Tyre warmers on buckets?

[Buddha#81:Me]

It seems that Bucket racing in the past couple of years has moved along (in my eyes) for the better. The gear is faster and more reliable FXR's, CBR's. The bikes are more presentable. New members are starting racing nearly every meeting.

My question is as a club do we cap some of the tecnology avaliable to keep it competitive for the average joe? I for one have a Mortgage and a Family to feed.

A couple of the buckets had tyre warmers on yesterday and they would have had a huge advantage over those of us that went out on cold tyres on a cold track. Do we all spend $500 on warmer to keep up?

You guys are the club members and fellow racers......tell the Commitee what you would like to see included/excluded to make the racing more competitive and affordable for us all. We can ammend the "inhouse" rules to suit, tell us what you want.

Cheers Brent.

[Sketchy_Racer]

I think tyre warmers is a bit sad to be honest.

The guys using them on buckets should grow a pair of nuts and harden up. Keep it level(ish)

[Sully60]

I think tyre warmers is a bit sad to be honest.

The guys using them on buckets should grow a pair of nuts and harden up. Keep it level(ish)

I'm just glad I was using them at the Upper Hutt GP before that warm up lap eh Sketchy!

[Sketchy_Racer]

hahaha yeah see. you cheated. If you didn't have them on that warm up lap, you could have joined me too! Just imagine the pile up if the led sled fell over in that corner!

[Trudes]

What!!!! God help anyone who turns up at the slipway with their tyres getting warmed in any other way than the traditional ones!!! Actually, it would be worth someone do it to see the amount of shit they'd be given!!

[MIXONE]

The original idea of bucket racing was to get an old shitter,strip off everything not needed and away you go.I would love to get back into it but it appears to be going the way of all other motorsports.ie The more money you've got the better.It puts me off for one.

[Buddha#81:Me]

I think tyre warmers is a bit sad to be honest.

The guys using them on buckets should grow a pair of nuts and harden up. Keep it level(ish)

Nah not sad, these guy have got the kit so they're using it........you should see what they're putting them on.......Aussie speced CBR150's, $9k NZD.

The guys weigh 45-50kg have 17.5hp weapons and use tyre warmers. I'm just getting the feeling toward where we are heading down here. Bucket racing is at a new level in the Mainland.

[Buddha#81:Me]

What!!!! God help anyone who turns up at the slipway with their tyres getting warmed in any other way than the traditional ones!!! Actually, it would be worth someone do it to see the amount of shit they'd be given!!

A few years ago we said the same thing down here..........the world has moved on, how far do we let it go? should we stifle progress?

[Skunk]

I'd like to keep it as 'Buckets of Shit'. Using newer bikes is one thing - programmable electronic ignition, fuel injection, type warmers... where is the line today? Where will it be tomorrow?

Soon it will be cheaper to get a CBR125/150 than an old MB100 (and easier). Do we have a list of 'homologated' bikes?

Already the way classes are divided differs in various parts of the country to suit local tracks. Is this good?

What about those that have a backbone bike? Can they compete or do they just make up the numbers?

I'm only asking to see peoples views. These are questions I ask myself and have no answers to.

[Kendog]

Having only just started in Buckets, I can see how easy it is to get caught up in the 'spend more money, go faster' line of thinking.

But if buckets are meant to be the cheap intro into bike racing, perhaps there is a need to look at the regulations again.

For comparison at the same kind of cost as buckets, when I raced RC cars years ago things got a little out of hand with a few people spending up large. Those that could not afford to keep up slowly left as they had no chance at competing. At the time the only thing that saved the sport was the introduction of a strict no-moding class. With everyone on a fairly level playing field (different car types were still allowed) it came down to the drivers ability.

[Trudes]

A few years ago we said the same thing down here..........the world has moved on, how far do we let it go? should we stifle progress?

That's a hard one.
To me spending a crap load of money on a bucket and things for the bucket racing to enhance performance kind of defeats the whole point of bucket racing... a cheap way to get into racing and the fun of riding around on something that not so long ago would have been on the scrapheap with other like minded people riding on their version of a heap of shit. So IMO, if you've got shit loads of money, why not get into the more serious classes of racing on something a bit flasher and let the broke buggers like me stick to our cheap dungers.
However, who am I to begrudge someone of their fun? If someone wants to rock up with the latest modcoms for their flash as fast piece of cool bucket... good on them, and if they whip everyone on their $300 bucket's arse on their 9K bucket, well, I hope they feel some massive satisfaction from it.
In saying that, I have only seen the buckets at the Slipway here in Welly, and they're all true buckets, but to their builders/owners they are their pride and joy (well, I know Pamela is definitely to me) and it sounds like bucket racing elsewhere in the country is very competitive and with the longer tracks more speed is needed, so I can see why some people may end up bettering their buckets and heading into the thousands that they spend on their buckets to be competitive.
Each to their own I guess. Personally, if someone has something that cost a crap load, I would be even more determined to try and beat them!!

[Grub]

God help anyone who turns up at the slipway with their tyres getting warmed in any other way than the traditional ones!!!

I'm with you babe! {The Grub loads a pair of large electrical-cable cutters into his toolbox}

[Sully60]

There are always going to be the haves and the have nots in racing no matter what the class.

There's nothing in the rules about tyre warmers so too bad.

As I racer, and I've said this before, I will use all the resources available I have to win. (Like the rest human race I must have depleted most of my resources cos I ain't won in a while!)

I don't begrudge anyone who has better equipment, spent more time or money on their bike to get it the way they want it even if they're kicking my arse.I just get angry and ride harder and if they still beat me then that's my lot.
I'm getting kicked all over the place by a fucken scooter with 40cc more than me for Christ sake, but that's my issue to overcome.
In the end everyone spends the amount of money they believe to justifiable for their level of involvement.
So don't be a knocker about it, don't be negative, find away to turn it around to your advantage.

And if you can't do that, just knock them off!

[Skunk]

I don't get upset by it but I wonder if the class could end up with semi-talented riders with deep pockets winning everything and putting off those with no money but more talent.

I'm thinking of the future of the class rather than here and now. Where is it going? Where should it go? Should it be chequebook racing or stick to it's origins? (High-tech by way of who-you-know and clever-bastard-itis)

[nudemetalz]

Well, Team Nugsty's Lady P has cost us to build a lot more than what it would have been to buy a rough but going FXR150 (which would have been more sensible), but building your own bike from various parts that were procured from other bucketeers etc keeps it in the true spirit.
I know the Loncin will get hosed on the long straights so I gotta learn to ride it harder !!

(Anyone got some cheap tyre-warmers for sale? )