Pictures of parts

2

M

Brembo Calipers with dry connectors

Tidy brake lines.

Magnesium bottom Yoke.

1 of 2 linkage options

2 of 2 linkage options

Rearset with Quickshifter

Rear brake side

Brembo rear to match swingarm conversion

Subframe brace

Harris chain adjusters

Harris Spindle

Ohlins Rear Shock like new.

Sharks fin for 600

Brake line for 600

Brand new 600 Kit Loom

GB Racing engine covers

MWR Air filter for 600

Modified ZX10 Subframe back from CC Aqua Blast in Essex!

Top Yoke Blasted too as it was looking tatty, vapour blasting has brought it up better than new!

Paint stripper just wouldnt do the job

Hopefully we can rebuild the chassis next week. Need to work out how best to modify the steering bearings as it was bodged before.

After paint stripper. I didn't get a pic of the Swingarm after blasting yet but i will Tomorrow.

Not a lot happening

Getting worried and frustrated now, i've dropped the price of the 600 down to 5750 and its worth every penny, i literally cant progress until i've sold it.

I had a nice parcel this week with a brand new kit loom for the 600 as the one we have is tatty and let us down at practice TT 2012 and i'm minimising the chances of this happening again.

Also in the package was a rear hugger and a set of GB racing engine covers.

My 4 chains are at SPR Racing in Ruddington. Ready for collection next week. 

I've sent the swingarm, subframe and top yoke all to CC Aquablasting down in kent, me and Tommo have spent hours sanding and paint stripping the kawasaki black off but with it being cast we just can't get all the black off. I'll post pics on Tues once they are back.

I've also got Bramcote engineering making me a new central spacer for my top yoke on the adjustable yokes, i can have a forward or backward setting or a central one but i'm missing the central spacer atm and it has a D shaped hole, and i'm not capable of making one.

Pics next week I promise.

Sorry the updates havent been as regular, work has been really busy and i'm doing 6 days a week now  and most nights until 8 at least, i'm really enjoying it though, i have good work coming in and doing an MOT on most days now.

I've had the Nottingham evening post on the phone wanting to know about the team and are going to give me a half page article next week. I've tried to get points across such  as being a privateer and taking on the factory teams etc.

I'm still waiting on  the TT organisers to let me know what help i may be able to get this year financially to see if i'm going to be able to run alongside this Top team or not.

Hopefully that announcement shouldnt be too far away now.

Sunday morning football soon, i'm going to score like Wayne Rooney yesterday! Eeeeeeeeasy!

Happy Birthday to me!

Whopppeeee, its my Birthday.
Things are going steady on the Racing front, but hopefully a chap is coming to see the 600 in the next couple of days.
Race Night tonight and Tommo `Chief Joiner and international Road race mechanic' is coming down and we`re going to finish off sanding down the swingarm and then it`ll need a quick shot blast and then we are going to scotchbrite it up for a brushed aluminium effect.
Sort through the spares and generally talk racing.
On the lookout for a painter ATM as my usual man is to busy to get me sorted in time. Frustrating as a good reliable painter is hard to find.
I`m buying 2 cheap fairings off Mark Fisher at G&S Racing, they are both whiote and have been used for 3 days out in Spain only. These will be spot on for me, i usually just get them painted up straight black then have Image Works at Ilkeston do the Graphics and Numbers.

What a fantastic Tuesday!

Well i never got up and went for a run Tues morning in the end, i was fed up and really tired and had a poor attitude towards it all, feeling like i was sick of money worries etc all of the time when most people are out testing in Spain or in the UK already.
I got over my mood quite early in the day, and reminded myself that attitude was everything and i`d made myself a promise that i wouldn`t stop looking for sponsors until i get on that ferry!
The day turned out to be my best this year work wise, work has really picked up and Ian @ Cross Lane Garage had sent me over his full amount for work to be done on the 600 that he owns.
This made it possible to pay for quite a few things i had lined up but no funds to get them. It`s such a buzz/relief when i`m able to progress. Played football for 1 1/2 hours Tues night so not a total write off fitness wise.
Still waiting to sell the old 600, it needs to go soon really because as soon as it has i can pay my account up with Bikers and get the new ZX10 that waiting for.
Wednesday was just a normal day at wor.
Today i was up at the crack of dawn to go and do interval training on the dreaded steps. 8 today, 1 more than the other week as i missed last week and i knew about it! Happy with that though and 9 next week.
I am interviewing a chap about a part time job @ RTR and then i have an R6 engine to replace a bottom crankcase on.
"Thats all folks"

Pressure.

Well, on Saturday i picked up an engine for the van. From a Polish Bloke, i have got it for a good price but is it a good engine?

I'm still going to be looking at a 2k bill when i'm done which is so crippling to the budget!

But anyway Dan get over it!

Ok so last week Stan the chap that works/worked for me decided that he wasnt going to carry on working for me. This has left me in an awkward position, yes its one less overhead not worrying about wages but double the workload for me :-0.

I know whats coming up its getting to busy time and the work is going to get out of hand, i've put an advert on a few job websites but no one suitable has came forward as yet. Stan was a Gem in a lot of ways as he was able to work the Mill and lathe aswell as work on bikes, you've never known anyone be able to clean a bike up the way he did.

 I've been pleading with B&C express not to sell the exhaust i've ordered specially through them for the 600, with the van becoming priority cash went elsewhere but funds are in place tomorrow and i can get that sent straight to RLR.

I'm not able to do a lot on the superbike atm, we've paint strippered and are now sanding back the swingarm to have a brushed aluminium effect on it rather than the half black and half aluminium look it had after being modified.

The old 600 is still for sale and it needs to move sharpish so i can get the new ZX10'and crack on!

I'm starting to panick about budget now, i still have a 10k deficit to fill to do this job properly and by that i mean, to do things like buy spare fairings, obtain mandatory signatures from club races, paintbikes, buy tyres etc etc.

We've done so well as team to come this far since January, i mean in Jan we had an old 600 due a refresh and come march we have a new bike and a Superbike. I have the budget now to prep them ready to start testing but then they are just going to have to sit unless something comes up! Letters and e mails keep going out but we havent hooked the fishy yet.

We're capable of running top 15 this year maybe even top 10. Somebody needs to see the potential and invest in us because 10-15k for a medium sized company needing exposure is not a lot of money compared to other advertising. If we do exceptional people will be frustrated that they hadnt seen the opportunity. Well thats what i think, but i'm slightly biased ;-) 

I've done this before though where i have had the bikes sat there ready to go in 2012 after the TT i was leading both Thundersport GB championships, the 600's and the Gp1 class but had to basically pull out or go bankrupt!

This time, from experience i'm able to plan better and i'm trying to make sure we can fund things properly. 

I potentially have some really exciting news aswell but i cant let on as yet as its depending on 1 thing but i hope i can share that with you all soon.

I'm tired now and up early for a run, checking out. 

Goodnight all.

Progress at last :-)

Result! Had a big chunk of promised sponsorship in today which enables me to progress on with the Superbike Prep!

I also had a couple of customers paying old debts which was a nice suprise, its coming back to the season and i cant wait for it!

The van is being started tomorrow i'm going full hit on her and shes having everything she needs.

I found a little bit of time to look through the superbike spares today and i found the another steering stem, a centrally positioned one so now i have the options of 3 different offsets on the yokes. However i'll still need to machine the top yoke spacer to suit it but its not going to cost nearly as much as getting a stem made up.

I've stripped the superbike even further. Because the swingarm has been modified for quick release then its alloy and black and looks a bit daft, i've decided to paint stripper the swingarm back to alloy and also the rear subframe for that "Factory" look! 

I can start ordering a few parts tomorrow and crack on a bit more.

Def a good day on the business front. 

Had some sad news that a Good friend and massive TT Fan has passed away, The Big C got the better of him a lot quicker than we thought and took him away so quick. Thoughts are with your family Chunder, you were a good man. I'm glad i managed to take you for a lap around the place for your 70th B'day. RIP

Fairy steps

Head Gasket arrived today to rebuild the Superbike motor. I've been playing about with moving the cams around and seeing what it does to timing etc.

Plan for the van is biting the bullet and i'm going to have to fork out 2k and get it what it needs. She'll have at least another 100,000 miles in her then i hope!

Work has started to pick up now Spring is just around the corner and hopefully MOTS will too.

Not a lot else happened today....

I made device to measure piston to valve clearances

All dialled up

For four Foot Snakes!

Van van van, what do i do, best part of 2k to fix it and i just dont have it. Well not without the race budget suffering, all that planned spending on excel may aswell go out the window!

I think the best option is going to be Keep this van, recon engine 1350 plus Vat, needs 2 driveshafts whils we're at it £100 each and the gearbox i had paid £700 to be sorted last July is also a load of whack so that can go back to them whilst the engine is out.

I've put my absolute pride and joy up for sale today to help pay for it, the pushbikes already gone, now i'm selling the engine out of my Race Scooter, prob 5k's worth of development and countless hours of blood sweat and tears went into developing it to be the fastest road legal scooter over the 1/4 mile. 13.09 seconds at 93 mph. Best i'll recoup is about £1500. Needs must.

Heres a pic of my 2 girls last year in the freshly painted MOT bay.

Not a lot happened this weekend on the race front, old bike has gone up for sale and thats about that all.

I'm awaiting on some funding coming in from a sponsor to really kickstart getting the superbike sorted, i can then order a load of parts etc.

Me and Allister (Future father in law!) are both still working hard on the sponsorship front, its gone really cold on leads lately and we still have a 15k deficit if we're going to do this properly. Its so easy to get down beat about it all sometimes, especially when the potential sponsors start thinning out.

We wont stop working though, not even if i have to have a begging pot out to get on the ferry!

We'd be more than grateful if anybody would like to assist us on our TT Campaign, Title Sponsorship is still available and for the right company the VFM in sponsoring our team would be second to none.

I did have a pleasant visit from a very nice chap/customer of ours on Friday evening and a promise of a medium sized donation really cheered me up. Details to follow.

The saying thats helping me stay motivated at the minute, its a new one to me and funny too.

"Everybody makes plans, then they get punched" - Mike Tyson.