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The scooter racing team returned to peterborough for this years bmf May show. The weather was really good all weekend, probably the best weather we have seen in a few years of going.
We arrived on the Friday afternoon and prepared camp. It was the usual standard procedure of cleaning the mud off the scooter from the last time we used it. We had a new fuel pump to install and the brakes needed the fluids changing.
On the evening, we headed over to the main arena for the beers and music. Throughout the weekend each band had a guest appearance from Don Powell from Slade who was raising money for the National Autistic Society.
During Saturday we had a mooch about the show, and met up with forum favourite Michelle Szpak trading at her first BMF show.
Saturday came and off to the races! As usual the scooter racing took part on the shale track of Peterborough’s show ground, 90 minutes to complete as many laps as possible.
We didn’t complete many…. Although we weren’t last so an improvement on last year!
On the start line I was surprised by a rival rider standing next to me in the form of TV presenter Henry Cole who was joining in this year with his mates!
The race started and we got a few laps in but then the dreaded return of the fuelling issues. Our biggest problem is simply that we don’t know enough about what we are doing. This time we went armed with the full 22 page dellorto manual, 30 main jets, 3 spark plugs, atomiser needles and a box of drill bits ranging from .25 mm to 1.8mm.
It should be said that everything I have read about the dellorto phbg carb suggest it’s the most complicated carb to setup. They aren’t wrong! It has four distinct ‘zones’…
Idle
Idle to 1/8th throttle
1/8th throttle to 1/2 throttle
1/2 to full throttleChanges to one thing mean everything else gets altered. We could get it to idle and work at full throttle, but nothing in between worked. Then we could get everything to work but half throttle flooded the carb so much that the bike died at idle. It was so frustrating! At one point we had the idle speed up so high just to keep it running that the automatic transmission was always in drive. In the pits we all had great amusement at the fact that if you held the bike upright and let go it would go trundling off down the pit lane on its own.
I hate that bloody carb! It’s been nothing but problems since the day we got the bloody thing! As a result it’s been gently ‘removed’ from the bike, and a new different model has been ordered off eBay.
Anyway, Saturday evening we had the usual fatty foods, beer and music. I was fascinated by the lead singer of one of the bands playing the double bass and throwing it around the stage like an electric guitar.
Standard knee down shot
Sunday morning came and we were toying with missing the race in favour of going to see Carl Foggarty who was floating around the show until news came that our closest rival who had also retired with issues were going back out again. They were last but only 6 laps down on us, we weren’t going home last…. Again!
Man pride stepped in and off to the track we went. Mr Foggarty will have to get my autograph some other time.
The next hour and a half would be a most stressful but exciting time. Run for a lap, in for ten minutes, run for a lap, in for ten minutes. Each time in the pits we would strip the carb, make changes and head back out. It was a sad moment when the whole team got excited because we completed three laps in a row! Before burning out a brand new spark plug. Out with the broken spark plug, in with a new one and send the bike back out again.
Final results came in, despite their best efforts we had increased our gap to last place to 14 laps. I won’t tell you how far off the lead we were, but whatever number your thinking of you need to double and probably add a few.
After the race we packed up and watched the club cavalcade, only a small turnout….
Either way, as always we left having a good weekend, which is the main thing! And thanks to the weather our team went home with tshirt tans!
Excellent stuff Champs, great weather for it. Damn that carb making your racing a pain.
That’s our Pete’s photo on the extreme right easel isn’t it?
Great write up mate! Looks like you had a great if frustrating weekend oh and that last pic is a little disturbing haha
Great review and pictures, got to go with Ses on the last pic!!
Must try and get there in 2015 and cheer you on
Good to see Pete247 making a sneaky appearance
Must try and get there in 2015 and cheer you on
If I take into account your going to be in the doghouse for both May and September, your best bet is May. It’s bigger and has the better turnout
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