Gordon in a grump...

I am going to have to spend some time with Gordon - I called at the garage today, and he was in a right grump at having being ignored for the last couple of weeks.
When his mates returned home and filled him in with details of the Jawa I had been riding at Most he was feeling a bit left out. I assured him it was just a test and I was looking forward to the next race with him.
There are a few jobs to be done before Donington all of which Steve and I will be able to get done over the weekend.
We are off up to The Sun Inn tomorrow night to generate some more interest in his 100 Club and hopefully sell some more membership places. See you up there!

Great test!

The weekend has proved to be a great test session.

We've had a lot of laughs and met up with some good friends.

When it came to the race it was simply a three way dice. I led for the majority of the race, but in the end with a few problems missing gears, I was overpowered by the MZ and the experience of Johannes at his home circuit and was pipped into 2nd place on the last lap.

Everything ready.

Morning warm up went fine.
Only did one flying lap, spending the rest of the time practising my start.

With the MZs having almost 15bhp more, I want to get to the front as soon as possible hopefully arriving at the first corner in the lead.

Morning warm up.

I am only going to do a couple of laps.
Mainly to check the motor as Martin worked long into the night replacing one of the cam buckets that had cracked. Apparently I had over revved the engine when missing gears and done the damage.
Got a soft rear on ready for the race so want to preserve that also.

Stowaways.

In second qualifying I continued to test and try different settings. On track with Nico and Johannes I was able to measure and compare their strengths and weaknesses.
The MZ is much faster in a straight line but I still managed to hang on to pole position.
No sooner was the bike back in the garage than Gordon's mates were swarming all over it.

Just one thing chaps.

Been for a walk round and done some thinking.

I want to try and make the shock less 'harsh' but it is a very difficult thing to translate in Czech.

So with just an hour before the second qualifying we have gone for a shock change.

1st qualifying.

It's cooler today and a little windy.
The forks are better and it means I can push the front more; but with all modifications, this then affects somewhere else. The back end needs more adjustment now.
Got pole though, with another 1,50.00 - Father and son MZ riders Johannes and Nico are between me and Libor with Nico the faster just 0.6 behind me.

That'll do.

I was really working towards getting in to the 49s by the end of testing.

Actually did a 50.00 so that'll do.

I hope that the heavier fork oil will do the trick tomorrow for qualifying.

Now the Mali-Jawa aside, I just remember another reason why I like this Czech team so much, proper refreshments.

Having fun.

Second session got down to 1,50.36.

There is nothing Martin can do with the forks today, he is going to put some heavier oil in tonight,

Rear adjustments didnt work so put them back to the original settings.

Going out in the last session to look for and try some new lines as the majority of the bumps are on the racing line, so I might try and find a way to ride round them.

That's sorted then.

A bit of duc tape and things are put to right.
10 laps later with a best time of 1,53.30

The bike feels good, front forks need slowing down. Tweaked the rear a bit, pulled in the bars and ready for the next session.

you're having a laugh...

Could not believe it when I saw the number on my bike - and it's Friday! Apparently Jan always rides no.13, it's lucky for him.

Right then.

All present and correct.

Up at the track, the bike's arrived and so has the luggage.

Typical. No sooner had we given up waiting gone to bed and only just fallen asleep than the phone rang. KLM fantastic, all four bags and nothing missing.

Beautiful evening.

Here we are in the lovely Czech Republic visiting the castle overlooking Most.

You can just see the circuit in the background.

Bit of a bu$$er, none of our the luggage has got here yet, all four bag are astray, having missed the flight from Amsterdam, that's two Arai RX7RR, and two pairs of leathers. However, I have confidence KLM have never let me down before...

Most or bust!

Gordon is a bit mad with me because I'm off to Most in the Czech Republic to race a works Jawa, the Mali Jawa team invited me over to test one of their machines and I thought the best way to test the bike would be to race it!

It will not be to replace Gordon and the race was not on Gordon's calendar so I've told him not to panic.

It didn't stop some of Gordon's mates help me pack my race gear and I caught this lot trying to get into my Arai helmet carrier.

I will be updating the blog from Most as the test develops.

Gordon's grand day out.

Front end sorted.

On to Steve Jordan m/cycles, where Steve has replaced the springs with 0.85 weight and increased the air gap.

Already I can instantly feel its much improved, more like I wanted it to be.

Gordon gets a run.

Here we are at MHP with Mark Hill doing his stuff with Gordon on the dyno.

Gordon was a bit nervous at first, but Mark soon put him at his ease.

First few runs and Mark says looks fine; 74 horses, just a couple of tweaks to try.

First stop to see Martin.

Out and about with Gordon today. We left home at 5am arriving at Slipstream for 9.15 - Martin is lending me a selection of needles and jets to try out on the dyno at M.H.P.

Off now to Byfleet, to run on the dyno, then on to see Mr. & Mrs. Jordan.

Membership sales

Just about halfway there with membership sales, the black stars represent tickets that are away and waiting to be signed/returned.

I hope to get a lot more sales before Donington to avoid any disappointment, the easest way would be for you all to buy a second ticket (upping your chance of winning to 1 in 50) and we are there!

As I've said before Gordon is a good track bike now, I'm planning some work next week that should make him into a great bike to own.

I will be sad to see him go, if enough tickets are sold someone will get a real gem!

Gordon goes on holiday.

Gordon has just returned from having a weeks holiday being on display at Jordan Bikes near Leeds.

Jordan Bikes is Yorkshire's biggest used bike showroom, just 200 yards from the M62 at junction 27.

Click here for the website Jordan Bikes

Looks good naked..

I think Gordon looks really good without his clothes on; you can really get to see him and his modifications really well.

Here during his recent test at Silvertsone you can see the design of the 2 into 1 MHP exhaust system, showing the different header pipe lengths. Plus a good shot of the exposed flywheel and re-enforced back plate on the l/h side of the engine.

This on track action shot is courtesy of Jen and Ben at Fresh Orange Photography