Over here, we have enough bikes to fill a grid at a short circuit meeting and two grids for a real roads race. You will see plenty of genuine, period race bikes in historic parades.
For those who haven't done classic racing, it's hard to overstate just how tough it is on old bikes. Owners of genuine, historic machines will take them out for an occasional canter and make some noise to entertain the crowd, but that's it. When classic racing began, all the machines were period and all the parts needed to keep them going were period. Over the years, many of those period parts became very scarce and prohibitively expensive, so they made replica parts to keep the old bikes going, and from there, the complete replica emerged. It's hard for some people who knew the scene and raced during the period to accept replicas, and they don't like knee-down, ultra-sticky tyres, CB 350 Hondas and 6 speed 'boxes, etc, because it isn't what it was like back in the day. And they're right, it isn't. But take those away and you would be left with just historic parades. Classic racing has to be a formula if it is to survive and prosper 42 years after the cut-off date, otherwise it will wither.
As far as that G50 engined Norton is concerned, replica parts or originals, it just looks wrong.[/quote]
I only do the short circuits here as not keen on the road races, what you say about racing being hard on old bikes is true, thanks to that the BMW and I did 20 races in 2012 had one DNF ( blown fuse) and won the series.
http://www.nzcmrr.com/results/2012
We have two classic racing clubs here, the pre 1976 no jappers one and the all encompassing Post Classic one, they can't run meets without each other but the pre 76 ones want to live in the past.
There are dumb rules like " no Japanese parts unless originally fitted" and " tyres must be of a treaded type" ,superchargers, but you can fit a tt gearbox, change the bore/stoke etc.....
I don't mind what parts are fitted , just lets not pretend its Period Classic racing.
I'm off to the shed to crack on with the 500cc BMW racer that never was :lol:
I'd love to have a go at fitting a supercharger to a BMW....apparently they went ok till the Sour Graped ones changed the rules.