Carry on Racing!

Now then!


Here’s a little insight into what has been going on over the last few weeks. The bike’s been at Ash’s place out in Manningtree, home of the beautiful Robert Adam-designed Mistley Towers...

However, I digress, for I did not go out there to admire the fine architecture.




Oooooh No! Missus!




I went out there (on the coldest day of the year) to help young Mr. Norrington put up his new shed. It was a fabulous erection; although I do owe him heavily for his help with the 640 Tigcraft.

It became apparent that our steering stem (previously using a 12mm bolt...!) wasn’t up to snuff, so we knocked out a stem from Ash’s old (crumpled) frame, and with a bit of engineering work, this can be reused. We had to play about with the steering head cups a bit, and I’ll need some bearings but these are not major problems.

Despite the lever being attached to the cheapest nastiest clip-ons in existence, the front brake seems to be working, now it’s been bled.

We’ve also re-sited the pipes, and now they appear to sit a bit better.

The heavy and rather large...

...one-piece seat unit may be ditched in favour of an ally subframe and lightweight race seat unit..., ...but as it is, it works, so maybe we will start the season with the original.

However, there is more important news than mere motorcycles! In an effort to play to combined strengths, we have decided to consolidate our (your?!) own Team Thumper with Ash’s Moto450Supermono. So now that we have become a happy threesome (can a threesome be anything else?!), and, given the grave world financial situation its 2 for 1.

2 bikes, 2 vans (neither warrant a photo), 2 riders, and Boyd Brooks- the 2Bs!

Ash's CRF450-derived racer is full of the trick bling, nice wheels, and looks the business. A welcome addition to the usual rag-tag which has so far defined Team Thumper!

Derby’s finest has been sorting out a remanufacured front fairing stay/tacho mount. Soon this will also be down in Manningtree and we can get a bit more progress once she is back on her own 2 wheels.


The only other thing we need is a name...

TeamThumperMoto?

TeamThumperSMR (as in SingleMindedRacing)?

Answers on a postcard plase to the usual address. Any suggestions welcome...

Bling Bling!

Well, here’s the rather lovely R6 radial caliper mount. I’ve not seen it in the flesh, but Ash sent this from his mobile. Technology eh??

The bike’s at his place now, thank you matey. And to Mark at DBR for the beautiful looking chunk of ally on my forks! And if you need any more convincing of his prowess, I hadn’t realised, but it turns out that he also made the blanking plate for where the water pump used to be. He recognised it when we turned up with the bike. Small world, eh? I wonder if the nice swirl which has finished it off will make it any faster….?


And given the press fanfare of the recently re-anglified Norton Motorcycle Company, a name forever associated with single cylinder race bikes, we can hardly not wish them the very best of luck… Ok, so we’ve been here before, and the great name has had a rough time over the last decade or so (Norton Nemesis, anyone?) but if they can turn up beautifully engineered bits of kit as quickly as DBR then they’re half way there. Will the Crighton and Garner partnership result in new Nortons on the road in the next few years? Lets hope so. Now, could a single-rotor rotary motor ever be considered eligible for Supermono…?!

What News, Sire?

Well, this week has been relatively fruitful. Long, dark, cold nights are no better spent in the closed season than in a short, dark, cold garage.

The sloppy swingarm has been cured by using the correct spacers, and the bike now sports a single 320mm disk upfront. After a long day at work Wednesday, I got home, loaded up the van and completed a 200 mile round trip to deepest darkest Essex. After a couple of hours driving I met Ash Norrington at a layby off the A120, with him as ever grinning like a loon! I think he had been dogging, actually…

He took us (me and the bike) out to see Mark, who runs D.B. Racing in Thorpe-Le-Soken, specialising in CNC-machined bits and pieces for racers and roadbikes alike. His workshop was more like a lab (fastidiously clean, spacious, well lit, no sh*t lying around- clearly not MY lab!!), and I was impressed by both his facilities and his attitude. Nothing was too much of a problem, “Yes, we can do that”. Great!

Ash is still concerned about our rear shock keeping the back end rather low, but he may be able to help us out (again!) with something.

Will post some piccies of the bling-bling brakes when I pick up the bike.

***STOP PRESS!*** I just got a call from Ash. Its done! Will try to pick up asap and post a coupla photos.

A bit of video...

This is a bit old, but shows the first time running.

And how stupid we can be, trying to bump it in neutral!

I couldn't figure out how to flip it, so one of the videos is on its side. Just tilt your minitor to enjoy the buffoonery! :)

Nic says...

“Update yer blog!” So in answer…

The bike runs, its just about complete, electrics such as they are, are ready to be laid on, the bodywork fits, cables, levers, bars, steering damper, all good. Brakes… After our screwing around with the (knackered) KR1S callipers, and twin FZR400 300mm disks, Ash came up with a great solution, which suits the Scotsman’s wallet.

He has been an absolute diamond by sorting out Team-Thumper with an R6 calliper and RS125 master cylinder. And Supermono stalwart Nick Oliver also threw a 520 chain our way; top bloke, thanks Nick.

We caught up at the final round of the British Supermono Championship of 2008. Although we weren’t in a position to compete, we did witness to some great racing, and met up with old friends. Ash’s CRF450-based racer is a thing of beauty, and I’m looking forward to a bit of a scrap next season.

So now we need to get a calliper bracket machined up (probably CNC, from DB Racing). It’s a radial calliper, onto our distinctly 1990s fork legs. We also now have 320mm disks. One for our wets, one for the slicks, as we are now going to run a single large disk, saving a decent amount of (unsprung) weight, as opposed to twin 300mm disks.

The whole thing has been dragging on a bit, not helped by the van needing an MOT… So there’s been a month of hand-wringing, and head scratching, before finally forking out. Cos a race team without a van is like…. a chav without Burberry. Or Sovvy rings. Or a Staffie. Or something like that.

I thought that the swingarm needed some spacers turning up, but on tidying the garage last night, I found a suspiciously homeless looking ally spacer which I’m willing to bet takes up the play between frame and swingarm.

No photos on this post, cos nothings changed! But we won’t leave it so long next time- promise! Testing soon?? There’s really not too much in our way now….

She Runs!!

Hurrah!!

We got her on the rollers last weekend, and ran like a good un!

Even with the approximate timing and jetting, I'd say the motor is now ready to test. She sounds nice tho, even if I say so myself.

The chassis will definately require a little tweaking to give me confidence to test it on a circuit tho! I think Ash is gonna help me out on the braking side of things... Watch this space!

I think there is a little bit of video floating about. As sson as I can get it off my mate's phone, I'll post it up here.

Cheers

Andy

Ash-en Faced!

Given the unholy speed with which fellow supermonoist Ash is throwing together his very tasty looking CRF 450-based project, (click it; he puts us to shame!) and the excruciating pace of ours, we had better get the finger out.

Its not that we’ve not been working, but there were some minor yet fundamental details which needed sorting:

So:

oil lines- check! Thanks Ben at Pirtek...
exhaust springs- check!
clutch lever assembly- check!
front brake line- check!
stripped thread on the brake caliper –sadly, also check….
the all-important kill switch –check!
ignition timing- check, check and check again!

You can see the trigger for the latter on the end of the crankshaft. Its a Silent Hektik unit, and allowed me to ditch the hefty alternator rotor/flywheel unit.

It also became evident that the cam was a tooth out, so I’ve had the engine out and back in as well. One tooth- “a minor yet fundamental detail”…

So these photos now show rather less of a mock up and more of a near-final machine.

Boyd will soon be on the case with a battery box and a few little brackets (ahem! once I send him some details on sizes etc- sorry mate!). However, as previously, these can be secured with cable ties. We just need to get her on the rollers. Because now I think with some oil in the frame, some fuel in the tank, and a car on the rollers, she may be in a position where she'll bang and pop. I do have the feeling that the 145 jets in the Keihin CR33s will be too big (these were feeding a 690 motor), and that the ignition timing is very approximate. But we need a starting point and now its tantalisingly close.

However neither of us can meet until 3 weekends from now. Life has seemed to get in the way of Team Thumper. This is piss! More on that later. And priming the oil system would seem like a very good idea. This will require running (plug out) on the rollers until we are sure there are no air locks and that its all getting where it should. Even when the motor turns by way of 4-stroke internal combustion principles we then have the chassis to address. Of course, a test day at Mallory may show that she handles absolutely beautifully, runs in without any drama and then gives herself a lick of paint whilst driving us back from the pub. Although I feel even most optimistic reader will know that this is not an entirely likely scenario.

It has been noted that it has taken us an unfeasibly long time to get ourselves into a semblance of shape. And we have had a lot of help from lots of people, to whom we are indebted. Thus the executive decision has been taken that we will have to compete next season. However, the author hasn’t quite broken it to one of the (generally) silent partners of Team Thumper. I am almost certain that she does not read this….