Hi all, just got back from our weekend out west. The racer was well received by all fellow racers and people from the general public.....I think it was the most fun I have ever had on a motorcycle...!! I was very busy with riding both the solo and swinging on the 72 Honda 750/4 outfit we race. At first on Saturday morning I ran the solo with it's muffler on, and all went well, except I could barely hear the thing.....So you guessed it...off came the muffler, and hey presto...It sounded like a twin on steroids. I ran it again, and checked with our sound level man who had been at one part of the track checking the overall levels from all machines...his maximum reading was 92 db. So I knew I wasn't over the top. Sunday (today) ran it in the regularity, and then asked the clerk of the course if I could tag along behind all the period 3 solo's just to see how it was done......well it wasn't long before I was picking them off one by one, and came up closer to the leading 3 or 4 bikes. So much for me tagging along at the rear....no harm done and no complaints. All the pitside racer boys and spectators all thought it was great, both the sight and sound. The attention it got was phenomenal, with many photos taken by one and all. A friend has captured some footage on his camera and will send it to me soon. Apart from a little off throttle stumble, which was quite minor really, but just needs a bit of fettling...I know it is early days, but all in all I could not fault the handling or braking....the clutch worked well and the shift was fine although it was a touch difficult to find neutral at times. The performance was great, and just seemed to pull hard from low revs and just wanted to keep reving. Given the small track I could only manage 3rd gear until the next corner, as the main straight was an 1/8th track in distance so about 200 meters or so, not a track suited to larger bikes, but a lot of fun non the less. The other point of interest at least for me, was the vibrations from the engine at low rpm, which reduce as the rev's pick up. Now I know those of you who are familiar to cranks set up for racing would be use to this, but most bikes I have played with (for road use) this does not happen. It feels light and nimble on the corners, and the tires are fantastic. Some corners I hit at speeds that made me wonder if I would make it, and once in the bend the tires did not skip or wobble at all...!!! There was not a hint of head shake or rough handling, even when I hit some of the ripple strips, and I was most cautious not to roll on too much throttle too soon out of the bends, just a nice roll on until things squared up, and then gave it some stick. The ability to pass other bikes was a real blast. One chap who had his full dresser Shovel Harley was going around the track, and I could hear his running boards grinding through the corners as I overtook him on the inside. It truly was a fantastic weekend, and I can only say that I am really looking forward to getting in some more track time, and having more fun with it. Cheers for now...........Greg.
