New York City
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New York City |
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Evolution of a Norton Racer: 2008 |
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January 2008: Without a heart! Here sits a lonely 1962 Featherbed frame and bits. The motor has been removed so I can check the balance factor. The bike shook last year, and it was time to get that sorted. Off to Lindskog's with the crank, rods, pistons, pins, clips, etc. I'm working on some new things for 2008, but I'll leave it at that for now. In the meantime, I'm amassing all the pieces necessary to get a bike back out on the track and defend my championship. Daytona looms. This year I'll be riding a friend's Triumph (cough cough!) on the high banking, which will allow me a bit more time to get things sorted properly with the Norton to be ready for a fast 2008. |
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Twin Towers of Power New JE Pistons - So beautiful. Such a shame to hide them away in the motor. Good things are afoot, so keep checking back. When I have something tangible to show, this page will be chock full of pretty stuff to peruse. |
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March 3, 2008 Dudes need some SUN! I took 2nd in BEARS at Daytona on Monday, riding a friend's Triumph T140. Here we are living large at the Daytona winner's circle. In Tuesday's race I had a great one going, swapping first place with another Triumph, but blew the clutch on the banking sometime around the 5th lap. Bummer. Nonetheless, I couldn't be happier to arrive back home unscathed. Thanks to Works Engineering for the loaner and support, and for allowing me to have my moment whilst they wrenched to keep the bike going. |
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March 10, 2008 I am "EXTREAMLY" excited. |
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March 11, 2008 - Seeley Commando It was getting a bit boring around here, so I decided to take on a new charge. This is my brand spanking new Seeley MK2 (replica) frame built for me by John Woods Racing in the UK. John and I have been working closely over the last few months working through the details for the chassis, tanks, yokes, engine plates, etc. John will always get special mention from me. What a pleasant experience this has been getting all this sorted out. |
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It is a shame that I have to post such low-res images on this site as this frame and tank setup is absolutely a work of art. This is an exciting time as I get to document the build of this bike the same way I did my Featherbed. Most of the parts have been amassed and it's mainly about putting the puzzle together, getting everything aligned and assembled, and moving from there. I will post more detailed pictures as the build commences.
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March 20, 2008 - Mock Up Time to start bolting everything together. A couple of tweaks to the engine plates were necessary to get everything to fit proper, as every motor is slightly different. I've opted for a Quaife close-ratio 5-speed here, and some very trick Works Ultralight shocks. Up front is a Norvil disk hub, and in the rear is a Triumph T140 disk hub. This motor is just here for mock up as mine is getting a good going through with Mike Rich Motorsports. |
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March 21, 2008 - Alignment Particular attention was paid to the alignment of the front and rear wheels and all sprockets. I had some alignment issues with the Featherbed which caused some problems with wear on the sprockets and want to be sure this bike is blueprinted from the get-go |
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March 22, 2008 - Offset and truing This rear Triumph(!) hub was used on quite a famous Norton racer back in the day and I hope some of its mojo will rub off on this bike. But, as I've found time and again, nothing ever just drops right in. After lining up the hub and sprockets it was time to move the rim over and reduce some of the offset that was initially built into this wheel, aligning it with the front. This is tedious work, best done whilst enjoying your favorite beverage (notice the fizzy water bottle in the background), listening to your favorite music, all with an open-ended schedule. Not only was it necessary to pull the rim over more central to the hub by loosening one side and tightening the other, but also necessary to insure it stayed true by tweaking individual spokes along the way. Good God, I need a haircut. |
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March 30, 2008 I finally got to sit on my new baby Seeley. It's long and low, and light as can be. I'm anxious to get it going. Mockup is pretty-much completed, and final build is about to commence. Time for the race motor and start buttoning it all up. I spent a lot of time working to achieve proper alignment of the wheels and making sure the rear chain had adequete clearance on the rear tire. It's close, with only about 1/4" to play with, and it might be prudent to shim the sprockets out a bit more. I've already put a .030" shim behind the countershaft sprocket and there's still lots of room to move it out a bit more, so maybe more shims there and a larger spacer behind the rear sprocket might be in order. |
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April 13, 2008 6 days until Summit Point, my first race on the new bike. New pistons, a rebalanced crank, a bit of a rise in compression, and a bit of a work up on the valves. The motor and gearbox go in (and come out) as a single unit so help was necessary. Have I said how wonderfully beautiful this Seeley frame is? Thank you John Woods. |
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April 14, 2008 - On the dyno Actually, just to get it started on the rolling road to get a heat cycle in. Didn't even try to get numbers on this motor with new pistons, rings, main bearings, and rod bearings. I'll be back after a few break-in laps at the track. |
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April 18th, 2008 - Leaving in 6 hours I had to burn a little midnight 20w50 to get everything assembled in time for Summit. Finally, Friday morning the dress goes on. Since my fairings unfortunately have yet to arrive I borrowed an old fairing from Jamie Waters, which was a great help, allowing me to get the final details sorted. |
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April 19, 2008 - Pay no attention to the hammer Summit Point - 80 degrees in April, a new track surface, and a beautiful new bike. I woke up at dawn to find a can of Guiness miraculously "tumbled" out of the cooler the night before and left its marks EVERYWHERE on the bike. A fine christening, indeed. I retorqued the head, adjusted the valves, finished some safety wiring, and teched the bike. I ran a couple of laps in my first practice and was overwhelmed to say the least. But I was chuffed with the power of the motor, the power of disk brakes, having more gears than ever, and the stability of the chassis, naturally. Unfortunately I had a breather hose come off and oiled the right side a bit. Second practice was much better and I started pushing - maybe harder than I should. Then my gearchange linkage came undone 3 laps in and I pulled off. Onto the first race, V3. I promised myself not to really race, but to take it easy. Uh huh. I gridded up, got the green flag, and took off, passing some fast dudes. I pushed harder than ever but the bike was compliant as can be. It'll take more than I can give. At the end of the front straight on the 4th lap I felt the bike drag down. I grabbed the clutch and the motor died. The rear wheel was locked. I managed to safely pull off and took a seat on the sidelines, wondering what I'd done to my new baby. Turns out the rear hub's bearing retainer backed out and the hub shifted, forcing the brake caliper over to rub on the disk, causing it to overheat and sieze. Ack. Not devastating, but serious enough to make me sit out my other race. Back into the van, 4 hours back home, and back up on the bench for analysis. More later. |
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May 3, 2008 I strolled into my shop today and decided I should take a look at my motor as there was something in the back of my mind telling me the rear caliper couldn't have been all that was causing the bike to pull down at Summit. But wait, there's more... |
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Remember those beautiful pistons pictured a few cells above? Well, here they are after a few laps. Oh yeah. I've got 7 days to get this sorted, the motor put back in the bike, and the bike loaded onto a trailer on the way to Talladega. This is the BEST way to get rid of that pesky money. |
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The cases needed to be split as the rods weren't spinning on the crank very smoothly. Why, you ask? Because the brand new bearing shells are scored and gouged beyond belief. Going into the shop today, I thought I would do some minor stuff just to get the bike ready for Tally. HA! Kids, heed the warning - racing is an absolute disease with no way out. Take all your time, money and good intentions and flush them down the toilet. You'll be better off. |
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| I will continue to add details and content as time allows. Kenny Cummings |
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