Gareth99
Full member
In 2021 I bought this SF750 off Phil Todd who tells me it was raced by David Isles back in the day and has some SFC bits in the engine and some SFC bodywork. We had some issues in the first few track days in 2021 with gear change and fuelling, but fettling over winter and a few weeks with Ged at GCS and she was ready to run in earnest.
The test day in March went okay but I was still having gear change issues, however the fuelling was better and she handles beautifully.
First race of the season was at a sunny but bitterly cold Mallory Park, and I'd entered in the pre-1972 under 750 drum brake series. Due to a small grid, we were paired up with Japanese sports, super sports and super bikes up to 1989 which made for some interesting laps at the end of the race as the GSXR1100s and VFR750s blasted past. The circuit used the bus stop chicane but not Edwinas so there was only one braking area into the hairpin, which suited me and my fear of drum brake fade well.
Race 1 went okay but it was the first race of the day and the track, tyres and rider were very cold. I was struggling to upshift from 3-4 on the left hander called Devils Elbow and kept losing time down the main straight as a result. Best time 1:08.
We messed about with gear linkage and set off for race 2, but the same problem existed. I was also having difficulty with the throttle as I was having to take two bites at it. Best time 1:08.
I'd entered the over 50s race which is always a blast as the only criteria is that the rider is (you guessed it!) over 50. Any bike is eligible. I'd changed the gear linkage again as I found that on the left hander I was leaning slightly off the bike, raising my right foot and the boot was riding on the gear lever, hence the lever never fully released between changes. I tried taking my foot off the peg each gearshift to make sure I'd left the gear lever alone, and it worked perfectly. Lap time came down to 1:06.5 as I got more woof down the main straight.
Sunday came around and I decided to open up the handlebars a bit, to make them flatter. I felt that the narrow angle of the bars twisted my wrist in a bit and I couldn't get full rotation of the throttle. It worked a treat but it did mean my left hand fouled the fairing at full lock as I hadn't got he adjustment just right. I could now get full throttle and all the gears I needed. Brilliant.
Race 3 was called and off went. I ended up battling with a guy on a VFR400 Honda and made up lots of ground round Gerrard's and the Esses but lost it all again under braking and on the straights. But it was fun nonetheless. I led coming out of the chicane and knew I could make it to the line in front of him but then I felt a wobble; like a deflating tyre. I was in 5th by this time and shut off just in time to let him past, and I wobbled precariously half was round Gerrard's where I stopped to find the swing arm nut had come off and the bolt had come out of the frame. A very very close call !
Easy fix, but as I watched the next race and waited for the rescue van the red flags came out and it became clear that there was a serious accident at the Esses. Sadly there was an incident on the first lap and a rider was killed, so the meeting came to a sad and premature end.
Best lap in race 3 was 1:05.6 so things are improving but still a long way to go. Cadwell next month.
The test day in March went okay but I was still having gear change issues, however the fuelling was better and she handles beautifully.
First race of the season was at a sunny but bitterly cold Mallory Park, and I'd entered in the pre-1972 under 750 drum brake series. Due to a small grid, we were paired up with Japanese sports, super sports and super bikes up to 1989 which made for some interesting laps at the end of the race as the GSXR1100s and VFR750s blasted past. The circuit used the bus stop chicane but not Edwinas so there was only one braking area into the hairpin, which suited me and my fear of drum brake fade well.
Race 1 went okay but it was the first race of the day and the track, tyres and rider were very cold. I was struggling to upshift from 3-4 on the left hander called Devils Elbow and kept losing time down the main straight as a result. Best time 1:08.
We messed about with gear linkage and set off for race 2, but the same problem existed. I was also having difficulty with the throttle as I was having to take two bites at it. Best time 1:08.
I'd entered the over 50s race which is always a blast as the only criteria is that the rider is (you guessed it!) over 50. Any bike is eligible. I'd changed the gear linkage again as I found that on the left hander I was leaning slightly off the bike, raising my right foot and the boot was riding on the gear lever, hence the lever never fully released between changes. I tried taking my foot off the peg each gearshift to make sure I'd left the gear lever alone, and it worked perfectly. Lap time came down to 1:06.5 as I got more woof down the main straight.
Sunday came around and I decided to open up the handlebars a bit, to make them flatter. I felt that the narrow angle of the bars twisted my wrist in a bit and I couldn't get full rotation of the throttle. It worked a treat but it did mean my left hand fouled the fairing at full lock as I hadn't got he adjustment just right. I could now get full throttle and all the gears I needed. Brilliant.
Race 3 was called and off went. I ended up battling with a guy on a VFR400 Honda and made up lots of ground round Gerrard's and the Esses but lost it all again under braking and on the straights. But it was fun nonetheless. I led coming out of the chicane and knew I could make it to the line in front of him but then I felt a wobble; like a deflating tyre. I was in 5th by this time and shut off just in time to let him past, and I wobbled precariously half was round Gerrard's where I stopped to find the swing arm nut had come off and the bolt had come out of the frame. A very very close call !
Easy fix, but as I watched the next race and waited for the rescue van the red flags came out and it became clear that there was a serious accident at the Esses. Sadly there was an incident on the first lap and a rider was killed, so the meeting came to a sad and premature end.
Best lap in race 3 was 1:05.6 so things are improving but still a long way to go. Cadwell next month.
cheers Geoff
