Number 9 - What was and what shall be

[CMSMJ1]

Now then Chris..you have to get over there. it is wicked.

The Funster crash was caused by digging in his rearsets and it lifted the rear wheel and down he went. He was getting cocky with his virgin kneedown so probably had it coming!!

[CMSMJ1]

Tech update this time.

I had removed my rad fan, like you do, to allow more efficient cooling at speed and I had found the flip side of this was pretty crap cooling when trying to get through Glossop on a summers day.

The solution....fit an oil cooler.



This was bought direct from manufacturer, it is a MOCAL sandwich plate.

I went to my local Pirtek and got some fittings and some hose and after a bit of faffinf it was on...magic



The cooler matrix was an ebay special and is stamped KTM. It is big..which is good as that is how you want it to be.,





At this time I had flogged my Yamamoto system on and bought a mild steel, "HRC" system.







It was a wicked system. Sounded awesome, made the bike go like the clappers too which is always nice.

I had wrapped it in heat wrap and it still melted my lovely fairings! The little bastard....

It was also extremely loud - was measured at 106db, baffled, and so I knew that this relationship was going to be short and sweet....as we were off to the Nurburgring with the 400GB massive and noisy pipes were not happening!!

I sourced another system, a half Ethos this time.... and just for jollies...went to Angesley again!!

[CMSMJ1]

Well, The next session was a trip to the 'ring with the 400GB massive.

I've lost most of my pics...gash.

The thread on here "Das Nurburgring" is what you want to read..

I'll find my pics and update..it was wicked

[Bill]

loveing the wright up so far, found myself over at cadwell the other weekend haveing a nosey and it has given me ideas, never done a trackday before but i have a feeling it will be the start of something awsome (and exspensive) would love to see a 400gb day planed again,

whats next...

[Johnny Wishbone]

Would love to see a 400gb day planned again.

Oh yes. Preferably for later in the year so there's a chance my bike will be ready but a forum trackday at Cadwell would be awesome.

[CMSMJ1]

A little bit on the Nurburgring trip, pics or no..

Me and my mate, TC (on a Mille) decided to drive over in a van (for £40 return with Norfolkline to Dunkirk) as it was much easier on the old moto than a 600 mile motorway session.

It took us 4 hrs to get to Sliders Guest House - and I thank Bren and Susie (RIP) for having us and providing a quality location to base ourselves.

Pretty sure we were the first there and so we got the bikes out and then had a cold beer!

Later that night the Irish massive arrived - Big G Viper, Mark (R6 dude) and Karl (Acid)

We took a ride to the 'ring, via the local B258 route and it was cool as. Watched a few laps and then once I got some balls I was up for getting some lapping in.

I know the layout of the track very well indeed - For my sins I have been a sim racer on Grand Prix Legends for over 10years. I have turned hundreds of laps around the place and I was sure that I knew whether a corner would nip up, or where it went over a crest etc.

Took the no9 out for a lap - got on at the Halfway point and was shitting it a touch. The pace of the cars and bikes was very impressive indeed. STarting halfway round, on cold tyres, a 400cc moto and buzzin my arse off was too cool. Got out, ran down to Bergwerk and up the hill, flat out to the Angst Kurve - what a rush. Round and through to the Karussel and fuck me. WHat a bumpy and shitty piece of road that really is! Next section is my favourite when racing the sim...and so I was amazed to find the camber on Eis Kurve tobe totally sheer and nothing like the track I expected to find.
Blasted through that, letting a few cars past me and through the viewing points at Pflanzgarten and then flat knacker up to the Schwalbenschwantz. Another mini Karussel after that and then the finalt 2 linked right handers onto the enormous back straight and the lap exit.

So cool.

So addictive.

I am now, still, addicted to riding on track. This was a really exciting experience - fast cars, so much visual information forcing itself into my brains and the scary knowledge, or lack of, that the track looks slidy and polished with lots of paint etc all over it.

I liken the Nurburgring to riding an old, closed road. It is definitely a track, but not a trackday. It is a road, but not as clean as you would expect and all the traffic (mainly) seems to be taking care of each other.

If you have not done it...then do it. It is not racing. You have to watch your mirrors as the speed of cars through the corners is amazing and as much as you then think you will blast off up the enxt straight it is folly..as there are 170+ corners...

The Greybike crew also went for a bit of a ride out with Bren..alleged the PB Baron. to the roads around the local area.

This was one of the most lifechanging rides I have ever done. It was boiling hot. No9 did ont have a fan.

We started off early enough and it was obvious straight away that I would have to ride faster than I would normally go to keep up with everyone. There was only Acid and I on VFR400s...everyone else had bigger and faster bikes.

The roads were awesome and the morning just disappeared in a tank of fuel and sweaty concentration. We came to some forest roads and got slightly lost and the temps on the no9 shot up and stayed near red - the ambient was 35 or so I think.

As soon as we got going again, the temps would drop and the bike was cool. The oil cooler was helping this a lot I am sure.

However, we came to a village and were going to stop for a drink and some munch. The first set of lights had the temps rising up and my thighs were roasting. I was thinking of turning the bike off as the temps were just under red. Then we rolled on some more and hit another set of lights... the coolant was pissing out the overflow and the mental images in my mind were showing catastrophic oil film failure and destruction!!

I had to knock it off and push towards the cafe in the mddle of the town square.....complete with central fountain! Bonus...I got some water and pouried it over and threough the rads adn cooler. the temps were coming down and I was able to relax and drink something myself.

The poor old No9 has never been as hot as that again.

After that little break we set off again and I recall that we skirted the Mosel river and stopped for more drinks and ice cream at Cochem, Awesome roads. I was following as fast as I could and at times I was in 6th and just and so modulating the throttle so it was not banging hard against the limiter. It would hit.....hit.....hit.....and the road was swooping alongside the river in grippy, high visibility and smooth arcs.

Just fucking brilliant.

We carried on like this and eventually found ourselves on a road homewards (well to the 'ring). TC and I somehow managed to end up in front of everyone else and this is the part of the ride that changed it all.

I had it in my head that I would be first back. No messing. The roads were up hill and down dale - forested on either side and with big log wagons cruising along. I set off and just gave it the full treatment. Faster round any road corner I have ever been on, some of the sketchiest overtakes (high speed passes, rather than close and dangerous) and the CDI keeping the motor from revving itself to death. I can vividly recall having the trottle on the stop, the bike hitting the limiter, hit hit hit hit....for over 10 seconds at a time. Just flying and feeling awesome!

I did get to the end of that road first. I beat TC on his Mille and the rest who were not far behind and probably riding at 75% to enjoy the roads, where I was riding at 99% and feeling it! I was exhilerated and all of my days, racing excluded, I don't think I have ever ridden like that again. Saying that, I am sure I have attacked corners with less intent on some of my racing laps!

The days flew by, it was only a short trip, but another comedy session was a greybike meal at a hotel in Adenau - I was driving...nob, and so I got the awesome crack with the steadily drunken greybike massive. Top guys.

Finally, I used up my 4 laps of the ring. I went out with Acid/Karl for one as we were both on the NCs and so it was a good crack. I buggered off as fast as I thought I could...and on the run down the hill to Aremberg I felt something hit me in the back.. My pillion seat was loose!! I stopped on the live track and got off, saw Karl coming and he too stopped..and refitted the pillion pad! LOL




Sub 10m laps! Whoop.. that was my target.

The 'ring trip was capped by a ride round the ring in a chavvy BMW. There were a few lads form Southport who had taken a £500 challenge to drive to the 'ring. I offered some pointers to get a ride in the passenger seat of a lad who was being beaten by his mate in a NIssan Sunny! Matey had a BMW!

I was fully leathered up, took my camera and talked him round..fast here, no, flat out here, slower here...it was quality. By the Karussel I was feeling ill..what a bork inducing thing being driven round a track, 45+degree in the car and wearing full kit..

Made it back, totally kicked his mate's arse and job well done!

Few beers, packed up..and then fucked off.

Drove home in 4hrs flat from Dover, several cans of relentless and a few hundred quids worth of beer in the van..

A final LOL...TC was getting wigged with the mozzies in the room...

[CMSMJ1]

Cool - found just a couple of pics...







For Boris..





Such a nice bike...



This is TC..

[CMSMJ1]

Right on.

A bit more tech I guess.

I had fitted an Ethos system for the ring trip and although I really liked it and it was good qualty, I was swayed into the wonderful world of the twin stack,

I had a Yamamoto system (the original one that cracked and I had welded) and I took my bike down to exhaustUK here in Sheffield.

They said they can build anything...so we talked a few quid and I left my bike and system with them to get it sorted.





Pic whoring of course..






It was loud, it was actually pretty heavy.

I had it fitted for a decent while and even got the old beast a dyno run with it too!

Tech wise - the bike was running RVF carbs, 130 mains, HRC slide springs and an open aribox with std filter.

Blade brakes, Stealth rotors and 090s

RS250 shock still...awesome bit of shock!

Uprated early forks with Hagon springs.

Dyno - back to back with the Ignitech/Std CDI



Ignitech gave 2 fewer horses! Either way..you need to check my lovely fuelling and smooth graph out - that is a lot of fucking about with carbs in the history of this bike!

The bike was used a fair bit like this and then I decided to go racing...and I was going to strip the no9 down and use it for a raodstocks/F400 bike.

First of all I needed to get an ACU licence, so I sorted that. Then I managed to agree a ride on the BMC racing RVF (previous years F400 champions). I then needed to get a session at Mallory Park as I had never ridden there and was now set to race a fast RVF for my racing debut!

Good old no9 to the rescue...I booked an ACU test day and we went for a blast!





I love this pic -


I raced on the BMC bike for 3 rounds and was loving it, but I needed more tracktime and so I decided to strip no9 and make it into a race bike.

That lasted all of a week...but I sold the twin stack as it was too loud and too heavy for racing.

I decided to build my own bike from scratch

So, no9 was on the back buner for a while.

I got a new system to replace the twin stack



This it it on the right - a Jap system, no idea about it. Was lound!

Next to it...well..that is an HRC RC45 system I bought without seeing it. I tried to fit to no9..and realised it was for the bigger bro.

Pimp system



you can see the RC45 system is loner thatn the NC30 one..

So..after that system, which was just plain noisy...I got wind of a nice full system...another one to go wiht the Hiperform that I have on the race bike. I do believe that full systems that remove the rear stubby are a great performance boost to the bike.

This system is also a doozy..







One more post to come...and we are up to date

[reverse cylinder jim]

Very good read mate.
Sure ive seen that twin stack recently that exhaustUK made for you, could be wrong but im sure Geoff has just bought a bike with it fitted

[Dgeoff33]

It's similar to the one I have but not the same one, mine has different pipework. The other system did pass through my hands though, bargain eh Mark