RD250

At the end of the 2016 season I had to return a lot of loaned parts. That included the carbs (2 sets), exhaust and even the crank. These have been grouped together to pick out the interesting bits of this part of the build. Suck My standard carburetors had to go back to Andy and I had already returned the set that I actually raced with to Sy. The bike had already been stripped for parts by Ian who borrowed it to try and make Silverstone on his own machine but sadly his back had other ideas so I didn't need to pull as much apart here. New Mikuni VM32 carbs were supplied from eBay USA for nearly half the price I can get them in the UK. Thankfully I was state side so the shipping was cheap too. I found it cheaper to buy them separately rather than as a pair but care has to be taken to get a Left and a Right carb as the idle screw will be masked on the right carb otherwise. I also ordered a set of new throttle cables as my current (one sodding race old) cables had the wro...

Shopping With the winter maintenance season on its way I started looking for parts to get the bike where I wanted it for the 2017 season. Wheels were high on my shopping list as the stock cast wheels weigh a fair bit. I wanted a set of Astralites but they are very expensive. Spoked wheels were going to be the more likely option but getting a good set was't very cheap either. As it happened this pair of Astralites came up cheap on eBay for only £250 with the added bonus of all the spacers for an RD250 fit. They were still in their original anodised finish with the only draw back being a few dents in the rims that would need ironing out. Straightening things up I spent a long time trying to get in contact with the Tony Dawson and   Paul Allender. Tony being the man who brought the Astralite wheel to us and Paul the man who brought them back after a 10 year gap . Paul was selling the wheels again on RennStar  but sadly they have recently announced th...

The bike wasn't ready, neither was I for that matter, but it was time for my first race of the 2016 season. It would also be my last... Friday Afternoon The bike and a lot of spare parts that would be essential in making the bike go were bundled into a trailer for the drive to Snetterton race circuit in Norfolk. Camp setup is always a pain but having to build the bike as well would make my Friday even longer. Thankfully we had opted to share half of a garage which would prove to be invaluable for nearly the whole team that weekend.  I had to: Fit a borrowed exhaust, see if the bike even starts, tune the fueling, get the bike through scrutineer,, learn the race track, more to the point learn how to race, maybe actually sign up to race? I had lots to do and that doesn't even take into account sorting out my own needs for which a good supply of beer and BBQ would need to be prepared. I had managed to get the wire locking done the night before on the bits ...