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lloydie wrote:Great see you Saturday

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Hope your taking a set of wets for tomorrow

lloydie wrote:Hope your taking a set of wets for tomorrow

Wet are not allowed I have Metzeler M7RR for the wet/damp/cold, no idea what they'll be like but they'll be far better than Super Corsa's..



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good luck Malc

Yes they will lol

What's the times for tomorrow poppers ?

good luck Poppers, Ride it like that Viffer 750

Well that was a bit of a disaster !

First race meeting for two and a half years so wasn't expecting big things but was hoping for solid results.
Saturday was forecast rain so I put my Firestorm wheels in the VFR, these have Metzeler M7RR tyres and although not wets in any way (we're not allowed them)they are a far better bet than Pirelli Super Corsa's for wet/damp or cold conditions. I went out for 10 minutes practice and it was still dry, I was happy to see how the Metzelers performed. after a couple of laps they felt ok but not great, then it dawned on me I'd forgot to lower the pressures from road riding that put me off a bit but still I was just feeling my way round, I'd not been to Mallory since 2012 and not done this layout (without Edwina's chicane) since 1998.
Soon after the session was over it started to rain. I had a qualify session next for a trophy race(all comers race), I was just looking to get a grid space and not expecting a high position as there's some proper race bikes, TZ350's, Rob North Triumph's, XR69, Magnums etc. I did qualify in 24th with only two 750's not far in front, that'll do as it was first time in the wet on the Metzelers. I didn't have any feeling from the tyres though so back in the pits I backed/softened off the suspension a bit.
First 750 superstock race next. They put me 21's on the grid on the 7th row, I got a really good start and settled in to the top ten. This race also had the superbike classes and big proddy class on track at the same time. as the race went on I was in a battle for the lead in class, there was 4 of us covered by about 10 bike lengths, I was lining up 2nd place and feeling better every lap, then 4th place ran up the inside at the hairpin and showed me a wheel, I was still able to turn in front of him but it put me slightly off line, still an ok line but wider than I had planned, right in the middle of the corner the bike just plopped over, the front went away. This was really slow with hardly any lean, Mallory's hairpin is very slow even in the dry, in the wet it's pretty greasy too, I was up on my feet straight away seemingly with no injury. They had to red flag the race as my rearset twisted upwards and locked the back brake on so they couldn't easily move it from the track. The conditions were not nice and a few other riders thanked me for ending the race early
Back in the pits and I try to pull the rearset out but then I notice it's snapped the lug off the frame at the top mount, it wont pull out as the bottom mount is bent in, I will need to cut the lugs off, cut a piece of ally as a replacement and strip the whole back end down to have it all welded up. Thanks to one of the big sidecar teams we formulated a bodge to get going again for the weekend. I missed the trophy race though..
During Saturday evening my right knee seemed to go stiff after standing for a while, a minor issue but I thought I'd done no harm.. After eating I also didn't feel too well so I went off to the hospital to get checked out. I returned to the circuit after some test and them telling me I was all ok, I was feeling better and don't really know what was wrong at the time, but the hospital staff were happy. The knee was nothing to do with all of this.
Sunday morning and I'm feeling fine, I went to go out for a couple of laps practice and they pulled me from the queue and said I needed to be cleared fit to race as they'd heard about the evening before. I missed practice and my first race while they checked me and cleared me to race..

So I now only had one race left, It was dry so I'd put the wheels with the SuperCorsa's back in, I had no idea how long they would take to warm up but wanted/needed to find out. I was right at the back of the grid, I got a good start and moved up a long way, once settled into the race I was on my own as a couple of others had got away, I ended up 10th over all and 4th in class, my lap times weren't great but I did match what the others did in the race before, It's just they went faster in this race.. The position I'm happy with, it's been a long time and I felt rather rusty, I knew what I wanted to do but couldn't do it, I was learning the bike and the tyres and assessing everything to try and improve next time out (the bike and me).. I'm just slightly down after so much going wrong over the weekend.

The bike.. The suspension seems to be the most issue, the forks although set up identical to my Firestorms except for very slightly heavier springs don't react the same at all, where as my storm had really good nicely controlled rebound damping the VFR is fully wound in and returns a bit too fast, it feels like the spring is overpowering the rebound. the VFR has a bit more front bias so it should work with the springs (.90 as opposed to .85) the bikes are similar weight, the VFR being slightly lighter. I think there's something not right with these forks and I really need to get them off to Maxton or K-tech if I can find some (a lot) money.. The rear shock feels ok but neither end is communicating what the tyres are doing. I know I need to be pushing harder but I need the feeling to do that in the first place..

So lots to do still on this bike.. I'm next out at the beginning of August at Donington classic festival.. I'm not doing all rounds as it's supposed to be just for fun




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sorry to hear it didn't go to plan malcopop.
fingers crossed you can sort it out and get back to banging fairing at the front, and most of all, enjoying it...

imagine losing the front end at Mallory hairpin...... join the club

sounds like a frustrating, painful and expensive weekend... hope the knee heals ok

AMCQ46 wrote:imagine losing the front end at Mallory hairpin...... join the club

sounds like a frustrating, painful and expensive weekend... hope the knee heals ok

Cheers, I didn't whack my nuts so think you might be in a bit more pain than me



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Glad it went ok for the first time out shame I missed it .
Least now you know what it needs to be more competitive

lloydie wrote:Glad it went ok for the first time out shame I missed it .
Least now you know what it needs to be more competitive

There wasn't a lot to miss in the end It wasn't a nice day to watch racing on Saturday..
Donington 4th/5th/6th August if your about


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I'll be there on the 6th as I like to take my mum out for the day to watch the racing

lloydie wrote:I'll be there on the 6th as I like to take my mum out for the day to watch the racing

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