RD250

 When the front wheel is on the ground, I really didn't have too much trouble with the front end on the RD/TZ thing I was riding. The huge gun sight tubes sticking out of the headstock however were a little unsightly though so off I went to Classic Racing Green to see what he could do for me. Andy had talked about chopping my forks before but when I saw him this time he made short work of convincing me to upgrade the internals whilst I was there with top notch K-tech parts. The forks I have fitted to my RD are from a Yamaha FZR400 1WG. K-tech don't do an off the shelf set of cartridges for them but after a fair bit of measuring, Andy was able to specify and demand all the parts he needed to make them. Whilst we were there some fixed rate springs were ordered rather than cutting down my progressive springs and Andy's signature classic look top nuts were also made specially for these 38mm forks.  The parts took a couple of weeks to come together so whilst we wait...

 Reed all about it: I got me some Vforce 3 reads! At $137 with manifold rubbers and some spare reeds they were an absolute steal so it would have been rude not to pick them up during a recent trip state side. They were however: well used and in need of a clean so that was going to be my first job when I got them home. The reeds, stuffer blocks and cages are easilly seperated by pulling apart and witdrawing the centre reed holding pin. Once apart I could give everything a thorough clean and inspect. I found a few of the reeds were getting a bit fragile and worn on the edges so some of the spares were quickly swapped in for the dodgy reeds. Once all was clean the reed blocks were reassembled. Being Banshee reed cages they are a fair bit bigger width wise to the standard RD250D cages but seeing them drop into the inlet of a spare YPVS engine  reassured me they should fit knowing others ran with YPVS reeds in their bikes. Things would need modifying but it was p...

It is only right that we take the time to thank our sponsors. This is in order to not only say thank you but to highlight to you the best companies who will go that extra mile to help us do what we do.  As a member of the Royal Air Force Motor Sports Association (RAFMSA) I share a group of loyal sponsors as well as one of my own. To all the people who make what we do possible, from the sponsors to the fans and our loyal brew makers in between: we are eternally grateful.  First of all I am very proud to say that R Tech welding equipment Ltd have chosen to sponsor me this year with some help towards the purchase of my superb R Tech AC/DC Digital 170 Amp Tig welder .  They couldn't have come through for me at a better time and for their help I am more than happy to ride with their brand emblazoned on my motorcycle and shirt. I was particularly drawn to them for being a very well spoken of British company who's sales staff were helpful, frank a...

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 ...

quitly ignoring the fact that we have already looked at the engine rebuild, lets go back to stripping this thing and talk about some little bits. As I received her I had: A rolling bike with an engine and fuel tank. She lacked carbs, front brakes, throttle and a chain amongst many other little details. The previous owner had braised on foot peg mounts, ignition mounts, fairing mounts and had sourced a tail unit which saved me plenty of work but I still had a great deal to do and in not too much time. I stripped the bike right down to nothing which wasn't hard as the bike was basically tacked together. The frame had already been mostly delugged and didn't need much tidying up at all. After tidying what little needed doing; I rubbed the frame down and painted it matt black. This not only looks nice but it is also really easy to touch up when it gets scratched. For those parts that I wanted bare metal; I hit them with the sand blaster. The engine rebuild, If you ...