. I'm sure I was close to last by the 50 mins to go board so I upped the pace a bit. Not sure how far into the race I was but I think about 15 mins and the gearbox decided it was time for a rest. Couldn't select any gears without a up, up, down, do-we-have-one?, down, up guessing game. Got worse and worse so I pulled out. Bugger.

Should have entered in the BEARS bucket racing but didn't for various reasons. Good day out overall though.

[ajturbo]

:Pokey:
what a day!!
thanks for washing the track for us guys!

1st practice... need another gear.. into pits for a bigger front (14 tooth) sprocket...
2nd pratcice... still in pits changing luke's front.....

1st race didn't get last:banana:

long race... didn't get last.. and i finished:banana:

thanks to the flag wavers!!
and the organisers:2thumbsup :2thumbsup

[TonyB]

1st right hander is smoth as Tony, however it does need to be taken at the right angle.
I spent an hour going around that corner every lap. I think I know a bump when I feel one.


2nd righty... smoth aswell, I think you need to look at something there.
The bumpy corner I find is the left in between the rights... its a shocker reckon it will be the corner that puts me on my arse, both buckets loose traction and slid/shudder the way through that one.
My bucket loves that left, powers through there no worries at all.

[dangerous]

I spent an hour going around that corner every lap. I think I know a bump when I feel one.
mate what I mean is maybe you need a different line as... I dont recall a bump on that corner, so perhaps I go under or over it.


the gearbox decided it was time for a rest. Couldn't select any gears
Ohh crap man, sorry in all the hype and rush of things I never relised that you had shat ya dacks... pitty cos there was spare bikes available

[k14]

mate what I mean is maybe you need a different line as... I dont recall a bump on that corner, so perhaps I go under or over it.
I'd say the bump he's talking about is the strip of seal that goes on the inside of the corner about 1m out from the ripple strip for about 5m or so. It has a small crest on it so does create a little bump. If you get the line right you should be able to miss 90% of it though.

I think there is a small bump on the left hander (next corner) but not too bad. The biggest 2 bumps on B track are the last corner (first corner on full track), quite alot of corrugations on the inside. Then on the outside of the kink on the back straight. There's a big trough just by the end of the ripple strip on the right side of the track. Easily avoided by riding to the inside but is ok to ride straight through. Can unsettle the bike quite a bit though.

[Kickaha]

I'd say the bump he's talking about is the strip of seal that goes on the inside of the corner about 1m out from the ripple strip for about 5m or so. It has a small crest on it so does create a little bump. If you get the line right you should be able to miss 90% of it though.

Never noticed it


I think there is a small bump on the left hander (next corner) but not too bad.

They're the worst on the track but you can miss them if you hug the kerb, the RD350LC gets very untidy over them and thats why Glen fell on his arse


Then on the outside of the kink on the back straight. There's a big trough just by the end of the ripple strip on the right side of the track.

Nope all gone, whole section there has been resealed

[johnnyboy0212]

hey fella's
thought id put my two cents worth in too. i had the best days racing ive ever had!:wari: my bike felt mint,thanks to those who told me how to set the thing up right. met afew new peolpe,even some for overseas..(strange they is).but a wicked day to be had by all.the big race was brill, i couldnt beleive how meny bikes went down,crapped out and blow up in the first three laps alone.at first i was playing with tonyb in the early parts of the race .shit it was fun ehh, then mid way through i came up on dangerous on his big block thumper!.i never thought id catch up to one of the fastest guys on the track (don't get a big head for that coment either d)in the end though i got stuck in back traffic and the barsted got away.besides it was only half way though the race and i didnt want to fuck things up.id love to know what placing i got,i mean hell i passed tt three or four times:shake: and thats all that matters. thankyou all for the most enjoyable day.and thankyou so much to suzyq for the disk of all the barsteds that pasted me!.

[TygerTung]

Hey Frank Thomas, you should come and race on saturday at the motorcycling canterbury meeting I'll give u a good run fer ya money on the mighty CG, will be good to have a bit of competition. :scooter:

[TonyB]

Never noticed it
Trust me it's there. I guess my line needs as much work as the shocks eh!
Yeah even at the slow speeds I rode it your LC gets highly untidy on that next left. Funnily enough my bucket and even the FZR have no such issues on that corner.




famous last words?