NYC Norton

NRE in the house | Nourish 750 fitted up to chassis

Looking good, feeling good.  We had to work to make it happen, but the Magyar NRE 750 was shoveled in to fit to its Seeley MKII frame.  A little-known factoid about these motors: The case mounting-bolt bosses are different widths and require appropriate shimming.  No two of them are exactly the same dimensions, so a lot of attention was put into the plates to get it all into the Seeley and keep it perfectly lined up.  This, and the ribbed oil galley under the timing cover was certain to foul the lower frame tube without careful placement.  Happy to report about .100″ clearance without much ado.  The front plates are next.  Much, much, so ever so much more to come on this one.

Posted in: builds, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: AHRMA, John Magyar, Minnovation Racing, Nourish, NRE, Seeley MKII | Leave a comment

99% Done | ...about 2% to go

Almost there.  The first bike ever put onto the track by us has been almost completely resurrected (with a few upgrades, tweaks, fabrication details, etc).  Today the primary cover mounting system was fabbed and the cover installed.  Tomorrow, maybe a chain, some safety wire, and a few dyno pulls.  We’ll see.

This is an Open GP/BEARS bike, through and through.  Expect to be seeing it on the track again this year.

Posted in: builds, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: BEARS championship, Brian Koscelansky, nyc norton 001 | 1 comment

Springtime is for Seeleys | Two bikes to blow minds

It’s been hush hush, for no reason other than the details needed to be hammered out.  Now… consider them hammered.  Our long-time friend, mentor, techie, and fellow racer John Magyar put in the order for not one, but TWO complete Seeley-framed bikes, the likes of which haven’t been seen.  Read on.

On Tuesday, February 14th, a crate the size of an NYC studio apartment arrived at Spannerland, having made its way across the Atlantic from Minnovation Racing.

The crate was actually smaller than some of our past deliveries, but inside was nothing but twice the fun.

In this photo, actual likenesses of Mick and Martin from Minnovation Racing.  Silly boys.

As the packing material was pulled away, the motorbike porn begins to shine through

Voila!  Two NYC Norton-spec Minnovation Racing Seeley MK2 chassis are pulled from the crate.  Folks, rest assured you are looking at something you won’t get to see very often: Two Titchmarsh-built Seeleys lined up in their birthday suits, ready for the jewelry and dresses.

Some of the aforementioned jewelry.  Engine plates, custom mounting bolts, spools, brackets, etc.  An alloy dream.

Stamped by the man himself.  Roger Titchmarsh.

Falcon alloy/Ti racing shocks from the UK.  Good, good stuff.  In the past we’ve used Works Performance and been very happy with them, but unfortunately Works discontinued their Ultralite series of racing shocks, and Falcon does racing well, so it was an easy decision.

This is as close to an assembly line as we get.  Certain to keep the shop bustling for the spring and beyond. The chassis on the left is earmarked for a Nourish Racing Engineering (NRE) 8-valve 750cc motor, built to Formula 750 specifications.  This bike will run a Marzocchi front end with twin Brembo calipers, and a flat-track-style spool-type rear hub with knock-off.  This will be heavily campaigned in AHRMA’s National Series in the F750 class.

Once completed, the chassis on the right will be our pièce de résistance – a 1007cc Steve Maney motor, fully blown with a Drouin supercharger, to run (and we mean RUN)  on the street.  Yes, that’s right, a fully blown 1007cc Norton street bike in a Seeley MK2 chassis.  Our ears are already hurting.  The motor is now complete but required swapping the alloy MAP rods with JS Motorsport’s Long Rod/Raised Piston Pin setup; the only way to go for reliability and safety to handle the boost.

Both bikes will be documented fully as we progress on their creation.  Thanks to John Magyar and International Mining Services for the contract, and to Minnovation/JS Motorsport/Comstock Engineering for their help getting the ducks in a row.

Posted in: builds, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing, street | Tagged: 1007cc, 8-valve head, AHRMA, Comstock Engineering, Drouin Supercharger, International Mining Services, John Magyar, JS Motorsport, Minnovation Racing, Nourish, NRE, Roger Titchmarsh, Spannerland, Steve Maney | 2 comments

NYC Norton 001 | Our first racer comes home for a makeover

Up on the bench for the last while has been a project very near to us – the first NYC Norton racer.  The bike started life as a mild-steel road-going Featherbed-framed ES2, and after several years of development and upgrades, became the 750cc beast that propelled Kenny to his first BEARS championship in 2007.  It was sold to finance the first Seeley.  The new owner commissioned us to build it back to its former glory, and then some.  Good to have it back, even temporarily.  It is still the benchmark on building up a competitive vintage racer using most of its components found on production street bikes.

The bodywork is out for paint, and there are a few loose ends to tie up, but it’s 90% home.  There will be a blog update with all the specs, mods and changes in the near future.

Posted in: builds, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: BEARS championship, Big Valve Head, Brian Koscelansky, Featherbed, Hemmings, NYC Norton first racer | Leave a comment

(re) birth of a 750 | streetfighter to be

When I received this 1970 750 Commando motor from its owner, Peter Billow, it was scattered about in milk crates and dog-eared boxes,  and showed signs of a tragic life, made ever-more evident as we worked off the 1/8″ coating of grease.  Yep… it needed serious love.  Peter had a pointed vision and wanted something not excessive or over the top, but something more than stock.  Often, when I hear this, I find folks are looking for the single magic (and inexpensive) component that will immediately transform their bike into a fire-breathing dragon.  Not this time.  I worked with Peter though several discussions, mapping it all out. We chose to go with a racing cam with useable midrange (PW3, in this case) and all associated components that must accompany such a cam to achieve any benefit; making it flow, and setting the top end up so it could handle revving up to the redline for extended periods without worry.  Now with a rebuilt crank, cylinders overbored with proper piston-to-wall clearance, head skimmed and ported down by the guides, while keeping the stock 28mm ports (it flows better with a higher port charge than a 32mm Combat).  In this photo Amal 930s are bolted on, but we may go to 32s (no bigger), and custom tapered manifolds.  A little dyno time is in store in the near future.  This is certainly a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  (Rocker spindle covers on their way!)  More to come as we build up the rest of the bike.

 

Posted in: builds, street | Tagged: 750cc, Peter Billow, PW3, Raised Compression, Streetfighter | Comments Closed

First post of the new blog | January 12, 2012

If you’ve clicked around, you’ve seen this site is still a work-in-progress.  Over the next weeks much of the old site info will be uploaded here, organized within the blog section.  As well as very regular new posts of stuff that is going on in the shop.  For example – I know of two Seeley-framed bikes that are on the benches now: One, a F750 Racer based on a Nourish Racing 8-Valve motor, and the other,  a 1007cc Steve Maney Supercharged(!) Commando street fighter.  Stay tuned for more.

Posted in: builds, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing, street | Tagged: first post, new nycnorton site | Comments Closed

Dinner of Champions | Chewing the fat with Kevin Schwantz

The 2011 Barber Vintage Festival was without question the biggest racing event I’ve ever taken part in.  Supported by Jamie Waters and Bellmouth Racing, our paddock played host to a group of Kiwis that made their way around the world with their pukka 500 Premier bikes, headed up by legendary tuner Ken McIntosh, who provided a very fast Manx Norton with the familiar #34 emblazoned on the side for world-champion Kevin Schwantz to lead the way.  Although it was a busy weekend for all, every once in a while I’d look up from what I was doing to have Kevin poking his head in, making comments, and being a good bloke.  I’ve been around a few celebs, and he was the best of the best; so generous and sincere.  We had some great chats, some good racing discussions, and best of all, we were able to spend a little quality time with him off the track.  Here we sit in Rusty’s BBQ, in Leeds, AL, after quite a feast.  This intense discussion was Kevin asserting that the Peanut Butter pie was far superior to the Banana Creme.  And who am I to argue?

Posted in: Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: 500cc, Barber Motorsports, Bellmouth Racing, Ken McIntosh, Kevin Schwantz, Manx Norton | Leave a comment

Racer 2011 | Evolution of A Norton Racebike

2011: Moving on up

January, 2011

Having decided to focus primarily on the F750 class it was high-time to add some braking to the bike. I loved the single disk setup because it was so light and quite powerful, but on a few hard-braking tracks such as Road America and VIR I found I was really getting walloped by those other dudes with their fancy twin-disk setups. In fact, I was going through a set of Ferodo Platinum pads about every 1.5 race weekends Time to suit up and spend the extra cash. I went with a good ol’ Mick Hemmings Norvil 11.5″ disk, carrier, new LH slider, and up from a 13mm to a 16mm Brembo. The cast iron rotor is heavy, but after drilling I was able to shave off more than 1lb!

 

March 3, 2011

The 2011 season is about to commence. In all honesty, I have been working full-time on others’ bikes that my racing program may have taken a little back seat (or perhaps I’ve procrastinated). I have found it is hard to work on other bikes all day, then find that old enthusiasm for your own stuff. And out of discipline, I keep my own bikes far away from the customer stuff so the temptation doesn’t rear its head.

I didn’t do much to my 750 over the winter other than adding the aforementioned second disk brake setup and worked on the suspension a bit. And the Manx; it was mine to run this season, so along it came down to Georgia – Roebling Road to be exact – for the AHRMA 2011 Season Opener.

A shot from the Spannerland freight elevator as I load them up in the not-so-trusty Eurovan for the trip down south. I’m ready for some warmer weather. It’s been a long, snowy NYC winter.

 

March 7, 2011 – Roebling Road

I’m a lucky guy. Here are two bikes that I have dreamed about for years and years. This weekend I was able to sit back and appreciate that they are here, in one place, for me to have my way.

I’ve said this before but it bears repeating – I started building up my Featherbed Commando in 2000 as a reasonable facsimile to the Manx I could never afford. That first race bike was a way for me to chip away at it, one piece at a time (or sometimes a few pieces), and work my way into something “resembling” a Manx, at least superficially. (Call it an homage.) And through this all, my successes with Norton twins have developed over the past years. Now I’ve been bestowed with a very competitive Summerfield Manx to run as well. I can’t complain.

 

March 7, 2011 – Manx Tuning

A funny thing happened at Barber last October. A guy showed up in our pits, offered to help out with the Manx, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Bob Reynolds has been a big help with getting the Manx race ready and offered to come up from Florida on his own dime to lend a hand. Here we are working on timing as a bevel gear was replaced over the winter which necessitated re-timing the top end. We had a couple of great runs in practice. Riding the Manx is SO much different than the Commando – it lolls along and the motor seems so comfortable and low-pitched. Then you look down at the tach and you’re doing 8k rpm! The 4ls brake is great, but it’s a drum brake, which means it fades and has it’s own personality. This translates to carrying corner speed as opposed to point-and-shoot. A great lesson in riding for me. And the skinny tires; I can’t say enough about how nimble they are.

Unfortunately, just as the bike and rider seemed to be ready for action, the bevel timing was accidentally set incorrectly between practices, the exhaust valve hit the piston on starting, and that was it. Bob and Peter Politiek Sr. (visiting from Holland) worked for several hours trying to straighten the valve, but no joy. Alas. Back to the shop it goes and we’ll get it sorted for Road America.

Riding the Seeley I took two 3rd places at Roebling behind the usual suspects of Tim Joyce and John Ellis in F750. I don’t mind taking third to them, but I didn’t have much of a race on either day. I had a lot of odd suspension chatter (more than the usual Roebling stuff), and ended up with both tires worn and fragged in an odd pattern. Time to regroup and do it all again in 2 weeks in Texas.

(Notice Dave Roper’s badass Class C Dondolino MotoGuzzi in the background)

 

March 24, 2011 – Motorsports Ranch, Cresson, TX

I arranged for my Seeley to travel to Texas with AHRMA communication directors Tim & Cathy Lile who were traveling directly from Roebling to TX (and ultimately back to Delaware – easy for me to come fetch my bike), which meant I could fly in to Dallas and avoid the 25-hour drive each way. But it also meant no time to work on the bike in between events. I prepared my spares list and carried-on the flight as much as I could. I knew I needed to change tires, but I’d also noticed both rims running a little out of round, especially the rear seemed to have a pointed high spot, which may have explained some of the chatter and inconsistent wear I was seeing at Roebling. So some time with the truing wheel was needed. Here I am, Thursday night at the track doing my thing. You can see the paddock is quite empty. I was concerned this new event on the calendar would be a quiet one. I was certainly wrong.

 

March 25, 2011 – The First Cut Is The Deepest

Texas. Texas. Texas. After Roebling’s disappointment I was hoping for a little more from this weekend. While Roebling uses the tallest gearing I run (Daytona and Road America gearing), Texas uses the shortest… shorter than Barber. Even shorter than Loudon. What a tight-little-decreasing-radius-off-camber-grooved-rutted place this is. I went out in my first session and almost ran off the track getting caught out in these funky turns. Waiting for my second session I could almost do the track in my mind, so felt comfortable wicking it up a bit, which I did. The next thing I knew I was sliding on my bum about 90mph and watching my beloved sliding next to me and tumbled into the dirt. I remember thinking, “Noooooo! Be good to my bike!!!”. Yep, I threw it down the track. I had no idea why either. I just lost the front in a fast RH uphill turn and away it went. I later learned there is a big dip entering, and a rut in a pavement seam that caught me out. I definitely remember it being bumpy. Several other seasoned racers fell in the same spot, with the same perplexing question… why? (I changed my line for the rest of the weekend.) The bike didn’t fare too badly, all things considered. Most of the damage was on the RH side and required a new clip-on, rear-set, some new linkage, and some repair of the rearset hanger. The bike was good to go by 2nd practice on Saturday. Unfortunately by now by every crevice on the track (and there are many) looked like the Grand Canyon. In F750 fast guy Ryan Ambrose on the Big D Cycles Triumph was going so good, as was Tim Joyce, but I had nothing. Not even in the same league. Saturday night was the Awards Banquet for the 2010 Championships and I picked up my BEARS award and jacket, but my head was all over the place. On Sunday I made some adjustments to my suspension (actually adding back damping that I had taken off to soften up this bumpy beast) and the bike felt really good. Yes! I thought I might be back in the game. Then the rains came, and once again I psyched myself out. So it goes. At least I was able to put my stuff in the trailer intact, and send it back north. A big thanks to Keith Martin from Big D for putting on a great show, and putting me up Sunday night in his beautiful home.

 

April, 2011

I’ve been a little remiss about keeping my site up to date. I have a couple of excuses, and will list them here:

1. I’m now fully 100% engaged in building beautiful bikes for a living. NYC Norton is a commercial entity now. And I couldn’t be happier.

2. What’s the old saying? A painter’s house is never painted?

A bike that has been dominating my time this spring is a fully built Minnovation Racing Seeley MK2 Chassis with the highest spec 750 Commando motor, commissioned by Dan Rose and Rev’It Leathers. Around the time this project was being kicked about with Dan I received a call from the Discovery Channel folks asking if I would be interested in being the backdrop for an episode of Cafe Racer TV show’s second season. I explained to the person on the other end of the phone that I was a racer, my next project was a bespoke race bike, and I haven’t raced to a cafe in a long, long time. They thought that was just dandy. So they came. The Seeley was a great build for them to document, better than we all hoped. The directive was to follow me with the build by coming to the shop a couple of times over a couple of months, then get me on the track with it, maybe even race it! Easy peasy, right? Well, the pressure was on. Building a race bike has its own complexities, for sure. But building a racebike in a very short time in front of the cameras, then taking it to the track and running the hell out of it would be very difficult to pull off. Nonetheless, we worked hard to get this bike ready on schedule, but focused on making it be the best race bike it could be first and foremost. That was the client’s directive, and I was happy we were on the same page.

 

May 2011 – TV Dudes invade my space

I wanted to be cynical about the whole TV thing. I mean, I’m from NYC. I’m jaded. This ain’ t my first barbecue.

But I have to say, the whole experience was amazing. The show is produced by Chet Burkes Productions. This isn’t their first barbecue either. These were the most easiest going dudes, making jokes, giving me some direction, all while hearing me out that I wasn’t going to take angle grinders and hammers to my bits just to make for good TV. We built up the bike over a few days as far as I could take it, and the left me alone for a couple of weeks, to reconverge at Road America where I would take it out on the track and see what it would do.

Now the hard part…

Photo courtesy of Gregor Halenda

 

The finished product. The Rev’It Leathers Seeley 750 Norton

We all felt it would be prudent to photograph the bike as much as possible before I had my way with it on the racetrack. Although it looks a lot like my own Seeley (even has my racing number on it!), this is truly version 2.0 of my own bike, to be handed over after the final shoot. There really was no stone unturned on the build. It has all the good stuff within, including JSMotorsports rods, pistons, cam and lifters, CNW bits, the FullAuto head, and Jim Comstock did some real magic on the porting to get the port velocity up equal or better than some of the other Stage 3 heads out there. It is a knockout, and it is built for speed – to the highest Formula 750 spec.

As this bike came to life, I started to look at my old battle-axe across the room getting no attention. Road America was rapidly approaching and I had a lot on my plate. Besides having to get this bike out and around that monster of a track, I needed to get my Seeley running and do some wrenching to get the Manx race-ready. This is where the painter’s house analogy comes in.

At this point, I need to thank Rev’It leathers for putting me to the task of building a dream bike for me and them, as well as providing me we a beautiful new set of leathers to top it all off. I fly the flag proudly.

Photo by Gregor Halenda

 

Road America, Friday Practice, June 10, 2011

We all packed up and headed out for the big back-to-back June weekends – Road America and Grattan. My plan was to practice on the Rev’It Seeley all day Friday, getting it dialed and ready for Saturday’s TV shoot of the race. (The crew was only there for Friday practice and Saturday racing, as they had other obligations for Sunday, so the pressure was on to get it right.)

My first lap on the bike was very cautious. I listened to every sound, felt every shift, and covered the clutch. I did two laps and lost the peg from the rearset. Damn. Had to pull off and be carried in on the crash truck. Silly that! So practice two comes around, and I decided no more pussyfooting. I did one half of a gentle lap, then I FLOGGED it in Road America’s famous back section. The bike ate it up. It felt amazing. I laughed as I crested the hill on the front straight, with the bike’s owner Dan and the camera crew watching at the side of the track as I flew down the front straight. There were onboard cameras pointed every which way, and I expect they got some exciting footage. After each session I’d come in and we’d go through the bike, tightening this, tweaking that. By the end of the day I’d say, realistically, I was up to about 80% on it as compared to my own bike. I’m sure a lot of that missing 20% was simply because it was still new with a tight motor that needed to be worked in, but mostly the fact it just wasn’t my own bike. Now if we can just get through the taping and get on with things!

Saturday morning rolls around and it was damp, so I went out and did one short practice just to make sure the bike was still good. It was. In the next round of practice I took out the Manx. It was giving me carburetion issues but I chose to leave things as they were. I went out in the 500 Premier race on the Manx and took 3rd place behind Timmy Joyce and Wes Orloff. Fair enough.

Then I got the calls for the Formula 750 race. I donned my helmet and gloves as the cameras were pointed into my face. Groups of spectators stood and gawked. I hear 3rd call for the race, put the bike on the rollers and fired it up. As I sat there warming up the bike, I *thought* it was acting a little funny down low, like a carburetion issue. I continued to blip the throttle, but then sure enough, it started to break up. As I revved the bike to keep it going it died a miserable death. Ohhhhhh noooooooo! “Keep your cool. Keep your cool” I kept saying to myself. The camera crew was more animated than I’d ever seen them. They were loving this! Drama! I rushed and put the bike back on the rollers and we spun that thing up for a good 2 minutes, trying everything, and it would not start. Nothing! Dead. Done! The F750 race took off down the track and there I was, sitting on the wrong side of the fence, watching my brothers out dicing away. The cameras still rolling. Ooooofah.

This photo taken by my friend Fred Sahms

 

June 11, 2011 – My tale of woe

Well, the beautiful Rev’It Seeley 750 broke my heart at the worst possible time. The TV crew wanted my thoughts. “Was it a success or failure?”, they asked. I answered as candidly as possible – it was a success because I went VERY fast on that bike, time and time again. I know what it can do, and I know it can win. It was a failure because here is something that a lot of time, energy, and money was spent to get it to the level it is, and it let me down like a junkyard dog. I tried to be upbeat, but I was spent. The camera crew packed up, the bike was put on the truck, and it was time to get out of my leathers. As the film crew was pulling away in their van, the producer rolled down the window and asked if I’d be at Mid Ohio, and possibly we could do a follow-up there. Yes! A second chance! Of course I jumped at the offer, and off they went. I was relieved, and felt like I could get back to my own racing program for Sunday.

At this point it should be noted, in no defensive manner, that any new racebike will take time to get sorted. I am still working out little bugs on my own bikes after many, many weekends at the track. In hindsight, I am proud of how well this bike performed out of the gate. And only later did I find out that the reason the bike died was a ground wire whose connector had been crimped on the sheath instead of the wire itself, causing intermittent ignition firing. Yep… a simple little wire.

 

Road America, Turn 5, Sunday Practice, June 12, 2011

A new day, and a new lease. I did some great practices out on my own Seeley. Felt like my old friend. Maybe slightly more ragged around the edges than its pristine counterpart, but a useable tool, ready to be ridden hard. I also did some good laps on the Manx, and was feeling back in the groove. How quickly things can change for the better…

…and how quickly things can go pear-shaped once again.

In the Premier race I threw a chain on the Manx in the back straight, this after getting a meatball flag for jumping the start, necessitating a stop-and-go through the hot pit lane. A junk race.

Then my own, trusty Seeley 750 crapped out on me at the starting line due to a dead battery. Yep, that’s right. Unable to finish a race.

Kids, do yourselves a favor. Don’t buy into the glory and power of racing motorcycles. It’s smoke and mirrors. If you take all your money and throw it down a manhole, then bonk yourself on the head with the cover, you’ll get the same thrill and still be be ahead of the game.

This beautiful picture, illustrating the lustre of the aforementioned smoke and mirrors, was taken by Eric Cleveland.

 

Road America, June 11, 2011

More pretty.

Although I didn’t have the best weekend, I can look back and say there are very few things in life that can equal the sound and feeling of getting over on a Manx Norton at speed in the back alleyway of Road America.

Thank you Fred Sahms for the great snap.

 

Michigan, June 13 – 19th

As I scan my files I find, for once I actually don’t have a photo from a race event. I suppose I could really go out there on the ‘net and dig for a good shot from Grattan, but until I do, please enjoy this snap of a group of vintage racers having a week off at a cabin in the woods of Michigan (courtesy of John and Jan Ellis, Thank you!). As we’ve done for several years now, a group of us get together between the two races, work on our bikes, ride dirt bikes, and talk so much trash that we convince ourselves we are faster than Rossi, Hailwood, and Agostini, only to get to Grattan and be immediately humbled. This photo taken at the dirt pile out on the dirt road – the only place we can get a tiny bit of cell service if we are lucky.

From left to right: Tim Joyce – 750 Triumph, Mike Dixon – 750 Yamaha, Holmeslice – 750 Norton, Todd Puckett – 500 Seeley G50

My weekend at Grattan was similar in timbre as my previous weekend at Road America. Again I threw the chain on the Manx in Friday practice. Two times throwing a chain and I’m lucky to walk away, and smart enough to put the bike up until I can look at it back in the shop. I went out in Saturday’s F750 race on my Seeley and had the same issues as Road America (it should be noted that only then at Grattan did I determine it was a battery problem all along – the same problem I had at Road America – and until then was convinced it was my ignition). I swapped batteries and got out in Sunday’s race, taking 3rd behind Timmy and Ellis, as per usual. Ho hum.

Mid Ohio is coming up and I have some work to do to make this a success.

 

AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, Mid Ohio, July 24, 2011

I will spare everyone my diatribe about what the once great VMD at Mid Ohio has become. It seemed that the racing grids were actually up for the first time in 3 years, but the event overall felt quieter than the last couple. Perhaps this was due to the horrendous weather forecast, with 100-degree heat and high percentages of rain for all three days. In fact it always rains at least one day at Mud Ohio, without fail, and this year was no exception. I love this track. It’s one of my favorites, but I have never experienced anything like it in the wet. It is absolutely treacherous. I pitted in Garage 18 with a bunch of Canadians, my friends Scott, Mick, Jeff Peters and Doug MacRae. We got some good practice in Friday, and I went out on both Seeleys – my own, and the Rev’It bike. Both felt great and ready for action. Then, on Saturday, the rains came, which postponed my GP750 race until Sunday morning (and Sunday’s race ran at its usual time Sunday afternoon). Once again, I had the TV crews hanging around. My feeling was “just finish the damn race!”. So I took off, but the track was still damp and I didn’t want to chuck it away. I put in a fair showing, coming across the finish line in 3rd place behind my old fast friend Jeff Peters on his Rickman CR750, and Ivan Messina on his BMW, who pipped me on the last lap. Although it wasn’t the most spectacular showing, I finished a race, the camera crew was there, and I could save face on national TV. I was really happy.

 

Saturday, July 23, 2011, Mid Ohio

I keep a good notes on my bikes; gearing, jetting, when I change tires, what suspension settings, etc, etc. Coming into Mid Ohio I had less than two race days on my rear Dunlop tire (I can usually get 4 or 5 complete weekends). After a couple of Friday practice sessions the rear really started to slip and felt greasy as can be. Upon closer inspection I had torn up my rear tire like I’ve never seen. I did some practices on the Rev’It bike and didn’t have problems. It’s rear tire was imported directly from the UK and has a different compound, so wasn’t giving trouble.

Fortunately my pit neighbor Dave Crussell had a new KR164 (same compound and date code as my tire) and I put it on Saturday morning. Right away it too started to shred! Damn!

I made it through Sunday, but I was not a happy dude. I love these tires – they stick like glue – but I can’t be going through a tire a day. I spoke to Bob Barker, our US Dunlop distributor, who in turn went to Dunlop. I was happy that Dunlop took our concerns seriously and they will be doing a harder compound for 2012.

Seen here is the “old” tire on the right, and the “new” tire on the left, mounted on my Seeley.

 

Sunday, July 24, 2011, Mid Ohio

Later in the day the TV crew came back and wanted commentary. It was then they said they wanted more racing footage and were going to film the second race. Well all right, I’m back on again. And once again I came in 3rd. I finally sold my fancy-schmancy onboard camera that could never hold up to the vibrations my bike has, and invested in a tried-and-true GoPro Hero, and it works a charm. So some video footage of Sunday’s GP750 race can be seen by clicking HERE. Unfortunately I forgot to turn on the camera until the front straight! I had to reach up and turn it on while heeled over coming out of the keyhole. In the beginning you can see Ryan Ambrose on the Big D Triumph and Jeff Peters on his Honda in the distance as they check out. Later in the race, I reeled Jeff in a bit, but due to the tightened schedule, they decreased the number of laps for our race and I didn’t have time to do anything more. Now Ryan… he was gone. He’s a fast kid, and I wish he’d race with us more often. Once again I was just happy to come in unscathed.

The TV folks are happy and done with me for a while, and I can get back to my own program.

 

Sunday, July 24, 2011 – On the Podium

Left to Right: Ryan Ambrose – Big D Triumph; Ivan Messina – BMW; Jeff Peters – Rickman Honda; Holmeslice – Seeley Norton

I gotta say, the AMA does a nice podium ceremony. Makes us all feel a little more important.  I rushed back to the shop to get some work done. I have a few bikes for customers that are close to completion that will grace these pages soon. Next up on the racing schedule is VIR. I love Virginia!

Photo courtesy of AMA Racing

 

-Kenny Cummings
NYC

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Racer 2010 | The Evolution of a Norton Racer: 2010

2010: The Kindness Of Strangers

 

Winter 2009: Spot the race bike?

This has become a repetitive story – bike gets built, bike gets raced, bike gets torn down , bike gets built back up again…

I suppose the difference this year is wanting to step it up a little more than before. I have contemplated building up a new motor for some time, and the time is now.

After working through the details I have been fortunate enough to land a few sponsors who are willing to stick their necks out for me.

Enter Colorado Norton Works, JS Motorsport, Fullauto Technologies, Left Coast Racing, and Comstock Engineering.

 

On to the build:

My crankshaft, balanced to 78%, with JS Motorsport’s very trick long rod/raised piston setup, with DLC (Diamond-like coated) pins. These JE pistons and special longer Carrillo rod was designed and implemented by Jim Schmidt for JS Motorsport. This setup reduces loads on the crank and cylinders by achieving a better ratio between the rod length and stroke, and reduces vibration because of this. The kit’s advantages carry over to any Norton – road to race. Thank you Jim.

 

 

Here the end float is being set. These crankcases supplied by Ken Canaga of Left Coast Racing. Ken has always been a boost to my program, and when I’m standing on the ledge his knowledge and level-headedness will always talk me back down again.

 

Jim Comstock machined O-Ring grooves into the alloy barrels to eliminate oil seepage past the bolt/stud holes and pushrod tunnels.

 

Moly-coated pistons, and the underside of the alloy barrels. Good stuff.

 

And the Pièce de résistance – the Fullauto head.

These heads are cast in Australia, but their initial flow and porting designs were developed by Comstock Engineering. So my new head returns back from whence it came. Even Jim was surprised at how little additional porting was necessary to get the flow up to where he wanted it for my race motor.

Kids – run out and get yourselves a Fullauto Head from Colorado Norton Works, a set of trick rods and pistons from JS Motorsport, bolt it up to your badass Commando and become an instant star!

 

 

Meanwhile, there’s racing to do

During the winter I consulted with several friends about whether to go with a shorter stroke or stick with a conventional stroke motor. My friend, John Magyar, offered up his Seeley Norton short-stroke for me to ride at Daytona to “test the waters”. How quickly could I say YES?!!!!

So, he arranged for the bike to be transported down to Savannah for the season opener at Roebling Road. I got all of about 5 laps practice total on the bike before the racing started, but managed to claw out a win in BEARS. Unfortunately the battery crapped out in F750 shortly after making a good pass on my friend John Ellis for second place behind Timmy Joyce. That’s racing, KC! On to the big show.

 

Monday, March 1, 2010 = Daytona International Speedway

Daytona is such a massive place and hard to crawl out of your own garage and take in all that’s going on. This year was no different. I found myself tucked away for the week. On Monday morning I had a great couple of practices and was feeling right at home on Magyar’s Seeley. The brakes were wonderful, the chassis just like my own bike, and only here did I finally wind it up to 8200k (John said I could do 8500, but I just didn’t want to be the one that blew the thing up!). My goodness was it a blast. It was like riding my bike, with an additional 1500 RPM of power available to me. I’ll take it, thank you!

I won the BEARS race after having a great dice with Tim Joyce as he rode Mark Mitchell’s short-stroke BMW.

On to F750, and again I had just put a move on John Ellis for Third place behind Jay Springsteen and Tim Joyce, when the primary belt snapped while full throttle on the banking. That was it – another DNF in F750. Didn’t matter, I was having a blast.

 

It looks so peaceful up there.  It’s not.

This beautiful photo courtesy of Fred Sahms

 

…and later that day, accepting my lumps.
That trophy is actually quite cool, albeit a bit wee.

 

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 – Daytona International Speedway

My buddy RJ Reynolds and I work on setting belt tension. It rained all morning on Tuesday, so no practice. Fortunately the skies cleared and the track dried just before race time. I spent the morning working on the bike with RJ, who was at Daytona with his own Commando race bike that I hope to be riding later this season in some races. Since RJ’s bike wasn’t quite ready to go he became the best crew chief a guy could have. Together we spent the morning sorting all the little stuff on the Seeley. I decided to take a scrub lap before race 6 just to make sure all was good for the upcoming BEARS race (race 7). As I’d just come down off the west banking the bike made a huge bang, then went completely silent, all at 130mph. Yikes! I have never grabbed a clutch so quick. I coasted into the grass and came to a stop. They track crew actually had me on the truck and back to the paddock in about 5 minutes. After going through the bike we realized the Boyer ignition rotor had disintegrated. Ack! My race was next, and although we frantically managed to put a new rotor in, the debris from the old rotor had destroyed the stator. That was it, my day was done. Or was it??

 

Enter my hero of the week, Mark Mitchell. Mark is an AHRMA official, a great racer. with a great BMW, and a damn good guy. Here it is 3rd call for the BEARS race, and Mark offers his bike for me to ride. This is the very bike Timmy rides, and is one mean beast. I was nervous – it shifts on the left, down for down, completely opposite of my bike, I’d never ridden a BMW before, and it was DAYTONA! Not the place to cut your teeth on a new bike. But I was desperate and the time was now. I swapped my transponder onto Mark’s bike, and away I went. I had to grid in the back of the BEARS class, and told myself just to do what I could and not push it. The green flag dropped and the first 2 laps were pretty sketchy. It took a while to get used to the shift pattern, brakes, flywheel effect of the boxer motor, and those pesky cylinder heads hitting the deck! Little by little I started to creep up towards the front. Finally, I was able to pass Jason Besey on his beautiful Triumph for the lead as his clutch started giving him troubles. I got the win, and I was the happiest I’d been in recent. memory. Thank you, Mark!

 

April 5, 2010 – Spannerland

Oh, I like it when stuff like this shows up to my shop door. Mr. Comstock even makes great crates! I know what’s inside here, and it’s nothing but goodness!

 

So, it is for real. The new 2010 motor is here. It’s time to get it in the bike, on the dyno, and out to the track.

The new cases are ever-so-slightly different than my last motor, and therefore my fixed gearbox holes in the engine plates need to be bushed for proper belt tension.

I can’t begin to say how happy I am to have su ch a good team behind me now. This will be a long-term development and I’m in it for the haul.

Next up, a reunion of sorts. I’ll be heading out to Portland, OR, for AHRMA’s first visit to this track. Since I’m from Seattle, just 2.5 hours up the road from PIR, I will have some good friends and family down for the races. And… I get to ride one of the most beautiful Seeley G50s in 500 Premier, owned by Bruce Yoxsimer. Once again I am completely overwhelmed by the generosity of folks handing over their haughty race bikes to me. Thanks Bruce.

 

 

May 1, 2010 – Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon

Feeling pretty cool standing against certainly one of the haughtiest bikes in all the US vintage racing paddock – Bruce Yoxsimer’s Seeley G50.

Bruce has several beautiful bikes, most notably his blue Seeley Matchless G50 and maroon Seeley AJS 7R (pictured behind G50). This year he’s chosen to focus on the 350 championship riding the 7R, so offered me up a ride on his G50, which was lying around collecting dust. For a moment I thought he was joking. But he wasn’t, and I couldn’t have said yes any quicker!

I am originally from Seattle, so was able to coordinate business with pleasure and fly home to spend a little time with my family in Seattle, then drive down to Portland and meet up with Bruce. I arrived, and there it was sitting out waiting for me, gleaming in the northwest sunshine. I have ridden big singles before, but have never had the chance to run in 500 Premier with AHRMA. At this point I should confess to my legions of 750 twin fans that racing a GP bike in 500 Premier has always been my goal, but I’ve never seemed to have enough money in one place at one time to buy myself the 500 I’ve always wanted. My 750, built one step at a time, has always been a reasonable facsimile (Ahem… certainly the amount I’ve put into it I could’ve had a pretty fast Manx by now). Nonetheless, Bruce’s offer to let me ride this bike was fulfilling a dream I’ve had since I started riding motorbikes.

I had to do good…

…and I did.

I got the win on both days. The bike is a fast one, and the track is too. It was a prefect match.

The G50 felt so easy to ride and I got up to speed rather quickly. The chassis is a Seeley MK2 like mine and I didn’t make a single change to the ergonomics Bruce normally runs. The motor was full of torque and it was wonderfully smooth all through the range – very rideable. During our initial discussions he was very easy-going about the redline, and said he would run it up to 9k rpm at times. I chose to (try to) stay with 8k and not strain it too much. Portland has a 5000′ straight, and as I started to get more comfortable I noticed I was pulling 8500 at the end of the straight. This was really moving, as we had geared it as tall as Daytona. That’s the elusive thing about these big singles – they pull and pull, and you never feel like you’re on the ragged edge like you might with a buzzing Commando motor. By the end of the weekend I was doing good lap times – faster than many big 750 twins – and walked away feeling like I might need to work harder at finding a regular ride for the AHRMA Premier class. More on this to come.

So another great weekend; almost storybook for me. I got to fly in, ride the perfect bike, get the wins, and hang out and pit in with super-cool Yox and his band of merry men Craig Breckon and Daryl Foster.

Thank you, Bruce!

photo courtesy of Alex Bateman

 

May 2010 – Back to Spannerland

As with anything new, things fit a little differently than before. The cases were a slightly different fit than my last motor, so some fettling was necessary to get everything bolted up without strain to the engine plates and frame. Sitting in front of me was a beautiful new motor and I wanted to do it right and not rush the job. I worked for several days to insure all was happy.

One item on my to-do list for 2010 was to work with my primary belt tension. When I went with the TT Industries box in 2009 the belt ran tighter than with the Quaife. Too tight. And I had some reliability issues. So this was the time to correct as the fit with the new motor made the belt tighter than ever.

 

I run fixed center distances from my crankshaft to my mainshaft, which means I have a hole for the top gearbox mounting bolt, not a slot. When I first built the Seeley my belt was too loose; the simple solution was to file a bit on the backside of the top mounting bolt hole, as the final drive chain will ALWAYS pull the gearbox backwards, no matter how much you tighten it down. With the new motor the tension was too tight. Ack. Hard to go back once you’ve make the hole oval. I worked with Cosentino Engineering and we consulted Gates about proper tension with my setup, giving them all the appropriate measurements, rpm range, hub material, etc. Gates returned to us a frequency (hz) number in which the tension should be within. Using Cosentino’s harmonic tensioner I could pluck my belt like a guitar string and little by little would ream the hole forward until the tension was within spec. Once the hole was properly reamed I inserted stainless bushings that fit within the enlarged holes. Simple, right? It took me several days to get it correct. Once the tension was set, I ran the bike for a couple of heat cycles on the dyno, retorquing each time, then buttoned it all up to head north for a reunion of sorts, racing with the USCRA at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Loudon) so to break in the motor, where points and championships are not part of the program.

 

May 22, 2010 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway

I came to Loudon with high hopes but low expectations. I was quite enthusiastic about my new motor and was anxious to get on my bike again. It’d been 7 months since riding it last, and it felt like an old friend. After a couple of practices, things were coming together and I was really feeling good about the bike and motor. I gridded up for Eurocup Race — a sort-of catchall class for all types of European bikes up to 1000cc. Also gridded with us on the track was another class, American Twins, which consisted of 3 Harley Sportsters.

I took off, dove into Turn 1 first, and led for the first half of the race. Suddenly, going into Turn 9 on the fifth lap, a flash of red leather brushed up next to me. Sure enough it was Steve Flach on one of those pesky Sportsters. I must have swapped places with Steve 25 times in the next 4 laps. He’d always get me in T9, and I’d get him back on the straight, then he’d get me in T1, then I in T3, and on and on and on. He rode the WHEELS off that Harley. Pieces of bike would fly as he’d grind bits off it in the corners. At the last turn of the last lap we caught some lappers and Steve made a great move underneath them, but I got jammed. My last chance was a draft pass down to the finish. I twisted the throttle so hard I thought I was going to break the cables, but he got me by about one foot at the line!

I won the Eurocup class first time out with the new motor, and I was pretty damn happy. Just wish the overall win could’ve been mine. Didn’t matter though, that was probably the closest racing I’d ever done. Woo Hoo!

As I write, I’m preparing for the really big show that is Road American and Grattan with AHRMA- back-to-back weekends in the June sunshine. More to come.

 

June 9, 2010 – Next stop, Elkhart Lake.

There’s nothing more liberating than piling in my van with my bike and gear in the back with space for my cot so I can pull over whenever I feel the need to sleep. It’s the traveling racing gypsy in me I never knew existed.

 

Thursday, June 10, 2010 – Hogs

For the last couple of years the AHRMA racers on their way to Road America have been invited to display their race bikes at the Harley Museum in downtown Milwaukee for the monthly bike night. At first I thought this wouldn’t be such a good idea – kinda chalk and cheese – but in fact both years it’s been a hit. Many of the old Harley riders know their history and love to chat about the old race bikes. Those who don’t know often come up and scratch their chins and furrow their brows. Good fun. The Harley Museum is quite a place, and always worth the stopover.

Pictured L – R: Mike Dixon’s Yamaha XS750, Wes Orloff’s Honda CB450, Tim Joyce’s Seeley Triumph 750, my Seeley Norton 750, Kyle Corser’s Tankshift Harley, and Art Farley’s Tankshift Harley.

 

Road America, Formula 750, June 12, 2010

Going into Road America a bet surfaced for the F750 race – last one into Turn One had to buy the others dinner. What a mess this was. Here you had 4 guys who are already quite pumped up, about to implode at the start. When the flag finally waved green there were wheelies, jumped starts, diving, bucking weaving, and downright ugly riding. Let’s just say this – I didn’t have to buy dinner.

This shot was taken on the cool-down lap after the finish of the race. I am gesticulating with the imaginary spoon to my mouth, pointing out who would be the one buying dinner. Good fun.

Pictured L – R: Jeff Peters, Myself, Tim Joyce, and John Ellis

 

 

I took wins in the BEARS class both days at Road America and had some great scraps with my fellow F750 racers, managing to keep them within a few seconds. This is a testament to my new motor, as Road America is over 4 miles long, with 2 straights longer than any other tracks we go to. The bike handled perfectly and I had absolutely zero issues the entire weekend. I was able to socialize with some heavy hitters hanging out in our pits, namely Pieter Zylstra – the designer of the Harley XR750, and esteemed motorcycle journalist Peter Egan, who is a Commando owner himself.

Thanks to JS Motorsport, Comstock Engineering, Colorado Norton Works, FullAuto Technologies and Left Coast Racing for all their efforts to make this a winning motor. It is.

 

June 18, 2010 – Grattan Raceway, Grattan, MI.

Oh, old Grattan. What can I say about this place? It is one of a kind, for sure. I can say with complete confidence that this track has the most technical layout of any I’ve ever been. It has a great, long straight where big bikes can stretch their legs, and some blind, off-camber turns that will separate many a racer. The back section is a series of right / left turns, the first of which must be nailed in order to get the subsequent turns correct. It is a rider’s layout, for sure. The track is in the process of being repaved in three stages over three years (a good thing), but chose to pave the front straight through turn 2 in the first stage; not the back section that needs repaving the most. This year it seemed the usual sealer that’s been layered on the corners year after year was slipperier than ever in the 90-degree heat, and some interesting lines were taken to avoid the tar snakes at all costs.

Here’s a cool shot coming down the hill towards the Jump (yes, and actual jump), one of Grattan’s many quirky, technical challenges.

I managed to get the win in BEARS both days. A video of Sunday’s race can be seen by clicking HERE.

 

 

Sunday, June 19, 2010 – Grattan Raceway

I’ve been having some good dices in the Formula 750 class with Tim Joyce and John Ellis of late; a boost to my confidence. Saturday at Grattan was no exception, and I managed to trade places several times with Ellis, vying for 2nd place, while keeping Tim honest. John is a great rider with a smooth style, and his cool head prevailed and relegated met to a close 3rd.

Sunday started off similar to Saturday, with John and me dicing for second behind Tim, but that was short-lived. John made a good pass underneath in the back hairpin and I immediately felt like I lost all confidence in myself and the bike. In the end I went 2 seconds slower than my Saturday’s times, while John and Timmy had a cutthroat duel, putting them 2 seconds FASTER than they were Saturday… not the direction I wanted to go.

On the last lap I could swear my rear tire had oil on it. I just couldn’t get it through a corner cleanly. I crossed the finish line with the bike weaving badly. As I slowed for turn one on the cool-down lap I almost high-sided. By turn two I could no longer ride the bike. I somehow pulled off the race line to get off the bike and push it into the pits. I had a completely deflated rear tire. A broken spoke had punctured the tube. Scary stuff. After a long drive home and a day in the shop, I learned the cast bearing shoulder in one side of my hub had broken, allowing the bearings to move laterally within the hub as I rode(!!) and obviously putting undue stresses on the wheel, thus breaking the spoke and deflating my tire. A chain of events that could’ve been ugly. I replaced the hub, relaced with new spokes, and trued it all back up preparing for Mid Ohio.

 

 

July 10, 2010 – Mid Ohio Vintage Motorcycle Days – Top of the podium

If you ride or race a vintage bike, then Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid Ohio in July is Mecca.

I won’t go into it entirely here, but there are a lot of politics that have gone on over the last years in vintage racing, and amidst the turmoil we saw AHRMA and the AMA go separate ways. The result of this is a new operation for the race program for VMD at Mid Ohio. Unfortunately, there are several racers who still have some unfounded, hypothetical allegiance to a time that has long passed, and believe by boycotting this event they will somehow convince someone out there to bring AHRMA back into Mid Ohio. It simply ain’t gonna happen anytime soon folks. Let it go and come racing.

This event is like NO OTHER on the American vintage racing calendar; perhaps the world. 40,000(+) people ride in to one of the finest race tracks in the country, set up their tents, and party for 4 days. As a racer, it is a dream to be able to compete on such a world-class course. It feels wonderful to have thousands of folks waving to you during your cool down lap. It is a nod of respect and professionalism to get to the podium and be interviewed for the entire circuit to hear. It is great to have folks come into the garages and talk shop while we work.

Before I started racing I rode my trusty Commando from NYC to Mid Ohio for several years in a row. It was here the hook was set for me. I was so overwhelmed by what I saw, heard, and smelled. I picked everyone’s brains and made a general nuisance of myself. And now… here I am.

I will always come back to Mid Ohio.

 

 

July 24, 2010 – BeaveRun Motorsports Park

It has been a long time since I last came to the Beav. Such a great little track. Faster than one would think, with some good technical bits in the back. This event was a late add-on to AHRMA’s schedule due to another event falling through, so attendance was down. But this created a very casual atmosphere and I made a point to relax and enjoy myself. And indeed I did.

I got the win in BEARS on Saturday, but once again the Junkyard Dawg John Ellis got me in F750. I got the holeshot, but he got me on the brakes in the back. He’s going good this year and I’ve not had what it takes to get past him at the checkered.

This is a cool shot of me passing Maurice Candy’s Manx Norton – the bike Timmy Joyce usually rides. (500 Premier was gridded with BEARS, thus the two bikes on the track at the same time.) This weekend the Manx was ridden by Alex McClean as Tim couldn’t make the event. Alex kept his head on straight and brought it home intact.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Hot as hell, but surrounded by good friends, which made it all worthwhile.

Photo courtesy of TheSBImage.com

 

Sunday, July 25, 2010 – BEARS Race

… and then the rains came. It rained, and it rained, and it rained. AHRMA pushed the schedule up, ostensibly to get all the races in before the skies opened. Silly that. What ended up happening was racing in the rain and packing up in the sunshine. Next time I’m bringing my Blackberry to the riders’ meeting to refute their weather reports.

This is one of very few shots I’ve seen that actually captures the sheer volume of water coming down onto the track surface during a heavy storm. (Notice everyone cowering in trailers and under awnings). Nope… no fun at all, but part of racing for sure. I quit my bellyaching, donned my rain-suit for the first time this year, and out I went. The warm-up lap felt okay with fair grip on the surface. As I waited on the starting line there was a botched green flag by the starter, and somehow in the confusion I killed the bike! NO!!! Unbelievable! I tried to bump start it, but no joy. I pushed off in the grass and watched 2 waves of racers get their start, then finally got some assistance to bump the bike. It fired, but it was way too late. I was a minute behind the first wave. I rode around not feeling particularly competitive, and somehow managed to get 2nd place, but the leader had his head down and there was no chance of catching him. This was my first loss in the BEARS class this year. I was bummed by this, but it was a foregone conclusion; out of my hands. So I took it as best I could, packed up, and never thought about it again for the rest of the ride home. C’est la vie!

This beautiful photo by Sydney Beaumont

 

 

Saturday, August 7, 2010 – Virginia International Raceway

Virginia was good to me this year. I won 3 of my 4 races this weekend (2 BEARS and 1 F750), and was able to clinch the AHRMA 2010 BEARS National Championship, 4th year in a row. I’ve won 10 out of 11 races (so far) in the BEARS class this year, and sealing up the championship at VIR was a wonderful way to fly, all while spending a little time in the southern sunshine and green grass.

I love this track, and do well here.

 

Sunday, August 8, 2010 – VIR – Formula 750

Wow, this was some of the best racing of recent memory here with Tim Joyce and John Ellis.

Timmy pulled away on Saturday but broke his throttle and handed the win to me. On Sunday, Ellis promised to ramp it up, and that he did. The three of us took off with a fantastic drag race up to Turn One. Tim got in first, but I was close behind, and I could hear Ellis right behind me. After 2 laps we were red-flagged and had to restart. This time I got to T1 first, but Timmy cut underneath and held the lead. I knew Ellis was right there and wasn’t going to let go. After switching places with John a few times over the course of the next couple of laps I had to push a little harder to shake him. Coming up the front straight I went deeper than ever into T1, squeezed the brakes so hard the lever was coming to the bar but it was too much, too late, too deep. I stood it up and ran off the track! Ohhhhfah. I watched John snake his way through as I turned myself around and got back out there,but was too late to get him back. But I didn’t care, this was great racing with some of the most talented there is. I owe a lot to these guys for pushing me like they do. If you’re going to learn, learn from the best.

 

 

Sunday, August 8, 2010 – VIR

A cool shot of John Ellis on his Yamaha XS750 “Junkyard Dawg” dogging me good through the misty morning haze on the very fast dogleg in the back straight of VIR’s south course.

 

More good racing to come, as Mosport is next weekend. Nothing like racing in the beautiful green South, then heading up to the equally beautiful North.

 

 

Sunday, August 15, 2010 – VRRA at Mosport, Ontario, Canada

No glamour for me racing here this weekend. I should state right here that Mosport is a big, big, fast track that must be respected, and it beat me this time.

On Saturday in my P3 Heavy qualifying race I felt like I didn’t know how to ride my bike. I was wobbling through corners so bad I pulled in after 2 laps. At first I couldn’t find anything wrong, and started to consider hanging up my helmet for good. Soon after I found that the tiny rubber seal in my valve stem cap had worked its way down into the Schraeder valve and let all the air out of my rear tire! Yikes. At least I knew I wasn’t crazy. I did manage to qualify 4th for P2 Heavy later in the day.

On Sunday I took off from the back row in the P3 Heavy Final race, did about 6 laps riding around working my way up through the pack, when coming out of T10 onto the front straight I suddenly heard a bzzzzzzzzzclackkkkkkkkk! I pulled in the clutch within milliseconds, but I knew it was bad. The rear wheel locked, but I managed to save it and coast off into the grass along the front straight.

Kids, nothing stops a race weekend quicker than a broken crankshaft. That was it – I packed it up and came home.

Photo thanks to Jean De Rosiers

 

Once back in my shop I tore the bike down in short time, and sure enough…
In actuality I got off easy. The break didn’t take out my cases more than a little bit of gouging, and although there was evidence of pistons hitting the head, everything came out intact. I got lucky.

Even the finest of parts has a wear life, especially when racing, and especially running a highy stressed component that had 6 hard racing years on it already. It is a testament to its design that it ran well as it did for so many hard years. Lesson learned. No more cutting corners – time for a brand new crank.

My JS Motorsport rods are back at Carrillo being checked, and possibly a new set of pistons will come into play. Jim Comstock will be going through the motor with his expertise, looking for hidden damage, and CNW is making sure no more corners are cut.

But first and foremost, I must thank Ken Canaga from Left Coast Racing, who offered up a new crank off his own shelf without hesitation, all to keep the program going. I liken Ken as my racing shrink (or is he a pusher?). When I’m standing on the ledge he always talks me back down. Thanks Ken.

Here are some of the bits, ready to go back in. Absolutely beautiful, they are.

Assuming no unseen issues, the motor will be back… better, faster, stronger. Ready to go for Barber in October.

 

 

Miller Motorsports, SLC Utah, September 3, 4 & 5th

Mike Bungay and his trick Aermacchi 350 Special

Where do I begin? Even though my motor was in pieces, I had already made travel arrangements to get to Miller for the fantastic Bonneville Vintage Grand Prix weekend and planned to beg/borrow/steal a ride while there. The night before I was to leave I got a call from Dave Roper saying he had been offered a Goldstar to run in 500 Premier, and therefore I could run the very trick 350 Aermacchi he was given to ride by the ultra-cool Mike Bungay. The plan was for Roper to ride the Aermacchi in 350 GP, then hand it to me for 500 Premier as he would ride the Goldstar. I was over the moon. Bungay’s bike is stunning, and certainly one of the best sorted 350s in the paddock. Roper takes it out for the first run in Friday’s practice, comes in and hands it to me. I wobble around on it a bit, being conservative. Next round of practice Roper decides to skip the 350 and focus on the 500, so I take it out again. About 3 laps into it I start to put my head down and it happens…. BZZZZZZZZZZ CRAAAAAAAAAACK. Not a good sound. Nope. I get carried in on the truck, and Mike and I proceed to tear the top end off. As he’s rotating the motor we can see the custom tapered crankpin has broken. Oooofah. So, Roper is out of a ride, I’m out of a ride, and Bungay made a long trip from Sacramento for nothing! So sorry Mike. We all went out and drowned our sorrows in Mexican food, and over dinner Mike allowed there was nothing that would’ve caused this other than wear and tear, and in fact Roper had done the same thing 2 years previous. So I was in good company in havoc. Nonetheless, I felt terrible. Mike was very reassuring, and out of all this, we’re now working on a plan for a very similar bike he is building for me to campaign for the 2011 season. Way cool.

 

 

Miller Motorsports Park, September 5, 2010

Remember Bruce Yoxsimer, the coolest dude in the world who loaned me his absolutely mint G50 to run at Portland this past May as noted a few cells up on this page? Well, he pokes his head in again at Miller, sees I’m without a ride, and proceeds to offer up his equally mint Seeley AJS 7R for me to run in Sunday’s 500 Premier race. (I should note, 500 Premier is the “Bump” class for the 350GP bikes – so the plan was for Yox to ride it in 350 GP, then I get it for the bump class where it’d be moderately less competitive.)

I have to admit I was a little nervous, having broken the crank on my own bike last month, then breaking the crank on Bungay’s bike yesterday, and now being handed the keys to this stunner. But seriously, what could possibly go wrong, right? Well, about 4 laps into Sunday morning’s practice I hear a “tinkle tinkle tinkle”. Was that the exhaust vibrating? Or was that a valve kissing a piston? By the time I’d metabolized that thought, the tinkle turned into a grrrrrrrrrzzzzzzzzzzzz. The clutch was grabbed in haste and the bike immediately died. Oh Good God no! Back on the truck I came, and it was not good. That’s 2 cranks in one weekend. In fact the big-end needle bearing let go and caused all kinds of trouble. I was sick. Bruce was so mellow and easy-going about it, but he too scratched his head. Ugh. Post mortem revealed the failed big-end was 6 years old and had given Bruce’s engine builder concern right before this weekend, so it seems it was luck of the draw and I got the bad hand. The only way to redeem myself was offer up my bike, once back together, for Bruce to flog, which he promised to take me up on. The offer still stands, Bruce.

Get me out of this Hell Hole, Utah!

 

 

September, 2010 – The Paul Dunstall Lowboy chassis.

I’ve been chipping away in my shop for the last 6 months working to build this bike for my friend and fellow Spannerland shop mate, Jamie Waters. Jamie has two Dunstall Lowboy chassis and the plan is to put a 500 Domi motor in one, and a 750 in another. (Check out some of Jamie’s collection here: www.jamiewaters.com)

The first task was the getting the 500 going. As the build progressed, we discussed what a good debut would be for the bike. The Barber Vintage Festival in October seemed like the obvious event, and a quiet plan fell into place that included a guest rider for its unveiling.

 

 

Late September, 2010 – Come Together.

After several trial assemblies aligning the usual wheels and sprockets, belts, motor mounts, etc., It was time for final assembly. Always exciting.

 

Late Late September, 2010 – 90% there, 90% to go

As Barber loomed there were many moves forward and several back, as it goes. On the dyno the big meggas made a hell of a wonderful noise, but also created a huge flat spot up to 4000 rpm. Different jetting, inlet tract length, etc, was tested, but and no amount of fettling would completely remove it. Hopefully not a problem for racing, but getting a good launch could be tricky.

 

 

Sunday, October 3, 2010 – All dolled up and ready to go.

As I walked out of Spannerland at 2am after several long weeks of preparation I fired off one last shot of the Domi in its completed state. It is one of those bikes where you can never just walk out of your shop and shut off the lights without pause. It looked brilliant and I wanted to remember it like this – sitting, awaiting its trip to Barber.

All the pieces had fallen into place, including the prefect rider. Jamie and I invited Maria Costello over from the UK to ride the bike at Barber. I had seen some snaps of Maria riding a Dominator at Goodwood in 2009 so reached out to her earlier this season about coming over to ride, and a long friendship was secured. Maria has culled some incredible achievements; she held the women’s lap record on the Isle Of Man for 5 years, from 2004 to 2009, and just this year set the women’s lap record at the Ulster Grand Prix. Oh, and she’s an MBE (Member of the British Empire) ordained by the Queen for her excellence the advancement of women in motorsports. No fooling around here. Check her out at www.costelloracing.com

But… if the Domi had issues (an untested racebike is bound to have them), the original backup plan of Maria riding my Seeley had its own set of wrinkles, what with no motor. Fortunately all the sponsors had risen to the occasion and in fact my new/rebuilt motor had just arrived a few days before and quietly sat in its crate awaiting installation. Hopefully it would be the reliable platform it’s always been in the past.

 

Monday, October 4, 2010 – Under the gun

As I spent the last several weeks working to get the Domi sorted I was a little cavalier about getting my own bike going and didn’t allocate much time to my program. Normally it takes about 2.5 hours to put the motor in, get the lines reattached, statically timed, etc, etc. I am happy to say this day was no exception. I had to get a heat cycle in on the bike so it could cool down and I could re-torque and readjust the valves before packing up and heading to Barber. So, a (relatively) brand new motor came back in and fired up on the rolling road without any issue. The motor has a new rod and pair of pistons (the old rod was a mere .0005″ out of round on the small end due to the piston just touching the head after the crank break), thank you Jim Schmidt. And a new crank, thank you, Ken Canaga (now balanced to 70%, down from 78%). Matt from CNW was one of the first to reach out,. and was there to make sure the job was done right. And once again Jim Comstock wove his magic in short time to insure it would be ready for Barber. It was. Thanks fellas.

Beyond the 500 Domi and Seeley 750, I also had a stock-framed Commando racer to get dialed. This bike was given to me by my friend R.J. Reynolds, at Daytona, and between my little earthquakes and his ever-changing schedule we postponed its debut (in its current form) until Barber. When he passed it off to me the bike was complete but needed some fettling to get it ready for BEARS and other classes legal for fully-faired 750 Twins.

And… if that wasn’t enough on the plate, I can’t go on without mentioning the Summerfield Manx Jamie has kept secreted away in a corner of our shop for the last 5 years. He’s watched me ogle that bike every time I’ve walked past it. Finally, my sad, sad eyes were too much for him, and we struck a deal. I was under team orders to get it back out on the track with me as pilot. I can’t complain a single bit, excuse the pun.

 

 

Thursday, October 7, 2010, Barber Motorsports Park

10PM – The bike arrives.

It was a blur. Two days previous I was rushing to finish packing the bikes so not to be late picking up Maria at JFK. The plan was to head head directly out of town (with a stop off in Times Square for some quick tourist photos, of course), and split the 16-hour drive into two days, which would give Maria a chance to see America like few do. Honestly, I was worried about having such a haughty princess sitting shotgun in my humble Eurovan for so long, but I am pleased to report this was the best racing road-trip I’ve ever driven, without question (and I think we’ll do it again). But finally, after hours of interstates, Cracker Barrel, Twizzlers, and Dolly Parton (her ipod, not mine), we arrived. This is a shot in the paddock as she got her first look at the bike.

Maria is a pro; she never said a word about clip-on position, silencers up on her leg, etc. Her only fear was the right-hand shift (c’mon Maria — that’s how the Queen intended it!), and shifting with a GP pattern. So, to lessen the possibility of missed shifts we crossed the linkage over to a street pattern of one down, four up. She was enamored with the bike and had such a pleasant demeanor about it all. If only it were this easy.

 

 

Friday, October 8, 2010 – Photo Op.

Everywhere Maria went the lambs were sure to go. I must go on record as saying having Maria in our paddock was a dream. She is a delight to be around, she looks and smells so much better than the usual blokes, and she brought me sandwiches every day when I had my head in the bikes and couldn’t seem to find the time for a proper lunch. Awww. But when she puts on the leathers she’s all business.

Noted author and writer Mick Duckworth was on hand for the festivities so we’ll certainly be seeing some of his pieces on the occasion in future issues of your favorite classic mags.

This was Maria lining up for Mick to photograph for a future piece.

Friday practice brought lots of mixed feelings about our bikes. The Dominator handled like a dream but it was running rough, and we kept chasing carburetion. The Manx had a deadly stumble as I’d roll on the throttle. It almost bucked me off a few times. I began to ride around it but wasn’t sure this is how riding a Featherbed Manx was supposed to be. And, after a few quiet break-in laps, just as I started wicking it up, my own trusty Seeley went down to one cylinder during practice. Hmmm. I came in, looked it over but couldn’t find anything obvious, tightened a few things and went back out for a scrub lap. Back onto one cylinder again. I came right in and pulled the tank to look underneath. As I removed the tank I noticed it was awfully light…. like it had no gas in it. Yep.

So, a little gas and we’re back in the game.

At the end of the day I took a look around and realized a contingency plan was needed. I offered up my bike for Maria to ride in BEARS if we couldn’t get the Domi sorted enough to keep her in the game. Nobody wanted her to go out and wobble around in 500 Premier on a bike that couldn’t get her up front.

 

Saturday, October 9, 2010 – Formula 750

Meanwhile, there’s racing to do. The championship battle for Formula 750 was down to this final weekend between Tim Joyce and John Ellis. I was merely there to throw a little interference now and then. After all the teething issues this weekend with the bikes I was a little out of sorts. I relegated myself to go out in F750 and phone it in; ride around and do what I could, but be sure to come home in one piece.

Meh…

(pictured on the front row of F750, foreground, back: Tim Joyce – Triumph, John Ellis – Yamaha XS, yours truly, and Glenn Campbell – BMW. 2nd row Jamie Waters – Monocoque Norton)

 

…Nope. No phoning it in this time. I had one of the best races of the year – maybe of my time – as John Ellis and I had a dogfight for 2nd (Timmy was 3 seconds in front). I got a great start and tried to keep on Tim’s back wheel. Yep, not only could I could hear Ellis right behind me, but a funny thing happened here in the late afternoon October sunshine… I could SEE Ellis behind me! His shadows cast in front of me in certain turns. I was being stalked – Where The Wild Things Are!

John and I went back and forth several times. I was happy the Norton could keep up with, and pass that very trick overhead Cam XS750 Yamaha. I knew I had to keep my cool. When Ellis gets a taste he won’t let go. As we got the white flag all I had to do was hold it together for one more lap. I went deep into Turn One and oops… I missed a downshift and got all out of sorts, and around he came. I went hard to try to get him back, but pegs were scraping, fairings hitting, bikes were bucking and weaving, and my last chance for a pass at the last turn found me just a split second too far behind. He got me by a nose and I came home in 3rd. But WOW…that was a good one. I was happy. And I’m still happy. I’m happy that, as I think back to my first race ever a scant 6 years ago, I was gridded up behind these big bad dudes. They lapped me then, maybe even twice, and now I’m up front giving them hell.

 

 

Saturday, October 9, 2010 – post Formula 750 decompression.

Kenny, John Ellis and Tim Joyce.

It’s intriguing how a group of folks can go out and ride so hard and so close as to put one another near certain peril, then come in and be best of friends. John and Timmy are good dudes.

 

 

Saturday, October 9, 2010 – Early morning paddock

Quite a lineup here. In the foreground (#67) is Jamie Waters’ 1973 Monocoque replica. Jamie owns the last surviving of the 4 original ’73 John Player Norton Monocoques, but it lives in its unmolested, as-ridden-and-put-away-wet state and isn’t something ready to take out on the track. Not satisfied with sitting still, Jamie commissioned original JPN team fabricators Norman White and John McLaren to do up another near-identical bike that he could flog. It’s a museum piece in and of itself. Entirely hand-made stainless monocoque chassis, and all the trick bits from the factory. This mere mention of the bike doesn’t do it justice. Please visit www.jamiewaters.com for more info.

Behind the Monocoque is the aforementioned 500cc Dunstall Dominator Lowboy. Notice the race number “MC mbe” AHRMA allowed Maria to run for this occasion. Cool.

The Commando racer with red rims belongs to RJ Reynolds. This bike has a beautiful motor and a lot of trick bits on the chassis. It needs perhaps one more day on the track to shake out some bugs and it will be a winner. RJ is a good dude and a big supporter. I appreciate all he’s put in for me.

The green-faired #17 is the Summerfield Manx, nestled snugly next to my beloved Seeley, just barely visible behind the Manx.

In the background with the blue fairing and white #1 is Tim Joyce’s Triumph.

And not in the picture but very worthy of mention, parked just behind the photographer, is Jamie’s stunning AJS 7R, which he had a wonderful time with all weekend in 350gp, and Jon Blonk’s equally beautiful Triumph Daytona 500cc racer he ran in Sportsman 500.

Photo by Corey Levenson

 

 

Saturday, October 9, 2010 – Summerfield Manx Norton

My first race on the Manx was a quick study on the need for fettling. During the sighting lap the clutch started slipping, and at the green flag I couldn’t get the bike to move! I slugged around for a lap or two, then pulled in with the bike bucking badly as I accelerated, and a clutch slipping too much to keep the revs up above the troublesome midrange. I was disappointed to say the least. Sadly, I didn’t have time to work on this bike this weekend. Too many other priorities. Enter a mythical character – Bob Reynolds. I’d never met him before, and to be honest, I thought at first he was just another one of those codgers hovering around the paddock telling us all, “I used to own a Manx”. I told Bob, in perhaps not the most delicate manner, that I didn’t have time to work on this bike and didn’t even want to know about it right now. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away, but came back later and persisted that I let him have a look. So I did, and he did. As he pulled the slide out of the GP carb he discovered the needle had worn away its notches and the circlip had about 1/8″ play. That certainly can make acceleration interesting. Maurice Candy loaned us a new needle and we were good to go there. Also, “someone” had put the clutch together improperly. So Bob pulled it apart, cleaned it all up, adjusted the springs, and set me up for Sunday – back in the game.

 

This beautiful photo taken by Fred Sahms

 

 

Sunday, October 10, 2010 – 500 Premier

Sunday’s 500 Premier race comes up, and I line up with little expectation. Off I go, not getting the best start, but I make up for it a bit and manage to pass all but one (Timmy riding Maurice’s Manx, naturally).. I kept him in sight throughout the race, and by the end I finally felt like I’d had a couple of good laps on the thing. Second place behind Timmy in 500 Premier is pretty damn good. My times weren’t as fast as my 750 by a couple of seconds, but the hook was set. I know I can go fast on this bike. Hopefully 2011 is the year. Thanks Jamie. It’s a dream come true.

 

Photo courtesy of Albert Hicks

 

 

Sunday, October 10, 2010 – BEARS race

Maria was becoming quite comfortable on my bike. Having dealt with the still-temperamental Domi in practice, jumping on the Seeley was like commuting to work in a Jaguar. On Saturday she went out in BEARS and was cautious, coming home in 6th. She didn’t want to chuck my beautiful baby down the track, even though I gave her full permission to fight. Sunday, after a few more laps of practice under her, she was feeling more confident. I was out in Premier in race 8, and Maria was to be out in BEARS in race 9, so fellow NYC teammate Jon Blonk agreed to help get her on her way, as I would still be pitting-in when she needed to get going. As I pulled into the paddock after Premier I was in my own little world, excited at my achievement on the Manx, and had all but forgotten Maria was out racing. When someone gently reminded me, I ran to the pit wall still in my leathers, only to see Maria having a bloody good race in BEARS, firmly planted in 3rd place and looking all business. As I watched her blast down the front straight the overwhelming feeling that came over me was something I’ve not felt before. I got to see and hear my bike at song with someone else riding it with confidence. I was excited Maria was having such a good time on it, while being a nervous wreck simultaneously. (At the time I think I likened it to “watching your girlfriend sleeping with your wife”. Sorry for the blatant chauvinistic imagery, but I couldn’t explain it any other way).

Maria held her position and took the checkered in 3rd after a good dice with Tony Read on his Triumph (#176). I was one happy team owner.

Video of part of this race taken from the Tony’s bike, right behind Maria, can be seen here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UTsPIBA3i4

Another beautiful photo courtesy of Albert Hicks

 

 

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Nothing but a cool shot of Jamie and me firing up the Nortons to go out in Formula 750.

Photo courtesy of John Blonk

 

The 2010 Barber Vintage Festival was one of the most successful AHRMA events ever; only slightly behind in race entries as the biggest-ever Mid Ohio of several years ago. This October weekend has certainly become the marquee event on the vintage bike racer’s calendar. There were lots of racers, lots of close racing, lots of friends, and lots of stories. But it’s always bittersweet as Sunday’s F750 race comes to a close. It’s the end of the season and another chapter.

Packing up went quickly as Maria had to get to Atlanta so she could jump the red-eye back to Heathrow. As we sped across I20 we did our best to compare notes. A lot of stuff happened over this massive weekend, and the buzz would linger for quite a while. As I type it’s now been 3 weeks since this snap was taken of Sunday’s F750 race, yet I still am receiving photos, emails, and little bits from various folks who were there.

I will have much more to post over the next while as I’m working on Nortons full time now, and some very interesting projects are sitting in my shop awaiting my undivided. Time to go to work.

And again, this wonderful photo courtesy of Albert Hicks

 

First Place
2010 AHRMA BEARS National Champion
(4th consecutive year)

Third Place
2010 AHRMA Formula 750 National championship

I must thank the following whose support has been immeasurable and kept me on the track this year:

Ken Canaga – Left Coast Racing
Jim Schmidt – JS Motorsports
Jim Comstock – Comstock Engineering
Matt Rambow – Colorado Norton Works Chris Cosentino – Cosentino Engineering

Kenny Cummings & Tim Joyce line up for year-end championship photo

Posted in: Archived NYC Norton Site, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: AHRMA, AMA, Barber Motorsports, BEARS, BeaveRun, Bruce Yoxsimer, Comstock Engineering, Cosentino Engineering, Daytona, Dunstall Lowboy, F750, Fullauto, Grattan, Jamie Waters, JS Motorsport, Lef Coast Racing, Manx Norton, Maria Costello, Mid Ohio, Mike Bungay, Miller Motorsports, Monocoque, Mosport, NHMS, Road America, Roebling Road, Seeley G50, Seeley Norton, Steve Maney, VIR | Comments Closed

Racer 2009 | The Evolution of a Norton Racer: 2009

2009: Time to fire up the lawnmower again

 

Winter 2008/2009

Long Before any season starts a racer must sit down and come to terms with their abuse and destruction they have inflicted on their beloved machines the previous year. I had somehow managed to crack my Seeley frame at the upper left rear engine mount tab. The forces of the drive had created a crack that ran entirely around the crosstube. No problem I say… tear the bike completely down, chuck the frame in my car and drive to Chicago in the dead of winter through snowstorms and minus 10 degree temps to see our friend Randy Illg from Framecrafters.

After talking with original frame builder John Woods in the UK, we decided the best repair would be to actually remove the tabs from the crosstube entirely, weld them onto a new 1/2 round tube, and weld this tube to the cross piece at the top and bottom longitudinally, but not on the sides, as seen in this dodgy cell-phone snap. This will spread the loads across the tube and allow a bit of stretching (instead of cracking). Actually, Randy did both top and bottom mounts just to be safe. And he did it special for me on a snowy weekend. Thanks Randy. Framecrafters is aces in my book.

 

February 15, 2009 – Spannerland (my shop).

Sometimes the more you put it together, the more it wants to come apart. On this day I put the bike up on the dyno just to run it in a bit to make sure all was well before the big trip to Daytona. A massive leak was discovered emanating from one of the overhead oil lines. I was able to tighten the line to the banjo and stop the leak, but this twisted the braided stainless line and made for tough fitting under stress. This is where one sits down and asks, “Do I drop the cash on a new line or run with it as is?”. The answer is, spend more money.

Ironically, I believe this leak has been happening (in a smaller fashion) for a few seasons. While on the dyno it pooled on top of my timing cover immediately, which is something I’ve noticed every time I’ve come in from a race, and for the life of me have never been able to figure out where it was coming from. When the rocker feed lines leak, they run down through the center of the head and out the 3rd fin from the top on the front, sides and rear, which is very misleading.

 

February 16, 2009 – President’s day. Spannerland

Buttoned up and ready to go. Daytona looms. I feel cautiously ready. We are running the big track configuration this year which includes both bankings. I’m geared to the moon and upped a jet size just to make sure I don’t blow the thing up.

I also picked up a new camera setup that should prove much more reliable than the old rig, so hopefully there’ll be some good video footage soon.

 

February 22, 2009 – Loading out.

Content is a little thin right now, but race season begins next week so action footage is imminent.

Nonetheless, I couldn’t resist putting up a cool shot of the bike taken in our shop’s freight elevator as it was being loaded out to head south. A fear I’m sure every racer has at this point and time is, “I hope it comes back looking this good”.

 

March 2, 2009 – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Florida

I rolled into Daytona and bunked with my buddy Doug MacRae and Norton Tuner extraordinaire Herb Becker. Doug is a very fast Norton racer from Toronto, and with Herb behind him I knew I’d have some racing to do. On Monday practice we worked our way around the new configuration of the track that incorporated both bankings. Things were feeling FAST. In the BEARS race Doug got the holeshot but I stayed on his tail, ultimately passing him on the banking but he drafted right back going into T1. I knew it was time for some strategy. I stayed tight behind Doug until the last lap when I passed him in the Horseshoe and pulled a decent gap. Then, in the ultimate bonehead move I went in too deep into the last corner before the banking and got all out of shape and Doug got me back for the win. Ugh – relegated to 2nd.
Click HERE to see the video

We then gridded up for the F750 race and I got a great start falling in 2nd behind Tim Joyce, who was faster than fast. I looked behind me and saw I had a decent gap on Doug, went up on the banking, and the next thing I knew the red flags came out. Doug had blown up his motor on the banking at full speed (135mph+) and crashed. Oh no, this was not good. He was transported directly to the Halifax medical center. I restarted and finished F750 in 3rd behind Tim and a very fast CR750 Honda, quickly changed into my clothes, and Herb and I rushed over to the hospital. Moments later, like The Phoenix, Doug sat up in his bed and started bitching at the nurses. Oh Wow. Click HERE to see the amazing footage.
Welcome back, Dougie!

Tuesday came and we were happy to see Doug show up at the track, sore and dazed, but walking and talking.  So I went out and won the BEARS race.

 

Another perspective from Daytona. Monday’s Formula 750 Race.

 

May 23, 2009 – Barber Motorsports Park

I loaded up my VW Eurovan with the bike and tools and headed to Virginia where I met up with fellow racers Eric Mercer and Rusty Beltz. From there we piled everything into Eric’s Fun Mover and headed further south to Alabama for the WERA “Barber Challenge” – a WERA Sportsman round with a special open invitation to all AHRMA racers to come show their stuff.

 

The start of the V4 race. I fell in 2nd behind fellow AHRMA/WERA racer and all around fast guy Tim Joyce. I held on to 2nd throughout the entire race.

 

Barber, Turn 5.

As the race progressed I noticed my clutch lever getting looser and looser. Actually, this has happened to me several times since I got the new TT Industries gearbox. The ends of the clutch pushrod are mushrooming and shortening. There’s something I’m not doing right – possibly not adjusting in enough free-play between the pushrod and clutch spring, which is resulting in the rod loading up as it expands, and ends overheating and distorting (Yes, I’ve tempered the ends). A dismantling of the box is in order once the bike is back on the bench to figure out what’s going on. Pics of the dissection to follow.

 

A nice shot of Rusty Beltz and me working through Turn 5.  Damned 2-strokes!

 

I had a great race, taking second place in V4 against some formidable machines.  But Tim and his Triumph are still unbeatable…

Road American and Grattan are coming up. Back-to-back weekends with AHRMA. These were my favorite events last year and I hope to repeat the good fun again. More to come.

 

Pushrod woes

Since the new TT Gearbox is wider than a standard AMC, the stock Norton Clutch pushrod was too short. Easy fix, right? Cut 2 stock pushrods to length and insert a ball bearing. No, I didn’t want to do that. I decided to make my own pushrod as a single piece. Unfortunately, no matter what I material I used, or any hardening or tempering the ends I did, the gearbox end would mushroom after any running. This became quite frustrating on many levels – as the pushrod mushroomed, it shortened, making clutch actuation disappear during racing. Also, it made it impossible to remove the pushrod without removing the outer cover of the gearbox and pulling it through the mainshaft from that end. Not the thing you want to be doing between every practice and race, and this has been happening since Daytona.

Then, it dawned on me… I took out my calipers and measured. Sure enough, the stock Norton pushrod is 6mm in diameter. I’d been using 1/4″ stock. Therefore the clearance between the pushrod and ID of the mainshaft was much tighter and the pushrod ended up spinning with the rotation of the mainshaft, heating it up and causing all the problems. I just assumed 1/4″ would be better than 6mm because bigger is always better, right? Switch to 6mm stock, cut to length, harden then ends, and problem solved.

 

Road America, June 12, 2009

I met up with Tim Joyce at the Milwaukee Harley museum where we were invited to show our bikes as a promotional display for the upcoming race weekend. Too funny. I was surprised how many “Hog” riders took an interest in our bikes. Afterwards we caravaned up to Road America and set up shop. What a little stable we had. Dave Roper was there with his two Aermacchis. Maurice Candy was there with 2 of his faster-than-fast Manx Nortons, Mark Mitchell with his hyper short-stroke BMW BEARS bike, and Tim with his new, badass Seeley Triumph. We had a great time all weekend. Good folks to hang with. I’m privileged to be in their company.

 

Okay, not Nortons I know, but I couldn’t pass up a ride on a couple of Italian Harleys.

Fellow 750 racer Mike Dixon kept telling me there was a guy at the track looking for a rider for his bikes so I walked up and offered my services to Ron Lancaster, famous builder of these beautiful Aermacchis. There was a very trick Drixton-framed 250 and a moderately tuned 350 Sprint. Unfortunately the 250 had problems we couldn’t locate, so all racing was done on the 350 seen here.

Notice 5-time World Champion Doug Polen in the red cap loading his Ducati in the background. Hob-nobbing with the stars, I tell ya!

 

I had one of the best races I’ve ever had in Sunday’s 350gp, trading places with Dave Crussell on his Kawasaki A1R. Dave drafted me to the finish and won by 0.0016″ (sixteen thousandths of a second)! Had the transponder been mounted on the fork leg of this bike instead of the inside of the fairing, the outcome would’ve been different.  Things definitely move more slowly on the 350 than my Norton, but I was going deeper into corners than I’d ever gone before, and keeping up corner speed was key here. A learning experience, for sure. The bike felt like a non-entity (a good thing). It was so easy to ride and wonderful to listen to at 8k RPM!

This beautiful photo courtesy of Bill Neslus Photography

 

Back on the Norton and feeling right at home.

I DNF’d Saturday’s BEARS race while leading by a considerable margin due to a fragged primary belt. I’ve been going through them faster than usual lately, and could be a combination of lack of cush drive in the rear, as well as the clutch drum and engine pulley splines wearing and the belt not seating properly. New belt, and problem solved, at least temporarily. I got the BEARS win on Sunday.  I took 2nd in F750 behind fast guys Jeff Peters on Saturday, and Tim Joyce on Sunday.

A video of a lap of Saturday’s practice can be seen by clicking HERE

On to Grattan the next weekend. More to come.

 

Stuck In The Middle – Grattan Raceway, June 20, 2009

We all spent the week between races bench-racing and talking smack up at John and Jan Ellis’ cabin in Northern Michigan. They are such gracious hosts. Unfortunately John blew up his Yamaha at Daytona and wasn’t ready for these events, but he was good with advice and support. During the week I worked a bit on my suspension and changed gearing in preparation for Grattan. Again pitted with Mark Mitchell and his BMW, myself, and Tim Joyce and his new Seeley Triumph. Just behind Tim’s bike you can see Maurice Candy’s unbeatable Manx Norton. One day… One day.

Grattan is one of my favorite tracks. The layout has it all; a long fast straight, several off-camber and blind turns, and some very tight technical stuff in the back. Unfortunately the condition of the track gets worse every year. Not complaining – everyone is on the same track as me, but what a place this would be with a re-pave.

I won the BEARS races both days, and took a 2nd and 1st in F750.

Tim had a flying weekend, bumping up from F750 into Battle of the Twins Formula 3 (modern bikes) and winning! Leaving me to have a fantastic dice in my F750 race with Chris Spargo. I was 5 seconds a lap faster than last year. Dropping times like that shows me there’s still more to go.

It’s time for a mid-season teardown just to make sure all is well. Photos to come.

 

July 2009 – Dimpled

I pulled the motor from the bike and began taking it down. Immediately I noticed the crater in the RH inlet valve. I knew it was time for another valve. So out it must come, right? Well no… it wouldn’t budge. The collets were embedded into the valve stem so no amount of spring compression would free them. I had to remove all the other valves so I could cut the head off and tap it out. Unfortunately I found a loose guide on the exhaust side, which meant an oversized guide and recutting the valve seats. All this the week before Mid Ohio. Why is it always at the last minute? Enter Ken Canaga of Left Coast Racing to the rescue. Ken not only sent me 2 new inlet valves, but a complete set of R/D Springs and 4 new valve guides. He made 3 separate trips to the post office for me in one day, as every time he’d send a parcel off I’d discover I needed something else. Ken has been more supportive of my racing effort than anyone. Please buy any of your go-fast top-end stuff from him (JE Pistons, R/D springs, etc)- he’s the real deal. Contact me for his information.

 

Since I didn’t have the tools to recut valve s eats I made a cold call to Frank Gianinni on a Saturday afternoon to see if he could help me. Frank took me in without hesitation and proceeded to restore my head to its former glory, reseating all the valves, recutting a new seat for the valve with the changed guide. and cleaning up all the mess that had gone on in there over the years of dissassembly/reassembly. Another great help to my effort, Thank you Frank!

I took the motor down to the crank, put in new big end bearing shells and gave the bike a thorough going-over in preparation for the rest of the season. Got it buttoned back up just in time to load for Mid Ohio.

 

Mid Ohio, July 25-26, 2009

Mid Ohio has always been the big event on every vintage racer’s calendar. Unfortunately this year the event was marred by politics and fighting within the racing organizations, and AHRMA was no longer the racing effort for this event. The AMA in conjunction with WERA put on the first annual Vintage Grand National Championship race and overall it was a well run weekend. But unfortunately the grids were miniscule compared to the glory days of AHRMA past. The attendance was a fraction of what it had been in years previous, and the fans were all too aware of this. Plus, it rained like never before on Saturday, and Mid Ohio is no fun in the rain. I went out for a sighting lap, the bike was stuttering, so I decided to pick my battles and pulled in. My buddy Jamie forged on in the rain and actually had a great dice with another in the wet, and brought his #67 Seeley Mk4 back safely in second place.

Sunday was clear and dry. For the European American Twins race I took off from the last row and managed to pass all the bikes, including the Middleweight Superbikes that went off in a wave in front of us, and take the overall win.

A video of this race can be seen HERE.

 

I have a pre-printed track worksheet that I fill out during/after every event. These sheets are so very handy when I come back to a track and refer to my notes about the best gearing, etc. However, sometimes it is necessary to change based on conditions, new surface, etc. I’m always pleased when I need to gear taller than in the past, as it means I’m going faster than before.

 

Mid Ohio, Sunday, July 26, 2009

Frank Giannini telling me true in Garage #18 shortly before the Euro/American Twins Race. Frank took ownership of his work and helped me throughout the weekend getting the bike dialed.

Next up is VIR with AHRMA, August 8, 9 and 10th. Then the following weekend up at Mosport in Canada – one of my favorite events of the year.

 

Virginia Intl. Speedway, Saturday, August 8, 2009

Hot Hot Hot Virginia in August. As I headed down to VIR I wasn’t sure what to expect as it is widely felt that the North Course is one of the best tracks in the country but little was known about the South Course we were racing. When I pulled in I was so happy to see the ubiquitous rolling hills, green grass, and of course the famous oak tree at the last turn. After a couple of practice runs I began to really enjoy the technical layout, and while I hope to race on the North Course again, if the South course is on the schedule you can bet I’ll be there.

I won on Saturday but DNF’d on Sunday while leading due to my crankshaft nut loosening and the belt drive pulley slipping off the key and spinning on the crank. Oops! This has happened before, and I have to insure it won’t happen again. Double points are great when you win and not so when you don’t.

I pitted with Mark Mitchell (who sadly blew up his beautiful BMW during Saturday’s practice), Tim Joyce, Maurice Candy and his winning Manxes, Andrew Findling, Dave Roper, and my buddy Tom Sharp nearby with all the Ton Up dudes who did up a smashing BBQ on Saturday. There were more British bikes at this event than I’ve seen in a long time. Good deal. Good company. Great event.

 

Tim Joyce and I loaded up and both headed to NYC for some shop time before Mosport next weekend.  It’s not a Norton but it’s certainly worthy of mention. Here is his new, badass Seeley Triumph in the Spannerland eleavator.
Having southern boy Timmy in NYC was quite a hoot. He ate Indian food, went to Times Square, hung out in the offices of the New Yorker magazine, chilled with the hipsters in Brooklyn, and even saw a real transvestite.  Fortunately we also got some quality shop time in, and were poised for a good showing up in Canada.

 

Mosport, Canada, August 22, 2009

I traveled up with Tim and we had delusions of grandeur how we were going to take on this big place and walk away victorious. Not so. For me I went 3 seconds faster than last year so I had that little personal victory, but I was still over 4 seconds off the winning pace and placed 4th. I was taken for a ride by fast guys Dave Crussell and Jeff Peters.

For Tim, he had electrical issues that plagued his Triumph and ended up running his Period 2 race on Maurice’s Manx (and actually did very well on it). It was Tim’s first time at the track and I know he had a good time, but wants to come back with big guns next year.  This beautiful picture taken by Mark Mitchell, who was kind enough to accompany Maurice Candy up to the track and be an all around good guy supporting the cause for the weekend.

 

On the way up to Mosport I received a text from fast dude Peter Politiek in Amsterdam. It was official. The plane ticket was purchased and everything was in place. On September 8th I headed to Europe, invited to race Peter’s stunning Seeley G50 at Hockenheim and Assen. These are genuine, historical Grand Prix/Formula 1 race tracks, riding a real GP race bike. Wow.  I had to jump through some serious hoops to acquire an FIM international racing license, but cut through the red tape at the AMA and managed to become a credentialed rider. To say I was chuffed would be a massive understatement. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I can only thank Team PolyTech for their immense generosity and confidence in me.

 

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

After flying into Schiphol in Amsterdam I had a long rest at Peter Jr’s flat in The Hague, then off to Borne to the Team Polytech shop/headquarters later that evening. I was so happy to walk into the shop and find this vibrant Green and Yellow monster awaiting my arrival! We moved a few things around to get it comfortable for me, and that was it. Ready to go.

The Team Polytech shop was amazing with race bikes all over the place. Everything from this G50, Guzzis, Ducatis, etc, etc, to Peter’s very stunning 2008 GSXR1000 that he campaigns quite successfully in the IDM German and Dutch Superbike series.

 

Thursday, September 10, 2009 – Arrival to HockenheimRing

Lining up for entry. I had no idea what a big show this was. The IDM series is huge, with factory teams (KTM, BMW, Suzuki, Yamaha, etc) and big-time sponsorship. The line to get in was immense, and this was after 3/4 of the paddock was already filled. The “Classics” was just one race of the day – a well respected but small portion of the whole event. It was impressive to see former GP rider Jorg Teuchert and Superbike rider Jeremy McWilliams out there doing their thing (quite rapidly, I might add).

 

Setting up.

No Walmart EZ-Ups here folks. Big time canvas tents to deal with the ever-changing weather.

 

Friday, September 11, 2009: Father and Son at work.

I went out for practice and felt really slow. I had to get used to the bike and the track, as well as shifting on the left. Towards the end of the first practice the bike starting making an odd clatter and was losing power. There was no compression. We pulled the rocker covers and sure enough the inlet valve had no clearance and was held open. Odd, for sure. But, we didn’t find any smoking gun, so adjusted the valves and buttoned it back up preparing for the upcoming qualifying session.

 

Saturday, September 12: Qualifying Round

I had a good night’s sleep and felt much better on the bike. I was poised to get some better times. The bike felt good but was still making a clatter so something was still amiss. Oh well, forge on. On the third lap of qualifying, just as I was starting to wick it up, it seized on me at the exit of the Sachs Curve (seen here). It skidded and fishtailed and I just about lost it, but grabbed the clutch and managed to roll off safely. The motor was locked solid. I knew this was a bad one. I got carted back to my pit and post-mortem ensued.

An onboard video of this qualifying session, including the seizure, can be seen by clicking HERE.

 

When is a rod no longer a rod? This is the aftermath of a seizure. A Titanium rod bent like a toy.

 

More carnage. It was felt that the circlip probably popped out of the piston allowing the pin to dig into the Nikasil wall of the cylinder and that was it. That would explain the clatter sound. Needless to say, it looked like my European racing career took an early retirement. Damn.  Peter Sr. was good about it all and believed it would’ve happened regardless, but I felt terrible about this.

 

Sunday Morning, September 13, 2009: Race Day

Time to shift focus. Peter Jr. is a fast, fast dude. But he had issues with his bike too and needed to get out in the first race and shake the cobwebs out. Here we are on the grid before the IDM German Superbike race. Unfortunately we were the only Brolly Dollies Peter had for the day. He blasted off and was having a good showing when his bike started making a clatter too! He pulled off and that was the end of that. After a later teardown we learned it was a good thing he pulled off when he did as his #2 cylinder big-end bearing had given up was so close to throwing a rod and certain to destroy the motor. As it stands, he only needs a new set of bearing shells. He’ll be ready for Assen next weekend.

William de Ridder: Racer and Gentleman

At this time it should be mentioned that pitted next to us were William and Adrie de Ridder – father and son racers from Holland that I’d read about for years in the classic magazines. These guys are fast. Faster than fast. They are the real deal. They came with 3 bikes of their own, all of them beautiful Seeleys, and an Isle of Man winning Tickle T5 Manx on loan. William had done some promising sessions on the Manx and chose to ride it in the race. He generously offered me up his G50 to ride. I was completely humbled and honored. What a good guy.

It should also be noted that this a Team Polytech bike that William has been riding for many years, so it was a good thing all around for the team.

Here William gives me some pointers on how the bike handles. I was heading out in a race of 35 riders having never been on the bike before and needed the input. We made some adjustments to the levers and shift linkage and I was back in the game.

 

 

Sunday, September 13, 2009 – The Classics Race

If you squint you can see me in there, #59, gridded 16th out of 35. I had no decent qualifying runs so was stuck in the middle. Didn’t matter. I was about to dump the clutch and gain my own personal victory – racing in Europe on a bona fide GP/F1 track on a genyoowine GP bike.  Note up front William de Ridder in pole (#28) and father Adrie (#1) right next to him. They had a cutthroat duel to the very end. They are very competitive with each other. It’s good to see and great for the sport.

 

This blurry pic is proof – I crossed the finish line 14 laps later. Yes!

I had a good race. I got a great start and actually moved up several positions and seemed to be keeping the leaders in sight. Then I made a big mistake coming in way too hot in a slow corner and lost several seconds, which put me out by myself for a few laps. I kept at it and passed a few more and managed a respectable 8th place. My lap times got better and better as the 14 laps went on, naturally. Saturday’s 40 minute qualifier would’ve been a big help.

 

All done! Papa is happy, I am happy!

I have to thank as loudly as possible Team Polytech for bringing me over and supplying me with this bike, my entries, and all that goes with it. I’m honored to be a part of their operation and they will always have a place in the States with me. As a matter of fact, they will be at Barber in a few weeks, with Peter Jr. riding their 900 Ducati in Vintage Superbike Heavy. Watch out!

I must also say thank you to William de Ridder. He is such a good guy to let me ride his bike. He won the race with his father, Adrie, taking 2nd.  My oh my, they are fast.  My best time was a 1:50 and they were doing consistent 1:45s.  In fact I think William actually did a 1:44 on the last lap.

So, I’m back in The Hague at Peter Jr’s flat. We have another race weekend coming up at Assen, leaving in a few days.  Peter will be riding his GSXR and I’ll be sitting on the side, helping when I can, enjoying the Dutch sunshine. 

 

Saturday, September 19, 2009 – Assen

No racing for me this weekend. This is the only bike I had to ride. But damn, I have a nice line!

Peter got pole position on Saturday and won on Sunday. I was in fast company. What a wonderful trip. I’ll be back.

Now time to focus on Barber, the last race of the year for me.

 

Saturday, October 10, 2009 – Barber Motorsports Park

I loaded up the Eurovan and headed south, with my wonderful photographer friend Esther Montoro riding shotgun, for the last race of 2009. Since AHRMA has lost Mid Ohio from its schedule the Barber Vintage Festival is quickly filling the void. This year was bigger than ever, and although we had a bit of rain in the forecast it was poised to be a great weekend. I had already clinched the 2009 BEARS championship earlier in the season so this was strictly holiday racing. I pitted next to Timmy Joyce, Marino Perna (MAP Cycles), and Tom Sharp, as I’ve done most this season. Good friends and great support. Tom offered up his absolutely stunning T140 for me to ride, so I happily obliged and took it out for one round of practice on Saturday, then promply entered the BEARS race with it. I took off in the rain and won by quite a distance. I was happy, Tom was happy. But not to forget my beloved Norton. I took my bike out in F750 and got a great start leading the pack. I knew John Ellis was nipping at my heels and I could hear him right behind me on his self-proclaimed “Junkyard Dawg” Yamaha XS. As I climbed the hill out of T3 on the second lap the bike briefly sputtered. Oh no… then it sputtered some more, and more and more. I threw up my hand and that was it. Ellis passed me as I nursed the bike back into the paddock where it finally quit 10 feet from my pit. After calming down a bit I diagnosed it back to a bad battery. It was fully charged before the race but a cell had gone bad and that was all it took. I was due – the battery was 2 seasons old and I ran it longer than I’d run any other in the past. I put in a replacment and all was good for Sunday.

 

My old buddy Andy Wendler, who does some writing for the big glossy auto magazines, came down to do a story for Car And Driver on the new Ford Transit Connect euro-style van using my bike and kit as the payload with Barber as the setting. Arrangements were made to get my van back to NYC so I could ride back with Andy in this little beast. Esther took hundreds of photos and hopefully we’ll see a feature in C&D in the near future. I will post something as soon as I hear.

Update: click here to read the Car & Driver story

Photo courtesy of Esther Montoro

 

Sunday, October 11, 2009

The wet weather rolled over us all day and night Saturday but we woke up to dry conditions for Sunday.

Today Tim Joyce decided to enter Formula 750 so things were going to be a little different than yesterday’s rain race. There were quite a few fast bikes gridded up in this race – John Ellis included, who was gunning for us all – but I was focused and feeling confident, and the bike was running good. Green flag drops, I get a great start, but Timmy beats me into T1. I did my best to hold on to him and rode harder than I have before. In times past he’s always disappeared off into the sunset but this time I fought hard and was able to keep him in in sight. I took an honorable 2nd place just 3 seconds behind Tim across the finish line. I was the happiest I’d been in a long time. My lap times were good. I walked away feeling like I’d had my own personal victory. I’ll proudly take my 2nd place for this one.

That was it – the season was over. No spills, few chills, and probably the best season I’ve had so far, at least in regard to good development, camaradarie, and enjoyment.

I’m sad the racing is over but as usual I’ll be doing lots to the bike in the off-season to make it go faster next year, so this is certainly not the end of 2009 for me. More to follow.

Photo courtesy of Esther Montoro

 

First place
2009 AHRMA BEARS National Champion
(3rd consecutive year)

Second place
2009 AHRMA Formula 750 National championship

I must thank the following whose support has been immeasurable and kept me on the track this year:

Ken Canaga – Left Coast Racing
Peter Politiek, Sr. and Jr. – Team Polytech
Tom Sharp – Sharp Mechanical
Frank Giannini – Giannini Racing
Chris Cosentino – Cosentino Engineering
Yukio Hamasaki – Tuned By Yukio Racing

Photo courtesy of Esther Montoro

Posted in: Archived NYC Norton Site, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: Aermacchi, AHRMA, Assen, Barber Motorsports, Car & Driver, Daytona, Doug Macrae, Esther Montoro, Eurovan, FIM, Ford Transit Connect, Framecrafters, Giannini Racing, Grattan, Hockenheim, Mid Ohio, Mosport, Peter Politiek, Road America, Seeley G50, Seeley Norton, Spannerland, Team Polytech, Tim Joyce, Triumph, Vintage Motorcycle Days, WERA | Leave a comment

Racer 2008 | The Evolution of a Norton Racer: 2008

 

January 2008:Without a heart!

Here sits a lonely 1962 Featherbed frame and bits. The motor has been removed so I can check the balance factor. The bike shook last year, and it was time to get that sorted. Off to Lindskog’s with the crank, rods, pistons, pins, clips, etc. I’m working on some new things for 2008, but I’ll leave it at that for now. In the meantime, I’m amassing all the pieces necessary to get a bike back out on the track and defend my championship. Daytona looms. This year I’ll be riding a friend’s Triumph (cough cough!) on the high banking, which will allow me a bit more time to get things sorted properly with the Norton to be ready for a fast 2008.

 

Twin Towers of Power

New JE Pistons – So beautiful. Such a shame to hide them away in the motor. Good things are afoot, so keep checking back. When I have something tangible to show, this page will be chock full of pretty stuff to peruse.

March 3, 2008

Dudes need some SUN!

I took 2nd in BEARS at Daytona on Monday, riding a friend’s Triumph T140. Here we are living large at the Daytona winner’s circle.

In Tuesday’s race I had a great one going, swapping first place with another Triumph, but blew the clutch on the banking sometime around the 5th lap. Bummer. Nonetheless, I couldn’t be happier to arrive back home unscathed. Thanks to Works Engineering for the loaner and support, and for allowing me to have my moment whilst they wrenched to keep the bike going.

 

March 10, 2008

I am “EXTREAMLY” excited.

 

March 11, 2008 – Seeley Commando

It was getting a bit boring around here, so I decided to take on a new charge. This is my brand spanking new Seeley MK2 (replica) frame built for me by John Woods Racing in the UK. John and I have been working closely over the last few months working through the details for the chassis, tanks, yokes, engine plates, etc. John will always get special mention from me. What a pleasant experience this has been getting all this sorted out.

 

It is a shame that I have to post such low-res images on this site as this frame and tank setup is absolutely a work of art.

This is an exciting time as I get to document the build of this bike the same way I did my Featherbed. Most of the parts have been amassed and it’s mainly about putting the puzzle together, getting everything aligned and assembled, and moving from there. I will post more detailed pictures as the build commences.

March 20, 2008 – Mock Up

Time to start bolting everything together. A couple of tweaks to the engine plates were necessary to get everything to fit proper, as every motor is slightly different. I’ve opted for a Quaife close-ratio 5-speed here, and some very trick Works Ultralight shocks. Up front is a Norvil disk hub, and in the rear is a Triumph T140 disk hub. This motor is just here for mock up as mine is getting a good going through with Mike Rich Motorsports.

 

March 21, 2008 – Alignment

Particular attention was paid to the alignment of the front and rear wheels and all sprockets. I had some alignment issues with the Featherbed which caused some problems with wear on the sprockets and want to be sure this bike is blueprinted from the get-go

 

March 22, 2008 – Offset and truing

This rear Triumph(!) hub was used on quite a famous Norton racer back in the day and I hope some of its mojo will rub off on this bike. But, as I’ve found time and again, nothing ever just drops right in. After lining up the hub and sprockets it was time to move the rim over and reduce some of the offset that was initially built into this wheel, aligning it with the front. This is tedious work, best done whilst enjoying your favorite beverage (notice the fizzy water bottle in the background), listening to your favorite music, all with an open-ended schedule. Not only was it necessary to pull the rim over more central to the hub by loosening one side and tightening the other, but also necessary to insure it stayed true by tweaking individual spokes along the way. Good God, I need a haircut.

 

March 30, 2008

I finally got to sit on my new baby Seeley. It’s long and low, and light as can be. I’m anxious to get it going. Mockup is pretty-much completed, and final build is about to commence. Time for the race motor and start buttoning it all up. I spent a lot of time working to achieve proper alignment of the wheels and making sure the rear chain had adequate clearance on the rear tire. It’s close, with only about 1/4″ to play with, and it might be prudent to shim the sprockets out a bit more. I’ve already put a .030″ shim behind the countershaft sprocket and there’s still lots of room to move it out a bit more, so maybe more shims there and a larger spacer behind the rear sprocket might be in order.

 

April 13, 2008

6 days until Summit Point, my first race on the new bike. New pistons, a rebalanced crank, a bit of a rise in compression, and a bit of a work up on the valves. The motor and gearbox go in (and come out) as a single unit so help was necessary. Have I said how wonderfully beautiful this Seeley frame is? Thank you John Woods.

 

April 14, 2008 – On the dyno

Actually, just to get it started on the rolling road to get a heat cycle in. Didn’t even try to get numbers on this motor with new pistons, rings, main bearings, and rod bearings. I’ll be back after a few break-in laps at the track.

 

April 18th, 2008 – Seeley Commando is leaving in 6 hours

I had to burn a little midnight 20w50 to get everything assembled in time for Summit. Finally, Friday morning the dress goes on. Since my fairings unfortunately have yet to arrive I borrowed an old fairing from Jamie Waters, which was a great help, allowing me to get the final details sorted.

 

April 19, 2008 – Pay no attention to the hammer

Summit Point – 80 degrees in April, a new track surface, and a beautiful new bike. I woke up at dawn to find a can of Guinness miraculously “tumbled” out of the cooler the night before and left its marks EVERYWHERE on the bike. A fine christening, indeed. I retorqued the head, adjusted the valves, finished some safety wiring, and teched the bike. I ran a couple of laps in my first practice and was overwhelmed to say the least. But I was chuffed with the power of the motor, the power of disk brakes, having more gears than ever, and the stability of the chassis, naturally. Unfortunately I had a breather hose come off and oiled the right side a bit. Second practice was much better and I started pushing – maybe harder than I should. Then my gear change linkage came undone 3 laps in and I pulled off. Onto the first race, V3. I promised myself not to really race, but to take it easy. Uh huh. I gridded up, got the green flag, and took off, passing some fast dudes. I pushed harder than ever but the bike was compliant as can be. It’ll take more than I can give. At the end of the front straight on the 4th lap I felt the bike drag down. I grabbed the clutch and the motor died. The rear wheel was locked. I managed to safely pull off and took a seat on the sidelines, wondering what I’d done to my new baby. Turns out the rear hub’s bearing retainer backed out and the hub shifted, forcing the brake caliper over to rub on the disk, causing it to overheat and seize. Ack. Not devastating, but serious enough to make me sit out my other race. Back into the van, 4 hours back home, and back up on the bench for analysis. More later.

 

May 3, 2008

I strolled into my shop today and decided I should take a look at my motor as there was something in the back of my mind telling me the rear caliper couldn’t have been all that was causing the bike to pull down at Summit.

ACK! This is what I found.

But wait, there’s more…

 

Remember those beautiful pistons pictured a few cells above? Well, here they are after a few laps. Oh yeah.

I’ve got 7 days to get this sorted, the motor put back in the bike, and the bike loaded onto a trailer on the way to Talladega.

This is the BEST way to get rid of that pesky money.

 

The cases needed to be split as the rods weren’t spinning on the crank very smoothly. Why? Because the brand new bearing shells are scored and gouged beyond belief.  Going into the shop today, I thought I would do some minor stuff just to get the bike ready for Tally. HA!  Kids, heed the warning – racing is an absolute disease with no way out. Take all your time, money and good intentions and flush them down the toilet. You’ll be better off.

 

Thursday, May 8, 2008 – Good, Bad and Ugly

Here sits my cylinder barrels freshly honed to remove scoring, my head with new valves and springs, a brand new set of JE pistons, and the old scorched set to use as paperweights.

Carrillo specifies a bolt stretch figure between .005 -.007″ for proper torque. Today this worked out to be 39ft lbs. New big end bearing shells, and onto the crank they go.

Fortunately the crank journals were not at all scored, so replacing the bearing shells was all that was necessary. During the rebuild I went through every oil passageway and made sure there were no obstructions. While there was evidence of cold seizure – that is the bike was run too hard without proper break-in and warm up – I did find some chunks of debris that shot out of the sludge trap through an oil hole in the crank journal, but can’t be certain any of it ever blocked anything. Nonetheless, I really flushed the sludge trap and cases, changed all the seals and renewed the anti-wet-sump plunger in the timing cover.

Saturday, May 10, 2008, 7pm.

A Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress

I managed to squeeze off a couple of blurry shots before running out the door. I’ve been working every free moment from Thursday to now getting the bike ready to deliver to a friend tomorrow who’ll take the bike to Talladega. I barely had time to get the new fairing mounted. I’ve had no time for beauty – the tanks are unpolished, the frame is natural (and will remain as such), and some of the welding and fabbing need a little clean-up. In due time, I suppose.

I’m very (cautiously) excited for the upcoming 3-day showing at Talladega next week.

 

Friday, May 16, 2008 – 2pm – Talladega Gran Prix Raceway – Talladega, Alabama

Day 1 – Base Gasket 1

I chose to take only a half-day practice and went out for my first session after lunch. After 2 casual laps I pulled in and the hot-tech inspector shouted to me that I was leaking oil. Blammo – that’s one base gasket blown to bits. To change a base gasket means pulling cylinders, which means taking everything out of the bike, which means no more practice, socializing, or dinner.

 

Friday, May 16, 2008 – 5pm

Yup. It’s blown. Shame on me for running paper gaskets. Many Norton racers run no gasket at all. I would’ve like to have eliminated the gasket this at this time, but my squish and valve-to-piston clearances leave little room for a reduction in height, so another gasket goes in.  I must stop at this point and say what a great bunch of helpers I had during this process – Tom Sharp, Craig Hirko, Mike (don’t know his last name, but he owns a Triumph 675 that Tim Joyce eats everyone alive with), and several others were there to lend a hand.  Later that evening I got the motor back in and the whole lot 90% buttoned up just in time to pass out in my tent.

 

Saturday, May 17th, 11am

This is not a joke. I got in 2 laps in the first practice, and about 2 more in the second when I felt a sudden BAD vibration. I was certain I’d cracked my cases or worse. When I pulled off into the grass I looked down and was in complete disbelief. That base gasket we’d worked so hard to put in last night had completely vaporized. The nuts had backed themselves off, and the studs were loose. After winding down, Tom Sharp convinced me to pull the motor out of the bike again (that’s motor removal #2) to have a look as to what was going on.  After tearing down the motor and finding no extensive damage, Tom twisted my arm to put yet a THIRD base gasket in, button it up, and try it again on Sunday. What the hell. We nipped it up carefully using lots of Yamabond as a sealer, and once again I spent the evening sitting on the Alabama tarmac rebuilding my bike whilst my friends caroused and drank beer.

 

Sunday, May 18th, 12 Noon

I went out in the first practice starting off easy, came in with no oil leaks, let the bike cool a bit, then retorqued the base nuts. They were loose – loose meaning 1/2 turn loose. Very curious. After the second practice I came in, still no oil, and really let it cool over lunch. I retorqued, and the nuts were moderately loose again. Not good. As I began tightening the gasket began oozing out of the sides of the barrels. ACK!

During one of the weekend’s rebuilds it was discovered there is a ledge between the crankcase halves. Here you can see the gasket rippling where there is a significant step between the cases.

 

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

It’s time to get to the bottom of this, excuse the pun. I’ve once again pulled the motor and split the cases. I’m happy to report that there is little damage done by any perceived seizure. The now-blueprinted cases have been fly cut by Charlie Olsen of Olsen Engines. He had to take off .014″ off the case mouth to even out the deck heights. I have procured bullet-proof copper base gaskets, and am working on my breather configuration. It should be noted that there was an obstruction discovered in my oil tank fitting where a 5/16″ ID feed pipe was reduced to 1/4″. This has now been drilled out and good to go. This obstruction could possibly explain the Summit Point seizure, but doesn’t really explain the base gasket failures.

 

A theory:

I dropped one of the thick, stock cylinder base washers in my shop after Summit’s teardown, never to be seen again. So during the rebuild before Tally I used a regular stainless 1/4″ ID washer (seen here furthest to the right). Bad move. It was noticed during the third blown gasket rebuild at Tally that this washer is too wide and fouls against the curvature of the cylinder barrel casting and therefore does not sit perfectly flat, giving a false torque reading. And because the washer is thinner than stock it is very possible the nut was bottoming out on the stud before actually tightening down the cylinder barrel. This, combined with the step in the cases could’ve caused a lot of the trouble. I noticed even the reliable stock washers distorted and wallowed, clearly seen here on the washer in the foreground. Is this fatigue that happened over time, or a result of my cylinders hammering up and down on the cases? Don’t know, but it’s time for new ones. Once again I’m under the gun – a big gun this time. Road America’s 4-mile-long motor-eating track is my next charge. I’m loading in little more than a week to head out to beautiful Wisconsin. Then, the week after Road America is Grattan in Michigan; back-to-back race weekends on very fast tracks. Trial by fire.

 

Saturday, June 22nd, 2008 – Grattan Raceway, Michigan

Bluer Skies/Greener Pastures

After back-to-back weekends at Road America and Grattan things are looking pretty good. Not once during either weekend did the motor do anything but perform like it should. I had a couple of clutch issues at Road America on Saturday, but got a win in BEARS on Sunday. At Grattan things went smooth, I scored well, and actually had time to socialize. A great run with good friends. More detail to come.

Photo courtesy of Doug MacRae.

 

 

Saturday, July 26. 2008

Mid Ohio – AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days – BEARS grid.

Oh Mid Ohio, what can I say? This is the big show. 40k attendees at the circus known as AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days. Always such a good time to hang out and talk with the fans, and race in some of the biggest grids I’ve ever seen. There were 21 entries in the BEARS class and even more in Formula 750.  Unfortunately, the track was oiled 2x over the weekend, forcing us all to take very creative racing lines in an attempt not to bisect the oil-dri.

On Saturday I got the holeshot in the BEARS race only to be red flagged after 2 laps due to a bit of rain that made the already greasy surface feel like ice. After all was said and done 17(!) riders between the BEARS and 500 Premier classes – both gridded on the track together – went down. A video of part of the incident can be seen HERE.

After the sun came back out I managed a 2nd on Saturday and 3rd on Sunday. The bike was a dream – not a single hiccup other than a loosening clutch nut. I didn’t even use a stitch of safety-wire over the weekend.

Beautiful pinhole camera photo courtesy of my buddy and fellow fast guy Aron Ahlstrom.

 

 

Mid Ohio, 2008

Cooling off in Garage #18

Photo courtesy of Doug MacRae

 

The NYC dudes (and one Torontonian) – Mid Ohio 2008

L – R: Jordan Levitt (Seeley Norton), Jamie Waters (Seeley Norton), Jon Blonk (Triumph Triple/Sony Handicam), KC Masterpiece (Seeley Norton), Andrew Anderson (Honda RS125), Aron Ahlstrom (Ducati 350), and Doug MacRae (Norton Commando).

Photo courtesy of the ever-effervescent Laura Trigg.

 

Moss’s Corner, Mosport, August 16, 2008

Oh Canada… I went up to one of my favorite tracks and favorite events of the season. Results were mixed. My times were over 3 seconds faster than my previous best, but I actually slowed a couple of seconds as the weekend progressed. I tried running a smaller profile Dunlop front tire for the first time and it took me a while to adjust. Possibly it played with my confidence across the concrete patches?? Mind games, I say. Didn’t matter – nothing could get in the way of the beautifully cacophonous echoes we all made while racing up the back straight between the fir trees.

This was holiday racing – no championships, no points, no stress, just fun. I spent the weekend with fast guys Dave Roper, Doug MacRae, Dean De St Croix, Henry Hogben, Maurice Candy and Ken Rosevere, and we all had a great time.

Photo courtesy of Jean Des Rosiers.
(Note racing number 11 for VRRA/Canada)

 

 

Friday Practice – Miller Motorsports Park, Utah, September 5, 2008

Happy times – I flew out to SLC and met up with fellow Northeast racer Bob Demetrius, who carried my bike all the way across the country for me. I arrived Friday morning to find everything ready to go to head out for practice. Thanks Bob.

I changed my jetting (Miller is 4200′ above sea level) and was good to go.

First practice was so-so, but that’s to be expected. 2nd practice I picked it up, but snapped a throttle cable towards the end and had to nurse the bike back in on one cylinder. After a hasty repair to the cable, I was ready for 3rd practice and was going good, but somehow managed to tear the teeth off the drive belt. There was no warning, just got on the gas and suddenly there was no power but I sent the revs to about 10k! I guess it’s best this happened in practice. I managed to nurse the bike in and was actually happy to find this was all that was wrong as I was sure the gearbox had blown up on me! Put on the new belt (new and old seen here) and was ready to go.

However, my repair to the throttle cable was preventing me from synching my carbs properly, and something needed to be done. The next morning I located a local dirt bike shop and sourced a throttle cable that would work with a little cutting and soldering. I made my changes and got everything synched and ready to go for Saturday’s race.

 

Remember that throttle cable repair? Well, it worked perfectly in every way, but I neglected to completely tighten down the throttle housing! Oops.

During Saturday’s race I took off in the lead and was poised to get the win. On the 6th (of lap I looked behind me and saw I had quite a gap over 2nd place and decided to relax a bit. As soon as I thought this, I felt the throttle let go in my hand. The housing had come loose and the entire throttle assembly was slipping off my clip-on! I tried holding it in place with my left hand while twisting with my right, but the cables were jamming up my brake lever which made negotiating some turns really tricky, to say the least. I knew it was time to pull in. I was scored in last place. Not where I wanted to be.

 

… Sunday comes along.

I must’ve checked every fastener on the bike for tightness. I went out and was able to pull away again, finishing with a sizeable lead over the rest of the field. Finally.

I spent the next 2 days dry-fly-fishing with my father in the scenic canyons of Utah. What a way to prepare for The Sandia Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, coming up the next weekend.

Photo courtesy of Bill Vande Sluis

 

 

Sandia Motor Speedway, Albuquerque, NM, Saturday, September 13, 2008

As I arrived to Sandia I was chuffed to find we were pitted right next to AMA Hall Of Famers Dave Aldana and Gene Romero who were there as guests of Craig Murray, the Sandia promoter and all around fast guy. I found out Aldana would be racing in the BEARS class and I knew this would be an interesting weekend. On Saturday I gridded up, got a great start, and suddenly there’s a T140 Triumph underneath me going into T1. Whomever it was wasn’t giving an inch. When he squeezed past I saw the telltale #13 on his infamous skeleton leathers and knew I had my work cut out. I did my best to keep up and we had a great race, but Aldana was really good through some traffic and gapped me by a second or two, so I took my 2nd place proudly. No doubt a win would’ve been great, but all I needed was a 3rd or better in any race this weekend to clinch the 2008 AHRMA BEARS national championship. So… that part of my season’s work was finally done. All right!

As I pulled into my paddock I was a happy bloke. I was smiling ear-to-ear under my helmet! A great celebration came later.

 

Sandia, Sunday, September 14, 2008

Sunday was poised to be a repeat of Saturday, but the championship work was done and it was time for some fun. We took off, and Aldana got me into T1 again, but I wasn’t letting go. We were tire-to-tire for a good while. He was pushing much harder than yesterday, as was I. I stuck with him but ultimately he had a gearbox issue and ended up way behind. I took the win as a great end to a long trip of back-to-back race weekends.

Here is a shot of Dave Roper and myself being interviewed after our race on Sunday. Dave won the 350GP race and I won BEARS – both gridded together during this weekend. I must say Craig Murray puts on a great event out here and we are definitely well taken care of.

The bike is ready for a good clean up for the big show coming up – Barber in October.

 

Saturday, October 18, 2008 – Barber Motorsports Park

I got some great times in on Saturday. I felt like things were good to go for the weekend. However, after my 2nd practice on Saturday I pulled into the paddock and the bike was making a terrible racket from the motor – a clak clak clak that didn’t sound good. Odd, because it was running great on the track.

Photo courtesy of Esther Montoro

 

I had Tom Sharp, Marino Perna, Keith Hussey, Herb Becker and Steve Shiver all poring over the bike and their help was much appreciated. Theories abounded as to the cause of the sound. Did I break the crank? Bent pushrod? Tappet face fall off?  Nope. None of the above.

I think Keith Hussey gets the prize for discovering the source…

 

In this blurry photo, you can see what we discovered – the crankshaft pinion had sheared 2 teeth (seen here just under the cam chain). The bike still ran like a top, but it was only a matter of time before this became a catastrophic failure. Yikes. Steve actually volunteered to run out to the Barber swap meet and score me another pinion, which he did. I put it in, buttoned it up and it fired right up with a mighty roar! Unbelievable. Thank goodness for that swap meet or my weekend would’ve been over. Unfortunately I missed my race for Saturday, but Sunday was another day. This was “Holiday Racing” anyway, as the championship was already clinched and there was no need to push the issue.

 

Sunday, October 18, 2008

Stan Miller, KC, and Andrew Anderson, getting ready to go.

Nothing but glamor in our paddock, folks.

Photo courtesy of the wonderful Esther Montoro

 

Sunday, October 18, 2008 – Barber Motorsports Park

I did all right – I won the BEARS race by 30 seconds or more. My times were more than 5 seconds-a-lap faster than last year. The only disappointing part of the day was packing up to go home.  What a wonderful way to close the season. I learned a lot this year and had some major issues that almost sidelined me, but I managed to work through them all. When I look back now it’s all a blur and I’m already preparing for 2009.

2008 Racing:

March 3/4, 2008 – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona FL, with AHRMA
April 19, 2008 – Summit Point, WV, with WERA
May 17/18 2008 – Talladega Gran Prix, Talladega, AL, with AHRMA
June 14/15, 2008 – Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI, with AHRMA
June 21/22, 2008 – Grattan Raceway, Grattan, MI, with AHRMA
July 26/27, 2008 – Vintage Motorcycle Days, Mid Ohio, with AHRMA
August 15/16, 2008 – Mosport, Ontario, Canada, with VRRA
September 06/07, 2008 – Miller Motorsports, UT, with AHRMA
September 13/14, 2008 – Sandia, NM, with AHRMA
October 18/19, 2008 – Barber Motorsports, Birmingham,AL, with AHRMA

2008 National Champion
First Place – 2008 AHRMA BEARS National Championship

Posted in: Archived NYC Norton Site, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: AHRMA, AMA, Barber Motorsports, BEARS, BeaveRun, Bruce Yoxsimer, Comstock Engineering, Cosentino Engineering, Daytona, Dunstall Lowboy, F750, Fullauto, Grattan, Jamie Waters, JS Motorsport, Lef Coast Racing, Manx Norton, Maria Costello, Mid Ohio, Mike Bungay, Miller Motorsports, Monocoque, Mosport, NHMS, Road America, Roebling Road, Seeley G50, Seeley Norton, Steve Maney, VIR | Leave a comment

Racer 2007 | The Evolution of a Norton Racer

January 2007:

I’ve been racing long enough now to see a recurring theme emerge. Rebuilding after each season is a gross understatement.

This is my 1962 Slimline frame sitting on Great Jones street in Manhattan sometime in January 2007 after a healthy dose of media blasting; this so I can find the cracks and flaws hidden under the paint. I present the 2007 rebuild. Chasing that chatter that plagued me in ’06.

 

After some crack repairs (see the front mount for spot welds) it was determined that this old bike needed some gusseting to stop the frame flex. Thus the triangulated gussets seen here between the swingarm mount. Thanks to Chris at Cosentino Engineering for the advice and fabrication.

 

More reinforcement at the head to stop it from flexing under heavy braking. Unfortunately as with any modification comes a new methodology. With this head bracing I now must add or remove the motor as a whole unit, as removing the cylinder head in situ is prevented by the horizontal cross bar. It only gets harder, never easier.

 

It’s 3 in the afternoon, Sunday, February 11, 2007. We’re leaving for Daytona in less than 3 weeks, and this is where my bike sits. I’ve reinforced and painted the frame, all the bearings have been replaced, the forks are awaiting their new internals (more on that to come, for sure), I’ve brazed and reinforced my swingarm as it was cracked vertically on the drive side and was so close to letting go (that would not have been pretty). I’ve gone completely through the gearbox. My motor is out with Mike Rich at Mike Rich Motorsports. It should be ready in a few days with a completely new valve job, custom guides, shortened pushrods, etc, etc. I was having serious top-end problems by the end of last season. Turns out I had a crack behind my RH inlet valve guide and the whole head needed welding.

So, the question remains – will it be back together in time for Daytona?

 

11:40pm. There is hope. I can sleep a little easier tonight.

 

In the Team Incomplete shop doing a little Daytona preparation.

 

Dunlops. What can I say?

I’ve run Avons for 3 seasons. A few guys I’ve spoken to swear by Dunlops, so I thought I’d give them a try this season (KR164 on the rear, and KR124a for the front).

Here you see a crack (actually there are 2) that emanated from the center of my KR164 all the way down the sidewall. It was DEEP – certainly not something to run at Daytona, or anywhere for that matter. Bob Barker, the supplier of the tire, felt that the tire had frozen during shipping and cracked when not properly handled by UPS. He immediately supplied me with a new tire, this time packed very carefully in a box. A week later, I took off the bad tire and put on the new, “good” tire. Ack! It was discovered that this 2nd tire had cracks in it too which were only visible after mounting! Third time’s a charm – Bob sent me yet another tire, and after careful pre-heating, all was well.

I’ll post my tire comparisons after racing with them for a while.

 

Friday afternoon, February 23, 2007. The motor has made it back to the bench. I had a crack behind the RH inlet valve guide, which necessitated delicate welding and a custom guide. New valve seats on the inlets. The valves had dimples in the tops, so Mike Rich did stellite tips to get them up to a useable Rockwell hardness. My rods had the small end ovaled, so an emergency re-bush was necessary by Carrillo. New wrist pins, rings, etc. New bearing shells. New cam bush (the old one fell out when the cam was removed). The face of the head needed more skimming due to warping. Good Lord, where does it end?

 

Saturday, February 24, 2007. 9pm. East Village, NYC.
The first 2007 startup. The van leaves for Daytona in 4 days. The bike started up like it always does. The noise was wonderful!
The patches you see on the ground are ice. There was a little incident with one of those patches, but I’ll leave it at that.  So… it looks like we’ll make it to the track after all, but not without drama.

 

It appears I’ve located the portal into which all my money seems to flow.

My personal favorite shot from the batch – a bit of artiness.

 

Back up on the bench awaiting safety-wire.

The inventory:
- Cracked swingarm, now brazed.
- Various frame cracks, now welded up
- New bracing to the frame
- New head steady
- Cracked cylinder head valve guide bore
- Ovaled small ends of Carrillo rods
- Forks completely rebuilt with cartridge internals (more on this later when testing is complete).  Plus, the various other small changes that will hopefully enhance the handling and performance (how’s that for vague).

 

Well, we made it. Daytona International Speedway. March 4, 2007. The really big show. The bike was tight for the first practices (and so was the rider). Approaching that banking for the first time was like riding headlong into a tidal wave of asphalt. I didn’t know whether to speed up or get the hell off the thing! Of course, I sped up. By the end of the first day, I had a 4th place in BEARS and a 4th in F750.

 

Day 2. March 5, 2007. Even better than the first. A 3rd place podium finish in BEARS, and another 4th in F750. It was some really fast blokes in front of me, so if I can continue at this pace maybe one day I’ll be a fast bloke too.

Click here for a YouTube video of the first lap of the BEARS race. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVIGQn5JRVU

I had to give it up to a couple of guys, but not without a fight. I led for the entire first lap.

 

Yep. I was there, and I got the little blue cup to show for it.

What a great time. Mick Hemmings pitted next to us and we swapped spares. Steve Maney visited with his lovely gal and we got to shoot the breeze off the clock. Some of the other NYC guys had a little bit of a tough time – something about holed pistons in Rob North triples and a little off in T6 that wounded one of our other players – but overall I think we came away with a good understanding of this massive place, and what to expect when we come back.

 

I can’t seem to resist putting up more Daytona images. This one came to me anonymously (to my office!). Someone took the time to print and mail it to me with no note or contact info. Well done, whomever you are.
This is the BEARS race, Tuesday, March 6, 2007. #18 is Greg Nichols on a Rickman Triumph, and #66 is Eric Green on a Triumph T140.

 

The Commando Roadholder Fork Internal Conversion kit from Cosentino Engineering. I’d been racing with the best stock Norton fork bits available (alloy internals, modified damping, etc). However, by the end of last year I had reached a point where better control of the suspension was needed. I contacted Chris at Cosentino Engineering who designed a complete drop-in kit that replaces the stock Commando Roadholder internals with 2007 (ed: and beyond)  Showa CBR600RR dampers, custom springs, and all the fittings. The kit offers complete adjustability of compression damping, rebound damping and spring preload, just like any CBR600RR race bike. All adjustments are easy to access but out of view as to comply with most vintage road racing organizations’ rules.

I’ve been running these all season with great success, and now Cosentino Engineering is producing them in quantities available to the public. This kit drops in to any Commando Roadholder fork (street or race) in minutes with no modifications to your stock forks, and the difference is immediate and significant.  More information by clicking here.

 

May 20, 2007 – USCRA Vintage Celebration.

It’s been a while, so I’m glad it’s now out of the way. I pitched it away coming out of T12 onto the front straight at NHIS (Loudon) in the horrid rain while leading the Open GP race by a very significant margin. By the 4th lap I had already lapped the 2nd place rider but decided that wasn’t good enough and had wick it up a bit more. Dumb move. The rear spun, flipped around to a low side, then spit me off over the high side. I slid for an eternity in the rain but managed not to hurt myself. The bike is banged up (to say the least) down the RH side, with some broken rearset and fairing bits and a dented tank, but with the help of Dave Roper we patched it up and I went back out to win the Heavyweight SuperVintage race later in the day. Overall I came away with 2 wins and a DNF. A bittersweet weekend for sure.

Click HERE for a YouTube video of that fateful race.

On to Gingerman with AHRMA in 3 days, so not a lot of time to clean it up.

 

Formula 750 Grid, Gingerman Raceway, May 27, 2007

I took 1st place in this race on Saturday dueling with fast guy John Ellis (#5x) on his beautiful Yamaha. I also took a 1st in BEARS on Saturday. This was my first time at the top of the podium with AHRMA… not once, but twice in a day. Wow! On Sunday I pulled off a 2nd place in F750 as I was plagued with clutch problems. Besides, Ellis surely didn’t want some punk like me pushing him around. I’ll see him at the next one.

Unfortunately on Sunday I killed my bike on the BEARS starting grid (due to the aforementioned clutch problems) and the officials wouldn’t let me bump it until after the whole 2-wave grid had taken off. I raced like hell, caught up to a few racers, and managed a respectable 3rd.

 

Gingerman, May 27, 2007

Ahhh, the trophy girls! This vintage racing thing is finally starting to pay off.

 

June 10, 2007

But wait! There’s no way I can have such success without a little pain, right? It happens again – the frame cracks, this time in 3 different places.

I went to Summit Point with WERA on June 9th. In one day bike ate through 2 (expensive) batteries due to excessive vibrations bouncing them around. I DNFd both races. Sad, sad. As I started looking for the source I discovered both my bottom rear engine mounting tabs were broken on the frame. When I got back to the shop I tore the bike down in a hurry as I was to be racing with AHRMA at Grattan the next weekend. To my extreme disappointment I found even more destruction. The new cross-brace that we’d welded up in the beginning of the season had sheared in half; a direct result of torque from the final drive, probably weakened by the loss of both bottom tabs. It seems to point to a chain reaction of failures which likely began with my crash at Loudon last month.

Well, thanks to Chris at Cosentino Engineering, he took me right in and we not just fixed, but greatly reinforced this tube and temporarily buttoned up the engine plates as well. Just in time to put it all back together and make my way to Grattan. More on that wonderful weekend to come.

 

Wakey Wakey!

7:00am Saturday, June 16, 2007, Grattan Speedway, Belding, MI

Grattan was the most wonderful surprise. Jamie Waters (seen with his 1970 Production Racer #107) and I loaded up in NYC at 5pm on Thursday for the 14-hour road trip west. After driving all night we arrived dazed Friday morning, but were re-energized by one of the most beautiful, scenic, technical tracks we’d ever seen. Tight off-camber turns, immense elevation changes, and even a jump! Sure, it should be repaved, but I’ve raced on worse. I had a successful weekend with AHRMA, taking two 1sts in BEARS and two 2nds in F750, and had the rare opportunity to scrap with my buddy John Magyar, who has always been helpful to me with my racing exploits over the years. This track is now certainly one of my favorites. Good stuff.  However, I knew deep down the bike still wasn’t 100%. There were wiggles and shimmies that I’d not experienced before, and the engine plates had been bodged to get me through this weekend. It was obvious the frame/plates were stressed and flexing so yet ANOTHER teardown was in order.

 

June 24, 2007

So small, yet so powerful: A hairline crack emanating from the swingarm spindle on the drive (LH) side of the bike. In fact, although not visible in this photo, the crack ran rearwards into the bead of weld and had completely broken through the gusset. There are many theories as to why my frame continues to crack; most likely a result of my highside at NHIS in May. Also, I may have been running my drive chain too tight which puts immense loads on the engine/transmission plates and swingarm mounts, especially when I tip over!  Cosentino Engineering is in the process of moving their shop so it’s off to sansei Yukio Hamasaki for a master class in fabrication and welding of gussets. More on that to follow.

At this point, I think it’s necessary that I publicly thank Todd Puckett, Chris Cosentino and Yukio Hamasaki for their time they’ve poured into this bike when they had much better things to do. I have no welding skills, and every time this bike puts me into a tailspin these guys talk me down and get me back out to the next race.  Thanks fellas.

 

July 1, 2007

Yukio Hamasaki fabbed and welded in a support plate on both sides of my spindle boss to reinforce this highly strained area. We also built a better battery box so I can hopefully get more than one race out of a $90.00 Yuasa battery. Yukio is also fabbing up a set of 5/16″ thick alloy engine mounting plates, as I’ve broken 2 sets of 1/4″ plates so far. Mid Ohio looms, and it seems like every year my bike is in a thousand pieces right up to race day (notice there is no engine, gearbox, or wheels on the bike in this photo). This year is no exception.

 

Mid Ohio, July 29, 2007 – F750  Hmmmm. No Brolly Girls for me?

That’s Jay Springsteen #9 on the Hourglass Racing Harley and Tim Joyce #17 on the Hourglass Racing CR750. I guess I have to win a few championships before I get any shade. I’m working on it.
The F750 race was filmed for a TV show to be aired December 8, 2007 on the Versus network covering all of the Vintage Motorcycle Days events. Earlier in the day my bike was pulled aside in the paddock and featured in a segment showing the evolution of the race bike, with mine being the oldest, then a 70′s era Superbike, and a Ducati 999 as the current specimen. Should be cool.  Unfortunately, I DNFd this race as my inlet rocker cover came off in the first lap and proceeded to oil the entire bike, forcing me to pull in. FYI – oil on the bike, and especially on the tires, is really not on.

 

…and later that day, after a quick hose-down of the bike with copious amounts of brake cleaner I managed to get out in the BEARS race and take 2nd. I got hung up with some of the Triumph Thruxtons, but held my ground and got some valuable points. Click HERE for a video of the first BEARS race where I took 3rd behind Tim Joyce and Greg Nichols. Again, fighting with the pesky Thruxtons (didn’t they used to grid behind us?) but feeling good nonetheless. This video was the first I’ve ever taken with my new onboard camera mounted in the nose of my fairing. I need to do a little tweaking, but you get the idea. The bike sounds great on the back straight.

 

Mid Ohio, July 29, 2007 – Lining up to go out.  A great shot taken (and arted up) by my buddy and fellow fast Commando racer Doug MacRae.

 

Mid Ohio, July 28, 2007

Another fancy snap taken by Doug MacRae from our garage at Mid Ohio. A keen eye can see the plexi-screen in this photo is full sized, whereas in the other Mid Ohio photos above it is cut back; this because of a little excursion in the grass I had during the warm-up lap for Saturday’s F750 race that broke up a few little bits, but we’ll leave that story for another day.  All in all, the bike survived this Mid Ohio extravaganza weekend, and believe me, I put it to the test. This means on to Kershaw where it’s 105 degrees in the shade. More on that soon.

 

August 19, 2007, Carolina Motorsports Park, Kershaw, SC

I took 1st in BEARS on both Saturday and Sunday. As I dove into the first hard-braking turn in the first lap of Sunday’s BEARS race I grabbed the front brake and hopped down on the rear brake pedal (many never use the rear brake, but I use everything I have to get slowed down) but felt like I stepped in a bowl of Jello. Fortunately I made the turn without incident, but as I looked down I could see my rear brake lever hanging. Yikes! This meant 3 things: I’d lost a considerable amount of braking power; I had no way to stop if I ran off the track – highly possible with less brakes (don’t use the front brake in the grass or gravel!); and every left turn I made was taking a chance the lever would auger-in and send me flying down the tarmac. Besides, I could be black-flagged at any moment and forced to leave the race. I took a slower, wider line through the left-handers but still the lever was hitting and bouncing. Not fun. I tried to make up time by really hammering it on the other turns and managed to stay in the lead to win the race.
I usually make my own cables (save for the front which I had Barnett make for me. Front brake cables are not the place to cut corners). I had broken this rear cable at Mid-Ohio and repaired last week in my shop. Apparently I didn’t do a very good job and have to go back and review my methods.

On to Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, and Sandia in New Mexico in 2 weeks!

 

September 8, 2007 – Miller Motorsports Park

Going into Miller I was in good shape. I needed only a 5th place or better in any BEARS race between now and the end of the season and I’d clinch the AHRMA BEARS National Championship. Many of my family and friends came in for this event. My lap times were many seconds faster than last year and I felt poised to put in a good showing.  Racing is a serious hobby, and serious things can happen…it’s part of the game. Unfortunately, the game caught up to me. On this day I went out for the BEARS race, got a great start and led until I was taken out on the 5th lap by an overly-aggressive rider from an entirely different class attempting an impossible pass. One minute I’m in the lead, then next I’m ass over tea kettle in the Tooele dirt.

Fortunately I was able to walk away with only bruises, but the bike took a beating. The fall bent my Maney exhaust, bent my swingarm spindle, bent up my rearsets and levers, filled my carbs with dirt (fortunately none made it past the slides), wiped out the side of my fairing and broke my screen, etc, etc. My helmet is toast, and we all know they are not cheap. After cooling down, I was assisted by several (special thanks to John Magyar and Jerry Spear) and managed to get the bike back together for Sunday’s races. Even event promoter Tom Kullen offered up his beautiful Norton for me to ride on Sunday, sacrificing his own entry into the class if it meant helping me clinch the championship. This is the camaraderie we don’t always find in everyday life. Thanks fellas.  Video of this race can be seen by clicking HERE

 

September 9, 2007 – Miller Motorsports Park: And then there was Sunday.

I took off again in the BEARS race and led for 2 laps. The bike was misfiring (later detected to be a short in the Boyer ignition wiring as a result of the get-off) and I did my best to nurse it in and not to blow it up. I was 2-3 seconds slower on my lap times from Saturday before the off, but I took a respectable 2nd in this race, ultimately passed by Glenn Campbell on the #67 BMW. Glenn is a fast guy so I was in good company, and managed to keep him in sight despite my troubles.

Regardless, as I crossed that finish line I had clinched the BEARS championship and I was CHUFFED!

 

Saturday, September 15, 2007 – Sandia Motor Speedway: Hot, Hot Hot!

It was discovered at Sandia I had cracked my frame a week before during my crash at Miller. I had it welded early morning track side and was up and running for the first practice.  Pictured here is Jamie Waters stealing secrets…er, I mean giving my bike a once-over. Behind my bike you see SuperMono champion Eric Mercer’s red MZ (#1F), Jamie’s Commando Production Racer, and Brad Phillips’ fast Battle of the Twins yellow Ducati 748. That’s a pretty good cross-section of bikes/riders, if I may say so.  I came home in 1st in F750 both days, and took 3rd in BEARS both days behind Albuquerque locals Craig Murray (event organizer) and Glenn Maxwell. Things are good.

 

Sunday, September 16, 2007 – F750 – Sandia Motor Speedway

Jamie ratcheted things up and I had my work cut out for me. I took first in the end, but not without a good fight.  Here we play amongst the black-eyed-susans blooming at the apex and and a finely manicured hedgerow of tires and weeds along the fence. Sandia is a funky little track, but the event is top-notch; definitely worth the trip. Especially if you like the desert heat and green chilis.  Barber looms. which means tearing some things down, going through the bike, and putting it back together for the big show.

 

Saturday, October 20, 2007 – Barber Motorsports Park

I had a great drive down to Barber with good company. Friday’s practices were going well and the weekend’s racing was shaping up. I had already clinched the BEARS championship back at Miller in September and was leading the F750 championship by 1 point(!) going into this weekend. Right behind me in the F750 points was John Ellis, a talented rider on a very fast bike. It was a long-shot for me to hold on to the F750 championship, but never say never.

Along comes Saturday’s race 9 – BEARS. Having already clinched, I figured I’d go out and potter around and save the bike and myself for Race 11 – F750. Somehow it never works like this. I took off in BEARS and tucked in behind SUPERFAST Tim Joyce maintaining 2nd place. I was able to hold on to 2nd for the entire race until about lap 7 when I missed a shift approaching the Alabama Rollercoaster. I stomped the bike into gear in great haste and dumped the clutch. I heard a sound I’d never heard before – severe grinding. The bike carried on, but anytime I’d go full throttle it would grind and the revs would increase. After some contemplation, I decided to pull in as the possibility of a busted gearbox was too lethal to ignore. I was pretty upset.  Click HERE for an onboard video of this race

After cooling down, I decided to tear into my gearbox. I had the assistance of several, including Tom Sharp (a dyed-in-the-wool Triumph man!) and my buddy Andrew Anderson. I knew the F750 race was gone for me, at least for today. I took a break to watch John Ellis take 2nd in the F750 race, and was now 834 points ahead of me. Saturday was DNF for me all the way around. So it goes. Back to the gearbox.

 

And later that evening…

After completely tearing apart my gearbox to find absolutely nothing wrong, I glanced through the frame and lo and behold there it was – my countershaft sprocket had lost its teeth! The grinding I heard was my chain spinning on the sprocket as I accelerated. The problem was much simpler than I thought and right before my eyes the whole time.

Here you can see the remains of the 19-tooth sprocket. Notice my bushings for my mainshaft are also chipped. I think a gearbox overhaul is in order the off season. I’d like to think that the massive HP of my bike was able to tear these teeth off like a monster, but I know the hardening on the teeth had probably been worn away previous, and once the hardening goes the destruction comes quickly. The question is what wore away the hardening? Was there an alignment issue? Was it the gravel I picked up at Miller that was eating away the teeth? Hmmm. Something to look into back at the shop. I had a spare sprocket that would replace this 19-tooth with an 18-tooth, thus lowering my gearing. This was a win/win as I was geared too tall anyway and wasn’t making it into top gear anywhere on the track.

 

 

Sunday, October 21, 2007 – 8:00am: Post tech.

Nice smirk. Ready to kick some ass (or not). The gearing change was fantastic. I was lapping 2 seconds faster in morning practice than I had done in any of Saturday’s race. I had 3 of my 4 gears to play with now! This gearing change should’ve been done after practice on Friday, but sometimes laziness and denial at the track wins out over logic.

I went out in race 9 – BEARS, having a good slice-and-dice with Greg Nichols. Sadly I lost the clutch about 5 laps in and had to speed-shift for the rest of the race, but still held on and came in 2nd. Back in the paddock I had about 20 minutes before the F750 race. I pulled the gearbox inspection cover only to find the clutch lock ring had loosened. I did my best to use a punch to hammer it in place, and made my way out in race 11 – F750. By the time I’d come around the sighting lap to grid I’d already lost most of the clutch actuation again and knew I’d be phoning this one in. I was scored in 5th. The race was red-flagged after 6 laps and that was final.

Congrats to John Ellis for nailing the 2007 F750 championship. I will take my 2nd place and wear it proudly.

 

Sunday, October 21, 2007 – 5:00pm

Processing the news with Roper, at the end of the day, at the end of the season.

Rest in peace, Dwaine Williams.

www.riderswhocare.com

 

 

2007 Racing:

March 5/6, 2007 – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona FL, with AHRMA
May 5, 2007 – Nelson Ledges, OH, with WERA
May 18/19 2007 – Vintage Celebration, NHIS, with USCRA
May 26/27, 2007 – Gingerman Raceway, MI, with AHRMA
June 9, 2007 – Summit Point, WV, with WERA
June 16/17, 2007 – Grattan, MI, with AHRMA
July 28/29, 2007 – Vintage Motorcycle Days, Mid Ohio, with AHRMA
August 18/19, 2007 – Kershaw, SC, with AHRMA
September 09/10, 2007 – Miller Motorsports, UT, with AHRMA
September 15/16, 2007 – Sandia, NM, with AHRMA
September 29, 2007 – Summit Point, WV, with WERA
October 20/21, 2007 – Barber Motorsports, Birmingham,AL, with AHRMA

2007 National Champion
First Place – 2007 AHRMA BEARS National Championship
Second Place – 2007 AHRMA Formula 750 National Championship

Posted in: Archived NYC Norton Site, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: AHRMA, Barber Motorsports, Cosentino Engineering, Daytona, Dunlop, Dwaine Williams, Gingerman, Grattan, Kershaw, Mid Ohio, Miller Motorsports, Sandia, Team Incomplete, USCRA, Vintage Motorcycle Days | Leave a comment

Racer 2006 | The Evolution of a Norton Racer

USCRA Eurocup Pre-Grid, NHIS, 6/12/06

Photo courtesty of Matthew Robbins
www.matthewrobbinsphoto.com

January 2006:

Okay…where do I begin? It’s no secret that racing is tough on bikes, riders and pocketbooks, but my little surprise this off-season came from out of nowhere. It all started with a pesky oil leak from the filler cap on the oil tank that reoccurred throughout last season. I decided to pull the tank to see if I could fashion some sort of repair. Lo and behold, as I pulled the tank out of the frame, I discovered the crosspiece split in two! As I think back, I can remember when the bike suddenly felt different – - that was Summit Point in April, 2005. I also broke my swingarm spindle at this race. This means I was racing with this broken crosspiece for the whole season! Duh. The teardown/rebuild drama begins here.

 

Evidence of severe frame cracking at the top of the gusset. The cracks were front and back, on both sides. Welding was necessary.

 

After welding, I decided to chase another pesky (albeit small) oil leak from my head gasket area. If it ain’t broke, fix it ’till it is.

 

Hmmm…evidence of an oiling problem. Turns out there was leakage behind my RH inlet valve guide.

 

It works like this….if the head is coming off, then why not tear the whole engine down, spend some serious $$$ and get that Steve Maney crank I always wanted? Oh, and why not make the decision in February, when my first race is less than a month away?  Here we have the results of the tear down; my wonderful MKIII crank (now retired to a quiet shelf in the garage), PW3 cam and Carrillo rods sitting on the bench. Dismantling is the easy part.

 

I’ve had this Maney outrigger bearing stashed away for quite some time. Now seems to be the perfect time to install. This supports the weak mainshaft; a design pioneered by the Works Norton team for the JPN racers of the early ’70s

 

Finally it arrives – The Steve Maney Crankshaft. Absolutely beautiful. I wanted to photograph it in a nice setting before I hide it away in a bottom end. This crank weighs 14.8 lbs, about 9 pounds lighter than my MKIII crank. This time the balance factor is 74% as recommended by Steve. I’ll have to watch the throttle as it’ll spin up a lot quicker than before.

 

Somehow hard data on the size difference of a MKIII crank and cases is almost impossible to find. I learned the hard way. A MKIII crankshaft is .120″ wider than any other year crank. Therefore the cases are equally wider as well (see my dilemma in 2002 when the motor wouldn’t fit into the frame). Because my new Maney crank is built with the same dimensions as a stock 750 crank, my MKIII cases needed shims behind the main bearings and inner races. Here we see a .030 shim going in behind the main bearing. I shimmed behind both bearings and both inners (total of 4 shims) for an inward adjustment of .120 to keep the crank centered.

 

After shimming, checking for end float. I had .007″. Perfect.

 

Don’t try this at home!  Unfortunately, after removing the pistons from the rods and showing them off around the garage, I broke a ring. Doh! This meant new rings and a hone of my cylinders (and also a break in process). I decided to go the DIY route, did as much research as possible, bought a bottle-brush hone and went for it. Here I am honing my cylinders while a buddy pours vegetable oil. Needless to say, there was oil sprayed from Hell to breakfast.

 

BUT – the 45 degree crosshatch says it all! Job well done.

 

Putting the motor back in the bike. The frame is fixed, the oil tank is fixed, the head is fixed, the crank installed…we’re getting close.

 

A nice shot of the Maney 40mm belt drive.

 

Having committed to road testing the next day with the other guys, I had a bit of work to do to finish. This is the bike on Good Friday, April 14, 2006

 

Saturday morning in the Sprinter with Jamie’s Atlas, ready for traveling to our top secret testing facility somewhere in the NJ meadowlands.

 

Here we are at the end of a beautiful test day. The bike ran great. It is so high-strung and ready to be on the track. I managed to put some good runs on it here at our 1.5 mile testing ground. No smoking, great compression, and seemed happiest higher and higher in the revs. I’ve set the redline at 7500k.

 

That’s me, Jordan Levitt and his beautiful Kirby Matchless G50, and Jamie Waters and his Atlas, Saturday, April 15, 2006.

 

Back home in NYC on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006, buttoned up, safety-wired, and ready to race next week at Summit Point with WERA. I have a #1 title to defend!

 

Summit Point (aka Slippery Point) April 23, 2006: What a mess. Nothing but pouring rain all day. I did manage to stay upright and place second in V3 and V4. The new crank felt amazing, but this wasn’t the race to really push so more data will come at future races.

 

Dueling with Jordan on that pesky ‘Guzzi. Nelson Ledges, May 6, 2006. He got me fair and square. Time for a rematch.

We did 3 weekends in a row – Summit, BeaveRun and Nelson – all with WERA. I’m starting to feel like a pro, but my wallet doesn’t feel so fat. May 21st, 2006 was the Vintage Celebration at Loudon (NHIS) with the USCRA gang. Things really clicked in the Open GP race and I managed to lead for a couple of laps. In the end I took a respectable 2nd place behind a very fast Triumph, but not without a good fight. I was so damn happy.  Click Here for a movie of a very disbelieving me leading the Open GP grid into the bowl (turn 6) at Loudon.  We did a street race – The Streets Of Laconia – on Saturday, June 11th. It was cool – going fast and making a lot of noise downtown and certainly on the verge of serious danger. Come to think of it, it’s a bit like riding around NYC.

 

Here are some truly great shots of us at the big track at Loudon (NHIS) during the USCRA FIM/NAMU races June 12, 2006. Click on the small for a larger version.

These beautiful shots taken by Matthew Robbins:  www.matthewrobbinsphoto.com

 

Dave Roper and I traveled up to St. Eustache in Quebec, just outside Montreal, July 8th & 9th for the VRRA Quebec GP. What a fountain of information he is, and a great person to pit with.
I like to think his speed rubbed off as I took my first-ever flag-to-flag win in the P1 Open race. Yes! Unfortunately the bike had some issues during the weekend. Once home I put it up on the bench for the ensuing teardown. As I was going through the bike I noticed a small puddle of oil forming underneath over the course of the day. Sure enough, the oil tank was cracked. Time for some welding.
Mid Ohio is coming in less than a week, and I have the cylinder head in California getting the exhaust ports repaired, my new drive belts have gone missing (I snapped my belt at St. Eustache), my fuel tank cracked, my oil tank cracked, my primary cover cracked, my new tires need mounting, and I have to button it all back up and get a couple of heat cycles before we leave town.  Yikes.

 

Gridding up for F750 – Mid Ohio – Saturday, July 29, 2006. In the foreground is Jamie (#107) on his Atlas on position 3A, and yours truly in the background (#109) on position 2D. This is the big show, and the beautiful bikes come to play at Mid Ohio.  I took 7th (out of 19) in this race. On Sunday I was fighting for 4th until my battery shorted out.  I took a very respectable 3rd in BEARS on Sunday (DNS on Saturday due to the aforementioned peskly battery issues).  I’ve been troubled by battery issues in the past. This time both of my batteries vibrated themselves to death over the course of the weekend at Mid Ohio. I’m working on a new, more reliable battery set up before the next event at Mosport – namely binning the standard Yuasa YB5LB for a more robust Sealed Lead Acid battery.

 

The Keyhole at Mid Ohio. The new surface was amazing. I had no issues other than a slight slippy spot at the exit of the keyhole, and some bumpy stuff in T1 and T13.
Click Here for a video of Mid Ohio Friday practice into Turn 1.  Click Here for a video of a pass on a G50 at The Esses, Mid Ohio

 

Mosport, August 27, 2006 – 3rd Place in P2 Heavy.

 

Mosport is hands down one of my favorite tracks to race; so full of soul.  These beautiful hi-res shots are courtesy of Jean Des Rosiers.

 

September 4, 2006 – Labor day at NHIS with USCRA.

I took home a trophy for 1st place in Eurocup(!); a flag to flag win.  2nd in Open GP behind fast guy Greg Nichols. I can’t complain.
This Polaroid was taken by a professional photojournalist who is doing a series of images of vintage racers, potentially for a book project. I may look pissed, but in fact I’m elated, as this was shot about 5 minutes after my Eurocup win.

On Saturday, September 9th I drove the bike to Baltimore to meet with fellow AHRMA racer Eric Mercer, who is taking my bike out to Miller Motorsports Park in SLC, Utah, for the big show September 15-17th. More to come…

 

Friends/family helping a guy get his bike refueled between back-to-back races at Miller Motorsports Park, September 17, 2006. Pictured L-to-R: John Magyar, my brother Cody, and fast guy Eric Mercer with fuel bottle.

 

A lonely 3rd place. AHRMA at Miller Motorsports Park, Utah, September 17, 2006.  I managed to nab 3rd in both BEARS and F750 on Sunday. I’m chuffed. Anytime one gets on the podium in an AHRMA race is a good thing.  What a track… the surface was so good that a lot of racers were unprepared for the chatter acheived by the grip twisting up our little forks in the turns!  That’s my video camera in the foreground. Click Here for a video of me working my way to the checkered in Sunday’s BEARS race.

 

10/22/2006: Turn 2 at Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL.

Barber was the last race of the year, but certainly not the end of the 2006 NYC Norton page as there’s a hell of a lot of teardown and troubleshooting to be done.

 

 

The racebike is my baby and I do my best to take good care of it, but by the end of racing on Sunday at Barber it was screaming at me!  It looked like hell, was smoking badly, things were cracking (primary cover, fairing mounts), and the random chatter I’ve experienced all year was getting so bad by the end of the weekend that I don’t think I’d have lasted another race. Regardless, I placed well at Barber and am already scheming on how to get in front of some of those fast guys next year.  So… the season is over, and a teardown is in order. I’m methodically working my way down, starting from the tires all the way to the bare frame, bolt by bolt, trying to find some of these gremlins. I expect to find frame cracks, so stripping the bike is essential. More to follow.

2006 Racing:

April 22, 2006 – Summit Point, WV, with WERA
April 29, 2006 – BeaveRun, OH, with WERA
May 6, 2006 – Nelson Ledges, OH, with WERA
May 19, 2006 – Vintage Celebration @ NHIS, NH, with USCRA
June 11, 2006 – Streets of Laconia, NH, with USCRA
June 12, 2006 – FIM Races, NHIS, NH, with USCRA
June 17, 2006 – Summit Point, WV, with WERA
July 8, 2006 – Quebec TT @ The Autodrome, Quebec, with VRRA
July 29, 2006 – Mid Ohio, OH, with AHRMA
August 19, 2006 – Vintage Festival, Mosport, Ontario, with VRRA
September 4, 2006 – Granite St. Championship @ NHIS, with USCRA
September 16, 2006 – Miller Motorsports, UT, with AHRMA
October 21, 2006 – Barber Motorsports, AL, with AHRMA

2006 USCRA Champion
First Place – 2006 USCRA Eurocup Championship
Second Place – 2006 USCRA Open GP Championship

 

November, 2006. The teardown begins.  From L to R: Top view of motor/headsteady; Big valves…one side being very oily due to loose guide; My forks awaiting Showa cartridge internals; The frame disassembled; The frame really disassembled and ready to be blasted. Click on the photos for more detail.

Posted in: Archived NYC Norton Site, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: AHRMA, Barber Motorsports, Eurocup, Mid Ohio, Miller Motorsports, Mosport, St. Eustache, Steve Maney, Summit Point, USCRA, Vintage Motorcycle Days, VRRA | Leave a comment

Racer 2005 | The Evolution of a Norton Racer: 2005

 

 

March 5, 2005, debuting new Works Performance alloy shocks, a custom Kirby fairing from Andy Molnar (with built-in belly pan), and a set of brand-new sticky Avon AM23/AM22 race tires, prepped and ready for the first race of 2005 only one week away with WERA at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).  Notice the rock salt on the ground. It does not feel like race weather around here.

 

Fueling up at V.I.R., March 12, 2005.   Click HERE for the soothing sights/sounds of a Norton at full song. This from the front straight at V.I.R. (Be Patient, file is 3mb in size and can take a couple of minutes to load.)

 

V.I.R. – March 12, 2005: Getting some sound advice from The Master

 

Working it all out at Summit Point, Turn 8. April 16, 2005. This time, I stayed out of the gravel and took off a few seconds of lap time over last year.

 

NHIS Vintage Festival, May 20, 2005. What a dreary day it was.
From L to R: Kenny, Jamie Waters (Norton Atlas), Jordan Levitt (‘Guzzi V7).

 

     

Racing with AHRMA at BeaveRun, June 25/26 2005.

 

 

For the first time ever, all 4 of us NYC kids are on the grid together. AHRMA/BeaveRun June 26th.  L to R: Jordan Levitt – ‘Guzzi V7 Sport, Jon Blonk – Triumph Triple, Jamie Waters – Norton Atlas, and myself.  (Photo by Matt Benson)

 

WERA/Nelson Ledges, Ohio – July 30, 2005

 

August 19, 2005 with VRRA at Mosport, just outside of Toronto, Canada. Mosport is certainly my favorite track. Fast and sweeping. It’s good for the big bikes.  (Notice #709 as not to conflict with pre-existing Canadian racer #109).

 

 

I took a couple of laps at Mosport as a sidecar passenger with Ian Bruce. Good Lord what a hoot. This is probably the hardest workout I’ve had in years. Ian’s daughter, Sandie, is the usual passenger and will drag her hips and shoulders across the tarmac at 130mph without flinching. I have the utmost respect for sidecar racers and passengers. They are a unique bunch and have a great sense of community. Fortunately, AHRMA has decided to include the sidecars at a couple of events in 2006. One day, when I get more garage space, I’ll own a sidecar too!

 

 

Twisting it up in Turn 6 at NHIS – USCRA Granite State Championship, September 5, 2005. I picked up a legitimate 2nd in Period 1 Open GP.

 

With AHRMA, dipping it into T2, Barber Motorsports Park, October 23rd, 2005. The last race of the season.

Click HERE for a great clip of the Norton battling a ‘Guzzi down the front straight of Barber.

Click HERE for a clip into and out of Barber Turn 5.

 

 

Sunday, October 23rd, 2005. Getting ready to go home from Barber.

Quite an amazing year. Everybody’s gotten the inevitable get-off out of the way, nobody got hurt (too badly), and we all picked up a lot of speed.
From L to R: Jamie Waters – Summerfield Manx Norton; Jon Blonk – Triumph Triple; Yours truly; Jordan Levitt – Moto Guzzi V7 Sport; Andrew Anderson – Triumph Bonneville.

Time to start thinking about 2006.

 

2005 Racing:

March 12 – WERA/VIR, Virginia
April 16 – WERA/Summit Point, West Virginia
May 20 – USCRA/NHIS Vintage Festival, New Hampshire
June 11- WERA/Summit Point, West Virginia
June 25 – AHRMA/BeaveRun, Pennsylvania
July 16 – AHRMA/Mid Ohio, Ohio
July 30 – WERA/Nelson Ledges, Ohio
August 20 – VRRA/Mosport, Ontario
September 5 – USCRA/NHIS, New Hampshire
September 17 – WERA/Summit Point, West Virginia
October 22 – AHRMA/Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama

2005 WERA Champion
1st place Vintage 4
3rd place Vintage 3
NorthEast and MidAtlantic Regions

Posted in: Archived NYC Norton Site, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: AHRMA, Barber Motorsports, BeaveRun, Dave Roper, Mosport, Nelson Ledges, NHMS, Summit Point, USCRA, VIR, VRRA, WERA, Works Performance | Leave a comment

Racer 2004 | The Evolution of a Norton Racer: 2000 through 2004 - The Beginning

The Evolution of a Norton Racer: 2000 through 2004 – The Beginning

The famous Featherbed frame.  The impetus. The rusty beast that started it all.  I always wanted a Featherbed special but wasn’t sure what flavor.  About the time this frame surfaced I had just experienced my first vintage race.  I knew then I had to build a racer and start racing….but how?  The disease begins.

This is a photo of my 1962 ES2 rolling chassis I bought in early 2000.  I contemplated putting all different kinds of engines in it.  I thought about going back to an ES2 (no power), then I thought about a BSA DBD34 Goldstar (tough to find, and new learning curve), then a Manx 500 (sure…who’s got the cash?), then a reproduction Summerfield or Molnar Manx engine (again, whose money?).  I ultimately settled on a modified Commando….something I already know very well.

 

Next was time to find an engine.  The span between the purchase of the frame and the purchase of the engine was well over a year, which allowed me to do considerable research.  I decided the 850cc MK3 engine would be the most reliable for racing, simply because of the thicker crankcases.  However, I knew I’d be racing in 750cc classes, so something would have to be done with the top end.  I searched and searched and finally found a fella in Kansas who had this MK3 engine put aside years ago for a chopper(!) project.  I picked it up for a fair price, and it came complete as you see it here.

 

After months of purchasing parts, I decided to put the engine in the frame.  This was my first introduction into Special building, i.e. nothing is easy or goes as planned.  As you can see, I have the empty MK3 crankcase ( along with 750 through-bolt barrels and Mick Hemmings big valve head) mounted to the frame via Converta plates.  The MK3 case would not line up with the plates (witness the uppermost hole on the front Converta plate).  This is because the MK3 cases are actually beefier on their outside dimension than earlier 850 or 750 cases, and therefore would foul against the bottom frame rail.  Yikes!  What to do? Make special plates?  No, that would throw everything else out of line.  How about bending the frame?  Uhhhh….Yes!  The factory had already put a bend in the upper rh frame rail (visible in picture) to accommodate the cam box for Manx and ES2 engines, so why couldn’t I do the same?  This job was beyond me, so I contacted my ace racer/machinist buddy Todd Puckett for a little frame adjustment.

 

Because the engine would be rigid mounted in the Featherbed frame (Commandos were mounted on rubber Isolastics) I had Zint at Lindskog Balancing in Massachusetts set up my crankshaft with a balance factor of 84% – up from the standard Commando BF of 52% – which would eliminate the vibrations these parallel twin engines notoriously make in the high rpms.  Zint surely knows his stuff and is king of the exotic (Yes, Nortons are considered exotic in the high-performance racing world).  Here I am assembling the crank with great care and a lot of red Loctite. Norton cranks are the weak link in a high-revving engine and have been known to explode when pushed hard. Fortunately I’m using a MKIII crank which uses stronger bolts than previous years, but I’m still saving my pennies for a one-piece Maney crank.  In the meantime, I’ll keep the revs to 7500rpm.

 

Checking the endfloat on the crank.  We ended up with .011 after shimming.  I’ve been told by several reliable sources that the Norton factory never shimmed their cranks; bikes just went out the door as is.

 

Reaming the new camshaft bushes on the Bridgeport.  Who knew that all NOS cam bushes are undersized?  The motor is running a Mick Hemmings PW3 grind camshaft – the same cam profile used by Peter Williams on his winning F750 Nortons in the ’70s.

 

Honing my cam follower tunnels.  Easy does it!

 

The bottom end comes together.  These are JE Hi Compression Pistons (approx 11:1) installed into 750 Thru-Bolt Cylinders, moved by steel Carrillo rods.  I had Mike Rich from MRM Motorsports help do a bit of piston pocketing to get the perfect clearance.  We acheived .080 on the valve-to-piston clearance.  We also turned the tops of the pistons to get .040 clearance at the squish band.

 

Doing a bit of frame fabbing on the Bridgeport mill at the Team Incomplete/Cosentino Engineering workshop.

 

Finally, the engine goes in.  I waited a long time for this day.  This engine is comprised of a Mick Hemmings big valve head with larger re-angled titanium valves and keepers, W&S springs, bronze guides, lightened rockers, inlet ports flowed and resized to 33mm.  This didn’t come cheap!  The pistons are the above-mentioned JE hi-compression Std. bore (73mm) with Carrillo rods.  Even though steel rods are heavier than stock, the reciprocating weight came out less than stock because of the addition of the lightweight pistons.  The barrels are Hemmings 750 with the 850-style through-bolts for stronger mounting.  The bottom end is from a ’75 MKIII engine.  I run two 35mm Mikuni carbs (bored from 34mm for better fuel/air coefficient).

 

Custom fork clamps machined by Dave Dickerson.  Extra wide 7 5/8″ spacing to allow many different wheel hubs to be run.  Scitsu electronic tacho, Andy Molnar fork springs, all alloy fork internals, Commando tubes and sliders.

 

May 22, 2004 the bike first sees the light of day.  Grimeca hubs (4LS on front), Barleycorn rearsets, alloy petrol and oil tank, Mikuni carbs, rebuilt gearbox with special racing layshaft bearing, Steve Maney belt drive, Avon AM22/23 race tires, Slimline Featherbed frame, etc, etc.

 

The very first start, May 28th, 2004, 9th Street in the East Village of NYC.  Boy, oh boy did it piss off the neighbors.

 

 

Top Secret Test Facility somewhere amidst the swamps in NJ, Father’s Day, June 20, 2004.

Here’s where I got to shake down the bike.  I was amazed by how sturdy the Featherbed was after riding a Commando all these years.  The Grimeca brakes were better than some disk systems I’ve used.

 

In the paddock at Vintage Motorcycle Days, Mid Ohio, July 16, 2004

 

Norton Guru Phil Radford shares his thoughts on how to make me go faster.  Vintage Motorcycle Days, Mid Ohio, July 16, 2004

 

That’s me accepting a plaque for taking 6th in my first-ever race, which took place at Mid Ohio, in the rain, Sportsman 750, July 17, 2004.  Nobody could wipe that smile from my face.

 

Mid Ohio, July 17, 2004.

 

Turn 3 at New Hampshire International Speedway (Loudon), August 1, 2004

 

Moss’s Corner, Mosport, just outside of Toronto, Canada.  August 22, 2004.

 

Another look at Turn 3 at Loudon, September 6, 2004.  This was my first outing with the new Steve Maney exhaust.  Good Lord what a difference it made in midrange power.

 

 

The paddock at Beaverun, AHRMA races, September 11, 2004.  I had the honor of traveling to this race with Dave Roper and Todd Puckett, two of the fastest guys around. Their wisdom and camaraderie has been invaluable.  Roper had just returned from taking 11th in the 2004 Manx Grand Prix at the Isle of Man in the U.K.

Notice Todd Puckett’s GP spec Honda RS125 in the background.  Todd took 2nd place in the 2004 CCS national championship on that very bike.  He won both AHRMA races he entered that weekend.  Not bad.

 

 

I crammed in as much racing as possible this season – from Mid Ohio to Mosport in Canada, and everywhere in between.  Here we are with WERA Vintage, Saturday, September 25, 2004 at the paddock of Summit Point raceway, WV, for my last race of the season.  Another great shot of the very trick, and very expensive Steve Maney exhaust system.

Click HERE to see a video of the Norton coming out of Summit Turn 10 onto the front straight.  I hit redline at the end of that straight, and according to my gearing chart that was 130+ mph.  (Be Patient, file is 2mb in size and can take a couple of minutes to load.)

 

Discussing “strategies” on the Summit pre-grid with my good friends Jordan Levitt and Jamie Waters (along with unseen photographer Jon Blonk).  Their assistance was invaluable to getting me onto the track.  All three of them will be racing pedigree vintage bikes next year.

 

Leading a few into Turn 3 at Summit.  That gravel would come back to bite me…

 

 

…and later that day, after a little get-off into the gravel outside of Turn 3.

All is repairable, but crashing is NO fun.  Looks like there will be a bit of shop time this winter.

 

Next year can’t come quickly enough.

Posted in: Archived NYC Norton Site, commando, Fast, nycNorton, racing | Tagged: 750cc, AHRMA, BeaveRun, Big Valve Head, Featherbed, Mid Ohio, Mosport, NHMS, NYC Norton, NYC Norton first racer, NYC Norton Racing, PW3, Vintage Motorcycle Days | Comments Closed

1974 Norton 850 Commando | The very first NYC Norton page, from 1999

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Photos of my 1974 Norton Commando MK IIA Roadster
taken around New York City circa August 1999.

       

 

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A couple of shots from that very hot summer afternoon. As you can see, I had a good photographer and a good model.  I get stopped on the street every time I take the bike out. I ‘ve had people offer to buy the bike from me right on the spot. Usually, the first question I get is “What year is it?” to which I generally give the smart-ass reply, “Well, it’s 2001 now, isn’t it?”

I have put over 45,000 miles (as of spring 2004) on this bike in just a few years – Yes, it’s clean and polished, but I ride the wheels off it. Just the week before the photos were taken we made the round trip from NYC to Lexington, Virginia and back (approx 1300 miles) for the 1999 Norton National rally. It isBritish, therefore I spend a bit of time in the garage, but I find the maintenance to be cathartic and part of the fun.

 

Browse on for the details…

A couple of close-ups. The picture above (one of my favorites of the batch) shows great detail of the front wheel. Both my wheels were rebuilt by Buchanan’s in California and were re-laced with their famous polished stainless spokes. The Halcyon tax ID disc was a $14.95 addition that draws more comments than almost anything else on the bike.

The NYPD is not too fond of these discs, as one could supposedly move the inspection sticker from bike to bike. Fortunately, the NYC Coppers are usually too busy gawking at the bike to notice.

 

Above is a great shot of the RH side panel. Here you can see the impeccable paint job done by Borella Restorations in CT. The pinstripes were hand painted. A good pinstripe man is hard to find these days – I highly recommend John Borella’s work.

Below is a nice shot of the Smith’s instruments and headlamp nacelle.
Again, classics… so analog in a digital age.

 

Definitely another of my favorite shots – A look at the beautiful Commando cylinder head. I had the entire top end rebuilt last winter, valves to rockers, guides to springs. I also had the cylinders bored to +.20 over and fit new Hepolite pistons. All work was done by Phil Radford of Fair Spares America in California. Phil is the real deal when it comes to keeping your Norton in check.

 

A nice close-up of the Primary Cover, which houses the clutch and alternator. Older British bikes have beautiful alloy engine cases. Notice the graceful curve of the cantilever footrest. Designs like these are lost on the modern bikes of today.

 

A gothic looking shot of the Timing Cover and Gearbox. Again I emphasize how beautiful these cases are. The AMC gearbox is of the same design Norton had used on their bikes since the early 1940s. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

The Timing Side…

…and the Drive Side.

Maintenance and Modifications as of July 2001:

Complete top-end rebuild including new pistons and cylinder overbore, Kibblewhite valves, Rowe bronze racing guides, springs, spindles, rocker adjusters, head bead-blasted and surface skimmed – all work done by Fair Spares, Tank and side panels painted by Borella Restorations, frame, swingarm, and other misc. bits stripped and powdercoated in gloss black, wheels rebuilt and trued by Buchanan’s, swingarm spindle set-screw modification, tach drive and gearbox seal modification, oil tank reinforcement mod, Mikuni 36mm Single carb conversion, Boyer electronic ignition, new PVL coils, new Lucas rotor and stator (3 phase), Lucas halogen headlamp, new exhaust pipes and silencers, Corbin seat (not shown), complete Isolastic rebuild – front and back, Mick Hemmings vernier Isolastic adjusters, new rubber throughout, new stainless fasteners throughout, stainless oil and brake lines, Avon Super Venom tires, Koni Dial-A-Ride racing shocks and springs, Dreer steering damper, rebuilt rear brake with new shoes, rebuilt front master cylinder, rebuilt clutch, and so on…

 

Update July 5, 2001:

I realize it is time to put some new photos up as the ones here are almost 2 years old. The bike has undergone some serious changes in the last 2 years, moving closer and closer to a cafe racer. Fortunately, this past May, me and the Team Incomplete fellas (see the link to TI below) did a long photo shoot with Mick Duckworth for Classic Bike magazine, to be featured some time in the Fall 2001. Keep your eye out for the NYC Norton at your local newstand. I will try to put some of the shots from that day up on the site as they are quite beautiful.

 

August 2001 Brit-Jam in Connecticut:

 

 

April 18, 2004 somewhere in upstate New York:

November 2005 – It’s been so long since I’ve updated this part of the site, mainly because of my focus on racing and the race bike. However, recently I was asked to use my Commando in a photo shoot for an upcoming article in Details magazine. The photographer was gracious enough to send me some of the shots. Stunning, if I may say so.

From the Fall 2005 Details Magazine photo shoot.

From the Fall 2005 Details Magazine photo shoot.

 

 

Some past restoration notes:

2/11/2000: I have gone completely crazy. I pulled the engine cradle and swingarm to do the famous set-screw mod to the swingarm. In order to do this it was necessary to remove the entire engine, primary, and gearbox. I decided to have Phil Radford go through the gearbox while out of the frame (this is certainly the time for any preventative maintenance). Once I saw the bike taken down this far it became obvious it was time to go whole hog, tear the entire bike down, and powder coat the frame, swingarm, cradle, battery box, and a few other black bits. This meant removing every nut and bolt and pulling the wiring harness. My once beautiful bike is now in 3 boxes and a zillion Ziploc bags. When it all comes back together, the bike will have rearsets and Ace bars. It will be a wolf in wolf’s clothing.

Update 3/17/2000: My gearbox is back. I am the proud owner of a new kickstart pawl and mainshaft – two things one doesn’t want to have to replace too often. The frame and swingarm are also back (and so, so pretty). The set-screw mod is brilliant. Tomorrow is reserved to begin putting it all back together. The weather in NYC has been very mild lately and I’m starting to get a little crazy not having a running bike.

Update 4/4/2000: The bike is back together – prettier than ever! It started after 3 kicks. Unfortunately I have 1000 break-in miles to go before I can do wheelies and drag race my buddies. I am so impressed with myself, the only thing I forgot to tighten down before the first start was the crankcase drain plug (oops). Now I’m Hell-bent on a double disk brake setup. Maybe next year?

I took photos of the depressing sight of a perfectly good bike reduced to boxes of bits so I can remind myself not to do this again in the near future.

My 3′ x 7′ garage space after the teardown.

Pretty!

Uhhhhh, where do I put this thingy?

More pretty!

Starting to come to life.

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Quick little story:

A few years ago while visiting my father I mentioned in passing that I had bought a Norton.  My dad gave me a perplexed look and asked “Why a Norton?”  ”I dunno” I replied. “I’ve always had a thing for them…I can’t really explain it.”  My father chuckled and walked out of the room, only to return a few moments later with a dusty old photo album.  He opened up the album and there, in true 1970s Polaroid glory were pictures of me as a child sitting on my Father’s Norton.  I about fell off my chair. Wow! Sure, I remembered he had a bike but had no idea it was a Norton! I never knew how cool my dad was (is).  He then proceeded to hand over his stylin’ leather jacket that he wore in those days, a bit tight on him now I’d say, but looking good on me.  Thanks Dad.

Here’s a picture of my Father circa 1970-71 from that very photo album, the self-proclaimed “Cruisin’ Stud”, seated on his Norton P11 Ranger(?).  Proof positive, Nortons are in my blood.

Here I am with my little sister Kristen monkeying around on his bike, while off camera Dad contemplates dismantling the engine for a lazy Saturday afternoon rebuild.

Check out our stylin’ striped slacks, which were de rigueur for hip little kids in the early ’70s.

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Well, there it is…A New York City Norton. What more can I say? (There actually was a fella who had made his home in the loading dock behind the mail cart seen in the background. He slept through the whole photo shoot. Only in New York!)

Notice Gregor Halenda’s vicious BMW Boxer Special, also in the background. Gregor was kind enough to take these exceptional pictures in exchange for a few kind words about his bike.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t even begin to describe all the details of Gregor’s Boxer in this short amount of space allotted here. I will say two things…It’s fast and it’s loud. A full-on Racer.

Get the whole story on how the Boxer came to life on the Team Incomplete website by clicking HERE

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Essential Norton Contacts:

Fair Spares America

Phil Radford
1020 Ellis Avenue
San Jose, California 95125
T: 408-292-6563
www.fairsparesamerica.com

Mick Hemmings Motorcycles
(no website)

Mick and Angie Hemmings
72-74 Overstone Road
Northampton, NN1 3JS
England
T: 441604638505
F: 441604631838

Buchanan’s Spoke and Rim

Attn: Kevin

805 W. Eighth Street

Azuza, CA 91702

T: 626-986-4655

Borella Restorations

John Borella

714 Providence Pike Pike

Danielson, CT 06239

T: 860-774-5535

 

Old Britts

Fred & Ella Eaton

www.oldbritts.com

T: 253-804-8715

 

Are we fanatics? Yes.
Drop me an email anytime with your comments at info@nycnorton.com
Kenny Cummings
NYC

 

Posted in: Archived NYC Norton Site, commando, nycNorton, street | Tagged: 850 Commando, Gregor Halenda Boxer, Kenny's Street Bike, Norton Commando, NYC Norton, Restoration | 2 comments