Eventpost 36 - Red Marley 2009

Dad managed to work wonders on the bike during the week before Red Marley. 

1. A set of clamps were made for the forks with a brace to replace the mudguard stays which stiffened the forks no end. 

2. A knock through spindle, spacers and a modified brake anchor (together with a bit of filing on the brake shoes) improved the braking quite a bit - still not brilliant but at least I was able to go down hills slow enough to be in control. 

3. The frame was re-welded to secure the bashplate mounting points

4. We found that the rear brake was hampered the week before by a spring coming off the brake shoes.

5. A slipper was made to help the chain run and stop the wear on the swinging arm and smooth things up a bit. 

6.  A pair of shorter rear shocks (Betor) were purchased from Sammy Millers which lowered the rear of the bike and took some of the steepness out of the steering. 

I must say that the steering was a revelation with the combiination of stiffening things up and better geometry the bike handled very well.

So, on to the trial....  The trial was marked out just about right with a mix of banks, roots, streams, soft loamy climbs in the woods and some good testers over fallen trees. I think it was a good test without being dangerous. 

I felt that I actually had a good ride, with few silly mistakes and really only the odd 1's and 2's where I felt that I needed them. I did have 2 stalls which messed up my overall score but I put that down to learning how the engine works best for me. I found that running it with a little more tickover than normal and riding on the clutch seemed to eliminate the odd spit - stall type of characteristic that is often associated with 4 strokes.

I found that the power was great with plently of grunt when needed yet in the streams with muddy exits it seemed to grip quite well too. 

As for the result, my score put me mid pack in the over 250cc class amongst some class riders and some good guys behind me so overall I am quite pleased with how it is coming along. 

Next steps will be to get some consistent brakes sorted and perhaps at some point in the future a lighter frame - not sure about this though as there are a few options available out there (the latest Faber frame appears to have been improved and is reasonably priced , Nigel Randal is making some frames that appear to work well, Mick Mills has made another batch of his frames that are supposed to be very good - even though they are a bit expensive and Roger Heap - who made my Sprite frame - also has a jig for a BSA frame). 

Now that I know the engine is capable, I may have it stripped and re-built to give me the confidence that it is all as it should be and ready to do a full season including some road trials.

Will update the BLOG as things develop and put the trial results on when I have them..

Thanks to Colin Bullock from CJB Photographic for the pics from Sunday - I owe you a bacon sarnie Colin!!

Results (added 2200hrs 15th April 09) 

Hard Route

Class A (Up to 250 Unit) 

1. Alan Nicklin  0

2. Ross Danbly  2

3. Alan Wright  9

4. Nathan Jones  12

5. Chris Denney 13

6. Kevin Taylor 20

7. Mick Parkes 23

8. Dave Wood 29

9. Kirby Bennett 43

10. Paul Houghton  48

Class B (Over 250cc Unit) 

1. Robert Bowyer 7

2. Chris Collins 13

3. Mick Thurman  24

4. Simon Chell 24

5. Chris Chell 26

6. Dave Dawson 27

7. Gary Hawkins 40

8. Chris Pearson 68

9. Peter Reed 75

10. Mike Maskelyne 81

Class D (Unit) 

1. Neil Gaunt 9

2. Andy Richardson 14

3. Arthur Browning 39

4. Steve Jones 49

5. Steve Thompson  78

Eventpost 35 - BMCA Ullenhall

I gave the BSA it's debut on Sunday at Ullenhall. The event was a good test for a new bike with some good banks, very tight turns, cambers and roots - overall a good trial and quite a test. 

The good guys (Alan Nicklin and Steve Hay) made the result look like the trial was a lot easier than it actually was as both of them finished on clean, however on any bike I think a good ride for me would have been more like 10 marks so their rides were a bit special. 

Anyway, it was a good first test for the bike and gave us plenty to think about. I am, however enthusiastic that it will be a good bike once we have addressed a few of the issues - not many though when you consider it was it's first time out. 

- the steering needs some sorting - it tucks under on tight turns and doesnt feel too stable

- the front forks flex quite badly which adds to the strage steering characteristics of the bike

- the mounting points for the bash plate snapped when i grounded the bike on a particularly large root

- there is a strange grinding sensation from the rear of the bike (could be rear brake, chain or even gearbox - will need to investigate further

- rear shocks are too long (possibly adding to the steepness and feel of the steering) 

- Brakes are pretty poor - not sure whether this is just bedding in or whether something more drastic needs to be done to sort them out?)

So - back to the trial - well, I certainly learned a few things about the bike and the way to ride it and I expect that it will take many more events before I am comfortable with it and the way I need to ride it - just like learning all over again. 

During the trial I managed to have 3 5's through the engine doing the usual 4 stroke cough stop thing - mainly down to me experimenting with tickover speeds and also being undecided whether to use clutch or allow the engine to pull from tickover. 

I had one five through knocking myself off the bike when I banged my head on a tree (thank god I wear a helmet!), another trying to change gear in a section and finding a neutral, 2 more 5's because I simply couldnt stop at the bottom of a steep bank and a further 2 5's through my own choice of gears. 

This collection of 5's plus another 6 marks left a massive total of 51 which saw me propping up the entry on the hard route!

What did give me some heart was that the engine was really powerful and nice and sharp which is how I like my bikes. I did manage to clean every section of the trial at least once (except section 9 where my best was a 2) so I think that once I sort out the few niggles and get used to what the bike is capable of, it will be pretty competitive. 

It will go back to Dad's this weekfor a few bits and bobs and have a 2nd outing next weekend at Red Marley.  

Beezerpost 4

We have managed to get the bike to a rideable state this evening and the engine started and ran really well so I am looking forward to a bit of testing this wekend to see just how it goes. Watch this space!