Something to remember for next time

When you think you're in 4th gear, you may still be in 3rd.

Another thing to remember is that when you bang your bike down a gear
and hit the throttle hard for what you think will be a 3rd gear
overtake, it will point the front wheel at the back screen of the car
you are now approaching at warp speed 9. This leaves you precious little
time to throttle off and swing round the back of said car, hook 3rd gear
again and complete the overtake.

ZX-9Rs pull some monster wheelies off the throttle in 2nd gear

 

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

<thinks back to TOG French trip>

Yes, it must be.

You ****.

--
Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
ZZR1100, Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"

 

Champ says...

Standard practise on a tuned 350LC as well. This one caught me by
surprise because I knew it wouldn't wheelie in 3rd unless I really tried
very hard, but I wasn't in bloody 3rd, was I.

ZZR11s don't wheelie like that, nor do Thunderaces, but I'm not going
back.

 

The CBR caught me out the other night - kicked it down to second to hoon
past a line of cars, and up it popped - to be fair, I think it hit a bit of
a bump just as it came on cam, so that probably made the difference over the
norm - given I've eaten all the pies, wheelies purely off the throttle tend
to be reserved for first gear only.

 

Now there's one thing I do miss about riding on the road.

 

Stopped have you?

 

Yep, apart from the occasional trip into work on the dodgy Fazer.

 

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

Briefly, I suspect.

"A man has to know his limitations."

--
Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
ZZR1100, Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"

 

Bear says...

I really didn't think it would loft quite so violently in 2nd, but it
did. I admit I was being thoroughly hamfisted with the throtle control,
but as I thought I'd down changed into 3rd and not 2nd, I reckoned I
could get away with it.

Looking back on it, it really was quite exciting. I haven't had that
kind of experience since I owned the Beckett tuned RD400 in 1981/2.

 

Bear says...

I'm hoping to blag a muchly discounted new Ohlins 46PRCLS in the near
future. They are 585 quid retail, but I'm not willing to pay that. I
realised today that I would appreciate a steering damper, it got a bit
flappy on more then one occasion today, so I'm keeping an eye on eBay
for Ohlins SD121 dampers with whatever fitting kit that they come with.
I can buy a complete new Harris Ohlins damper fitting kit for 60 quid as
Harris have them on a special offer at the moment. The kit I get with
whatever damper I buy will just end on ebay again or be sold to whoever
here wants it. Even if I have to buy a brand new set up complete, with
the fitting kit being discounted so heavily it still only comes to 220
quid.

Maybe the choice of tyres needs to be looked at too, because the
suspension is now quite well set up for my slender frame but it's
twitchy at the front. I know the head bearings aren't to blame as I've
replaced them and the adjustment is spot on. At the moment I have D207s
on, but I want to change them as soon as the pair are worn out for
something a bit stickier. I only fitted a new D207 rear because the rear
was fucked but the front was like new when I bought the bike, and I
wasn't going to throw a good tyre out. Had both needed replacing I'd
probably have gone for a pair of 010s or whatever Bridgestone have
replaced them with.

I'm beginning to sound like I'm planning to keep this bike. How weird is
that? It's already been treated to a tyre, steering head bearings, chain
and sprockets, double bubble screen, Scottoiler with touring kit, CL
front pads, EBC non HH rear pads, a brake caliper overhaul and I welded
the cracks in the L/H fairing panel and had it professionally painted
with new genuine decals. All I need to do now is get the swing arm paint
sorted to make it perfect and then ride the fucking thing a bit more.

 

Bear says...

That is the expensive model, the same type you had on your 9R and the
same as the one Bonners has on his. Only one shock is listed for the
1999 model[1] 9R, and that has remote hydraulic preload adjustment,
compression and rebound damping adjustment, ride height adjustment etc
etc.

Nicely made though. The 9R one at 60 quid comes with a lovely new alloy
screen brace as well. You won't find a genuine Ohlins one anywhere in
this country.

I loved the 207RRs I ftted to the Thunderace, they really suited the
bike and gave me bags of confidence to throw it around. They never gave
one single moment's concern. I wouldn't want to do a track day on these
normal D207s.

I was hoping at some point to ride down to see some family in Malta. I
have a cousin's wedding to attend down there.

[1] Apparently the '99 model C2 shock is different to the '98 C2's. The
Ohlins fork springs have a different part number too. Mmmmm, Ohlins kit,
it's just so addictive.

 

Or, indeed, when you think you're in fourth when you're really in third
and you knock it down two gears for that second gear corner in the
wet...

Apparently it looked superb

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
Extreme Racing http://www.veggie-dave.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

Veggie Dave says...

Reversed gearchanges always catch me out. I nearly lobbed my RD250E on
my 17th birthday when it suddenly locked the back wheel. I'd changed
into what I thought would be third at max revs in 2nd, not remembering
that it was the FS1E I had for a year previously that had the all 4 down
gear pattern, and not the RD I was on. RDs don't like being slammed into
first gear when flat out in 2nd.

I did the same on a mate's RD400E race bike, with home-made rear-sets
too.

 

Bear says...

I had 207RRs not GPs, I source them from the guy who supplies the R6 Cup
racers. They were definitely more confidence inspiring than 010s, but as
you point out, that could just be psychological.

As an aside, I fitted D207GPs to my Firestorm on the advice of a mate,
this was after I'd had Maxton revalve my forks as well. The GPs made the
bike so unstable and prone to serious flapping that I took them off
after 350 miles and gave them to a mate with a 7R. Funnily enough, the
same mate who'd recommended them to me after I'd thrown the 500 mile old
standard and fucking awful D204s at another mate for his 7R. I think he
knew what he was doing, the fucker. I fitted D207RRs to that bike just
as they came out, but it was 6 years ago and I can't remember how they
felt on that. I do remember they didn't last more than 2500 miles a pair
though.

Should be a laugh, my cousins over there are all pissheads and a good
scream to be around.

Correctamundo, E models take a 190 rear tyre on a slightly wider rim.
The rear shock on the E is shorter because there's a ride height
adjuster built into the frame. Bonner has managed to fit a C2 Ohlins
shock into his E, but the ride height adjuster is set pretty much right
down on the bottom.

I meant that between the 98 and 99 models, the C2 changed slightly in
the suspension department for some reason. The fork springs are
definitely a different length.