Propper Preparation prevents **** poor Performance!
 

Brands for me went like this,

I had things to do Friday afternoon that I couldn't get out of, so having booked the Friday test day and a Garage I decided to go up after work (7am) and unload the bike and stuff into said Garage and maybe do the first 2 sessions.

they went like this,

Session 1 went out and rode round about as quick as I felt was sensible, got overtaken by Neil and realized that I was way off the pace.

Session 2 decided to go a bit faster, I went round Druids and the fairing scrapped on the ground, then at Graham Hill Bend the other side scrapped on the ground as well, then on the cooper strait the fairing, obviously damaged from grounding 'exploded' (as Trudi said) and got run over by whoever was behind which completely distroyed it.

Session 3, I had decided to give session 3 a go without a fairing, which went ok,,, ish

Then my afternoon was spent wondering if and when I would get time to rebuild my catch tray, and how or if I could then refit it.

the answer was about 8 to 10pm on my knees in my garage!

Saturday, a lack of proper planning meant that I had to work Saturday morning untill 7am so after work again I rushed up to Brands with recently repaird/bodged catch tray, a pile of cable ties and a big roll of duck tape and proceeded to fit/tape/cable tie the fairing back on, with some success, sadly I missed most of the practice I did the out lap then saw the checkered flag.

Qualifying went ok,, ish, I have ridden this bike a couple of times but never really pushed it hard and as such have never noticed some problems, Firstly the fairing still grounds out on both sides, when I brake hard the nose cone hits the front wheel and I can't turn in fast enough or hold a tight line when going fast, the fairing problems I could ignor or ride around for this weekend and the later could be fixed by adding a bit of rear ride height, only, it couldn't because the ride height adjuster was seized, and we couldn't move it, (we tried for at least 1 hour) I couldn't drop the front because it already was too low.

Race 1, I was 2nd on the grid and being my local track which I know so well, I believed I could keep with Neil and fight for the lead toward the end of the race (Neils getting on a bit you know) dispite the bike issues, but trying to follow Neil round Druids Hairpin the Front started to push out and I had to run wide, out onto the grass which lost me loads of time and Neil F.O.I.T.D. (F*#ked off into the distance) never to be seen again.

Race 2, I still beleived the same as Race 1, but I just couldn't keep up with Neil in the first half of the race, I did start to close the gap by the end as the old man was slowing down due to fatigue, but not nearly enough.

All said and done 2x 2nd places is a bloody good start to the year and I have got a plan of action for 'improvements' to the bike setup. and a bit of preparation.

Sadly I found the 'Brands experiance' a bit stressfull, mainly due to spending most of it on my hands and knees with bleeding knuckles, and not actually fixing anything.

It was great to meet some new people and to see 'old' friends though. And at the end of the day it was Fantastic to have 2x 2nd places and spread some 'AWESOME' Joy at the Raffle.

My 'crew' and friends all enjoyed running errands on my little Thump star, which is probably the best investment I've made, everyone should have a paddock bike!

Then I thought I'd lost my big kettle! Then Kev told me he had found it and would bring it to Mallory (what an emotional rollercoaster)

I have now taken the height adjuster rod off, cleaned and greased it and refitted it, and I have ordered a whole new fairing, which when fitted will not bang on the ground or the front wheel. and poked myself in the eye by accident which while I'm sure isn't a serious injury, it really hurts!

but I hope to be ready for Mallory and use my extra 5 bhp to give Neil a whooping!

race plan 1 alfa (stick my fingers up when I overtake Neil)

Take Care and Fair Well my fellow motorized cycle pilots!

Awesome Lawson

Hectic start for you Matt but good results never the less and NOW you have a strategy ;)

I honestly believe that whilst these tyres are brilliant they have a much rounder profile (virtually no-one got to their edges on the rears). Average 'chicken strip was between 0.25" and 0.5".

This makes them a bit slower to turn in and have a tendency to run wide, so suspension set ups from the Pirelli's won't cut it.

I definitely need more ride height but my shock doesn't have that facility :(

May be able to dial it out a bit with Compression/Rebound dampening adjustments... Unless someone has a cheap'ish shock with ride height facility going???

900ss shock a lot use as its longer, but dont think its very adjustable

Only 5mm longer Paul but could be ok ;)

It was a hectic start, yes,

But my mind is different from last year, I'm o.k. with whatever results I get this year whereas last year I just wanted to win (or crash trying)

what I'm not wanting to do is spend the year buggering about with the bike, I just want to ride it.

what is your bike? is it an SS? if it is the 900ss shocks are a bit longer they are not adjustable but increase ride height to a more appropriate level. Fine adjustment of the front to back ratio can be done with the forks.

Yes it is an SS Matt with the Forks down through the yokes a fair bit already and like yours, not really enough ground clearance.

MCT at Stowmarket sorted my forks and shock over the winter but they also agree with my thoughts, that more ride height is needed.

I don't want to throw money at it (cuz that's not what DD is about).
So on the lookout for a better (2nd hand) and preferably a ride height adjustable shock.

Where did you get that info from Alan
As far as I know a 900SS shock is the same length as that of the 600SS, unlike a 750SSie and 900SSie shocks which are 5mm longer

Great write up Matt
You mention you have now removed the ride height adjusting rod, cleaned it, greased it and refitted it.
Did you bother to lengthen it at the same time ?

senna and dave the brickie - which is why i collected one for kev he bought off ebay

Doh! Actually I have no idear how much to lengthen it so I have put it back the same. But at mallory I can adjust it and test it untill I'm happy :)

What I did note, was that there is quite a bit of adjustment there. At least an inch.

Making life difficult for yourself again Matt
If it has 1" of adjustment then why not set it halfway between where it is at the moment and maximum, then when you try it at Malllory you will soon know if you need to go longer or shorter, rather than just keep going longer in steps until you find the setting you want

That's what I meant Kev the 900SSie is 5mm longer as you told me ;)

Still think I would prefer a shock with independent Compression and Rebound damping + Ride height adjustment though.

I agree that you don't want to overdo the compression damping and compromise the feel or drive from the rear wheel but 2 clicks more in my case may improve things (until I try I won't know).
Darren @ MCT advised me to try that and 2 less on the Rebound after I reminded him of my Data Sheet settings.

A more adjustable shock would be preferable as I like a quick turning bike and could do with raising the ride height.

Kev dude is right Matt.
There's only one place an extra inch would be used all at once. :lol:
Last year I only raised the old wheezer about 5mm and that made a massive difference to how the bike held it's line on the exits. Maybe it was just in my head but it worked. :)

Old Neil. ;)

Can't see why you need to raise the ride hight! mark never had any problems last year, maybe he didn't lay it over like you do :rolleyes:

I would look at how the fairings are fitted, have you had them off & not fitted them correctly?

I am pressuming there is a weight difference between the two riders. If Matt was heavier than Mark then would this not affect the ground clearance of the bike? (Nothing personal just an observation).

Mark.
:)

Wouldn't think there is a lot in it they are both quite big chaps & I know Matt had the suspension set up by Perry at HM racing so that should be ok.

True, HM Racing re-sprung the front and the back, maybe it's not back together the same as when mark rode it, also, Mark will have a 'different' style to me and may not lean the bike as far, Mark told me that he wore through knee sliders pretty quickly, whereas I still have the first set I ever owned :).

perhaps I should 'hang off' abit more and lean a bit less, but my style seems to work for me, I'll just alter the fairing abit so I get the clearance, + a bit more ride height at the rear might make the difference anyway.

If you remember back to Donington in November, I said that I locked the front wheel a couple of times, which being a new bike, I put down to various other things, but in hind-sight it was probably just the rear ride hight.

It's only when you have the experience and when you push really hard that you know what to change and how to change it,

And I'm still learning.

Thanks Chaz - p.s. If I had cleaned and greased the bike a bit better.....?

if there was an award for least prepared person I would surely have won it,,,, Who else didn't even book the day off work :)

Matt

Chaz
 

Did you hear that I've got more BHP than the others? and I've done nothing to it, Just and oil change.

Lister was off the tyres, so dont think even the Pieman leans over more than him!! :lol:

Must be the 800 motor then:lol: :lol:

I didn't believe you when you said nobody would notice.