Triumph 675 Forums banner

Mallala track/race May 26 & 27?

4K views 29 replies 7 participants last post by  Rorz 
#1 ·
So who's at the track May 26 or racing May 27...or both?

I'll be there both days, testing/setting up on the Saturday and racing all day on the Sunday. Can't wait.

Not expecting any trophies, but as my first racing since My Big Brain Surgery Adventure last October, it'll be an event that'll have me smiling all weekend regardless of my times or results.

There are also BIG things happening with the bikes and riding of the usual maniacs that I race with. Mister SV650 in particular has some very special stuff ready to hit the track.

Who's gonna be out there?




O.B
 
#4 ·
Started a new thread because this one's mostly aimed at the race rather than the track day. Oh, and because I'm a time-wasting bugger who likes to start new threads.

14 degrees and showers? I care not. I'll be there even if it's snowing. I'll just run chains.

O.B
 
#5 ·
Unfortunately I now have to work next weekend so won't even be able to help the lads out in the pits or volunteer for the club which is disappointing. Good luck though guys... the young kids on 125's will have to be careful they aren't sucked into SV650's flat slides as he rides past... :laugh:
 
#6 ·
Latest forecast for Saturday is 16 and a possible shower (<1mm) with about 25km/hr wind to help dry off any light shower impact.
Suggests this is just the tail end of the weather & with any luck it will have rained itself out in the prior days.
Looks promising, but might wait a couple of days before making a call.
 
#7 ·
Indeed it's now looking to run true to form for all the days I've been last; wet the day/night before, drizzly or slightly damp on the drive up, but (hopefully) coming up to be a great day start to finish on the track.

Though 16C will be something new...what's it like being out at that temp at 200km/h? How do the tyres take it? Is a tyre pressure drop to say 26psi necessary?
 
#8 ·
Though 16C will be something new...what's it like being out at that temp at 200km/h? How do the tyres take it? Is a tyre pressure drop to say 26psi necessary?
16C isn't too bad really. Especially if you get some sun, the track temp shouldn't be quite decent. Have been at Phillip Island when it was about 8 degrees and raining... that was less than optimal. :laugh:

Normally run a bit more pressure in the tyres when it's cold or raining. If you normally run say 32F-28R go up to more like 34F-30R. Bit more pressure helps you get them up to temp despite the colder track temp.
 
#10 ·
I've normally run 30/30, on previous days where it's been a bit cooler (high teens, and possibly damp) I've gone 28/28 too. I guess 16C isn't too far off of that, especially comparing to 8C and rain.

I thought lower track temps meant lower pressures to give more movement in the carcus and thus warm them up better?
 
#11 ·
My understanding is the air in the tyres expands as the tyre warms which increases the tyre pressure as the temperature rises. For this reason, the hotter the ambient/track temp, the lower you should have the tyre pressure set as the extra heat in the tyres will mean the pressure will continue to rise out on track (to temps higher than when on the warmers) and should end up where you want it anyway. It's best to set the pressures at full temp on the warmers, then again as soon as you come in from a session to make sure they are at optimum pressure while you are actually riding.

In cold weather, if you set the pressure as low as 26 at full temp on the warmers then go out and the track temp is real cold and you get held up by slower riders, by the time you get the hammer down, the tyres could be half the temp as when they were on the warmers and dangerously under-inflated.
 
#12 ·
Can't help but think of seinfeld with this....raise the feet, get blood to the head..no raise the head get blood to the feet.

A bit of interwebz trawling just makes it more confusing as both views are given....on a cold day raise the cold pressure to maintain optimum track pressure.....no! on a cold day lower the cold pressure to get optimum track heat.

Perhaps I should hedge my bets and run 40 front, 20 rear...that evens it out....right?

(btw I'm talking stone cold temps, 26psi in warmers would be about 21 cold)
 
#13 ·
Well, I see the forecast is now a nice even top of 16 degrees with scattered showers on both days.

It's a bloody good thing we all know it never rains at Mallala, or I might be a bit daunted by that.

So who's grown a pair and committed? I am 100% there, both days.



O.B
 
#18 ·
Was scared off by the rain though looking out Saturday I am guessing it wasn't too bad.

Pity, as I was keen to try out my new GPS lap timer. Made some use of it instead by carrying it in my pocket when I went running so I could track how far I went and how slack I am - so at least I have got that part of the software sorted.
(Pity it's a different program for lap time analysis)
 
#25 ·
Hey people.

Well, I'll post a full write-up later when I have my energy back, but it went really well.

Practise day was wet to begin with but dried out towards the middle of the day and we got 'the flying circus effect' going on...three 650 twins carving through the sessions like mad things. Great fun.

In retrospect, I'm sure I did my best riding on Saturday. I also found out that my brakes are still a long way from ideal, and that you can only ask so much of a cast-ff $50 Dunlop GP Racer before it starts to let go, regularly. The two other guys refused to pass me out of Pacific because I was getting such regular big slides going they were afraid I'd highside and take them out! So...I have to either spend proper money on tyres or just cope with the disadvantage.

Mister SV650's new flatslide carbs, M4 exhaust etc. were definitely giving him a slight advantage at the top end. Ricardo Rapido's secret electronic aids also seemed to be helping. My bike was just a tad slower than the rest, but certainly not so much that a bit of talent on my behalf wouldn't have made up the difference.

Sunday was cold but reasonably dry to start with. Qualifying kinda set the tone for the day. I went out, got my head down, and posted a qualifying time 3 seconds slower than the PB I set at my last track day! Mister SV650, by contrast, got confused and came in early because he thought it was just a warm up session...but still posted a time that put him on the front of the grid! Hats off to him. Ricardo Rapido was just that - rapid.

A timing issue early in the day (a couple riders went out without transponders!) led to a day with lots of delays, and the organisers decided to make up for lost time by grouping C20 class together with Limited Class. This, I'm afraid, was crap. The inline 4's blow past you on the straights and then get in the way on the corners....for lap after lap after lap. It ruins your pace. It also meant that the start grid was super full and the first couple of turns were crowded chaos. But I guess that's the call that had to be made on the day.

I was certainly not setting any records, but had some great battles throughout the day. Unfortunately I still don't really have the stamina I need after having brain surgery late last year, and by early afternoon I was really running out of puff. But I stuck to it and did every session. Mister SV650 and Ricardo Rapido both went significantly faster than me, and although I'm not yet aware of the final standing, I'd be surprised if they didn't earn themselves a couple gold painted egg cups here and there.

My beautiful wife and kids showed up for a look and had a great time. Lots of other friends and squeezes showed up too - a busy, fun, happy pit shed for sure.

My wife felt so sorry for me (regarding brakes) that the first thing she said to me when I arrived home was "We have to get you one of those Brembo master cylinders as soon as we can, don't we?" Nice!

All in all a bloody wonderful day. Hopefully I'll have some brakes, tyres and stamina by next race!

I'd like to thank SV and Ricardo for all their help in the shed over the weekend, for great company and great racing.

O.B
 
#26 ·
Maybe less brakes is an advantage..? I recall you diving up the inside a few times :)

I stuffed up qualifying for limited but did put my bike on the front row of brackets which was good.

I choose to race a limited bike to race other limited bikes so I was a bit frustrated with the decision to grid up with c20. I think it's a bit dangerous. You have to corner like a mad man around the outside of an early r1 only to have him hose you on the straight and then it's a braking test as you try not to take them out at the hairpin.

This just results in poor laps times and meant I couldn't play with the other limited bikes because there was always a road block between us :(

Anyway, I suppose I should just qualify better!

Flatsides make a slight difference. When you get to the kink the bike keeps pulling and never feels like it's going to run out of puff.

It also has a lot of response as soon as you open up which took me a day to get used to.

My best race of the day was race 2 of brackets 2. A half decent start (I still can't start) had me in 3rd going into turn 2. I tried to go around the outside of the inlines but dissapeared going into turn 3... cheeky bastards where wheeling away from me! haha

But I managed to keep them in sight and real them in each corner and I hung onto 3rd place.

When you're down 30-60hp and two cylinders that feels like a win!


Well done to OB for completing the entire weekend. That is a massive effort.
 
#30 ·
Great write up. Spewing I couldn't even get down for a look... bloody work.

What calipers have you got OB? Maybe you should look at R1/R6 calipers and the matching M/C and lever from the same bike. That's what I have on my GSXR and it works quite well. The Yamaha M/C is actually made by Brembo, even has the logo stamped into it. You can probably pick up calipers, M/C, lever and a braided line for the same price as the brembo M/C and lever.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top