race report for Sunday, April 15/01.

Dean's job had kept him so busy travelling, there was no way he was going to have his CB350 all together for the first race. I had worked on my new bike all week, and only started it for the first time in the darkness of Friday evening. We left for Saturday practice at 7am, and got to Seattle raceway mid-morning. Dean, of course, was there, in his leathers, and had already been out on the track. He wanted me to know that his new cam (longer duration), had made his bike even faster...

My bike had a new frame, and nothing much from the old frame fitted. It had a new tank, seat, fairing, pegs, shifter, brake, etc. My goal had been to get the weight down to 230 lbs, so I had a huge surprise when I weighed it in at 221 lbs! My titanium rear axle probably helped. I then weighed myself and discovered I'd gained at least 10 lbs over the winter! Must do something about that. I had apprehension about my leathers still fitting, but they did.

I only had 2 practice sessions to get up to race speed, but the new frame handled beautifully. For the technically minded, rake is 25 degrees with 90mm of trail, the engine is 1" farther forward, swingarm is 1.9" longer, but the wheelbase remains at 54.5". The frame's spine is 3" OD with 3mm wall, and swingarm OD is 38mm, all 4130.

Sunday was another beautiful day, and 20 vintage bikes lined up on the grid. I got to corner 1 in 5th position, passed a 750 that went wide, chased Dean and the two 750's, but they opened up a gap, so I settled for 4th. I couldn't get my tach to work, so I really had no idea of my RPM. So, Dean first, me second, again.

Race 2 was different. I chased Dean the entire race. He would pull away on the straights, and I would close in the turns. For those of you familiar with Seattle raceway, there had been an incident at the Bus-stop (turn 10) on lap two. There was a debris flag, plus a yellow flag, and the cones were moved out. We got used to seeing this every lap... Dean and I were lapping in the mid 1:53's. On the last lap, last corner (the bus-stop), we came upon two backmarkers, and Dean hesitated for a moment. I went inside on turn 10, forcing him wide, and took the checkered. We beat all the 750's except one.

We still don't know who won overall. There is some confusion over the yellow flag at the bus-stop. If it was waving I shouldn't have passed, but if it was stationery then my pass was OK. Whatever it was, the 2001 season is off to a great start!

PS: I was credited with the win afterall...

Friday practice went well, with speeds slowly increasing and lap times decreasing. I was feeling fast, but until the race starts, you never know. Last year I remembered (2) 250 Bultacos running away with the race. I was definitely on edge, and had a hard time relaxing.

Saturday, race 1.
Didn't sleep too well. Woke up at 3:30 am, and couldn't get back to sleep. I'd think about the race, and my heart would start pounding. At the track, my late entry had me on the 4th row of the grid. The 350GP class had 16 entries. A good start got me to the top of the first corner in 5th, and another charge got me up to third. The same two Bultacos simply left me... I couldn't even see them after lap 2. I was in 3rd, but it felt like I was leading. I'm so used to chasing someone (like Dean), I got un-nerved, and then I made the mistake of looking behind. I saw the two Aermacchis of Paul Gaudio and Craig Breckon, who had borrowed the ex-Mert Lawwill Aermacchi 350. Next lap Paul Gaudio was gone due to a mysterious engine ailment that no-one could figure out all weekend. However, Craig and another rider were gaining slowly. On the last lap he passed me in the esses, but blew a shift coming out of the last corner, so I got third after all, actually second I found out later, because #2 Bultaco pulled out due to a broken frame.

Sunday, race 2.
Had a lot of time to reconsider my riding and focus. I was determined not to ride poorly like yesterday. Still on the 4th row, I got another good start and got to the top of turn 1 in 4th. Craig Breckon had got the holeshot and was leading, with 2 Bultacos and me in hot pursuit. They got by on lap 1, and the four of us came out of the last corner as a mini freight train. Craig and I went over the start/finish line side by side and then I passed him on the outside of turn 1 heading up the hill... into 3rd! The 2 Bultacos and I went round lap after lap. I even passed #2 going up turn 1, but he repassed immediately going into turn 2. On lap 5 we all had to get around a backmarker, and got spread out. #2 Bultaco slowed on the last 2 laps, but my extra speed that closed the gap was too late and the flag fell.

Compared to the huge crowd on Saturday, Sunday's attendance was way down. The weather cooperated- cool in the mornings, and sun and wind most of the day. The 2 announcers had verbal diarrhea and drove a lot of people crazy. Notably absent were Team Obsolete. Arguably the highest profile, best financed, most historic team with very talented riders, the ongoing lawsuits and animosity between Rob Ianucci (Team Obsolete), and AHMRA prevent this event from getting REALLY big. Sears Point (Sonomafest) has no big draw. The announcers would have you beleive otherwise, hype came pouring out of those loudspeakers to the point of ad naseum. That, plus racing bikes at full throttle for 3 days really gave my ears a ringing. Despite wearing earplugs all weekend, it still took my ears a full day to recover. But I'll be back next year...

A very beautiful day for racing. Lots of sun, and the usual headwind on the long straight. Portland is a fast track, very flat, and it will reward you if you have a fast bike and know how to keep your corner speeds high.

A new front tire (Dunlop KR825), the skinniest inner tube I could find, plus milling and drilling my rear backing plate, and lighter rear springs had got the weight of my bike down to 218 lbs. It's a 350 that thinks it's a 750! This is all fine, but practice was on Friday, Endurance racing Saturday, and we (Terina and I) didn't show up until Sunday AM. I haven't seen Portland since last year, haven't ridden for 3 weeks, and have a fine plan on how to scrub in a new tire, and get up to speed in a few warm-up laps. No problem... In truth, I was slow, the track was cold, and my confidence was low.

Race 1.
The day had warmed considerably, and the knowledge of better traction helped my confidence. I like to go last for the warmup lap, but I waited too long and wasn't allowed out! My plan, my plan... We all lined up the flag went and we were away! First lap was a traffic jam, but that sorted out, and I soon learned to like my new Dunlop front tire. By lap five I'd closed on a CB350 in third place, but at turn 4, I suddenly had no power going to the rear wheel. My hand went up and I pulled over. I thought my chain had broken, but that was OK, and the two guys I'd just passed were now repassing me, and then I realized with my new lean angle the shift lever had hit the ground and slipped into a false neutral... so I engaged a gear and got going again. I ended up fourth, behind a Suzuki 500 Titan (first place), and (2) CB350's. These bikes all outpower me on the straights.

Between races I lowered the fork tubes .25", and added a bit of preload to the rear springs. I also imagined I could lean off like the guys in magazines. There was about 5 hours between races, so I had a lot of time...

Race 2.
Made sure I made it to the warmup lap, after learning about Portland's 30 second rule. (They'll only wave that green flag for 30 seconds before closing the track). There's nothing quite like that big roar of Vintage Iron as they "rocket" away down the grid. I know the speeds don't even come close to those of modern machinery, but it's still very exciting. This time I could see the first (3) riders in 500, and I slowly closed as we threaded our way through a few 750's. By lap 4 I was behind them, and watched a major battle as I tried to figure out how to pass. The Suzuki 500 (with 60 rear wheel HP) was blazing fast on the straights, but handled poorly with the front end pushing hard in the corners. The two 350's were all over it in the turns. First one got by, then the other, and time was running out, it was last lap, my turn. I got by on the last corner to take a third, but it still didn't get me on the podium. I went home with a 4th and a few points for the SOTP championship. Next Sunday, Seattle Raceway, another points race.

PS: Chris Kerber, where were you?

I call Seattle Raceway my home track, even though it's 3 hours away. I love the back section with the downhill hairpin, the esses, and the elevation changes. You don't want to come off in turn 7; there's only about 8 feet of runoff before you slam into the tires, and all the talk of an "air-fence" has yet to produce one. Seattle has had it's golden days. I, for one, remember an AMA Superbike race there back in the eighties, and witnessed Freddie Spencer, Wes Cooley, and Eddie Lawson ripping up the track in spectacular fashion. However, Seattle isn't very "international" anymore. It has become rundown, and management has lost virtually all the big races. But, as a club track, it seems to be thriving: witness 83 new novices for the start of the 2001 season.

I had planned to leave in Friday night, stay at a friends' place in Seattle, and get there early for Saturday practice. Having stomach flu on Friday changed all that. I was still weak when I left early Saturday. It was a beautiful day, and quite a few Vintage bikes were out. Once again, my main competion was CB350's, this time three of them: Dean Hubble, Jon Munns and Chris Page. I still wasn't feeling great, but practice went well. Practice didn't go well for Pete, the new guy to Vintage racing. He crashed his Triumph 750 going downhill into turn 3, broke his pelvis, and had to be airlifted out in a helicopter. As he was lying in the grass beside the track, with one leg at an impossible angle, he said," this is the second time I've done this. It doesn't hurt now, but it's going to hurt like hell later."

Race 1: A lot of 750's showed up, and we all took off in a big roar. All the CB 350's were ahead of me by turn 1. By lap 3, Dean was gone, and it was Jon, Chris and me. They would gap me on the straights, and I would close back up on the corners. On the last lap, Chris screwed up on turns 6/7 and I got by, but after the Bus-stop (turn 10), which I screwed up, he simply out-motored me to the flag. When we got our lap times, Dean had done some 1:49's, which was simply amazing! He was already fast, and then took THREE SECONDS off his best time in that race. I don't know how he did it, and I'm not sure he quite knows either...

Race 2:
Basically a repeat of Race 1. Dean didn't go quite as quick, but still finished 50ft ahead of Jon. I was slowly closing on Chris, who was also faster in this race. My times were 1:52 for all laps, so I took a second off my previous best, but could still only manage 4th. Just goes to show how much more competitive Vintage is getting. I need MORE HP, so will try another megaphone on the dyno.

At the rider's meeting, we were told NOT to crash in practice, and NOT to crash in the race either. Apparently, not everyone was listening. Twnty-three riders crashed during the day, so there was a fair amount of carnage. Luckily, no Vintage riders went down.

At the track, there's a bit of seperation between Vintage and Sportbike riders, sometimes referred to as "Squids". We usually camp out under the big trees, on the grass, in the shade. On the other hand, the sportbike riders like to be on the asphalt, in the sun, with noisy generators in every second pit. For the first time yesterday, I heard our area referred to as the "Vintage Ghetto". Well, if that's so, it's right outside of "Squid City"!

I'd been building a fence for two days, hadn't worked on my bike, HAD missed practice, and wasn't feeling particularly motivated. I left home Saturday after supper, and arrived at SIR around 11:30 pm, after being pulled over and given a warning for rolling through the only stop sign between the highway and the track. The drag racers had mostly gone home, so I found a spot under the trees, and parked the van. I've been told vintage racers park under the trees because with the advancement of years comes the need for more oxygen.

Up at 6AM to walk the track with my dog, Amber. This is somewhat of a ritual. To walk the track is to see it very differently. How smooth the asphalt is, or how NOT smooth it is. Cars can really rip up the inside of a corner. Elevation changes are so much more obvious, as is the camber of certain corners. I also found a hose-clamp, a spring, and a handful of nuts and bolts. None were drilled for safety wire. As I walked, I thought about the upcoming race...

It was not a SOTP (Sounds of the Past) event, so there would be less Vintage bikes on the grid. I was still coming to terms with the fact that Dean, my Nemesis, was now three seconds a lap faster than me. I guess that's one of the downs of having a transponder. Unless technology fails, you can always get your lap times. In the morning warm-up, my lap times were slow. Dean HAD practiced on Saturday, HAD scuffed in his new front tire, and was riding very well. Thank you for passing me on the outside of turn two. Thank you.

Meanwhile, Amber, the dog with four hollow legs, had discovered the neighbours' leftover pizza, sitting in a frying pan on top of his campstove. The absent neighbour is probably still wondering who took his pizza. Amber, bad dog, again.

Race One saw the 250 class most heavily populated... Honda 160's have swelled the ranks considerably. Their riders' take pride in the low budget required to get these small machines on the track.There were only three of us in 500. After the start, Dean was gone pretty quickly, turning a couple of 1:49's while chasing the two leading 750's. I was second, circulating anti-clockwise in an uninspired fashion.

Race One is usually at 10:30 AM, followed by Race Two at 3:30 PM. Lots of time for hanging out, checking the bike, or, if your Triumph has blown its' transmission and your name is Bret, go home and swap gearboxes. Or how about Jerry, going home, loading the kids into the vehicle and taking them to a matinee? Both made it back for Race Two on those particular days.

Race Two was better for me. The light went green, and we all launched, that is, except for Dean. His engine was revving, his clutch was out, but his transmission was in neutral! I can honestly say I was ahead of him until turn two. Dean chased Duncan on his Nourish 750, and I chased Dean on his CB350. They were slower in this race, and I was faster. I hung with them for a few laps, before they opened a gap on the straights. My motivation had returned, and it all felt good.

On the Thursday before the race, I had my little race bike on the dyno. I had eight exhaust configurations to test, plus one had a silencer, for a total of nine. I had two styles of megaphones, and three different header lengths, plus my present pipe and last years' megaphone. There was to be no jetting changes, only exhaust pipes. The longest header length was 27.6", the same as my friends in New Zealand are using. Shortest was 20.5". After nine runs, we concluded that the 20.5" (with the bigger megaphone) was the best for top end at 36.1 rear wheel HP. The pipe I had been using was second best overall; more midrange but one HP less.

Since I switched to PVL ignition at the start of this season, I haven't had a tach. I'd been using an electronic tach with the old battery/CDI unit which produced a square wave for the signal. The PVL unit produced a sine wave, which was incompatible with the tach, and I couldn't find a tach that WAS compatible. So no tach. Some tachs run off the high tension lead, such as a Scitsu, but they don't have a great record with some riders. They've even been known to pick up a competitors' engine rpm on the pre-grid! I was resisting a mechnical tach and cable; it seemed like a step backwards. I shifted by "ear", and had experienced valve float on several occasions. The motor stops going faster, even slows, indicating it's time to shift. I'm sure I short-shifted too. To solve this problem, I went to All-Bike Centre, armed with an electric drill and easy-out. The drill, at maximum rpm, would run a stock tach at 5000 rpm. I found a Kawasaki tach that ran at 6400 rpm, just slightly more. My 8000 rpm redline was now 10,200. I told my competitors that my new titanium valves had increased my redline to over ten grand!

My rear tire was pretty worn, especially after dyno runs, so I installed a fresh one. It weighed over a pound more than my old one, a little hard to take when so much energy has been devoted to taking off weight. The only consolation was a smaller wheel weight when I did the balancing!

Race day, warmup.
It was a beautiful summer day, just right. Our warmup was first, right after riders' meeting. Despite hurrying, I missed the first lap, and only got to do three. Barely enough to get the rear tire scrubbed in. Dean was smart; he already had his leathers on at the riders' meeting. My new tach worked great, so did my titanium valves! My new pipe was louder, so when I went by the decibel meter I was on the far side of the track at partial throttle. Even so, I barely passed the 105 dB limit.

Race One.
There were a couple of lines of modern bikes given the green before us. They were Suzuki GS 500's and Bandits, or something like that. We left right after them. Dean, Chris on his CB350, and Mike on his Titan 500, got away. I was held up behind a couple of Norton 750's. I got by the first, and then passed the second Norton in the last corner of every lap, only to be passed again on the straight. Another fourth place...but it had been fun.

Race Two.
I was determined to get around the 750's to give chase, and I knew what I had to do. I passed on lap two by going around on the outside of turn two, which set me up for the inside of turn three. A few laps later I got by a Honda 750 in the same corner, and then I was behind Dean, Chris, and Mike. They had been battling since the start. Chris had slightly more top end than Dean, and the GS 500's had been holding them all up. I had a great view of all the action. Dean got by, then Chris. I passed Mike in turn nine, who then blasted by on the straight, and now it was last lap. Mike outmotored the two GS500's, and now I was held up. The Honda 750 was still behind me, so there was a freight train of seven racing for the finish. Dean won, again, and I was fourth, again...

The 500 Vintage class was sub-divided into the "Super-twins" class. All 500 bikes except for OHC and ring-dings! This gave me first place and a trophy. Highlight of the day was Paul Gaudio's wife, Kadie, getting 3rd in Supertwins on her Ducati 350. Buon compleano!

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