Misfire Mystery

After going through Leigh's bike with a fine tooth comb it looks as though we may have finally cured the misfire. Rob re-ground the valves as we had a bit of blow back, hopefully this cured the bike running lean but did not sort the misfire. We then changed just about every sensor on the bike as we were sure it was electrical but this did not sort it. We were just about at our wits ends and finally decided to try a new wiring loom even though we had stripped and check the original one. This appears to have cured the misfire and we can only assume it was breaking down somewhere. The bike will be back on the dyno this week for final checks prior to Leigh racing at Oulton again in a weeks time.

Snetterton BSB Last Year

I pinched these couple of photos of my mate Aria Lane. He took them at the Snetterton BSB meeting last year. This was the Tigcraft KTM's first outing and the bike had only just been finished the night before the meeting. Partly due to a bit of luck with the weather (it rained for the race) we managed to bring it home in 2nd place on its debut in a European race. Not a bad result at all. Dave Pearce the one with the beard on the left it the man responsible for building the bike. This goes ot show with all the improvements over the winter its a pity we didn't manage to get to race it this year. You can see John McGuiness behind me taking a keen interest in the bikes.

Oulton Park....Swimwear Optional!!

Well, unlike Alex, unfortunately I arrived, knowing I had problems to contend with.

Firstly, my broken thumb was still in plaster but only for a short while. Upon arriving at Oulton, some expertise with a stanley knife meant my hand was free but my thumb was not going to bend anytime soon. Break out the painkillers, worry about that later.

After Rob, my step dad, had spent a week rebuilding the engine, checking sensors and other components, the bike was still misfiring. No-one could fathom out the problem or where it lie, so after disconnecting one sensor we managed to get it running without a misfire, however we didn't know what effect this had on the performance until the first session where I managed 1 lap before pulling in!

After trying numerous suggestions, we still couldn't get it running properly but I had to learn the track so decided to ride it anyway. Dinner came and the lap top came out to try different power commander settings and maps. It was only guesswork but it made the bike run a little better and by the end of the practice day, I had just managed to reach Chris' ( my team mate ) lap times.

Race day came and so did the rain. I had my reservations but was quite happy with the rain, it meant everybody would be going slower. I managed to get 4th place in the first race, which I thought was a bloody miracle! My thumb was seriously hurting, I couldn't feel the rest of my fingers in cold wet gloves and I couldn't see where I was going because my helmet had fogged up! Needless to say, that race felt like an eternity. Chris, however, was a different story. Lucky barsteward managed 1st place and did it quite easily by all accounts. Not a bad homecoming present after fighting Yeti's in Alaska!! Well, I think that's where he's been, it never really got mentioned.

The second race was cut to 5 laps (thank God!) and I managed 5th place. Chris managed to get another win - bloody showing off now, Cookie! No, seriously; well done,bud. Ok, so I didn't get a podium this weekend but all things considering I think it went rather well and believe it or not I've extended my championship lead to 49 points.

Just got to sort out this mystery problem with the bike now. Hopefully I'll get it sorted before Snetterton and let Chris make do with 2nd place!

Big thanks to Rob for all your time and patience, it is much appreciated, ya little bald, fat f****r!

Alex's 'Orrible Oulton

In life we all have things that we find frustrating, I think I have finally reached that point with motorcycles. I am not sure what it is but something, somebody, somewhere is not too keen on me doing much racing this year. With the issues that have already arose this year you would think a little good fortune would not be too much to ask, but alas it was not to be.

Birdy had rebuilt the Kwacker ready for the Oulton Park Round and although we were not too confident in the forks we had borrowed I was sure I could adjust them to somewhere near what I needed. The first practice session on the Friday started well and the bike was feeling ok apart from the forks being too stiff and not having enough rebound damping on them. This session was red flagged after 3 or 4 laps due to a crash out on the circuit.

Out on circuit for the 2nd practice session and I was circulating with Mike Edwards as we started to push the pace a bit and the lap times started to tumble. Unfortunately or fortunately the session was also red flagged due to yet another crash, I pulled into the pit lane and set about adjusting the forks again when I noticed water being sprayed on to my glove. The radiator had been rubbing against the front tyre and had worn through. End of session.

A quick phone call to Birdy and he had another radiator that he could leave at Ian ‘now not so’ Popularwell’s house for his Mrs to bring on the evening. Disappointing to miss the rest of the practice day but at least I knew we would have the bike ready for race day. There was obviously an error in communication as the radiator had been left on their kitchen table, about 150 miles from where it needed to be. At least the table wouldn’t overheat! With this disastrous news I attempted to repair the radiator but alas this was all in vain as we could not get the thing to seal.

Race day came and after a long bout of sulking came round to do Leigh’s pit board for him. What made things even worse was that Rob Elsmere who was leading the championship had two DNF’s so this could have been our chance to close right back up on him.

So there you go, circa £270 for the practice and race entry fee to do a total of 8 laps. £33.75 per lap. Not too good eh ?

I’ll let Leigh tell you his Oulton Park story shortly.