OK, a race report is due I guess...
Wednesday night we loaded all the bikes onto the trailer and stuck one in the van. Two EZYups (one a double) everybody's race gear and some overnight stuff, spares, tools etc all in the van.
Thursday morning and we're on our way. Myself Skunk Control and (after making him walk down the road) AJ. A quick 'go get em' from Number One as she went pass (ok, she stopped in the middle of the main road to chat) and we're ferry bound.
Running a little late so drove straight onto the boat, no waiting. Calm seas which was good as I don't have sea legs. Off at Picton and a nice drive down to Christchurch. Nothing spectacular on the trip down - two sleeping passengers and lots of traffic light controlled road works.
Arrived at Dangerous and Rashikas in good time considering the load. Trailer just fits in the gate at Dangerous and Rashikas. Parked the trailer in the garage and relaxed for the first time since Tuesday.
Friday was spent getting avgas for myself and Str8 Jkt. Found the while I was loading bikes, those loading the van had left out my race stands and fuel containers! Bastards! Had to buy another one which has now disappeared in the chaos. Two trips to the airport for fuel, one to the gas station for AJ. I had more fuel containers but didn't know what was supposed to go in them so I did nothing with them.
AJ by this time had discovered that when Sketchy Racer had said 'it's munted!' what he meant was 'it's munted!'. Bren_Chch kindly lent AJ an FXR (He obliviously doesn't know AJ very well...). So we ran round finding a tyre for Mudboys RG50 and AJ's loaner FXR. Kickaha did the tyre changing for us. Also found a spark plug for my bike then it was back to Base Camp to look at AJ's bike. Minor issues with getting it to run but got it sorted in the end.
Saturday dawned in darkness (fuck it was early) and we set off for the track. Waited at the gate for the keyholder to arrive (late). Set up our site on the concrete strip (that Dangerous had trouble finding in the dark).
Two EZYups setup with 10 bikes under them and the Continental flag flying.
Last minutes tweaking done, signin done and all passed scrutineering. Wait for practice.
Practice:
Took the ZX1R out to see how it was. It decided to run on one cylinder again. Came in and grabbed the AX1R and it was emptying the float bowl faster than the tank could fill it.
Pit time:
I adjusted the float levels as a quick fix. Got the ZX1R running on two cylinders.
Race 1:
AX1R was better but still not good. Good enough to race I decided. ZX1R wouldn't pull hard. Too much to fix in the time I had. Sully60 came in broken so we started stripping my engine to put in his frame. Nearly had it done when an FXR was offered to Sully who grabbed it with both hands.
Battle of the Buckets:
Plenty of other reports cover the warm up laps so I won't cover that mess.
Started the race OK running at an ok pace considering. I couldn't hold full throttle anywhere or the float bowl would run dry. Didn't want to blow the motor so, as I was going backwards on the straights and finding a dead engine mid corners, I decided to swallow my pride and pull in. Save the bike for Sunday.
Bugger.
Sunday:
Got to the track at a reasonable time and setup. Today I had the AX1R to ride and Kickahas RD350LC (Pre82). I hate riding other peoples bikes and with having to drive back the next day on my own I wasn't keen on pushing it.
Practice and racing (the day is a blur):
AX1R was running better having lifted the float bowls higher still but half way through the first race the gearbox went into random select mode. I had warned Mrs Kendog about this and made sure she changed the gearbox oil to prevent it happening. If only I had done the same... Doh! Got to ride a FXR in the North vs South race. Oh, my, God. Could the bike have been any slower or more gutless? I couldn't believe it...
The RD350LC needed the throttle fixed to get through scrutineering. The quick fix was to grab AJ's spare one. On the track this meant what felt like two turns to get full throttle so after the first outing I set about fixing the old grip. Much better. I really enjoyed riding the LC even if I was passed by everyone. I didn't think I could beat the regulars so I played with two smaller bikes trying to match their corner speed. Not very well either I might add. I used the power on the straights to catch them up.
Fun drive home on Monday; AJ's bike tried to escape (probably out of shame) and the brakes on the trailer dragged for about 100ks. Other than that all fine until the ferry. Still no sea legs and a 'moderate' crossing. Made the mistake of sitting up the front to watch the live band (who I meet in the queue at the ferry terminal) and ended up feeling quite ill.
Quick trip round to AJ's and Kendogs dropping off bikes, then home to sort mine out and then get some dinner and bed.
Great weekend and I'd like to thank:
Dangerous and the committee for putting on the event,
Dangerous and Rashika for opening the house to so many losers from Wellington,
All the Welly crew for coming down to the event and seeing what I was raving about,
All the Christchurch crew for offering bikes and help at every turn and food,
All the flaggies. What a crap day weatherwise and yet you stuck with it. Thank you all.
Pictures:
1. The Welly camp.
2. Bucket practice dummy grid
3. Koba crashing
4. Skunk on Kickahas RD350LC
5. My ankle after kicking the trailer on Sunday morning
6. Snow on the van Saturday night
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Originally Posted by nudemetalz
yank tank at Glenorchy 2006 rally
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