Racing 2021

B+Bogus said:

I was fretting about carb support with my Seeley build, but an Irish Road Racing champion I know has never had the carbs supported on his bikes, based on advice from Steve Maney.

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Never used/needed supports in the last 40 years racing, but I use radiator hose on long manifolds, not the softer Amal ones

storm42 said:

Castle combe is the race location for this weekends racing. And it is pissing down.

I have just been out for the practice session and i feel a wet track isn't the best way to learn a new circuit.

The bike seems to be running OK with the new carbs and one of the other advantages of the Mikunis is I can hold the revs at a constant 3700rpm for noise testing, this was not possible with the Amals. 102 db was the result.

It is a very fast track with a proper mickey mouse chicane which I am sure will be a bottle neck on the first lap, but we will see.

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Sounds like you'll have a quiet day with the weather and the power cuts

Fast Eddie said:

Rain, a new track and new carbs… great combo here Ralph, good luck !

What size Miks you running, 36mm ?

How did you handle the fact the ports are too close together ?

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I know, I don't make it easy do I!

They are 36mm and I had to make an extension tube with a bend in it to get the carbs to miss each other, I then made a support to go across the frame with about an inch of seat rubber on it to support the carbs, seems to work well.

First and only race yesterday could have gone better, I got swamped off the start, as I got going the spray from the other bikes was horrendous, I was struggling to see other bikes and it didn't start to clear until I got onto the second bit of straight, well I think it was a straight

When it settled down and the tires started to come to me, I started to enjoy it and made a few places, including one in class so 2nd in class was the result. I don't get anywhere near the guy I passed in the dry so perhaps he don't like the rain.

The day was cut in half due to power cuts and bad weather. Typical, my nemesis isn't here this weekend so it is a good chance to get loads of points over him and I loose a race to the weather. The weather is vindictive, it cost me a championship in 2019 due to the last meeting getting cancelled.

I used the tires recommended to me by SteveA and I didn't have one moment on them, My best lap was 8 seconds slower than the class winner, but at a new track and in the wet I am pleased with that. Might be a bit different today though, the sun is out.

out in three races time so will soon know.

B+Bogus said:

I was fretting about carb support with my Seeley build, but an Irish Road Racing champion I know has never had the carbs supported on his bikes, based on advice from Steve Maney.

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The bike has been together since 2017 and the carbs haven't fell off but the last time I took the motor out they had just started to drop, Moto55uk noticed that Norman Whites bikes had supports so I figured it cannot hurt.

Seeley920 said:

Sounds like you'll have a quiet day with the weather and the power cuts

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Getting a bit hot here today.

This is what I came up with, they can still wobble about but have some support.

storm42 said:

The bike has been together since 2017 and the carbs haven't fell off but the last time I took the motor out they had just started to drop, Moto55uk noticed that Norman Whites bikes had supports so I figured it cannot hurt.

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Maybe just replace those tired rubbers once in a while !?

storm42 said:

This is what I came up with, they can still wobble about but have some support.

View attachment 81546

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Simple and effective

Sunday and the sun is back for race 1 and this place has some very fast corners, I like it, but I was back where I belong in the results, the guy I beat in the wet (900 Seeley Weslake) was about 4 seconds a lap quicker than me in the dry, well, his best lap was 4 seconds quicker. His best wet lap was 6 seconds slower than mine, I need to stop following the super monos and get on with it, the trouble is they punch out of the corners better and are quick to boot, so I need to learn how to out brake them, which could get painful.

Race 2 went horribly wrong for my mate, actually it never started for him. A guy on a 1260 Kawasaki out braked him self going into the first right hander on the warm up lap and took out my mate, the Kawasaki caught fire and the race was delayed. we were kept on the line and as I felt the bike would start with a push since fitting the Mikunis, I stopped the motor.

When we were ready to go, a marshal gave me a push and it started, another plus for the Mikunis. The race was good fun, I actually passed a Rob North Trident on the second lap, but he got me back a lap later and managed to get a Mono in between us, I couldn't get past the mono but the Mono stayed with the Trident so I was only about 6 seconds behind the Trident at the end of the race, I felt this was an improvement, so ended the weekend happy.

The loony Kwack rider cost my mate a race and a lot of money for repairs to his bike, he also split his carbon helmet so there could have been much more serious consequences. If it happened in the race, it would still have been annoying but unforgivable on the warm up lap. Are we having fun yet?

Roll on Anglesea.

Wow, a crash like that on a warm up lap is just plain stupid. Hope your mate hasn’t suffered too much damage. It wasn’t the bloke with the Seeley I met at Cadwell was it ?

No, although as you mention Pete, his last session was a bit special, there was only him and one other out and he never saw him so basically he had Cadwell to himself for half an hour. Jammy git.

My mate at Castle Combe races in the super mono class with an MZ Scorpion. Footrest, carbon can, clip on, top half fairing, screen, tail unit, fairing brackets, carbon helmet and a missed race. Plus, possibly due to the tap on the head, he left his fancy memory foam mattress on top of his van when he drove off and lost that too, so all in he lost a lot of money. He works shifts and is short of time to sort it for Anglesey, he is still spitting about it now.

storm42 said:

No, although as you mention Pete, his last session was a bit special, there was only him and one other out and he never saw him so basically he had Cadwell to himself for half an hour. Jammy git.

My mate at Castle Combe races in the super mono class with an MZ Scorpion. Footrest, carbon can, clip on, top half fairing, screen, tail unit, fairing brackets, carbon helmet and a missed race. Plus, possibly due to the tap on the head, he left his fancy memory foam mattress on top of his van when he drove off and lost that to, so all in he lost a lot of money. He works shifts and is short of time to sort it for Anglesey, he is still spitting about it now.

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No offence to your MZ mate, but I’m relieved to hear it wasn’t Pete’s beautiful Seeley that got trashed !

I guess it was Neil Smith on the 1260 Kawasaki, the only other one in the entry list was ridden by Gordon Russell, and I really wouldn't expect such lunacy from Gordon, and he finished the races anyway....Gordon is well into his 70s and has many decades of experience, watch for his son Michael too, very fast.

Sounds like the Seeley Weslake is Graham Williams. Graham has been very fast in past years, championship and race winning fast. But seems to have taken a long break and is taking a while to get back to his own potential, not withstanding race pace has moved on a bit too. Graham used to ride bikes prepared by a guy who worked nights at BAE and Friday's at NRE making crankshafts.

I understand Graham is riding his own bike at the moment and as we know NRE/Weslake parts are in shorter supply!

It was Neil Smith.

It looks like Gordon only entered the one race and I don't think he practiced as he was on the back of the grid, A fast pensioner

Here is a link to the wet race, as you can see I get swamped off the start, the video is a lot clearer than the view I had, I could see bugger all until I started to go down the second straight, I was just starting to enjoy my self when I ran out of laps.

Fast Eddie said:

No offence to your MZ mate, but I’m relieved to hear it wasn’t Pete’s beautiful Seeley that got trashed !

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Seems rude to mention Pete's Seeley and not put up a pic.

Storm - you mentioned you had to splay out the Mics to fit. Besides Amals there is another brand that fits the narrow alignment of Norton ports. Keihin CRS smoothbore carbs are legal in US classic racing up to 33mm (don't know the rules in Europe.

jseng1 said:

Storm - you mentioned you had to splay out the Mics to fit. Besides Amals there is another brand that fits the narrow alignment of Norton ports. Keihin CRS smoothbore carbs are legal in US classic racing up to 33mm (don't know the rules in Europe.

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I think we can use them, and I know they are good, but they are a bit pricey for me.

Also depends on what head you’re using. Too small for a Maney S3.

Fast Eddie said:

Also depends on what head you’re using. Too small for a Maney S3.

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I believe they also come in 35mm and 37mm, Russ at the dyno did say I could probably get away with 37s but the cost is prohibitive at my level, the money would be better spent on some track tuition.