Lydden Trackday October 2007

[Samnooshka]

First up is Bear.....
http://static.flickr.com/2113/1671649348_edb7370a8f_d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52837090@N00/1671649348/)

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[Samnooshka]

Chris(numbers)

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[Samnooshka]

Dan (Sudoxe)

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[Samnooshka]

James (Rigor)

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[Samnooshka]

Jordan (Flaming Squirrel)

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[Samnooshka]

Jester (Paul)

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[Samnooshka]

Mr.Anderson (Peter)

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[Samnooshka]

Paul (Strayer/Lucky/SVstreetfighter/Mr.Ican'tdecidewhatmynameis):p

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[Samnooshka]

Raf

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[Samnooshka]

Saeed

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[Blue_SV650S]

Some cool shots, did you ride this time Samnooshka???

Flaming Squirrel looks like he was on the move, also looks tiny on the SV!! (how tall are you FS?) :eek: Got the gold USD forks, the lot on that puppy!! 8)

There is a fair mix of bikes there, how many SV's showed?

[Samnooshka]

About 7 SV's i think...

I didn't ride, i was pit crew for this one lol taking all the tools down in the car for the lads to use. I also needed to practice my photography so hence the pictures :)

I got some more to come, but its taking a while to upload to Flikr :)

[chris8886]

and practice you did VERY well, those are some quality pics!!

[Samnooshka]

Kinvig

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[Samnooshka]

Gazman

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[Flamin_Squirrel]

Some cool shots, did you ride this time Samnooshka???

Flaming Squirrel looks like he was on the move, also looks tiny on the SV!! (how tall are you FS?) :eek: Got the gold USD forks, the lot on that puppy!! 8)

There is a fair mix of bikes there, how many SV's showed?

I'm 5'6" :cool:

Yeah I was doing ok, was passing a fair few sports bikes in the inters group towards the end. Then I had a bit of a mishap...








Mashed fairing:

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/7764/img0052dd1.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/7764/img0052dd1.jpg)

Mashed 'zorst:

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/3259/img0049he3.jpg (http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/3259/img0049he3.jpg)

Bent front sub-frame:

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6927/img0053kz9.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6927/img0053kz9.jpg)

The bike must have flipped and hit the ground upside down, as you can see the top of the rear sub-frame is bent too:

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6321/img0056fo5.jpg (http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6321/img0056fo5.jpg)

Snapped clip-on:

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9290/img0051gl8.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9290/img0051gl8.jpg)

Radiator, more ****ed than an Irishman on St Patrick's Day:

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/6391/img0054ab4.jpg

When I brought the bike I noticed the bike was wet, and that there was no coolant left in the expansion vessel. I thought that given the state of the radiator I must have punctured it. But looking over the bike today I found this:

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8916/img0055do3.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8916/img0055do3.jpg)

The pipe to the expasion bottle snapped off the radiator filler. So believe it or not, the radiators still good!

I was looking to turn the SV into a track bike at some point anyway, so thankfully it shouldn't actually cost too much to put right.

Considering I came off at the fastest part of the track and the bike and I both tumbled, we both came off remarkably well

[Law]

Nice photos Sam, looks like a great day apart from the offs.

Makes me wish I'd done a trackday, always next year.

[gazman]

Thanks Samnooshka! :thumright:

[Kinvig]

Woo Hoo!!!!!

Cheers Sam!

FS -> What happened? How'd you get home?

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Dan called his recovery for his lift home in the van. Since we only live 5 mins from eachother, I slipped the guy £20 and asked him to take me too!

[ibishu]

cool shots sam.

i am lazy, so i have just uploaded everything to here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahlloyd/Lydden20Oct2007
if anyone wants to save their own images, go right ahead!

i had heaps of fun taking all these photos in the cold, next time though, i am going to be on the track, not on the side.

[Samnooshka]

Cool photo's Sarah :D Did you upload the photo's of Jester's "beach" excursion?

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Great pics!

Normally have to pay £30 for a CD of those, and they're usually not as good!

[Davies]

Wow, awesome pictures!!



Thanks guys :kiss:

[Warthog]

Nice one Jordan, you seemed to be hooning it! Sorry to hear about the off, now your radiator looks like mine! Still watertight and working though! And other people came off too? Unlucky.

[Kinvig]

cool shots sam.

i am lazy, so i have just uploaded everything to here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahlloyd/Lydden20Oct2007
if anyone wants to save their own images, go right ahead!

i had heaps of fun taking all these photos in the cold, next time though, i am going to be on the track, not on the side.


Piccies looking good!!

[Davies]

Cool photo's Sarah :D Did you upload the photo's of Jester's "beach" excursion?


Ooooo, please do!!!! :lol:



Mind you, he was going for it!!

[Raf]

Cool photo's Sarah :D Did you upload the photo's of Jester's "beach" excursion?

It should be, my comp is still uploading them, I'll edit this post when the upload is finished

EDIT: upload complete

[gazman]

Thanks ibishu :thumleft:

[Davies]

Ooooo, please do!!!! :lol:



Mind you, he was going for it!!


Just seen it, HOW THE HECK DID HE KEEP THAT UP?? :cool:

[Kinvig]

Just seen it, HOW THE HECK DID HE KEEP THAT UP?? :cool:

that looks similar to mine.

The bike swung all over the place, no idea how to keep control - I didn't use hte front brake, maybe the rear or gears, not sure which but somehow ended up on the green, then the track.

Couldn't tell you how to do it.

[Samnooshka]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/1677044938_77288fc44d_o.gif (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/1677044938_77288fc44d_o.gif)

Hehehehe Well done for keeping it up fella!! (BTW this should be a moving file i made from Sarah's pictures)

[Warthog]

Awesome! Now that really should be his new avatar!

[Blue_SV650S]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/1677044938_77288fc44d_o.gif (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/1677044938_77288fc44d_o.gif)

Hehehehe Well done for keeping it up fella!! (BTW this should be a moving file i made from Sarah's pictures)

OMG, that looks like a BROWN trouser moment!!! :D

Well played for keeping it sunny side!! :notworthy:

[ibishu]

Just seen it, HOW THE HECK DID HE KEEP THAT UP?? :cool:

a wizard did it!

[Jester666]

OMG, that looks like a BROWN trouser moment!!! :D

Well played for keeping it sunny side!! :notworthy:

And that was the second time I visited the same gravel trap!! And I didnt drop it!!

I am obviously a riding God!!! :D Not!

[mr.anderson]

Sam and Sarah, thanks for the great pics, they're fantastic!


Paul, well done to keep that one upright!

[Jester666]

Fabulous photos all round!

Thanks go out to our resident Ms. Baileys, Sam and Sarah!

And thanks to all that came, a great day was had by all including Bear, Chris8886, Sudoxe and Flaming Squirrel I hope despite their "incidents"!

Lets do it again soon! :thumbsup:

[monkey]

Nice pics. Well done Jester you nut job. Twice in the same day?! He he he.
:)

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Fabulous photos all round!

Thanks go out to our resident Ms. Baileys, Sam and Sarah!

And thanks to all that came, a great day was had by all including Bear, Chris8886, Sudoxe and Flaming Squirrel I hope despite their "incidents"!

Lets do it again soon! :thumbsup:

Yep had a great day. Kept getting faster through the sessions too... well, until the point I came to an abrupt halt :shock:

Was good to meet you lot.

I ache like hell today. Not from falling off mind, just 'cos moving around on the bike at that track was such hard work!

[laMon]

was the speed being measured? who had the fastest lap?:D

[Kinvig]

Awesome! Now that really should be his new avatar!

+1

[Flamin_Squirrel]

was the speed being measured? who had the fastest lap?:D

Think I averaged about 68mph - surprisingly quick considering how tight the track is. Considering I fell off at one of the fastest parts of the track, I hate to think how fast I was going when I came off :shock::shock::shock:

[Jester666]

I believe I managed a 58-59 sec lap on more than one occasion. So thats just over 60mph average. :thumbsup:

[Blue_SV650S]

here, now you have all been round it and this will make more sense/mean more to you - for your entertainment is some on-board footage from the last .ORG trackday at Lydden .. relive that track experience - site there and remember what it was like just a few days ago!! 8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s10zexZa4Kk

[Kinvig]

here, now you have all been round it and this will make more sense/mean more to you - for your entertainment is some on-board footage from the last .ORG trackday at Lydden .. relive that track experience - site there and remember what it was like just a few days ago!! 8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s10zexZa4Kk


A bit like me but on Fast Forward...

[Blue_SV650S]

A bit like me but on Fast Forward...

LoL, if you haven't been to a track yourself I think the videos always look a bit slow, but if you have actually done it, you get a better appreciation - since I have done the tracks myself, I have much more appreciation for the BSB onboard (and trackside) videos than I had beforehand!! 8)

I prefer watching BSB to WSBK (or MotoGP) for that very reason (i.e. been there myself and can relate to where they are what it feels like (although admittedly at a slower pace!!)!!! :thumright:

[Flamin_Squirrel]

What times were you doing Blue? With the video splicing/traffic I couldn't really tell.

[Blue_SV650S]

What times were you doing Blue? With the video splicing/traffic I couldn't really tell.

Dunno, I haven't re-watched that vid all the way through, (it's 9mins long and I am not that patient!! :D), from memory though, wasn’t there some 'clear' laps wher I was doing-my-thang somewhere at the end?

If not, I'll have a look at the original footage and check.

[Kinvig]

LoL, if you haven't been to a track yourself I think the videos always look a bit slow, but if you have actually done it, you get a better appreciation - since I have done the tracks myself, I have much more appreciation for the BSB onboard (and trackside) videos than I had beforehand!! 8)

I was kinda implying that of IF I was on Fast Forward - I'd look like that, not the other way around.

[Blue_SV650S]

I was kinda implying that of IF I was on Fast Forward - I'd look like that, not the other way around.

LoL, yeah I was meaning that as you have done it yourself the vids mean more ... someone that sees it and has never done it wouldn't 'get it' to the unwashed it always looks slow!! ;)

What times were you doing Blue? With the video splicing/traffic I couldn't really tell.

Ok, had a look now, that footage was just me filming others, not me at work – so I went back to the originals to have a look - from a small sample set from the middle of a session after I joined the fast group for a bit - looks like I was doing ~ 46s ... I don’t know what that equates to in average lap speed?? … how long is Lydden? :scratch:

New youtube vid me on my own (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdfXlNEkFDc)

[Flamin_Squirrel]

~ 0.98 miles, so you were averaging around 76mph.

My fastest time was just under 52 seconds, averaging 68mph. I must do better!

[juggler]

i am lazy, so i have just uploaded everything to here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahlloyd/Lydden20Oct2007
if anyone wants to save their own images, go right ahead!


Hi all, You got a few shots of some of our group in there too. Cool, cos we didn't take many.

Apologies on behalf of Graham, (black and orange leathers, black bandit 1200) who's little off you caught on camera and who shortened the day by taking the time to clear him up. He's reasonably well, just broken collar bone and bruising.

Hope everyone had fun.

Cheers.
Gary

[Al_Sweetman]

Great snaps! What camera/film/settings were you using?

Anyway just out of curiosity who's bike is in piccie PA202371 with the blue led rear cluster? It looks sweeeet


*drool*.

[rigor]

That's Raf's Bike, but it isn't a blue rear cluster, it's blue electrical tape covering the normal cluster :D
http://lh6.google.com/sarahlloyd/Rxt2bP7uyWI/AAAAAAAABPc/LrBfyudJHYQ/PA202371.JPG?imgmax=512

[Al_Sweetman]

:-ddI knew that :$

Still, a blue light cluster, if the electrical tape is anything to go by, would look sweeeeet.

Think Mr Plod would get a bit ****ed though.... :smt018

[monkey]

He he he. Me too.

Out of interest, is it not be a good thing to let others behind see when you're braking and so help them avoiding hitting you from behind?

:confused:

[ibishu]

He he he. Me too.

Out of interest, is it not be a good thing to let others behind see when you're braking and so help them avoiding hitting you from behind?

:confused:
not being the expert, but i thought its mainly to avoid little pieces of rear brake glass/plastic casing from going all over the track should anything untoward occur mid corner.
lights and indicators get covered up too, but there is no hard a fast consistency that i have noticed.

[ibishu]

Great snaps! What camera/film/settings were you using?

Anyway just out of curiosity who's bike is in piccie PA202371 with the blue led rear cluster? It looks sweeeet


*drool*.

olympus e500 digital slr with my zoom lens. buggered if i can remember what zoom it is though. but its no where near as good as sam's.

[monkey]

not being the expert, but i thought its mainly to avoid little pieces of rear brake glass/plastic casing from going all over the track should anything untoward occur mid corner.
lights and indicators get covered up too, but there is no hard a fast consistency that i have noticed.

Focussed events trackdays don't stipulate that anything is covered up. They don't even make sure the mirrors are off but tell you to bend them in, in case you look in them.

[Blue_SV650S]

He he he. Me too.

Out of interest, is it not be a good thing to let others behind see when you're braking and so help them avoiding hitting you from behind?

:confused:

I'd say in most cases it'd be a good idea, in some case though it might not ... like if you are mid turn behind someone, you see their brake flick on you might react (over react) and get into trouble ... if all it was as them resting their finger on the leaver/peddle not activating the brakes ... well its not good is it!! :D

[monkey]

I'd say in most cases it'd be a good idea, in some case though it might not ... like if you are mid turn behind someone, you see their brake flick on you might react (over react) and get into trouble ... if all it was as them resting their finger on the leaver/peddle not activating the brakes ... well its not good is it!! :D

Good point my smurflike friend.

[monkey]

Roughly how many people were there in total and how many groups? Was the day run by the track itself?
:)

[Jester666]

4 groups, Novice, 2 x intermeditate, expert.

Up to about 35/40 in each group.

Yes.

HTH!! :thumbsup:

[Davies]

Of course Jester666 was the only one who was in the position to count the number of riders in the group as he pretty much passed everyone :D

[Jester666]

I thank you!!! :takeabow: :D

[rigor]

Of course Jester666 was the only one who was in the position to count the number of riders in the group as he was watching from the gravel trap ;)

Corrected so he doesn't get a big head ;)

[Jester666]

Oi!! I made it out, upright..............................Twice!!! ;-)

[monkey]

Yeah and I reckon it was the gravel flinging off your tyres over the track that caused all of the other mishaps. ;) You're lucky it wasn't deep. My mate done a summersault off his bike in the gravel after copse I think at Brands. It's something I'm not keen on trying. Although I'm sure it could be branded as an extreme sport.

[Blue_SV650S]

Boys, boys, boys ... THIS is how we negotiate a gravel trap!! :oops: :D

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb319/blue_sv650s/brandscrash_2.jpg


Original proof by http://www.swaffs.co.uk/

[Jester666]

Was that you Blue? :shock:

[Blue_SV650S]

Was that you Blue? :shock:

:oops:

[Jester666]

OOPsy!! :lol:

[Jester666]

Where was it?

[Blue_SV650S]

Where was it?

Brands ... paddock hill 2005.

I've had my legs up in the air more often than a $12 ***** ...

my most recent ...

http://www.racing-line-photography.com/images/bzone/DH/22/images/rdhu4437.jpg

:oops:

Proof from www.racing-line-photography.com (http://www.racing-line-photography.com)

[monkey]

Ouch. I'm not listening to any more of your advise. Bin it to win it? I'd rather lose. He he he. Was there a collision or a chain reaction as there are two on the deck?

[Blue_SV650S]

Ouch. I'm not listening to any more of your advise. Bin it to win it? I'd rather lose. He he he. Was there a collision or a chain reaction as there are two on the deck?

Despite how it looks I am not a 'crasher' by nature [-X :D ... but one can't always avoid being 'taken out'!! :cry:

I'll let you work out what happened ... see pic taken just before the above ending ... notice me frame left (yella bike) ... Silver bike frame right (on the grass!!)

http://www.racing-line-photography.com/images/bzone/DH/22/images/pbhs0691.jpg


:smt091 :smt013:smt076:smt092 :smt086

[monkey]

I reckon the geezer on the silver bike came shooting over the track after saving it on the grass and took you out good and proper?

[Demonz]

I'll go with the silver bike lost it trying to turn on the grass and it went across the track and took you out.

Blue that Paddock hill off looks like a beauty. What happened there?

[Blue_SV650S]

I'll go with the silver bike lost it trying to turn on the grass and it went across the track and took you out.

Blue that Paddock hill off looks like a beauty. What happened there?

100% correct!!! Gold star to Gmonsta!!! :smt045

As for the paddock hill one, that WAS my fault - just pushing that bit too hard … I was leading the championship at the time and was running 4th in that race (after a poor start/opening lap/s) … I was trying HARD (too hard) to get back up the front with the others … I had cleared the rabble and could see the leaders, the silver bike in that pic is JPS, he is leading the race - so I was in with a chance, but there are not many laps left so I can’t mess about … anyway, like I said, just tried to run a couple of KMH more through paddock and the front just gently washed near the apex, down I went!! :cry:

Bent the forks/yokes that did … I didn’t have a spare set so rode the remaining races that weekend with bent forks!! :D

Ahhh, they were the days!! :D

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Did you win the season?

[Blue_SV650S]

Did you win the season?

Short answer – NO!! :cry:

If you actually care to know why – I can give the long answer ;) - that year did spell the end of my racing career though!!

[Blue_SV650S]

Oh well, you are getting it anyway!! :D

Its a long one, so I suggest you either get a cup of tea and read it, or move along!! :D
-
-
The story of Blue_
-

Ok, so like I said, teh DNF had punished me, but I had hit hard enough already to still be leading the championship at this point... again as has been stated, I had bent the forks and yokes, so needed to source new ones before the next round.

The next round was 2 weeks after, so I had about 10 days to get it sorted, looked at eBay, nothing that looked appropriate at that time. Now, I wanted 100% straight, so I’d have had to be lucky off eBay anyway … so was looking at buying NEW stanchions and yokes to guarantee straightens. ABE do aftermarket replacement stanchions, but they were out of stock and the guy was an a55 and wouldn’t really give me a definitive date on when they would get more … so with the KY jelly in preparation, off to Mr Yamaha I went … a pair of NEW yokes and NEW stanchions cost me the fatter part of a grand from Yamaha … ouch!! :( But they could get them in in time, so went that route.

So I stripped and rebuilt my forks at great expense, but at least I KNEW they would be 100% straight 8) I had all this done with about 3 days to spare … it had been a manic rush (remember I do/did everything on the bike myself and have to go to work too!! ;)) but I was ready … sweet … phew!! 8)

So a couple of days later, off to Cadwell I went, picked my crew up along the way and away we went!! … got about 1/2 way there and the van blew up!!! FFS, what next?!?!!!! :cry:

So needless to say I had to get the van recovered home and I missed that round … all those potential championship points given away like that, devastated … Oh and to add insult to injury, the club keep your entry fees, so that was money down the pan … and I had a van to fix …

The van had overheated (turned out to be a blocked rad) and blown the head gasket. When I got the head off, turns out it had warped the head too … so I had to get it skimmed and a new rad etc too ..

The next round was in France, I had to miss that due to money and time.

There was then a long break of in the season … then the next round … Pembrey in Wales … off I went in my repaired van … it got me there fine, she was a gem!! :)

Now bearing in mind I had missed 2 rounds, I hadn’t been on the bike for like coming on 3 months I think it was … and as usual I couldn’t afford/justify practice, so the first time I got to be back on the bike (with its untested new forks) was in morning warmup (~3 laps) :o … As it turns out the layoff didn’t really matter as I was soon at home on in the saddle again and where Pembrey had only been on the calender for a year of so, not everone was as well versed as say Brands …

However it was blatantly clear my engine was playing up (cutting out on idle (set at 3k) and no low/midrange). I did get on the podium at one point, but struggled all weekend in the slow turns with lack of drive. Also when you have an engine playing up it is hard to 100% fully ‘commit’ as you don’t know if it is going to pop or cut out … not good when you require it to drive you out of a turn else you will crash!!! :(

Anyhoo, the engine was not right, so had to send the bike off to the engine tuners to sort after that round …

Turned out it had burnt out all the inlet valves (or was it exhaust??) it wasn’t idling or giving low/mid drive as it had very low compression as many of the valves had no ‘clearance’ (where they had burnt out and ‘stepped’). Obviously top end power would be suffering too …

I wouldn't mind but I had only just had the engine 'refreshed' at great expense, but needless to say, it cost me best part of a grand again to fix … the tuner put it down to a dodgy batch of fuel!! :cry:

By this time not only did I think the world was against me, but the money was spiralling out of control, unlike many of my competitors, I had NO sponsorship and I was 100% fully self funded … its expensive enough to compete, without all these extra costs …

I had given away lots of points an powerless to prevent it ... I was getting depressed about the whole thing ..

I did one more round, but my heart wasn’t in it, I had only managed to make/complete about 1/3 of the season so far so I was falling behind in tracktime too (pace picks up as year goes on) and the results reflected it …

After that round I made a tough decision (read on).

-
-
-

Ok, so I had been racing for quite a few years, riding wise I was at my peak, I was having zero practice on an ageing bike and still putting it on the podium at every round (i.e. before things started going wrong). Having this run of unlucky and costly events and watching my championship slip away when I could do nothing about it was soul destroying.

I desperately needed a new bike as technology was moving on every year and it was making my job harder and harder, I could do with a spare too as it takes the pressure off binning #1. I just didn’t have the cash for that and to race too …

Anyway, after having such a rough year luck and money wise, my passion for it had dwindled, I had been doing it for a fair few years now and I also had had enough of spending EVERYTHING (and more) on racing, I had let relationships suffer over my carrier as … well I had spent ALL my money and efforts on racing, not directing any/enough toward that … 8-[

So I had had enough … I had done the racing thing, I knew what I was and wasn’t capable of and wanted to do other things with my life, after seeing so many people die and get injured along the way over the years, I was also thinking more and more about the dangers; as soon as that starts, the rot sets in, it's all over … so for a combination of all the above reason, I quit there and then and withdrew the rest of my entries!!!

Oh and although only did ~1/3 of a season, think I had still hit hard enough to begin with to finished 5th (or was it 6th?) in the championship come year end ...

I don’t regret my time as a racer, but still wonder how things would have been if I had more money/a serious sponsor!!

Phew, told you it was a long answer!! :D