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…………….

The weekend turned out to be a bit of a damp squib for Team Norbar (West), with a couple of bike issues on Friday casung half of the allocated track time to be missed, and then illness on Saturday causing my withdrawl from the actual races – a total bummer after all the time and effort put into pre-season preparation. Not to mention the cash!!

Anyway, for what it’s worth the bike looked superb in the garage once the sponsor stickers were applied – it’s just a shame that I didn’t get to ride the bloody thing enough to get some action shots too.

Anyway, there’s a few small jobs to do prior to the meeting at Pembrey on the 1st and 2nd of May, so I’ll keep ya posted on how things come together for that.

We should have our new leathers prior to Pembrey too, so will be well placed to shoot some 2010 team pictures at some point.

Laters…….

Well I just wanted to give a quick update from the brands shakedown

The day went generally well – We had 7 sessions on track – my main trouble was the new boots I bought from Rangi at infinity – I was struggling to get 5th and 6th off the clearways exit – A couple of adjustments here and there and I thought I had it cracked . I didnt take my old boots so at first I thought that perhaps I had a gearbox issue.

First 3 sessions I just kept it easy, it was reasonably cold and wet although there was a drying line – we had a couple of red flags but nothing too major – Kev had an off exiting the pit lane – to him it felt like a sieze but it turned out to be the final drive bolt came off and the sprocket and the chain locked the rear wheel solid – down goes his clean bike and new ARD gel coat body work – Bugger !! He was fine tho and we set about getting im back on track.

The sessions after lunch brought some major rain so out came the wetsuits and I just tried to get a feel for the 209GP’s in the wet front and rear – Carl Newbigging and Rangi were going well in the wet – although Rangi said he was struggling on the tyres they were testing.. Looked fine from where I was sat dude

I switched to an old set of boots from Tony Hoare and my gear change issues were transformed – in the 6th and 7th sessions I proved to myself the gearbox was fine and the issue was my boots… Just need wearing in I guess – but I wont be able to risk these in a race until they are fully bedded in…

Kev got back out in the afternoon and felt generally happy with how the bike went – the conditions in the afternoon were more difficult but him and Steve seemed to be enjoying themselves.

So with 4 days now to the Oulton Meets I have some small jobs to do so will get them sorted over the next 2 evenings ready for the van load – I’ll be travelling up Thursday afternoon and hope for some good weather and a safe meeting..

This brings me to mention the sad news at Snetterton a few weeks ago – Simon Exton was involved in a startline crash and unfortunately succumbed to his injuries – This is very very sad news and my condolences go out to his family and friends and all that were involved in the incident.

I know it’s a little later than normal, but the Yamaha Past Masters race season is about to kick off, with the first meeting of the season taking place at the magnificent Oulton Park circuit on the 17th of April.

It’s only a one day meeting due to the issues the circuit suffers with the noise we make, but there’s a full day of practice and qualifying on the 16th, with the normal warm up session on the Saturday morning followed by two races. We’ll also be entering the 400 class to benefit from the additional track time, especially useful on the Friday for the final shakedown of the bikes, as well as completing the essential running in of our new engines.

As well as the continued support from Norbar, who are remaining as are team title sponsor for 2010, we’ve been lucky enough to secure a significant level of support from Richard and the guys at Fuchs Silkolene (www.silkolene.com), plus get a great deal on our new made to measure leathers from Graham at GLF Accessories (www.glfaccessories.com). Demon Tweeks (www.demon-tweeks.co.uk) have supplied us with masses of trick parts while preparing for the season with a decent level of discount, while the guys at the Fowlers (www.fowlers.co.uk) spares counter have been doing the same on the genuine Yamaha parts that we’ve needed on a regular basis. Rusty and the guys at Racing Line Photography (www.racing-line-photography.com) will be continuing to support us in 2010 with a deal for as many high quality action shots as we need to keep the website looking interesting, while Paul at Crowthorne Insurance (www.crowthorne.co.uk) continues to do us a superb deal on the insurance cover for our race vehicles and private cars/bikes too. We’ve also got new bodywork from Jack at ARD (www.ardracing.com) at a damn fine price, and a new ARD crank for Fish too, built by Kevin.

The guys at ABC Enamelling (www.abcenamelling.co.uk) have been busy powder coating masses of parts for us over the winter, while Dave at Motorcycle Bearings (www.motorcycle-bearings.com) has made sure everything that should rotate does so as effectively as possible. Finally, Steve at AM Leathers (www.amleathers.co.uk) was able to produce the sponsor badges we needed for our new leathers, and didn’t charge us a fortune to set everything up or make us order hundreds when we only needed a handful.

Anyway, as per normal you’ll be able to follow the exploits of the team via our regular reports on www.norbar-racing.co.uk, or you can keep up with what’s going on in slightly closer to real time via this blog.

The full season takes place over eight rounds and here are the venues/dates for your diary:
April 17th: Oulton Park, Cheshire
May 1st & 2nd: Pembrey, Dyfed
May 15th & 16th: Brands Hatch GP, Kent
June 26th & 27th: Cadwell Park, Lincs
July 24th & 25th: Brands Hatch Indy, Kent
August 14th & 15th: Cadwell Park, Lincs
September 4th & 5th: Snetterton, Norfolk
October 2nd & 3rd: Brands Hatch Indy, Kent

Hopefully we’ll see some of you in the paddock at some point during the season.

It’s kinda odd, that after masses of time in the garage over the winter, the bike looks kinda similar to how it finished the 2009 season – at least from a distance.

Some close up examination does reveal where the time and effort has gone though, not to mention the cash!!! Basically, there’s hardly anything that hasn’t been touched in preparation for the rapidly approaching 2010 season, much of which has been covered to death in this blog, but in case you’ve missed what I’ve been up to here’s a rough list.

New stuff: fairing, seat, fairing bracket, seat brackets, bars, master cylinder, levers, steering damper, silencers, radiator, brake hoses, wheel bearings, chains and various sprokets.

Refurbished stuff: engine, spare engine, carbs, forks, top yoke, engine cradle, swinging arm, exhausts, callipers and various wheels.

Obviously there’s been loads of little fettles along the way too, especially when bolting stuff back together – you know, new stainless bolts, various seals and bushes, one off nylon fairing mounts etc etc.

All that’s left to do now is add the remaining sponsor stickers to the fairing, covering Norbar, GLF Accessories, Crowthorne Insurance and Demon Tweeks, plus maybe a couple of other supplier/product stickers as long as everything doesn’t end up looking too cluttered. Oh yeah, I also have to run the engine in too – looks like I’ll be doing that at Oulton Park on the 16th!!

The garage is looking somewhat clearer now – it’s amazing how much space a race bike can take up when it’s in a million pieces, and I’ve had two builds going on at the same time, plus the spare engine assembly as well. Also, I’m due to get the motorhome back from storage tomorrow, so once that’s on the drive I can make a start on loading it up with spares and the regular race weekend supplies. After that I’m planning on a review of all the parts I’ve got left over, with the view to a bit of a sale – looks like there’s loads of good stuff that should raise a few quid towards the seasons budget.

Anyway, see you at Oulton on the 16th and 17th if you can make it………… 

Alive I tell ya……….

Much to the annoyance of the neighbours, who’ve had a reasonably quiet winter while the noisy smeely things in my garage have been in a million pieces. But the peace was shattered on Friday last week, when the YPM bike fired up second kick – and it sounds lovely too. Nearly started first kick as well…….

Obviously I wasn’t expecting any issues with the engine as that’s been fettled to the point of perfection by Graham File, but it was still down to me to fit the freshly cut down generator and the lightest of the flywheels available, plus jet the carbs as instructed prior to fitting the new needles.

It almost feels like I’m ready now, with just the new fairing to fit and a couple of very minor jobs to finish off before heading off somewhere to do some running in – not nailed a firm plan for that yet, and I don’t have very long to sort something out either.

I’ve also made good progress on the spare engine, fitting the gearbox and new crank into the lower case, and the 400 bike now has a sweet looking swinging arm with some fancy bling bits and bobs bolted on to it.

The Pazzo levers I bought look very trick too, photo’s to follow – bling, bling bling…………

The time is moving on for sure now and I have a hard stop of March 29th Brands Hatch test and shake down ! The trips to France and Berlin have eaten time, plus the trip to the stag do in Norwich and Cambridge !  I had a trip to Bally’s on the 20th March before heading to another stag do in Bristol – April is slammed already 2 weddings, 2 bike meets and a gig back in Bristol. Basically March 28th was about the best opportunity for me at the nearest track so I have to be ready now – Its going to be busy this week

The van has been MOT’d had its screen smashed and  replaced – The caravan needs to come home for a service -

The main issues that we found with the bike

1. worn reeds
2. Dry , very dry clutch plates
3. suspension tier bars set at different lengths
4. My engine was not in need of a strip – well the crank and Pistons still were good for more rounds
5. The ARD Crank is ‘cock on’
6. All looked ok in gearbox but oil pump needed inspecting
7. clutch all looked ok apart from the dry plates and another broken plate – we can see why its breaking but the fact they were dry was/is very strange
8. wear in the bush that the gear rod selector passes through

I’ve had my swinger powder coated, so that has new bearings and all other bits checked out ok.

The engine build took a lot longer than it needed to, I replaced that bush, fitted new crank and seals throughout. The clutch went on ok, but the clutch cover turned out to be a bitch and was rendered redundant when I couldnt get the oil pipe out and wrecked the case trying to get the old screws out so I spent hours then getting a replacement uptogether with a new water pump seal , moving everything over and cleaning it all out. Eventualy the bottom end was built – Pistons dressed and barrels slotted over the top -

Now Engine is back in situation

I’ve got to try and fit the new front master cylinder and resevoir to the bike to test at Brands and I’m cleaning and overhauling the seized rear – I’m hoping I dont need rear seals as I dont have any…

Wheels have all been powder coated and tyres fitted – new disk bolts throughout and bearings of course

New leathers are virtually on order, am off to see Rangi for new boots and gloves so I’ll be a new button come Oulton park… maybe…

As the Moose blog stated we’ve picked up some good ney excellent sponsorship deal from FUCHS Silkolene so we’ll be trying to bring that into our branding this year more so starting with the logo on our leathers.

So what are my plans for this year – Of course I want to do as much as I can, but for me the first 3 weekends are booked at Oulton, Pembrey and the GP and we will see how things are from there – I always get nervous after full builds so I’ll be happier once these 3 are out the way and all is settled down.

We have Kev Higerty hooked up with us this year too so hopefully between us all we can help him through a better race season than last year – he’s also joined the silkolene racer scheme so that ties in nicely with what we are doing with FUCHS . Gary will be out as and when he pleases but will be at most rounds to help and be chief team spanner wielding bitch

Hopefully my next update will detail how the final build came together and the track day with Kev.

Thats it for now

Fish

Team Norbar Racing are delighted to announce that Fuchs Silkolene will be providing a significant level of sponsorship for the 2010 season.

This new arrangement builds on the ad-hoc support provided last year, during which merchandise and other promotional materials were made available in response to the sustained coverage of race results and action photographs via www.norbar-racing.co.uk. Fortunately the normal email bombardment that both Fish and Moose kick off after a good weekend of results seemed to actually impress Richard Barrett, the main marketing man for the UK for Fuchs Silkolene, and a deal for support has now been finalised after a winter of thrashing out the details.

Fortunately, Fuchs Silkolene are looking to actively target the 2-stroke market in the UK over the coming months, and while a bunch of blokes in their 40′s racing bikes that are over 20 years old aren’t exactly aligned to the target market, Richard felt that the team has enough to offer to help him broaden his coverage.

So, the Team Norbar Racing garage will now be well stocked with Fuchs Silkolene products, including the fantastic Pro 2 oil use for pre-mix, plus gear oil, chain lube/cleaner, brake cleaner, carb cleaner and their All-In-One maintenance spray.

The Fuchs Silkolene logo will also be making more of appearance on the bikes, leathers and website – further details to follow…….

Yep, I’m just a gnats chuff away from having a running bike, after a kinda hectic weekend.

As you know, I’ve had the engine back and in the garage for a while, and it even got fitted in the frame a week or so ago, but I’ve been waiting for carb parts from Fowlers and a few other bits and bobs.

Anyway, after a 540 round trip to help Ramit Craig celebrate his up and coming wedding, I managed to get back in time to pick up my parts and still get to the football to see Bristol City throw away a two goal lead against Newcatle – bugger.

I was up early today to get in the garage on Sunday tghough, and I now have the new rad fitted, the carbs cleaned, jetted as per instructions from Graham and fitted, exhaust with new cans fitted and fancy new red chain fitted too. If I’d had enough of that battery water stuff I’d have filled it up and nailed the last couple of jobs prior to running the engine for the first time, but as I didn’t, I err, didn’t…….

I’ve included some pics of where I’m at now……