Mt Wellington May 2013

Mt Wellington May 2013

I forgot to post about the last track day I attended back in May, here it is:

Another great weekend at Mt Wellington, I was really enjoying myself and got some great starts which I was pretty stoked on. In the second points race I was following Henk around as he tried and succeeded to past Dave Diprose in the mid field. Feeling very confident in myself I started to line him up too but I ran out of talent and ate shit into turn one when I grabbed too much brake. Thankfully my dad was shooting on that corner and managed a few frames of me skipping along the concrete. I got away with a solid bit of rash on my hip which swelled up pretty impressively and a sprained thumb but otherwise pretty good… bike still goes.

Time to update the 13 and 7 year old tires, get a smaller rear sprocket and some more practice I think. Never the less I still managed a 31.03s PB lap in that last race which is my best time to date on Mt Wellington. SO close to that 30s bracket!

MT WELLINGTON AMCC ROUND 5

Last weekend it was round 5 of the AMCC F4 series at Mt Wellington. I palmed off my camera to my dad like usual but this time with the 300L lens on the end, oh yeah.

It was such an awesome day and improved on my times quite a bit! I felt comfortable on the bike and I ran a new pb of 31.407 seconds anticlockwise. The last meeting my PB was in the mid 32 second block and I’m stoked it only took 4 race weekends to get into the 31 second block. Avalon Biddle was racing on Sunday who races a Suzuki GSR600 professionally and used to race a Honda RS125.

I also tried my best to learn some riding skill from Avalon, Gavin, Nigel and David who lead from the front. Unfortunately the GP125 engined RS125 which Avalon was riding was leaking gearbox oil into the crank case of the 2 stroke and fouling plugs but I’m kind of grateful for it because it let me try and follow when she overtook me haha.

The below photo is a pass around the outside of Warrick in the sweeper just after passing me in the infield, that’s some corner speed right there!

Congrats to Nigel for a new track record of 29.436s anticlockwise, a real sight to see!

I had some good battles with Warrick, Karl and Neil (mini motard)! Great riding guys

Huge respect for Karl (following me in the above photo) who put in a 30.9 second lap on a 13hp FXR with standard wheels and 5 year old worn out skinny slicks. I have some serious learning to do with corner speed clearly! It also goes to show how little you have to put into your bike to be competitive at Mt Wellington if you have the right skill.

Thanks Kamil, Cully, Tim etc who ran the event and to the flag marshals as always. Cheers dad for shooting the photos

JANUARY 2013 MT WELLINGTON

Tim on a borrowed RS125 frame with GP125 engine

I spent my Saturday and Sunday at Mt Wellington for a practice round and a non points race day. Having not raced since November, I was eager to get as much track time as I could handle which consequently ended in my body now being wrecked!

It was a really good weekend of bikes with clear skies and a breeze to keep us slightly cooled. I let a few of my mates have a go on my FXR which should hopefully kick them into gear and mean they’ll soon be out there. During the Saturday practice I made the most of my opportunities to follow Brian and others where I could in the hopes their riding ability may rub off on myself. Brian gave me a few pointers on braking which helped hugely and lead to setting a new PB of 32.61s anticlockwise. On Sunday I improved on this with a 32.20s anticlockwise and I’m eager to keep the ball rolling into the 31s bracket! Thanks guys, I appreciate the hell out of any guidance I can get.

Races run:
5 lap sprint anticlockwise with no grid order (first on the grid gets pole) then straight after returning to the pits, back out for a 5 lap clockwise sprint
10 lap race around ‘the ring’ (midfield coned off) anticlockwise then straight after, clockwise 10 laps. Again no grid placing.
Borrowed bike race – anyone can enter as long as it’s not your bike – 10 laps clockwise then 10 laps anticlockwise around the ring.

I swapped bikes with Rick’s son Will who rides a CBR150 with cams, exhaust, carb, which was really fun! It had much better throttle response and seemed as fast as my FXR (which has more work done to it) although I need to work on the jetting of my bike still. The CBR150 hasn’t been on the dyno before but I’d love to over lap the curves between bikes for a comparison.

Thanks to all that helped out and organised the day, great fun!

Tim on his own Aprilia RS50

Cully’s FZR250 frame with GP125 engine

Will on the CBR150

and again hustling with John in the midfield

Andrew slipping out of first position during an anticlockwise ring race

More to come

MT WELLINGTON – NOV 24 2012 – II

I just realised I never got around to posting any photos from the Sunday racing in November! That… was a very good weekend.
The Saturday was the North Island series round which I managed pole position in B grade but wasn’t able to convert it into a win up against Dean Miller on a 70cc water cooled 2 stroke Derbi (who’s also a very smooth rider!). I got 3rd, 2nd and 7th (if I recall correctly) when I stalled on the grid, I was definitely too eager to get ahead of Dean.

The Sunday was a 40 lap race for anyone who didn’t have a partner or didn’t desire to compete in the 2 hour endurance race. Since I didn’t have a partner and I knew how large the field was (stuffed full of incredibly fast riders) I decided to give the 40 lap race a go. My riding fitness isn’t quite what it should be and my arms were stuffed after riding hard for approximately a half hour. The race wasn’t what it should have been with many quick riders who usually race in the grade going for the 2 hour. I took out first place however, and at the same time, my first motorcycle win, stoked.

So now I’ve moved out of the frying pan and into the fire as they say as I put myself into A grade. There is a meeting this weekend at Mt Wellington and with my bike running better than it did I’m eager to get my knee down on the floor where it belongs.

CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO FROM THE 2 HOUR ENDURANCE RACE

Dean Miller and myself onto the grid straight

GP125 WORKINGS

So here it goes… the GP125 is in pieces, the engine is out, the unnecessary road gear is in the bin, clip ons are 3/4 done and I’m studying 2 stroke tuning like a fat kid on a sugar high.

Some reference photos of the engine because I’m yet to see any decent quality ones online:

F4 AT MT WELLINGTON – NOV 24 2012

A rough video I put together of the racing from last weekend. Hand held, shaky and my battery ran out for the finish but you get the idea. Turn the volume up and watch in HD.

MT WELLINGTON NOVEMBER 12

Rick and Henk on the F4 sidecar onto the main straight, look at the concertration! These actually go pretty well with two people believe it or not

Photo of myself by my dad Simon

Last Saturday I finally got my engine back together and running after being sprawled over the benchtop all week. We didn’t get a chance to have practice before the October meeting so were allowed an addition practice and fun day last Sunday. I was frothing to get out there and by 1pm I was stuffed, too much track time, not enough muscle strength/endurance. I managed to drop my PB time down to a 33.35, 0.75 seconds from my last meeting, which I am pretty stoked about!

This Saturday there is the north island series round at Mt Wellington and on Sunday a 40 lap b-grade endurance race followed by a 2 hour endurance race (team of two, 30 minute stints). With the weather looking like it’ll stay dry for the weekend I’m more than keen! It was my birthday on Monday and my parents were nice enough to buy me some italian Gaerne GRW boots! No more fear of broken ankles! Whilst we were searching around for boots I bought myself some Revit! racing gloves too so I’m all geared up and ready for some more track time. Last on the list is another tune to make sure the engine is running at optimum, some physical training to get my strength up and someone to point out how to improve.

Keep an eye out for some more photographs from the coming weekend, fingers crossed on a good result

SPANIARD DYNO

Note: old man in green is my old man. The guy sitting on the bike with a broken arm and doing the honours is Kelly (racing related injury) who I bought the bike from and who built up the engine.

I got the bike on the dyno on Saturday and ran her up to tune the new carb and exhaust in. The last time it was on the dyno it had a hideously loud but well functioning megaphone exhaust which has been swaped off for something a bit quieter to keep the peace. Whilst it was making almost as much power as it was with the megaphone (19.6 vs 20.4hp), the curve was on the piss. A few changes in pilot and main jets and resetting of the fuel floats filled in a large hole in the curve.

Unfortunately I didn’t have a new plug with me because it seemed that the current one was a bit poked. A tighten up of the gap found a bit more in the curve but we left a little disappointed in the result. Although it went off the dyno a huge amount better than it did when it rolled on, the illusive megaphone curve taunted me whilst trying to get to bed that night. I’ll get a new plug and consider having a go at moving the needle around but I’m really dreaming of how to quieten down the megaphone to an acceptable race level.

I painted the seat frame on Sunday which improved it’s looks drastically but with summer holidays coming closer and my wallet tightening further I don’t think I’ll paint it until next year… maybe. Racing is on this weekend and hopefully the rain stays away because I am beyond addicted and I need a hit of racing.

RACE MEETING #1

After torrential rain through the night I didn’t think this event was going to happen. Auckland’s weather surprised me again by clearing out and bringing the sun to dry up this notoriously slippery track. I went out with my old man who shot a few photos of me trying to get used to the bike, I really wish I could have made practice on Saturday.

The fastest lap time is in the 30 second mark with the top guys lapping consistent 31 and 32 seconds. The lap times the class I’ve started to race in are approximately 33 seconds to 34 seconds. I started the day out slow to get my bearings and ran a 37 for the first 10 lap sprint. The next was a best of a 35.6 then a 35.0. The last race session I put my best time down as a 34.0 which I was fairly happy with. The bike has plenty of power and I know when I get better I can start to hustle a bit. I need to find about 0.8 of a second per lap to be setting times up near the top of my grad but it’s the racing skill that counts and the ability to pass. Again, I’m frothing to get some experience under my belt with the rad guys who race every month.

Huge thanks to the guys who put this on whilst racing too, it’s hugely appreciated!

RACEBIKE – THE SPANIARD

Finally! Man that took far too long… that is for me to own a race motorbike. So my dad and I picked her up today for a very good price considering the work that has been done (spec list below). Honestly I think Suzuki FXR150s are pretty damn ugly but even when they’re almost stock they are very good value for money. There are limitations however and this bike has already had a few of them scratched off.

At this time it’s pooring with rain outside and the monthly bucket race meeting is this weekend. I missed the practice today because we had to pick this up but I did get a chance to give it a punch down the deserted country road and was very pleased. These make approximately 16hp from the factory and this one has been dyno’d at 20hp with a healthy torque curve which is the main thing given the nature of the tracks we race at.

I took a few things off the bike tonight and swapped the sprocket for a larger one for tomorrow but I also started to plan a new colour scheme. I’m a bit bummed I don’t have fairing space to play with – because they’d just get obliterated – but I did a quick photoshop for myself and I’m psyched to make this thing my own. I bought a back protector today so now I just need some proper boots and gloves and I’m set with gear.

Spec/modification list and other stuff I picked up:

After market high lift cams and heavy valve springs (3 meetings on these)
Ported head
64mm piston (6 meetings on this) and copper head gasket
28mm Keihin flat slide carb
Custom stepped header and muffler (plus a very good but loud mega phone exhaust included)
12 tooth front sprocket, new 47 tooth rear sprocket and new chain. 48 and 49 tooth sprockets included
GSX250R wheel conversion with Dunlop slicks
Standard wheels with wet weather tires
Raised footrest hangers
Clip on bars
KX125 quick action throttle
And a bunch of useful spares

The person I bought it off had this to say about it: “The bike was used for the north island series with several wins and top 3 placings, finishing second overall. There is plenty more scope for development but is still up there with the best”. I’m stoked,let’s get out there.