tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79903835026773277742024-03-13T18:38:01.432-04:00Dave Roper RacingDave Roper, the first American ever to win an Isle of Man TT, will be riding a restored 580cc Indian TT model v-twin in the 2011 TT. Roper has a lifetime of achievement in vintage racing, including more than 20 AHRMA national championships as well as his win of the 1984 Senior Historic TT on a G50 Matchless. Support the first motorcycle to ever win the Senior TT on the Mountain Course, the only American marque to win at the event and the only American racer to ever win the Senior Historic TT!BSAChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14485693682229534312noreply@blogger.comBlogger308125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-56618702444334005882023-06-07T09:13:00.001-04:002023-06-07T09:13:36.818-04:00Track count update 2.0In June, 2016 I posted all the tracks that I had ridden at with the date that I had first ridden there. The total was 115. Since then I've ridden at a couple more, so here's the updated list: Bridgehampton, N.Y., '72 Loudon, N.H. Bryar, '72 Noduol (Bryar 'backwards') '72,'73? NHIS, '90 Summit Point, W. Va., '72 Pocono, Pa., '72, '73? Virginia International Raceway Full circuit, '72, '73? North circuit, '01 South circuit, '09 West Palm Beach, '73 Daytona 3.81 mi.,'73 1.6 mi. Infield, '81 1.74 mi. Infield,'85 1.76 mi. Infield, '87 3.56 mi.,'90 (95?) 2.85 mi.,'02 3.51 mi., '09 Dade City, Fl., '73 Dallas, Tx., '73 Charlotte, N.C., '73 Gainesville, Fl., '74 Road Atlanta, Ga., 2.54 mi., '74 With modified 'gravity cavity, '98 With turn #3 chicane, '03 With modified turn #12, '09 Lakeland, Fl., '75 Thompson, Ct. 'Version 3', '76 1.7 mi., '16 Ontario Motor Speedway, '79 Sears Point original, '79 Current, '13 Road America, Wl. Original, '80 Current, '08? Lime Rock Park, Ct., '80 Talladega Super Speedway, Al.,'81 Laguna Seca, Ca. Original, '82 GP., '97 Shannonville, Ont., Canada Nelson, '82 Pro, '99? Roebling Road, Ga., '83 Mid-Ohio, '83 Blackhawk Farms, Illinois, '86 Watkins Glen, N.Y., '86. Mosport, Ontario, Canada, '88 Heartland Park, Topeka, Ks.,'89 original, '89 current, 2021 Talladega Grand Prix, Al. Original, '91 Current, '13 Grattan, Mi., '91 Rockingham, N.C., '92 Las Vegas, Nv., '93 Seattle Intl. Raceway, Kent, WA., '93 Putnam Park, In., '94 Gateway Park, E. St.Louis, Il., '94 Willow Springs, Ca., "96 Atlantic M/S Park, Shubenacadie, N.S., Can., '96 Deland, Fl., '97 Stafford Springs, Ct., '97 Gunstock, Belnap, N.H., '99 Carolina M/S Park, S.C., '99 Cayuga, Ont., Canada, '01 Frontierland, Loudon, N.H., '01 North Florida M/S Park, '02 BeaveRun, Pa., '03 Barber M/S Pk., '03 Sandia, N.M., '04 No Problem Raceway, La., '04 Autodromo St. Eustache, Quebec, Can., '04 Thunderhill, Ca., '04 Gingerman, Mi. Original, '05 Current, '16 Pueblo, Co., '05 Miller M/S Pk., Ut., '06 Portland International Raceway, Or., '10 Motorsport Ranch, Tx., '11 NOLA, La., '13 The Ridge, WA., '13 NJMP, N. J. Thunderbolt, '13 Lightning, '14 Calabogie, Ont., Canada '16 Hallet, Ok., '18 You'll notice that the above is only circuits in North America, so now I'll add public road races in North America: Steamboat Springs, Co.,'84 La Carrerra, Baja, Mx., '86 Delmar, Ca., '96 Maybe Deland, Gunstock, & Frontierland should be in this category. Now we go to overseas circuits Caldwell Park, Eng. Club, '75 Full, '86 Darley Moor, Eng.,'75 Donnington Park, Eng., National, '81 GP, '86 Brands Hatch, Eng., G.P., '82 Indy, '89 Oulton Park, Eng., '81 Mallory Park, Eng. Original, '82 With 'bus stop', '89 Adelaide International Raceway, S.A., Aus., '85 Mallala M/S Park, S.A., Aus., '85 Winton, Vic., Aus., '85 Circuit Paul Ricard, Fr., '86 Autodromo Riccardo Paletti, It., '86 Snetterton, Eng., '87 Assen, Nl., Longer, '87 Shorter, '99 Misano, It., '87 Knockhill, Scotland, '87 Pukekoe, N.Z., '90 Ruapuna, N.Z., '90 Autrodromo de Linas-Montlhery, Fr., '96 Nurburgring, Ger., '96 Eastern Creek, N.S.W., Aus., '98 Artic Circle Raceway, Norway, '98 Tsukuba, Jpn., '02 Jurby, I.O.M., '13 Phillip Island, Vic., Aus., '14 Finally, the overseas public road courses: Mountain course, I.O.M., '82 Villa Real, Portugal, '84 Dundrod, N.I., '84 Brno, Czechoslovakia, '84 Oliver's Mount, Eng., '95 Total:118 I plan to race at High Plains Raceway, Deer Trail, Co. this coming weekend and, assuming that happens, will make 119 race tracks I've ridden on.
2-4 June, 2023 I rode at my 120th race track: Motorsports Park Hastings in Hastings, Nebraska.
Posted by Dave Roper at 8:47 PM
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4 comments:
AnonymousMay 7, 2022 at 4:42 PM
Impressive!!
ReplyDelete
Dave RoperMay 7, 2022 at 4:52 PM
And I did indeed race at High Plains Raceway 23-24 April, 2022 making 119 different race races I've ridden on.
ReplyDeleteDave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-4522736098220623992022-04-18T20:47:00.000-04:002022-04-18T20:47:26.149-04:00Track Count updateIn June, 2016 I posted all the tracks that I had ridden at with the date that I had first ridden there. The total was 115. Since then I've ridden at a couple more, so here's the updated list:
Bridgehampton, N.Y., '72
Loudon, N.H.
Bryar, '72
Noduol (Bryar 'backwards') '72,'73?
NHIS, '90
Summit Point, W. Va., '72
Pocono, Pa., '72, '73?
Virginia International Raceway
Full circuit, '72, '73?
North circuit, '01
South circuit, '09
West Palm Beach, '73
Daytona
3.81 mi.,'73
1.6 mi. Infield, '81
1.74 mi. Infield,'85
1.76 mi. Infield, '87
3.56 mi.,'90 (95?)
2.85 mi.,'02
3.51 mi., '09
Dade City, Fl., '73
Dallas, Tx., '73
Charlotte, N.C., '73
Gainesville, Fl., '74
Road Atlanta, Ga.,
2.54 mi., '74
With modified 'gravity cavity, '98
With turn #3 chicane, '03
With modified turn #12, '09
Lakeland, Fl., '75
Thompson, Ct.
'Version 3', '76
1.7 mi., '16
Ontario Motor Speedway, '79
Sears Point
original, '79
Current, '13
Road America, Wl.
Original, '80
Current, '08?
Lime Rock Park, Ct., '80
Talladega Super Speedway, Al.,'81
Laguna Seca, Ca.
Original, '82
GP., '97
Shannonville, Ont., Canada
Nelson, '82
Pro, '99?
Roebling Road, Ga., '83
Mid-Ohio, '83
Blackhawk Farms, Illinois, '86
Watkins Glen, N.Y., '86.
Mosport, Ontario, Canada, '88
Heartland Park, Topeka, Ks.,'89
original, '89
current, 2021
Talladega Grand Prix, Al.
Original, '91
Current, '13
Grattan, Mi., '91
Rockingham, N.C., '92
Las Vegas, Nv., '93
Seattle Intl. Raceway, Kent, WA., '93
Putnam Park, In., '94
Gateway Park, E. St.Louis, Il., '94
Willow Springs, Ca., "96
Atlantic M/S Park, Shubenacadie, N.S., Can., '96
Deland, Fl., '97
Stafford Springs, Ct., '97
Gunstock, Belnap, N.H., '99
Carolina M/S Park, S.C., '99
Cayuga, Ont., Canada, '01
Frontierland, Loudon, N.H., '01
North Florida M/S Park, '02
BeaveRun, Pa., '03
Barber M/S Pk., '03
Sandia, N.M., '04
No Problem Raceway, La., '04
Autodromo St. Eustache, Quebec, Can., '04
Thunderhill, Ca., '04
Gingerman, Mi.
Original, '05
Current, '16
Pueblo, Co., '05
Miller M/S Pk., Ut., '06
Portland International Raceway, Or., '10
Motorsport Ranch, Tx., '11
NOLA, La., '13
The Ridge, WA., '13
NJMP, N. J.
Thunderbolt, '13
Lightning, '14
Calabogie, Ont., Canada '16
Hallet, Ok., '18
You'll notice that the above is only circuits in North America, so now I'll add public road races in North America:
Steamboat Springs, Co.,'84
La Carrerra, Baja, Mx., '86
Delmar, Ca., '96
Maybe Deland, Gunstock, & Frontierland should be in this category.
Now we go to overseas circuits
Caldwell Park, Eng.
Club, '75
Full, '86
Darley Moor, Eng.,'75
Donnington Park, Eng.,
National, '81
GP, '86
Brands Hatch, Eng.,
G.P., '82
Indy, '89
Oulton Park, Eng., '81
Mallory Park, Eng.
Original, '82
With 'bus stop', '89
Adelaide International Raceway, S.A., Aus., '85
Mallala M/S Park, S.A., Aus., '85
Winton, Vic., Aus., '85
Circuit Paul Ricard, Fr., '86
Autodromo Riccardo Paletti, It., '86
Snetterton, Eng., '87
Assen, Nl.,
Longer, '87
Shorter, '99
Misano, It., '87
Knockhill, Scotland, '87
Pukekoe, N.Z., '90
Ruapuna, N.Z., '90
Autrodromo de Linas-Montlhery, Fr., '96
Nurburgring, Ger., '96
Eastern Creek, N.S.W., Aus., '98
Artic Circle Raceway, Norway, '98
Tsukuba, Jpn., '02
Jurby, I.O.M., '13
Phillip Island, Vic., Aus., '14
Finally, the overseas public road courses:
Mountain course, I.O.M., '82
Villa Real, Portugal, '84
Dundrod, N.I., '84
Brno, Czechoslovakia, '84
Oliver's Mount, Eng., '95
Total:118
I plan to race at High Plains Raceway, Deer Trail, Co. this coming weekend and, assuming that happens, will make 119 race tracks I've ridden on.
Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-68342073787494772892021-08-24T23:18:00.000-04:002021-08-24T23:18:56.453-04:00Yvon DuhamelWe've lost three great motorcycle racers in the last nine months that I've had the pleasure and good fortune to know: Peter Williams last December; Dick Mann in April; and Yvon Duhamel a week ago. Here are some memories of Yvon:
In the early 70's, probably when I was a lowly novice ’73 or ’74, I was walking through the paddock at Bryar M/S Pk during the Loudon National. I saw Yvon talking into the open trunk of his Caddie (in French, of course). This seemed curious, so I hung out a bit, just watching. After a minute or so, he pulled out a turtle that had YD and #17 stickers on its shell. Yvon made brum, brum noises and sort of launched the turtle like he was launching a wind up toy, and the turtle slowly lumbered around. It may have been at Road Atlanta many years later (probably 1987), when AHRMA had a support race at the AMA National, that I first talked to Yvon. He was there supporting Miguel who, if I remember correctly, was racing an Aprilla in the Lightweight 250 class. I saw Yvon looking over some of the AHRMA vintage bikes. I asked him if he had any interest in racing a vintage bike and he was pretty non-committal. I dragged him around to check out the Team Obsolete G-50 Matchless, and he lit up and was a lot more receptive to the idea. I told him of witnessing the scene of him and the turtle at Loudon and he was amazed that anyone knew of it. He told me that he had rescued the turtle when he saw it trying to cross the race track and he adopted it as a mascot. Apparently, it didn't survive it's first winter in Montreal.
I remember seeing Yvon race an H2R(?) at Daytona in 1976 after he had injured his knee in Jan. racing snow mobiles. Near then end of the 200, the drive chain came off the rear sprocket and he pulled off very close to where I was spectating at the ‘dog leg’. He carefully got off the bike and clearly had to hold on to the bike not just to keep it upright, but to keep himself upright, as his leg wasn’t strong. He worked his way back to the rear sprocket, lifted the chain on it, and inched the bike backward to feed the chain over the sprocket. By this time, the race had ended and Ron Pierce stopped to offer Yvon a ride back. Yvon waved him off and, with great difficulty, bump started the bike and rode it back.
Yvon was one of the most fun loving people I have known. He was alway joking around--he never let up. In ’91 or ’92 at little Talladega, when it was the warmup race for AHRMA Daytona, he was to race the Team Obsolete BSA triple. There was a problem with the bike in practice and it couldn't race, so we put him on a AJS 7R (350) in the 500 Premiere race. I was racing T/O's best G-50 (500) in the race and Yvon beat me, naturally. I passed him on the cool off lap and stuck out my right leg to indicate that I was entering the pits. Yvon pulled up along side me and grabbed my ankle and lifted it up over my head as we were rolling in 'pit in'.
My, did he love to race. He raced the BSA triple at Cadwell Park 1998 in one of T/O's Transatlantic Match races. He was having a great scrap with Malcolme Tunstall, who was on his Ducati. On the last lap, Yvon was ahead with Malcolme right on his heals as they crested 'the Mountain'. Then, on the following right, Yvon ran off the track and Malcolme followed him. They both recovered and went out of sight towards Barn Corner and we were all focused on who would be ahead when they came back into view at the finish line. It was Malcolme with Yvon a short way back. When they got back to the pits, we learned why Yvon had ridden off the track: his right clip-on had broken off. But did Yvon retire? Hell no. He stuffed the front brake lever down in the fairing with the twist grip on the other side so he'd have something to twist against and finished the race (and cool off lap) like that.
Such a warm, friendly, funny guy and a fierce competitor. My life was certainly enriched knowing him.
Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-14682299632955293072021-06-30T23:07:00.001-04:002021-06-30T23:08:16.686-04:00Heartland ParkTowards the end of May, I drove out to Heartland Park in Topeka, Ks., for the
AHRMA race there. I had raced there twice before, in 1990 and 1993, but I had
little memory of the track plus it had changed somewhat since then. The road
course used to incorporate the drag strip and the last corner came out over the
launch area, which was trecherous in the wet. Now, the front straight runs
parallel to the drag strip but doesn't use any of it. It's a good circuit, 2.5
miles long, very smooth, with a fair amount of elevation change and a good mix
of fast and slow. I brought my CRTT and ERTT, though the ERTT was just for back
up as Karl Engellenner brought his and my sister bikes from Roseville, Ca.,
picking up Walt Fulton on the way in Montrose, Co. I got there Thursday
afternoon and was able to ride a bicycle around a couple of laps. I had been
told by a couple of riders who raced there in 2019 that the gearing should be
like Barber or a little taller like Carolina M/S Pk., but on the bicycle, it
sure seemed much faster than that. As it turned out, my 350 Sprint had the
gearing on it that we used to win 3 of the 4 races I was in at Laguna Seca last
year and that proved ideal at Heartland. I signed up for half day practice on
Friday and set about relearning the circuit. In the first practice on the 250,
my plug lead came off the spark plug and cut my session short. But, the motor
wasn't running right and it didn't want to rev over 8,000 rpm, where it should
do 10,000. Over the weekend I richened the jetting and reduced the ignition
advance a bit, but it made little difference. I finished a distant 2nd in the
250GP both days to John Scales who had a fresh Hall brothers built motor in his
175 Honda twin. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1w_df6zl12ikBK5NIelW7lYqoMQj-cWztH-R5kEr8TBsjGWoXs_-tqp7E0HFqAPMPbMyWeG9S9pNpinDzsUyC1x3mWl56GkNUAT7L8tghO7uiB4ToCK86TL5Eu9gtXRjBwaE_D1A-DQ/s2048/CRTT+in+garage+at+Topeka.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1w_df6zl12ikBK5NIelW7lYqoMQj-cWztH-R5kEr8TBsjGWoXs_-tqp7E0HFqAPMPbMyWeG9S9pNpinDzsUyC1x3mWl56GkNUAT7L8tghO7uiB4ToCK86TL5Eu9gtXRjBwaE_D1A-DQ/s600/CRTT+in+garage+at+Topeka.jpg"/></a></div>
My '67 CRTT in the garage.
Karl had the 350 running great and I don't think we changed
anything on it all weekend except adjust the front brake. From the practice lap
times, I decided that I could at least annoy the front runners in the 500
Premiere class, so I post entered that race, which ran before the 350GP. I
fairly quickly worked my way up to 4th behind Wes Orloff, Andrew Mauk (both on
Honda twins) and Tim Joyce making his debut on a Dutch built 500 BMW boxer in a
custom chassis. On the last lap, Wes got into the chicane too hot and went
straight onto the sopping wet grass with sheets of water flying from the heavy
rain on Thurs. I was sure that he was going to go down, but he kept it upright
and came back on the track pushing Andrew wide and allowing Tim to get by. Wes
got well off line and seemed to wait to get any mud off his tires before gassing
it up, and I was able to get by too, finishing 3rd. My final race Sat., was the
350GP. While waiting at pit out to start the warm-up lap, the motor stalled and
there was a roller started there which got the the bike running again and we
were almost immediately let out on the track. As I was climbing the hill that
leads into turn#1 the motor died and decending the other side I wonder if the
fuel tap was off. I coasted straight on the extention of the drag strip rather
then blend right into turn #1 as I fumbled around trying to find and turn on the
fuel tap. Just as I was coming to a stop the motor caught and I got it running.
Now I had to enter the track at the apex of turn #3. Most of the field had
already gone through so I didn't have to wait long to find a safe gap to
re-enter the track. I was oh so close to not starting the race. 350GP was
gridded behind Vintage Superbike Lightweight and I followed Mat Joy on his VSL
Suzuki twin the first lap. I got by Mat in turn #1 starting the 2nd lap and led
over all to the finish. Mat had a slightly faster fastest lap on the last lap
but it was enough to make up the gap I had built. My fastest was more than half
a second faster than I had gone in the 500 Premiere race. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLl6LEh5TxKxJNhkKmKlH5UBAdL9DwHeeGgfA3pq9VZqHL-s5TCeQog4jvw2P8yyhMuJ1pCJb1ygcFqhVCzN7luDOhVD7qq5d-8AfC74Y8d6FKUVqP-XJuTsukdLLcOJKqWGljPVQo4eM/s2048/Engellenner+Sprints+in+garage+%2540+Topeka.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLl6LEh5TxKxJNhkKmKlH5UBAdL9DwHeeGgfA3pq9VZqHL-s5TCeQog4jvw2P8yyhMuJ1pCJb1ygcFqhVCzN7luDOhVD7qq5d-8AfC74Y8d6FKUVqP-XJuTsukdLLcOJKqWGljPVQo4eM/s600/Engellenner+Sprints+in+garage+%2540+Topeka.jpg"/>
</a></div>
My 350 Sprint in the foreground with Karl Engellenner's, which Walt Fulton rides, behind.
In Sunday's 500 Premiere race, I never got by Tony Read on the B-50 BSA and, while Wes Orloff
over shot the chicane again on the last lap when distracted by Andy Findling
crashing in front of him, he got back on the track before Tony or I could get by,
again baulking Andrew and allowing Tim to get through. I the 350GP, I again got
in the lead, but I could hear a bike right behind me, which I assumed was Alex
McLean. On the 4th lap, my bike jumped out of 5th gear and I shifted it back in.
On the penultimate lap, exiting the chicane the bike went 'bang' and I lost all
drive and I couldn't shift it. I thought something in the drive train broke and
I coasted into te pits. Karl found on subsequent examination that it was a
selector problem, not the actual drive train. I was scored 4th as Tim Joyce
retired before me and we had several DNS, and my consolation was that I had my
fastest lap of the weekend in this race.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmS7mWA1GIO1csDPiDmn1oiO9OnX7E1YThoz9Tco19TG9bS20F5fGGEKTNYEgBMHf-5fsERarjWPUdCdLmz50z5eFh8jB2JFI6w1VL8jETi3hHbboxw5yuRl61IOqrnXc7rwrxHngXr8/s2048/garage+%2540+Topeka.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmS7mWA1GIO1csDPiDmn1oiO9OnX7E1YThoz9Tco19TG9bS20F5fGGEKTNYEgBMHf-5fsERarjWPUdCdLmz50z5eFh8jB2JFI6w1VL8jETi3hHbboxw5yuRl61IOqrnXc7rwrxHngXr8/s600/garage+%2540+Topeka.jpg"/></a></div>
The garage we shared with Tom Pillsbury (XS 650 Yamaha) and Gary Roper ('51 Vellocette MAC)
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5Djj9o8MyumR01MIsCP2Sefz8t58n5QpgC5_YnBoucGFmGVU7en9gz1UBJYjgqWM4zg6f0ZKD8LRlihP2M11CvAF75au1FtFHbLjwOmfgaXbiBZZBKwKSqXAyx4hyphenhyphenOpalUvGqtURKXo/s2048/Hiroshi+Murata%2527s+TA125.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5Djj9o8MyumR01MIsCP2Sefz8t58n5QpgC5_YnBoucGFmGVU7en9gz1UBJYjgqWM4zg6f0ZKD8LRlihP2M11CvAF75au1FtFHbLjwOmfgaXbiBZZBKwKSqXAyx4hyphenhyphenOpalUvGqtURKXo/s600/Hiroshi+Murata%2527s+TA125.jpg"/></a></div>
Hiroshi Murata's TA 125 Yamaha
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Keith Martin's freshly restored Vincent Black ShadowDave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-43786871517371790892021-05-08T23:31:00.003-04:002022-08-18T11:08:51.298-04:00Horex<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx4ALmS31OXx_Gqry7Gj42MpHrhRt694rPoeVAvTl2uevpfwvA43AjPgCzH5gy9I4Sf7HqFnqLTnXbWMqIzANiI_0RMbQApMO-b9nSLTcQpITWMJ5DIN9wSX54Af9okSzxInVN2PGn6WcEPbJI44Q23tif2YDNViRcGywpBp-rtGjrInf7_pDbYsO/s4080/%2756%20Resident%20lft%208:17:22.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkx4ALmS31OXx_Gqry7Gj42MpHrhRt694rPoeVAvTl2uevpfwvA43AjPgCzH5gy9I4Sf7HqFnqLTnXbWMqIzANiI_0RMbQApMO-b9nSLTcQpITWMJ5DIN9wSX54Af9okSzxInVN2PGn6WcEPbJI44Q23tif2YDNViRcGywpBp-rtGjrInf7_pDbYsO/s600/%2756%20Resident%20lft%208:17:22.jpg"/></a></div>A couple of weeks ago, I got my latest motorcycle purchase registered. Last October, I bought what was advertised as a 1959 Horex Resident, though I suspect it's earlier. It was advertised as 'almost museum quality' and, though it looked quite nice, it had been sitting a long time and needed some sorting (don't they all). The gearbox had no oil in it and the leak after I filled it, led me to discover that the shift shaft seal was shot. After riding it a bit, it died and didn't want to start. Eventually, a friend pointed out the the throttle stop screw was missing. It had fallen out because the threads in the body were stripped. I was able to get a Helicoil kit (6m X.75!) and a new screw which cured the running and starting problem. The gas cap leaked because the gasket was no good.Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-14929358119572208472021-05-07T23:32:00.001-04:002021-05-15T23:20:15.835-04:00Team SuzukiI mentioned to my friend Bill Himmelsbach that I had a good biography of Jarno Saarien and he asked if he could borrow it and offered a long list of books that he had and with which he could reciprocate. I chose 'Team Suzuki' by Ray Battersby, largely because I have long been fascinated with Suzuki's '60s GP team dynamics. This started with reading an excerpt of Mat Oxley's 'Stealing Speed' that I had read in Roadracing World. I thought that Oxley was unduly hard of Ernst Degner who defected from the East German MZ works team and went to Suzuki with tuning secrets he'd learned from Walter Kaaden, the head of MZ racing. I ran into Oxley at the IOM later and talked to him about this. Mat said from his interviews with Degner's son and widow, he got the impression that Degner was not a nice man. Later still, I got a copy of Hugh Anderson's autobiography "Being There", and Hugh writes of what a sportsman Degner was and how much he helped him to his own detriment when they were teammates on the works Suzuki GP team from 1962-1966. The book also indicated that there was friction between Anderson and his other teammate, Frank Perris. This caused me to get Oxley's 'Stealing Speed' and read it in its entirety, and was interested that Perris also said complimentary things about Degner. Then I saw some posts on a forum by Ray Battersby critizing Oxley's depiction of Degner and Kaaden. Now, having read 'Team Suzuki', the team dynamics seem more confusing, or complicated at least, as Anderson is quoted saying complimentary things about Perris.
I found 'Team Suzuki' to be an excellent and well researched book. It starts with Suzuki's decision in the 1950's to go racing to enhance its reputation, first with domestic Japanese racing, then internationally, sending a team to the IOM in 1960. This was a year after Honda first went to the IOM and a year before Yamaha went there. Their initial efforts were disappointing and they carefully cultivated a relationship with Degner and helped facilate his defection. With Degner's input and with the hiring of the other experienced Western racers Anderson, Perris, Suzuki began to get results. I hadn't know about the input of Geoff Duke nor that Tom Phillis and Paddy Driver had raced for Suzuki. Then came Bertie Schneider, Jack Ahearn (who dubbed the Suzuki 250 "whispering death" because of it many sudden seizures), Hans Georg Anscheidt, and Stuart Graham (when Anderson retired from road racing to race motocross),Suzuki won six World Championships. Suzuki retired from World Championship GP road racing after the 1968 season as did Yamaha, a year after Honda withdrew.
But, Suzuki had already started racing in the U.S. Wanting to raise the profile of Suzuki in the U.S. market, Haruo Koshino brought a works GP 50cc and 125cc to race in West Coast club events in 1965. It isn't mentioned in 'Team Suzuki', but Walt Fulton III got to race at least the RK 65, a 50cc, a twin cylinder, watercooled, 12 speed, but also the twin cylinder, watercooled, 9 speed 125 RT 65. This led to Walt racing a race prepared X6 250 in AMA novice class along side Experts Dick Hammer, Dick Mann and Ron Grant in the Lightweight class in 1966. Walt won the Novice race in record time at Daytona and was high point novice for the year. Mann was 2nd and Hammer 3rd at the Carlsbad national. Walt also rode the works GP 50 and 125 in Westcoast club events. Walt rode a H-D KR 750 in the AMA 'Amateur' races in '67, but a Suzuki in some Am/Ex Lightweight events and an H-D Sprint in others. The Expert team was cut back to Hammer and Grant. In '68, the T500 was added to the team stable and Cal Rayborn rode the X-6 in the Lightweight races. In '69, Art Bauman won the Sears Point national on the 500 Suzuki, the first time a two stroke and the first time a Japanese bike had won an AMA National. In '70, Jody Nicholas and New Zealander Geoff Perry were added to the team. Grant won the Kent, Wa. National on the T500. In '71 Ron Pierce was added to the team. For '72, the 500 was retired and replaced with the TR750 triple, the water cooled 'Water Buffalo'. These motors produced more power than their chassis, chains and tires could handle. Nicholas won at Road Atlanta, but was diqualified for an illegal cylinder casting. For '73, new and improved TR 750s were provided to Don Emde, Grant, Paul Smart and Geoff Perry. Smart won at Dallas, Tx., and Perry won the next race at Rd. Atlanta. That year Perry died in a plane crash on his way from New Zealand to Laguna Seca. In 1974, Gary Nixon and Cliff Carr joined Sheene and Smart on the factory team but, with the introduction of the TZ 700 Yamaha, Suzuki's only win was with Nixon at Loudon. 1975 was the last year for the TR750 triple in the AMA and their best finish was Pat Hennen's 5th at Laguna Seca.
Internationally, Suzuki raced the 500 twin and 750 triple. The 500 twin reached it's zenith in 1971 when New Zealander Keith Turner finished 2nd to Ago's MV in the 500 World Championship with less success later. In '73 a watercooled, 6 speed version was made, but it's only real success was Jack Findley's winning the IOM Senior TT. In '73, Sheene won the Formula 750 Cup and in '74 Suzuki only won one race in the series (Paul Smart). Sheene won three races in '75 to finish second in the series. '76 was the last year the triples were raced internationally.
The RG 500 square four 500 made it's debut in 1974 but didn't win a 500 GP until Assen '75 where Sheene won. In '76 & '77, Sheene won the 500 World Championship, but then Roberts and Yamaha won the next three years. Marco Lucchinelli won the 500 World Championship in 1981 on a Suzuki, but Suzuki won the Manufacturer's Championship 1976-1981. The book finishes with the 1981 season and the book was published in 1982. Franco Uncini won the 500 World Championship in '82 on a RG500, but Suzuki wouldn't win another World Championship until 2000 with Kenny Roberts Jr. on a very different 500.
I thoughly enjoyed Team Suzuki as it gives very detailed history of the evolution of the machines while conveying the personalities of the riders and management thinking. I was struck by how many of the riders I had known.
Hugh Anderson--I had several great races with Hugh at Circuit Paul Ricard in '86 and Brands Hatch in '89
Frank Perris--Paraded with Frank at Cadwell Park and the IOM TT Centenary
Stuart Graham--spent time with Stuart at the IOM when Team Obsolete brought the 250 Honda Six in 2017. Stuart had raced that bike in 1966.
Walt Fulton III--I'm 'teammates' with Walt on the Karl Engellenner built 350 Aermacchis in AHRMA racing
Dick Mann--I spent a lot of time with Dick when he worked with Team Obsolete in the '80s and '90s
Jody Nichols--met Jody many times at West Coast vintage events
Mick Grant--spent time with Mick when he rode a T/O MV at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough and many times at the Isle of Man
Paul Smart--I did a 5 day Moto Giro with Paul in Central California in 2004 and at the spoke with him at IOM.
Don Emde--shared many vintage events with Don including when he was Grand Marshal at Mid-Ohio Vintage M/C Days
Barry Sheene--I followed Barry on an MV 500-3 when he was on a RG 500 Suzuki on a parade down to the seafront at Scarborough doing smoky burnouts.
Gary Nixon--I did many vintage events will Gary and chatted with at the USGP at Indiannapolis in 2010, the year before he died.
Hurley Wilvert--I met Hurley in the mid '70s when I was club racing a Kawasaki Bighorn and saw him several time at the IOM and stayed at his house in 2018.
Dave Aldana--shared many vintage events with Dave and drove with him to a race in Loudon, N.H.
Pat Hennen--met Pat at Laguna Seca and again at the IOM
Graham Crosby--shared parade laps with Graham at the IOM
Steve Parrish--spent a good deal of time with Steve at the IOM in his capacity of presenter for ITV television.
Phil Read--spent time with Phil at many vintage events at Circuit Paul Ricard, Snetterton, Laguna Seca and the IOM.
Plus Rod Coleman, the New Zealand importer of Suzuki and sponsor of Geoff Perry among others. I spent time with Rod on his boat on Lake Taupo, N.Z.
Roberto Gallina, team manager for Suzuki Italy who won the 500 World Championship in '81 with Luccinelli and '82 with Uncini. I spent time with Roberto at his house and shop in La Spezia, Italy in '86, in Brooklyn, N.Y. several times and at the IOM in 2018.
I'm incredibly fortunate to have known these great racers.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirGXh1L8szfkJTHtuGCOzJGxMn7T8qNDZdcG2edSiPeTcBt4GgqGiiziyBUFGxCcTP3rgQ0bIgnAsQMoa9omJ7cWm3Kaf2id45fQ22XzNYSEF5ZU9XemIGEDdmI3x68lxevBxPqhwa6pk/s2048/DR+w_Pat+Hennen+%2526+bobby+%252784.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1585" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirGXh1L8szfkJTHtuGCOzJGxMn7T8qNDZdcG2edSiPeTcBt4GgqGiiziyBUFGxCcTP3rgQ0bIgnAsQMoa9omJ7cWm3Kaf2id45fQ22XzNYSEF5ZU9XemIGEDdmI3x68lxevBxPqhwa6pk/s600/DR+w_Pat+Hennen+%2526+bobby+%252784.jpg"/></a></div>With Pat Hennen at the IOM TT in 1984. Pat commented that I was the first American to win a TT and he was the first American to win a World Championship GP.Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-2373479826966011872021-03-30T18:03:00.002-04:002021-03-30T18:03:38.756-04:002021 CMP addendumThe first 30 seconds of Jonathan Hollingsworth's video shows how close I was to being taken out in the first turn crash in Sunday's VSL/350GP/350 Sportsman race. Jerry Duke got his usual good start and got through the corner before some VSL bike crashed in front of Alex McLean taking him out. I just barely missed Alex and took a long ride through the grass.
https://youtu.be/aUZJn3sn2tsDave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-39949268322743325642021-03-29T13:04:00.016-04:002021-03-29T13:38:02.418-04:00AHRMA Carolina Motorsports Park 2021In preperation for my second race of the 2021 season, I put my CRTT H-D Sprint
on the dyno to understand why it didn't seem to want to rev at Roebling Road
four weeks before. After several runs, the motor went BANG and lost power. I
found that the exhaust valve wasn't opening and suspected that a tappet had
broken. This happened to this motor last July at Blackhawk Farms and was no big
deal as I just took the broken pieces out and put a used tappet in that I had
with me. But when I investigated this time, I found it wasn't so simple.
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It looked like the broken off head of the tappet had been jammed into the tappet
bush and pushed it up towards the head and galled the bush so the broken off
stem of the tappet was jammed in the bush.
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I decided that this was more than I could deal with in the time I had left and
Rob Iannucci offered me a Team Obsolete AJS 7R which I accepted. The bike had
last been run in 2015 when I raced it at a USCRA event at NJMP Lightning
circuit. We just put oil in it, changed the number plates and did some safety
wiring and it seemed ready. I had a miseralble Friday night at CMP as it got
really cold and I had to make three dashes to the men's room in the middle of
the night with gastro-intestinal distress. Sat., was cold, cloudy and very
windy. I took it very easy in the first practice, but had a lot of problems
shifting the gearbox, especially downshifting (i.e.lifting the lever up). I got
an old broken aluminum footrest from Stu Carter and slid it over the toe piece
of the shift lever, lengthening it and making it bigger in diameter.
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This helped enormously in the 2nd practice, though I still occasionally had
problems downshifting.
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Testing the shift lever on the bench. Amy Roper photo. My first race was race #7
with Sound of Singles 2 in the first wave and 500 Premiere (Vintage Cup) in the
second wave and Formula 500 gridded behind. At the start, Helmi Neiderer crashed
going into turn #1 and his bike knocked down Tony Read, the winner of the two
500 Premiere races at Roebling Road. This brought out the red flag, one of an
incredible number of red flags over the weekend. Neither Tony or Helmi made the
restart, so I was able to finish a distant 2nd to Wes Orloff, on Dale Coffman's
450 Honda, in class, but 17th overall behind a bunch of SOS2 bikes (and lapped
by the leader, Ralph Staropoli) and three F500 bikes. There were more crashes
and red flags before my second race, #13 the Vintage Superbike Lightweight,
350GP and 350 Sportsman and and Formula 125. I was running a distant 2nd to Alex
McLean on his Drixton Aermacchi in class. I still occasionally had problems
downshifting in the 'fog of war'and failed to get it right entering one of the
corners and came out two gears too tall. Jonathan Hollingsworth on a Rickman
Aermacchi and Jerry Duke on a 350 Ducati came by me. I initially thought--no
problem; I can get them back--but then the red flag came out and the race was
called final, so I was 4th in class and 10th overall. I decided that I was
geared a little tall and added one tooth to the rear sprocket. I also went to
one step colder sparkplug as I had a little concern about the center electrode
on the one I had run with. Saturday night was much better than Friday and, while
Sunday was somewhat warmer than Sat., it was perhaps more windy and even
drizzled a bit in the morning. I trimed the footrest that I had slipped over the
shift lever in a effort to further improve my downshifting.
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My sister-in-law Amy Roper and her fiance Dave Nichols came to the event and
were a trememdous help. Amy Roper photo.
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Amy Roper Photo.
After the one practice round, I went up
one jet size in the carb.
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Trying to find neutral after starting the bike on the roller starter. Amy Roper
photo. In Sunday's 500 Premiere race, Tony Read stalled on the grid and wasn't
able to start the race. I again ran a distant second to Wes Orloff and was able
to hold off Helmi, who was somewhat detuned by his crash on Sat. This race too
was red flagged for a crash and I ended up 2nd in class and 13th overall behind
8 SOS2 bikes, Wes and 3 F500 bikes. By the time the 350GP race came up, the sun
had come out and it was considerable warmer, but still very windy. And, people
were still crashing. I think it was on the second restart that someone crashed
in front of Alex McLean and he had no where to go, went down and didn't make the
restart as he hurt his foot. So, I took the lead in the class on the third
restart.
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Exiting turn #1. Amy Roper photo. I thought the race might be re flagged again
as someone fell in the last corner and the bike ended just off the track in the
impact zone, but for once they didn't throw the red flag. I had passed Jerry
Duke early on but must have been goofing off or again wasn't able to make the
downshift as my fastest lap was nearly three seconds slower than in the 500
Premiere race. In the last corner of the race, Jerry stuffed me hard up the the
inside. I thought that he wasn't going to make the corner and I ran off the
track. Jerry ran over the rumble strips but stayed on the tarmac and beat me to
the finish line by 2.5 sec.as I recovered, so again I was 2nd in class, this
time 4th overall with two VSL bikes in front of us. So, all four of the races
that I was in were red flagged, the last one three times. And these were far
from the only races red flagged. There had to be a record number of crashes.
Part of this was undoubtedly the weather and maybe March isn't the best time to
race at CMP. Part of the problem was just a big turn out--more entries mean more
crashes, perhaps especially when it's the first race of the year for many of the
racers. And, part of it is the nature of the CMP track. Turn #1 is very tight
and not that far from the start line, so it's not uncommon for there to be a
gaggle of riders there at the start trying to occupy the same spot. I felt lucky
to survive unscathed.
Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-46474322055353916902021-03-03T23:32:00.005-05:002021-03-04T15:49:01.723-05:00AHRMA Roebling Road 2021<p>My 2021 racing season kicked off with the traditional February Roebling Road Raceway date. I only brought my 250cc CRTT HD Sprint and my 350 wasn't ready. The 250 had a pretty extensive rebuild over the winter: new crankpin and big end bearing, new main bearings, new gearbox, new cylinder bore, new rings, new valves and new exhaust seat and guide. And a new rear tire. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9UDVLauqmcOMoxNh8rzfHlUWGmfXOg4XHrfGvSz30b5XoYh9LI8DtbxQbC6aNiBbhBAbiPb4_gaE3Wki90nt6_uGKZrnES1-T2FcO9SEedGyL_SiYXKvaVEhNxyY-drXrDlFXG2dTY0/s2048/CRTT+as+it+arrived.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9UDVLauqmcOMoxNh8rzfHlUWGmfXOg4XHrfGvSz30b5XoYh9LI8DtbxQbC6aNiBbhBAbiPb4_gaE3Wki90nt6_uGKZrnES1-T2FcO9SEedGyL_SiYXKvaVEhNxyY-drXrDlFXG2dTY0/w640-h480/CRTT+as+it+arrived.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My '67 CRTT H-D Sprint as it arrived</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So I signed up for Fri. afternoon practice. I rained Friday morning and, while it had pretty much stopped raining by the time I got on the track, the track was fully wet and I was very cautious. By my 2nd practice the track was drying, but there were plenty of damp patches and the odd puddle. The motor started easily, sounded fine and accelerated fairly well, but didn't seem to want to rev and I wasn't pulling the gearing that I had in the past, so I dropped a tooth on the gearbox sprocket.</p><p>Saturday morning was quite cold with temps in the low 30's and I took it very steady. By now the sun was shining brightly and it had warmed up a bit. I went out for the 2nd practice and on my out lap when I cracked the throttle in turn #3, the rear tire broke loose and I low sided. I slid on my ass on the track then into the dirt without tumbling, but I did wear right through my leather and got a raspberry of my left cheek. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21ByJKrnRyq-xnciUmy5O6tkb5kt4rMeMVUHADfDrbaDhOhAeMW-hiEBC7PATp3QNGu-PN4MwIu5VDlCZA7qchmwkAU4KsZcNsr03NZc6DXaLyN09bVI29q0pD5kd7M4Yi8Fd4lZAm1k/s640/my+left+cheek.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21ByJKrnRyq-xnciUmy5O6tkb5kt4rMeMVUHADfDrbaDhOhAeMW-hiEBC7PATp3QNGu-PN4MwIu5VDlCZA7qchmwkAU4KsZcNsr03NZc6DXaLyN09bVI29q0pD5kd7M4Yi8Fd4lZAm1k/w480-h640/my+left+cheek.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wore right through my leathers. Darleen Drehmel photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> The bike wasn't too bad, but the fairing was pretty smashed up and dirt was packed everywhere. It seems like I'm making the rookie, cold tire turn #3 crash an annual tradition as I did it last year, though then I tucked the front. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJhKj0HFAEJcVAsJl9deoxK9q72O4kbFlmwbHKsVQ4De2Xu4wX271yMswt5jehV2f93f76kJnntNUBAAndd60CQx17RdTB6z-mCLOOdas8JbKVXYFZaD3N7B5hkrOr9H3eoyZmPgahvo/s2048/20210220_104002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJhKj0HFAEJcVAsJl9deoxK9q72O4kbFlmwbHKsVQ4De2Xu4wX271yMswt5jehV2f93f76kJnntNUBAAndd60CQx17RdTB6z-mCLOOdas8JbKVXYFZaD3N7B5hkrOr9H3eoyZmPgahvo/w640-h480/20210220_104002.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the crash. Kenny Cummings is very disappointed in his 'dad'. Courtney A. Black photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>I abandoned the fairing and mounted number plates. Now I have an air filter on the carb, so I didn't have to take the head off to clean out the dirt as I did last year. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs08QSI1UVbOYkrbkzWV_VBBMz-ihZN18SQ8XpCjMU1aQBmBE2hkhuA21oewYcdgDa5BeQ9GJUDfE9Em2n6Bkz1a7VlQCaZs4CVxuxpMHdMx2Tlytyh-75CRlFDqHtxqZLvPLUoD2y7JQ/s2048/DR+%2526+Dr.+Dan+putting+%2523+plates+on.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs08QSI1UVbOYkrbkzWV_VBBMz-ihZN18SQ8XpCjMU1aQBmBE2hkhuA21oewYcdgDa5BeQ9GJUDfE9Em2n6Bkz1a7VlQCaZs4CVxuxpMHdMx2Tlytyh-75CRlFDqHtxqZLvPLUoD2y7JQ/w640-h480/DR+%2526+Dr.+Dan+putting+%2523+plates+on.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mounting number plates with Dr. Dan Levine. Courtney A. Black photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I installed a new CO2 cartridge in my inflatable vest. I got the bike re-teched and was able to do a scrub lap in race #2, and everything seemed OK for race #3, my bump-up race, 350GP with 350 Sportsman gridded behind us in one wave. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWo1VFMJiVc6MyPyQk2tmjsI1s8hnCPdKdnJqU7vI3C0rufgjafY3CI_0e3HeEV4MdmtzEZvwBgRw3XfAOx_lnR5ITzG7WriHmFGVUdnVjCkQTWuet6rf9oSPNUWZ0qE6G_uizynzGEkY/s640/DR+heading+out+for+scrub+lap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWo1VFMJiVc6MyPyQk2tmjsI1s8hnCPdKdnJqU7vI3C0rufgjafY3CI_0e3HeEV4MdmtzEZvwBgRw3XfAOx_lnR5ITzG7WriHmFGVUdnVjCkQTWuet6rf9oSPNUWZ0qE6G_uizynzGEkY/w480-h640/DR+heading+out+for+scrub+lap.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">heading out for a 'scrub lap' Darleen Drehmel photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br />As soon as I started the warm-up lap, the motor started cutting out intermittently. I pulled in pit lane and saw that one of the leads had pulled off the coil. I shoved it back on and got a push start and started the race from the pit lane after everyone got rolling. Three of the 350GP and three of the 350 Sportsman bikes started pulling away. After a couple of laps, I saw I was catching Colton Roberts riding his Dad's TD2b Yamaha. Jason Roberts had crashed in practice when an oil line failed on his Aermacchi and oiled the rear tire. He broke three ribs and offered his Yamaha to his son. Colton had never turned a wheel on this bike before the start of the race and he was clearly figuring out how to ride it. I was able to pass him in several corners and he would blow by me on the straights. By the last lap, Colton had gained enough confidence in how the bike was going to act that I was unable to pass him and he finished 0.9 seconds ahead of me. So I was 4th in class and 7th overall.</p><p>The 250GP class was in race #11 gridded behind Sound of Singles 3 in the first wave and Vintage Superbike Lightweight in the second wave. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwx6ovtqh4S_49KSAu2EDdQcqOmpReCja_j4pFScs_Qv8YFQwC12c8ATqX25ld8XPiXpajEx6nbEaGsIvFI2xL6iMcQlnQUGAkVfE_rKzRsUJU_mol4Jnr4PxQ38Bw3_RCaC8ffF0B-3I/s640/DR+on+grid+race+11+Sat..JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwx6ovtqh4S_49KSAu2EDdQcqOmpReCja_j4pFScs_Qv8YFQwC12c8ATqX25ld8XPiXpajEx6nbEaGsIvFI2xL6iMcQlnQUGAkVfE_rKzRsUJU_mol4Jnr4PxQ38Bw3_RCaC8ffF0B-3I/w480-h640/DR+on+grid+race+11+Sat..JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the front row of the 250GP grid, behind the VSL grid, in the 2nd wave. Darleen Drehmel photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I got ahead of a few of the VSL bikes at the start and soon caught some of the SOS3 bikes. SOS3 may have the greatest range of speed of any class. The first two in that class lapped me (and all but 7 of the 30 starters)on what were effectively Moto3 bikes--modern watercooled, fuel injected 250 singles in full race chassis. I passed 6 of the SOS3 bike and two of the VSL bikes for 1st in class and 17th overall.</p><p>Sunday morning was even colder with frost everywhere. There was only one round of practice and I managed to complete 5 laps without crashing. I still wasn't pulling the gearing, so I added two teeth to the rear sprocket. Then, Art Kowitz told me that he was taking his X-6 Suzuki to the Hall brother's mobile dyno to sort it. I didn't realize that it was there, and I followed Art down and after he made a run, we put my Sprint on. Rob Hall was able to alter the ignition timing while Jake kept the bike running. Rob advanced the timing 2-3 times to optimum and noted that the fuel/air mixture was a little rich, so I went down one jet size.</p><p>Sunday's 350GP/Sportman race went much like Saturday's except Jason Roberts wasn't riding his dad's TD2b. I had a fairly lonely ride after the first 5 pulled away and ended up 3rd in class and 6th overall. My best lap was more than 0.8 seconds slower that Sat. without the encouragement of chasing Jason and maybe his draft, too. </p><p>There were a couple of crashes in close succession around race #7 that required both the ambulances to transport riders, which shut down racing until one returned. After racing resumed, there was another red flag delay so, by the time race #11 came up, the race was shortened from 8 laps to 6. Again, I led the 250GP class from the start. I passed three of the VSL bikes and two of the SOS3 bikes to finish 1st in class and 17th overall. I was only lapped by the leader of the SOS3 class (as were the next 16 bikes). What I didn't realize until after the race was that I finished just 0.315 seconds ahead of Don Hollingsworth on his 250 Sprint. I had a slightly faster fastest lap than Don, but mine was on the 3rd lap and his was on the last. Clearly, I was goofing off and he was smelling blood. Would I have been able to respond if the race had gone the full 8 laps?</p><p>My fasted lap of the weekend last year on the same bike (also without a fairing) was more that 3.3 seconds faster then my fastest lap of the weekend this year. I'm willing to accept that some of that is because I'm a broken old man (or rather more broken, older man), but I was definitely pulling more revs with taller gearing last year. Why is mystery that I'm still investigating.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdaEoQeN6iXqaAyf0wAO6fKu1gQHHBQV44QSra9kkgbJ3rDRCvo7KCs0eJ1cjFeTwIBX9SjWGNhfN_x2gwdfajmDIDcQqO4vI5hm0_yjqEJx8tPao-GzJz2k11yECusE1jVSAJ2uy_NI/s2048/Brian+Larrabure%2527s+Seeley+G-50.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdaEoQeN6iXqaAyf0wAO6fKu1gQHHBQV44QSra9kkgbJ3rDRCvo7KCs0eJ1cjFeTwIBX9SjWGNhfN_x2gwdfajmDIDcQqO4vI5hm0_yjqEJx8tPao-GzJz2k11yECusE1jVSAJ2uy_NI/w640-h480/Brian+Larrabure%2527s+Seeley+G-50.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian Larrabure's Seeley G-50. Brian unfortunately had a serious crash Sun. on another bike and broke his leg and clavicle<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIXf4LjdcBRCpAYBar-Ylg3sgIXMTQMsMAfwISe0_1O88oWx1z8MzZPHRtMMhdvuaLGhGIYRD_7muN8_TIWsuKAFmzzX_eXPxFLxCjDuOn4UzSNib3EFG8nLUsmr5JBPhrjxeSl4w-Go/s2048/Doc%2527s+Indian+and+Beno%2527s+Nortons.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIXf4LjdcBRCpAYBar-Ylg3sgIXMTQMsMAfwISe0_1O88oWx1z8MzZPHRtMMhdvuaLGhGIYRD_7muN8_TIWsuKAFmzzX_eXPxFLxCjDuOn4UzSNib3EFG8nLUsmr5JBPhrjxeSl4w-Go/w640-h480/Doc%2527s+Indian+and+Beno%2527s+Nortons.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pit neighbors: Doc Batsleer's Indian and Beno Rodi's cammy Nortons</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcQdx19m1BerAVQEm0VMnIcfH0axHpCEM4rJbMJjIxbcvV93CMNfPtEl5bL5iTXvXmh7p1oXbOXF8Rxrmxf00RGOz2sCsERi9wDTl6IAYFbjjqZuSa9QmMibkbGQCSMr2JJpxSlHmCAo/s2048/Dave+Kaufman%2527s+G-12+Matchless.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcQdx19m1BerAVQEm0VMnIcfH0axHpCEM4rJbMJjIxbcvV93CMNfPtEl5bL5iTXvXmh7p1oXbOXF8Rxrmxf00RGOz2sCsERi9wDTl6IAYFbjjqZuSa9QmMibkbGQCSMr2JJpxSlHmCAo/w640-h480/Dave+Kaufman%2527s+G-12+Matchless.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave Kaufman's G-12 Matchless<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholEsVbzZmCLA5SpNeRaidZ7D8P1PNOICj57sdIp55Wb3mGSedN3UNA6OZZwvGIByfqUA6b7Jviyzm91PaKqQvq6PyxI8KHdrldbxBbXTxUL4T-6WjoTa3jjR2sMURbPFe2zOwDnp88Lg/s2048/Rick+Panettieri%2527s+Laverda+Jota.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholEsVbzZmCLA5SpNeRaidZ7D8P1PNOICj57sdIp55Wb3mGSedN3UNA6OZZwvGIByfqUA6b7Jviyzm91PaKqQvq6PyxI8KHdrldbxBbXTxUL4T-6WjoTa3jjR2sMURbPFe2zOwDnp88Lg/w640-h480/Rick+Panettieri%2527s+Laverda+Jota.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local Rick Panettieri always brings an interesting and immaculate bike, this time a Laverda Jota<br /><br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURuN_Dc5pQ0x7y_HEM2eanYuK-OuzJZifhjQg5YNkGkVhmZyut6BwKg4oT4GGZLyyTX8LxrTL1e0ccGRN-DO38S2mXhXRQ8FyjKoGrSiZihQELK_69UP_sJrsJ172GllILHn692W-bsw/s2048/Stu%2527s+ex-Molloy+Bul.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgURuN_Dc5pQ0x7y_HEM2eanYuK-OuzJZifhjQg5YNkGkVhmZyut6BwKg4oT4GGZLyyTX8LxrTL1e0ccGRN-DO38S2mXhXRQ8FyjKoGrSiZihQELK_69UP_sJrsJ172GllILHn692W-bsw/w640-h480/Stu%2527s+ex-Molloy+Bul.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stu Carter's ex-Ginger Molloy Bultaco</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiTq9-5X7OiVYJ1G8Pf34fcyM4pjJaMBaWkTdFQ833z78DbUawzW80-S85eCrCDqJ1kCDPyJMxOrz8doOD5JQhKmbROPB8mYnAqb8QH7YoR8LBNpSi7A9bfhje9h0ORGqR9WS70PhyphenhyphentU/s2048/Stu%2527s+Bul+seat+warning.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiTq9-5X7OiVYJ1G8Pf34fcyM4pjJaMBaWkTdFQ833z78DbUawzW80-S85eCrCDqJ1kCDPyJMxOrz8doOD5JQhKmbROPB8mYnAqb8QH7YoR8LBNpSi7A9bfhje9h0ORGqR9WS70PhyphenhyphentU/w640-h480/Stu%2527s+Bul+seat+warning.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bultaco seat warning</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-62068019470863953402021-02-13T22:37:00.000-05:002021-02-13T22:37:43.759-05:00Skip Aksland addendum<p>I recently ran across two races that Skip Aksland had competed in of which I wasn't aware on two successive days. I saw a photo of the start of the Formula 750 race at Mosport Park in Canada, 17 Sept., 1978 and there was Aksland on the front row with Johnny Cecotto, Yvon Duhamel, Kenny Roberts and Mike Baldwin. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrv-qwwaDvAAyqAzUubTZWCwCnJuPW9sQm5MGXyexrgtSJAESY9GX0zq4LHOndbXXoM8LyMpEmOhMM3DtpvaNx6PfIqnkvOzxetNKYQ7ARhIwXoGFJyg5CuPN_aldjMmhKLFIJKBpNGVU/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="1200" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrv-qwwaDvAAyqAzUubTZWCwCnJuPW9sQm5MGXyexrgtSJAESY9GX0zq4LHOndbXXoM8LyMpEmOhMM3DtpvaNx6PfIqnkvOzxetNKYQ7ARhIwXoGFJyg5CuPN_aldjMmhKLFIJKBpNGVU/w640-h322/image.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of CSBK/PMP</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> I checked back, I saw that I had included Skip's 4th overall (5th in the first leg, 4th in the second) in the text, but had left it out of the list. But, in researching this, I learned that Aksland had raced the previous weekend (10 Sept.) at the F-750 race at Laguna Seca, which I thought he missed because of injuries from his crash at Sears Point in July. Laguna may have been his first race back after that crash. In th first 100km leg, Skip finished 2nd to Roberts and ahead of Steve Baker, Gene Romero and Mike Baldwin. In the second leg, he made only two laps before pulling into the pits with a "broken coil". Two weeks after Mosport, Skip was 8th in the San Jose Mile and a week later 11th in the Ascot Half Mile, both on a XR H-D. Then, the next weekend (7-8 Oct., '78), Skip finished 8th overall in the AGV Cup of Nations at Imola, Italy.</p><p>Then I stumbled across an old post on the WERA forum by Larry Lawrence. He had come across an old floppy disc that he had made on the history of the WERA GNF. I was surprised to see that in 1978, Skip had raced in that year's GNF at Texas World Speedway. This was three weeks after racing at Imola, 28 Oct. In the F-1 heat race on Sat., Lawrence says the Aksland and Freddie Spencer 'tangled' and both went down. Cycle News says they both hit oil and crashed virtually simultaneously on the last lap while dicing for the lead. Lawrence says Aksland got a 'badly injured hand'. Cycle News says both were unhurt other than Aksland's sprained thumb. Evidently it was bad enough that Aksland didn't start the next day's final. Mike Baldwin arrived after the heat races Sat., and started the final Sun., from the back of the grid and went through to win over Spencer and Aldana.</p><p>Quite a busy and varied two months for Skip, racing a four stroke V-twin on the dirt and an inline two stroke four on the asphalt, in three different countries and two continents.</p>Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-4393299352613759702021-01-31T13:00:00.000-05:002021-01-31T13:00:59.776-05:00Bruno Kneubuhler<p> I've been reading "Chris Carter at Large, Stories from a lifetime in motorcycle racing" which is a collection of anecdotes about races and racers. Carter writes of the Swiss racer Bruno Kneubuhler "He was good, too. Second in both the 50cc and 125cc world championship, and he rode in the 250cc, 350cc and 500cc championships at various times, scoring podiums in all classes, I think. Possibly a unique achievement." I found this quite amazing and started researching if it was in fact true. Bruno Kneubuler's name was vaguely familiar, but I didn't know any of his details. A quick Google search confirmed that he had been on the podium in every solo class, had won five GPs, and finished 2nd in the '73 Spanish GP in the 50, 250 and 500 races. But, what I found even more impressive was that he raced in the World Championship GPs from 1972 when he was 26 years old through 1989 when he was 43 and scored points every year except '87 racing a Honda in the 500cc class. Bruno started racing in 1969 and got 2nd place in his first competition, a hillclimb. In 1970 he won the Swiss Senior title. In 1971, he rode as many International races as he could get starts for. In 1972, he started racing in the GPs in the 350 and 500 classes on Yamahas, was 4th at his first GP in the 500, third behind Ago and Pagani on the works MVs at Assen and third again at Brno, and won the 350 race at the last GP of the season in Spain by 42 seconds. This made him third in the 500 class for the season and 6th in the 350 class in his rookie season. For some reason, I associated his name with the Imola 200 Ducatis. Sure enough, he rode one of the works bikes in '73. '72 was the first year of the Imola 200 and Paul Smart put Ducati on the map by winning over his teammate Bruno Spaggiari. Apparently, the 350 Yamaha wasn't allowed in '72, but was in '73 and Jarno Saarinen, fresh from his win in the Daytona 200, dominated the event. Ducati had developed their 750 V-Twin considerably with a shorter stroke, and reduced valve angle that allowed a shorter wheelbase. Smart rode a Suzuki in '73, and Spaggiari had Mick Grant and Bruno Kneubuhler as teammates on the works Ducatis. Grant fried a clutch at the start and retired and the two Brunos chased Saarinen, after Yvon duHamel and Art Baumann on H2Rs dropped out. Kneubuhler was in 2nd place near the end of the first 100 mile leg when he crashed after turning the fastest lap of the race. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oyowfuqmv8yGkwVDB-o0IBI1sJvhYGpxch60cVXZTAFKweDAFCGGdUdvpltdO_lLkPTgiAENjmv-pcTkM4vxsVdFLhnTuuYVm06hdAE-2Mq8kM1zgukz4kQAwy5gi6nppp-XJkibSGM/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="924" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oyowfuqmv8yGkwVDB-o0IBI1sJvhYGpxch60cVXZTAFKweDAFCGGdUdvpltdO_lLkPTgiAENjmv-pcTkM4vxsVdFLhnTuuYVm06hdAE-2Mq8kM1zgukz4kQAwy5gi6nppp-XJkibSGM/w640-h396/image.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Imola on the works Ducati in 1973</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Here's a link to a documentary of the race: https://www.bpvideolibrary.com/record/746</p><p>In June of 1977, Bruno crashed at an International in Holland and badly fractured his left ankle and the surgery was botched and it got infected. He was flown to Zurich and, after three months and more surgery, his ankle was fused. This not only ended his season and but compromised his push starts when he resumed racing in '78 on a RG 500 Suzuki, and he only scored 2 points all year. So, in '79 he switched to a 125 MBA, but that season was ruined by a fall at Assen where he broke both wrist. He came back strong the next year with the MBA with three podiums and 4th in the 125 championship.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4KdJDlo5INgJMtpSMdFkXlfR6pvfGhTwrQavaBaYPZv0TmkOuoTPSdhjDXoRul4plten1TVQFjgK6SPu0Sn7da1PpIryhhMRmMXuEuOIqz2D7rOrn1OiOhTmsjT5LCZcFS2xIEpC0l8/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4KdJDlo5INgJMtpSMdFkXlfR6pvfGhTwrQavaBaYPZv0TmkOuoTPSdhjDXoRul4plten1TVQFjgK6SPu0Sn7da1PpIryhhMRmMXuEuOIqz2D7rOrn1OiOhTmsjT5LCZcFS2xIEpC0l8/w640-h480/image.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the 125 MBA at Assen in 1980</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>For 1981 Bruno raced a 250 Pinfold Rotax that wasn't very successful. He only scored points in two GPs. Fron Motocourse 1981-82: "Schlachter passed Bruno Kneubuhler on lap ten as the Swiss dropped down the field. It was yet another disappointment for Bruno who struggled all year to make his Pinfold-framed Rotax competitive and had qualified fourth only to have the engine run flat in the race." Here's a video of the earlier race at Hockenheim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI8eIf55R2g</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAG_2sdcfhYKXv5jn5Pz_oSB-gAZuD88-OlYFt5mm7VUe0Oix8ieXoquFLOicU2_3TRiAfUf1fdVoXveWwK4UyydqcP46T-5VeXPpOpH8lSEdpRVJSqecU-sleOqQGaMgtYG6QzsE1uU/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1280" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAG_2sdcfhYKXv5jn5Pz_oSB-gAZuD88-OlYFt5mm7VUe0Oix8ieXoquFLOicU2_3TRiAfUf1fdVoXveWwK4UyydqcP46T-5VeXPpOpH8lSEdpRVJSqecU-sleOqQGaMgtYG6QzsE1uU/w640-h352/image.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#33 is Bruno at Monza in '81</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It was back to the 125s with an MBA in '82 and in '83 he had perhaps his best year finishing 2nd overall in the 125 World Championship with two wins, a 2nd and a 3rd, and scoring points in 8 of the 11 GPs he contested at the age of 37. Bruno stayed with the 125s through 1986, but in 1987 he raced a 500 Honda, presumably a RS500 three cylinder. This was probably prompted by the FIM changing GPs start from push to clutch. '87 was the first year that Bruno didn't score any World Championship points since 1972 but, keep in mind that '87 was the last year that points were awarded only 1st through 10th and the next year they went to 1st through 15th, which is still used today. And, Bruno was racing against Gardner, Mamola, Lawson and Schwantz on works bikes. It only got worse with the addition of Rainey in '88 and Doohan in '89, but Bruno did score points both those years.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh5f7APHP2np4QFYmRXnFfpl9u7NVA4R1VQFeB_eGBm5UdYmr8dSkkphuwsgMX7zIg6mU9EjZTMAYWJ4lPqBO2VpyOz9Dew35_TjFA20eiLZXofzjxN7eFcd8P1TQ3FmN_wXLEWeK6ROE/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh5f7APHP2np4QFYmRXnFfpl9u7NVA4R1VQFeB_eGBm5UdYmr8dSkkphuwsgMX7zIg6mU9EjZTMAYWJ4lPqBO2VpyOz9Dew35_TjFA20eiLZXofzjxN7eFcd8P1TQ3FmN_wXLEWeK6ROE/w640-h426/image.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the RS 500 Honda</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Bruno has participated in Classic racing in more recent years and operates riding school in Switzerland.</p><p>So, from 50cc Kreidler to 750 Ducati to RS 500 Honda, Kneubuhler was superbly versatile.</p><p>But, somewhere in my research, I saw a reference to seven riders being 'classified' in all five solo classes: Ralph Bryans, Tommy Robb, Luigi Taveri, Stuart Graham, Dave Simmons, Bruno Kneubuhler, and Alberto Pagani. It wasn't totally clear what 'classified' meant, but I assume it meant scored points. Further research revealed that Kneubuhler's podiums in all solo classed wasn't a unique achievement. Tommy Robb won 125, 250 and 350 races and got 3rds in 50 and 500 GPs. Stuart Graham may have also been on the podium of all five solo classes as he won 50 and 125 GPs and was 2nd in 250 and 500 GPs, but I haven't been able to find results of all his 350 GPs, though think that it's probably unlikely that he made the podium in one. Bryans, Robb, Taveri, Graham, and Simmons all raced against each other in the mid to late '60s and Kneubuhler and Pagani were just a little later in the early 70's, but Kneubuhler carried on and was 5th in the 125 World Championship in 1986 riding an MBA, then spent his last three years in the GPs racing the 500 Honda. It was a different time. Much was made of Freddie Spencer winning both the 250 and 500 World Championships in 1985 and I don't think anyone has even tried running more that one class since then, even Kneubuhler who last raced more that one class in a season in 1977. The 350 class was eliminated after 1982 and the 50 class was replaced by the 80cc class in 1984 and ran through 1989, when it too was eliminated.</p>Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-39384712888294118042020-11-30T23:19:00.000-05:002020-11-30T23:19:09.187-05:00Sprints at Bonneville addendum<p>My previous post piqued Dick Hollingsworth's interest and he did some research and came up with what seems to be a definitive answer to my question: How did George Roeder go 20mph faster in '65 than Roger Reiman in '64 in the same streamliner. The answer is better salt conditions AND more power.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyTs1NrnXQWuw3ZYZPOobRCPDD15TRqVg513I_0MJNd7SJUtiC04iSRd5uHCb_gesBn5-UQR5Eyhq2tkucdvwPvg_GDyBusagPu_AFD_LygmfM_0U81o0uxapb6jus3Jm1z-eNUPJvH0/s1112/BonnevilleRoeder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1112" data-original-width="688" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyTs1NrnXQWuw3ZYZPOobRCPDD15TRqVg513I_0MJNd7SJUtiC04iSRd5uHCb_gesBn5-UQR5Eyhq2tkucdvwPvg_GDyBusagPu_AFD_LygmfM_0U81o0uxapb6jus3Jm1z-eNUPJvH0/w397-h640/BonnevilleRoeder.jpg" width="397" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYKTAr_WaElhNPCwpG4P_zskMrra_tgIEBkacZMiwvKmIwjmEMQ0fUPju-cn6GPQ1XhQt_zmrmLlpL8en5cBv6dc1BYw98eQWWj5v-UlGN3Hp7njn4hpPny9Vn9JR7x_t6ZqndZ05SmI/s783/Bonneville_10.206135716_std.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="783" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYKTAr_WaElhNPCwpG4P_zskMrra_tgIEBkacZMiwvKmIwjmEMQ0fUPju-cn6GPQ1XhQt_zmrmLlpL8en5cBv6dc1BYw98eQWWj5v-UlGN3Hp7njn4hpPny9Vn9JR7x_t6ZqndZ05SmI/w640-h512/Bonneville_10.206135716_std.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCficbPd45d-RJQuneC248I1l4Agw9lwfuvSl9bDvaq2J-TaXxoDQqho59xgmeFraPECgZtdze8GjqR2XiEBzfRYTrDe3k2Ga9Zg_OVrUXn97dhrXaVSonSjTjd9EDWZ94SUV_c32FndQ/s798/Bonneville_11.206135732_std.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="710" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCficbPd45d-RJQuneC248I1l4Agw9lwfuvSl9bDvaq2J-TaXxoDQqho59xgmeFraPECgZtdze8GjqR2XiEBzfRYTrDe3k2Ga9Zg_OVrUXn97dhrXaVSonSjTjd9EDWZ94SUV_c32FndQ/w570-h640/Bonneville_11.206135732_std.jpg" width="570" /></a></div>This article came form the website: http://msolisvintagemotorcycle.com/cr<div>Scrolling down quite a ways is a heading "Sprint CR Publication & Information" and immediately following is an article on the '64 effort with Reiman, with this photo: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNnEZBhn6gcoLbEh8Un0fV8BPEcn3D_g9McPTIsHLhZsJTIKX_lwdrf9wd6dNhhUN1CeUZskls7QKp4FW8quE1l_96bvUFBdxp2fxGi2fq_qlcpVO7h8KnoLi-E2gcW-csm2Gc8XDlBg/s780/Bonneville+Sprint+%252764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="780" height="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNnEZBhn6gcoLbEh8Un0fV8BPEcn3D_g9McPTIsHLhZsJTIKX_lwdrf9wd6dNhhUN1CeUZskls7QKp4FW8quE1l_96bvUFBdxp2fxGi2fq_qlcpVO7h8KnoLi-E2gcW-csm2Gc8XDlBg/w640-h632/Bonneville+Sprint+%252764.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This clearly was a wet clutch motor which normally would be long stroke. I suppose it's theoretically possible that it had a special short stroke crankshaft and top end, as Mick Walker claims in his books 'Classic American Racing Motorcycles' (1992) and 'Aermacchi' (1995), but I doubt it. Scrolling down further is the article on the '65 effort with Roeder. Neither of these articles are identified as to what publication they came from, but I suspect both are from H-D's in house publication "The Enthusiast".</div>Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-63266332932735150702020-11-18T15:11:00.000-05:002020-11-18T15:11:31.361-05:00Sprints at Bonneville<p>When I recently went to the Antique Motorcycle Club of America national meet at Denton, N.C., a few of us rode to the American Classic Motorcycle Museum in Asheboro, N.C. It was strictly H-D, with Knuckles, Pans and Shovels, and a couple of Sprint road bikes. But, it had some good race posters and two that intrigued me featured a Sprint powered streamliner at Bonneville.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlByoYIIdqwrSSIhwARZksvDm3ZpsCfqL3wq8wasiwY1aefQtZSOE63epFGzW2kqSUlnO2ddvrzts4n4g-fXJ8B_QeN-4zS6b7nPO3D39ucQ1xg2MAhUt3THpW1z-mP905HHYUDRX8zK0/s2048/Bonneville+Sprints+posters.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlByoYIIdqwrSSIhwARZksvDm3ZpsCfqL3wq8wasiwY1aefQtZSOE63epFGzW2kqSUlnO2ddvrzts4n4g-fXJ8B_QeN-4zS6b7nPO3D39ucQ1xg2MAhUt3THpW1z-mP905HHYUDRX8zK0/w640-h360/Bonneville+Sprints+posters.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>As you can see, in 1964 Roger Reiman went 156mph and a year later George Roeder went 176mph in what appears to be the same streamliner. I wondered how they gained 20 mph in one year. All things being equal, it would take a lot more horsepower to gain 20 mph at those speeds. I spent a little time researching it, going first to Allan Girdler's book 'Harley Racers'. This has a photo of Roeder with the streamliner which the caption says was built by James 'Stormy' Mangham. Stormy had built a streamliner powered by a Triumph 650 twin, a Cub, and a 500 Tiger 100 and ridden by Johnny Allen first in 1955 and last in 1959 when Allen crashed and destroyed the 'liner. In the '60s, Strormy built three streamliners: one similar to the on that was destroyed (and maybe using some of the original), that had a Sprint motor; one larger with had a Sportster motor; one with a Chevy V-8. Harley got involved and built the Sprint and Sportster motors, with Reiman riding them in '64 and Roeder in '65.<p></p><div>I called my friend John Stein, who wrote the book 'World's Fastest Motorcycle, The Day the Salt Stood Still, Mike Akatiff vs. Denis Manning vs. Sam Wheeler'. John didn't know any particulars of the Sprint effort, though he believed the Roeder family still owned the Sprint streamliner. John is very friendly with Denis Manning and suggested that I call him. Manning built the streamliner powered by a Sportster based motor that Cal Rayborn rode to absolute motorcycle speed record in 1970 of 265.492. This is featured in the film On Any Sunday. Manning wasn't involved with the earlier Sprint record, so didn't know any particulars but suggested that the difference in speed between '64 & '65 could have been fuel, but I pointed out that both posters say the times were set with pump gasoline. Manning thought the difference must be down to the weather and/or salt conditions. I asked him if there was any way to find out what the weather/salt conditions were in '64 & '65 and he told me that the AMA lost all the Bonneville records and when he ran his BUB event at Bonneville they had to reconstruct old records from magazine articles and the like. Manning suggested that I might talk to Clyde Denzer, The Harley race department number 2 man to Dick O'Brien, and someone involved in that '70 effort. I called Peter Zylstra, the man who designed/drew the XR750 motor, also retired from the Harley race dept. Peter arrive at H-D right around 1965 and didn't know anything of the earlier Bonneville effort. I suggested that in '64 the streamliner might have been powered by the long stroke, wet clutch motor and in '65 might have had the revised short stroke, dry clutch motor, but we both questioned that as we thought the short stroke motor came out in '66. Peter gave me Clyde Denzer's number and I called him. He was in the H-D race dept. in '64 and was aware of the Bonneville effort, but hadn't gone there as he did in '70 with Rayborn. Clyde also didn't think that the short stroke motor was used in '65 and thought part of the difference in speed was just down to more experience and a refined effort, though agreed that weather/salt conditions could well have contributed. Then I called Keith Martin of Big D Cycles, as I understood that he had the molds for the shell of the Stormy Mangham Triumph streamliner and was involved in the restoration of the bike for the National Motor Museum in England. He also didn't know anything specific about the Sprint records and thought it had to be down the weather/salt conditions and that sometime you just get lucky. I re-read the caption on the photo in Girdler book and it says that Reiman used the long stroke motor and Roeder the short stroke.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirb7dfp75BGU-xd1lYYNhH5EPSltrXXwj4PD-pJ1J4M_Mr0RzXxVxaEYKhXGlJygrbJTKx94lSw4L0nT9m1sqbbEp-pdX21mBrgARPJ1y3k4ytkd66MrQDVhotKKBLSv-DV1w5cadIC2Y/s1024/doc02237820201112175002+%25281%25291024_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="792" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirb7dfp75BGU-xd1lYYNhH5EPSltrXXwj4PD-pJ1J4M_Mr0RzXxVxaEYKhXGlJygrbJTKx94lSw4L0nT9m1sqbbEp-pdX21mBrgARPJ1y3k4ytkd66MrQDVhotKKBLSv-DV1w5cadIC2Y/w496-h640/doc02237820201112175002+%25281%25291024_1.jpg" width="496" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Allan Girdler's "Harley Racers"<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Then I found Mick Walker's 'Classic American Racing Motorcycles' which states: "As a way of extra publicity Harley-Davidson began to take an active interest in Bonneville. Their first attempts were with a specially prepared short-stroke 248cc Aermacchi road racing engine enclosed in a 14 ft long alloy shell. Ridden by works rider Roger Reiman this device averaged 156.24 mph for the flying mile and 156.54 mph for the kilometre in 1964. The records were approved by the AMA but not the FIM as no recognised observer was present from the latter organisation. Hence the speeds constituted American records only. However Harley achieved its ambition the following year when George Roeder piloted a revised version of the sprint streamliner to a new world speed record at the breathtaking speed of 177.225 mph-sanctioned by the FIM." So Walker claims that a short stroke motor was used in both '64 and '65, which doesn't explain the 20 mph gain.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfy2lu0LSx0GwRZzqlbE77r2YCCbvNWJgvpvZ8dX9SBo7wZKO3a79IypiU2g_DR_eW8VVX9E7jGUB9GZ53t0S-L0dN-Zd0Qg5ih3ZK-D27hiI0_Ti6vIaNhtx0NE-tGoftq_FM2sUzH54/s663/Roeder+%2526+crew+with+Sprint+streamliner1024_1+2.jpg+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="663" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfy2lu0LSx0GwRZzqlbE77r2YCCbvNWJgvpvZ8dX9SBo7wZKO3a79IypiU2g_DR_eW8VVX9E7jGUB9GZ53t0S-L0dN-Zd0Qg5ih3ZK-D27hiI0_Ti6vIaNhtx0NE-tGoftq_FM2sUzH54/w640-h352/Roeder+%2526+crew+with+Sprint+streamliner1024_1+2.jpg+cropped.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Stephen Wright book American Racer 1940-1980<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>I just got a hold of George Roeder's son, George II. He thought that Reiman had run a long stroke/wet clutch motor and his dad the short stroke/dry clutch motor as a way of introducing it, as it was what was supplied in CR Sprints in '66. He still has the streamliner at his museum at his shop Roeder Racing in Monroeville, Ohio. When his dad was a franchised H-D dealer starting in 1972, he used to drive up to Milwaukee to pick up new bikes from the H-D factory to save on shipping. He'd drop into the racing dept. to see his old buddies. One time someone told him that the old streamliner was in a warehouse and in the way and why didn't he take it with him. However, the machine has no motor in it, so it doesn't answer if it had a long or short stroke motor. George II, also known as 'Joe' to distinguish him from his dad, told me that Bill Millburn had some information on the streamliner, so I called him. Millburn is a collector and a bit of an historian on Class C racing in the '50-'70s. Bill told me that he has the build card on the motor that both Reiman and Roeder used, a long stroke, wet clutch unit. He says it was run at Daytona in a road racer with a 5A, 5 speed gearbox, 5A being the closest ratio option. The gearbox was changed to a 5B, wider ratio, gearbox for Bonneville. This would make some sense as with the super tall gearing needed at Bonneville, a lower 1st gear would be useful for getting going. After Bonneville '64, the motor went back in a road racer with a 5A gearbox, then back in the streamliner with a 5B for Roeder at Bonneville in '65. Millburn is convinced that it was the same motor in '64 & '65.</div><div>Finally, I talked to Herb Harris, a collector and former sponsor of Roeder Racing, and a lawyer who represented Roeder when, after Harley built their museum in Milwaukee, decided that they wanted the streamliner back. According to Herb, it was a Davidson who gave the streamliner to George and therefore Roeder was the rightful owner, and that he decided to keep it and respectfully declined to return it to H-D.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is one of the ways I spend time during 'lockdown', researching bit of motorcycle history arcana. There is just about no one left who was there at the time and I guess we'll never know the details of effort, but I find it fun jogging peoples memories and getting their opinions. </div>Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-57995738166432142242020-11-11T12:16:00.000-05:002020-11-11T12:16:40.855-05:002020 Race Record<p>2020 was an unusual race year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The year started with two races in Feb., then racing shut down around the world. AHRMA resumed racing in late July with two back to back races in the Mid-West, then there were two races back to back in the South, then the Barber finale. The VRRA in Canada had only one race and that was on a date that conflicted with one of the AHRMA races that I went to, but I don't think I was allowed to go to Canada anyway. I had planned to do the WERA administered AMA Vintage M/C Days at Mid Ohio, but that was canceled. I had also planned to do the Lap of Honour at the Isle of Man Classic TT, but that too was canceled. So the total of 7 events that I went to was surely the least I've done perhaps since I started racing in 1972. The 7 events were at 7 different venues, and I did four races at each event (two Sat., and two Sun,) for a total of 28 races. I started all the races that I entered. I won 13 of them, was 2nd in 8 of them, 3rd three times and 4th 3 times (two of which were mechanical DNFs), and 1 DQ for a crash which caused a red flag. I had one other crash, but that was in practice and didn't prevent me from racing. I raced three different bikes, all of which were mine. At the first race of the year at Laguna Seca, Ca., I raced the 350 Aermacchi I own that lives in California with Karl Engellenner, who built and maintains it. With it, I won the 350GP both days and was 3rd and 1st in the 500 Premiere. The rest of the year, I just rode my CRTT and ERTT H-D Sprints. With the CRTT, I had 9 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third(in 350GP) and 2 fourths (1 mechanical DNF, 1 in 350GP). With the ERTT, I had 1 win, 6 seconds, 1 third, 1 fourth, and 1 DQ (crash). I won the 250GP championship and was 2nd in the 350GP championship. However, a big asterisk should be put after the 250GP championship as the entry in this class was very light and at least two of most competitive in this class couldn't make it to most of the races. The entry in 350GP was slightly better but also with excellent riders and bikes.</p>Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-60358229970450467422020-11-09T23:28:00.005-05:002020-11-15T23:29:02.383-05:00Southern Swing #2<p> This year's AHRMA race at Barber was very different than the past as the 'Vintage Festival' was canceled because of Covid-19, though racing continued. So, there was no swap meet, Wall of Death, Ace Cafe, AMCA or VJMC club meets, etc., and nominally, no spectators. Because of this, entry was way down from years past. Many people who entered didn't show up because the forecast was for rain all weekend as a hurricane approached. Then, many of those that did come ended up not racing because of the heavy rain, meaning grids were very thin.</p><p>I arrived at Barber Thurs. mid day with my 250 and 350 H-D Aermacchi Sprints. The 350 I had crashed at Carolina M/S Pk. in Sept., and tore up the fairing, among other damage. I left the fairing with Sakis Vasilopoulos who said he would repair it and deliver it to Barber. So, after setting up my pit, I collected the fairing from Sakis, who did a beautiful job on it, including painting it and even making numbers. But, he had filled all the mounting bracket holes, saying that they were oval from wear. So, it meant fitting the fairing from scratch, then mounting a windscreen, which I did with the help of Dick Miles. Fortunately, Thurs., was a beautiful day.</p><p>Friday dawned raining, as promised, and I set about practicing on both bikes. My 250 had ancient and very worn Dunlop tires, the ones that are no longer made, and which don't have the best reputation in the wet, but are my preferred tires in the dry. So, I was very cautious on it, both because I didn't trust the tires and because I didn't want to put any unnecessary wear on them. I've long had a problem with the carb on my 350 sticking, especially when rolling the throttle of gradually. The slide snaps right down when the engine isn't running but, when running, the slide tends to hang up unless one snaps the throttle shut. The carb got packed with dirt in the crash at Kershaw, and it took me a long while to even get it out of the body. Now, it the rain, the problem seemed noticeably worse. After one session, I took the slide out to see if I could polish it to improve the situation. Al Hollingsworth happened to come along and said that he might have a slide in better shape. The slides are brass, plated with chrome(?) and the plating on my slide was almost completely worn away. Al's was used, but much less worn and he loaned it to me and that completely cured the sticking issue. The rain let up some in the afternoon and a dry line started to develop, but I didn't bother to go out any more as the forecast was for heavy rain Sat., and I didn't figure that I learn anything in the dry and just wear out the tires more.</p><p>Sat., I was first up in race #4, with 250GP in front of Novice Historic Production Lightweight in the first wave and Formula 125 and Pre 40 in the second. Just three of the seven 250GP entrants started and 16 of the 27 overall entrants. Craig Light on his Bultaco 'Metralla' immediately went into the lead. I had just met Craig at the USCRA Moto Giro in August, where he rode a Bultaco Lobito 175 then, the next weekend, he was at CMP with the Metralla. His backround is in MX and enduros and he only started road racing last year and apparently, he had never road raced in the rain. And it was really raining, but I wasn't willing to go at his pace and he pulled away and then Colton Roberts, Jonas Stein and Joe Koury came by on their F-125 bikes for the second wave. Colton got by Craig for the overall win and I was a distant 5th overall and 2nd (of three) in the class.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_sey3i8IlhL3-99J3jPYIb41BDiSf6tQoTx3NuwnEihyphenhyphenlSO-Q17KACApHIxZaC97-TK_qmLKsOb66gi6ShaisoV2KKgXcSUSaJWdXT3NH21rGYBt-3lF6MBH5PKHZCUVoesEsM0EkA0/s960/Roper2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="960" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_sey3i8IlhL3-99J3jPYIb41BDiSf6tQoTx3NuwnEihyphenhyphenlSO-Q17KACApHIxZaC97-TK_qmLKsOb66gi6ShaisoV2KKgXcSUSaJWdXT3NH21rGYBt-3lF6MBH5PKHZCUVoesEsM0EkA0/w640-h384/Roper2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>This is from Saturday's 250GP (I think)before the Kourys, father and son, passed me. Father #951 finished ahead of me, son #357 didn't finish. I don't know who took the photo as someone sent it to me after finding it on the internet.<br /><p><br /></p><p>The 350GP was in race #7 gridded behind 350 Sportsman and ahead of Novice Historic Production Heavyweight, all in one wave. Five of the ten 350GP entrants, and 13 of the 24 overall entrants started. Jerry Duke led the 350GP and the overall on his Ducati. Eric Cook slotted into 2nd O.A. on his 350 Sportsman bike. I was third overall initially, but on the 3rd lap, Craig Light came by on his 250 Metralla. I was trying to hang with Craig, but he was pulling away. Then my ignition coil fell off and I came to a stop. I was credited with 11th overall and 4th in class, because Jason Roberts had his carbs gum up on his TD2b Yamaha and he didn't finish the 1st lap.</p><p>Remounting the coil was simple and I had the bike running again in an hour or so and was ready for Sun. Conditions were a little better on Sunday but still very wet for both my races. And, for some reason I felt a little more with it. In the 250GP, I got in the lead overall quickly, but Colton Roberts came by on his F-125 bike. On the last lap, I got baulked lapping a rider and Craig Light got by me, but I got back by him and finished less than 1/4 second ahead of him, though his fastest lap was more than half a second faster than mine. My fastest lap was more than 8 1/4 seconds faster than I had gone on Sat., where as Craig's was only 3 1/8 seconds faster.</p><p>In the 350GP race, Jerry Duke again got the jump on our class behind some 350 Sportsman bikes. I passed Jerry going into turn #5 on the first lap, then Jason Roberts came by on the back straight, having changed the oil in his pre-mix. Stan Miller crashed his Sportsman bike in turn#13, which caused Jason and me to check up a bit. Then Jason crashed in the last corner of the first lap. These crashes put the chill on any heroic on my part, but I managed to maintain the overall lead. Jerry showed me a wheel several times, but I held him off and finished less the 3/4 of a second ahead of him. My best lap was 15 seconds faster than Sat., whereas Jerry's and Craig's were closer to 9 1/2 seconds faster. But, Jerry had the fastest lap of the race, more than 3/8 seconds better than my best. It was good ending the weekend on an up note with two wins in close races and, perhaps more importantly, surviving.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJaPWfpq_np_O__Qp1Rx6w79tKu3jG6I9dzBpqoB4nMAxTD2u1q0Gkvt0AJe-sry6RwNEiubRfFyfwrLRvv-4Gm-D3nWGExyANTWRYPj7tRA2gObRyKrUzr5BF6SgwoyuVPPRLyn9XkU/s2048/Doc+Batsleer%2527s+CL90.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJaPWfpq_np_O__Qp1Rx6w79tKu3jG6I9dzBpqoB4nMAxTD2u1q0Gkvt0AJe-sry6RwNEiubRfFyfwrLRvv-4Gm-D3nWGExyANTWRYPj7tRA2gObRyKrUzr5BF6SgwoyuVPPRLyn9XkU/w640-h360/Doc+Batsleer%2527s+CL90.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>The only photo I took at Barber: Doc Batsleer's CL 90 Honda which he bought new back in the mid '60s. He told me that he was inspired to bring it to Barber after seeing the Aerostich ad in a magazine with me and a friends CL 90.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTzvI8fzVmz-oBTBdYOydDKQ4Zdp8g_GUbkutqF1AEEFs4-0qGzlcB51p56PvOUc-GPCQqj_amADcQ5eipfTp_uyzSFvlsCLi0G8NGWrK3QHAB7MvowUl-FikVAPoAp24_qBdthHp6xU/s487/Burke+Aerostich+ad1024_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="329" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTzvI8fzVmz-oBTBdYOydDKQ4Zdp8g_GUbkutqF1AEEFs4-0qGzlcB51p56PvOUc-GPCQqj_amADcQ5eipfTp_uyzSFvlsCLi0G8NGWrK3QHAB7MvowUl-FikVAPoAp24_qBdthHp6xU/w432-h640/Burke+Aerostich+ad1024_1.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br /><div><br />
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
</div><div>From Barber, I drove to Savannah and spent a few days with friends. One of the first things that I did was dry my racing gear.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1NleA6zfqJzLN3aXuNkZLjNEjlu-efulAzZCPxVP-XTjVxHAQ045-Wt2o7hYdnO7FLWwNnNBLyrzbOox_c3drcKQfS5lTAj1UoIYyCqe4JHtkpWefgqFwhRM1O866HNld4pbcObBKPw/s2048/leathers+drying+%2540+Harriett%2527s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1NleA6zfqJzLN3aXuNkZLjNEjlu-efulAzZCPxVP-XTjVxHAQ045-Wt2o7hYdnO7FLWwNnNBLyrzbOox_c3drcKQfS5lTAj1UoIYyCqe4JHtkpWefgqFwhRM1O866HNld4pbcObBKPw/w360-h640/leathers+drying+%2540+Harriett%2527s.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>My friend, Dr. Dan Levine, showed me his latest project, a Rickman 500 Triumph. The chassis is all new replica of period gear. The front brake, a replica Robinson 4LS, and the forks, replica Ceriani 35mm, both came from Hungary. The frame and body work came from England where Adrian Moss now owns the Rickman name. Dan is threatening to race it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlCpHGDrAsJrCqxangN6uGAgGwD9VJIhE_8R6e4aiVZQjwWunxJ797G0miNvbAPlR6veyiDxtqD97DME9EBymsdrEDCiBUFBmiLXTW9aQJ-DmZEIQ6CzzKb9TQTOUECASbcEePrmlchw/s2048/Dr.+Dan+w%253ARickman+Daytona+LH.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlCpHGDrAsJrCqxangN6uGAgGwD9VJIhE_8R6e4aiVZQjwWunxJ797G0miNvbAPlR6veyiDxtqD97DME9EBymsdrEDCiBUFBmiLXTW9aQJ-DmZEIQ6CzzKb9TQTOUECASbcEePrmlchw/w640-h360/Dr.+Dan+w%253ARickman+Daytona+LH.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Dr. Dan Levine with his Rickman Triumph Daytona.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJDcLWLblxkhO19kyrdtMNmc7ZPU2ikS4_06Kqd5X4a-0ws5Rr3WFS3GhEoBuQ_SVPbBpivqPqClpNMtc3e9_o0fVy73ZlWr874zEbN-gFTeWPczY-6YbJ-uRmDWONSBySFFzKY72nHQ/s2048/Dr.+Dan%2527s+Rickman+Daytona+RH.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJDcLWLblxkhO19kyrdtMNmc7ZPU2ikS4_06Kqd5X4a-0ws5Rr3WFS3GhEoBuQ_SVPbBpivqPqClpNMtc3e9_o0fVy73ZlWr874zEbN-gFTeWPczY-6YbJ-uRmDWONSBySFFzKY72nHQ/w640-h360/Dr.+Dan%2527s+Rickman+Daytona+RH.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Thurs., I drove to Denton, N.C., for the Antique Motorcycle Club of America meet there. I noticed that my route there took me through Cheraw, S.C., which rang a bell. Cheraw is where Dizzy Gillespie was born and grew up and, being a big fan of Dizzy, I made a point of stopping there. His boyhood home is no longer there, but there is a park on the lot where his house stood, with great stainless steel sculptures of his horn, the notes to his composition "Salt Peanuts", etc. Then a local guided me to the town green where there is a 7' tall statue of Dizzy blowing his horn. Cheraw has Revolutionary and Civil war history and is a lovely place that honors its favorite son well. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAMvNnEHtQsxn9ZpJdAEszN7RiJd39Adfsn7uUo0qSyHWEiCOZdxAAfdamsbhyc195IiyQq9qkIQw3Y47vkE_NJiwjZmu_HwvvDLdVKDZ944T52Obds0wa5txB1dPOH94akeGtjuVmZU/s2048/Dizzy+birthplace+plaque.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAMvNnEHtQsxn9ZpJdAEszN7RiJd39Adfsn7uUo0qSyHWEiCOZdxAAfdamsbhyc195IiyQq9qkIQw3Y47vkE_NJiwjZmu_HwvvDLdVKDZ944T52Obds0wa5txB1dPOH94akeGtjuVmZU/w360-h640/Dizzy+birthplace+plaque.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AYcQlfGIqEgmZS2u7nG9yizA0fIar90wOA105XxLoChs1DbGHAXeO9JkwYrKo_4nt9GszYgHrF-JKhsbkGtLyvJKoonblJ0rE8WlNyo-KOxAyGTROrA7a7YviSCFsnN-2962BEhc4JE/s2048/DR+w%253ADizzy+statue.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AYcQlfGIqEgmZS2u7nG9yizA0fIar90wOA105XxLoChs1DbGHAXeO9JkwYrKo_4nt9GszYgHrF-JKhsbkGtLyvJKoonblJ0rE8WlNyo-KOxAyGTROrA7a7YviSCFsnN-2962BEhc4JE/w360-h640/DR+w%253ADizzy+statue.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><p>The bikes at Denton were mostly Harleys with a good number of Indians, but there was a smattering of British, Japanese and Italian bikes, too. Denton Farmpark, where the event was held, was just chock full of old stuff: old farm machinery. a complete old machine shop with everything belt driven, an old gas station, etc., etc. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8uEkWEPi78FrA-cqRWV82cFK1Pnt8vfwS7HuRD12xPIC229TJVotwMVWuUgvJD24xGDI7D1pSJb_nE74DQNa1BzFfd2yzgOCVzloIjs4IhZWrKnsx3BPaeG2ojS5gGk5H09kmNMnvWE/s2048/Denton+tractors.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8uEkWEPi78FrA-cqRWV82cFK1Pnt8vfwS7HuRD12xPIC229TJVotwMVWuUgvJD24xGDI7D1pSJb_nE74DQNa1BzFfd2yzgOCVzloIjs4IhZWrKnsx3BPaeG2ojS5gGk5H09kmNMnvWE/w640-h360/Denton+tractors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuOxi2nH0WDQjYY8g_tLmxQpZeLgQUtwGSGsvXl2d4-7W7IIBlaw9tvkcZ-6atGtrJIS3SKB_AK22pjTJzRkR672WT0uya-uHi6yoQ08FwjpQeQOafr44ppjKHzlkNotNDV0rDmmVI0M/s2048/linotype%253F+machine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuOxi2nH0WDQjYY8g_tLmxQpZeLgQUtwGSGsvXl2d4-7W7IIBlaw9tvkcZ-6atGtrJIS3SKB_AK22pjTJzRkR672WT0uya-uHi6yoQ08FwjpQeQOafr44ppjKHzlkNotNDV0rDmmVI0M/w640-h360/linotype%253F+machine.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>An old linotype machine?<br /><p><br /></p><p>My friend Will Paley brought his 1920 ABC, a British across the frame opposed twin (before there was a BMW), with swing arm rear suspension, overhead valves and a four speed gearbox--ahead of it's time. Will's ABC was parked next to a 1920 Indian Model W Sport Twin, a fore and aft opposed twin that was unrestored and started easily and ran great. Another friend, Terry Wolbert, drove out from his home in Yamhill, Or., with five girder fork British bikes including a JAP engined Panther, and an AJW, an obscure and short lived bike.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zlkhel_P94X5hYDJDj8OHCK9vMADEaj_cCW4y58Zlvt1lrO_m1zRXiHS_yJW7OSJIJVyhR2gzTXoti-33AcQ-Y7dWQIbJg1WquEBufk4_gqUAGBRNyDqaSlE8Gf8qqo4JobhucpinXk/s2048/Paley%2527s+ABC.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zlkhel_P94X5hYDJDj8OHCK9vMADEaj_cCW4y58Zlvt1lrO_m1zRXiHS_yJW7OSJIJVyhR2gzTXoti-33AcQ-Y7dWQIbJg1WquEBufk4_gqUAGBRNyDqaSlE8Gf8qqo4JobhucpinXk/w640-h360/Paley%2527s+ABC.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Will Paley's 1920 ABC<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7q58fTmK3Ff9ttkKEKER2T11DgPujLsBUBcSY9zRE3q-hiiCu4SUOrjQjct1ri-SkV2g8BkIThRXm0J88koNE8AVG6uwDyBFwsvAoSGpPHf8upQqMRozWRhIpAPO1R0H_uXRukaew39I/s2048/Wobert%2527s+Panther.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7q58fTmK3Ff9ttkKEKER2T11DgPujLsBUBcSY9zRE3q-hiiCu4SUOrjQjct1ri-SkV2g8BkIThRXm0J88koNE8AVG6uwDyBFwsvAoSGpPHf8upQqMRozWRhIpAPO1R0H_uXRukaew39I/w640-h360/Wobert%2527s+Panther.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Terry Wolbert's Panther.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlxN_BAS68oTCXewR121N5iYbhnq5wpnaigm2ufVY941NtUVcCJo7UTtzE63KY8hhsj8qgNuENwff8nuez_RzPvkF0IyHWZ_efjotWKfqYbyF47VAWOEi6yT4Y1J9rXBlhy9iiOu60X4/s2048/Triumph+dirt+dragster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlxN_BAS68oTCXewR121N5iYbhnq5wpnaigm2ufVY941NtUVcCJo7UTtzE63KY8hhsj8qgNuENwff8nuez_RzPvkF0IyHWZ_efjotWKfqYbyF47VAWOEi6yT4Y1J9rXBlhy9iiOu60X4/w640-h360/Triumph+dirt+dragster.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />A Triumph dirt dragster with reversed cylinder head.<br /><p><br /></p><p>Sat. morning a few of us rode to a museum about 16 miles away in Ashboro, American Classic Motorcycle Museum. It was all Harley--Knuckles, Pans, and Shovels, with two Sprints, but it had a few good race posters on the walls and the covers from The Enthusiast Magazine, the in house Harley monthly, from the 1920s to the 1970s. A couple of the race posters that intrigued me were from 1964 when Rodger Reiman went 156mph on a 250 Sprint powered streamliner at Bonneville and the next year, when George Roeder went 176mph on what looked like the same streamliner also powered by a 250 Sprint (running on gas). It seemed incredible to me that they could go 20mph faster in one year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzESOzhHwJbmS01Hfuruz_StwdcB0NFhUOhW8UYHqXEtgC3CurcMMdPlmyBVv-DotZ5-emmsvIyg6NZyvJOL3gHSprzuJ5QIRXhNJBCsPrVCRdCxPvBsWVtJru807y9bj7KgsnSHBRuA/s2048/Bonneville+Sprints+posters.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzESOzhHwJbmS01Hfuruz_StwdcB0NFhUOhW8UYHqXEtgC3CurcMMdPlmyBVv-DotZ5-emmsvIyg6NZyvJOL3gHSprzuJ5QIRXhNJBCsPrVCRdCxPvBsWVtJru807y9bj7KgsnSHBRuA/w640-h360/Bonneville+Sprints+posters.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDaTK6A0D_DtXGYv_hyphenhyphenlR8Uz8bmfGLwPwp84vwro-07mSRzjo7MTIqLvTQN12o2X5vP6YQxFgVd2UoLj66yi-0oIEp0izIWoOIQ6csCix_S1jxGcFMafNOr2d7ZoIda86En4tOprN-m6k/s2048/Jack%2527s+patinaed+Panhead.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDaTK6A0D_DtXGYv_hyphenhyphenlR8Uz8bmfGLwPwp84vwro-07mSRzjo7MTIqLvTQN12o2X5vP6YQxFgVd2UoLj66yi-0oIEp0izIWoOIQ6csCix_S1jxGcFMafNOr2d7ZoIda86En4tOprN-m6k/w640-h360/Jack%2527s+patinaed+Panhead.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Jack led the ride to the museum on this well patina-ed Panhead.</p><p>After returning to Denton Farmpark, I went to hear the results of the judging. The AMCA judges bike against their specs and appearance compared to when they came out of the factory new. Points can be taken off for things as small as having the wrong spark plugs in the motor. But, after this, a Concourse D' Ordinaire was held. I put my '68 TC200 Suzuki in the line up. I thought they had a prize for Most Rusty, but I parked next to a XS 650 Yamaha that was well rustier that my Suzuki, so I didn't think that I had a chance there. But, I had misread the category and it was Most Rustic, not rusty, and I won. It could have something to do with the fact that Will Paley was judge, but I'll proudly display the plaque anyway. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrX5NWHGe2RI9w2JBzd6pZCmAxnTUVRV25d044XPx09PEREkuCN9jqZ0Rc3DfBnh0LAr_mzoCkNC_6WDZBfKNdgDwVFj5w4Own1ZS-44AWFdnjI-3o1QfvJK5Sc0c9yBM1eAdySENTR3w/s2048/TC200%252C+tent+and+van+%2540+Denton.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrX5NWHGe2RI9w2JBzd6pZCmAxnTUVRV25d044XPx09PEREkuCN9jqZ0Rc3DfBnh0LAr_mzoCkNC_6WDZBfKNdgDwVFj5w4Own1ZS-44AWFdnjI-3o1QfvJK5Sc0c9yBM1eAdySENTR3w/w640-h360/TC200%252C+tent+and+van+%2540+Denton.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>The bike that won "Most Rustic" in the Concourse D'Ordinaire"</p><p>Five days after I got back home, I got a Covid-19 test and the result was 'none detected', so it looks like I got away with it once again.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div>Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-78743456733102962132020-10-01T23:33:00.147-04:002020-10-02T23:42:56.133-04:00Southern loopI started three back to back weekends by joining the USCRA's Moto Giro in Syria,
Va. We were based at Graves Mountain Lodge and did loops from there, returning
back there for lunch each day, which meant going over the some of the same roads
multiple times. But, the roads were great and the scenery gorgeous. In fact, at
first I wondered if the roads were too good--too smooth and well marked. But,
eventually we did get a few gnarly roads and there was a good deal of excellent
dirt road and one watercrossing. The turnout was well down from the usually
because of Covid-19, but there were about 50 riders and a good variety of bikes.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvJclU7JtaLA2mrw3zldgtkbzZrdLB1-dJa2oRgJBgBvn2DnaumvEPa7W2_9W_8jvbHxt7z-AcJ1-0V3Wh3gQ1k0SdAjJGe1UYlhej98w7WCKVIBgyIhFdKoBB-LX0iLKIuhoIZt1L08/s2048/Jesse+Morris%2527+NSU+Super+Max.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvJclU7JtaLA2mrw3zldgtkbzZrdLB1-dJa2oRgJBgBvn2DnaumvEPa7W2_9W_8jvbHxt7z-AcJ1-0V3Wh3gQ1k0SdAjJGe1UYlhej98w7WCKVIBgyIhFdKoBB-LX0iLKIuhoIZt1L08/s600/Jesse+Morris%2527+NSU+Super+Max.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jesse Morris with his NSU Max <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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An NSU Max, a Puch, a Jawa, a Gilera, two Ossas, two Bultacos, three R-27
BMWs,three Suzukis (including my TC200, a TC250 and a 305), two Yamahas
(including a YM1 reputedly bought in Vietman at the PX by a service man and
brought back to the States), a Kawasaki 90, and the usual gaggle of Hondas.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHr3fT-swA7OQMHD8IUnb_NYoyg4Oar8AF5ZGhwmBXvMcgzU_lxv-Clgv1KPR2EI_Ba6lowNnPBMreKooNaqrXsB6qfkOZd7vBsXDQZBr9aaWCPLs86bYJKiOhitdn2nbJzhRbMdHouM/s2048/Alex+Snoop%2527s+175+Ossa+Wildfire.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHr3fT-swA7OQMHD8IUnb_NYoyg4Oar8AF5ZGhwmBXvMcgzU_lxv-Clgv1KPR2EI_Ba6lowNnPBMreKooNaqrXsB6qfkOZd7vBsXDQZBr9aaWCPLs86bYJKiOhitdn2nbJzhRbMdHouM/s600/Alex+Snoop%2527s+175+Ossa+Wildfire.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex Snoop on his 175 Ossa Wildfire <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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The bummer of the weekend was Rich Hosely breaking his right tibia and fibula
without crashing by putting his foot down when he slid a bit and hitting his leg
with his foot rest.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YzgL8b7PE9w4g-ldqVHGoOcj2In_fZM_7q-PGULIxLaEprOW0urjO32ohikQ0EHQrYcKe9xNOPbtFRoXUZ7wf2tTnbKziIyIpRxqbhoQ3Cd-v_rJuwgMSn7fGr6V8fMRq-y8ThOvPTY/s2048/Bultaco+Lobito+175%253F+w%253ACraig+Light.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YzgL8b7PE9w4g-ldqVHGoOcj2In_fZM_7q-PGULIxLaEprOW0urjO32ohikQ0EHQrYcKe9xNOPbtFRoXUZ7wf2tTnbKziIyIpRxqbhoQ3Cd-v_rJuwgMSn7fGr6V8fMRq-y8ThOvPTY/s600/Bultaco+Lobito+175%253F+w%253ACraig+Light.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Craig Light's Bultaco Lobito</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1j1BWYpTBAcFhnmvTYfifhig7G5TT8rk-EM3x2ZezCr1NcErZqLwXlG9Yl0xKf_onyMlvjttKGPVPmxSpGDC41Mv9vw83I_9Ud8U0NiOATlBtGgbq9Thc1cqADSLUxv7A4eOk6hLo4o/s2048/Bultaco+Metralla.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1j1BWYpTBAcFhnmvTYfifhig7G5TT8rk-EM3x2ZezCr1NcErZqLwXlG9Yl0xKf_onyMlvjttKGPVPmxSpGDC41Mv9vw83I_9Ud8U0NiOATlBtGgbq9Thc1cqADSLUxv7A4eOk6hLo4o/s600/Bultaco+Metralla.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bultaco Metralla<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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I didn't think the route sheet was the best and misinterpreted an instruction
Sunday afternoon and missed a turn and went miles the wrong way on a boring
divided hiway until I got disgusted and rode back, missing a reportedly good
road going up to Skyline drive.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ufIIexrSqX6G6CqHjy_9VLMhfhm-_9SbZ5eBwRz2ENo_zlVFCTvfPdaDSNLC_ASIMnR_uw782On6cun1Bcn5VNUZinBia4bl6lAvcKL1LA7u07yhFYNJzsoO1V9xI0PE4HJMfVfE5d0/s2048/Kawasaki+90+G3%253F.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ufIIexrSqX6G6CqHjy_9VLMhfhm-_9SbZ5eBwRz2ENo_zlVFCTvfPdaDSNLC_ASIMnR_uw782On6cun1Bcn5VNUZinBia4bl6lAvcKL1LA7u07yhFYNJzsoO1V9xI0PE4HJMfVfE5d0/s600/Kawasaki+90+G3%253F.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">90cc Kawasaki G-3</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DyK6imL_HwCzQm7DxiahvQ5eVj3DktqnluOHBKBT_N8fgC7xeCteRDQtVSJLHptYbt1XN-6U67cAqPakxDQGNi3iU7GXGKo00VZvVJNBz_lWMjIqBCdsMFdcsBmE7hlGDbuDzAlKROY/s2048/Mitch+Fraizer%2527s+250+Jawa+Californian.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DyK6imL_HwCzQm7DxiahvQ5eVj3DktqnluOHBKBT_N8fgC7xeCteRDQtVSJLHptYbt1XN-6U67cAqPakxDQGNi3iU7GXGKo00VZvVJNBz_lWMjIqBCdsMFdcsBmE7hlGDbuDzAlKROY/s600/Mitch+Fraizer%2527s+250+Jawa+Californian.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mitch Fraizer with his 250 Jawa Californian</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrRfxEC9-6LzZgsIijixMtmaedZ5wE9KaQoJ33I-YsGsjL1RptF9Yk3uCFSYg8eW6Eb1-u3Mv8pZLKL0Ala69S2B9W9hQ7MTkJtzxrIJz4FNH83LUqjwgiZqTpDWvENp4Mk5jXynOy5k/s2048/Puch+Allstate+Twingle.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrRfxEC9-6LzZgsIijixMtmaedZ5wE9KaQoJ33I-YsGsjL1RptF9Yk3uCFSYg8eW6Eb1-u3Mv8pZLKL0Ala69S2B9W9hQ7MTkJtzxrIJz4FNH83LUqjwgiZqTpDWvENp4Mk5jXynOy5k/s600/Puch+Allstate+Twingle.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puch Allstate Twingle<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIav3Qj0jwrze2oha0iRIFbuwoY7uDhexSIy244UzNDt-SdBRyGmjaP7pdgDeUDmaOU1x2zSQZy6XkL4UlTvH8gI3rYY-YxEneCaNy3I7CdwWQURrLZmSC7nvGIp00XsScOMOdd-UqG0/s2048/Yamaha+YM-1+w%253ACL-77s.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIav3Qj0jwrze2oha0iRIFbuwoY7uDhexSIy244UzNDt-SdBRyGmjaP7pdgDeUDmaOU1x2zSQZy6XkL4UlTvH8gI3rYY-YxEneCaNy3I7CdwWQURrLZmSC7nvGIp00XsScOMOdd-UqG0/s600/Yamaha+YM-1+w%253ACL-77s.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yamaha YM-1 Cross Country reputedly bought in Vietnam at the PX and brought back to the States by the previous owner.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
I stayed over at Graves Sun. night and Monday drove to Thomas Jefferson's house
Monticello, which I found fascinating and well done. From there, I drove to
Peaks of Otter campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, hydroplanning in the heavy
rain and wondering if this was a good idea. But, it stopped raining and I was
able to set up my tent and walk to the near by lodge to get dinner in the dry.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Jg8mg7IsRVaSwGAmUSucBb5xUBrDe58ZZSziRMmmK_5PW8M0OXKhUh6gqcj9O2ZRTSAgG4sQElJycO2Vs6T56pOEIYgnVCnLeDKXjgvEKGK4oHTlQN84xpsQpA3yRAUoPguii14VJlo/s2048/Van+w%253Atent+%2540Peaks+of+Otter.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Jg8mg7IsRVaSwGAmUSucBb5xUBrDe58ZZSziRMmmK_5PW8M0OXKhUh6gqcj9O2ZRTSAgG4sQElJycO2Vs6T56pOEIYgnVCnLeDKXjgvEKGK4oHTlQN84xpsQpA3yRAUoPguii14VJlo/s600/Van+w%253Atent+%2540Peaks+of+Otter.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</div>
In the morning, I woke up to find that my right rear tire was flat. Thinking I'd
put on the spare, I found that the tool to lower the spare was missing from my
tool kit and I was unsuccessful trying to bodge it with an Allen key or
screwdriver. I ended up pumping it up to 63 psi with a hand pump, which took a
while. But, it got me into Roanoke where I got the tire patched. I unloaded my
TC 200 and rode it to the Va. Museum of Transport while they were working on the
tire. Cars, boats, planes and locomotives and one motorcycle--a '67 Triumph
Bonneville. I stayed in Roanoke that night and the next morning cruised around
town some and went to the O. Winston Link/Raymond Lowey museum in the old
railway station that Lowey redesigned in the late '40s.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIia_GEFmND9MsTRLP6ygQrNefBA2CAPRMHuxJPWBLB3XvG1EvWI7RRktVk-whucHmJ3DUzPMZ2oAsk8u4_yl0sY-VjoRhjNdmgsyGVUtBVq2wv_87AwAiwKgK1kPlSxiON_0Kfzuf1w/s2048/%2522other%2522+railway+station+roanoke.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIia_GEFmND9MsTRLP6ygQrNefBA2CAPRMHuxJPWBLB3XvG1EvWI7RRktVk-whucHmJ3DUzPMZ2oAsk8u4_yl0sY-VjoRhjNdmgsyGVUtBVq2wv_87AwAiwKgK1kPlSxiON_0Kfzuf1w/s600/%2522other%2522+railway+station+roanoke.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of two railway stations in Roanoke</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zuNz55OdvFBqrYr30RaJp3L5deLkMqP8oa7p1HbP34LxmCo9eUldkmfBbMYuJt-nJCkhR2JbcCvB-DjwajDRAV3rVDNRZNOiRjy2zeMauxhpH575Cymh9SF9XraL02C3_CFdg7J1CzY/s2048/Agnew+seed+stores+downtown+Roanoke.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zuNz55OdvFBqrYr30RaJp3L5deLkMqP8oa7p1HbP34LxmCo9eUldkmfBbMYuJt-nJCkhR2JbcCvB-DjwajDRAV3rVDNRZNOiRjy2zeMauxhpH575Cymh9SF9XraL02C3_CFdg7J1CzY/s600/Agnew+seed+stores+downtown+Roanoke.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downtown Roanoke</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOxJju9TYMh-Vx7pxD0IBFUW9BVhqfAOFff78kbILqLZpFqzH2kBbv_4XaB2fZv9xXOckpb4RxtG29eSmJWX8w1she1UL7z5__tN3K5PP3eMW9Qu9BAV2JbCqyG12aVqUhp8Sxd8VfF4/s2048/Taubman+Museum+of+Art.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOxJju9TYMh-Vx7pxD0IBFUW9BVhqfAOFff78kbILqLZpFqzH2kBbv_4XaB2fZv9xXOckpb4RxtG29eSmJWX8w1she1UL7z5__tN3K5PP3eMW9Qu9BAV2JbCqyG12aVqUhp8Sxd8VfF4/s600/Taubman+Museum+of+Art.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Taubman Museum of Art<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWvzbag3WwcN2xPt9d7p86-zVHAnF8RvNZOpF_jzEcdDqA5_ggvscQEpsXySBPLqI82JRI3IRT535gC8eiXW5MZhtmPrYdIKCzhEqmzBJKHawkv3_5sQCXPCsjs7yaIcc3AJhsi4fE_4/s2048/Hotel+Roanoke.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWvzbag3WwcN2xPt9d7p86-zVHAnF8RvNZOpF_jzEcdDqA5_ggvscQEpsXySBPLqI82JRI3IRT535gC8eiXW5MZhtmPrYdIKCzhEqmzBJKHawkv3_5sQCXPCsjs7yaIcc3AJhsi4fE_4/s600/Hotel+Roanoke.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hotel Roanoke</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
From there to the Booker T. Washington National Monument, then to the Rocky Knob
campground also on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJM3L72w0f0jSlf7lwQC8aCSw4237YKuQ5-UHYyHFnylGfhOBUNorcR-rjeIair1K6qDyo_7eQh9gFY5tcM3NHybJTs-_RCOLG1y31rPYZIcktJPEpKallNB6vvJBxdUNRBWb3GkggtFE/s2048/Van+%2526+tent+%2540+Rocky+Knob.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJM3L72w0f0jSlf7lwQC8aCSw4237YKuQ5-UHYyHFnylGfhOBUNorcR-rjeIair1K6qDyo_7eQh9gFY5tcM3NHybJTs-_RCOLG1y31rPYZIcktJPEpKallNB6vvJBxdUNRBWb3GkggtFE/s600/Van+%2526+tent+%2540+Rocky+Knob.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZEpPdKBULZWMktqBw2zhf70Dx6zggkeke7_4rSza_hj3oEhlniUFNryJU8y-Tu98tqJgTIyYuRozHGFjpHeu4tSDrt0k0knG4NBb4qFHox6FdV_ARjOfk5uk-HUNoLZjWk2wjxcCNOQ/s2048/Victory+%2526+rider+at+Rocky+Knob+overlook.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZEpPdKBULZWMktqBw2zhf70Dx6zggkeke7_4rSza_hj3oEhlniUFNryJU8y-Tu98tqJgTIyYuRozHGFjpHeu4tSDrt0k0knG4NBb4qFHox6FdV_ARjOfk5uk-HUNoLZjWk2wjxcCNOQ/s600/Victory+%2526+rider+at+Rocky+Knob+overlook.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rocky Knob overlook where I met this rider from Indiana<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
Thurs., I drove to Stone Mountain State Park in N.C. and walked up to the top of
Stone Mountain for a beautiful view that afternoon. The next morning, I walked
the 4.5 mile loop trail that goes down to the base of the mountain by a
spectacular waterfall, on to a restored homestead, then up over the mountain.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFOgzpU0bxHNfgoiuodPN6iPjeTpFPrqhEJHVlS7nLG7M9o0zQq4C_OdU_M8V3yMuVvDRFCQpuz3u6NHacZazGATOZyek611T6xLOxOtauc3RSKzojtKdOQ8_J3H0oMn2hYc4cykFueM/s2048/Stone+Mtn.+mysterious+holes.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFOgzpU0bxHNfgoiuodPN6iPjeTpFPrqhEJHVlS7nLG7M9o0zQq4C_OdU_M8V3yMuVvDRFCQpuz3u6NHacZazGATOZyek611T6xLOxOtauc3RSKzojtKdOQ8_J3H0oMn2hYc4cykFueM/s600/Stone+Mtn.+mysterious+holes.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stone Mountain had these mysterious holes in the rock.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8ANyfZdWds6p_CGlT-Cgez4twNQVdecRc94PfHEG-bB_a9y5fVWsSzvNzFmbg5QUGs6BxVrPr7oJTaQTk2dzbsVMa3RCMkfH929V4vzctcbueUzxLukLoBtEASFIXoqFwml5hrcsLaU/s2048/Stone+Mtn.+waterfall.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8ANyfZdWds6p_CGlT-Cgez4twNQVdecRc94PfHEG-bB_a9y5fVWsSzvNzFmbg5QUGs6BxVrPr7oJTaQTk2dzbsVMa3RCMkfH929V4vzctcbueUzxLukLoBtEASFIXoqFwml5hrcsLaU/s600/Stone+Mtn.+waterfall.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this photo of the Stone Mountain waterfall doesn't do it justice<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
Then I drove to Carolina M/S Pk., getting there barely in time to get my bikes
to Tech inspection before they close. I presented my 350 with a flat rear tire,
which is a bit embarrassing. The next morning, when I tried to start it for
practice, it wouldn't fire as my battery ground lead had come out of it's holder
and had been laying against the crankcase for possible 8 days, draining the
battery. So I put it on charge and just rode my 250 in practice.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5e_Kj4YLozpIq8hhBDbJ5gmJ_NpikqpWCsnnOJb3gJU7pi6pVFVo2nSNQAERmPUaV-1hKiSoeEATZm-Rjc3exgZUrPM0mYdQvCX_hGg4iXYmXjrw9TpjWHiykc3-miTVXLIkzrFxwI4s/s2048/CRTT+ready+to+go.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5e_Kj4YLozpIq8hhBDbJ5gmJ_NpikqpWCsnnOJb3gJU7pi6pVFVo2nSNQAERmPUaV-1hKiSoeEATZm-Rjc3exgZUrPM0mYdQvCX_hGg4iXYmXjrw9TpjWHiykc3-miTVXLIkzrFxwI4s/s600/CRTT+ready+to+go.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</div>
The 250GP was in the third race of the day in the second wave behind the
Thruxtons and Classic 60s & 650s in the first wave and 350 Sportsman in the
second. I won the 250GP class quite comfortably and finished 9th overall behind
four Thruxtons, three Classic 60s and one Classic 60s 650 (all form the first
wave) and had the 5th fastest lap of the race. I did a scrub lap before the
350GP race to confirm that the battery was now charged up, my only practice on
my ERTT. Race 11 had Sportsman 750 and Formula 500 in the first wave and 350GP
led the second wave with Novice Historic Production Lightweight and Formula 125
behind. Alex McLean led the second wave into turn one with me behind. Jason
Roberts on his TD2b Yamaha came flying by me on the straight between turns #6
and #7. Before the end of the first lap, we caught up to the first wave and I
was able to get around both Jason and Alex. I guess Alex got really baulked by
traffic and Jason and I began to exchange the lead. He'd pass me on the straight
and I would out brake him going into the corners. We exchanged the lead 4 or 5
times in the first 3 laps. Then I ended the fun when I tucked the front end in
turn #5 while in the lead on the fourth lap and, with my bike in the impact
zone, the race was red flagged. Jason had the 5th fastest lap of the race, only
bettered by the two Sportsman 750s and two F-500 bikes, while my fastest lap was
0.011 seconds slower than Jason's. I made out fine in the crash, but my bike got
pretty torn up.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLw76713uTLKKHhOAXTfUyqJUvCU6TXfNyHxID1OmVcTPVhBTRMQtZHRw7fmivX_Wz8adOSctUKxJa08WU3R8LgYcFOJs_xTrVu3bJVfDTAfOBeEcG4wBOCySEQTPVI0mpMrhXhpCa19s/s2048/ERTT+on+bench+post+crash.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLw76713uTLKKHhOAXTfUyqJUvCU6TXfNyHxID1OmVcTPVhBTRMQtZHRw7fmivX_Wz8adOSctUKxJa08WU3R8LgYcFOJs_xTrVu3bJVfDTAfOBeEcG4wBOCySEQTPVI0mpMrhXhpCa19s/s600/ERTT+on+bench+post+crash.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My ERTT after the crash.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
It lowsided and then backed into the dirt ripping up the fairing and breaking
the right clip-on off, and there was lots of dirt in the carb, and other damage.
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWTtw2gMg-LYdMfvmx4urqB37PtbvlkJae8LaSeq6fUmGGZeb4O1HR_1ihPqNnM0FdnEzce6KdXI1L5oXeGb7kM6xT7oI02KILipvSI9PCSuFzA9WUTOuDzDW3mqNenNVykDRjJfun1Q/s2048/Broken+clipon.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWTtw2gMg-LYdMfvmx4urqB37PtbvlkJae8LaSeq6fUmGGZeb4O1HR_1ihPqNnM0FdnEzce6KdXI1L5oXeGb7kM6xT7oI02KILipvSI9PCSuFzA9WUTOuDzDW3mqNenNVykDRjJfun1Q/s600/Broken+clipon.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broken clipon and brake adjuster</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfjzrtqI0qVh3-0MGh8nvN4DukLwSjZtnDc9ufByNGfwepsRMbmDAHno-WPp9iy894OqTe9qq5lqXrm2jimTPg0574G8v4JlGOvx5rFxLDKQIf9N6_Kdbtj7vsDVSgMNH8VBzfTWVN5o/s2048/ERTT+broken+clipon+on+fork.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfjzrtqI0qVh3-0MGh8nvN4DukLwSjZtnDc9ufByNGfwepsRMbmDAHno-WPp9iy894OqTe9qq5lqXrm2jimTPg0574G8v4JlGOvx5rFxLDKQIf9N6_Kdbtj7vsDVSgMNH8VBzfTWVN5o/s600/ERTT+broken+clipon+on+fork.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turns out that is fork tube was slightly bent.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxZFclY2P3Lp78saVjjBDQHhbBzjygLExyU7p9ep3AxjjlvDv4y_p7Z6VetFDNN9HLCBS8kRAPXgYmuUWN9L4imNt2UjdqrRTLpiYYBP1CRDJ4JIiJbaJKMKRYSlNFcBjjBejV6ycl1A/s2048/ERTT+dirt+in+carb.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxZFclY2P3Lp78saVjjBDQHhbBzjygLExyU7p9ep3AxjjlvDv4y_p7Z6VetFDNN9HLCBS8kRAPXgYmuUWN9L4imNt2UjdqrRTLpiYYBP1CRDJ4JIiJbaJKMKRYSlNFcBjjBejV6ycl1A/s600/ERTT+dirt+in+carb.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirt in the carb.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
I also found that the exhaust head pipe was cracked almost completely around,
which probably had nothing to do with the crash. I decided not to try to fix it
in the field and to wait until I was back home to strip it down and examine it
carefully. I asked Sakis Vasilopoulis if he could repair the fairing and he said
he could and would return it at Barber in Oct. So, Sunday I raced my 250 CRTT in
both the 250GP and 350GP races. In the third race, I again easily won the 250GP
and was 6th overall with the 5th fastest lap of the race. But, my fastest lap
came on the 4th of 6 and the motor seem to loose it edge as the race wore on. I
checked the valve clearance before race 11 and found the two rocker adjuster
lock nuts sitting in the exhaust rocker cover and both adjusters had backed off
and I had huge valve lash.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRWQHVFurDIW0WDCZP8rpfYOKo_VLoSGe66SYokP03GtkucJ7bPvMZHWEYAnqcsAHz0irXc-PLC-BW3qhLslulAyVK8Qc4Euc3oOam_zxN_DMg2MFakb3lcYx1p6k8YLrp3XpxVOpDK0/s2048/CRTT+rocker+adjuster+nuts+in+rocker+cover.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRWQHVFurDIW0WDCZP8rpfYOKo_VLoSGe66SYokP03GtkucJ7bPvMZHWEYAnqcsAHz0irXc-PLC-BW3qhLslulAyVK8Qc4Euc3oOam_zxN_DMg2MFakb3lcYx1p6k8YLrp3XpxVOpDK0/s600/CRTT+rocker+adjuster+nuts+in+rocker+cover.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lock nuts for both rocker adjusters came off.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
I readjusted the valve lash and tried to really reef down on the lock nuts. This
brought the edge back to the motor and I finish 2nd 350GP behind Alex McLean, as
Jason Roberts didn't race on Sun. I was 4th overall behind two Formula 500
machines and Alex and my fastest lap was more than 1 1/4 seconds faster than in
the 250GP and less than 2 1/2 seconds slower than I had gone on my 350 the day
before, or just over 2%.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsCtw4ysXqCL3g-dDynIX_CWkvdbm556dQcbhFTlgT2WVka86dVQMJkoBXMJRhPQ4gApRxgSR4iq5nn5vMSUrUAQhOZyJB1CLz5cJ909w7UwoAuHivzqRpLd5zvo2134fZ9ctCiw1Hag/s2048/Craig+Light%2527s+Bultaco+RR+%2540+CMP.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsCtw4ysXqCL3g-dDynIX_CWkvdbm556dQcbhFTlgT2WVka86dVQMJkoBXMJRhPQ4gApRxgSR4iq5nn5vMSUrUAQhOZyJB1CLz5cJ909w7UwoAuHivzqRpLd5zvo2134fZ9ctCiw1Hag/s600/Craig+Light%2527s+Bultaco+RR+%2540+CMP.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Craig Light's Bultaco road racer. He rode the Lobito in the Moto Giro.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-V_6J8nFIVdgtd05oWzkeMfWWjKhpwHOTNEgjQ4Eb8gJKrlRYDaSQlTIQl5COTURBhEuoaSvPkddn3x_3HOrq3wgsbmiaBK_EsRfS-yhPKEl-C0-FDeJFoDo5RXqlZv6-EDCRif0dxzQ/s2048/Dave+Kaufman%2527s+Matchless+G12+%2540CMP.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-V_6J8nFIVdgtd05oWzkeMfWWjKhpwHOTNEgjQ4Eb8gJKrlRYDaSQlTIQl5COTURBhEuoaSvPkddn3x_3HOrq3wgsbmiaBK_EsRfS-yhPKEl-C0-FDeJFoDo5RXqlZv6-EDCRif0dxzQ/s600/Dave+Kaufman%2527s+Matchless+G12+%2540CMP.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave Kaufman's (AJS Dave) G-12 Matchless</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyi-A83SP66yp1lN-ekq-1ufwfzD79oQsw33eqJV1KyuPIBtu66Ec0E0FLDws5PmsO9QuEQ6vWlZvyktE0uRnbSSVawhD8cSwQ_nqEANiPW5DIdSVl9J8pc2-uVbhRhP_jwWBYrUyX-o/s2048/Gilera%253AAllstate+Giro+bike+%2540+CMP.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyi-A83SP66yp1lN-ekq-1ufwfzD79oQsw33eqJV1KyuPIBtu66Ec0E0FLDws5PmsO9QuEQ6vWlZvyktE0uRnbSSVawhD8cSwQ_nqEANiPW5DIdSVl9J8pc2-uVbhRhP_jwWBYrUyX-o/s600/Gilera%253AAllstate+Giro+bike+%2540+CMP.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Gilera was at the Moto Giro, also.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NQ-17GUsxqsoKcJplHwFxhipqBL80ZD2jCESNXxJSjSEd3QujgrBvcVDJbt-vGRMhV_8NbfmeHfAGlWuEcAN2wc6JjQdLrvEbh_SiJDl5GYqFhzrED8PIWVDeRwMjc2oRRRsWnqSyak/s2048/Honda+S+65+%2540+CMP.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NQ-17GUsxqsoKcJplHwFxhipqBL80ZD2jCESNXxJSjSEd3QujgrBvcVDJbt-vGRMhV_8NbfmeHfAGlWuEcAN2wc6JjQdLrvEbh_SiJDl5GYqFhzrED8PIWVDeRwMjc2oRRRsWnqSyak/s600/Honda+S+65+%2540+CMP.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful S-65 Honda</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif36NsKF6ctikg6IefYyWHLJCMh6NZR9pnSb_KqMfCWoAqlXrJ9sx-YjxrxlpOFnzjiYRaLiwJxxCAB0MYm4gO8n0aNsBa3fwFnirwcl2QOVG-EWTVSRJhDWEEAVigzUxk95Uvm0XLVf8/s2048/radial+aero+motor.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif36NsKF6ctikg6IefYyWHLJCMh6NZR9pnSb_KqMfCWoAqlXrJ9sx-YjxrxlpOFnzjiYRaLiwJxxCAB0MYm4gO8n0aNsBa3fwFnirwcl2QOVG-EWTVSRJhDWEEAVigzUxk95Uvm0XLVf8/s600/radial+aero+motor.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This showed up at Carolina M/S Pk., on it's way to an air show.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
I drove to Savannah Sunday evening and visited with friends there the next four
days. Dan Levine made arrangements with a friend of his for me to change the
gearing and check over my 250 for the AHRMA Talladega G.P Raceway the following
weekend at his friend's sports car racing shop in Pooler. It was a fabulous
facility with one half being devoted to vintage cars and the other to modern.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxABPiIeHq-J46UQWv6CjgaOKmnJ1rVuMIIUJaFqsMf_eTcN-_PQ_zBo3lRKdj6WxXJXYcI7p-67ciyh1n-qjYDx-JNkJsnEXJNzpjV1tV5WtyXn1vy1E-fuA3iXV9-Wn7zYijT1kJFE/s2048/%2522Composite%2522+car+%2540+Greene%2527s.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxABPiIeHq-J46UQWv6CjgaOKmnJ1rVuMIIUJaFqsMf_eTcN-_PQ_zBo3lRKdj6WxXJXYcI7p-67ciyh1n-qjYDx-JNkJsnEXJNzpjV1tV5WtyXn1vy1E-fuA3iXV9-Wn7zYijT1kJFE/s600/%2522Composite%2522+car+%2540+Greene%2527s.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXmsmB1QLlkNPBsudHC66UyKGYr2UkPt5Z42dDQdahEMj0HrBjZtPpOoAjp9vf_3bWIp9DwMOe2NBN0NWTg4ys5aD327NXJo99OmjuJVmWapVbv-W4E7gkkWP6U8Tdl3TjX-Z5isYAp8/s2048/Dr.+Dan+w%253A+Corvette+%2540+Greene%2527s.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXmsmB1QLlkNPBsudHC66UyKGYr2UkPt5Z42dDQdahEMj0HrBjZtPpOoAjp9vf_3bWIp9DwMOe2NBN0NWTg4ys5aD327NXJo99OmjuJVmWapVbv-W4E7gkkWP6U8Tdl3TjX-Z5isYAp8/s600/Dr.+Dan+w%253A+Corvette+%2540+Greene%2527s.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Dan Levine admiring the hardware</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOKxE8Lg017KXehx4VxsA6D_1sExmNORRGMg2mNBc26py_UP7hKFmDG26L7cq93cczNSgBQXbwj6kAxSs2-K-KVr3fS7eJeeDuAoSn7Sxm1sVt6Ql1ikpXld6DHAUed1EQtZjVgde2LQ/s2048/exhaust+header+on+shelf+%2540+Andy+Greene%2527s.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOKxE8Lg017KXehx4VxsA6D_1sExmNORRGMg2mNBc26py_UP7hKFmDG26L7cq93cczNSgBQXbwj6kAxSs2-K-KVr3fS7eJeeDuAoSn7Sxm1sVt6Ql1ikpXld6DHAUed1EQtZjVgde2LQ/s600/exhaust+header+on+shelf+%2540+Andy+Greene%2527s.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What do you do with the headers while you're working on a motor?</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVeBJcCw4PE7KrFB4yn9KtSJyiY2vQo7udhDWDNHECNZU-dJjh9HQvD9MSiWRHNWyzFTF8vHH70IzX6IT6E5xljp_q5IAFBXzPMFdsU0wTiUyDlTSOrJgaQpj1LhICss60boHRdd4bqI/s2048/flat+12+Ferrari+motor+%2540+Greene%2527s+.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVeBJcCw4PE7KrFB4yn9KtSJyiY2vQo7udhDWDNHECNZU-dJjh9HQvD9MSiWRHNWyzFTF8vHH70IzX6IT6E5xljp_q5IAFBXzPMFdsU0wTiUyDlTSOrJgaQpj1LhICss60boHRdd4bqI/s600/flat+12+Ferrari+motor+%2540+Greene%2527s+.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Ferrari flat 12.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_bYVWVmP8gwIVf0t4u3ke9r0GP2fYaZB1ejfv8Nsm0DtGTMHrW1t61C6hTBk3NHNEuUpzukq3OxuC1wrkMRbvOCldUN2iaPntvWuDuxEVuSOnpswVXpw0BWVwzSGdwiadpSH0jQDWF4/s2048/Lola+%253F+at+Andy+Greene%2527s.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_bYVWVmP8gwIVf0t4u3ke9r0GP2fYaZB1ejfv8Nsm0DtGTMHrW1t61C6hTBk3NHNEuUpzukq3OxuC1wrkMRbvOCldUN2iaPntvWuDuxEVuSOnpswVXpw0BWVwzSGdwiadpSH0jQDWF4/s600/Lola+%253F+at+Andy+Greene%2527s.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Lola?</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
Porsches, Lolas, Elvas, Corvettes, and Ferraris, and other exotica.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs45seoBvj6C7L6u4YAv1qXW-uF0dmFdRFyGTFnVcDcWBhFCf2nsAlLn95G2pLZJI1qXTO9LHCfkJW4kPIcDIEL0xee4e0AeLUoGnYAb_rLssWTIBsU4cl-V5aSH5VLjqSwCYWaOBaFXs/s2048/open+wheel+racer+%2540+Greene%2527s+.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs45seoBvj6C7L6u4YAv1qXW-uF0dmFdRFyGTFnVcDcWBhFCf2nsAlLn95G2pLZJI1qXTO9LHCfkJW4kPIcDIEL0xee4e0AeLUoGnYAb_rLssWTIBsU4cl-V5aSH5VLjqSwCYWaOBaFXs/s600/open+wheel+racer+%2540+Greene%2527s+.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Ey3KLVQmDpc2OoVG4ZSrGfRwYTdJHFGnilEt_V4cesZ5vPTCm3cStDQ7jP4aJSdGujE6ktpCJZfYbfJdxMAQyyOkSFJh0VVnsiC4xFpOHdDLWhSprAB-mLKkbSUQJMNP9g6XQQIFUzk/s2048/race+Ferraris+%2540+Greene.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Ey3KLVQmDpc2OoVG4ZSrGfRwYTdJHFGnilEt_V4cesZ5vPTCm3cStDQ7jP4aJSdGujE6ktpCJZfYbfJdxMAQyyOkSFJh0VVnsiC4xFpOHdDLWhSprAB-mLKkbSUQJMNP9g6XQQIFUzk/s600/race+Ferraris+%2540+Greene.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modern racing Ferraris.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIEgqA1FYK6V4ieRMbQiVbXnLV9d38A_k3yWAuDNWqUGkPAz86YAce3nSOhC9cVjZTEsm_6ab0pUwTcBoyx2quslw6CMfcxpNFzYtuEJO1LMGKuXCYUFsCwtMXTkmsXJF41cHny1BrxM/s2048/Stingray+on+the+lift+%2540+Andy+Greene%2527s.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIEgqA1FYK6V4ieRMbQiVbXnLV9d38A_k3yWAuDNWqUGkPAz86YAce3nSOhC9cVjZTEsm_6ab0pUwTcBoyx2quslw6CMfcxpNFzYtuEJO1LMGKuXCYUFsCwtMXTkmsXJF41cHny1BrxM/s600/Stingray+on+the+lift+%2540+Andy+Greene%2527s.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAHwxeYq0eXRmlpwmWNj3vP4DU_AVZ95eP0I4sUbXj1euhpGVfv7XuchVD408x3z3i18NaCDb2ylMUu9W9M2zN61IWGDWmPEiBKBaLLg6zATW7Bnk5N06hZIyrXbt7IYPWKw92YYnX3Q/s2048/street+Ferraris+at+Greenes.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAHwxeYq0eXRmlpwmWNj3vP4DU_AVZ95eP0I4sUbXj1euhpGVfv7XuchVD408x3z3i18NaCDb2ylMUu9W9M2zN61IWGDWmPEiBKBaLLg6zATW7Bnk5N06hZIyrXbt7IYPWKw92YYnX3Q/s600/street+Ferraris+at+Greenes.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And street Ferraris, too.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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I was amused that crew at this shop were all Ga-Ga over my little stone ax 250
single in the presence of all this sophisticated, high dollar equipment.
I got to Talladega Fri. afternoon and got my bike teched. The weather forcast was iffy
with a good possibility of thunder storms and I wondered if the ancient Dunlops
on my bike were up to a wet race. But, despite seeing lightning in the distance,
not a drop fell on the track all weekend. It was hot, though. I hadn't been to
TGPR since 2013, when it was back to back with NOLA. Since then it had be a
stand alone event and I didn't feel it was worth the very long drive for a track
that I considered second rate. It is short and flat. But, it being back to back
with the postponed CMP and having done so little racing this year, I decided to
do it. After practice, my opinion of the track hadn't improved, but riding on a
mediocre track is better than watching TV at home.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBL83urZaqemkmj5MVBNVqKw9gNPsF1FJT2MwWf4mQYNxzzMtGlSSvqntUjfMCyEVDuyaS-1WyKJotoSn2qKaRkQbaYh9NGti4RHeo_Mda0KMMe42shiqNSwd54N_OIsk_39yLG-YNN90/s2048/DR+pit+w%253ACRTT+%2540+TGPR.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBL83urZaqemkmj5MVBNVqKw9gNPsF1FJT2MwWf4mQYNxzzMtGlSSvqntUjfMCyEVDuyaS-1WyKJotoSn2qKaRkQbaYh9NGti4RHeo_Mda0KMMe42shiqNSwd54N_OIsk_39yLG-YNN90/s600/DR+pit+w%253ACRTT+%2540+TGPR.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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Like CMP, my two races were separated by a big gap. 350GP was in race #2 and
250GP was in race #10. 350GP was in front of Novice Production LWT and Formula
125, all in one wave. Jason Roberts (TD2b Yamaha), Alex McLean (Drixton
Aermacchi) and Jerry Duke (350 Ducati) pulled away in the front. Soon, Colton
Roberts (Jason's son) came by on a F-125 Yamaha and not long after Jonas Stein
came by on his 175 Honda. Jonas was pulling away when he got into the last
corner too hot and ran off the track. This allowed me to get by, but he soon
recovered and passed me again. So, I ended up 4th 350GP (on my 250) and 6th
overall. The 250GPs were gridded in the back behind Thruxtons and Classic 60s
and Classic 650s, and Sportsman 350 in the first wave and Novice Production HWT
and 250GP in the second wave. My best lap was less the 0.05 of a second faster
than in the 350GP race but was good enough to win the 250GP class and finish 5th
overall behind three Thruxtons and a Sportsman 350. After the race, I checked my
valve clearance and again found huge exhaust lash and the adjuster lock nut
missing. Al Hollingsworth gave me a spare locknut and a little advice on the
tightening procedure when I adjusted the valve clearance. Sunday's 350GP went
about the same as Saturday, except that Jason Roberts didn't race because the
chrome on the cylinder bores on his TD2b was peeling. Alex McLean and Jerry Duke
took off and shortly Colton Roberts, the Jonas Stein came by with their F-125
bikes. This time, Jonas kept it on the track and passed Colton for 3rd overall,
me being 3rd 350GP and 5th overall, with my best lap 0.7 seconds faster than I
had gone Sat. The previous weekend at Carolina M/S Pk., when I rode my 250 in
the 350GP race on Sun., I finished almost 1 min., 7 sec. ahead of Jerry Duke and
my best lap was almost 11.5 seconds faster than his best. But here at Talladege
there was no way that I could stay with him. He finished more than 8.5 seconds
in front of me and his best lap was more than 1.2 seconds faster than my best.
Also, I lapped Jonas Stein at CMP, but he was way faster than me at TGPR. I
don't think that my bike was slower; I was just slower. Race #10 was also
similar to Sat. with me 1st 250GP and and 5th overall behind three Thruxtons and
one Sportsman 350, though my fastest lap was more than 0.8 sec. slower than I
had gone in the morning's race #2. I guess I better check my valve clearance
again.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcTI1ZIslrriSvrKT-3xZFcLQ66Y1ubuNtzUdue1v9OHqUc9lUBKEf2tBcv7nOzTFE7scrvM2DDU5c32e4jmD1kdnn0saE_b4Yw87VC3cp2vsEPdWPk2tSTPit7SgxGlVeDdaKrpGiTc/s2048/Luke+Conner+pit+%2540+TGPR+w%253AK+Harleys+.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcTI1ZIslrriSvrKT-3xZFcLQ66Y1ubuNtzUdue1v9OHqUc9lUBKEf2tBcv7nOzTFE7scrvM2DDU5c32e4jmD1kdnn0saE_b4Yw87VC3cp2vsEPdWPk2tSTPit7SgxGlVeDdaKrpGiTc/s600/Luke+Conner+pit+%2540+TGPR+w%253AK+Harleys+.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke Conner's Thruxton, KRTT, and KHK?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTxMDcSWWC3cfIfFLMyGKMtMQ5HRMPIN5bjcRt4St8LxhPoaOseuSBV4V_iYxgzpBmuwABZkYy-IhsSvxLeDqHiBiduFETy3rT8_g2pqmKSmTWFNXw-fPqHkm-1hloLvPfR5mScQrX8E/s2048/SCarter+pit+%2540+TGPR.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTxMDcSWWC3cfIfFLMyGKMtMQ5HRMPIN5bjcRt4St8LxhPoaOseuSBV4V_iYxgzpBmuwABZkYy-IhsSvxLeDqHiBiduFETy3rT8_g2pqmKSmTWFNXw-fPqHkm-1hloLvPfR5mScQrX8E/s600/SCarter+pit+%2540+TGPR.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stu Carter's two Seeley G-50s, Framecrafter KTM, and my finger.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3oStvaMhyphenhyphen_ON5e0eIW8Mz8KdC3me_2_pw0HbY45CGiSOM3vuequMrO5Ai9iw3mAJwoeKzS4VKRAOM21bEu394V3Z1IS0xwZrC_oZ19MRbXbguo_pS2JW52GAI3euzO5ipbk6EarMTRo/s2048/Stan+Miller%2527s+T-20+Suzuki+%2540+TGPR.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3oStvaMhyphenhyphen_ON5e0eIW8Mz8KdC3me_2_pw0HbY45CGiSOM3vuequMrO5Ai9iw3mAJwoeKzS4VKRAOM21bEu394V3Z1IS0xwZrC_oZ19MRbXbguo_pS2JW52GAI3euzO5ipbk6EarMTRo/s600/Stan+Miller%2527s+T-20+Suzuki+%2540+TGPR.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stan Miller's T-20 Suzuki X-6</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcl9_SZIyHZwq1toHRnX1vaOw4-o5YuNvr9WdDZw23PXW_zt8DfEpgy0CyfobOcokZ4hNNQ84GZQnsbb6nV0zY9dxTBpQE9KRHjMr2FhhbwbPG6RHGw5Hrcob2xK_xpwYFF3qXqb9j3c/s2048/Grease+fitting+on+Lieghty%2527s+CB450+rocker+arms.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcl9_SZIyHZwq1toHRnX1vaOw4-o5YuNvr9WdDZw23PXW_zt8DfEpgy0CyfobOcokZ4hNNQ84GZQnsbb6nV0zY9dxTBpQE9KRHjMr2FhhbwbPG6RHGw5Hrcob2xK_xpwYFF3qXqb9j3c/s600/Grease+fitting+on+Lieghty%2527s+CB450+rocker+arms.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I noticed the grease fittings over the cams on Keith Leighty's CB450 based racer and asked Keith about them. They're to pre-lube the rocker arms.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-80448376720709347232020-08-20T23:10:00.002-04:002020-08-20T23:15:02.065-04:00Mid-West swing 2020<p> At the end of July, I headed to Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit, Illinois for my first race in 5 months. 5 months is about as long as I've gone without racing since 1972. 5 month is the length of the typical winter off season, Oct. to Feb. In 2020, it seems that we've had two winters. I had raced at BHF four times before, 1991-1994 so, with the track layout fresh in my mind, I didn't bother with Fri. practice. I brought my 1966 250 CRTT H-D and my 1970 350 ERTT H-D. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEt2qOesg4lZ2mGYl9kH0ftAIab_GDQkZkGiF1zUFK5VixpIUcWhX817foGEMYVk74-Wird-NcX7WfIC8dpmbwl9-vYkrUsb_T-iArMyOX6e0GC3-eWoFYFn4qNDRCc5PA4dduyvvpqaA/s2048/ERTT+%2526+CRTT+in+pits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEt2qOesg4lZ2mGYl9kH0ftAIab_GDQkZkGiF1zUFK5VixpIUcWhX817foGEMYVk74-Wird-NcX7WfIC8dpmbwl9-vYkrUsb_T-iArMyOX6e0GC3-eWoFYFn4qNDRCc5PA4dduyvvpqaA/w225-h400/ERTT+%2526+CRTT+in+pits.jpg" title="My ERTT & CRTT in the pits. There was quite a good turnout, but not in my classes" width="225" /></a></div>My guess on the gearing was close, with the 250 arguably a little short, but close enough that I didn't change it. However, the 250 was vibrating a good deal and the right rear fairing screw came out in the 2nd round of practice and the bezel on the tach unscrewed and I found it stuck between the footrest and the shift linkage, but I didn't find the glass. I had forgotten how much fun the 1.95 mile track was with some areas where I could almost, but not quite, go flat out and good traction everywhere.<p></p><p>The 350GP was up first, gridded in front of 350 Sportsman in one wave. Though there was a good turn out at the event, not so much in my classes. We had only 5 entries in the 350GP and one of those didn't show up and Jason Roberts had his clutch explode on the launch at the start. I got an average start and Alex McLean pulled steadily away finishing more than 4.5 seconds ahead of me and with a fastest lap more that a second faster than my best. But, at least I was 2nd overall with none of the six 350 Sportsman bikes catching us.</p><p>The 250GP was gridded at the back of the second wave behind the 500 Sportsman and with F-500 and 500 Premiere in the first wave. The 250GP grid was also small with six entries and one of those not showing up, and 19 entries overall between the four classes. I led the 250s from the start and on the 2nd lap caught up to a gaggle of 500 Sportsman and F500 bikes at turn #6. I thought 'I can ride around the outside of all these guys', but the gap I was shooting for all of a sudden disappeared and I clipped one of the bikes with my arm, which sent me off the track onto the grass at maybe 90mph. Luckily, I had lots of room and it was fairly smooth and I took my time slowing down and making a U-turn, though even then, I slid a bit. I got back on the track and took off. On the last lap I saw another 250GP bike and thought if I can catch him, maybe I can salvage a 3rd. I missed a shift coming out of the last corner and didn't catch that bike. But, when I checked the results, they had me as 1st. I thought that must be a mistake, but checking the times I saw it wasn't and that even though my 2nd lap was 26.5 seconds slower than my fastest, I still won my class finishing 7th overall with the 5th fastest lap of the race.</p><p>I realized that I had a slow leak in my rear tube and put a new one in after the race. When I was putting the wheel back in the swingarm, it seemed as though my rear torque arm was flopping around too much. When I looked closer, I saw the the safety wire on the front mount had broken and I had lost the nut, but the bolt was still in the mount. If the bolt had fallen out, it would have been messy.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPROj4pZ1qBMb4lIi0IEXG1SrrvuIzGsK2K0wcB6m7JHalZdjlkVz66_ZOHRLv6HSBxSXsvI9B_1CxfIjGycac7mBclEMDYvpxuino1n8vvH1Y3sQ7evNo_U-HJtqtFHSuzru4f7WCSvU/s2048/CRTT+with+rear+wheel+removed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPROj4pZ1qBMb4lIi0IEXG1SrrvuIzGsK2K0wcB6m7JHalZdjlkVz66_ZOHRLv6HSBxSXsvI9B_1CxfIjGycac7mBclEMDYvpxuino1n8vvH1Y3sQ7evNo_U-HJtqtFHSuzru4f7WCSvU/s640/CRTT+with+rear+wheel+removed.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I removed the rear wheel to replace the tube and found the torque arm about to fall off.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>Sunday I just did a short practice on each bike. The 350GP class only had three starters Sun., as Jason couldn't do anything about his clutch on his Yamaha. This time, Kevin Dinsmoor came by at the start on his 350 Sportsman bike and closed right up on Alex. But, he could never get by and after a few laps decided that he shouldn't try as they were in different classes and I realize that I was catching him and Alex. I got by Kevin and closed right up on Alex thinking that I should follow him until the last lap to make my move. But, on approaching the last corner on the penultimate lap, I couldn't resist passing him. He passed me back on the straight as we took the last lap flag. Again, I passed him into the last corner, but he out dragged me to the finish, beating me by 0.194 seconds. I had the fastest lap, though it was 0.017 seconds slower than Alex had gone on Sat.</p><p>In Sunday's 250GP, there were only four starters in class and twelve overall. In Saturday's race, Andrew Mauk in the 500 Premiere class was leading overall when he fell in the last corner and handed the win to Wes Orloff, who was in hot pursuit. Andrew's bike was too badly damaged to race Sun., and Wes stopped on the warmup lap when two wires crossed and burned. On the third lap, I went into 4th overall behind Kevin Dinsmoor and Martin Morrison on their F-500 bikes and Eric Cook on his 500 Sportsman bike but, on the 6th of 8 laps, my motor made a bad noise and stopped and I was able to coast into the pits. So I had a DNF, but was still credited with 4th in class and had the 4th fastest lap in the race. I did some investigation and found that I still had compression, but the exhaust push rod was barely moving and I suspected that the tappet had broken.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXlSUnqZMyAZM_QxKhshIUgIK2nJh7iVgEU8Cs6ylwWSdWDoVbanpM7-4LE8aIzdnr6NHOSL33QOKPjpSeG1VaHarwNfCpeildTTRvjy7Tt_jon9CWRiRfk7hlFO0OrDZ_Xl8ZFyS7KQ/s2048/diagnosing+CRTT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXlSUnqZMyAZM_QxKhshIUgIK2nJh7iVgEU8Cs6ylwWSdWDoVbanpM7-4LE8aIzdnr6NHOSL33QOKPjpSeG1VaHarwNfCpeildTTRvjy7Tt_jon9CWRiRfk7hlFO0OrDZ_Xl8ZFyS7KQ/s640/diagnosing+CRTT.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to diagnose the failure on my CRTT with exh. rocker out and ign. rotor off.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>I had pitted next to my old friend Sven Bley, who was racing a '90 NSR 250 Honda in Next Generation Lightweight and an 848 Ducati in Sound of Thunder 2. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghGJRS1e1po3AUUiwiPcqdQ_JI9bois96ogWCvjO2A1AU8AVEIPCIwu8STkKfcrG2Q7LTbw7EZvLoI-1y8BXeEtG38gu5Sk6RCnZAzOe0Vf4r00UgbMJ8j-yjxF-tHoU-HBb10MvOmMXY/s2048/Sven%2527s+NSR+%2526+848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghGJRS1e1po3AUUiwiPcqdQ_JI9bois96ogWCvjO2A1AU8AVEIPCIwu8STkKfcrG2Q7LTbw7EZvLoI-1y8BXeEtG38gu5Sk6RCnZAzOe0Vf4r00UgbMJ8j-yjxF-tHoU-HBb10MvOmMXY/s640/Sven%2527s+NSR+%2526+848.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />Sven Bley's '90 NSR 250 Honda and 848 Ducati.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Sven and I go way back to the early '90s when he and his dad were racing a bunch of exotica in AHRMA. Sven had gotten away from roadracing and started a business and a family, but we stayed in touch over the years and eventually I helped suck him back into roadracing with AHRMA. Sven had generously invited me to stay with his wife and him at their house in a Northwest outer suburb of Chicago between BHF and the race at Gingerman. There, I got right to work on the CRTT and found that my suspicions were correct and the exhaust tappet was broken. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-VS5ZR1MA3iqSsTWZrU5UP1qZSda2n5v737I7gMXUtQCSDZVNea36ho98gZIVNQA_8d0nUWOPRrQYqZ-V5U1BeT_rFyv3_AMYElCXLdkr6VCSRr2Dv3RPCZBTaoEWtSrGMvXiFyDQaZQ/s2048/working+on+CRTT+in+van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-VS5ZR1MA3iqSsTWZrU5UP1qZSda2n5v737I7gMXUtQCSDZVNea36ho98gZIVNQA_8d0nUWOPRrQYqZ-V5U1BeT_rFyv3_AMYElCXLdkr6VCSRr2Dv3RPCZBTaoEWtSrGMvXiFyDQaZQ/w640-h360/working+on+CRTT+in+van.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I worked on the bike right in the van because of a threat of rain.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I was relieved to find that the broken tappet had done no damage to the cam lobe or anything else. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZVG2WGr-kMcOHsu0Ti1_X25btG5tC93PMDf_LaUrnlN_NRS02BAH6CW_DkH6seAhAu4Jszp6F8N-NbYbOUG64auELJxXW-JtwGSsWLpaEEAS_CTNmXcZzulXrtH6XV-83uxk76Ubppk/s2048/head+of+tappet+sitting+in+timing+chest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZVG2WGr-kMcOHsu0Ti1_X25btG5tC93PMDf_LaUrnlN_NRS02BAH6CW_DkH6seAhAu4Jszp6F8N-NbYbOUG64auELJxXW-JtwGSsWLpaEEAS_CTNmXcZzulXrtH6XV-83uxk76Ubppk/s640/head+of+tappet+sitting+in+timing+chest.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's the head of the tappet sitting in the timing chest.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAaEoLLfSxi2BabvvcbxEKRXg6SGrONV9Q4ktIXLBsmLdAWEXaDu0O4bCWHa-lhvMb-Mgf6JYxKBl_wQ8YRdYPtrClhjFuIV3lUy6qua7pK7Tw5j6RSSnsdL1YF2zGlNRlDIgTHXzT0A/s2048/broken+tappet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAaEoLLfSxi2BabvvcbxEKRXg6SGrONV9Q4ktIXLBsmLdAWEXaDu0O4bCWHa-lhvMb-Mgf6JYxKBl_wQ8YRdYPtrClhjFuIV3lUy6qua7pK7Tw5j6RSSnsdL1YF2zGlNRlDIgTHXzT0A/s640/broken+tappet.jpg" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2Fc3DfAUrFR8tPHguMstGMO4CcFs-lTp5DVN9IV98eg-lipBEV6NirOhLlMktcIgxd873N9idJWvKKlhpu3HYsRLFyLoUbwLa6k8OqKKP7HooQTts6BJPHwIoQpkywqnEUP9iCEtb2M/s2048/Exh.+cam+lobe+after+tappet+failure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2Fc3DfAUrFR8tPHguMstGMO4CcFs-lTp5DVN9IV98eg-lipBEV6NirOhLlMktcIgxd873N9idJWvKKlhpu3HYsRLFyLoUbwLa6k8OqKKP7HooQTts6BJPHwIoQpkywqnEUP9iCEtb2M/s640/Exh.+cam+lobe+after+tappet+failure.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The exh. lobe is the one next to the gear.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2Tb55Vl0FCUB6vmauPW2YpDNcOZC_Zs9QxgUv0ioQWccY0qf14PExcViBJd4V5dkP9JtxzZYRY-hgwCW4bT_z-PK61Q2gOMHQKvbDeEtdUrBHGKDR_Cp15cg12852dO6QLywRpJOD9c/s2048/broken+clutch+plate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2Tb55Vl0FCUB6vmauPW2YpDNcOZC_Zs9QxgUv0ioQWccY0qf14PExcViBJd4V5dkP9JtxzZYRY-hgwCW4bT_z-PK61Q2gOMHQKvbDeEtdUrBHGKDR_Cp15cg12852dO6QLywRpJOD9c/s640/broken+clutch+plate.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I also found a broken clutch plate.</td></tr></tbody></table><p> <br />I had a spare tappet with me and had the motor back together fairly quickly and changed the gearing for Gingerman. I was able to start the bike and ran it very briefly and it sounded fine. Sven ordered some plexiglass from McMaster-Carr and I was able to cut out some lens' for the tach on the scroll saw at his work, Made to Measure, where they do ultra precision measurement for quality control purposes.</p><p>I went with Sven's uncle, Karl, to the site of the old Meadowdale roadrace track. This track was built in 1958 and was used until 1969, though most racing stopped in 1966. The grounds are now a forest preserve and much of the old pavement remains and one can walk the whole 3.27 miles of the circuit. <a href="https://riderfiles.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/memories-of-meadowdale/">https://riderfiles.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/memories-of-meadowdale/</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiD7f3AIn9yl4cTcf8tOewk4NEM5MNvTWoIM9HRBkL0s9DX4a8P_CKxnPF-ayu_szViQAOPgIwPujcRHqtdV9pwxwsvGWjpi3Xyb8re_9YS_2d7OINQ1wULKu5V3ABUKtkuVBjrZinwv4/s2048/Meadowdale+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiD7f3AIn9yl4cTcf8tOewk4NEM5MNvTWoIM9HRBkL0s9DX4a8P_CKxnPF-ayu_szViQAOPgIwPujcRHqtdV9pwxwsvGWjpi3Xyb8re_9YS_2d7OINQ1wULKu5V3ABUKtkuVBjrZinwv4/s640/Meadowdale+sign.jpg" /></a></div><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqw2gPlvRMf6Z_YtDXe4iBOu9apYp5OPfzuOQZjlzqT5iH5XQhshz7_CtFw7VRjsbzETQ18MX4no56isbGZLOhBELdAnv685BF9jDQz_xP6LWABnlKiMTNycgS_sbDnTpWEv1JsWrxGCQ/s2048/DR+with+Meadowdale+silo+Karl+Bley+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqw2gPlvRMf6Z_YtDXe4iBOu9apYp5OPfzuOQZjlzqT5iH5XQhshz7_CtFw7VRjsbzETQ18MX4no56isbGZLOhBELdAnv685BF9jDQz_xP6LWABnlKiMTNycgS_sbDnTpWEv1JsWrxGCQ/s640/DR+with+Meadowdale+silo+Karl+Bley+photo.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The iconic Meadowdale silo. Karl Bley photo.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p>It looks like it was a fabulous circuit with a really long straight that goes steeply down and across a creek, then steeply up and it had a banked corner called the Monza wall. I love going to ruins of all kinds, but especially race tracks and now Meadowdale joins the list that includes Vineland, N.J., Upper Marlboro, Md., Mid-America Raceway in Wentzville, Mo., and Catalina Park in N.S.W., Australia.<p></p><p>Sven was into trials riding before he got into road racing and twice competed in the Scottish Six Day trials and still competes. He brought boulders, huge logs and construction debris into his back yard so he could practice on his modern Honda powered Montesa and a couple of mornings we played on it and a dual sport Yamaha he has.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxOp7cENl1Ye9nXttuL8-_EBPUYtSlFTPz8yfcBvl5Ra2GyIJ0s5UFBrx-OwtUr2HTNOS6wCGC2DhemCGMs_G5r-f6cu4Uku4_VWmAZwwcDlUSqoiAJhcn_wz2y4yZ26_4xjtIa_M4OLM/s2048/Sven+on+Montesa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxOp7cENl1Ye9nXttuL8-_EBPUYtSlFTPz8yfcBvl5Ra2GyIJ0s5UFBrx-OwtUr2HTNOS6wCGC2DhemCGMs_G5r-f6cu4Uku4_VWmAZwwcDlUSqoiAJhcn_wz2y4yZ26_4xjtIa_M4OLM/s640/Sven+on+Montesa.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5NENnCKGjoLZsCBDKY8SNLRA-4RtUIIcZh5yUcJYHJsVudYAwkJjyTYy63i5J4oER0cDleKrkMFZ6C56D6sDZrbyOAuh2JL-5tZUOpgOoJSMLvgKPV_oheTkZMvA1gthxZNEULlk1XQ/s2048/Boulders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5NENnCKGjoLZsCBDKY8SNLRA-4RtUIIcZh5yUcJYHJsVudYAwkJjyTYy63i5J4oER0cDleKrkMFZ6C56D6sDZrbyOAuh2JL-5tZUOpgOoJSMLvgKPV_oheTkZMvA1gthxZNEULlk1XQ/s640/Boulders.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnRU5znnBewYvSz4EQDjp6QzmgUhSyfNmM020EAp8ca8RKaMTjCmL2jhVRn31L_0CxsN6ceb-OynmD16599DKKh_r7RzJlQRU04S9qNEn_PokqEGi5RGbX9T0LxQENnDnfqUOlontxEw/s2048/construction+debris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnRU5znnBewYvSz4EQDjp6QzmgUhSyfNmM020EAp8ca8RKaMTjCmL2jhVRn31L_0CxsN6ceb-OynmD16599DKKh_r7RzJlQRU04S9qNEn_PokqEGi5RGbX9T0LxQENnDnfqUOlontxEw/s640/construction+debris.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>I rode my '68 TC200 Suzuki over to North Chicago to visit Joe Walano at his shop, The Guzzi Doctor. www.theguzzidoctor.com. While he specializes in V-twin Guzzis he had an eclectic collection of bikes there including some Guzzi singles, Brit twins, modern and vintage Ducatis, and an H-2 Kawasaki drag bike. From there I rode south into Chicago proper and visited some good friends there and had a socially distanced, outdoor BBQ.</p><p>Then it was on to Gingerman in Michigan. While I was very pleased by how everyone behaved at BHF where AHRMA and the track made it very clear that the rules were masks must be worn whenever indoors or unable to socially distance and that the event could be shut down if people didn't comply, it seemed very different at Gingerman. People seemed way more casual/sloppy about wearing masks and nothing was said by the officials.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNLeYo-PH9A-BZoYj3gbPQ-1NcUsSjb9DRx_G2xh4AJEHu02r2Jgj9phti8q_nJbEPEOfyV6-asSsYl8pD08KkNDlZF1_3lN6EY5GHlM1GorxSpCezSRPLFIjoCvpmX2v7C8VXfFrpAE/s2048/CRTT%252C+ERTT%252C+%2526+Stu%2527s+Seeley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNLeYo-PH9A-BZoYj3gbPQ-1NcUsSjb9DRx_G2xh4AJEHu02r2Jgj9phti8q_nJbEPEOfyV6-asSsYl8pD08KkNDlZF1_3lN6EY5GHlM1GorxSpCezSRPLFIjoCvpmX2v7C8VXfFrpAE/s640/CRTT%252C+ERTT%252C+%2526+Stu%2527s+Seeley.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My CRTT, ERTT and Stu Carter's Seeley G-50.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>After a dry practice, we had a shower as racing started and in race #2, which included Sound of Thunder 3 and Sound of Singles 2, there were a few crashes and a red flag. Several races decide not to make the restart or pulled off at the end of the warm-up lap. The 350GP was next up (gridded in the second wave with F-125, behind 750 Sportsman and F-500), and while the rain seemed to be tapering off, I was very tentative in the first laps and the leaders pulled steadily away and I finished 3rd in class behind Jason Roberts on his TD2b Yamaha and Alex McLean on his Aermacchi, and 12th overall. I was unaware that the Yamaha TD2b is now legal in the 350GP class and it could change the complexion of the class.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwG89RSx-3sX95O3ms-wDQMqA9I15nNvLPpGaYXFpJnwFcsw22huQLjDl65wiKLqb2R0OojYDL8EPgbGKUI446LEbLobL_XnMJ1EGxbiHT_Vf6MH2MIOX9gPbYHBPytOVwH5aLxA8e1c/s2048/Leaha%2527s+RS125%252C+Wes%2527+Buell%252C+May%2527s+BMW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwG89RSx-3sX95O3ms-wDQMqA9I15nNvLPpGaYXFpJnwFcsw22huQLjDl65wiKLqb2R0OojYDL8EPgbGKUI446LEbLobL_XnMJ1EGxbiHT_Vf6MH2MIOX9gPbYHBPytOVwH5aLxA8e1c/s640/Leaha%2527s+RS125%252C+Wes%2527+Buell%252C+May%2527s+BMW.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leah Bober's RS125 Honda, Wes Orloff's Buell and Dan May's BMW which he let Wes race.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I had a long wait until the race 11 for the 250GP and by then the track was totally dry. We were gridded behind Classic 60s and 650 and 350 Sportsman, but in one wave. I won the 250GP class and was 5th overall. The bike continued to shed parts, this time one of the rocker cover bolts, and this caused some oil leakage. When I cleaned this up after the race, I dropped the belly pan and what did I find in it but the glass from my tach that fell off the week before at BHF.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZ1gnEReKCMVVxvw9VKH1_XsEJio692diZejFtH0JCWdS3rnd9Eqx508AMInBOSpR15a89u_-cNjB2r6qWeLNJqUoVsREgmuxMVjmN3fSbw5FNgxF3bBMGjsJglvrtn5Ife7yD8PPvZU/s2048/Mark+Williams+and+his+H1R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZ1gnEReKCMVVxvw9VKH1_XsEJio692diZejFtH0JCWdS3rnd9Eqx508AMInBOSpR15a89u_-cNjB2r6qWeLNJqUoVsREgmuxMVjmN3fSbw5FNgxF3bBMGjsJglvrtn5Ife7yD8PPvZU/s640/Mark+Williams+and+his+H1R.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Williams and his H1R Kawasaki. Mark fed me all weekend.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Sunday was quite similar to Sat. It rained quite heavily over night and the track was very wet for the one round of practice and a couple of people crashed in front of me. The track was still wet with standing water in places on the warm-up lap for race #3, but drying. Again, I was very tentative especially at the start, and finished a distant 2nd to Alex in the 350GP class, though I did move up from 14th on the grid to 10th overall. Jason Roberts didn't enter the race on Sun. for some reason. </p><p>And again, the track was totally dry for the 250GP in race #11. And again, my bike continued to shed parts. Just after the start, I lost the right rear windscreen screw and the bubble started flapping around, which dislodged the second screw, which cause it to flap more and crack. By the time I entered the last corner on the first lap, the windscreen was sitting in my lap and as I crossed the Start/finish line I tossed it to the side of the track. That didn't stop me from finishing the first lap in 4th overall and eventually moving up to 3rd overall with the fastest lap in the race, with a time 0.068 seconds, faster than I had gone in the 350 race in the morning.</p><p>After I got the van loaded, I drove to Stu Carter's house. Monday, we went to his business, a medical marijuana dispensary, unloaded his van at his shop, visited one of his 'grow' facilities, then went to the Henry Ford Museum. We quickly found the 1865 Sylvester Roper steam car, which they describe as the oldest surviving car in America. <a href="https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/78160">https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/78160</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigctdOXI6gDxQgE285C7UeMhU9sP97jbgHXejxxOjE373T7PFJZmka7VbFr8wHT52QuT1gJsCQ5C8G541I-iE0BThJ8vgiLPFPI0onWfXM75rDEau7H-iCmngDsx3Yl3BlAlQ4GyWbXQw/s2048/S.+Roper+1865+Steam+Carriage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigctdOXI6gDxQgE285C7UeMhU9sP97jbgHXejxxOjE373T7PFJZmka7VbFr8wHT52QuT1gJsCQ5C8G541I-iE0BThJ8vgiLPFPI0onWfXM75rDEau7H-iCmngDsx3Yl3BlAlQ4GyWbXQw/s640/S.+Roper+1865+Steam+Carriage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46YvAS_dbFglE6OgNgfSmYnpzUzuTJiEUPJQyWGrXcgUOrzYnAiSS8l8HHcyHmWxu8BP3dsR-igzQYzbOSUSsNxo2XlRJ2Ggraw62qJmq32Ye2v3SStwT56Eg3OPE7KhWU2KiaBg6VoE/s2048/S.+Roper+Steam+Carriage+placard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46YvAS_dbFglE6OgNgfSmYnpzUzuTJiEUPJQyWGrXcgUOrzYnAiSS8l8HHcyHmWxu8BP3dsR-igzQYzbOSUSsNxo2XlRJ2Ggraw62qJmq32Ye2v3SStwT56Eg3OPE7KhWU2KiaBg6VoE/s640/S.+Roper+Steam+Carriage+placard.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Not far away was a Sylvester Roper hot air engine. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VOl_W0i3N0wzsiR8uqOW12fhc7wKkupEatdZ-ETILdpxfPopQi28qHUGS-pI4Mexk5jDRU_LwL7k7rm6CaZUTW2SlkBlZyflD0bG5VIiA-PZAZWnBBen7pfAwpQjUILs1jdJrDcXH3o/s2048/S.+Roper+hot+air+engine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VOl_W0i3N0wzsiR8uqOW12fhc7wKkupEatdZ-ETILdpxfPopQi28qHUGS-pI4Mexk5jDRU_LwL7k7rm6CaZUTW2SlkBlZyflD0bG5VIiA-PZAZWnBBen7pfAwpQjUILs1jdJrDcXH3o/s640/S.+Roper+hot+air+engine.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For those not paying attention, Sylvester Roper was my 2nd cousin, four times removed.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p> Having fulfilled my familial obligations, we checked out the amazing collection of ancient steam engines, early machine tools, a great aviation exhibit, with the Ford Tri-Motor featured, a collection of Presidential limousines, and more. An excellent museum. </p><p>I drove back home on Tuesday, got a Covid test on Friday, and the results on the next Wednesday said 'none detected'. Seems that I got away with it.</p><p><br /></p>Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-11819066127835237032020-07-12T16:14:00.001-04:002020-07-12T16:14:37.548-04:00IOM visitsA friend recently asked me how many times I had visited the Isle of Man. The short answer is 28 times, but it took some research and searching the memory banks to come up with that number.<br />
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Aug., 1974 I rode my brand new 850 Commando Interstate MK2a, which I had bought in Hamilton, Scotland, to Liverpool and took the overnight ferry to the IOM for the Manx GP before starting an overhaul on a submarine at the U.S. sub base in Holy Loch, Scotland, when I worked as a pipe welder for Electric Boat Div., of General Dynamics.</div>
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Sept., 1981 After racing at Donnington and Oulton Parks, I borrowed Alan Latham’s BMW and rode over to the IOM via the Heysham ferry for the MGP with the idea of deciding if I wanted to race there.</div>
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May/June, 1982 Raced in the Formula 3 TT on a 350 Aermacchi, finishing 12th after losing time on the last lap in Ramsey replacing the drive chain which had fallen off.</div>
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May/June, 1983 Raced in the F-2 and F-1 TTs on a 600 Moriwaki Kawasaki (12th) and a 950 bevel drive Ducati (DNF).</div>
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Aug., 1983 Raced in the first Classic Manx GP on a Matchless G-50 finishing 9th Senior after the motor inhaled a stone and bent a valve.</div>
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May/June, 1984 Raced in the F-2 TT on a 600 TT-2 Ducati (21st after a long pit stop to straighten a shift lever and replace a bolt in the seat), F-1 TT on the same 600 Ducati (DNF-burst oil line), and the Senior Historic TT (1st). <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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Aug., 1984 Passed through the IOM for a day or two on my way from the Ulster GP to Brno, for the Czech GP, racing a TT-2 Ducati.</div>
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June, 1985 Spectated at the TT after breaking my ankle at Sears Point 19 May.</div>
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Aug.,1986 Raced in the Senior Classic Manx GP on G-50 Matchless (DNF-piston broke)</div>
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Aug., 1988 Raced in the Senior Classic Manx GP on G-50 Matchless (2nd, 38.4 sec. behind Phil Nichols, but with the fastest lap in the race).</div>
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Aug., 1989 Raced in Senior Classic Manx GP on G-50 Matchless (DNF-crashed at the Bungalow on 3rd lap with almost a minute lead when the frame broke and set the fastest lap in the race).</div>
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Aug., 1990 Raced the Junior Classic Manx GP on AJS 7R (DNF when handlebar broke at Quarry Bends). and Senior Classic on G-50 Matchless (2nd, 2.8 seconds behind Bob Heath).</div>
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Aug., 1991 Raced the Junior Classic Manx GP on an AJS 7R (16th after shift lever broke) and Senior Classic on a G-50 Matchless (DNF-holed a piston). <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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Aug., 1992 Raced the Senior Classic Manx GP on G-50 Matchless (38th after gearbox mainshaft broke exiting Creg-ny-Baa on last lap and coasted and pushed the approximate 3.5 miles to the finish).</div>
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Aug., 1993 Raced the Junior Manx GP on a 350 Benelli four (DNF-Crashed at Kerrowmoar on first lap and was helicoptered to Nobles Hospital with a dislocated right hip and broken left fibula).</div>
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June, 2002 Rode an 1954 AJS 7R3 in the Lap of Honour at the TT</div>
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Aug. 2004 Raced in the Senior Classic Manx GP on an Arter Matchless G-50 (11th)</div>
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Aug., 2005 Race in the Senior Classic Manx GP on an Arter Matchless G-50 (DNF-holed a piston).</div>
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Aug., 2006 Spectated at the Manx GP with my friend Mary Harvey and we did some marshaling.</div>
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June, 2007 Rode in the Centenary Lap of Honour on the G-50 Matchless on which we had won the ’84 Historic TT.</div>
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June, 2011 went to ride in the Lap of Honour on a 1911 Indian replica the of the 1911 winning bike but didn’t make the lap because the handlebar broke at the last minute. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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Aug., 2013 Rode the Jurby Festival and the Lap of Honour at the Classic TT on the 1954 AJS 7R3 on which Rod Coleman won the 1954 Junior TT.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It holed a piston on the L.O.H.</div>
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Aug., 2014 Rode the Jurby Festival and Lap of Honour at the Classic TT on the G-50 Matchless with which we won the ’84 Historic TT 30 years before.</div>
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Aug., 2015 Rode the Jurby Festival and Lap of Honour at the Classic TT on the 1954 AJS E-95 ‘Porcupine’</div>
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Aug., 2016 Rode the Jury Festival and Lap of Honour at the Classic TT on the Arter Matchless ‘Wagon Wheels’ on which Peter Williams had three time finished 2nd in the Senior TT.</div>
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Aug., 2017 Rode the Honda RC165 250cc 6 cylinder at the Jurby Festival.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Steve Plater rode it in the Lap of Honour, but in dropped a valve on Sulby straight.</div>
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Aug., 2018 Rode the Jurby Festival and Lap of Honour on the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Benelli 350 four that I had crashed in the Junior Classic Manx<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>25 years before.</div>
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Aug., 2019 Rode the Jurby Festival and Lap of Honour on the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Surtees Special 7R.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-converted-space">The vast majority of these visits were sponsored by Team Obsolete and I rode on T/O bikes.</span></div>
Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-86849326046409049372020-06-02T23:05:00.000-04:002020-06-02T23:06:46.210-04:00Late summer 2019 eventsI was lax about recording my activities in the late summer, but have caught up during the Covid-19 lockdown. The following may seem too wordy for many as I didn't take any photos, but you can find some photos at: <a href="http://www.teamobsolete.com/snapshots">http://www.teamobsolete.com/snapshots</a> and I dug up some photos on the internet or that people sent me.<br />
Aug. was spent preparing for the Classic TT. For the eight year in a row, Team Obsolete had been invited to participate in the Lap of Honour. This year for the first time we brought two bikes: the Surtees 7R for me to ride and the MV Electronica 350 four cylinder for Giacomo Agostini to ride.<br />
The Surtees 7R has a chassis designed by John Surtees with a frame designed by him and fabricated by Ken Sprayson of Reynolds Tubing, with Norton forks and rear wheel, and a 230mm Oldani front brake. Surtees built the bike around 1960 for British short circuit racing, but at the time was contracted to MV and the Count wouldn't let him race it. Surtees sold it to Rex Butcher who then sold it to Tom Arter for Mike Duff to ride and, after Duff was hired by Yamaha, Peter Williams rode it. I had ridden the bike a few times in 2017 and 2018, and consider it a sweetheart with exceptional handling.<br />
The MV that Ago was to parade was the last four stroke to win a World Championship 350 GP (at Assen in 1976). It was dubbed the "Electronica" because the ignition was by Krober electronics, fitted after the original Mercury magneto couldn't keep up with the high revs the motor reached after years of development. It has to be considered the ultimate development of an MV race bike with a titanium frame, plasma sprayed aluminum front brake rotors, dampening adjustable Ceriani forks and a very narrow valve angle cyl. head.<br />
On the Saturday, the first day of racing, Seth Rosko and I tried to get in a lap before the roads closed for the races. It became clear that we weren't going to make a whole lap before the roads closed, but we got by Kirkmichael and I figured we could take a left off the course and drive the back roads up to and around Ramsey, then take the coast road back to Douglas. But, I missed the last chance to turn left before the marshals stopped us and made us turn to a loop road on the inside of the coarse at Churchtown. It looked we were going to be stuck there until both races and a following practice were over at maybe 7pm. We had no food or water with us, but one of the marshals recognized me and gave us some water. But, we did have an Ordinance Survey topographic map. I knew a cafe that I had eaten at some years before that wasn't too far, so we headed off cross country, up forestry roads, through fields, over barb wire fences, and forded a stream and finally got to the cafe. But, it was closed because the only access to it is off the TT course, which was closed. Duh. So we pushed on further and crossed the pedestrian bridge near Schoolhouse Corner and got into Ramsey. We got something to eat and went to Connor Cummings coffee bar, Conrod's, to use the Wi-Fi, and had a brief chat with Connor.<br />
T/O major domo, Rob Iannucci called, crying that he really needed us back at the paddock and why didn't we just take a cab from Ramsey. That probably would have cost 50 or 75 Pounds. Then I though of the Electric Railway, so we walked to the station and only had to wait maybe 20 minutes to catch the train. It was a beautiful day and the views are fantastic. The railway dates from 1893 and the rolling stock is all Victorian or Edwardian. The train makes one scheduled stop in Laxey, but one can request a stop at many places on the trip. The terminus in Douglas is at the north end of the Prom not far from the Regency Hotel where we were staying. Predictably, when we got back to the hotel, we found that we weren't needed. Ago, his son, and friend, Fausto Zanetti, had arrived and we all had dinner in the hotel. Ago wanted to do a lap in the rental car and Seth and I had to retrieve the van. So, we all piled in with Ago driving and his son in shotgun, Fausto, Seth, and me in the back. Ago gave a running commentary but, unfortunately, it was in Italian, so Seth and I didn't get the nuances, but there were lots of hand gestures and going over to the wrong side of the road to show the racing line. They dropped us off at the van, about half way around the TT course, and carried on.<br />
What started in the morning looking like a disastrous day turned out to be a wonderful day.<br />
A wonderful day for us, until we learned that the 500 Classic race had be stopped because Chris Swallow had died in a crash at Ballaugh Bridge. The son of Bill Swallow, who was also in the race, he was a very popular, likable, talented rider. He had come over to Team Obsolete marquee in the paddock to check out the bikes a couple of days earlier. We talked about the geometry of the girder forks on the Velo special that he was riding in the Junior Classic. He told me that he was looking at a photo of his dad on the podium when he had won the Senior Classic Manx in 1989. He noticed on the leaderboard in the backround of the photo that #20 had been fastest on the first two laps and asked his father who that was, and Bill told him that it was me. That was the year that I crashed at the Bungalow when I had almost a minute lead on the third of four laps when the frame of the G-50 broke. Chris' death cast a pall over the event, but it went on as it always does.<br />
Sunday was the Jurby Festival with lapping of classic bikes around the circuit on the disused WII airfield in the north of the Island. It's always a great time to shake down the bikes before the parade around the Mountain Circuit the next day. Both bikes worked fine and I don't remember making any adjustments.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41e7dF72bFu7hzBVO-q23AvaTp1Sgprh1BZOUhPPFhMXvPjdwAwG5wxSGj9VLHZbAn5zhvLpvPJavy5Uyj1PeJHh2gGgyREplrwz_b-NdzPmaBB4Od2Ha3xDp-xKKwYRy0q5PDgZwERA/s1600/Surtees+7R+%2540+Jurby+8%253A25%253A19.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1080" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41e7dF72bFu7hzBVO-q23AvaTp1Sgprh1BZOUhPPFhMXvPjdwAwG5wxSGj9VLHZbAn5zhvLpvPJavy5Uyj1PeJHh2gGgyREplrwz_b-NdzPmaBB4Od2Ha3xDp-xKKwYRy0q5PDgZwERA/s640/Surtees+7R+%2540+Jurby+8%253A25%253A19.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">riding the Surtees 7R at the Jurby Festival. Seth Rosko? photo</td></tr>
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It was a pleasure spending some time with Ago. I was really impressed with his patience and graciousness with the non-stop stream of well wishers, autograph and photo seekers. He's still a superstar. And, he's still very meticulous and particular about the bike he's going to ride. In getting ready for the Lap of Honour, Ago went over the MV 350-4. He always had the grips on the clip-ons and the footrest taped with bicycle friction tape. The tape on the twist grip was getting tatty and he personally retaped it. Then he fussed at some length with the fuel level in the tank. This was just a parade lap, but it was like he went right back into race mode checking every detail and he didn't want excessive fuel in the tank.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/69655600_2322486777972692_6534766803556499456_o.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=kOwJHiu00dYAX8IVNHS&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=20244cc730d5322e23c33698f52d28ec&oe=5EFD0181" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/69655600_2322486777972692_6534766803556499456_o.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=kOwJHiu00dYAX8IVNHS&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=20244cc730d5322e23c33698f52d28ec&oe=5EFD0181" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks like the Bungalow. Photo by Tracy's Photos</td></tr>
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I rode the Surtees 7R and it was a delight to ride around the Mountain Circuit and I had no problems on a fine day, though I did hack up Parliament Square a bit. A really sweet bike.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/72891046_2387529784854437_7853118555640823808_o.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_sid=e3f864&_nc_ohc=_LH99MO6NVUAX_QMl_O&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=6920a1c454270e2ddf5a077d95a91f2e&oe=5EFDBA71" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/72891046_2387529784854437_7853118555640823808_o.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_sid=e3f864&_nc_ohc=_LH99MO6NVUAX_QMl_O&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=6920a1c454270e2ddf5a077d95a91f2e&oe=5EFDBA71" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basking in the limelight of two of the greatest: Giacomo Agostini and John McGuinness. photo by TT USA</td></tr>
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I came back to the States a day before the rest of the crew so I could load up my 1946 Moto Guzzi Dondolino and the Team Obsolete MV 350 three cylinder to take to the VRRA's Vintage Celebration at Mosport(CTMP). We had learned some months before that our good friend Doug MacRae had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and had surgery in Feb. to remove the bulk of it. But, it was considered incurable. Doug is a brilliant photographer and painter and had done a lot of photography for Team Obsolete. (<a href="https://www.douglasmacrae.com/">https://www.douglasmacrae.com/</a>). Rob Iannucci decided he wanted to offer Doug a ride on an exotic and the T/O 350 MV three cylinder was the one closest to ready. Doug lost some peripheral in one eye with the surgery and Ontario took his driver's license away. He didn't think he'd have any trouble doing some parade laps on his own, but didn't want to be on the track with other racers. So, it was decided that I would race the bike and Doug would parade it. I also brought my Dondolino to race in the Pre-50 class. Our friend Carlos Escudero of Solo Moto (<a href="http://www.solomoto.org/index.html">http://www.solomoto.org/index.html</a>), volunteered to come along and wrench. I loaded the Dondolino, tools and spares at my house and drove to Brooklyn and loaded the MV, then drove to Greenwich and spent the night with Carlos and his wife. We left from Greenwich in the morning and arrived at Mosport in the afternoon and got registered and got the bikes through tech. Saturday, both bikes seemed to go well in practice, but when Doug did his parade laps, he reported that the MV was starting to break up. We found that the battery was low (the bike uses a total loss points ignition) and assumed that was the problem.<br />
My first race was the Pre 50 heat on the Dondllino and we were gridded behind P2 Heavy weight, Pre 65 500 and Pre 65 350, and P1 200. I finished 1st in Pre 50, beating the Rudges and Velo, and 5th overall.<br />
Next up was the P2 Lightweight heat. It quickly became apparent the the low battery wasn't the only problem as one cylinder was kicking in and out and I pulled off after a lap thinking it might be a fouled plug that would clear. Carlos and I went through the ignition and found a few niggling problems which we corrected and, when we fired up the bike, it sounded good.<br />
In Sunday's one round of practice the MV ran properly again. During lunch, the sky turned threatening and by the time the Pre 65 500, Pre 65 350, P1 200 and Pre 50 race started it was raining lightly. I found the turn #5/5A area quite slippery while the Turn #8, 9, 10 area had good traction and, sure enough, someone fell in front of me in #5A, vindicating my tip-toeing through there. So again I was 1st in class, this time 3rd O.A.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/70506959_10162272722205113_4416531659503960064_o.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_sid=ad2b24&_nc_ohc=SVXt_hI4eigAX-951jX&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=abc873531003c9792680ecac5040fd6e&oe=5EFA186F" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="489" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/70506959_10162272722205113_4416531659503960064_o.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_sid=ad2b24&_nc_ohc=SVXt_hI4eigAX-951jX&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=abc873531003c9792680ecac5040fd6e&oe=5EFA186F" style="background-color: transparent;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunday's Pre 50 final in the rain with Cris Ness #124 on a Velo . Photo by Richard Coburn</td></tr>
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By the time the P2 LW race was on, it was raining steadily. I debated starting at all, but I thought that people would love to hear the MV-3, so I did race, but took it very cautiously as I definitely didn't want to drop the bike. Again, someone fell in front of me turn 5A and the bike started jumping out of 4th gear and I started shifting from 3rd to 5th in the 7 speed gearbox and I ended up 4th, which was a bit disappointing, but kept it upright.<br />
Some photos here: <a href="file:///Users/davidroper/Downloads/VRRA-BaffledMuffler-Vol3-19np%20(1).pdf">file:///Users/davidroper/Downloads/VRRA-BaffledMuffler-Vol3-19np%20(1).pdf</a><br />
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A couple of weeks after Mosport was the debut of film Daniel Lovering had done on me, "Motorcycle Man"at the Newberryport Documentary Film Festival. I rode brother Doug's '77 Moto Guzzi LeMans to my friend Bill Burke's house in Dorchester, Ma. The next day, we drove to Newberryport and saw the video with two other videos involving wheels, one bicycle racing at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and the other a cross country trip in an old VW bus. The theater was standing room only and the makers and/or subjects of the videos had a brief Q & A after. Daniel arranged a lunch with a bunch of friends. Later Daniel learned that 'Motorcycle Man' was awarded Best Short Documentary by the festival organizers.<br />
<a href="https://www.nbptdocufest.org/post/the-2019-festival-the-winners-are">https://www.nbptdocufest.org/post/the-2019-festival-the-winners-are</a><br />
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The following weekend was the USCRA's Fall Giro, this time based in Oneonta, N.Y. I rode my '68 TC 200 Suzuki and had a great time. Photo by Matt Rice<br />
<img src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/70892610_10220365989887745_2308307770685784064_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&_nc_sid=b9115d&_nc_ohc=xQTVtYrlfCkAX_DouL6&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=50c69e2a9ab7bc66a9aea760b9789af8&oe=5EF9630E" />There was an excellent route, with a fair amount of dirt roads. Sat. morning started out quite foggy, which was challenging, but the day turned very nice and sunny. We had a check point at Bennett Motors, and Honda/Kawasaki dealership run by Ray Bennett in Fly Creek, N.Y., a vintage enthusiast. Ray has an extensive collection of vintage bikes on display at the shop. Among them was a Bridgestone RS 200 built by my late brother Doug, which I had no idea was there. It was a bitter sweet moment as this was the first Giro I've done without him since he started doing them.<br />
Here's a video that gives the flavor of the event. My bike @ .40 (seconds)<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXY-Y3mSUwg&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1n_pFwLDRiyzn1AmzekgbdYuqegBxcsspNm42GYvPBgXSkBxwJ_qXN6IA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXY-Y3mSUwg&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1n_pFwLDRiyzn1AmzekgbdYuqegBxcsspNm42GYvPBgXSkBxwJ_qXN6IA</a><br />
Sunday evening, I drove to Cortland and spent the night and the next morning went to my friend Steve Keast's house in Ithaca where I picked up a Horex Imperator frame and swing arm to go with the Zundapp Citation motor that I acquired incomplete a couple of years before and for which I had been gathering parts.<br />
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The final race of the 2019 season was the Barber Vintage Festival. I took my H-D 350 Sprint and my 1946 Moto Guzzi Dondolino. But, Gary Roper brought my ex-Mike Bungay 350 Sprint that lives in California with Karl Engellenner, who has developed it into superb race bike. Gary also brought Karl's sister bike for Walt Fulton to race as well as his own Velocette MAC and Indian Sport Scout. Racers are required to practice Thurs. and/or Fri., as there is no practice on the race days of Sat. and Sun. I chose to practice Thurs. Karl had put new fuel tanks on both bikes, with new fuel taps. I got out three times on this bike and, while we may have change the gearing once, the bike was working great. I went out once on the Dondolino and it seemed good. But, Dave Tompkins asked me if I like to take his Vincent Grey Flash out for a practice, and I definitely did. The bike was excellent and my quickest lap on it was more than 14 seconds faster than on the Dondolino. Dave decided that he had to go home to look after his sick dog. I told him that I'd be happy to race his bike in place of my Guzzi and, after thinking about it a while, he agreed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/72698000_2379090039031745_3283918194791677952_o.jpg?_nc_cat=100&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=zkGFExq-6dAAX9Rzy9z&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=1f49ce15c9915f3d97cb57101cf0df3f&oe=5EFC36DE" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/72698000_2379090039031745_3283918194791677952_o.jpg?_nc_cat=100&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=zkGFExq-6dAAX9Rzy9z&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=1f49ce15c9915f3d97cb57101cf0df3f&oe=5EFC36DE" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Motorcycle Man' film maker Daniel Lovering and I pose with my 350 Sprint while Karl and Walt work on the sister bike. That's Gary Roper's Velo MAC on the right. Photo by Talbot Lovering</td></tr>
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It was brutally hot and I was starting to get a little woozy, but I went out in the last round of practice on my ERTT that I had brought with me. My best lap was just over one second slower than on Bungay/Engellenner Sprint. Walt had had considerable problems with the sister bike with it cutting out on him more than once.<br />
Friday, I did a walk-about, going to the swap meet, seeing Chuck Hunneycutt, my old sparing partner and now head restorer at the museum, and going to the AMCA display. Walt did more practice, having never ridden the track before, and Karl decided that the cutting out problem was down to fuel flow.<br />
Saturday, my first race was the 3rd of the day, the 350GP, with 350 Sportsman and Novice Production Heavyweight gridded behind us. Jack Parker got the jump at the start on his DT1 Yamaha, but I led out of turn#1. However, we had a red flag on the first lap and we had to do a restart, now for 5 laps instead of 6. This time I led into turn#1 and was never headed, though early on I thought I saw a wheel in on me going into turn #5, and I presumed that was Alex McLean. Dean de St. Croix was riding Ken Rosevear's 350 BSA Goldstar Geoff Monty Special replica, a bike that I had race a couple of times and I knew that it and Dean were very fast. But, Dean had no points in AHRMA and therefore was gridded well back and had to wade through a lot of traffic. Apparently, he passed Alex on the last lap and he turned the fastest lap of the race (0.057 sec. faster than my best) and finished 2.8 seconds behind me and 0.001 second ahead of Alex. My bike had a hiccup between turns #10 & 11 on the last lap, which I didn't pay much attention to. That turned out to be a mistake. Walt again had his motor cutting out repeatedly as the race progressed and he ended up 5th.<br />
The Class C Hand and Foot shift classes were gridded behind the 200GP class in the second wave. I was never headed (in Class C) in this race either. Alex McLean had trouble with his Norton and dropped out on the 4th of 6 laps, his best lap being 1.4 seconds slower than my best. In fact, Gary Roper was the only other Footshift finisher on his 350 Velocette MAC. Dave Bourbeau was the first Handshift finisher, 45 seconds behind. Tompkins Vincent is a superb machine with excellent power, handling and brakes. Scott Dell on his Vincent was another of the non-finishers, his bike having seized. Scott requisitioned the Tompkins Vincent for Sunday and I would ride my Dondolino.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48k1cIOBZwpZm0S-T2B7wwZf5j9b-_dOLhzrMwxe3xGLqq_t54RbYSsYhC_HKm4CHizODfF4RKJuzdaVyYJ43b41XpaxRDa7cjKXSNUgX2_3WnKxC335zETU6mIGbZQJKomrHJlMREdQ/s1600/Starting+the+Class+C+10%253A5%253A19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48k1cIOBZwpZm0S-T2B7wwZf5j9b-_dOLhzrMwxe3xGLqq_t54RbYSsYhC_HKm4CHizODfF4RKJuzdaVyYJ43b41XpaxRDa7cjKXSNUgX2_3WnKxC335zETU6mIGbZQJKomrHJlMREdQ/s640/Starting+the+Class+C+10%253A5%253A19.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting Saturday's Class C race on Dave Tompkins Vincent Grey Flash. #81 Ralph Wessel, #75a Gary Roper, #35 Doc Batsleer. Photo by Darleen Dremhel</td></tr>
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Sat. night Karl thought of a possible cure for the apparent fuel starvation that Walt was experiencing. He cut the rubber gasket in the fuel tap so that both the main and reserve fed simultaneously. Karl asked me if I wanted him to do that on my bike, but I didn't think I had that problem, so decided not to change anything without being able to test it before the race.<br />
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Saturday night there was a showing of the Motorcycle Man video on a portable screen in the swap meet area and I got to hang out with Dave Aldana as they got set up.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aldana mugs with me and Maurice Turgeau, organizer of the showing. Photo by Talbot Lovering</td></tr>
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Alex McLean didn't start Sunday's 350GP, perhaps because he had already cinched the 350GP Championship and with it the Vintage Cup, and four others who raced Sat., didn't start Sun. So, Dean had 12 people to pass and opposed to the 17 on Sat. I led from the start, but on the 6th of 8 laps, my motor cut out momentarily on the exit from the chicane, turn #10. The next lap, it cut out in the same place, but for longer. On the last lap, Dean passed me in Turn #5 and my motor cut out for what seemed like for ever on the exit to the chicane, and I finished 4.5 seconds behind him. My fastest lap was 0.3 seconds faster than Sat. (clearly before the motor started cutting out), but Dean's fastest lap was 1.6 seconds faster that he had gone Sat. So, I don't know if I would have held him off if I hadn't suffered the fuel starvation. And, we don't know if Karl's modification on the fuel tap would have made a difference because the gearbox on Walt's bike broke early on.<br />
In Sunday's 200GP and Class C race, I started a bit tentatively on my Dondolino having only done a few laps on it three days before, and Dave Bourbeau shot into the lead on his H-D. Then, Ralph Wessel came by on his Indian. Alex McLean made a slow start, as he often does. I had started to get in the groove when he came by and he dragged me along and we both reeled in Ralph. We then both started closing on Dave, but Alex got by him, beating him by less than 1/4 sec., and I didn't, finishing just over 2 sec. behind Dave, 2nd Footshift, but 3rd Class C overall. My best lap was 4.28 seconds slower than my best on Dave Tompkins Vincent the day before, nothing like the 14 seconds slower in Thurs. practice.<br />
For the 2019 season, I did eight events at eight different venues, entering 32 races and starting 30 of them on six different bikes owned by three different people. I had 18 class wins, six 2nd, four 3rds, one fourth and one DNF. I didn't crash once, which is rare for me. A good year.Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-89169130595354661052020-04-29T23:32:00.002-04:002020-04-29T23:32:55.677-04:00AHRMA Rd. Am./Gingerman 2019During the Covid-19 shut down of April, 2020, I've had a chance to catch up on some of the events that I never got to last year.<br />
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Near the end of July, 2019, I drove out to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wi. for the AHRMA race there. Since the previous race at Calabogie, I had taken the Dondolino motor apart and re-indexed the gearbox selector. I was able to test both bikes at my secret test site before I left, and I had all four gears on the Dondo, but it wanted to pop out of 1st gear. I figured that was worn dogs and that I only needed 1st for the start and I could live with it. While I had records of the gearing for my ERTT, I didn't for the Dondo, but guessed correctly and both bikes were geared close to perfectly. In practice on the Dondo, I discovered that usually I had to 're-cock' the shifter on the up shifts. That is, after pressing down on the shifter to select the next gear, I'd have to lift up on the lever lightly for it to engage for the next upshift. Shifting in general is awkward on this bike, but it was running well and the brakes were good. The ERTT seemed good immediately. I was in race #11 on the Dondo and the final race #13 on the ERTT so, finishing practice at about 10:30a, I had to wait until about 4:30p to race. Race #11 had three waves with F-250 in the first, 200GP in the second, and Class C foot shift and handshift in the third and was only 3 laps of this 4.048mile track. Because lap times are so long, warmup and cool off laps eat up a lot of time, limiting the amount of time actually racing. I found that holding the shift lever down kept the gearbox from jumping out of gear and I got a decent start. Alex McLean on a rigid, cammy Norton and Dave Tompkins on a Vincent Comet pulled away. I went back and forth with Dave Bourbeau on his tank shift H-D. I had motor and brakes on him, but he could corner faster than me. When pressed hard, the back end of the Dondo dances around luridly. The friction shocks, flexy frame and 21” , WM1 (0?)wheels front AND rear limit the cornering ability, where as Dave’s H-D as a nice solid rear end and a big, fat tire. And, he’s an excellent rider. Dave prevailed and I finished 3rd foot shift and 20th overall out of the 32 starters. The last race of the day was 350GP in front of 350 Sportsman in the first wave and 250GP and Formula 125 in the second wave. I got a reasonably good start, but a couple of the 350 Sportsman bikes came by immediately. I dove under everyone into turn #1, but Eric Cook and Greg Potter came by on there 350 Honda’s and the three of us swapped back and forth. Again, I seemed to have a little top end on them, probably because I had a fairing and they can’t in Sportsman, and I had brakes on them with my 4 LS 230mm Ceriani and probably less weight, but maybe they had acceleration on me. Eric dropped out the 2nd lap and I pulled away from Greg. Alex McLean got by Greg and we were both surprised to see the checkered flag at the end of the 3rd Lap the race having been shortened because of earlier delays, unbeknownst to us. I won by less than 3/4 of a sec., with the fastest lap of the race.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I pitted next to Kenny Cummings and NYC Norton.</td></tr>
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Sat. eve, I rode my ‘68 TC200 Suzuki about 6 miles over to Kiel for dinner with friends.<br />
Sunday’s race on the Dondolino was much the same as Sat., except that the gearbox did jump out of 1st gear at the start, so I didn’t get as good a start. Again I was 3rd Class C footshift and behind Dave Bourbeau and 17th O.A., and about half a sec. slower overall time.<br />
For the 350GP race on Sun., this time we all knew it was going to be a 3 lap race. I again dove under the faster starters into turn #1 and had less of a tussle with Eric Cook. On the 3rd (i.e. last) lap, Alex tried to out brake me into turn #8, but got in too hot and off line and ran wide onto the rumble strips and I thought that that was the last I’d see of him. But, he made an incredible recovery and timed the draft beautifully and just pipped me at the line by less than 2/3 of a sec. My fastest lap was 0.019 sec. slower that Sat. and Alex’s was more that 2 1/4 seconds faster. Good stuff.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was a bike show and this 125 Bultaco Streaker was one of the more unusual bikes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pat Fitzgerald had his Excelsior Henderson four there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first Yamaha R1, or YRI as it was officially designated </td></tr>
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I spent Sun. night with my friend in Kiel, then went to Chicago in the morning and spent several days with old friends in Chicago. Wed., evening a bunch of the ChiVinMoto folks got together in a collective garage space to host out of towners Greg Glevicky and myself.<br />
Fri. morning, I drove to Gingerman Raceway, near South Haven, Mi. After the first practice on the Dondolino, I played with the external adjustment on the gearbox selector and got it so it wouldn't jump out of 1st gear and I didn't have to 're-cock' the shifter on the upshifts.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFMx4DUr3V_xXHyzl7XMA_7xZJ7W3ZGvoQiCpNXimZRJSCJUgSW09mcMAQWtmDO1WCDu3YMdgXbiHh7UD0xJra7F-hYCt_ca8WOkAWFGbZUY4zSia29z3nRwU6iaIusXAP_KmU6deo3E/s1600/98BED521-A8AC-416E-8FA6-11A991AA3816.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFMx4DUr3V_xXHyzl7XMA_7xZJ7W3ZGvoQiCpNXimZRJSCJUgSW09mcMAQWtmDO1WCDu3YMdgXbiHh7UD0xJra7F-hYCt_ca8WOkAWFGbZUY4zSia29z3nRwU6iaIusXAP_KmU6deo3E/s640/98BED521-A8AC-416E-8FA6-11A991AA3816.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason Roberts long stroke, wet clutch 200GP CRTT</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keith Leithy’s 450 Honda based racer ridden by Andrew Mauk</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkTJpvyte52PQdSM9ycEz2n9Do-5iI7glhLup1zYqshxh1IbipU42zAARld1fObMqRH9Alo6fPMau0sIl4usfKVpJp-gCAiiCeHeRAakSRe4L7sWYNKmdIVx3vntkbRJ6ikHH4p4ra24/s1600/84212694-DDD6-4B8C-9901-AC8D7F933891.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkTJpvyte52PQdSM9ycEz2n9Do-5iI7glhLup1zYqshxh1IbipU42zAARld1fObMqRH9Alo6fPMau0sIl4usfKVpJp-gCAiiCeHeRAakSRe4L7sWYNKmdIVx3vntkbRJ6ikHH4p4ra24/s640/84212694-DDD6-4B8C-9901-AC8D7F933891.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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My wheels at Gingerman</div>
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The 350GP/350 Sportsman race was my first. Alex McLean got an excellent start and began to pull away and I thought 'I'm not catching him today'. But, after a couple of laps, he seemed to miss a shift and I closed. He seemed to be getting ragged and I got by him and pulled away, winning by almost 5 3/4 seconds and having the fastest lap, despite the fact that my tach stopped working during the race. Alex told me after that his tires were shot and he was sliding around.<br />
In the Class C race, I again went back and forth with Dave Bourbeau passing him on the brakes and straights, he passing me in the corners. I was ahead of him down the back straight on the last lap when I came upon a 250GP and a F-250 rider. I thought that I had to get through the last corner ahead of them to keep Bourbeau at bay. But, I ended up getting into the corner way too hot and off line and ran wide and three of them passed me back and I ended up 3rd in class and 19th overall.<br />
Alex loaned me a tach for Sun. and, though it didn't seem accurate, I still thought it would be useful. He mounted new tires on his bike and in the race he went a good deal faster than he had Sat., and I went somewhat slower and he beat me by almost 21 seconds, his fastest lap being about 2 1/14 secs faster than Sat., mine 1 1/4 slower that Sat. This was the third time that I had beaten him on Sat. and he beat me on Sun.<br />
In the Class C race I was also slower than Sat. Kyle Corser, who had problems on his tank shift H-D Sat., and didn't finish, clearly had resolved those problems and was flying, dragging Dave Bourbeau along with him and out of my reach. My fastest lap was about half a second slower than Sat. I guess I peak early.Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-16734454063997150622020-03-26T13:51:00.000-04:002020-03-26T13:51:27.442-04:00Brno August 1984<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a photo of Tony Rutter (in the middle) which I apparently 'photo bombed' (on the right) in the paddock at Brno for the Czech GP in 26 August, 1984. We're both on Ducati TT2s. I've lost track of who took the photo, but it was one of the thousands of East Germans who came to the event.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is from the same event and I did keep track of who took this photo: H-P Gerschner</td></tr>
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<br />Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-54267840299669903372020-03-25T10:25:00.000-04:002020-04-06T17:10:05.624-04:00Tony RutterI just hear that Tony Rutter died at the age of 78 after a brief illness. While I didn't really know him, I think we were seven races together. The first race I ever did at the Isle of Man was the F-3 TT which was run concurrently with the F-2 and Tony won that on a TT2 Ducati, while I was 12 in the F-3 on a 350 Aermacchi after the chain fell off on the last lap in Ramsey and I spent a while getting in back on and restarting. In '83, I ran the F-2 and F-1 TTs and Tony won the F-2 on a Ducati, while I was 12 in the F-2 on a Morwaki Kawasaki and DNFed on a 950 bevel drive Ducati in the F-1 race when the gearbox broke.<br />
Again in '84, I ran the F-2 and F-1 races and Tony again won the F-2 race and was 3rd in the F-1 on Ducatis, while I was 22nd in the F-2 after a lengthly pit stop to repair the shift lever which I has grounded and bent back at Sarah's Cottage on the 2nd lap and was able to shift up to 5th gear on the Cronk-y-voddy straight, but then found that I couldn't down shift and completed the rest of the lap, including Ramsey Hairpin and Governors Bridge, in 5th gear. I only got to the Gooseneck on the 1st lap of the F-1 TT, where a fitting on the oil cooler let go, spraying me in oil. Later that day, I won the Senior Historic TT.<br />
Later that year I raced at Villa Real, Portugal in the TT F-1 race and while I don't know for sure, I assume Tony was in the race. I only made a couple of corners in that race before I got shunted into a haybale and broke off the shift lever riding a TT1 Ducati. In August of that year, the Ulster GP at Dundrod and the Czech GP at Brno were back to back and I race the TT F-2 class at each of them. Again, I don't have complete results, but I assume Tony was at Dundrod. I had a good race and finished 6th. The next weekend, I race in Brno, Czechoslovakia after traveling through the I.O.M, Paris, and Vienna. I know Tony was there because I have a photo of the two of us on our Ducatis in the pits. Again, I don't know where Tony finished, but I had another good race and ended up 7th in a race that was part wet through the 10.925 Km. street circuit with a reputed 400,000 spectators.<br />
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Tony won 4 TT F-2 World Championships, 7 IOM TTs and numerous North West 200s. He was one of the truly great road racer and did well to make it to 78 years of age after almost dying in a huge crash at Monjuich Park in 1985.Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-50007378656046559922020-02-28T21:28:00.001-05:002020-03-01T15:59:18.411-05:00Roebling Road 2020For the second race of the season, I drove down to Roebling Road Raceway in Bloomingdale, Ga., with my CRTT and ERTT Sprints. This would be the first run on the CRTT since I discovered that the crankcase was cracked after racing it at NJMP (and winning both 250GP races) Memorial Day weekend of last year. I replaced the crankcase with '67 SS road bike cases, which had to be modified for the bigger diameter sleeve gear, bearing and seal on the transmission output. Bill Himmelsbach did the shimming and assembly and when I took it to my secret test site, it fired right up and had no leaks or issues.<br />
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I arrived Fri. afternoon after driving through heavy snow in Va. and N.C. Thurs. night. I got my pit setup and the bikes through scrutineering. It got very cold that night and there was frost everywhere in the morning. I took it very easy in practice, but gradually worked up a little speed. The CRTT wasn't running correctly, hesitating and cutting out. I wondered if it was running lean because of the cold dense air, so went to put in a larger main jet. But, I found the main jet laying in the jet holder, so just screwed it back into the carb tightly. The motor ran much better in the second practice. The ERTT ran well and the gearing seemed perfect.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0x1iiSANweqvjOqt9hNKvQ-uosna0JJeZgiEXN-yTYXt_O6LQdU8_1TNJmxG-QhfLRG0WeB057BYzRISoFDiCZ7xfqj6-j91yK3LLsh_FAH9_5HHBv8OBP4oSgvJbUkgd7wj8ML8WME/s1600/grid+for+350GP.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0x1iiSANweqvjOqt9hNKvQ-uosna0JJeZgiEXN-yTYXt_O6LQdU8_1TNJmxG-QhfLRG0WeB057BYzRISoFDiCZ7xfqj6-j91yK3LLsh_FAH9_5HHBv8OBP4oSgvJbUkgd7wj8ML8WME/s640/grid+for+350GP.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex McLean is on the pole for the 350GP race to my left out of the photo. photo by Darleen Dremel</td></tr>
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The 350GP race was my first, with 350 Sportsman gridded behind us. I got a good start and went straight in the lead. On the 2nd lap, Alex McLean drafted by me toward the end of the straight. On the third lap, Kevin Dinsmoor came by the both of us on his Sportsman bike, but perhaps braked a little early into turn #1 and balked Alex a bit and I went under the both of them and back in the lead. After a couple of laps, Alex drafted by me again near the end of the straight. He seemed to have a little motor on me and I could stay in his draft, but couldn't pass him. On the last lap, we came up on a backmarker going into Turn #4 and I got by him, but Alex didn't. I was thinking that I had a shot at the win, as Alex had only drafted passed me well after the Start/finish line, but he was right on my tail and timed the draft perfectly and beat me by 0.034 seconds. It was a very fun race.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbHVZTshxdznYylh9tytQgV4pz95yE3a9rCn_sbM4Y7ZzavX36WR3c4hAVgzKDGnR-6B4Bu9dmwEUk9D1c3Uy9lBAj3wGAZnjyj_x9AuRZ2F0J9PVOO9Dx-awHowg4YZJEuIyyR4Z_Oc/s1600/I+congradulate+Alex+McLean.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbHVZTshxdznYylh9tytQgV4pz95yE3a9rCn_sbM4Y7ZzavX36WR3c4hAVgzKDGnR-6B4Bu9dmwEUk9D1c3Uy9lBAj3wGAZnjyj_x9AuRZ2F0J9PVOO9Dx-awHowg4YZJEuIyyR4Z_Oc/s640/I+congradulate+Alex+McLean.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I congratulate Alex McLean after a great race. Darleen Dremel photo</td></tr>
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The 250GP class was gridded in the second wave behind 500 Premiere, Formula 500, and 500 Sportsman. Again, I got a good start and went straight into the lead. I won the 250GP class by more than 30 seconds and passed 15 of 28 starters to finish 13th overall with the 12th fastest lap. What I didn't realize was that my arch nemesis and good friend Jack Parker had crashed his DT1 Yamaha on the warmup lap. Things would be different Sun.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4MoGFXqjw3pW-rTQSP2R5iFZAolM9UTS_2w4JlzV2MlCpoLtsNDN0OpDUTxl49ikQ0vakPcaW0iCtwqcZCuG263OzhaQi79SeEQHJiyCq4YyzhvdEonJnuUjQce0LS4ZymcFSSCfFEs/s1600/waiting+to+start+CRTT+rght+frnt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4MoGFXqjw3pW-rTQSP2R5iFZAolM9UTS_2w4JlzV2MlCpoLtsNDN0OpDUTxl49ikQ0vakPcaW0iCtwqcZCuG263OzhaQi79SeEQHJiyCq4YyzhvdEonJnuUjQce0LS4ZymcFSSCfFEs/s640/waiting+to+start+CRTT+rght+frnt.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wait to start my CRTT before Saturday's race. Darleen Dremel photo</td></tr>
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While it was slightly warmer Sun. morning, there was still frost about when I arrived at the track. I took the CRTT out in practice gingerly the first lap, but then tried to go too fast too soon and tucked the front end in turn #3 and tumbled for a while. The knuckle on my left little finger, my left forearm, and left hip got minor abrasions, but nothing serious. The bike wasn't too bad, but the clutch lever was broken, the tach cable broken, the transponder had got ripped off the bike (but was recovered) and the carb was full of dirt. When I took the carb off, I saw that there was dirt down the port and the intake valve was slightly open with a grain of sand sitting on the valve seat. So the cylinder head had to come off if I was going to race the bike. Dick Miles started to help, then Erik Green happened by and sprung into action. When we took the head off, the Helicoil for one of the exhaust bolt came out. Then Al Hollingsworth came by and he had a Helicoil kit and went and fetched it. Erik decided that the intake valve had to come out as it wasn't sealing. I pulled out my valve spring compressor, lapping compound and suction stick. But, AHRMA had accelerated the scheduled for Sun., and there were three races before lunch, the second being the 350GP. I went off to race while the crew continued to work on the 250. I got a good start, but Alex soon came by. I went a little slower than Sat., and he slowly pulled away and won by over 5 seconds with me 2nd overall.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMhirwjZfRADXUa1eOfdWXGQYOvzOJ9LsDn_3q1jJYA2pY3aClgyQTHt-TR1o2a8Ja5RfO6cQCBXIWbZaIaP2CS_iw110G77gQSYMhQ5ZAAK3IfuH6u1w4zYTuIVTQpTUEMd82yW_9GY/s1600/Putting+CRTT+in+gear.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMhirwjZfRADXUa1eOfdWXGQYOvzOJ9LsDn_3q1jJYA2pY3aClgyQTHt-TR1o2a8Ja5RfO6cQCBXIWbZaIaP2CS_iw110G77gQSYMhQ5ZAAK3IfuH6u1w4zYTuIVTQpTUEMd82yW_9GY/s640/Putting+CRTT+in+gear.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putting the CRTT in gear to pull it back on compression. Darleen Dremel photo</td></tr>
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<br />
Fortunately, the 250GP was after lunch and we worked straight through. At some point, Jim Jowers came over and told Erik that he had a flat tire on his sidecar and he went off to deal with that, as the sidecar race was immediately after the 250GP race, which was first after lunch. For some reason, with the new Helicoil in the head, a longer bolt was needed and Al went off to find one. When I turned the crank to get the piston at TDC, it lifted the cylinder off the crankcase and dirt fell down in the joint, so we had to pull the cylinder well up to clean and reseal it. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6he-AJIe3mLJ0YklQJqzeLMQdxbPmFMNSLm51usInS-NCo162qgewcZqcAqj784iwHcT5W_TUHdalINAqeStvVpNab0VSgaX57gHITgP5hsijjUOFNhcRRdDIrOgcrFAwHxP-TUzm9-U/s1600/Al+H.+puts+head+on+CRTT.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6he-AJIe3mLJ0YklQJqzeLMQdxbPmFMNSLm51usInS-NCo162qgewcZqcAqj784iwHcT5W_TUHdalINAqeStvVpNab0VSgaX57gHITgP5hsijjUOFNhcRRdDIrOgcrFAwHxP-TUzm9-U/s640/Al+H.+puts+head+on+CRTT.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Al Hollingsworth putting the head back on the motor. Dave Hollingsworth photo.</td></tr>
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<br />We removed the tach cable, but the tach drive was still binding, so we removed that, too. The front mudguard was cracked and rubbing on the tire, so when we pulled the bike down off the bench, Dick straightened the forks which were tweaked and the mudguard cleared. We fired up the motor just as they were making 3rd call, and I rode straight down to pit road and onto the track without stopping. I took a pretty tentative warmup lap and gave the motor a good look on the grid and didn't see any leaks. Again, I launched straight into the lead, but on the 2nd lap Jack Parker drafted by. But, I could draft by him if I got on his tail on the straight. We went back and forth and I was leading when I took the white flag starting the last lap.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2JMxmH3H0JPN0vveYqhIML8HHXKkIAxw52gSRVbvazm4dX7V4qOg-OaNEfzJIT9CeQIHM70X1UZok5BiaPMcAjLmjcBxol1m06_9MtYbuh-drlW-0dQwHaQNUqPBgjSRl0g75nDQUh80/s1600/DR+leading+Jack+Parker+%2540white+flag.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="719" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2JMxmH3H0JPN0vveYqhIML8HHXKkIAxw52gSRVbvazm4dX7V4qOg-OaNEfzJIT9CeQIHM70X1UZok5BiaPMcAjLmjcBxol1m06_9MtYbuh-drlW-0dQwHaQNUqPBgjSRl0g75nDQUh80/s640/DR+leading+Jack+Parker+%2540white+flag.PNG" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leading Jack Parker at the white flag. Dave Hollingsworth photo</td></tr>
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<br />
I was getting a good draft behind Mark William's H1 Kawasaki when, near the end of the straight the motor lost power and I pulled in the clutch and coasted to a stop at turn #2. It turned out that the sparkplug lead and fallen off, which is a lot better than a rod through the case. And, I was still scored as 2nd even though I didn't finish the last lap. I guess that Chris Spargo, the overall leader on his F-500 Yamaha had lapped everyone behind me, so I did my 7 laps before anyone else in the 250 class. And, if the plug lead hadn't fallen off, neither Jack or I was sure who would have won. So, it was an exciting, successful, fun weekend despite the crash in the middle. Many thanks to Erik and Henry Green, Al Hollingsworth, Dan Levine, and Dick Miles.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhknUNRMiSJTF40NlMU6fMfZ_-T0V2kt2ie8z1qC-GRuhzsr1sFPSYezxPEOygCCEd7ZuQ-vmF0_cXK2eRLK-6PZNtMr_oBqPzG3ZSm6yxXdUpUiSgvUMAA1oeaJW-HTH_T3_G9YDFs8/s1600/Dick+Miles+imparts+some+wisdom+to+DR.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhknUNRMiSJTF40NlMU6fMfZ_-T0V2kt2ie8z1qC-GRuhzsr1sFPSYezxPEOygCCEd7ZuQ-vmF0_cXK2eRLK-6PZNtMr_oBqPzG3ZSm6yxXdUpUiSgvUMAA1oeaJW-HTH_T3_G9YDFs8/s640/Dick+Miles+imparts+some+wisdom+to+DR.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dick Miles imparts some wisdom to me. Darleen Dremel photo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFe7VGxvd3rF2Wu5v-D-2vUBulF37e-a4RFHau29nI0gUihECujU0pTTdZlxKRVG5M9DpZ8Jto9G_GuNw8B1gZlvKYCbQxVJiSin5iYq_zOUi0tw0YsVDYOmsLU4FYW2Wz5xIbV0ACuaI/s1600/I+tell+Dr.+Dan+how+it+is.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFe7VGxvd3rF2Wu5v-D-2vUBulF37e-a4RFHau29nI0gUihECujU0pTTdZlxKRVG5M9DpZ8Jto9G_GuNw8B1gZlvKYCbQxVJiSin5iYq_zOUi0tw0YsVDYOmsLU4FYW2Wz5xIbV0ACuaI/s640/I+tell+Dr.+Dan+how+it+is.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I tell Dr. Dan Levine how it is. Darleen Dremel photo.</td></tr>
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<br />Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-68260344780175162692020-02-15T17:08:00.000-05:002020-02-15T17:26:17.535-05:00Laguna Seca 2020I've raced at Laguna Seca on seven different occasions going back to 1982 (which was a shorter circuit then without the current turns #3, #4, and #5). The last time I raced there was 1989. The last time I rode there was 2008, when I did a Moto Giro based in Monterey and we got to do a lap of the circuit, me on my '53 250 Airone Sport (I crashed).<br />
In Fri. practice, I was second out in my group and first out, Brian Larrabure, crashed on the pit out road before he even got on the circuit. This freaked me out, as it didn't look like he was going fast, and I slowed way down. I started gingerly on the circuit and when I got to turn #5, I saw the red flag. So, I threw my hand up and putted slowing ahead. Even at this pace, I blew the corkscrew, forgetting how tight it was and ended up on the rumble strip going down the right. In hindsight, it was probably a good thing that I did my first lap of the circuit in almost 12 years under the red flag. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. But, everything went well for my four rounds of practice in beautiful weather.<br />
I had entered 350GP and 'bumped-up' to 500 Premiere with my 350 Sprint. I noticed in practice that my times were better than Andrew Mauk on Keith Leighty's 450 Honda, one of my competitors in 500 premiere, but I didn't put too much stock in that as it was Andrew's first time at Laguna. The sunshine ended around 4:30p when the fog rolled in and the last two practice groups didn't get their last round of practice.<br />
The fog was very slow to lift Sat., and there ended up being no practice and we went straight to racing after lunch. My first race was the 500 Premiere. We were in the second wave behind the first wave of Sound of Thunder 3 (which consists on SV650s and 750 Ducatis and such). Behind us in the 2nd wave was Formula 500, and 500 Sportsman, with Lightweight Novice Production in the third wave, 42 entrants in total. Brian Larrabure, on his Minovation Seeley G-50, now without a windscreen after his Fri. crash, and Andrew Mauk came by me almost immediately and gradually pulled away. Mark Morrow on his two stroke Yamaha came by the three of us to win the F-500 class and Ari Henning, on his 350 Sportsman Honda, finished 0.001 seconds behind me to win his class. I was 11th overall.<br />
The 350GP followed after two races and we were gridded in front of 350 Sportsman in one wave. I got the holeshot, but Ari Henning came by before we got to turn #2 and pulled away, but no other bikes challenged me. I finished more than 16 seconds behind Ari, but more than 30 seconds ahead of my teammate Walt Fulton III, who was second in class, third overall. My best lap was more than a second quicker than in the 500 race.<br />
Sunday was sunny, but windy. We did get one round of practice in and I just did two laps to make sure everything was alright and get my mind right. But, all the 8 lap races were shortened to 6 laps as they had run out of time on Sat. In the 500 Premiere, again I was first off the line and again Brian and Andrew came by me, but this time I was able to hang with them. On the second lap, Brian was leading and I was second when he seemed to check up early in turn #6 and being right on top of him, I stuffed it inside him and there was light contact. He immediately shot off the track, but it seemed he decided to rather than it was out of his control. In subsequent laps, I saw him standing with his bike at the barrier on the outside of the turn. Had I damaged his bike when we touched? No time to think about that now as Andrew was all over me. On the last lap, I was leading when Andrew stuffed inside of me in turn #6 and again there was light contact. I lost my drive a bit and Andrew pulled ahead up through the Corkscrew. There was traffic ahead and I was able to get ahead and win the race. What I didn't realize was that one cylinder of Andrew's twin quit and that's why I got by him. Brian's drive belt had broken, probably the result of his Fri. crash and getting gravel in it, and that's why he suddenly slowed. Mark Morrow and Ari Henning didn't start the race. Andrew's fastest lap was about 1/2 second faster than mine.<br />
In Sunday's 350GP it was pretty much a repeat of Sat., with me getting the jump and Ari coming by early and pulling away. I only finished 1.5 seconds behind Ari as he had a problem and slowed towards the end.<br />
One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to spend time with Ari Henning and Zack Courts. I raced with both of their dads in the '90s and they both grew up at the track. Ari's dad Todd came to Laguna to see his son race and everyone was happy to see him. Ari and Zack are best of friends and both superb racers. Zack won Sound of Thunder 2 and Sound of Singles 1 riding a Kramer for the North American distributor. Years ago, Ari got a job at Motorcyclist Magazine and brought Zack there. In addition to both writing for the magazine, they did very creative and funny videos. They left Motorcyclist and went to Motor Trend when it started doing online videos. Now that has ended, but they have plenty of projects in the works. I was very flattered that Zack took the time to photograph me at various places around the circuit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhclre8wVeNVcpRzEMRLW_FSzIL13dHrv6NdGcesYzJEGsD6gxBFUjEV6eaWlSPqsmcINyiiIqSABsIjBThiKOjHdaJjISvmNQbOM83piq-0xxZPQ4Kl-4u_-ajRMo_7lQGJNkZAIwGd5I/s1600/front+straight.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhclre8wVeNVcpRzEMRLW_FSzIL13dHrv6NdGcesYzJEGsD6gxBFUjEV6eaWlSPqsmcINyiiIqSABsIjBThiKOjHdaJjISvmNQbOM83piq-0xxZPQ4Kl-4u_-ajRMo_7lQGJNkZAIwGd5I/s640/front+straight.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">all photos by Zack Courts.</td></tr>
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<br />Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7990383502677327774.post-3499919936918566942019-11-12T21:49:00.003-05:002019-11-12T21:49:45.446-05:00Skip’s ‘79 Daytona LW winLarry Lawrence tells the story of Skip Aksland’s 1979 Daytona Lightweight win in a Cycle News Archive:<br />
<a href="https://www.cyclenews.com/2019/11/article/archives-when-skip-beat-the-best/">https://www.cyclenews.com/2019/11/article/archives-when-skip-beat-the-best/</a>Dave Roperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04982799985981022489noreply@blogger.com0