My season over

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popkat
Posts: 2804
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:32 am
Location: Devon

My season over

Post by popkat »

Snetterton last weekend was the last round of the CRMC championship.
On the VFR in superstock class I ended up 3rd overall, went into Snett 12 point behind, If I could win both races that's all I could do, as it happened I did win the first race on Saturday in the dry.. On Sunday the weather was really wet, the track wasn't exactly grippy in the dry and in the wet it was horrible, after lots of delays and red flag we finally went out for the superstock race, chappy in 2nd in championship had his only win so far in the wet at Cadwell, my bike at Cadwell just didn't work in the conditions so I sort of knew what to expect :( I ended up finishing 3rd which at any other meeting I would say was good progress with the bike, but 3rd wasn't enough as the other chap did as predicted and won the race, he beat me by 7 points.. I sort of have myself to blame as in a few meeting I just didn't get going quick enough early enough, my results early in the weekend should have been better but that's racing as they say.. I got 5 wins in total over the year, the championship winner got 6 wins and I think there was 5 different winners so the class is proving really good, the bikes differ and each have their strengths and weaknesses, wins were taken by VFR750's, FZ750's and GSXR750's, just like back in the day :D

My bike has not run perfect all year, to start with it had a carbs problem which caused poor results and a dnf, with that fixed the suspension needed set up work which took a while, then I was blighted by the splutter problem which is still there, I'm almost out of idea's but next thing to do is try similar to the firestorm with the carb overflow pipes, this is not a reported VFR problem and not as easy solution as on a storm but will try and work out a way to point them downwards and into a catch tank, it will involve cutting of parts.

For next season if I can find the money to race I will be hoping the splutter is fixed and working more on suspension and ride height, looking to possibly raise the whole bike a bit, there's more to come from this bike and I'd like to find out if I can make it better.

I also raced in an ACU championship, this is for any bike so up against TZ350's which are faster and obviously handle and brake better, Superbikes with lots of power, it's a good class for extra track time as there's a qualify session and then the race. best I got in this class was 4th on the VFR, This class has quite a large sponsored funding and the winner of a race gets £500, I got £75 for my 4th. I jut found out that there's end of season prizes for the first 6 riders who haven't made the podium, looks like I'm at the top of that list as I finished 5th overall so hopefully will get the £300 prize :D

I also raced my old Yamaha XJ600 in the production class (also known as the FZ600 class :roll: ), I think I finished 7th overall which at the start of the season I wouldn't have guessed would happen, the FZ's are a bit faster allround and handle better, I've had the XJ for years and take it along for track extra time, I'm well pleased with how it and I went on it this year, I feel I ride that bike to it's limit which is great fun. I would like to race an FZ to see how I go on one but there's no way I can find the £2500 to buy one ready to go so guess I'll never find out..

So that's it for another year, I hope I'm in a position to continue but it really sucks the funds dry, every track is loads of miles away (700 mile round trip this last weekend), I will also need to see what circuits are planned for next year, there are still some tracks I've never been to and it's not like I can nip along to a track day to practice. we'll see what happens over the next few months.

To any who have come along to watch or just watched my posts on the racing, thanks for you support :beer: :beer:




.
http://www.bidefordmotorcycles.co.uk
2014 CRMC Post classic Superbike champion.
2014 CRMC Post classic senior production champion. On a Suzuki Katana 1100
My bikes, Firestorm, Suzuki GSX-s1000 Katana, VFR800Fi. Projects, 1986 popup Katana, 3 XJ600’s
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lloydie
Posts: 20920
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:16 pm
Location: In the garage somewhere in Coventry

Re: My season over

Post by lloydie »

Good going poppers ,
Hope you get funded for next year and hope to see you racing
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Cadbury64
Posts: 434
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2015 5:22 am
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Re: My season over

Post by Cadbury64 »

Good job racing your old VFR Popkat. Th last V4 I had on a track was in 1983 on my VF400, that also had a case of splutters on a back straight yet never did that on the road. Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs but have you checked that the tank is venting freely?
2017 MT-10SP, 2019 Vespa Primavera 150
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popkat
Posts: 2804
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:32 am
Location: Devon

Re: My season over

Post by popkat »

Cadbury64 wrote: Wed Oct 02, 2019 9:20 pm Good job racing your old VFR Popkat. Th last V4 I had on a track was in 1983 on my VF400, that also had a case of splutters on a back straight yet never did that on the road. Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs but have you checked that the tank is venting freely?

The bike pulls fine on the straights, Snetterton has one of the longest straights and it revs all the way. The splutter happens when coming back on the throttle after hard braking..
I was thinking of making a breather to fit on top of the tank anyway, just so no problems arise :thumbup:



.
http://www.bidefordmotorcycles.co.uk
2014 CRMC Post classic Superbike champion.
2014 CRMC Post classic senior production champion. On a Suzuki Katana 1100
My bikes, Firestorm, Suzuki GSX-s1000 Katana, VFR800Fi. Projects, 1986 popup Katana, 3 XJ600’s
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Cadbury64
Posts: 434
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2015 5:22 am
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Re: My season over

Post by Cadbury64 »

Maybe fuel starvation due to the heavy braking; would the fuel pump location play a part there? I recall that it sits to the rear of the engine so fuel will not be actively flowing there under really hard/long braking Maybe you need a little surge tank just ahead of the pump to ensure continuity of supply? I'm no expert so take these with a grain of salt/swig of beer.
2017 MT-10SP, 2019 Vespa Primavera 150
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Duffy1964
Posts: 2904
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 4:15 pm
Location: Orpington Kent

Re: My season over

Post by Duffy1964 »

Well done Malc, you did well on machines that were older or lower spec than the ones that beat you, and on a limited budget.
That must give you some satisfaction although frustrating at the same time.

Keep at it fella I enjoy reading your post although I didn’t get chance to see you Race this year.

Hopefully I will next year.


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Duffy1964
Yellow 1997 Storm R.I.P. Orange 2000 Streetfighter (Rufus), Red & Silver 1968 Triumph Trophy 650, Blue 2003 Storm Project, Red 2007 Montesa Cota Trials 250 & 1959 BSA D7 175cc Bantam Trials Project
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AMCQ46
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Location: Worcestershire / Warwickshire border

Re: My season over

Post by AMCQ46 »

that's a strong finish to the season there Malc. you did well :thumbup: there is life in the old dog yet :D
AMcQ
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fabiostar
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Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:53 pm
Location: sunny belfast

Re: My season over

Post by fabiostar »

Thats a good all round year you had considering the VFR was giving you a hard time at some tracks :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
the older i get,the faster i was :lol:
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