What did you do to or for or with your Laverda today?

Vince said:
Been watching on the box, bit of an epic year.
Click to expand...
Yes Vince, even if it was a challenge weather wise for the organisers but only one race lost, although they could have run at least one race on the Friday before the weather closed in, a new set of race winners, Hickey over doing it and hopefully learning a salutory lesson and, best of all, no one died as far as I know.
I did manage another run earlish this morning before the road was closed to sweep up after an ‘incident’ between the Bungalow and the Creg. However, it was still too bloody cold and even at 7am too many commuters on their way to work to make it a clear run so had to back off in quite a lot of places. ☹️
 
Andy J said:
Yes Vince, even if it was a challenge weather wise for the organisers but only one race lost, although they could have run at least one race on the Friday before the weather closed in, a new set of race winners, Hickey over doing it and hopefully learning a salutory lesson and, best of all, no one died as far as I know.
I did manage another run earlish this morning before the road was closed to sweep up after an ‘incident’ between the Bungalow and the Creg. However, it was still too bloody cold and even at 7am too many commuters on their way to work to make it a clear run so had to back off in quite a lot of places. ☹️
Click to expand...
I heard that they aren’t running wet races any more ( probably best..) but what’s going to happen if they get a really wet week- I’ve been in the eighties/ nineties where the weather was atrocious ( the year Nigel “Cap” Davis was winning the Senior springs to mind) are they going to cancel all the races and tell everyone to go home? Certainly won’t be any refunds for reduced race week. They’ve had an incredible run in recent years of great weather I just wondered if there is is a plan or not?
 
Exmoor beast said:
I heard that they aren’t running wet races any more ( probably best..) but what’s going to happen if they get a really wet week- I’ve been in the eighties/ nineties where the weather was atrocious ( the year Nigel “Cap” Davis was winning the Senior springs to mind) are they going to cancel all the races and tell everyone to go home? Certainly won’t be any refunds for reduced race week. They’ve had an incredible run in recent years of great weather I just wondered if there is is a plan or not?
Click to expand...
It was a hot topic of conversation, not just amongst the fans but also the marshals many of whom are getting fed up with being taken for granted and treated like shit. They get pulled from pillar to post, have long days and fewer rest days because of contingency planning. There was a bit of a worry on Saturday that there wasn’t going to be enough of them to fully ‘man’ the course, so the organisers may have to think again about the 10 race format.
There were also grumbles about short races, which was a big issue at last year’s Manx, and could become an issue at the TT for ‘privateers’ spending god knows how much to get there and only have a few laps racing.
Yes, the Superbikes/Superstock bikes are unbelievably fantastic to watch, but, as you say, if they won’t start it the road is wet or rain is threatened, as you can now run slicks in all solo classes at the TT, then there ain’t nothing to watch. It was suggested, only slightly tongue-in-cheek, teams should either bring too bikes, their modern bike which gets used if it is dry and an ‘old’ bike if it’s wet. Alternatively, they could do what they have with the Supersport class. In that class you can run a ‘big’ Ducati, like Todd did, but essentially he only had 85% of full throttle to even things up with the ‘smaller’ capacity bikes. So for wet races, unless it’s a monsoon, they have to remap the bike for only 50%, stick to treaded tyres, and just get on with it like we did in years gone by.
 
Hickman picked a good spot to have his off. Saw it on video. Nice padded wall to bounce off.
Lost traction very quickly. Oil or a pebble on the surface plus slight reverse camber wouldn't help.
 
My current personal perspective. I have recorded all the races on Oz pay TV and have avoided seeing any news till I see it. For the last 3 days I have been trying to watch the Senior, the recordings say Senior but it ends up replies of the 2md super sport and twins races. I am starting to guess the senior got canned because of weather. I am disappointed but to me riding there in bad weather is just completely nuts. Sad but true.
 
Vince said:
My current personal perspective. I have recorded all the races on Oz pay TV and have avoided seeing any news till I see it. For the last 3 days I have been trying to watch the Senior, the recordings say Senior but it ends up replies of the 2md super sport and twins races. I am starting to guess the senior got canned because of weather. I am disappointed but to me riding there in bad weather is just completely nuts. Sad but true.
Click to expand...
The race was eventually run late on Saturday so I’m sure you will get the high lights in due course.
Apparently, If you watch Hickey’s crash in slow mo you will see he had the presence of mind to push the bike away from him just before they piled in to the air fencing. Probably saved him for getting more of a battering, unlike another rider who went feet first into a kerb, instantly breaking both ankles, inadvertently ‘stood up’ and and broke a heck of a lot more bones when he landed again. 🤕
 
More Breganze prep... Spent (too much) time getting a fossilised BT45 off the rear wheel of the Jota. Bloody hell it was hard work. I need more time in the gym,. Tyre stuck fast, being extremely tight around the seat circumference. All my bead breaking techniques failed, so I was reduced to slicing through both side walls (steak knife :) ), removing the tread, and then Dremel-grinding through the bead wires. Wasn't too difficult in the end, pretty easy actually - should have started that way. Now to get the new BT46 on, hoping that recent/supple rubber should be a doddle by comparison. BTW - I'm tubeless and all my local shops fitters now refuse to fit a tubeless tyre on a 'tubed' rim, miserable buggers.
Pass the lube dear!
 
Pulled the 1000 SFC out of the garage today, MOT/TÜV-time... filled the tires, pet cocks open, key turned, choke slightly opened and pushed the button. Took a while, but then it barked into live and after some gentle throttle pushes, it ran smooth (somewhat).

On to the DEKRA/TÜV-Station to my prefered guy. One turn signal didn't work - until I pushed the bulb a bit in and out and then it worked. 5 minutes later, it got the approval for the next 2 years ;) Almost to easy... where are the days when I had to argue with these guys...? Well - fortunately long gone...

Any time I change the bikes, I think - man, what a great bike... it's better than the others... and then I take the other bike and think the same about THAT bike... They all ride differently, they all have different riding position, different sound - but all of them are somehow fascinating...

Now I need to kick myself more into the but to ride them more. They deserve it - and me, too!
 
I’m still a bit baffled, are you querying the number of times races might be affected by rain, or are you essentially agreeing that it shouldn’t be an issue to limit the power the bikes make in wet conditions and also make them run on treaded tyres?
 
Andy J said:
I’m still a bit baffled, are you querying the number of times races might be affected by rain, or are you essentially agreeing that it shouldn’t be an issue to limit the power the bikes make in wet conditions and also make them run on treaded tyres?
Click to expand...
You are much better qualified to an opinion than me, I only built the bikes ( & couldn’t remember the track in a million years..) but the TT was primarily a reliability time trial/ race , right up until the eighties. Then reliability wasn’t such a big factor and horsepower went through the ceiling- the bhp of the big bikes has doubled since I was fettling GSXR1100Ks.
Obviously you could hold wet races, wet tyres etc but regardless of all the wet weather precautions you’d still have people racing like it was their last day on earth around an unforgiving track.All the riders are pushing way harder than they used to , I can well understand the rationale behind no wet races.
 
Exmoor beast said:
You are much better qualified to an opinion than me, I only built the bikes ( & couldn’t remember the track in a million years..) but the TT was primarily a reliability time trial/ race , right up until the eighties. Then reliability wasn’t such a big factor and horsepower went through the ceiling- the bhp of the big bikes has doubled since I was fettling GSXR1100Ks.
Obviously you could hold wet races, wet tyres etc but regardless of all the wet weather precautions you’d still have people racing like it was their last day on earth around an unforgiving track.All the riders are pushing way harder than they used to , I can well understand the rationale behind no wet races.
Click to expand...
I agree the raison d’etre for the races has changed, it’s now more about putting on a spectacle, getting bums on seats and visitors spending money in the IOM. However, if there is no spectacle for people to watch, as the races are cancelled or just one lap dashes for cash, then the punters will soon get tired of being ‘ripped off’ and go elsewhere. There has to be a balance somewhere between trying to make it totally safe, which you probably can’t achieve, and putting a show on for the fans. There is still no compulsion to race if you don’t want to and, as pointed out previously, you may give others, like Cap Davies, a chance to win a TT that they never would have had a chance of otherwise.
 
Laverdalothar said:
Pulled the 1000 SFC out of the garage today, MOT/TÜV-time... filled the tires, pet cocks open, key turned, choke slightly opened and pushed the button. Took a while, but then it barked into live and after some gentle throttle pushes, it ran smooth (somewhat).

On to the DEKRA/TÜV-Station to my prefered guy. One turn signal didn't work - until I pushed the bulb a bit in and out and then it worked. 5 minutes later, it got the approval for the next 2 years ;) Almost to easy... where are the days when I had to argue with these guys...? Well - fortunately long gone...

Any time I change the bikes, I think - man, what a great bike... it's better than the others... and then I take the other bike and think the same about THAT bike... They all ride differently, they all have different riding position, different sound - but all of them are somehow fascinating...

Now I need to kick myself more into the but to ride them more. They deserve it - and me, too!
Click to expand...
Harem effect Lothar, which will be chosen tonight... have 40 instrument basses here, all competing for a night on the stage with me, No matter the country, its the same the world over, too much is hardly enough. j
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top