No way Jose...

This picture only tells half the story.

Even if I set to try and rebuild him there is major stuff that I just can't put right before racing tomorrow.

Both wheels are wrecked, exhausts are ripped off, and sub frame is remodelled.

Good job there are five weeks until the next event.

Early bath...

Testing this morning has not gone to plan, as you can see.

Highsided at the chicane. Bugger!!

I had done several laps to warm up the left hand side of the tyre that is always a problem at Snetterton and was starting to pick up the pace.

The lap before the rear felt like it was gripping well so I opend Gordon up coming on to the straight. I was well out of the corner and sitting the bike up when the rear came around - and then it's all 'ground - sky - ground - pain....'

Let it rain...

Let it rain...
Originally uploaded by no1bloke.

After looking at the long range forecast for this weekend I got in touch with Gordon's uncle Phil to request some wellingtons for him.

I have to say the front looks most curious, but can't wait to give it a try!

Lumbering up in Limbo...

The Ducati forks have proved more difficult to drop in than I imagined, so I've been in limbo for the last couple of days as I've been waiting for the stock forks from Steve at Jordan Motorcycles, he was investigating re-valving or fitting new cartridges in them. However, with time running out the decision was made to just try and improve the the stock internals by re shimming and re shaping the original components.

While the forks are out working on Gordon has not been easy on my own, but I managed to fit the Ohlins shock Zweitze sent over for Gordon.
It went straight in without a hitch; only the mounting of the remote reservoir posed any problems, but zip-ties saved the day. Where would we be with out them?

Action photo by: PLJ Photo

Lots to do.

I've taken some time off work this week to get on and make the modifications in time for the next race at Snetterton on Sunday.
I have to fit the rear shock generously on loan from Zweitze, Ohlins Rooske
Then, hopefully I will get the original forks back from Steve after working his magic at Jordan Motorcycles at the beginning of the week.
Then with a bit more hard work and lots of luck - Gordon will be transformed!

Thoughts about forks...

I have really put some thought into the forks this week.
Even secured a pair of Ducati 748, complete with yoke and front wheel, but I ran in to all sorts of other problems.
Like wheel spindle , handlebar, and spacer size differences. Then even if I retain the original yokes the top yoke is to small and will not stand being bored out. Mudguard, caliper and several other components all need lots of fiddling with too!
I have bombarded all the message boards trying to get information on potential replacements, lots of ideas and input but to no avail.
Thank goodness Steve Jordan has phoned me though and says he should be able to fit cartridge internals to the original forks at the beginning of next week.

Video overview - Brands Hatch.

100 Club Sponsor Memberships

Sponsor club memberships have been posted throughout the UK, to The Netherlands and as far afield as Sweden and the U.S.A.

Some generous minded purchasers have said, that if they win, they will donate Gordon back to me - or offer him for other competitors to have as a 'guest' ride.

For £60 (90 Euros approx), you can have a 1 in 100 chance of winning Gordon, simply click here:
100 Sponsor Membership Club

Another gift for Gordon!

I've come home from working away in the truck to find a package for Gordon. Another of his Dutch friends has been very generous to him.
Zweitze has sent him a rear shock unit to try, you can visit Zweitze's site by clicking here Ohlins

Front end fiddling

I've tried to get these original Paioli forks working.
My racing style is very heavy on the front end, and I must just be pushing them outside their working range.
I had spotters at the side of the track at Brands to see if they could see what was causing the bike to judder so violently.
"Well I saw daylight under your front wheel it was pattering that much!" was one reply - so I think it's time to try and source some alternative. The forks are 50mm at the top yoke and 53mm at the bottom yoke, if you know or have anything that are these dimensions let me know.

On track action.

I've just received some excellent photos of Gordon in action at Brands by Paul and Linda at PLJPHOTO

Click on the photo, and you will be able to see all Gordon's special friends mentioned on his belly pan - graphics all supplied by Colour It In

Remember Gordon is up for grabs, with a 1 in 100 chance to win him, so click here to buy your membership - 100 Club

That'll do!

Well Gordon managed to scoop 3rd.
It would have been second but Aaron Easter who is about 20 kilos lighter and almost 30 years younger pipped me on the line by 4 hundreths of a second.

With Glen on one of my last year's bikes, this meant that Gordon had worked hard to mix it at the front with the minimono competition.

Front row.

Well I'm pleased that we're not on pole as I said rashly the night before that we'd come home if that was the case.

Quite happy with the front row though in 4th, amongst all the usual suspects, so that's not bad.

First practice.

Well after managing to fall out with most of the scrutineers first thing, ironically one of the things was Gordon didn't have a 'sharks fin' - Dennis Trollope wanted £28.50 for one - so Gordon got one fashioned from one of the earlier prototype fairing mounting brackets.
What with that and the fact I didn't wear my leathers to scutineering - I only just made it back to the garage in time for the 9am practice.
Just as well, I couldn't afford to miss a single moment of the 8 minutes allocated!
More compression on the front for qualifying.

All friends together.

Safely arrived at Brands. Sharing a garage with Glen English riding my minimonos from the last couple of years.
With Glen's Uncle Jim and the catering corps of Joe and Lee present, we are all guaranteed to have a great time.
- that's what racing is all about.

Too many tachos

After the Ledenon test when Gordon crashed the tacho that had been reading oddly finally threw its hand in; with the engine in this state of tune I didn't want to over rev it, so a new tacho had to be sorted.

Dave Pearce gave me a old Scitsu tacho from a bike I rode back in 93 but before fitting it, I managed to get a new digital tacho from Acewell to try via Slipsteam.

Some of Gordons mate zoomed in to check them out!

I had the bodywork booked in to be sprayed at a local spray shop last week, he said he was busy and could do it this week, so took it round today and was told not this week either...two weeks at the earliest.
No time to waste, got some paint and then to the garage to give it a go myself, can't be that hard....Well it's blue anyway and a sprayer I'm not. My spaying is as good as my welding, crap!
Graphics come on Thursday so he should be looking half decent for Brands.
If anyone is coming to Brands come along to garage 23 see him for yourselves and buy your 100 Sponsors Club Membership.

Looks smart - in theory anyway.

Well, this is what Gordon should look like if everything goes to plan.
Mind you, it's mainly because the tank is already blue - and as we are running of of time, it should just be easier.
Grab Gordon

Get up and go.

Well, thanks to some help from Steve McNic' the spare motor is in and ready to be run up tomorrow.

Just a quick note to say, while I notice it in the photo - the Dunlop GP209 tyres sent to Gordon by his Uncle Phil are fantastic - this rear did the whole of Ledenon, some laps round Cadwell, and is still just great. When you get on the gas out of a corner, you can just feel it grip all the way...who needs slicks!
Grab Gordon

Swap around

After the seal blew out at Cadwell Roy from Slipstream suggested that I drop the motor back to them and use the spare engine for Brands. I could have just changed the seal but we thought as we had the spare engine it would be better to get Gordon's engine looked at before the next round of the series at Snetterton.
Here they are basking in the sun comparing notes while I prepared the chassis.

Cadwell leak

Went to Cadwell Park to give Gordon a run round after his rebuild, and try out a harder spring to help cure the handling problem I was having at ledenon. Unfortunately I missed the first session due to a flat battery, then when I did get out after 7 laps the main oil crankshaft seal behind the alternator blew spraying oil every where. That brought the test to a premature end, Dave Pearce helped me identify the problem.

Still looking...

Still looking...
Originally uploaded by no1bloke.

...for a front stand.

At Cadwell just checking out some of the mods and repairs since France.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Up up and away.

Off to Cadwell in the morning - bizarrely enough, I'm wearing the tshirt given to me by the TZR250-Guys in recognition of when I was last at the circuit in 2006 and airlifted off to hospital. I've just fitted the lovely gear linkage that Peter has made me.
Cheers mate.

100 Sponsor Club

That's what testing is for.

The thing about about Supermonos is that engineering something from scratch is very much a 'work in progress'. I learnt from the crash at Ledenon in respect of how various items performed under the 'crash test situation'.
The exhaust brackets were very strong and survived the crash well, but instead of folding up or bending they transmitted the impact though to the rear sub frame braking one of the support legs! [Memo to self] make the bracket weaker.... it's cheaper than a sub frame...
Peter jumped into action and repaired the old one and made a 'mk 2' version; stronger yet simpler. He has now made a jig, so will soon be in the business of selling them. You can contact Peter Day direct on 07743 388364.

It does fit...

Making modifications for the last test at Cadwell before the opening round of the Championship at Brands on Sat. 14th.
Thinking about things, and whilst I had plenty of time, I decided to change the gearing from 15 to 16 front sprocket.
Looking at it beforehand - we all started to make bets as to whether it would actually go on.
Well, it does, but there is only an ant's knacker hair breadth between the chain and the engine casing.

Click here to join the: 100 Sponsor Club

001 Sponsor Member - Norman Bell

I am pleased to welcome the first purchaser of a 100 Club sponsor membership - Norman Bell.
An SZR owner himself, Norman was on pole position to get membership number 001.
I met up with him today not just to hand over his membership card, but also to collect a back wheel that he has kindly offered Gordon.
Cheers Norman!

Click here for more details: 100 Sponsor Club

Gordon up for Grabs.

It's a bit sad, but I have to admit that the non existent budget just can't keep pace with the bills. In order to get through the season, I'm going to have to in effect ‘sell’ Gordon off now to pay his bills and see the championship through.
At the moment I am thinking along the lines of a strictly limited sponsor membership club, 100 tickets at £60 each.
One membership number will be drawn on June 16th 2007 and Gordon will be available to take away once the last race of the championship has finished at Cadwell Park, UK on October 7th 2007.
Here you can see some of Gordon's mates rushing off to buy sponsor memberships. Click here to find out more: 100 Sponsor Membership Club

Hold still, this won't hurt.

All the bits and pieces for repair and or replacement are now well on their way to be ready for next week; although I am still looking for some additional wheels.

I am back at work full time at the moment, and doing some ACU training work at the begining of next week - but I should be able to squeeze in enough time with Gordon to get him back up and running in time for further testing at the end of next week.

Riding and running in first time - Gordon at Ledenon

Ledenon was the first time I had actually ridden Gordon.
Luckily I had to run him in anyway, so I could gradually suss him out.
2,000 revs first session, then 4,000 then finally 6,000 revs before I could 'open him up'.
You can hear how windy it was - also listen to the 'famous last words' at the end!

Jobs to do list.

Although I got Gordon back on his feet and back on track, he is still a bit sore, and needs some bits and pieces sorting out.

It is all accumulative damage, broken sub frame, exhaust can, master cylinder, fairing and seat unit need repairing/replacing. An assortment of other brackets, plates and the radiator will need some attention too!

An expensive testing trip in many ways but so much information has been gained, I can now go to Brands with Gordon knowing where his strong and weak points are. Its only then while among his own we will see if all the hard work will get him on to the rostrum.

If it's good enough for Freddie...

Once I was happy enough with Gordon I got 'Bill' out for a run round.

A BMW R1200S - I was pleasantly surprised how he behaved on track. Once I had dialled the Ohlins suspension in, he was most competent.

The Freddie Spencer school uses the pillion experience to help to assist with the understanding or 'feel' of throttle and braking techniques.

Another of Mariska's excellent photos captures my fellow supermono rider Jan getting an insight.

Streetfighter.

Without a fairing Gordon looks a mean Street fighter.

However he still was a long way from being right. But after some drastic suspension adjustments he is starting to feel much more the race bike I was looking for.

Lots of work back home to do before his next test prior to the first round at Brands.

Shark attack!

Good morning from the last day here at Ledenon.

Gordon looks slighty better in the morning sun than I remember leaving him last night.

Can't say the same for my leathers though, they still look like they were mangled in some kind of shark attack!

Ready for a small glass of wine.

Well after a lot of hard work I've managed to get Gordon back on his feet.

Just had some good news from the UK, Dave Bennett has generously donated his spare FZR400 wheels to Gordon, the front which I need right away.

Destroyed my leathers as well - bu$$er!

Another great action shot from yesterday by Mariska.

Up and atom.

Bodged, sorry effected some repairs and as luck would have it there is one of Gordon's Dutch cousins here so I have found an original SZR front wheel to borrow.

With a bit more work I should be able to get back on with the job of testing this afternoon.

Bollocks!

It would be easy to blame the wind, but to be honest I was simply riding hard - as this is what testing is all about; I am not here to ride round.

Mariska was just in the right place to snap Gordon feeling s0 sore he couldn't get in the recovery van without some help.

Just running through the damage and cleaning Gordon up at the moment.

Main problem is the front wheel is damaged, just as well I fitted the crash bungs that Stuart gave me yesterday or it would be an early bath....

Time to finish jobs.

Well it is sunny again still some wind though.

Have dropped the forks another 10mm as Gordon is still a little lazy at turning.

Plenty of time to get other jobs finished, just tidying up the starter, you can see the works Jawa supermonos of Jan and Libor in the background.

Gordon is learning to speak Czech now with his new friends.

First track action shot.

This first action photo of Gordon is by Dutch photographer Mariska Grob.

Chopped 15mm of the fork spacers earlier with a hacksaw while they were still in situ. Tricky or stylish?

Seems a bit better but the wind is so gusty now that I have called it a day and doing a few more tweaks.

Spring has sprung.

The second day is just as sunny again with a little less wind.

Been at it again for a couple of hours this morning twiddling and fiddling with things.

But that is what testing is for. Will let you know later how things go.

First day is fine.

So far so good. After doing plenty of laps I can now see Gordon's good points and where we still need to do some work.

At the moment I am working on suspension settings.

Now he is run in we can really get to work tomorrow.

Mistral keeps on blowing.

Good morning from Ledenon. Apparently snow everywhere but here, the Mistral wind is keeping us clear.

First session 2,000 revs. Gordon wants to get going but I said no!

The front is too hard. The rear too soft.

On a mountain top.

South of France - fantastic at the moment. What's the weather like back in the UK?

Waiting to get in the circuit; just enough time to finish up those little jobs.

Gordon is eyeing up the goats...

Gordon's new friend.

Still with no transport arranged for the season, Gordon had to think of some way of getting to Ledenon.
Usual van hire companies won't let you take their vehicles out of the UK.
Ryder Rental do though - Gordon tried to be cheeky and blag a free van.
"No can do" said Richard at the Castleford depot "but I will try and get Gordon a decent discount".
That'll do - now we're on our way!

The timings right...

Roy from Slipstream called at Brands Hatch where I was today to get Gordon timed up just right with his stroboscope before we set off to travel down to the South of France to test him proper.
The good news is I had modified the starter by removing the tyre from the kart wheel, and now it works fine.
The bad news is Roy left me with the bill for the tuning....eeekk
I will report again from Ledenon soon.

Mk1 starter fails...

Mk1 starter fails...
Originally uploaded by no1bloke.

Just thought I would try the starter on Gordon before we head South.

The bad news is the ratio of the kart wheel diameter is all wrong and the motor can't overcome Gordon's compression.

Onwards to Brands and back to the drawing board.

Found something out anyway...

Well, if there is something that I have found out doing this project it's that I can't weld - for toffee.

I can plan, cut out, and organise the individual components - but after making a right mess, I know that welding is definately not my thing.

Luckily, Stuart Gregory came to my rescue; he heard about the 'Gordon' project from Ian E. and got in touch to see if he could help with anything.

Stuart has a small business making crash bungs, and has all the equipment in his garage that I wish I had.

Thank goodness - Stuart has done a fantastic job, and welded the starter together for me; that's one more thing I can cross off my list of jobs to do before leaving for France.

Missing the minimono...

A couple of Gordon's mates came to Mallory today to watch me put Phil's minimono through it's paces for what is likely to be the last time for quite a while.

They weren't very impressed with what I did to the bike, and have rushed off back to Gordon to tell him not to let me anywhere near him...

Too late, we're setting off for Ledenon at the weekend, the ferry's generously been organised through Wayne at Norfolkline

Starting the starter

Starting the starter
Originally uploaded by no1bloke.

With the need to get Gordon a engine starter I have now sourced the components, I just need to get it all together! It should make a good 'before and after' photo.

Exclusive Gordon Items.

You can now get exclusive 'Gordon' promotional clothing, click here for the link:

Gordon's Gear

Better weather for this clip.

At least this clip is in daylight - and it's not raining!

All dressed up and nowhere to go!

Well it's so close now that Gordon says he can almost taste the bubbly!
Now fully dressed but unpainted Gordon looks quite the part. Only a few bits and bobs to get done before we go to Ledenon testing prior to the first British Championship round at Brands on the 14th of April.
Not 100% sure what colour scheme to run with, any ideas....Send me your thoughts by clicking on 'comments'.

Update on progress

Now that Gordon is so close to his initial completion, I thought it would be interesting to see what he weighed in at.
The target weight was 135kg. With the budget being very limited exotic materials were not available - so obviously using things like standard wheels etc has limited the weight loss.
However I was very happy to see that he tipped the scales at just 133kg, having saved some 33kg.

Not exactly light but no heavy weight either!



New battery and some time with the soldering iron and the wiring harness was finally ready too!
It was great to hear him fire up at last - all be it just for a few moments.

Just over 21 weeks and it feels fantastic!

I admit it has been difficult, with a day job I can mostly only do stuff on a night - and I really, really wanted to get Gordon running.
So late last night, about 11.15pm it happened, although cold, wet, dark and quite miserable - once he fired - it felt fantastic - thanks to Steve and Genge for being there to help at his rebirth!

Gordon is home at last!

A thing of beauty...

... is a joy forever.

Peter has done it again.

I have to admit - I almost wept when I saw the new fuel tank - how can Gordon ever thank Peter enough for his work?

I try, but whatever I say seems useless compared to the fantastic'ness of Pete's work.

Once again, a million thanks Peter, you are truly a Special Friend of Gordon's.