Random 1980s racing pictures

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

i feel so fancy with the star by my name

@onformula1 - I called Myler's and they quoted me $45 to straighten all the fins and repaint the radiators (they just have a few bare spots mostly where the radiator hoses mount. Now i am wondering if having all the paint removed would be better, silver radiators look kinda cool.

@ctk

[onformula1]

I always strip every radiator for better cooling, it is also easier to spot a leak, but striped is not very nostalgic.

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[3WW Star-John_Neary]

Just got off the phone with Tony Murphy, really nice guy and it sounds like my engine was sourced from him since Kelvin bought all his Rotax engines from Tony back in the day so he has a good idea already what parts work with it. Base gaskets, clutch parts, rings, wrist pin clip are all standard Rotax 250 stuff that he has in stock and only the piston,crank and internal ignition parts would be hard to replace.

Knowing i can get a base gasket and rings makes me feel a lot better about taking off the top end and having a look inside to see what if any damage sitting so long has done. So i figure at the least i should plan on replacing the rings, wrist clips, head and base gaskets and the clutch pack since the one in the bike has half a season of races on it.

Gotta remember not to have two cups of coffee before calling Tony next time... so excited to finally get a Rotax parts guy on the phone i was talking a mile a minute.

[oile]

That is awesome news John I hope you get it back in top shape. That is my dream 3wheeler you have I hope someday I will be able to find one.

[barnett468]

i feel so fancy with the star by my name

@onformula1 - I called Myler's and they quoted me $45 to straighten all the fins and repaint the radiators (they just have a few bare spots mostly where the radiator hoses mount. Now i am wondering if having all the paint removed would be better, silver radiators look kinda cool.

@ctk

John, as far as straightening the fins, you can do that with the exact same tool they use.

http://www.amazon.com/Allstar-ALL106.../dp/B006K8GKBO




I like the idea of going natural, however, imo, they won’t look great after they are stripped due to their age and/or the finish on the orig material . . If I went natural, I would get them anodized . . You can get this done In different colors or you can get a semi gloss or chrome like finish.

Also, anodizing will increase their ability to cool by a noticeable amount and they will cool better than if you painted them with a high emissivity thermal coating.

http://www.mark7radiators.com/anodiz...radiator.shtml

This is what a semi gloss finish would look like.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

I am gonna stick with the Honda flat black and just have them straighten the fins and touch up the paint. If i want silver ill buy a set of Myler's house brand radiators.

[Orangecnty250r]

Just got off the phone with Tony Murphy, really nice guy and it sounds like my engine was sourced from him since Kelvin bought all his Rotax engines from Tony back in the day so he has a good idea already what parts work with it. Base gaskets, clutch parts, rings, wrist pin clip are all standard Rotax 250 stuff that he has in stock and only the piston,crank and internal ignition parts would be hard to replace.

Knowing i can get a base gasket and rings makes me feel a lot better about taking off the top end and having a look inside to see what if any damage sitting so long has done. So i figure at the least i should plan on replacing the rings, wrist clips, head and base gaskets and the clutch pack since the one in the bike has half a season of races on it.



Gotta remember not to have two cups of coffee before calling Tony next time... so excited to finally get a Rotax parts guy on the phone i was talking a mile a minute.

Its truly awesome we still have access to Tony. He does know his Rotax's doesnt he!! Someone with decades of experience wont be around forever. When Mike at Vintage rebuilt my Franks motor he talked to him frequently. I had Myler's redo all of my tiger R3 rads. They did a pretty decent job. Its impossible to get them perfect. I would use them again.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

sigh, well i got the head off and since the base studs for the cylinder are like a foot long so the bolts attach up by the head i figured gotta now take off the cylinder since the base gasket likely needs replacing and &^T@&$ the cylinder cant slide off the long base studs with out hitting the frame...so engine has to come out to remove the cylinder....brilliant!

now i gotta get my hands on someone who can help me get the engine out

[atc007]

Wish I was closer... I'm sure George doesn't have anything better to do

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

George is grumpy when it is this hot so ill look for a more willing helper, i got a while since i had to order some tools that i am lacking namely a chain breaker,torque wrench and a 22mm socket for removing the rear engine bolt. Only the three engine mount bolts and the chain still holding the engine in atm.

P.S. sorry for no pics in the last page or so but the server is acting up and brings up a error when i try to upload so once that is fixed i got some photos sorted and ready.

[barnett468]

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sigh, well i got the head off and since the base studs for the cylinder are like a foot long so the bolts attach up by the head i figured gotta now take off the cylinder since the base gasket likely needs replacing and &^T@&$ the cylinder cant slide off the long base studs with out hitting the frame...so engine has to come out to remove the cylinder....brilliant!

now i gotta get my hands on someone who can help me get the engine out

If the studs will clear the frame by pulling them straight up, and the base of the stud is not larger than the rest of the stud, you can simply remove the studs by locking two nuts together on them then unscrewing them . . I've doe this many times.
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[3WW Star-John_Neary]

@barnett468 - I already tried that and they wont budge using a normal size wrench and it is not worth risking the threads in the case since i wanna pull the motor out in any event so i can properly seal the clutch case with Yamabond after having a look inside and cleaning stuff up (gonna replace the clutch springs at the least).

Whoever put it together used some crappy blue and red permatex and made a mess of the job. No case gaskets on the Rotax so want it out and right in front of me when i go to put it back together.

Gonna call Tony now and order the intake, exhaust and base gaskets,a head gasket o-ring and see if he has anything in mind for the water jacket o-ring and piston ring.

*edit* just got off the phone with Tony and he has everything i need in stock so that is awesome, i am gonna measure the diameter of the piston and the waterjacket o-ring just so we are sure on sizing.

I told him you guys here speak well of him and he got a kick out of that.

[barnett468]

.
Hey John, I just signed up for Cycle News Magazine online [that I mentioned to you earlier] for the decade of 1980 thru 1989 hoping they would have some 3 wheeler results, and searched a few people’s names including mine and yours, and found both of us in several editions, but I only found motorcycle results so far . . I searched for Jimmie White also and nothing came up.

I looked up one of the editions you were in for a 250 race at Glen Helen on September 10th 1989 . . You were battling it out with two guys named Phil Butler and Eric Casas . . I thought it was pretty cool.

I found one with me getting 3rd behind Tim Lunde and Brian Ellis at OCIR in the 500 class . . I’ll be happy with that any day of the week . . Tim won both Pro classes that night and his brother Chuck was also really fast . . They were both local legends.

I can tell you what editions you were in if you want but unfortunately I can’t copy any of the text from them.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

@barnett468 - Yeah i remember Eric Casas, we raced against each other during the CMC GoldenState series in the 500cc class on dirt bikes. I really enjoyed racing both the TransCal and GoldenState series, Stu Peters ran a great program back in those days. Made some nice coin off sponsor contingency in 89 and 90 racing the 250 and 500 classes.

[barnett468]

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@barnett468 - Yeah i remember Eric Casas, we raced against each other during the CMC GoldenState series in the 500cc class on dirt bikes. I really enjoyed racing both the TransCal and GoldenState series, Stu Peters ran a great program back in those days. Made some nice coin off sponsor contingency in 89 and 90 racing the 250 and 500 classes.

xlnt, yeah those were fun . . Did you ever race a Motorcycle at Saddleback or Carlsbad?

I rode one of his Golden State races at Saddleback and one at Carlsbad, but that was in the late 70’s when I was still young, lol . . They were often different dates than the AMA races, so lot’s of big name AMA guys like Galon Mosier [whom my girlfriend liked], Jeff Jennings, Warren Reid and Gary Denton etc, and all the local legends like the Lunde and Gillman brothers and Val Tamietti etc, would all show up.

I remember the first time I ever went down Bonzai Hill, otherwise known as ”The Drop of Death” . . It was in a Golden State, Open Pro Race, and I was on a full blown factory FMF, 370 Suzuki I got from them because their AMA rider destroyed his shoulder and couldn’t ride for at least 6 months.

I usually got killer starts on all my bikes [then slowly worked my way backwards, lol] so I was around 3rd or 4th at the top of the hill, which was almost even with 1st and 2nd, then we made the sharp left, and suddenly…there it was . . Well being in front of 30 other 500’s didn’t leave me many options, so I twisted the throttle and actually landed at the very bottom, at which time, my unmentionables and maybe my hip bones SLAMMED into the gas tank as my suspension bottomed out and actually left 2 dents in it . . My stomach immediately felt less than happy which lasted for several laps . . Fortunately, I never had to go down Bonzai Hill again, lol.