4th October 2003

I've been so busy with work lately - 8 hours working in Milton Keynes, 1 hour lunch, 3 hours commuting, 4 hours on the evening working on the venture some colleagues and I set up earlier this year - that I've had the bike sitting in the garage almost back together for ages, but never finding time to actually do a couple of small jobs. Well, I finally got a chance today, and put her all back together.

Sue, bless her cotton socks, thinks I've been working too hard, so she bought me a trackday on the 19th October. So I had to get the high flow fuel petcock fitted, and put the bike back together of course!

The Pingle tap was a bitch to fit ... the supplied adapter turned out to be the wrong size, and even if the fixing points had been the right distance apart, the the plate would never have sealed against the curved tank. So a trip to Cambridge motorcycles and a raw piece of aluminium nicely shaped and all was well. I even managed to route the two fuel pipes past the exhaust pipes without them getting too close. The quality of the petcock is fantastic, and hopefully it will solve the fuel starvation issues I've been having. If not I have some larger grose valves and a tank breather waiting in the wings.

Still one more job (well two if you count fitting a pair of slicks ready for the trackday) and that is to finally get the tacho to work. Kev has invested so much time in getting the Aprilia clocks to work, that it would be a shame to fail at the last hurdle.

Anyhow, I too a few more photos for BCL to use in one of their adverts, and here they are. She's looking rather nice :o)

10th October

Just been playing with a new video editing suite, and started to mess around with it ... take a look if you have the bandwidth for a 13Mb download for 7mins of video.

19th October

Woohoo ... Cadwell, the sort of weather that two strokes love - high pressure and cold, with a slight dampness in the air. Sue, my wife had presented me with a ticket to a 100% bikes trackday at Cadwell Park saying, "you need to relax a bit and let your hair down, you've been working too hard recently .... enjoy yourself" - there are times that wives just get it so right!

With little time to prepare the bike other than to look at it and check the tyre pressures I was a little nervous - just comes from a few years of racing, and spending hours making sure everything is just right on your bike before you turn up at a track! In this case however I was left driving to cadwell wondering whether the BT010's would be up to the job, whether those part throttle gremlins would re-appear, or the pingle tap I'd fitted would cure the fuel starvation issues etc etc etc.

I need not have worried, I have a grin a size larger than I thought possible - my love of bikes is completely re-awakened after my recent lack-lustre enthusiasm for getting into the garage and sorting a few of the teething issues out. I cannot even begin to describe the amazing way fuelling the bike properly, the carb-splitter, and having a working clutch has transformed the bike. The last time I went to Cadwell, it had been a torrid time with al sorts of gremlins. This time however, things went well .... well almost - my temperature gauge gave up the ghost during the day, and I still don't have a working tacho.

Where to start? Well lets start with how the bike makes power. Linear, straight, controllable, responsive, clean ... all of the above. From a second gear corner at as little as 3K rpm, the bike would pull cleanly right through to the rev range without a single glitch, just accelerating quicker and quicker.

Out right power is obviously good, but even on part throttle the torque is apparent with the bike picking up the front wheel off a meer whisper of the gas over the mountain. Should the loud handle be applied a little enthusiastically, then the headstock rose far too quickly for my liking, but hey, that's a good thing right!! Down the straight the bike would be pulling hard through all the gears, was happy to run with R1s and GSX1000s, though in fairness the Gixers were eeking out a little bit, but I was able to stay close enough that my little minx would just dive up to them on the brakes.

"So, it's all a little frantic then", I hear you say. Nope .. not one jot. That's what's so weird about the whole experience this time. The engine was flawless. Absolutely relaxed. I just built up my confidence and from the off had no qualms about moving to full throttle off the corners with the bike just building pace. It allowed me to work on getting my corner speed up to a modicum of where I used to be, without worrying about being overly tentative with the throttle. Oh and the sound. That resonant, deep for a two stroke, waaaaaa waaaaaah wahhhhhhhhh - magic four pipe harmony! Certainly, judging by the amount of peeps who came and searched out my bike in the paddock, it attracted a bit of attention - well it would wouldn't it - a likkle RS250 staying with Gisxer down the straight etc. :o)

BUT .. absolutely best of all was the 16 mile jaunt home after dropping the van back following the trackday. I took the bike with me when I dropped off the borrowed van - thank you once again Cambridge Motorcycles - and scooted of home in jeans and trainers at around 9pm. Through the evening Cambridge traffic the bike was equally at home poodling about zero to nothing throttle opening. Just short shifting, watching the world go by at speed-limit pace. Not one hesitation, nor a hint of oiling plugs. Pulling off from junctions and lights with relatively few revs. The carb splitters have obviously made a huge difference to the driveability low down that had previously past me by. The short stretch of twin lane carriage way at the top of the M11 has always been taken flat out through the gears, because anything attempt to cruise the section would have the bike hunting and seeking and complaining - not this time. Sub-powerband revs could be happily held in top, with the bike just happily going about it's business. What a revelation. Once again I can't speak highly enough of the amazing engine Mark has delivered to me. Power, torque, and everyday rideability. Fantastic. Shame it's the end of the year and the colder wetter winter weather is closing in :o(