FOAK: trackdays with a "more mature" bike?

Anyone got any idea / opinions about just how high a mileage a bike
can have before it's not worth taking on a track day?

It's just that in the last four track days that I've been on, three
ended prematurely due to mechanical failure:

1) FZR600 exhaust camshaft failed on session 2 in the morning

2) same bike, new engine, head gasket failed (well it was leaking
before the trackway, I just hadn't twigged what the problem was) just
before lunch.

3) This year, TLR radiator leak.

The TL's got over 34K miles on it and I'm wondering whether it's worth
the risk. It ticks when warm but the general consensus seems to be
that it's the scissor gears rattling - they're known to produce odd
noises.

Anyone?

 

How did this fail? As in what way did it fail? It can be because of
lubrication, dirt, cam tensioner, lobe wear... all sorts.

Doh.. leaking head gaskets can be a sign that the engine has been in an
overhead condition at some point in the past.

Radiators can get pinged with all sorts of crud. It may have been
corroded though.

Get someone to have a look / listen to it, service it, or at the very
least, give it an oil change with some good synthetic before you go to
the track.

No idea about TL noises.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Muck

That's Platy's Drifter fucked then...

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets
and Ducati Race Engineer.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

Follow this advice.

 

ITYM "more fucked"

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, sweller

Good point, well made.

I am obliged.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets
and Ducati Race Engineer.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

" "

 

Oh fucking hell.. my fuddly fingers.. Overheat not overhead...

<skulks off muttering>

 

muck@_TEETH_rulex.net (Muck) wrote in muck@_TEETH_rulex.net:

Don't let your head get overheated ;-)

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Muck

Actually, some of us would say that you should cut all your fingers
off[1] for using the phrase "in an overheat condition", when "has
overheated" would have sufficed.

[1] Or should I say "place yourself in a zero digital extremity
scenario"?

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets
and Ducati Race Engineer.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

Linked, of course [1]

[1] Yes, I know car brakes are linked anyway [2]
[2] WTF are we discussing cars for

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh

 

Flange on the end broke up. Debris worked its way along the camshaft
tunnel, thus got caught under the cam lobes. Result: three stuck
valves and one piece got punched through the cam tunnel wall,
liberating oil all over the exhausts...

Engine from a breaker. History unknown.

Corroded. In fact, I had a replacement all lined up, it just beat me
to it...

Already had someone who knows TLs listen - he reckoned it's not a
problem - probaby the scissor gears or maybe the decompressors.

I've already given it a full service at 30K miles: this includes the
valves etc. Nothing untoward.

The problem is, having been spat off at around 80 by the Head Gasket
incident and spent a month hobbling, I tend to be very cautions
nowadays.

 

Bad form etc.

I see what you meant. I always ensure that bikes have fresh oil at
most a few hundred miles before taking on a track and I *always* check
them over the day before the track day itself - be silly not to.

 

That's nasty. :/

I think that maybe Suzukis tend to get a bit noisy when they've got any
miles on them. Well.. not only Suzukis. My Yamaha is a bit noisy, but
judging by the other FZR250s I heard, they all do that sir.

Was that at a track?

 

Sounds as though you've just had some bad luck with bikes on track days,
and there's nothing much you can do about that.

 

Between Bridge and (I think) Priory on the Silverstone International
circuit - absolutely loved it. Until the crash, that is. Luckily I
hadn't got the hang of Bridge corner - kept going too deep and
squaring it off - or it might have been faster still.

 

Look on the bright side. At least there were no cars, and all the
traffic was going in the same direction.

 

What you need is a nice shiney ZX10R, just so happens that there's one for
sale just here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4568818397&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1

 

Heh! Nice try. Unfortunately I doubt I could raise more than 3 - 3.5K
ATM if I sold the TL.

I've been spending money like water lately in an effort to tart the
house up ready for sale. Once it's sold, though, I may be able to
liberate a bit of capital, depending on what I get for it...