Random 1980s racing pictures

[onformula1]

Cool that should be a 4.6 Kg/mm spring, I will double check it when I can test it.

I am kinda surprised that is pretty light for a hard charger.

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[3WW Star-John_Neary]

I come bearing Tri Moto's and cake





*the cake is a lie*

@onforumal1- This was not the original shock the bike came with and even fully backed off on preload it has a good bit on tension so likely not the ideal spring for this flat track setup either.

Nicholson framed Rob Selvy tuned CR480 in anger

[atc007]

First pic_=Finally a pic I can relate too! Barbed wire fence,woodchuck holes, ditches,ravines,and lots of tall grass{ Too grab hold of your feet and pull them down under the pegs } Great stuff John, you have a treasure trove of gems in your arsenal.

[onformula1]

John, what are you going to do with the forks?

Do you think they are lowered internally for flat track?

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

Franks Rotax back before it and myself had become obsolete relics



@ATC007 - I even have no visor on my helmet in that first photo, i have indeed ticked all the boxes with that one.

@onformula1 - The forks are normal full motocross height, i had them slide up in the clamps about seven inches (real safe that, get your face harpooned onto a fork slider if you face plant). The forks do not leak or show any issues, the only trouble with them is most of the blue paint job that Kelvin did on them has clipped off and so they are fugly.

There is a good powder coating shop about five miles from my house that i am gonna give a call and see what they think since the guy who claims to specialize in restoring Simons forks - http://ltthor.home.comcast.net/~ltthor/forsale.html - has not returned my phone call or the two emails i sent him.

I would be happy with them just stripped silver as we ran that style on a number of our bikes, mainly George's amazing Nicholson Honda 250r.

[onformula1]

Wow, 7" up in the clamps with a open face helmet.. You are lucky!

So you don't have to take them apart you could have the paint removed by soda blasting or get you a gallon of aircraft paint stripper, both will not change the texture. If you use the stripper make sure the area is well ventilated or you we be walking around like you were at Woodstock.

[onformula1]

I talk to Thor by email from time to time, sometimes he is very fast, sometimes it takes a few days.

He races vintage MX bikes and supports vintage races, so he is busy.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

Braappp, shift, brappp, shift, brapp, shift, braapppp, shift, braaaaap, shift...repeat every five seconds..shortest powerband ever.

Rotax makes great engines but you can only do so much with a crazy overboard/short stroke setup.



@onformula1 - If you can get a rise out of Thor please try to as getting his internal parts update, service and fresh paint has been my plan all along. But shipping forks without a proper case is tough and frankly i have lost all faith in UPS and Fedex to not play Rugby with my shippments.

In the old days i would use one of my Dad's hard plastic rifle cases to ship my forks in but i do not have access to those any longer.

Since they do not leak or anything the paint getting redone or removed is the only pressing matter, i have not started on them as i want my whole bench clear so they are on hold in till i get my engine back together and out of the way next week.

And i was wrong, the forks did not come up above the handlebars (but it did sound dramatic,huh)

[onformula1]

I am confused, do you want them upgraded? or tricked out to more of a 2015 standard? or just painted, cleaned and the fluid changed?

Thor powder coats most of the Simons forks, but recommends Krylon Safety Yellow in the can as a match and if you check around that's what most of the MX guys do, I have 2 different ovens I put fork and shock parts in to cure them, it makes them shinier, smooths out the paint and a lot tougher.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

I do not care about changing dampening rods or any of that, just the reliability stuff that he offers would be on my shopping list. The forks are really not a big deal as i can take those off and have them sorted at any point, the rear shock bugs me way more and is not something i wanna pull out again once i put the bike back together if i can help it.

Plus i still have unresolved front brake issues to work out so the front end is gonna be a work in progress for a while so no rush on the forks just yet.

I might be able to chip off the rest of the old blue paint myself then the forks go to bottom of the priority list as i need to save up if i want my engine crated, insured and shipped for work i cant do myself (it really needs a 1/8 inch shaved off the back by the pivot bolt so it is no longer touches the swing arm).

So long story short...shock first, forks later.

[onformula1]

^ Cool, let me know if I can help when you get to that point.

A 1/8" can be shaved pretty easy with a dremel tool with a sanding roll, yourself touch it up and you will never seen it, plus it will come out nice anyway.

I was always surprised Frank's didn't set it up to where the frame, swingarm and motor used the same pivot bolt, MX bike style.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

Ever wonder why every Pomona Mickey Thompson GP picture is just from practice or staging? Here is why.



The lighting was hopeless for photos, their idea of lights was a couple flashlights on top of 80 foot poles..you can see a few in the background.

@onformula1- The separate bolt for the swing arm and pivot i think was to make it easier to work on the bike, so you could remove the engine without the bike falling allover itself. I *believe* he did not always use the twin bolt setup and that my KTM125 Franks had a single, shared rear pivot bolt.

My list so far for engine work i would like done is -
Rear shaved for clearance.

New oil seals.
Ignition inspected, tested and timed.
New piston and ring, hone and the head lathed because of some light damage from detonation.
Lower end split, inspected and anything worn or aged to be sorted.
Cases repainted.
Reassembled and air leak tested.
Time machine back to 1984 so i can put the smack down on those Kawi and Honda boys :P

[onformula1]

John, you are probably correct and those trikes were in the early days of suspension technology. Later on the effects on chain torque, rising rates and pivot points were realized. As a suspension guy I would love to know what the linkage rate is on that trike.

[3WW Star-John_Neary]

Yeah before we ever meet Kelvin we had been using ATK anti torque chain guides and had a run of bikes before that with chain throwing issues. I lost a couple of big races due to broken chains or masterlink clips flicked off because of the chain hitting something on the frame. We started using epoxy on our masterclips for the big races after that.

Plush and Franks are words you will never hear George or I mutter in the same sentence, you could jump them off a building and not bottom but braking bumps...ridgid.

You can see the ATK device on my Can Am, the silver thing by the pivot bolt.

[onformula1]

Yeah, the good old days! We used to run the clip on the inside and then 3M elephant snot the whole thing.

Remember- Air forks, air shocks, anti-dive units, progressive springs with so many coils the guys would install them and blow the fork seals on the first jump, air balancers, neoprene seals, massive amounts of spring pre-load, ATF & Motor oil in the forks, positive or negative air pressure in forks, external fork springs, ETC. I am surprised we survived. If you invented something and it made it in the magazines, it sold well.