Ey up, after a rather unsuccessful foray into the world of motorcycle road racing, firstly on an MZ 250 with Bemsee and then with an old BMW boxer twin with the BHR, I soon discovered that, it cost loads of money, takes up loads of time and that there is a lot of hanging around for not a lot of time on the track, (and, ahem, I was pretty slow and not very good at it after all, although i did manage a third place at Darley Moor on a very cold, very wet day when all the frustration of being lapped and being a back-marker i my previous races suddenly dissapeared and i left my brain in the back of the van), so I decided to sell the race bike. I had already booked in to do the Classic Bike / Practical Sportbike magazine trackday in August and having a potential buyer for the Beemer decided to use my 900ss instead rather than tempting fate. So, what's all this about then? Well, believe it or not, I had never done a trackday before, I just decided one day, at the age of fifty in 2009, that I wanted a go at racing motorcycles and it was an itch that had to be scratched. The trackday was a revelation, good fun, lots of time on track and a distinct lack of attitude that you sometimes get in the club racing paddock. I decided on the way home from Cadwell that night that I was going to buy a cheapo Ducati to build as a project and build a nice, tidy, trackday tool to have some fun on and not spunk a lot of money in the process. i trawled evil-bay and the forums in search of a suitable victim, i'm sorry, i meant donor and decided on a Terblanche designed 'fueli' 750s, [yep, the 'poverty' spec single disc / caliper model with non-adjustable forks] i have previously owned a very tidy 1/2 faired, twin disc bike and really liked it, only selling it to throw money into the bottomless pit that constitutes racing. So, money burning a hole in the arse pocket of my jeans, i found a rather scruffy, neglected, nine previous owners. year two thousand bike thirty minutes away, i feigned disinterest, kicked the tyres, and bought it on the spot, a 16000 mile, [this time around!] bike, three months tax and motted until March 2015, thoughts of riding it to the Classic TT / Manx GP in late August soon evaporated as i discovered the growing list of bodges and down right dangerous malarkey as i started to work my way around the bike, instead i went on my trusty 900ss, chucked the Peaky Blinder in the back of the shed and me and Dangerous Dave sat in the pub making lists and drawing up plans to turn the pigs ear into err, something thats not a pigs ear ahem. My budget is two and a half grand which includes the original purchase price of the bike, i'm expecting to buy all the 'consumables' out of that, tyres, bearings, chain and sprockets, brake pads, powdercoating the frame, wheels and bits and bobs, new filters, oil, blah, blah, blah. looks wise? i'm thinking a poor mans Radical ducati, single race seat, half-fairing, perhaps a high-level two into one exhaust, all within a very tight budget, i'm keeping a single disc / caliper front brake to keep the cost down, if i'm under braked i have a spare right hand caliper ready to go, it's going to be about weight reduction rather than serious engine work, i'm using the standard wheels, but fitting decent tyres, probably race, it's going to be about mixing and matching parts, trading and fabbing stuff, [i can get carbon off-cuts from a 'certain well known Midlands aircraft manufacturer'] so you can expect some hand made trinkets, lots of stainless, machined stainless fasteners and some good old shed-built engineering, perhaps a single colour paint job if funds allow. i know, i know, i could have bought something a lot quicker for my projected budget, but, that's not really the point is it? Winters approaching and the shed beckons, i mean, what else are you going to do? build a bike project or sit on the sofa and watch the X-factor........
Is that you hung on the wall? And I was worried about my up and coming unveiling - come to think of it, no better, hopefully no worse!
That's unlucky fella, but sadly pretty common. Hopefully, once the initial sinking feeling has worn off, it'll not be so bad. What you describe all sounds curable? Anything in the oil other than it being black (and I won't ask how come you're familiar with Mr Christie's personal aromas..)? MICK...
Is it time to name and shame the death trap seller? Taking liberties with peoples trust and money is just buyer beware stuff, but when somone is taking liberties with your health........
so you're the twat that they keep telling us about at the TD/Race briefings.... ...you look old enough to know better! :Banghead:
Big fan...have just done the same at the age of 45....a case of work and lack of real funds in my earlier years stopped me from really going for it when in my prime. So having got involved with a road race team (podiums in TT) I really have been bitten by the bug and buzz that I found in the paddock and have recently bought a gixxer 600 track bike and have to say I love it. I have a 1098 that I am now thinking of turning in to a track bike as it seems pointless investing on the gixxer when the 1098 has all the ohlins etc on it already. Besides I found that on my last track day I was frustrated at getting thrashed on the straights by bigger bikes only to find I was catching them on the bends...albeit I am in novice group on only my 4th track day, three of those this year, 2 in the last 3 weeks Sorry to jump on your thread loveless but really pleased to see its not just a young fEllas game Love to see updates on how your doing loveless
yep know how you feel getting caught out knew there was some work to be done on my 750 ss ie when I bought it but found so much more including replacing the engine but stick to it there is light at the end of the tunnel and the best bits are they are easy to work on and there is always someone on here with advice but we will probably take the piss a bit aswell ps still looks better than mine when I got it lol
First thing to do is jnk that horrid tnk qnd stick a 916 one on there. Looks better and half the weight.
Most of the DD guys seem to junk the arbox and have pod or even no filters (race tho so not everyday use), well the ones at the front do. Esp if fitting another tank. I know when I had my 583 (ok smaller motor but similar principle) we tried stage one filter without lid, stage 2 without lid and stage one with cutout lid and the stage 2 filter with no lid made 2 hp (49 to 51) but lost some very bottm end, and held the power a few hundred revs longer
