Another 350gp questions

Hey man, great stories...I'm looking forward to racing you.

I'm glad you are covered with a replacement chassis.....and maybe swingarm.

I guess where we diverge is that I see no need for a change either, cuz like sean said about it being clear about bracing....look past that if you wish, but I think its funny how we agree no real change required, but it leaves us in 2 distinctly different places.

It really doesnt matter what braced bikes have done....or not....that only matters if you are proposing a rule change to include bracing....and your saying your not.

I hear ya on the 350GP grids. I like running with those other bikes. Hey, I beat a Duc 350 at Jennings last year....highlite of my season, a last lap, last turn pass for the checkerd flag, against a Duc....on a stock honda...I snuck under him in 10, was on his butt, and he missed a shift in 13....that was fun.

Look forward to meeting you guys at the track.

 

You guys have way to much time on your hands and really screwed up prioreties. While you where doing all this typing last night I was lacing up my rear hub to an aluminum rim. (A legal mod) Have to say thanks to Jack for the help. I was also looking at the nice .25mm over pistons and jugs that are about to be put back in my motor and checking for end gap specs. (another legal mod)

Now I have to get ready for a track day with Doug at Jennings Sunday. That is the correct set of prioreties.


I for one will not be protesting a braced frame even though they will all probably finish in front of me.



How about this for a rules change proposal. All riders using braced frames to provide after race beer for all riders with unbraced frames.

Keith

 

Mongo- The chioce was ride bikes fast or talk about riding bikes fast. Some of my comrades decided they would rather talk about going fast. I think they go faster that way.

Rules Proposal.

All Riders with baced frame to provide after race beer for all riders with unbraced frames and race officials.

Have fun at the banquet!!

 

kegger at teamsuperawesomes.


charliey, i couldnt agree with you more on the interpretation. absolutely. and i think we both make very valid points. we all know the rules. we all know what they say anyway. i have always felt that a builder/tuner/riders job to exploit anything in the rules possible to gain an edge. of course with out completely pissing everyone off around them. of course i knew my bike would raise some eyebrows. not just because its green and sparkly. and frankly, im surprised and also humbled that my bike has a bit of a reputation already. like i said, with only 2 outtings. at any rate, i built it with only the best intentions to build what i deemed a completely legal bike as i could interpret form the rules. knowing other people hadnt gone those extents. it just so happens its pretty too. (hey, i didnt pick that color exactly). its just that, a divergence. it has as much to do with the people you race with locally, as it does the guys i race with locally. id say come gnf, all gloves should be off for position though. ill most likely never make the gnf though.b sorry. and hey, were as much a fun loving crew as you guys are. and once we meet, you probably wont think im such an asshole. well.......no promises!:up:

jc

 

nope, he's an asshole. that's why i want him on my grid.

-tt

 

Heck I don't think us disagreeing makes anyone an asshole. As far as frame bracing goes, I swapped my braced frame for a stocker already..... for the free beer! :up:
Keith, I will be in the garage tonight trial fitting my fiberglass bellypan that I just made. After I come in...I still might type a little..lol!

 

thats so sweet. see..even people that hate me, love me!

jc

 

whats not to love?? i enjoy a good debate!!

 

Isn't normally a mass one in your case though?

 

Couldn't think of a beter guy to hate than Joe! :up: .............well maybe myself. Maybe that's why we get on so well. Well that and the green grips!

 

now thats what should be protested!! i love those things!

jc

 

for the record I have never run a 130... always 110 on the front and rear. :tut:

 

thats why your lap times suck!!

 

wow! i thought all you big hp guys run 130's. 110's huh. and you get those lean angles. i have that pic of buff at vir with his knee like a mile out. one a 110 huh? cool. i woulda never thought.

see, goes to show how much i really pay attention to other peoples stuff!

jc

 

Hey Joe, yeah and tex too....I never took it that way at all (AH way), and hope you didnt either, even tho I can be fairly "straightforward" sometimes....Honestly, no BS, I think its the Jersey boy in me....and see it as a good thing. My grandpa used to tell me "Speak your mind, cuz no one else will".

Joe...so are you saying the rule proposed clearly closes the issue that frame bracing is not allowed in WERA 350GP?....is that what I'm hearing? Or are we saying the current rule shall be interpreted to dis-allow frame / SA bracing?once again straightforward...sorry....has a consensus been reached? Are we together here? Just looking to be clear.:up:

You guys all had good input...Rosko, Unga, TT...look forward to runnin you.

Hey Keith, ya know you and Bowie could come to the banquet and leave from there....seriously...I think its scheduled pretty early....and I'd bet you might get a bump to the front....since you are goin racin. You pitting with Stan Keyes?...he was givin me shit too...I guess I deserve it, but if it makes any difference, sunday Dean and I be buttoning up my primary motor, and maybe workin on the top end of our spare.

I'll to call jack in the am...

If you refuse to attend , should I accept for Bowie:up: (that will be good), and Jack for you?....Doug?....come to the banquet Its on the southside and you could make Jennings before midnight....last year was a good time, huh?

Buff, you comin? If so Ill bring that magnesium rod....how bout Russel?

Hey Sean, I appreciate your patience and objectiveness here. Your clear and consice statements was what was needed to focus the discussion. Thanx. See ya tommorow.

Hey Brad....if you wanna go, PM me....I was tryin to talk Brock into goin as well.

Charly goin?

Thanx to the other guys as well, scott, robin, tim, lizard....fer puttin up with me.

 

well i'm glad this has turned back into a love fest.....sincerely i mean that!

but to answer mongo (amongst others) online....yep, i think bracing is necessary, only if you want to see close and fantastic racing.

i run my bike hard. i'm a shit mechanic....why, cause i procrastinate, sure i'm lazy...but the other point is pure arrogance. i figure i can be fast on a bike that hasn't had rings since 2003. yep, haven't changed anything since my 2004 500gp title....but i digress.

i'm told that it is frightening to follow me through turn 10 at summit because of the way the stock oem honda flexes at the speed and angle and g-force that i subject it too.....i guess that i'm just used to it. maybe it would be better if i installed better shocks, but running "better shocks" isn't written into the rules.

i can only see one thing by allowing frame bracing. better, safer, more competitive racing for the cb350's that enter into a premier (yeah, sue me ahrma!) racing grand prix class. yeah, cb350's are grid filler, but as one of the handful that have been riding and racing them since their inception into the class, i'd say that we are more like the class saviors.

let's go back and recall all the 350gp riders from the recent past that have and perhaps are still racing more pedigreed machinery than the cb350 horde:

dave roper, aermacchi
steve mahanes, ducati
carl runion, bultaco
robin scudder, ducati
phil turkington, bultaco
steve d'angelo, ducati
doug bowie, ducati

pardon my memory, but for those of you that i have forgotten and left out, with the exception of mr. bowie, i don't think that any of the latter raced more than three rounds for the past three seasons. roper maybe four rounds once, but that's it.

so by my account, it looks like that cb350 stockers are more than grid fillers.....looks like we are grid saviors!

charliey, you still haven't answered my question......what do you have against frame bracing?

i just don't get the problem. i figure if the bikes track straight, true, handle better, and are safer......well, that would lead to better and safer racing.

i don't have a braced frame....yet. i am building one. when? well i guess shortly after i do rings. coming up with spare frames is not an issue. i sit on three. i am about being INCLUSIVE, and not EXCLUSIVE. wera vintage has always been a place for those who don't "fit" to run, have fun, and be friends....during and afterwards. i guess my main objection is someone coming in, headstrong, and trying to bring change where it isn't necessary.

as joe clancy has said many times in previous post, we police ourselves. we are friends. we don't need to challenge, protest, or argue with each other. we need to compete on like displacement machinery, and then hell yeah, beers afterwards are always on me.

if you want to count joe in for a grandfather clause....well i think that is self serving, only for the fact that you will chase a competitor to v1 that has been running this same style (displacement) bike for longer than i have been racing. do that to one, you'll do that to many.

if you can satisfy yourself by saying, "well, you'll be running the same time/grid that we are," the only thing that you'll have accomplished is creating division, and by that you have started ruining all that weravintage is all about.

our mission statement, our mantra has always been about INCLUSION. it's the reason that i have run with wera almost exclusively since 2003. not to sound corny, but like sister sledge sang....."we are family." i get the same feeling from the uscra and the vrra. i can't say the same about ahrma, but i am willing to give the new regime a chance again in 2008 after a 5 year hiatus.

racing is expensive. we are not millionaires. i'm tired of hearing cb350's are all about keeping racing on a shoe-string budget. shit, i'm still paying for the credit card debt from my 2004 season championship. am i bitter? shit no! best time of my life. i amassed fantastic friendships and even more tremendous stories that year than i will ever experience again in my life.

here is to racing. here is to being competitive. here is to being safe.....only so we can all do it again, soon!

so i guess i need to ask you charliey, what do you really have against frame bracing? i await your reply.

positively!

tex mawby, 61x wera, uscra, vrra, ahrma

 

I am actually trying out a 90/90-18 front on a 2.15 rim and my old front 110/80-18 on the rear 2.50 rim. Not that I had many complaints about the old setup with the 130/650-18 but I feel maybe I was losing a bit in rolling resistance and flickability. Not to mention that I'm they would have sucked donkey bollocks in the rain! Oh yeh, I forgot to mention I am trying out a set of Jemco silencers on CB350 headers, on loan from Russell. The CL pipes were melting my boots! After I have some time on the bike this year I will do some dyno runs on CL pipes, Charlie's 2-1, Russell's pipes and Jack's Mac 2-1 and post the results. I'd really like to get a high exit 2-1 made but again they come close to the leg. Maybe I can run it under the seat, is that legal?

 

yes, amending the rule will prevent frame bracing. i stand by everything i have previously said. if i have to say it again, it will most likely be as affective as the first 3 times. sorry, i still see no need to change the rule to say that. and i can still think of many may other things youre forgetting about regarding frames.

i see no proven performance advantage to justify including any of it.
it is not clearly written in the rules, like many many other things are and i see no reason to add that. it is obvious the motor was the focus and rightfully it got the attention it should have. im against it even more now than before as i am one of 4 or maybe 5 targeted bikes. an admitted small number, even by you. like i said, intentions are great, but its whats on paper that counts. maybe ive been working for myself too long. but i go by the letter.
i cant believe this thread has gone from performance, to money, to looks, to the legality of tapered steering stem bearings and after market clutches. none of which seem to have any kind of continuity of thought. (i can take helmet locks off, but not center stand brackets?? will it be legal to re-attach my center stand bracket then??) i cant think of a more effective way to waste bandwidth than with this chatter. i hold nothing against you for your beliefs, apply to make whatever rule changes or amendments you wish. i really dont care this much about it. sorry. it all just seems so inane and mind numbing. ill be out there running my bike in whatever class it can run in, still having fun.

jc

 

dean, hooker made a 2-1 hi setup for the 350. roscos running one. it gives me wood. but hes always got his leg out like hes blow drying his nuts.

im running the dunlop front with the 110 rear avon. the 130 looks bad assed when youre chasing one, but its too much tire for sure.

jc