OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => Competition => Topic started by: Graeme M on July 21, 2008, 07:47:03 pm
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Family and funding constraints kept me from the CRC (damn!) but to make up for it I got to race at the ACT club day on Sunday. Only a few classics turned up - me on the RM125M, Gezza on the 86 CR250, Simon on the CR480, Krafty and his trusty YZ250, Eric and another YZ250 and Andrew with a nice 83 CR250. I knew I was gonna be outgunned but I wanted to test the new clutch and my setup for the shocks before the HEAVEN meet there soon.
The forecast looked a bit average, but on the day it turned out brilliant - well, for the morning anyway. Cold, but clear, and the track simply brilliant. Lovely and loamy and no skatey bits at all. We spent a little while standing around feeling the cold cos of a nasty crash in one of the senior classes, but eventually Gezza and me found ourselves on the startline for the Over 35s. Hmmm... me on a 33 year old 125 with 7" of travel, everyone else on YZF450s and KTM535s...
The race went great though, the RM was really singing and for a lap or so I was ahead of two of em! But inevitably everyone passed me and it was a fairly lonely ride for the last lap. Still, I WAS having a ball. Next up was the old bikes, and this was hopefully going to be better. We ride along with the ladies, but man those girls hammer. Again, lotsa 250s and 450s. I got a lousy start but managed to keep everyone in sight for a fair bit of the race. And that was the tone for the day - well blown off along the start straight and then slowly falling behind.
But the RM was flying. At least, it felt like it. Maybe it wasn't at all? I guess considering I finished well back from the slowest person in every race it wasn't going real quick at all, but it sure felt like it. The clutch was working fine, and the shocks working to perfection. I was seriously impressed - with the YSS PD valves and shocks, the suspension is brilliant for a Pre 78 bike.
I thought to myself that just maybe giving away 20 HP, 5" of travel and lots of braking power might be a sufficient excuse for being dead last in every race, but I think it might be that I need to learn how to jump too. Thank God they won't include the whoops at HEAVEN's race there. I was just rolling them...
Meanwhile, Gezza was flying, actually beating Krafty twice. Krafty used to be the gun man to beat in our class, and although Simon on the 480 is a bit quicker, he's still a formidable opponent. Gezza was rewarded with a second overall for his efforts. Pretty cool I thought.
The highlight of my day was keeping Andrew's CR250 and one of the girls YZF250s behind me for 2 or 3 laps, that felt so good. I think it was mostly creative line choice (read blocking) but hey! I'll take it. I could hear that YZF thumping away and once I picked which side it was coming up on, that was the line I took for the corner. hehehe... Mind you, is it cool to do that to a cute 17 year old girl?
The funniest part of the day was getting caught up in a turn one pileup and being pinned under every other bike. Once they dug me out neither me nor the RM suffered even a graze. Weird!
But by the end of the day, I was buggered. Trying to ride a buzzy little old 125 at speed is bloody hard work. I was simply knackered, and once it started raining I didn't feel at all bad sitting out the last race. It did look like fun out there (no, it didn't!), but the amount of mud on Gezza's bike showed me that I made the right choice. After CD5 I never want to clean a muddy bike again.
So, that was the day. I love that little RM. I wish it had an extra 10 horses, but it really is fun to ride. I thought it went unbelieveably well for what it is, and now I can't wait for HEAVEN. So, while I didn't get to the CRC, I did find myself feeling pretty good on the drive home. Well, right up until some clot lost it at the roundabout and T-boned my trailer, that is...
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Hmmm what nasties eventuated Greame >:( I hope all is well after what was a good day for you. Tim
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No big dramas Tim. Very little damage - the big prob was the tyre was flat and so I had to get Gezza to go off to his place and get his trailer so we could transfer bikes and get em home. I went back and got my trailer today. The worst was standing in the 4 degrees dark and rain waiting for him to get back... I wussed out after a while and rang my wife to bring some dry clothes and a raincoat out to me.
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Sounds rough but OK, and nothing wrong or wussy about avoiding pneumonia. Cheers Tim
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just reading that ,and I think we have a good life us vmxer's always on an adventure ;D
Good on ya Graema M for have a hoot of a time ;D 8)
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Well, look at that! Someone got a pic of my 'off'...
http://mxrider.smugmug.com/gallery/5481256_WWPNt#335193042_FtTXa
These guys are good with a camera!
(http://mxrider.smugmug.com/photos/335193042_FtTXa-M.jpg)
(http://mxrider.smugmug.com/photos/335193325_UWY5J-M.jpg)
(http://mxrider.smugmug.com/photos/335193660_ZQgNe-M.jpg)
(http://mxrider.smugmug.com/photos/335194027_aLjec-M.jpg)
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thats absolute gold Greame!
crystal clear and smack bang in the middle of the pic!
beautiful...
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well that's one time the one vintage bike clearly came out on top (sorry, couldn't resist).
on to the vmx coaching day this thursday at fairbairn pk (other takers???).
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Greame, the other one that is falling off isnt the chick that you were chasing is it?? because it looks like you are giving her a kiss in the third picture but she is giving you a kick in the asre in the fourth ;) ;D
Bloody great photos though. You'll have to get them blown up and hang on the wall.
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I wish DJ! But no, it was another big ugly Over 35 racer. I must admit I hadn't realised we got so, errr... close. But I can see what's happened. I landed on him, cushioning my fall. And my leg was trapped between the RM and the other bikes, saving it from harm. Just for once, a crash that went OK.
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Nice one Graeme; I'm reminded of the 'Crash n Burn' magazines which came out from the States back in the day. Every page a compilation of racing bike crashes (I think only dirt bike crashes - not roadies).
Anyone still have any of those?
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it was a great day, I had a blast. We really missed the Canberra Heaven guys, didn't we?
here's some more great pics;
youngpup 1st
(Sorry guys, Graeme, how do I post the pics the same size like you have above?)
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Gezza 2nd - well done!
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Krafty
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Woody
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Eric
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vmxman (upright)
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If you're not using the pegs Graeme you could take them off to lighten the weight...show 'em you're serious! ;)
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nice pics woody, thanks for uploading. who took em?
ps you missed a very useful Old School MX Coaching Day at the track last thursday. ok, more like Old Blokes, as my '86 CR was the oldest bike there. by about twenty years. but all old blokes so that's something. our resident hotshoe coach got us rip-rearing in that 'attack' position, and even doing stoppies (not mine - how about 'slowies'?) and rear brake controlled first gear wheelies. plus all that fancy stuff like squaring off corners and seat bouncing. As a result, I'm now around .45sec a lap faster i reckon - whoa!