St George Clubsport 600 2014

[chubb]

I don't even know why Michael Blair and Sean Condon still came to do club racing that round.

I understand it's to practice for the upcoming FX round but it isn't really fair to the other club punters?

Don't they have a practice day Friday prior to the race weekend?

[Little Mick]

Why shouldnt they? (edit - Mick Blair and Sean Condon that is - not the aasa A grader coming in as a D grader..)

to be fair they are eligible for the class? Matt Harding was giving KC a run last FX and he was out having fun. and he is a C grader...

grades are there to help filter out the discrepancies...get them right and even bikes and we have a perfect world...

Igloo for sale... Bargain price

[Stu23]

Trophy hunters we used to call em in the UK when the UK's top riders turned up to a club meeting for a bit of race practice I guess it comes back tothe grading farce that is NSW.. It doesnt really matter though, unless they do every meeting it doesnt affect the clubs championship does it, just get to see them for a fraction of a second lol

[Marty]

Thanks for the replies, glad it's staying how it is for now.

Yes the problem I'm facing now is that's bike is an 07 cbr which is "late model" but it's not powerful, I get murdered in the horsepower stakes (and not always by other 06-07s) If they bring in more rules to limit the budget then fantastic, it might kick out the bigger spend bikes and put the front of the pack within reach, or do I sink a few grand into my bike trying to pump up the motor up so I can actually hold people off on the straights? It's so depressing getting dragged off by slower riders on 600s. If I'm getting killed in the HP stakes in Clubsport then surely there's no chance in 600cc?

I know what you guys are saying about clubby becoming another 600cc class in the next couple of years, but in reality don't we need another 600cc class? How big can they make the grids? Everyone coming into racing wants to be on a 600 and 5 years old is the sweet spot where they are still fresh enough that you can slap some cheap glass on them and race for years without major maintenance don't need and you can walk into a bike shop and buy parts for it off the shelf. If the move the year cap back 600cc will be dominated by the big budget guys on the latest model bike with all the trimmings and clubby will be all retro bikes (with the front guys pumping massive money into them anyway) leaving the most cost effective bang for buck bikes (5-6 years old) with nowhere to race competitively, it doesn't seem to make sense.

I don't really know what the solution is, the only thing I can think is some kind of cap on modifications. I'd rather have to take parts off my bike to be within the rules than have to add more shit to be competative.. Very hard to enforce though do I can't see it happening.

[chubb]

should run a semi superstock600 rules..

quickshift, zorst, and fuel controller. suspension limited to carts and shock or just revalved stockies. (Essentially describing my bike here)

raceglass and go racing.

[Stu23]

Id love to know what the gsxxr had done that was chasing down Nick in the 600 races...that had some serious power

[Marshy]

should run a semi superstock600 rules..

quickshift, zorst, and fuel controller. suspension limited to carts and shock or just revalved stockies. (Essentially describing my bike here)

raceglass and go racing.

Supersport is the new Superstock. Last year, MA changed the rules for Supersport to substantially reduce costs. Essentially it's as chubb says - everything we would normally do to a bike (full exhaust, powercommander, fork internals, and replacement rear shock). But importantly, NO ENGINE MODS! I reckon this is the right rule set.

For the record, my motor is bog-stock. Never been opened.

Oh, and Stu, contrary to your previous comment and certain biased views, R6 motors typically don't go bang! In fact, I can't recall hearing about one before yours. Mostly they are bulletproof, particularly if they are stock, but even if they've been lightly breathed on. Team Zero's bike is an 06 like yours, and has YEC cams, and has been raced for it's whole life without even having the head off or the valve clearances checked. It could probably use a rebuild, but it simply hasn't missed a beat, ever. Ditto my old 09 with slotted cam wheels. Still going strong!

You do need to properly warm them up, and don't overrev them. Have you checked video footage of your tacho while you're riding? Sometimes people overrev them on downshifts without realising....

[chubb]

didn't have a valve clearance check at all??? I do mine once a year at a minimum even on my bog stocker engine like yours. I just been told it could go wrong big time and eventually the engine stops running.

but i'm no mechanic when it comes to engines

[Marshy]

I do mine once a year at a minimum

And how often has it been out of spec?

[Stu23]

From Ian Irving and Wetty, my problem seems to stem from the 2 crashes i had at wakefield at the 4 hour ( on someones oil and when the dick missed a gear on the straight and i ran up his arse ) . I have been told, R6's do NOT like laying on their side at all.... The std operation is to remove the filter, ensure its full...and prime immediately afterwards, then you can start the motor , otherwise no1 cyl especially can run dry for a time until the oil gets back through. Unfortunately this seems to be the problem i have encountered. I always warm them up thoroughly ( this was drummed into me by Ian) and yes i never slam it down a gear, they hate this ( the valves do anyway !! ) ... I will have more info when it is stripped and the damage is seen. my bike is running std comp gasket 60 thou and slotted race cams , so not highly modded..just built right.. I hope everyone reads this and learns from my misfortune...

[Marshy]

Granted, there's a trade-off between risk and cost. So if you rebuild the head each year (or more often) as recommended by most engine-builders, you'll maximise horsepower and reliability, but the minimum cost for this is usually $1,500 and can go much higher.

If you don't do this, you run a higher risk of the engine going bang, but with a replacement engine out of the States costing a similar amount to a rebuild, or even a fresh local motor for maybe $3k, you only have to have the bike last more than two years to be ahead, cost-wise. And you may well get many more years without any problems.

Warm your engines fully, guys! Change the oil and filter, and yes, check your valve clearances (it's not a big job to just check them - adjusting them is a different story). Don't overrev them - the power falls off at the top of the revs anyway - and they will go on and on and on and on. Usually; dunno what happened to yours, Stu.

[dan]

Id love to know what the gsxxr had done that was chasing down Nick in the 600 races...that had some serious power

Mustnt be talking about mine haha

[chubb]

And how often has it been out of spec?

once.. But it just gives me a peace of mind

[Mr.Ed]

I do know of at least 5 R6s from the same vintage (06-13 since they're basically the same engine) going bang for "apparently" no reason... 2 of them being road bikes of all things and all under 20.000 Ks. It happens... I've also been told that the R6 engine is the most prone to drop power if not refreshed regularly, no idea if that's the case or not.

My 06 had a full Akro/PCV Ignition Module/QS and a map to suit and it had plenty of balls when compared to the other 600s on the straight. I sold it with 7K's on the odo only 2 of those being on the track... Rode next to it a couple of years later and it just wasn't the same anymore. I wish I could say it was the rider but to be honest, he was faster than me around the corners...


Having said that, I know of 2 ZX6Rs that went bang as well... and there are less of those around (or at least were for a long time) when compared to the R6.

[Marshy]

Rumour has it that there is/was one specific machine on the R6 engine production line (out of heaps of them) that produced important bits that were outside of spec tolerances, and that if you got a bike that had come from that particular engine production line, it would go bang pretty quickly after you first started thrashing it on the track. The motors were grudgingly repaired/replaced by Yamaha under warranty (sometimes long outside the warranty period) if you could wrangle it.

I agree that they lose power, sometimes noticeably after, say, 2 or 3 years of track thrashing. Some less so than others - as with anything, it really, really depends on how they are treated!! Some people are not mechanically sympathetic, and some people just are. Part of it is max revs in each gear, and the other major factor is high revs on downshifts. I've seen plenty of vids of people that plonk the tacho near (or over) the redline on every downshift, and this plays havoc with the valves.

I don't rev the motor right out very often (if at all), and my downshifts don't rev the engine too hard.

[Nelso]

As far as the rules for Clubsport go, I like the way the Hartwell Club went for next year. http://www.hartwellmcc.org/2014-class-changes.html

[Mstevo]

As far as the rules for Clubsport go, I like the way the Hartwell Club went for next year. http://www.hartwellmcc.org/2014-class-changes.html

I was just looking at this 1hr ago and how to fill in the gaps in the first half of next years racing.
I've just sent in a query regarding eligibility clarification regarding compliance plate or year model designation for the pre modern class
I'd love to do PI again next year but the Preston meet is at PI when I'm OS on holidays. Hatwells PI meet is over the May/June weekend and the weather stats looks pretty ordinary that time of year :-(

[Stu23]

yes the 5 month gap between events is not good, but heres hoping there will be something to fill in the gaps with

[dan]

Just saw the Hartwell dates before. Very interested in going down and doing some of the pre-modern on the K3 - I could even do P7 on my 99. Thinking 8/9 March at Mac Park in SA could be a goer.

[dan]

April 5/6 at Broadford as well. Would combine that with a trip to PI I think. Could be a better option.

[Marshy]

April 5/6 at Broadford as well. Would combine that with a trip to PI I think. Could be a better option.

I'm pretty keen to do some Broadford dates. Freakin' love that track! After the PI fiasco with the Pirelli series, I'm not so keen to do that series again.

[dan]

Track Day at PI on the 7th.

[dan]

Is there a thread detailing the 'fiasco'? Have you got to use Pirellis in that series or is it just a naming sponsor?

[Marshy]

Is there a thread detailing the 'fiasco'? Have you got to use Pirellis in that series or is it just a naming sponsor?

Not a thread per se, but here's a summary: http://www.tarmactalk.com/forum/show...ull=1#post2132

You only had to use Pirellis in the Superstock class, and only if you wanted to be eligible for prize money in that class. Normal supersport classes didn't have tyre restrictions - although I think you got a bonus prize if you were running Pirellis and finished in the top three, or something. Mostly they are the naming sponsor. It's a club race meet - Preston MCC; equivalent to St George, but not as organised. Much better website, but.

[dan]

Ahhh yes I remember reading that. Just wasted 45mins watching videos as well. Fuck I want to spend some time there. How did it go on your tyres?

[Marshy]

Veeeeerrrry harsh on the left rear. Fronts were fine, and the right-side of the rear looked brand new!