Yep, looks like thew 400 bike is ready for a competative debut at Snetterton on the 14th, after a weekend in the garage sorting a couple of the major post-Rockingham issues.

The clutch problem was a failed plate, which had broken in half and then one half had broken into about twenty smaller bits which escaped from the basket, destroying the oil filter and the plastic gear that drives the water pump. Anyway, after making sure I’d recovered all of the debris, it went back together easy enough with some parts from my spares. There are a couple of other minor jobs to nail prior to heading for Snett, but nothing that’ll take more than an hour of two in the garge after work next week.

While I was playing with oil I took the opportunity to change the gearbox lubricant in my YPM bike, and also fix the neutral light switch while I was at it. So, I now have a working dashboard LED thing, and some fresh clean Fuchs Silkolene in the observation window.

In other news, I now have some extra bling on the Trafic!!  There’s some red viper stripes replicating the general look of our Scott leathers, some new side bars, an A-bar on the front and some 18″ alloys with 245/50 rubber. There’s decent Alipne sounds too, with iPod integration and permenant power for the Sat Nav as well. It looks quite smart, actually – just need to get the dents I managed to pick up in the paddock at Cadders sorted and it’ll be as good as it’s ever gonna be…………….

Well, it took a while, but I managed to actually get out on track on the 400 bike yesterday at Rockingham!! It wasn’t a trouble free day though………..

Hottrax do a “three sighting laps behind an instructor” thing for the first session, and I’d already thought that the gear lever was a bit too high as I was pootling round playing follow my leader with the rest of the guys in the fast group, but as soon as the instructor pulled off and the pace picked up I realised something wasn’t quite right. Back in the garage I discovered that the gear linkage was turning on the spline on the gear change rod. Anyway, it was a quick fix with a wrap of gaffa and a slightly longer bolt that could be tightened up a bit more – will need a more permanent/professional fix at some point though…….

Next time out was good, with a trouble free 20-mins used to get familiar with everything that’s different to my YPM bike. That’ll be brakes, wheels, rubber and suspension front and rear – not too much then!!! Oh yeah, I discovered that my Venhill throttle was on the super-quick 60 degree setting too, rather than the 90 degree setting that we normally use – Marcus was right, there must be a way to select two different options……….

Immediate feedback?? It turns quick, holds a line well, has more than normal ground clearance and stops like you wouldn’t believe – on one occasion I out braked six riders into the tight right hairpin that follows the left/left/left complex, and this was the fast group remember!! Yeah, the big 1000’s killed me on the three fast parts of the circuit, but as soon as I was on a part of the track where power didn’t count so much it was great fun. The suspension felt like it was working well, even if it did seem a bit hard when bouncing up and down on it in the garage – will get Steve Jordan to cast his eye over things when I finally manage to get the bike to a Bemsee paddock.

The next two sessions were spoilt by a fuelling issue. It felt like blocked pilot jets to start with as tick over was poor and it was a bit “fluffy” on small throttle openings, but there was also crap in both fuel filters – not a good sign. I cleaned the filters, jets and float bowls etc, but next time out the bike went onto one cylinder about half way round the first lap. Suspecting crap in the fuel lines too, I swapped to the tank from my YPM bike, and ran ok for the rest of the day. I’m guessing there’s crap in the dry-break couplings too, and it looks like the tank needs attention. A couple of bubbles in the new paint along the lower edge on the right hand side suggests it might be terminal………….

The first couple of sessions after lunch were excellent, and I even managed to get into a bit of a dice with Tony on his hi-spec GSXR750 and Graeme on his lovely looking 2004 R6. Think there’s a bit of video footage from Graeme covering this, although I was mostly on the back of the group trying to hold onto their big bike power for the majority of the session, or closing in like crazy on the anchors, especially if they got held up behind a slower rider.

I stayed for the last session of the day to get the maximum value from my £79 track day fee (oh yeah, thanks to the guys at Hottrax for fitting me at short notice on what was a busy day, it was well organised too, you can see why they’re still going after all these years……….) but all I got for my trouble was a slipping clutch and a late departure for home. Looks like Marcus was right again – he though the clutch felt odd through the lever when the bike was on stands at Brands a few weeks back. I’m guessing there’s at least a broken plate as the lever went from loose and sloppy to over firm in the blink of an eye, and there was an odd noise when trying to select gears as if the clutch wasn’t disengaging fully. Oh well, something else to look at in the garage………….

So that was it, there’s definitely a good bike in there somewhere, and hopefully I’ll be out on it in anger at Snetterton in September for its first race, will keep ya posted!!!

Yep, the first outing on the 400 didn’t last long, and rather than the expected tweak of the suspension with a screwdriver to find a decent set-up, I ended up looking a bit of a plonker……..

Having set off for a quick noise check prior to heading out on the circuit for a couple of shake-down sessions, it only took the first left turn in the paddock to realise that something wasn’t quite right. Basically the steering was all over the place, with none of the normal self aligning semi-gyroscopic feeling that you get when you lean the bike over to steer it.

Unfortunately the bottom of the headstock was fouling the top of the bottom yoke, and the whole thing was pivoting around a metal-on-metal contact, rather than the nice taper roller bearings I’d fitted. I’m sure it wasn’t like this in the garage, but I’m taking it on the chin……..

Anyway, it needs a 2.5mm spacer between the bottom yoke and the bottom taper bearing to end up with a 0.5mm clearance, and I’ve been fortunate to find that sailing boats seem to need 30mm diameter stainless washers in what they call “Form B” for something or other. And guess what?? They’re 2.5mm thick!! Result or what??

So as soon as they arrive I’m hoping that everything else will go back together ok – I may need to get a small amount of material milled from the top yoke to allow the stem nut to have a bit more thread to tighten on, but I’ll see if I can get away with it first.

Will keep ya posted……………

A quick reminder that we’re at Brands Hatch this weekend for the first of our two outings on the short and sharp Indy circuit.

It’s just me and Fish from the regular 2010 crew actually racing this time out, but Kev and Gaz will be there twirling spanners and making sure everything runs as sweet as possible. Even Bally will be making an appearance in the paddock to check out what the two-wheeled part of Team Norbar Racing has been up to, so to make sure that the help doesn’t outnumber the riders we’ve drafted in Jack Blake to give Gaz’s bike a much needed outing.

It’ll be interesting to see how the ex-BSB/Superstock 600 rider gets on with a bike that’s actually older than he is!! He’s been in the top three in his one off rides with us previously, so he’ll probably be someone that Fish’ll have to keep in his place to keep his run of podium finishes going, and maybe he’ll be a bit of a rabbit for me to chase as I try to pick up my first points on the short circuit at Brands. Yeah I know, how crap is that??? No points. Ever………..

I’ll also be running my F400 spec TZR for the first time after an extensive (and significantly delayed…..) preparation programme in the Team Norbar Racing (West) garage, but if it goes half as good as it looks it’ll be worth the effort. From a distance it looks just like a regular YPM-spec TZR, but when you get close up there are differences: the forks, brakes, wheels and shock, plus a few other tweaks here and there. Once the chassis is set up and performing well I’ll be throwing on some trick electronics and modified/different carbs, and maybe looking for some more cc’s too. Yep, it’s a it of a “work in progress”, but it’s been fun as an engineering project so far, so lets hope the riding experience is positive too……..

Finally, you should spot some additional Fuchs Silkolene branding in the paddock if you manage to make it along to watch/have a beer – we’ve blagged some huge black banners as used at the BSB meetings/on TV etc, so hopefully we should have a fully branded paddock set-up for the rest of the season. We’ll be in the lower paddock as per normal, hopefully alongside the trees over on the left – cold beer will be available, as ever………………..

Hold on to your hats Nor-bloggers, the TZR I’m building to run in the EDIAsia F400 class is finally starting to come together!!!

Yep, after at least three false starts ’cause people selling RS250 bits on eBay etc don’t seem to know their ass from the elbow, I now have a completed front end fitted to the bike, and how bloody cool does it look?? If it works half as well as it looks it’ll be excellent……..

So, what’s what then??

It’s the forks, callipers and bottom yoke from a late model RS250, wheel, discs and spindle from an early model RS250, and a top yoke and carbon mudguard from Tyga. There’s a standard TZR steering head stem in there somewhere, plus some custom spacers to make the wheel/spindle fit the forks. Towards the top you’ll find Harris bars and trick clutch/brake controls from Brembo.

Cool eh?? Click on the picture to get a better view…….

I was gonna get the front mudguard sprayed white to fit in with the standard Team Norbar Racing livery, but I think it looks too good in the raw carbon fibre to do that – what do you think??

Anyway, over the next couple of days I should manage to get an get an engine fitted, and you never know, but it could be ready to rock and roll in time for an outing at Brands………….

I know Fish is chomping at the bit to have a go, and a certain short one from Ramit Racing is already hatching a plan to run it at the Manx GP next year…………

Further updates on progress etc as things, err, progress………..

Hello Nor-bloggers!!! yep, it’s been a while………..

I made it too/from cadders in the new van + cazza rig without stacking it, and as it turned out the only issue was a missing water pump that got overlooked when the new Coachman 460/2 was collected – I know, I can’t believe I just made a big deal about the make/model of a bloody caravan!!

The van was good too (note quick change of subject…..) coping with a very full load for most of the way to Linconshire’s finest race track with no real drama, other than maybe needing 3rd gear to slog up the steep hill that’s just outside the circuit……..

I won’t waffle much about the actual racing etc as you’ll be able to find the normal detailed reports etc on www.norbar-racing.co.uk as soon as Fish gets his act together, but lets just say that progress is being made by two of the three riders competing so far in 2010, and Fish seems to have made 2nd place all his own…………

Post-cadders has been really busy too, in the garage, on the drive and on eBay. I’ve been fitting out the new lwb Trafic with some rubber floor and decent storage for all the normal race supplies, and the forks from my race bike have been shipped back to Maxton for some mid-season tlc – one seal has been weeping slightly, and the fork tops need attention too after I managed to damage one of the adjusters. Don’t ask me how, I have no idea……….

I also spent an interesting hour chatting to a certain Mr File when I picked up my repaired engine – remember the sieze I discovered at Pembrey that probably happened at Oulton?? No, don’t worry I have simiular prolems sometimes, it’s an age thing……

Anyway, we were basically trying to work out what the hell happened, and between us we decided it was probably a combinatioon of factors. I’d moved the needles the wrong way, so it was running a bit lean, despite the 330 main jets I’d fitted as a precaution. It was medium-chilly, so another notch lean maybe, and it was also very high pressure also causing slightly lean running. Would have probably got away with two out of three………..

Another idea is a cold sieze, as I may not have fully warmed the bike before setting out for the session. You may remember I’m that I’m running a fat rad with a thermostat, so it could be that the bike wasn’t warm enough to actually circulate the water 100%, and when the thermostat opened it just dumped a fat rads worth of cold water into the engine. Certainly sounds possible………

Anyway, I now have the repaired engine to run in at Brands in a couple of weeks, and I hope for the sake of my wallet that it hangs together for the rest of the seson.

Anyway, that’s it from me for now……….

Bloody hell – feels like I’ve turned into a bit of a wheeler-dealer wide-boy motor-trader over the last couple of weeks. Just need the sheepskin coat to complete a professional transformation…….

As some of you know, the Team Norbar Racing (West) motorhome officially went on sale at Brands, and a bit of interest was generated in the paddock just by sticking a For Sale sign in the window, even though the sign was actually made from gaffa tape!!! Well I do race in YPM’s……

A slightly slicker sales process kicked of a week later, and blow me, the first bloke that came to see it bought it – result!!!

Wish my dad would have invested throusands in bikes and motorhomes etc to go and do motocross when I was a lad – I was lucky to have an old playing card and a clothes peg to stick in the spokes of my Raleigh Chopper……..

Anyway, with the deal done super quick, focus switched to finding a new van and a caravan, and while I was happy enough searching out a good deal for the former, the latter was a bit of an ooo-eck moment.

Fortunately Fish has been doing the van + cazza thing for quite a while now, and his advice and guidence was most appreciated, as was Shazza’s. Did’t quite expect to find something so good so quick, but hey-ho lets go, as they say in New York. If you’re a old punk…….

Less than another week later and a deal is done for a van too, so all I have to do now is move the funds around to be able to pay for everything and then go do a pick-up. Seems like the cazza will be collected actually on the way to Cadwell, so fingers crossed everything works and I don’t end up slapping the whole rig into a hedge at the first roundabout. How fast am I allowed to go on the M25 again???

Now, if I could just sell my Mini Cooper S JCW I have nice SLK350 Merc lined up, at which point me and Fish will just about have a matching set of everything – bikes, leathers (maybe…), cars, vans, cazza’s etc. Shame there’s not a bit more parity on the waistline front or racing results really…….

Laters!!!!

It feels kinda odd not trying to race every other weekend like we did at the beginning of the season, but at least there’s time for a couple of non-bike related activities.

Looking forwards, we’re off to Download on the 11th of this month for three days of Rock & Roll – yeah baby!!

There’s headline performances by AC/DC, Rage Against The Machine and Aerosmith, plus plenty of other Moose-approved classic rock from the likes of Skin, Y&T, Ratt, Tyketto and Cinderella – kinda like going back in time there!!! More recent stuff gets a look in too, with Slash and his post-Velvet Revolver solo band, and Them Crooked Vultures as well - that’s 1/4 of Led Zep, 1/4 of Foo Fighters and 1/4 of Queens Of The Stone Age, shaken not stirred and served with an olive. Will let you know how things pan out…………

Looking backwards it’s mostly weddings – with Ramit Craig and Becs doing the deed in fine style in Norwich, plus Ian and Jennifer doing the same up near Gloucester a couple of weeks later.

Team Norbar Racing (West and Thames Valley) took the opportunity to see how well we scrub up when not covered in oil or wearing leather. What do you think??

Slightly closer to bike-home, Fish has been trying to get his leathers sorted (how hard can that be…….) while I’ve just managed to sell the motorhome, so I’m now in the market for a new van and a cazza. I still can’t believe that the Moose-mobile only lost £1k in depreciation in nearly two years – result!!

Hopefully I should be able to get over to Graham File and pick up my repaired engine at some point next week too – sounded like it just needed new pistons and a bit of a hone job, fingers crossed anyway.

Now if I could just sell my car………………..

Yeah I know, I could hardly believe it either…………..

Those of you with very long memories will remember that I’d just about finished a tidy up job on the frame, and I’d also managed to bolt in the rear swinging arm with the fancy-pants Ohlins rear shock.

I’d actually hoped to have been working on the front end this weekend as the yoke modification was scheduled to be completed on Tuesday, but a couple of priority jobs caused my engineering man to end up working on something else, so the expected call never came – bummer.

Anyway, I’d had rubber fitted to my 4″ rear hoop at Brands, so thought it’d be a good idea to fit that to the bike with the new sprocket carrier, cleaned up fasteners and the rear brake linkage and master cylinder etc. Looks quite good, even if I say so myself – what do you think??

Gary turned up around this point, looking for some help with the rear hugger on his SV6.5 as it was very close to rubbing the tyre, and we bolted  on his Hel rear brake hose while we were at it. Actually it was nice to be working on something a bit newer than the 20-year old cronks we start out with as our race bikes………….

So, after we’d had a cuppa and one of the do-nuts that Gaz brought with him, I didn’t finish the engine assembly outstanding from the Pembrey failures, but hopefully that’ll get cracked tomorrow – I’d like to at least get to the point of measuring the squish, will keep you posted………..

Hello Nor-bloggers – it’s been a while, sorry…………

Things haven’t been going that well recently, with a couple of engine failures at Pembrey causing me to miss all four races, after illness caused me to miss both races at Oulton. Actually, one of the engine failures occured at Oulton – a siezure while negotiating Hizzy’s, which Rucksack only managed to avoid getting tangled up in by jumping off!! And hurting his hand in the process – sorry chap. Close examination of my seat suggests there was contact, so that must go down as a tick in the “close one” box.

Anyway, after discovering the siezure at Pembrey when a rattle developed a couple of sessions into the damp practice day, I set about swapping the lump for my spare. Unfortunately that didn’t last long either, as a gearbox failure while trying to take to the grid for the first race on the Saturday meant I ended up spending the weekend as a spectator with a couple of beers instead of actually racing. Could have been worse I guess – at least the beer was cold!!!

So, for Brands it was my third engine of the season, and this time I actually got to race!! Yep, there were a couple of minor problems with the clutch and what turned out to be a flat battery on the Sunday, but after all the hassles at Oulton and Pembrey I was pleased to be taking to the grid, having a bit of a dice with a few of the guys and actually crossing the line when the black and white flag was waving……..

Oh yeah, I got wear my new Scott leathers on Sunday for the TV cameras too, not that I’m expecting ‘em to have been focused back towards the tail end of the points for too long. I’ll let ya know when it’s due to be on Motors TV. They look really cool with the sponsor logo’s (Fuchs, Norbar, Norfolkline etc….) and when Fish manages to get his set adjusted to fit a little better we should be far and away the best presented team in the paddock. Again………..

Kev has been doing really well as our third team rider, having a couple of minor bike problems, but doing enough to get rid of his rookie vest, and also beating me in one of the races at Brands. Yeah, my clutch was slipping, but that doesn’t show on the results sheet. Just as well I picked up a spot prize share of the Norfolkline cash at the presentation on the Saturday night. I think Team Black Sheep Griggsy was a little jealous that Kev was running with full Team Norbar status – chap, that’s what a white fairing and a set of stickers does for ya!!!

Fish has been Mr Consistant as the front runner for Team Norbar picking up a brace of trophies for some 3rd positions – did we expectanything else?? No!!! Dude, get a stronger shelf in the garage, eh??

Gaz hasn’t been out on track so far this year, but it sounds like that’s about to change at Cadwell as part of the next meeting at the end of June – superb!! He’s been a great help in the paddock though, keeping on top of the fuel and tyres etc for us, and helping Kev with spannering when there’s been a problem or two that need investigation.

Anyway, have a look at www.norbar-racing.co.uk for a more detailed set of updates on what’s been happening, and you’ll find a bunch of pictures too – profesional stuff from Rusty and the guys at Racing Line, and a few more casual paddock snaps too.

Laters…………….