Number 9 - What was and what shall be

[SteveNC35]

Awesome thread! Would love to meet No9 someday!

[CMSMJ1]

Cheers dude.

Get me a ticket for the boat and I'll be down in a few weeks....

[CMSMJ1]

Just been out for a razz, got an email from a lad nearby and realised I needed to get the bike together and out.

So, now at the hearty oak, holmesfield, chilling after some high commitment, awesome fun backroad scratching.

[CMSMJ1]

rock and roll.

have fitted some WR rearsets since my last update and have been out a few hundred miles.

Took the GSXR genny off my old motor last night and will be looking to fit it to this newer motor. Might get it done this weekend.

Also going to take the clutch and swap that too.

The heads will then come off the spare motor and I will get bad with the wet adn dry and take out the casting flash from the intakes and exhausts. lap the valves, get it all lovely..and swap some heads over.

Not a lot else to do - hope to get that lot sorted before the TD so I can have a fast bike..lol

going to service the rear brake as it doesn't even work right now and drags a bit..lol - no point gettign 0.0001bhp from my DIY porting/cleaning to then have it drag like a mofo.

So, no9.. nearly had it ten years!

[Drunkn Munky]

10 years! i think that deserves a celebration. Is it a bit like triggers broom though?

[CMSMJ1]

I reckon I will celebrate - I got it at the end of August if I recall..

I did try and reckon what was left original on it and it is..

The frame (though I have a black powedercoated frame I was going to swap in..lol)
The rev counter/temp gauge
seat plastics inclding front seat
top yoke
front spindle and bolt
the loom
headlamp (the left hand one inc rubber)

That is about it - the motor, carbs, forks, rads, swinger, brakes, wheels, rearsets, clipons...

It has been a wonder bike!

[chrisja2]

I still have that rear wheel waiting for you mucker.

[fourfingers]

Some say it´s never too late... ... only took me 3 years.
Lovely thread Mark. Took me a while reading it, but enjoyed every bit.
Made me realise I´ll do 23 years with my 89 nc30 next month... We do love this pieces of metal and plastic on wheels, don't we?
It´s a shame I wont make it to Cadwell this year, I´d really like to meet you all...

Cheers,
Emilio

[CMSMJ1]

No9 is till hanging on in there. I'm getting it painted when Chris comes back from his TT business and I am really stuck on the fence with regards to getting into the G force engine build...

@ Emilio - we've time yet mate.....

[CMSMJ1]

I have just read this load of waffle from start to finish. It's cool to take a look back at history eh?

So, to cover off some of the missing updates on this thread - I took the bike to the Classic Bike trackday at Cadwell in 2018. Had my ZX10 and No9 for use - was a 3 dayers - friday on the ZX10 as I was trying to learn it for my return to Jerez in December and then No9 for the Sat/Sun

A bit on the ZX10 - digression, but it will make sense...

I've been into my trackdays and a bit of racing and was fished into going to Cartagena for a TD Had no bike, so bought a CBR600 race bike from Hipringle - first time I saw it was when he dropped it off. First time I rode it was out of the pits in Spain... (that bike was great - tuned to the nuts and fast - though that caused it to get a bit..er...tight and so fatally fucked the motor)

I had booked the next trip to Spain and needed a new bike with pretty short notice. I was drunk, after a friend;s wake , (RIP Cammo) and woke up to a cheap 2005 ZX10 that I had seemingly bought...

Rolling forwards - I rode it - fuck me - bonkers fast. Took to Jerez and it bust the generator and caused a nasty fix. This was not so bad as the lads I was there with loaned me bikes for sessions - so I rode an ex TT ZX10, an ex TT Blade, a road Daytona 675 and a race R6 - great to get so many different bikes to ride.

Year later, Cadwell - Friday was great - I was good mates with the fully fettled ZX10 by now and we were good mates.

Saturday - had a ballache with No9 as new clutch was fitted but it was having all kinds of issues. Could not get it to work. Some beer drinking mechanic skills and I was frustrated

There were several 400Gb regulars ther - Paulie Aldridge and NGneer for example - I was rescued with the obvious solution to my clutch issues that the basket was not engaged on the oil pump drive - got that sorted - No9 ready to rock.

Hit the track, had some great sessions but before lunch I was changing gear and the little sod had stuck in 3rd! AARRGGHHH So annoying.

I was out. Nothing would induce the bugger to change gear.

Again, silver linings... As some of the PB forum guys were there too - and I was offered replacement rides for 3 sessions. Some of these are in all bucket list bikes...

1: SRAD 750 - OK, maybe not. This was the slut SRAD that had been passed about several owners on PB forum. It had aflat front tyre and warped discs.. I came in after 3 laps..

2: Yamaha FZR750R - OW01 - A dream bike. Pukka as fuck. This was a very rare, very expensive bike. I have no idea why people thought I am safe to ride their bikes...and these homologation bikes are special.
I took the full session on this and it was superb - race bike setup so there was no farting about. It had flat slide carbs that reeked of fuel and were tricky at low revs but on song it was great. Handled lovely - long and low just like the other Yamahas I have owned. Really enjoyed it, it was a really enjoyable experience.

3: Paul's (CRM) RC30 - Well, Paul, he is a good mate I am sure - he offered me a session on his RC30. I know all owners of NC30s think they have a special bike that delivers it's performance in a unique way. RC30 would be a dream. This was awesome - especially back to back with the Yamaha equivalent. The bike was epic - Paul was always saying it was just like the NC30 but scaled up. He was totally right of course. I rode this bike as it wanted to be ridden - it was familiar, it was fast and I was totally hooked on it.

Let it be said - an RC30 in race spec would be no1 on my purchasing list if I had loads of cash to spare. It was sublime,

No9 was still fucked...and still is. He has not been ridden since I took him home and dropped in my container.

That is...until this weekend. I don;t have a garage any more - so no chance to work on bikes at all. I have taken it to be sorted out by 20 Twenty Customs - a chap I know from PB forum. The remit - sort it. All of it.

Spare engine provided (though I reckon the detent arm is goosed in the incumbent motor and so that will be checked first)

The bike will be stripped to frame and everything blasted and refreshed. forks, brakes, carbs (another set provided from my spare NC..) :)

No9 will return in a month or two - new fairings and cleaner than has been for quite some time. The aim - we're going to Jerez :) (if this COVID shit is under some form of control by then - if not, I want Cartagena in Easter.

Riding wise - I crashed my ZX10 at Jerez in December 2018. I had a huge crash at the end of the straight where brake failure meant I had to stand up and jump off the bike. This was a grim process where I went to brake at 145mph and the lever came to the bars. I had to make the choice quickly and stood up, leapt off the the left and hit the deck - probably over 100mph. I don't remember the impact with the tyres but I woke up under them with teh bike on my legs. I think the bike lifted the tyres up a bit as it must have hit just before me and so the tyres were resting on me. The GPS trace shows that the bike hit the wall at 85mph - I was right with it.

Suffice to say - I was lucky - I broke a toe (always seem to break my toes) and took a large chunk out my elbow. Knee was twisted and I had two big lumps on my forehead where my helmet took some hit. The biggest thing and one that still is not healed is that my left shoulder - that I landed on track with - is still weak and limited in movement.

I was lucky. Wear good kit people. check your bolts and pins that hold your pads in - lockwire them. It was a pad pin that came out - no idea why, but they had been sound for the several TDs I have had before this crash. This was also on the last day of the trip - so again - why?

I bought, and then sold, a blade last year - tried to get into riding again, but I did not get on with it. Had a track evening at Cadwell which was OK but I was too conscious of the speeds and probably having some minor worries that I might not be able to cope with it.

Having decided that I want to ride and that my old mate No9 is needing the time and money - I decided against buying another bonkers speed trackbike and will get my old mate back to strength.

I'll find some pics...but that was a long old waffle, sorry.

Be cool people :)