Where do you want to see bucket racing go in the next 10 years?

**F5 Dave** · 10th February 2016, 19:10

My first bucket was an A50. Had a buggered main and bought the matching one from a mate with a mullered top end. Turned the bars round and painted it with house paint. Found a source of minarelli pistons from a bargain house in town. $4 piston kit, $2 just rings, got spares. Somehow they fitted but had to be bored about 4mm. Read the rules? The fuck I had.

I was a kid and we had no way of transportation to Ohakea anyway. Much time passes. Next step bought an RD50 from same clueless mate that tried to tune it to govt vehicle methanol mix. Guess they didn't read the rules either. Put in petrol and then burnt the pipe out. Then it ran great. Sold that too when I bought an mb50 that had actually been raced. Had a borrowed tank on it. Think I had to give that back at some stage.

All my mates had bought RG50s. Actually went to my first meeting when i was about 21. They kicked my arse. Fell off repeatedly till I got folding pegs welded on. Raced with cheapo jeans over my road leathers to protect them, and with a scarf as I always did on the road. Gee this is hot work. Well duh.

Borrowed a RG50 for my first GP, heaven. Still only got 13th in 50s, but I wasn't last by several bikes. They prized down to, would you believe 13th?

Met Dave Diprose and he gave me some tips on hotting the MB up to be faster than a STK RG. Still didn't handle.

Couldn't afford an RG, kept buying old mb engines which blew up. Loopy Lynda said she'd clean up my $60 race leathers I'd bought (more like a leather sack with arms and legs). They came back with DNF DAVE inscribed on the back. Oh how we did larf. At me.

With no money for new parts the cycle repeated till I finally rebuilt my now fast engine with a new aftermarket Long brand rodkit. I'd won my first race mostly by luck and speed. Rod snapped. New std parts and it never did it again. Now other parts broke. I spent so much time chasing my tail I never had time to learn to ride.
The RG changed all that but heck I was in my mid twenties by then.

Sheesh.

**mr bucketracer** · 10th February 2016, 19:41

Originally Posted by F5 Dave

My first bucket was an A50. Had a buggered main and bought the matching one from a mate with a mullered top end. Turned the bars round and painted it with house paint. Found a source of minarelli pistons from a bargain house in town. $4 piston kit, $2 just rings, got spares. Somehow they fitted but had to be bored about 4mm. Read the rules? The fuck I had.

I was a kid and we had no way of transportation to Ohakea anyway. Much time passes. Next step bought an RD50 from same clueless mate that tried to tune it to govt vehicle methanol mix. Guess they didn't read the rules either. Put in petrol and then burnt the pipe out. Then it ran great. Sold that too when I bought an mb50 that had actually been raced. Had a borrowed tank on it. Think I had to give that back at some stage.

All my mates had bought RG50s. Actually went to my first meeting when i was about 21. They kicked my arse. Fell off repeatedly till I got folding pegs welded on. Raced with cheapo jeans over my road leathers to protect them, and with a scarf as I always did on the road. Gee this is hot work. Well duh.

Borrowed a RG50 for my first GP, heaven. Still only got 13th in 50s, but I wasn't last by several bikes. They prized down to, would you believe 13th?

Met Dave Diprose and he gave me some tips on hotting the MB up to be faster than a STK RG. Still didn't handle.

Couldn't afford an RG, kept buying old mb engines which blew up. Loopy Lynda said she'd clean up my $60 race leathers I'd bought (more like a leather sack with arms and legs). They came back with DNF DAVE inscribed on the back. Oh how we did larf. At me.

With no money for new parts the cycle repeated till I finally rebuilt my now fast engine with a new aftermarket Long brand rodkit. I'd won my first race mostly by luck and speed. Rod snapped. New std parts and it never did it again. Now other parts broke. I spent so much time chasing my tail I never had time to learn to ride.
The RG changed all that but heck I was in my mid twenties by then.

Sheesh.

lol good wright up

**kel** · 10th February 2016, 21:13

Originally Posted by F5 Dave

My first bucket was an A50.
Sheesh.

Very entertaining BUT you missed the first question "Where do you want to see bucket racing go in the next 10 years?"

**F5 Dave** · 11th February 2016, 06:05

I answered that in post 5

**Rick 52** · 11th February 2016, 19:56

2009 I welded a sub frame on a KTM 50 for a guy and his son rode Mini pocket bikes at Mt Welly, He asked to call in and have ago on the practice Saturday, I was blown away by the fun to be had, I hung around and talked to the Bucket people, so helpful and encouraging that I had a crashed damaged FXR the following weekend....I had built the bike for the following meeting and rode the Saturday until I was dizzy !

Sunday was the Mt Wellington cup (B Grade cup) qualified on pole and won my 1st race .....Hooked for life !!

Big Thanks to Tim Fraser and John Conner, Traveling around the country meeting Bucket people has been fantastic for me and the family, always feel welcome .

Going Forward 10yrs, I would like to see more racers traveling to different tracks, I would also like MNZ to recognise Buckets as the best starter class in NZ and not as a "Ginger step child "
I can see rule changes as a necessity to keep the sport growing, but fear some rules have been changed to help a few and not the majority!
Still lots of FXR 150 for sale and god knows how many TF125 engines are about for peanuts .

Long Live Port On The Corner

**wildman** · 11th February 2016, 20:29

Ran my road MB50 at the meeting run in Manukau city carpark early ninties i think, then ran Suzuki AC50 and GT 50. BIGGEST CLAIM TO FAME , How many times i could fall off at one race meeting, boy i was crap, also brought a bucket sidecar from Hugh Roland and ran it a couple of times before selling it back to him. Went and did some other things for a while and came back in 2011 with Bucket Sidecar and i'm still crap, nothing changes much. I like the fact that you can still build something yourself and run it in Buckets and it's still cheaper than any other motorsport. There are a lot of people out there who have amazing engineering skills and i think we should encourage them and not stiffle their creativity, progress and rising costs in Buckets is going to be on going but like i said it's still cheaper than other motorsports.

**Henk** · 11th February 2016, 20:53

I got involved with an old shitter because I wanted to turn up, pay and ride as a break from running events for another club.
Then got an FXR and now don't do the dirt bike thing anymore.

In ten years I'd like to see it as easily accessible and low key as it is now. I'd also like to see it as easy on the organisers as it was a year ago. Lately I've been about ready to throw in the towel because one or two people with agendas have been making it not fun.
The people that run this sport are doing it because nobody else wants to, with an investment in time and energy that isn't insignificant and with real risk, they aren't an easily replaceable resource. Please remember that.

**seymour14** · 12th February 2016, 10:50

About self- do engineering for a living, wasn't my first choice in life, but have proven I can think outside the square occasionally.

How involved- On the coat tails of Dad and brothers, probably in and around 1998.

Not fussed on which bike I ride, prefer the Sidecar, no expectations but to have some fun.

As to staying on, would dearly love to see us win an F4 title just the once, don't like seeing money become the be all and end all of the sport, nor do I like watching rule changes effectively out-mode people's (including others) hard work.

Prefer the sidecar, all my best memories of buckets are associated with it, even the crashes...

Not sure I will be on the scene that much longer, life is about trying different stuff, and if something becomes more about bashing your head against a brick wall then enjoying it, that's probably the cue to jump ship and look for another adventure. Have told Dad that I am not going to dedicate my life to rust either, so his restorations are his and his alone!

**timg** · 12th February 2016, 13:20

Well, after doing a Honda Riders Club track/training day and raving about it to a drunk ginga at a rally he suggested I should give bucket racing a go. Yeah, sure like I can afford to race! He reckoned I could buy a bike and have a seasons racing for $1k. So I turned up at a bucket meeting to check it out - turned out to be the BOB run in snow on the B track

Soon after I had an old CB125t and started playing at the back of the field for a while before graduating to the mighty FXR

For me F4 is FUN! The camaraderie is fantastic. I'm a competent mid-field racer out there for my enjoyment. I'm not a mechanic or engineer hence my choice of the ever reliable FXR (& Ducati 400 Pre'89 postie). I enjoy tinkering and learning what I can about improving both my bike and riding.

I don't have the riding, mechanical/engineering or financial ability to be any more than mid field but enjoy trying to make the best out of what I have and take a bit of pride in turning out on well presented machinery - F4/F5 needs to drop the bucket of shit mentality if we want to be taken seriously. There's nothing smart about turning up at machine examination in a scruffy, dirty & non compliant bucket....

As for the future, I don’t want changes

What we have works pretty well. If I wanted more cc I’d do the 250 development/proddie/Hyosung thing or something else. Still plenty of FXR’s out there and 2t’s too. It ain’t broken and doesn’t need fixing. Cheers.

**Askor** · 12th February 2016, 23:03

I'm an electrical engineering student at the university of canterbury, and I've always loved riding/working on bikes. I had heard of bucket racing from a mate in highschool and never really gave it a second thought..until in late 2014 I saw a shitty AX100 at a second hand store for $250 and suddenly buckets came to mind.
I had a look in the buckets section of KB and thought hey this looks awesome, so I made a post expressing my interest in giving it a go. Buddha and Yow Ling stepped up to the plate and offered rides on their spare machines. I ended up riding Buddha's son's old FXR at a CAMS meet and had so much fun I bought a very sickly FXR off Yow Ling the next week.
I built up the engine with a bit of guidance, and have been racing it ever since! (well, until I crashed in November and broke my collarbone..it's currently in bits while I'm looking for some more horsepower).

I also have a 1980 Suzuki GP125 I let mates use/have a go on. It's also currently in bits

The FXR is the reliable workhorse, the GP is a crash course in 2 stroke tuning. I also have another GP125 engine that will be going in an RG50 frame..

I like buckets because it's cheap, safe (slow), and how much development goes into the bikes.

I think the rules are pretty dam good as they are, regarding capacity/engine origins/etc. However I don't think the 24mm carb rule is really necessary. How many 125 2t bikes are racing and winning on the big tracks?
It would be interesting to introduce a sub-class that includes 85cc MX engines though, I would like to see how much power could be pushed out of one of those little motors with (some) reliability.

Must get around to getting my medical clearance and putting my bike back together....I'm having withdrawls..

**rodg** · 13th February 2016, 08:53

Got in to buckets in 2013. Worked with Tim Fraser who’d been suggesting for two years that I have a crack at it. Loved it from the beginning (once stopped using rear brake to slide in to corners like my 2 stroke MX background). Bought a well prepared FXR which Terrene and I shared (A and C grade). Came 4th in Auckland 2 hour in 2013 with Tim Fraser – fastest lap 30.4. Kept falling off and breaking bike so Terrene told me to find my own. Found an Aprilia 50 bucket. Dude had a TZ125 chassis under a sheet in back of shed also. Cool – bought them both. Have spent last two years slowly and badly trying to build and get my 2 stroke GP chassis machine to be faster than my FXR (has always been way more fun which is why we ride!). Lots of help and advice from smart people generous with their knowledge. Came third in the 2015 2 hour with Chris Cain – fastest lap 30.4. Two years more experience and ‘better’ bike and only just now going faster. Still can’t ride my TZ as fast as Tim could ride my FXR. Still haven’t won a race at Mt Wellington.

Why buckets? Great group of people, new people starting all the time, low cost, get to ride lots.

Hopes for future of buckets? Great group of people, new people starting all the time, low cost, get to ride lots.

**TZ350** · 13th February 2016, 12:57

I had always been interested in racing and got into Buckets when a friend suggested it. My friend's son had given him an old Suzuki GP125 so I got one too as I didn't want to hear any excuses when I trounced him and wanted to beat him on equal machinery.

As it turned out my friend was the better rider but he gave it all away pretty quickly and I continued. I am a better builder and tuner than rider. I ride to see whether the ideas worked or not, actually I enjoy a bit of riding too.

The big thing is the camaraderie of the people that make Buckets so enjoyable.

The FXR's saved traditional Buckets and I guess Buckets will continue to evolve as the need arises and suitable machines come along.

I would like to see it stay a simple cheap(ish) formula class that is fun and friendly, with a minimum of rules so that those that like to ride can continue to race with a minimum of bike building fuss and those that like to build and tune bikes can continue to do so and get to enjoy their creations.

**jasonu** · 13th February 2016, 14:02

Originally Posted by TZ350

I would like to see it stay a simple cheap(ish) formula class that is fun and friendly, with a minimum of rules so that those that like to ride can continue to race with a minimum of bike building fuss and those that like to build and tune bikes can continue to do so and get to enjoy their creations.

Tru dat Sista!!!!!

**mike61** · 14th February 2016, 13:29

Hi all my son really wants to get into bucket racing but cant find a fxr150 racer anywhere has anyone got one for sale or know someone who has??

Thanks in advance ..

**timg** · 14th February 2016, 14:02

Originally Posted by mike61

Hi all my son really wants to get into bucket racing but cant find a fxr150 racer anywhere has anyone got one for sale or know someone who has??

Thanks in advance ..

They crop up on trademe regularly. I've bought them ranging from $600 to $1200. Keep an eye on this and the other racing forums too. Cheers.