Greetings Gentlemen: Read this entire post! I am honoured to get this opportunity to experience this enginerring marvel even if its via this forum in this life time. What a feat and pure genius. Salute to you Sir's and thank you for sharing, many of us are inspired.
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New 700cc Outfit
- Thread starter Signal
- Start date
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- Tags
- customizing sidecar two stroke
The video of Boxing Day is now on YouTube.
Classic sidecar qualifying is at 1.02,
Race 1 part 1 2:48,
Race 1 part 2 3:17,
In the rerun first race 2nd and 3rd places had a coming together over the railway lines and took each other out, one bright side of us not being out there is we could have been tangled up with them as our lap times were very similar.
Race 2 4:42
Not much footage of the RD unfortunately. You see it a bit more on bike footage from Dave and Dans bike Triumph 750.
The red bike with speed blocks has a standard XS motor being flogged to within an inch of its life by a young crew .
Classic sidecar qualifying is at 1.02,
Race 1 part 1 2:48,
Race 1 part 2 3:17,
In the rerun first race 2nd and 3rd places had a coming together over the railway lines and took each other out, one bright side of us not being out there is we could have been tangled up with them as our lap times were very similar.
Race 2 4:42
Not much footage of the RD unfortunately. You see it a bit more on bike footage from Dave and Dans bike Triumph 750.
The red bike with speed blocks has a standard XS motor being flogged to within an inch of its life by a young crew .
Very cool !
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing.
Best qualifying time. 
Why didn't you guys make the restart?
Why didn't you guys make the restart?
Jim, in post #94 I mentioned that I had been suffering from bouts of motion sickness from time to time for over four years now.
It hits after the race and has been increasing in severity and also needs less motion to trigger it.
All the tricks to combat motion sickness don’t work.
The problem I have is called motion triggered Mal Dis Embarquement syndrome. So far I don’t think there is any effective way to prevent it other than avoiding the triggering motion.
About 10 minutes after the first race was red flagged I was in the pits with my head in a bucket looking at my breakfast again and in no condition to go out again.
The next day I was still dry reaching and gave in and went to the emergency Doctors who gave me an injection to settle it. I do not want to be that ill again, and I also let my friend down. This is the first time I have been too ill to race.
I have given the racing away we have a new passenger for the bike she is an experienced F1 passenger so should go well once she comes to grips with the classic.
I will continue to be involved but won’t be on the track in the foreseeable future.
It hits after the race and has been increasing in severity and also needs less motion to trigger it.
All the tricks to combat motion sickness don’t work.
The problem I have is called motion triggered Mal Dis Embarquement syndrome. So far I don’t think there is any effective way to prevent it other than avoiding the triggering motion.
About 10 minutes after the first race was red flagged I was in the pits with my head in a bucket looking at my breakfast again and in no condition to go out again.
The next day I was still dry reaching and gave in and went to the emergency Doctors who gave me an injection to settle it. I do not want to be that ill again, and I also let my friend down. This is the first time I have been too ill to race.
I have given the racing away we have a new passenger for the bike she is an experienced F1 passenger so should go well once she comes to grips with the classic.
I will continue to be involved but won’t be on the track in the foreseeable future.
I suffer from positional vertigo. I feel your pain buddy. 
Chief Mechanic has a nice ring to it.
Chief Mechanic has a nice ring to it.
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I hope that your condition improves or that you find an effective treatment.
I have read that vestibular rehabilitation therapy can be helpful.
I had this disorder when I was a child; couldn't get into a car. It finally cleared up after a year's time.
New treatments for vestibular conditions may appear on the horizon.
I have read that vestibular rehabilitation therapy can be helpful.
I had this disorder when I was a child; couldn't get into a car. It finally cleared up after a year's time.
New treatments for vestibular conditions may appear on the horizon.
Scripto VU
Dukes Speed and Custom
Now that you realize that your health is delicate when you race and you made the tough decision to put it on hold. You should not worry about anything. We are all getting older and have to make like decisions. I hope you rest a lot, take on a new role and preserve the joy that has always been in your heart with your motorcycle endeavors. You adventures have certainly enriched our lives on this site. I applaud your judgement and decision.
Dana
Dana
I appreciate Dana's thoughtful remarks, but I have a different perspective.
My attitude in this circumstance is to encourage, "Don't give up on the Dream".
Overcome obstacles, if possible.
Continue to pursue treatments/solutions, even ones that seem unusual.
I am imagining you back in the seat of this brilliant machine.
My attitude in this circumstance is to encourage, "Don't give up on the Dream".
Overcome obstacles, if possible.
Continue to pursue treatments/solutions, even ones that seem unusual.
I am imagining you back in the seat of this brilliant machine.
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.....and I encourage people to be skeptical of their doctor's opinions, especially when they are pessimistic.
We know ourselves better than any doctor, and sometimes the person with the ultimate, creative solution is us.
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We know ourselves better than any doctor, and sometimes the person with the ultimate, creative solution is us.
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A rather wordy update, the bike was last raced at the Pukekohe 2 day classic meeting in early February and is going to Hampton downs next Sunday for a one day meeting. The outfit has now done 6 hours.
At the meeting it showed flashes of brilliance but didn’t really feature due to fuelling problems and initial under gearing.
Next Sunday will be its last outing until the have a go day sometime later in autumn.
The bike went well but appeared to be having fuel starvation problems on the back straight. We tried up jetting but this made the problem occur earlier down the straight. We think the return from the fuel manifold may be syphoning or that the fuel pump could be too small.
We were given a tip from a local sidecar builder who runs a ball valve in the return line to the fuel tank. On the start line he closes the valve for the race but opens it at other times. We will try this first this weekend.
The clutch worked well the extra 250ml of oil did no harm and oil did not froth out the gearbox breather. The gear box is holding up for now so that’s good.
After pulling the clutch and top end off for checking we found a few problems. The modified pressure plate on the clutch had worn the outer friction plate badly. This was replaced.
As expected the home cut reed valves were worn out, we will now replace these every 5 hours. We are trying some carbon fibre reeds (also home cut) this time.
The biggest worry is the liners have moved in the barrels despite my best efforts at pinning them. They were easily corrected by putting heat in the cylinder and pressing them back. We are now trying to think of a viable fix for this problem.
The new passenger is a star. She has asked if we could add/extend a handle on the platform for her though. One has been bolted on to try. If she gives it the OK then it can be welded in place.
We left the track before prize giving and travelling home we got a message saying we had won a trophy for mechanical excellence. A local sidecar rider brought it home for us and took it to his shop.
We didn’t even know such a trophy existed but felt very gratified that our work was recognised by the judges.
Today I went to town and picked up the trophy, when at home after reading the names of the previous winners I was stunned. Some of the more notable names are Vince Sharpe, George Barber, Dave Cole, Kevin Swantz, Ken McIntosh and John Surtees.
After that I got a lump in my throat, it is such a huge honour to have our names on this trophy.
At the meeting it showed flashes of brilliance but didn’t really feature due to fuelling problems and initial under gearing.
Next Sunday will be its last outing until the have a go day sometime later in autumn.
The bike went well but appeared to be having fuel starvation problems on the back straight. We tried up jetting but this made the problem occur earlier down the straight. We think the return from the fuel manifold may be syphoning or that the fuel pump could be too small.
We were given a tip from a local sidecar builder who runs a ball valve in the return line to the fuel tank. On the start line he closes the valve for the race but opens it at other times. We will try this first this weekend.
The clutch worked well the extra 250ml of oil did no harm and oil did not froth out the gearbox breather. The gear box is holding up for now so that’s good.
After pulling the clutch and top end off for checking we found a few problems. The modified pressure plate on the clutch had worn the outer friction plate badly. This was replaced.
As expected the home cut reed valves were worn out, we will now replace these every 5 hours. We are trying some carbon fibre reeds (also home cut) this time.
The biggest worry is the liners have moved in the barrels despite my best efforts at pinning them. They were easily corrected by putting heat in the cylinder and pressing them back. We are now trying to think of a viable fix for this problem.
The new passenger is a star. She has asked if we could add/extend a handle on the platform for her though. One has been bolted on to try. If she gives it the OK then it can be welded in place.
We left the track before prize giving and travelling home we got a message saying we had won a trophy for mechanical excellence. A local sidecar rider brought it home for us and took it to his shop.
We didn’t even know such a trophy existed but felt very gratified that our work was recognised by the judges.
Today I went to town and picked up the trophy, when at home after reading the names of the previous winners I was stunned. Some of the more notable names are Vince Sharpe, George Barber, Dave Cole, Kevin Swantz, Ken McIntosh and John Surtees.
After that I got a lump in my throat, it is such a huge honour to have our names on this trophy.
Congratulations from one of your ardent fans !!
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Now there's a trophy only a mechanic could appreciate. Well done guys!!!
Re the jugs moving. Maybe a notch and a pin at the top flange?
Re the jugs moving. Maybe a notch and a pin at the top flange?
firing every 90 degrees would require re-balancing, and even then 2 up/2 down should be smoother.Since lean angle isn't a problem.... you could hang something the size of a VW distributor off the end of the crank. Direct drive would give you 4 pops at 90deg's per rotation. Imagine that exhaust note. You'd think you'd died and gone to heavan...
That's gonna be true no matter the timing. I don't envy you that task...
A small update.
After a disappointing trip to the dyno we decided something was wrong.
Stripping the engine, we found one carb was flooding and one of the liners was starting to drop in the barrel. The head O ring had almost burnt away.
While the cylinders were off, I added some further pins to stop the liners dropping. The new pins are partway up the bore between the transfer and exhaust port closing, so they don’t have to seal against compression pressures.
We thought it was time for some more power, so the exhaust port was raised and also widened. The transfers were not altered.
Last weekend was the bikes first outing with the new porting. What a transformation, there is now more power, and it is higher up in the rev range. The downside is that the clutch was slipping.
The bike required a bit of relearning how to ride but by the end of the meeting the crew were getting the hang of it. The results were 4th, 4th, 2nd, DNF.
Strangely the DNF made the weekend for me, they had qualified badly and without a rolling grid they were starting from row 3 all weekend. At the start they blitzed through the field and were first into the corner. Sadly, the clutch then gasped its last cashed in its chips and all drive was lost.
The bike now has some real power my mate described it as F..ing fast.
This is good as we haven’t even looked at bigger carbs, or easy mods.
We are now working on a new clutch probably a lock up. However, this will require side cover, and exhaust mounting mods.
After a disappointing trip to the dyno we decided something was wrong.
Stripping the engine, we found one carb was flooding and one of the liners was starting to drop in the barrel. The head O ring had almost burnt away.
While the cylinders were off, I added some further pins to stop the liners dropping. The new pins are partway up the bore between the transfer and exhaust port closing, so they don’t have to seal against compression pressures.
We thought it was time for some more power, so the exhaust port was raised and also widened. The transfers were not altered.
Last weekend was the bikes first outing with the new porting. What a transformation, there is now more power, and it is higher up in the rev range. The downside is that the clutch was slipping.
The bike required a bit of relearning how to ride but by the end of the meeting the crew were getting the hang of it. The results were 4th, 4th, 2nd, DNF.
Strangely the DNF made the weekend for me, they had qualified badly and without a rolling grid they were starting from row 3 all weekend. At the start they blitzed through the field and were first into the corner. Sadly, the clutch then gasped its last cashed in its chips and all drive was lost.
The bike now has some real power my mate described it as F..ing fast.
This is good as we haven’t even looked at bigger carbs, or easy mods.
We are now working on a new clutch probably a lock up. However, this will require side cover, and exhaust mounting mods.
A just reward for a Sterling effort. Keep it up, it’s great to read.
Signal, I somehow missed this thread first time round. Very impressed with all your hard work...
. It is hard to describe how much this thread has boosted my enthusiasm for motorcycles.
. It is hard to describe how much this thread has boosted my enthusiasm for motorcycles.
