2008 Battle Of the Buckets NZTT

[xr-rider]

how did the norfeners do?

[Sully60]

Yes I did kill my bike, it was rider error when i got a bit enthusiastic in the first race and held a gear between two corners which meant an inlet valve got intimate with a piston, dumb arse!

The Norf Welly crew put in a super human effort to swap Skunks motor out into my chassis and we're almost there when Mike Stein (sp) offered me one of his FXR's to ride in the main event. I put my pride and tools aside and accepted his offer.

Despite being on a not nice Vee Rubber rear tyre that gave me no confidence at all ( going through Pothole kink flat out in the rain with the rear tyre moving around is quite scary) I managed to complete the whole race and think I managed a reasonable result. I was looking over Skunk Controls shoulder when she was compiling the results last night and at least saw that they were recording the number I raced with so I'm keen to see where I finally ended up, could be good.

Big ups to the Kendogs who stayed out there and finished the race. It would have been easy to just pull in and flag it because it was very cold and wet and it wasn't much fun, I considered it myself but saw a few of the faster guys had pulled out for whatever reason so I thought I'd better do right by my supporters and sponsors and at least complete the main event.

I'll compile a full report when I get home which may be sooner that we thought depending on how much snow there is on the track today, no kidding, this place is

[Trudes]

I have to admit Pamela and Trudy kept me going, I thought about pulling in at one stage but came up behind the girls and thought, well, if they are staying out so am I. Well done you two!!

Well I'm very glad I inspired someone to HTFU!!Thanks

And I'd love to say that I am a hard as nails Welly Massif Chick and that I was wet and cold and losing the will to live but stayed and finished the race anyway.... but that just isn't the truth. The truth is that being a cancerian I come prepared for everything and had three layers of thermals, leathers and waterproof wet weather gear on, so I was as snug as a bug in a rug and could've gone all day!!

I had an absolute ball, thanks everyone who helped plan the event, helped out, encouraged and supported and generally mucked in.
I am so proud of my hubby for finishing too, and my Pamela was a true trooper, she started to make some rattly noises towards the end and wasn't handling 4th gear down the straight once the wind picked up a bit, so 3rd it was, and we just took a Saturday ride in the sleet as we were under team orders to just finish (and add in some blocks if possible, which I did, hehe), so slow and steady didn't win the race for us, but we finished, which is quite an accomplishment I reakon! Especially as I lapped my hubby twice, the last time on the last lap where I decided that we had enough left to do one last pass down the straight, (sorry hunny, had to be done!) AND, we were economical.... only used about 2 litres of gas for the day, no wonder I was still ready for the North vs South race when I came in and was disappointed that the meet had been called off due to the shit weather, fair call really too! I was pretty ready for a beer anyway!
Thanks ChCh bucket peeps for your hospitality, especially Dangerous, Rashika, Speedygirl and Joni, you guys rock!!

[Trudes]

Oh and hey, a big THANKS needs to be said to Skunk Control and Rashika for spending all last night on the computer sorting out the results while the rest of us got drunk and made too much noise. It's a huge shitty job and you guys just got stuck in, awesome!
Also thanks to all the folks who sat out in the freezing cold shit weather and wrote down our numbers as we went round and round and especially the flag marshals who must have been dying out there in the cold on the side of the track, you guys are awesome!!

[merv]

The truth is that being a cancerian I come prepared for everything and had three layers of thermals, leathers and waterproof wet weather gear on, so I was as snug as a bug in a rug and could've gone all day!!

Hey good on ya, nothing wrong with being smart and prepared - great effort .

I was happy to be in Wellington in front of the gas fire when my daughter told me it was snowing where she lives down there so I checked out this thread and found the snow photos - beautiful.

[Kendog]

"The pile of poo" (the name affectionately given to my bucket by Mrs Kendog) made it down South with the other Welly buckets and was sitting ready for scrutinering when we arrived on Saturday morning. This was the first big test of the day and it passed

The next test was the track. I have never had 'The poo' in 4th gear so was interested to see what would happen on a longer high speed track. The practice session started and I rounded the first corner heading onto the back straight, slipped into 4th gear and was flying (a relative term for 'The Poo'). Came up to the left hand kink that everyone had said can be taken at full speed, lent in and immediately felt 'The Poo' begin to wobble. For a few seconds I was heading uncontrollably straight towards the outside of the track.
Lesson number 1, 'The Poo' is not set up for speed cornering.

The end of the straight arrived eventually (this is a long track for my poor little 100) and I was quickly reminded my brakes were almost non existent.
Lesson number 2, do not get myself into a position to need brakes.

The engine was running pretty well since I had drilled out the main jet, so at least that was a good thing. But, by the end of the day I had no power in third gear (was not even close to trying to get to fourth) so was riding the track in second.
Lesson number 3. 'The Poo' in second gear is slow on a long straight.

Then it was time for the BOB. This is what I was here for and finishing was my only aim.

Part 1: Starting from the back of the grid I came upon the incident with Str8 (damaged foot and a few bruises, will let her explain more if she wishes) Mrs Kendog and Sully were stopped and trying to get her bike off the middle of the track so I pulled off and talked to Str8, making sure she was ok to move over to the tyre wall. We were frantically waving our arms to get some acknowledgment from any of the marshals, all the buckets were lined up at the other end of the back straight and it would not have been pretty if they had been started with the bike lying just round the left hand kink. A marshal came running over and we headed off to join the rest of the buckets. It got a little confusing then, as we were sent back to the pits to wait for the ambulance to bring Str8 back.

Part 2: Back on the grid at the back of the pack. I was thinking to my self there were a lot less bikes this time out (turns out those warm up laps were pretty hotly contested) and I wonder if a few were put off by the weather as well. By this time it was turning to shit with rain and wind (windy for Christchurch, just a gentle Wellington breeze really), but damn it was getting cold. I had Baydens words in my head "Don't treat it like a race, quarter of these bikes probably won't even finish" so my plan was slow and steady.
Off we went. The pace was a lot slower this time, I think a lot of people were thinking the same about just finishing. As the laps went by more and more bikes dropped out. For a while it seemed like every lap had another rider pushing their bike back. I even witnessed a spectacular slide down the back straight with several following buckets taking evasive action.
Lap after lap past, along with every bucket on the track passing me (including the sexy Pamela) I must give credit to a lot of riders out there, some of the pace and lean angles going on in those conditions was impressive.
Finally it was the last lap, Pamela got me again but it was all good. I had nursed 'The Poo' home and we had completed what we set out to do.

Back in the pits we loaded up the bikes and headed back to our hosts place to warm up, drink up, eat up and talk up the days events.

I would like to thank the following for making this all possible:
The BOB organisers. Everything seemed to run smoothly from my view, just a pity the weather didn't play nice.
Dangerous and Rashika. Thanks for opening your home to us, it was a really great night. And thanks also for getting up early to get us to the airport.
Speedygirl. What a great taxi driver. Even when you were not feeling well you waited for us, drove us (and others) around. Awesome!!
Thunder. Thank you for taking my frame from the track, that really helped me out of a bit of a spot.
Joni. Thanks for the lunch, it was really yummy.
The Welly crew. Everyone there was a credit to the bucketing spirit. Decked out in yellow we showed a true team spirit.
Koba. Str8's pit bitch that helped out others where he could. Thanks for helping and making sure I was ready to hit the track.
Sully60. Thanks for the encouraging pats on the back during the BOB, it helped me keep my spirits up. You did time one of your passes badly when you rode into some of the sitting water that splashed straight into my slight open visor and added to my already soaked boots.
Skunk Control. Skunks better half (I couldn't use the term 'pit bitch' there) You were always around to help out. You also stepped up to help collate the results on Saturday night, which I know was not easy on a Mac
Skunk. Thanks so much for getting my bike there and back. Also thanks again for all your help getting it ready. I just hope you get some quality time on the track today.
Mrs Kendog. The other half of 'Team Kendog' and my perfect bucket partner. Even after you kicked my arse in the BOB, I still love you

Bring on next year

[merv]

Good on you too Kendog for bringing the poo home. Ah the joys of the cold weather in ChCh huh!

[TonyB]

Congrats to Bren and Dave for their wins. Dave that machine of yours is incredible! Damn you must go through clutch plates in a hurry though. Tyger Tung out there on the nifty50 had me in fits of laughter as he sllloooowwwwlllly pottered along the straights. Bren was all class in the 1 hour, its a shame that the cold got to DieselPig- would have been great to see him take second. And the highlight of the day? Rashika lapping Dangerous on the last lap! I was hooting and hollering through my chattering teeth

I didn't race, so decided to be a flaggie for the day. It was pretty bloody bad out there actually- you know, I'm SURE those sexy orange outfits they give to flaggies are supposed to have leggings with them as well. If they are then whoever left them in the shed needs a farken good slapping. The radios we got were piles of festering crap which you can't hear once the race starts anyway... I take my hat off to anyone that does this job regularly....

I was on the first right hander after the hairpin- which I chose because I knew there'd be loads of crashes! And I was right! I was also having to watch turn one (Pothole) and unfortunately was looking the wrong way for AGES when Str8 Jacket(?) went down on the warmup lap. I heard someone yell "HELP!!!" and ended up running over. She was hopping around, and when I looked again she was sitting on the ground, shaking and looking very pale. I asked if she was OK "I'm fine" she said, to which I replied "Bullshit you are", so I got the ambo's down there. Still feel like I farked up though because it took me ages to notice the crash.

And the icing on the cake was the guy who was complaining when the meeting was canned early. "Is that it?? Its a long way to come for one race. Are we going to get a refund or something??" I understand his point of veiw, but its a whole lot worse standing out there in the open than it is sheltering behind the embankment. Shit it was raining, sleeting, hailing and wind chill was pretty diabolical. Maybe an hour later it was snowing and settling... AT the end of the day, the MNZ official pulled the pin, not the organisers. Once he did that, there was nothing that could be done.

Despite all this I really enjoyed myself. It was bloody good to be so close to the action, and to be able to give something back for a change. It was kinda cool to turn up and see everyone all buzzing before they went out... and aside from Gwenda lapping Darryl, the funniest part of the day was listening to everyone panicking and shortening the races to try and beat the weather...when my radio worked that is...

Sorry I missed out on the BBQ etc. I was busy swapping the forks in my BEARS bike for the next days racing. Unfortunately something was amiss and the calliper off sets were slightly out with the borrowed forks. The discs were warping when I pulled the lever and the brakes were dragging heavily. I couldn't find a solution despite hours of pissing around, and in the end had to give up on it BIG thanks to Glen from Street and Sport Motorcycles for lending me the forks, its just a shame that something wasn't right.

[ajturbo]

I heard luke had to pull in because his hand's were frozen (AJ turbo's kid).

i came into the pits as the loana bike was moving far too much for my likeing...
too see luke walking away from his bike...
"what's up?" i aksed...
i cannot move my fingers he said.. and i am cold...
you be ok i asked... yer should be, he replied...
sweet then your bike is ok then... ?
yer.. just me cold...
put the loana bike aside , grabbed the 50..
and i was out there...
for about 10 more laps...till i went to use the brakes on the hair pin...

to find that i couldn't open my hand......
it was not working!!...

SHIT... lucky luke had good tyres..
and the back brake works!!!
i pulled out, parked the bike... to see the flag drop... DOH!!

i was in so much pain it was not funny, brain was not working ( as if it ever did)..
hands were usless.. and we still had to load up the trailer.. thanks to Fi5hy's example, i tried my best to help.. unfortunatly i couldn't feel anything. so i only hoped that the ropes were tight!!!

[nudemetalz]

ha ha what a "cool" report, AJ !!!!

[ajturbo]

the bike was moving so much that even luke over took me!!...
i knew then that i would be in big trouble if i tried to push it...

just ask skunk how much power the thing had!!!

note to everyone:.. FXR are shit!

[stanko]

note to everyone:.. FXR are the shit!

So true, gee imagine if one won

[ajturbo]

So true, gee imagine if one won

shut up... was trying to blame something else apart from my riding ability!!!!
(that sucks)

[Rashika]

well it goes like this...

Thursday night a bunch of fellas and fellesses arrived on our doorstep with some bikes in tow. Usual talk happened: we gonna whip ya arse...no ya not, yes we are... no ya not... etc. You get the picture, feed em some food and we all went to snooze and dream of kicking some north/south island butt.

Friday dawned and I went to work. (yahoo)

The rest of em then attempted to get AJ's bike to work, discovered, (seemingly for the first time) that the hole in it was a little bigger than just some minor porting, about twice the size of the inlet... it was not gonna run like that. So yep Brenchch to the rescue with yet ANOTHER FXR he'd just picked up. As several people found out later it seems to be one of the slower ones, may need a bit of attention to sort... but being an FXR it'll be sweet eventually. Nice of the Wgtn guys to try and suss out the issues on it by riding it all weekend

A total of 18 bikes were parked up in the garage by then end of the friday night, then it was on to the weekend.

Saturday dawned beautiful, warm and sunny... even tho we all knew it wouldn't last it was a nice start.
Out to the track and waiting for... the usual late treasurer with the keys.
Spent the next 2 hours doing signin, so dont know what happened elsewhere of my wee signin table. Pretty good signin guys... went smoothly once the day licences turned up.
Then it was practice... at last! Time to see who was a challenge...
For me, practice was sweet... my purple passion was running well as long as i remember to turn on the fuel eh?
Then first race was up... (clouds starting to build up to the south... its COMING) and I was just having a ball! Spied a few targets and aimed for them, one being Johnney212 with his camera on his helmet. i never manage to get on video cos I'm usually behind his arse all day, but for the first time I actually got him and spent the last lap trying to hold him off. SWEET! I decide I'm loving the hairpin these days, and the brakes on the FXR, they are a good combination for getting past people there.

Then the 50CC gp was up, so we all sat and watched as F5 Dave blitzed the competition... holy crap that bike is fast!
Wind had changed form the balmy Nor'wester to a bitter southerly, but no rain yet, so was hoping... till the bittter end.
The BOB was called up after a Street stock race and some training sessions. Rain was just starting to drip a little, not much yet, so silly me decided to use my clear visor... big mistake as soon as I got on the track it fogged up even when open and i was starting to curse. 2 warmup laps later, plenty of drama with 3 offs at least, and were back in the pits. Decided to change my visor back to the tinted one, which just doesn't fog up as much but forgot to change my gloves to the winterweight ones, IDIOT!

Then it was back to the track, minus Str8 jacket sorry chick.
42 starters they said and yep it felt like it. Got a pretty good start of the line, was in the third row i think? managed to get in front of Dangerous and pretty much didn't see him till near the end when i lapped him. Got in behind Buddha and stuck with him as by this time it was raining and i needed a guide! After a lap or two i decided, ferk it.. too slow so up and passed him, gave him a fright i think cos he decided to pass me back a lap later, so tucked in behind him again. Came up on Agent75 and the three of us stuck together for a while till 75 binned it in spectacular style in front of me, and i had to do some cross country over the ripple strip and out into no-mans (or womans) land. Straight back on and that was the last i saw of agent75 as well, not to mention buddha. I hoofed it to try and catch him only to see him on the side of the track a lap later... damn! So the rest of the race i spent passing and being passed, Bren went past 3 times, followed by DP and the Hosie boy, getting colder and colder, trying to argue with myself about continuing... I won! and stayed on the track.

Then Thunder manged to slip by, and I had just about run out of steam so couldn't be arsed trying to catch him (well done dude!)... Then I saw him, my goal for the day, DANGEROUS! Aha, a chance to really rub it in and lap him... so i did... on the last lap. (still love ya tho babe )
Wow what a finish... and that was it for the day. Back to the pits so Lil'm could get my gloves off and try to prevent Hypothermia setting in.
What a day... glad i stayed with it tho!

[dangerous]

well for those that rode the loaner FXR, I seen in its guts today... very sooted up and had a blowen head gasket, any compression was going straight down the cam chain tunnel.

HEY... check K14's vid out from race 2 Sunday SvN http://www.visordown.co.nz/go/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=407 its bloody awesome, yellow shirts doing there best everywere.