DIRT QUAKE

Great day out at the DIRT QUAKE event I helped organise for Sideburn Mag last weekend. An unlikely mix of activities and hard to put a finger on why it was so good...Sort of a cross between a motorcycle race and a 70's Saturday morning kids TV show.
I was ultra busy on the day and didn't take a single picture. All these images are taken from various folks on the web, facebook etc.....hope they don't mind.
I'm indebted to the folks behind the scenes that helped to make this happen and to the racers for signing up for something that was an unknown quantity. It was a ton of hard work but I hope we can find a way to do this again, bigger and even better next year.

DIRT QUAKE: WORK WITH WHAT YA GOT!

The fast approaching DIRT QUAKE race event is Joe Public's one-time opportunity to come racing....no strings attached. It will be a one night stand of exhilaration, fear and a true sense of accomplishment.

Whatever bike you can lay your hands on, we got a suitable class for you to race it in. Novice, street-tracker/street-scrambler, inappropriate road bike and chopper classes.

Here's what was lurking in my shed. Given to me over 15years ago... a crusty, unloved Suzuki GS750 hardtail chopper. I say 'hardtail' but what I really mean is 2 iron bars bolted into where the rear shocks should be.

My mates, PITSTOP PAUL and his lad PITSTOP KEV dropped by today to make initial steps to get her running for the big day. When I aquired the bike in the last century, it was running. However, it seems to be missing a rectifier and the wiring loom looks like it was put together over the phone by Peters and Lee. The overall standard of engineering is so poor and ham-fisted....it's almost perverse.

I'm not gonna race this bike personally. I'm already racing my Rotax in both the club meeting 11am-4pm and then in the GNC at 7pm which is more than enough considering I'm suffering with a hernia. The deal is if they can get it running then Pitstop Paul can race it in the Chopper class.....I'm positive I'll get far more pleasure watching a newbie at the helm representing SKOOTER FARM/SIDEBURN than riding it myself. If Paul decides not to race.....I already got a subsitute. A guy who's last legitimate occupation was being fired out of a cannon in a stunt show!

The Pitstoppers left undaunted with a small shopping list: coils, plugs, plug caps, air filters and a rectifier.
Work continues next week.

I hope this post inspires folks who toy with the romantic notion of being a motorcycle racer to stop fantasizing and make it a reality...even if it's just for one evening.

Remember....Ride it like you borrowed it!

new workshop ..best deal ever!

Just won a sectional concrete garage on ebay for absolutely free!!

My main garage is stacked with all my bikes and I've been looking at the cheapest way of getting some more workspace to put my next bike project together. This is just great! The only thing is I gotta break it down and transport it home.....but thats OK!

Also quite a lot of hard work laying a concrete base, but once its all done, it will be a killer, secure pad.

My next build is gonna be a '79 GS 750. I was given this bike about 15 years ago.I've been planning to do this for years. When I got it, it was already mildly and very poorly chopped. I got next to no money to spend right now..so its gonna be a ratty bobber, something I will ride in the rain, just using what I got lying around in the sheds, warts and all. Luckily, that happens to include an old CYCLE HAVEN hardtail frame with ally slab yolks and a couple of choices for tanks and wheels.

The first job will be to get the donor bike running.. it did run when I first got it but that is a real long time ago. I don't have the logbook/title but I do have a registration plate so I don't think it will be too difficult to re-register.

Next big job is gonna be sitting the engine in the hardtail frame. If I remember correctly, the frame I wanna use originally had a Kawasaki z900 motor in it so its gonna need engine lugs welding in all the right places to take the Suzuki motor. I'm also thinking of de-raking the headstock, it maybe a little stretched out for how I'd really like to see the bike look. I don't know for sure, we'll see.

Anyways, got to build the workshop first and I also need to do quite a lot of work to my flat track race bike

before the start of the season in early April!