Vintage Dirt Racing on a 350 Honda Twin

[Ladybug0048]

Originally Posted by LC Garage

Old, tired, wet and dirty (well at least the guy on the right is dirty!);

That picture sure is talking a lot. There's Don nice and clean with a smile on his face and Rick muddy, wet and looking pretty beat up.

About naming your motorhome I think you should let Jan name it. I bet she would come up with something real good.

[LC Garage]

Jan and I are headed out this morning to meet up with Don and Don at Eddieville for the OMRA XC. I will be riding one of Don's bikes, either the KTM 300 (rode last week) or the 450 Honda (Ive never put a leg over one of these). Should be an interesting day!

Yesterday was a mixed bag, Luke and Al were here working on Al's MK1 chase rig, while I worked on the SL350. Good news is Luke welded up the frame where I modded it for the MT 250 tank, bad news is the engine build went into full reverse.

Got the cam into the cam box, but for some reason could not get enough slack in the chain to lift the cam high enough to get the bearing supports bolted in. Tried subbing in the stock cam and it made no difference. Finally realized I was just going to have to take it apart and check the whole cam tensioner system. Tore it down to the block, extracted the tensioner and compared against stock and it seems like they are the same size and should work. Feel like I am missing something obvious. Rather than get frustrated and pissed off, just put my tools down and went in the house. I've learned that sometimes if you just walk away and clear your head, the solution will come to you. I will write more about this tomorrow with some pictures, and a race report from Eddieville.

Everybody have a great day!

[azcagiva]

Originally Posted by LC Garage

Jan and I are headed out this morning to meet up with Don and Don at Eddieville for the OMRA XC. I will be riding one of Don's bikes, either the KTM 300 (rode last week) or the 450 Honda (Ive never put a leg over one of these). Should be an interesting day!

Yesterday was a mixed bag, Luke and Al were here working on Al's MK1 chase rig, while I worked on the SL350. Good news is Luke welded up the frame where I modded it for the MT 250 tank, bad news is the engine build went into full reverse.

Got the cam into the cam box, but for some reason could not get enough slack in the chain to lift the cam high enough to get the bearing supports bolted in. Tried subbing in the stock cam and it made no difference. Finally realized I was just going to have to take it apart and check the whole cam tensioner system. Tore it down to the block, extracted the tensioner and compared against stock and it seems like they are the same size and should work. Feel like I am missing something obvious. Rather than get frustrated and pissed off, just put my tools down and went in the house. I've learned that sometimes if you just walk away and clear your head, the solution will come to you. I will write more about this tomorrow with some pictures, and a race report from Eddieville.

Everybody have a great day!

Hey Rick,

If you want, I can PM you Owens number. He should be able to talk you through it.

-John

[LC Garage]

Originally Posted by azcagiva

Hey Rick,

If you want, I can PM you Owens number. He should be able to talk you through it.

-John

John, thanks and yes please send me his number. I have an idea or two what is going on, but definitely need some help.

Hope your radio interview went well!

PS: race report tomorrow, we all had a good time and everyone finished in one piece!

[Loud Al]

Saturday around the garage

upgrading the roof basket





Rick getting his pics





Working on the SL frame










Supervising

[oregoncoast]

(cue the Ominous Music)

"Luke....I am your father.

And, you missed a spot."

[LC Garage]

Originally Posted by oregoncoast

(cue the Ominous Music)

"Luke....I am your father.

And, you missed a spot."

Hmmm...I think if Luke had any of my DNA he would be shorter and not quite so brilliant!

[LC Garage]

Early morning drive to the high desert, Jan and I were in high spirits, but Danny wasn't quite so sure why we had left our nice warm house.

Are we there yet?


Obligatory windmill pic, note ice and snow on road, it was cold!!!


Base camp;


Luke and Doc Sprocket trying to stay warm;


Don "It's an electric start, so quit whining";


My new official OMRA number is now 98Y (AHRMA # is T98);


OSR Team ready for action (Doc Sprocket aka Alex, me and Luke);


Riders meeting;


Starting line, lined up according to speed, I'm in the back row with old men, women and children;


Our row went last, turns out the 450 likes to wheelie;


At this point the battery in the camera went dead.

My pre-race plan was divided into 3 30 minute segments (50 and older rode 1.5 hours, the younger riders rode 2.5 hours). First 30 minutes learn bike and course & don't fall down, second 30 minutes, try to gain a little speed & don't fall down, last 30 minutes don't fall down.

A few minutes into the race, we hit a very tight gate that went uphill to the right and I killed the motor. Doh! Even with the magic button it took a minute to get going and back into a groove. Settled into a rhythm and caught a few of the slower riders, then hooked up with a young beginner on a KTM going my speed, at one point as we were exiting the flat track portion of the course, he had his bike in a full lock slide and I was holding my breath waiting for the high side but somehow he saved it. We hung together for about a lap and a half until he missed a gate. Was alone for a long while and then the first two A riders came up to lap me, I made the mistake of trying to keep up and came down front wheel first on a down hill jump, hit my chest protector on the handlebars and was very lucky not to crash. Whew! I then went into the I must not fall mode and tried to settle back down, then along came another group of four A riders, and I thought "I'll just find a wide spot and get out of their way". I spotted what looked like a good place to move over and pulled to the side of the trail, but it was off camber and when I stuck my right foot out couldn't touch the ground and over I went. Jumped up, picked up the bike and tried to restart but the brush buster was jammmed into the throttle and it would not turn, had to coast down the hill till I found a large enough rock to hit the brush buster and get it off the throttle. restarted and off I went with no further problems.

After my 1.5 hours, I got off the bike and Don and I loaded up, then Jan and I headed over to wait for Luke and Alex. Well here came Alex, but no Luke. We were a little worried and just as they were closing down the finish gate we spotted Luke coasting down the hill. As it turns out he had a flat rear tire and was out of gas. Oh well, as long as he was in one piece no harm done.

It was a really fun day, had a great time and can't wait to head out for Odessa in a few weeks. Yeehaw!

[Ladybug0048]

Nice update. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys in Odessa. I miss my Outta Sight buddies.

[oregoncoast]

That was great! Alex gave me his update via a text today....sounds like he also had a great time!!

[LC Garage]

Thanks to Azcagiva and Mr Fast, they connected me to their motor guru Owen, a vintage bike guru and Honda 350 twin specialist. We spoke on the phone and Owen had great insight on all of the challenges I'd been working through and also had some pretty solid ideas why the chain appeared too tight. I doubt there's very much on these motors he has not seen before.

I have some additional parts ordered now and after they arrive will take another stab at putting this thing together, if and when that is successful will give a full report.

[$Penney]

Hey Rick,

Looks like you have a pretty cool project going with the 350. John said you will be at the Mexican 1000 next year, glad to hear it. We are amping up for the Mexican 1000 along with Vintage MX and Vintage Road Racing in AZ, UT, Albuquerque.... It's hard to keep an old geezer down

Sue

[LC Garage]

Originally Posted by $Penney

Hey Rick,

Looks like you have a pretty cool project going with the 350. John said you will be at the Mexican 1000 next year, glad to hear it. We are amping up for the Mexican 1000 along with Vintage MX and Vintage Road Racing in AZ, UT, Albuquerque.... It's hard to keep an old geezer down

Sue

Hey Sue! Yes we have a lot going on and it's all good! We worked like mad all weekend prepping for our 2nd biggest race of our season, the Stump Jumpers Desert 100 in Odessa, Washington. Luke made a lot of progress on the radical 500/550/650 4 cylinder that he will be riding at the MK1 and debuting at the D100, I spent the weekend working on the team support rig, our 86 mini winnie. Full report on that tomorrow.

Jan and I will definitely be at the MK1 next year, too many college and wedding bills for our daughters this year! Looking forward to seeing all of you and having a great time, we will be there with you in spirit this year for sure!

[Luke]

Presenting the de rigueur carburetor polishing picture.

[TwinDuro]

Originally Posted by Luke

Presenting the de rigueur carburetor polishing picture.

Oi ! Witness the rampant carburetor polisher in his natural habitat. Watch closely as he hungrily circles his prey, the throttle plate from a hapless Holley 4180, as they dance around the bench grinder... who will pounce first? Unscrew your power valves, check your metering plates and tune in next week for the conclusion....