Racing again (at last)

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SteveA said:
Can of worms here we go....chatter to me is something that happens when fully leant over, going on or off throttle may induce it.

Here you guys are talking something else, which occurs goung from upright to leant over. The picture is taken in a straight line, and I have to say that man does not look comfortable! He might consider the riding position, adjusting seat, footpegs and handlebars to accomodate him rather than the previous rider.

The issue may be related to weight transfer under braking and how smoothly he is able to apply and let off the brakes. He may also need to consider how he is using the rear brake, and if he should!

Once he has sorted that......spring rates suitable for his weight?....tyre pressures

Lots of argument going on about suitable rear shocks for genuine TZ frames, based on shock length and mounting. Spondon probably used a genuine shock at first!, but I doubt it has one on today.

All of the issues apply to Commandos or any bike.

Mystery issue on a Commando! When I raced my Fastback in the mid '70s, I could induce a hopping of the rear wheel particularly going downhill into Cadwell Park's Mansfield Corner, it went away if I tightened the chain (see Eddie's comments).
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His riding position is age related, he struggles to walk these days with arthritis.

We were told about not using the rear brake and we put a couple of inner tube rubber bands round it to make sure he wasn't pressing it unconsciously. We took it to a track day the other week because he had fitted a new rear shock and we did a lot of playing around with that setting the static sag etc. We changed the oil in the forks and changed the amount 3 times.

Ant Hart suggested different tires so there are some Metzelers on the way, this makes sense to us because back in the day everyone used Dunlops. The only problem now is, it only seems to have this problem at Cadwell, Ant said it won't be a problem at Darley.
 
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Moto55UK said:
Nice looking 350G/H with campagnolo wheels, definately on my lust list! Mine was a 350E with a G spec engine carbs and exhaust. The RG your friend has , what spec is it ? in the past i was very intermate with the workings of the Mk6,7&9 lovely engines . That program from scarborough dependant on the year has it got a D. Griffith listed?

All this talk of 2 strokes is getting me over excited , can someone steer this thread back to Nortons , or at least offer a cure for " 2 stroke Chatter".
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It could be to hard fork springs if it happens under braking, or not. All I can say is that you can save yourself a whole lot of work if you send just your forks to someone like Maxton
 
Bernhard said:
It could be to hard fork springs if it happens under braking, or not. All I can say is that you can save yourself a whole lot of work if you send just your forks to someone like Maxton
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It would but he is an adopted Yorkshire man. :)
 
storm42 said:
Right, Steve, Mike and Fred, my entries are in for Darley. Hope to see you all there. I might be riding in the Thunderfest the following day if Frank gets enough entries, the year is looking up.
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Ralph , when you say Thunderfest do you mean the COVIDFEST at Teeside autodrome? If so I will see you there.
 
Can we get this thread back on track talking about TZ's? :D I had my original TZ shock fully rebuilt by Maxton about £230 two years ago. enough of TZ's, honest!
 
FastFred said:
Can we get this thread back on track talking about TZ's? :D I had my original TZ shock fully rebuilt by Maxton about £230 two years ago. enough of TZ's, honest!
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Are you bringing your TZ to Darley? Steve will be there with his.
 
;)Yes and the funny thing (not really) is this. I haven't been on one since I packed in racing in 1992 as the (now0 wife got herself pregnant spoiling my IOM dreams (for some years). I bought one about 3 years ago, a Maxton G engine. It was Andy McGladdery's bike but had sat for years. Several few thousand pounds later virtually new engine, 6 gears, new mainshaft blah blah I had a great bike. I took it to Castle Combe start of last year for it's debut registering it that morning with John Davidson. First practise I get down to the entry to the grid and it overheats 80degs plus. It was a split second decision but I went back to the van and the thermostat was leaking. As it was an odd size I though stuff it and bought a new radiator, evilbays finest and all is good. So I then eventually take it to Darley and enter it in the classic race. Like a prat I didn't take my k4 as back up. First practise I sit in the waiting area, nervous to say the least. The engine is getting a bit too hot but the sidecars eventfully come in after their inevitable oil dump on track and clean up routine - a common occurrence. They waive us out and I leave at the back. Few laps on this , check the suspension isn't a mile out and I will p*ss this race and these old duffers I thought or be thereabouts... ;) I let the clutch out and there is no power whatsoever so packed up and went home, fearing something major. To cut a long story short I am absolutely convinced that it's because I didn't rev the sh*t out of it on the takeoff and it was way out of the powerband - I have been through everything on the bike and it holds 10,000rpm no problem without load. I'm taking it to Darley practise day Aug 8th with my k4 to check it out again. I hope it is me that was an idiot but I only recalled over winter that launch requires shed loads of revs and feels like you are towing a truck initially as the gearing is high. There, I said enough of the TZ's..
 
I run Vortex clip ons which you can easily replace a bar without having to even remove the clamp off the fork and I always keep two extra bars in my kit, they are not expensive for spare bars. Vortex have a simple machined aluminum look as well.
 
My clip-ons are made of steel and bronze-welded. Aluminium tanks are expensive. When you drop the bike, you need something for it to slide on. Also the ends of the bars poke through the grips by about an inch and are rounded-off, not plugged. The plugged ones can be dangerous in a crash, if the end of the bar hits you. Mostly when you crash, you are off the bike, but sometimes you can get tangled-up with it.
 
Chris said:
Mike
Is that Seeley 920 John?
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Sorry no, this is the 920 commando i'm talking about and John is a fearless pilot who is not afraid of taking on much faster bikes , as he found out at the Classic TT parade lap when 2 much faster bikes passed us going into Ramsey, John gave chase only to end up in the wall at the top of May Hill! At the last thunderfest he rode at he got a written warning off Frank Melling ! I try my best to calm him down but it doesnt always work.
Racing again (at last)
 
A TZ is good to race if everybody else is riding them. But Seeley Commandos are much more gratifying. I would not try to race a near-standard Commando unless it was all I had. When you buy a TZ to go racing, it is like buying a table-tennis bat to play table tennis, but much more expensive. Buying a Seeley Commando is more like buying a harp to play in an orchestra. The music you make with it is much more beautiful.
 
With a two-stroke, if you change the handling to get it to corner faster, you are really putting your life at risk. The power band is usually too sudden for any mistakes. That 26 degree rake on the TZ frame is probably conservative, and for a reason. I think the Maxton TZ frames were different. I have only ever seen one in Australia and I know the guy who imported it. It would definitely be worth having. From memory, I think the guy who won the TT with a Maxton TZ 350 was John Williams.
 
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Wow Mike John sounds like fun
Used to be a quick 920 yellow peril races with the vintage club.
God Darleys looking good
 
FastFred said:
;)Yes and the funny thing (not really) is this. I haven't been on one since I packed in racing in 1992 as the (now0 wife got herself pregnant spoiling my IOM dreams (for some years). I bought one about 3 years ago, a Maxton G engine. It was Andy McGladdery's bike but had sat for years. Several few thousand pounds later virtually new engine, 6 gears, new mainshaft blah blah I had a great bike. I took it to Castle Combe start of last year for it's debut registering it that morning with John Davidson. First practise I get down to the entry to the grid and it overheats 80degs plus. It was a split second decision but I went back to the van and the thermostat was leaking. As it was an odd size I though stuff it and bought a new radiator, evilbays finest and all is good. So I then eventually take it to Darley and enter it in the classic race. Like a prat I didn't take my k4 as back up. First practise I sit in the waiting area, nervous to say the least. The engine is getting a bit too hot but the sidecars eventfully come in after their inevitable oil dump on track and clean up routine - a common occurrence. They waive us out and I leave at the back. Few laps on this , check the suspension isn't a mile out and I will p*ss this race and these old duffers I thought or be thereabouts... ;) I let the clutch out and there is no power whatsoever so packed up and went home, fearing something major. To cut a long story short I am absolutely convinced that it's because I didn't rev the sh*t out of it on the takeoff and it was way out of the powerband - I have been through everything on the bike and it holds 10,000rpm no problem without load. I'm taking it to Darley practise day Aug 8th with my k4 to check it out again. I hope it is me that was an idiot but I only recalled over winter that launch requires shed loads of revs and feels like you are towing a truck initially as the gearing is high. There, I said enough of the TZ's..
Click to expand...

I have only ridden a TZ350 once, it was an E and I really struggled to get my head round its inability to move with anything less that 8000 revs on the clock, 8001 and it wanted to turn over backwards, horrible thing.
 
Doug MacRae said:
I run Vortex clip ons which you can easily replace a bar without having to even remove the clamp off the fork and I always keep two extra bars in my kit, they are not expensive for spare bars. Vortex have a simple machined aluminum look as well.
Click to expand...

I did see them but couldn't find a UK supplier, I wen't for the SES steel ones and I have another pair of steel ones that will go into the spares box and take them with me from now on. I just hope I will never need them.
 
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