Motourage

By now everyone has heard (and many opinions have been voiced) about AMA Pro Racing cancelling the Suzuki White Lightning Nationals at VIRginia International Raceway. Motourage has made the call to fans to head to Alton anyway that weekend to support local businesses, and now VIR has filled the vacancy with an exciting weekend for race fans and wannabe racers . VIRginia International Raceway will present a full three-day schedule of two-wheeled action, with the Northeast Sportbike Association (NESBA) on the North Course and the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) competing on the South Course.

NESBA, the Northeast Sportbike Association, is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization, formed in 1996 by sportbike enthusiasts and former racers who understand and appreciate the difference between riding fast and riding well. Its purpose is to get sportbikers on the track – where they can ride to their fullest potential without the limitations, distractions and hazards of the street. The program operates on the premise “Ride Fast, Ride Safe” and the belief that riders can and should do both – in a structured environment, without the free-for-all mentality of the street or the dogfight mentality of racing. With close to 200 track days this year, NESBA is the largest single sportbike track day organization in the country. Whether you’re a street rider or a racer, NESBA can help you become a more experienced, more skilled, more confident sportbiker. Grab your helmet and let’s ride! For more information, visit www.nesba.com.

AHRMA – If you are crazy about old competition motorcycles – whether road racers, flat trackers, motocrossers, trials iron or woods bikes – then you have certainly come to the right place. That’s what the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association is all about, Fun on Old Wheels. AHRMA is a celebration of the competition motorcycles of yesterday, as well as the legendary riders who made history aboard these machines. Where possible, AHRMA rounds out this historic experience by recreating the types of race courses these machines were used on. In particular, motocross tracks and observed trials sections both have changed dramatically since these motorcycles were new, but AHRMA steps back to the way it was “back then.” We make sure racing takes place in an environment that is safe, fair and friendly. AHRMA is the largest vintage-racing group in North America and quite possibly the biggest in the world. Our roots extend back to efforts to organize vintage road racing during the late 1970s in the Northeast. For additional information visit our website: www.ahrma.org.

The Teardown

The Kerker 4-into-1 exhaust fit nicely on the bike. It fit better in the trach can

The first step to building my own café racer was to tear down the bike. And, by tear down, I mean tear down. Remove, inspect and repair or replace every piece of the bike. Having never stripped a motorcycle down to the nuts and bolts before, I armed myself with three tools: ZipLock bags, a Sharpie and a camera. Every piece was photographed before it came off and was placed in a thoroughly labeled plastic bag. If two pieces came apart, a note or labeled strip of masking tape noted where and how it went back together. The more pieces I took off, the more I realized that this project was going to be more than a simple disassemble-and-reassemble project. The past 34 years had not been the kindest to this motorcycle.

A clean engine means less hassle

The one saving grace to this project is the engine. Once I got all the pieces off the bike, I started to dig into the engine and the carbs. I figured a good carb cleaning would be in order, but I received a welcome surprise when I pulled the carbs: They were spotless. I mean spotless. As if they’d been cleaned the day before. Quite a contrast to the front sprocket, which looked as if it were buried in the back yard for a month and then put right back on the bike. I mean, it looked like there was topsoil between the teeth. I pulled the valve cover off – clean. I pulled the alternator cover off – clean. Now, I don’t mind replacing levers and cables, but the last thing I wanted to do was have the engine rebuilt.

A lot of parts went straight into the trash. The Kerker four-into-one exhaust had been wrapped and had completely rusted out. Every cable was dry rotted. The sprocket teeth were bent from being incorrectly installed. I didn’t have to worry about many standard components, as the following things did not exist on the bike: Speedometer, turn signals, tach, lights of any kind except the headlamp, a key. Yes, the bike had two starting mechanisms: kickstart and an ignition button in the middle of the handlebar. The bike’s security system consisted of a toggle switch hidden in the battery box. Flip the switch and the bike won’t start. Genius.

I started making a list of everything I was going to need, and the list – and the cost – quickly began to increase. By the time the bike was completely assembled, I had a drawer full of ZipLock bags and two plastic storage containers full of hard parts. Everything had been documented and cataloged. At that point, I made a decision. I wasn’t just going to build a budget café racer. If I was going to do it, I was going to do it right.

Before

After

*Keep up with the entire project through photos HERE.

I’ve always been a motorcycle fan. As a kid growing up in a family of Harley riders, I preferred the sleek, ass-up riding position of sport bikes – much to the chagrin of my relatives. I was a flat track kid, and although I did – and still do – dream of owning an XR750, road racing has always been the one version of the sport that has captured my attention. As I started getting older and becoming more interested in the history of road racing – and of the motorcycle – I discovered the café racer.

The history of the modified motorcycle in the U.S. is that of the chopper. Raked out forks, ape hangers and sissy bars. Mods designed for motorcycles that go straight and relatively slow; not for machines designed for speed and cornering. Speed and cornering. Those were European concerns. But while bikers in the United States were watching “Easy Rider,” growing their beards long and creating the definition of the cruiser, motorcyclists across the Atlantic Ocean were changing their bikes in a completely different way.

Fascinated by the speed of the early motorcycle road racers, bikers in the U.K. and throughout Western Europe began making modifications to their own motorcycles. But, instead of fat rear tires and forward foot controls, they were shortening the bars, removing excess weight, adding rearsets and creating small, agile motorcycles built for speed: Café racers.

As soon as I discovered what a café racer was, I wanted one. A BSA, Triumph, Norton. I didn’t care. As long as it was British and fast. Reality had different plans, however. You see, in the 80s, 90s and even more so today, those motorbikes from the café racer’s glory days were and are hard to come by. And, when they are available, they come with a substantial price tag. Luckily for me, I discovered two things: One, people were building their own retro motorcycles, and two, Japanese motorcycles provide a capable platform on which to create a decent café racer.

I toyed around with the idea of building my own ton-upper for a few years, but when Discovery HD Theater premiered the series “Café Racer TV,” the itch came back with a vengeance. I passively began searching for a low-cost Honda or Yamaha, and when I came across a 1977 Honda CB750 on Craigslist, I pounced.

Here's what the ugly beast looked like on the night I brought it home

The bike I bought was already a café racer – well, sort of. It had a bum-stop seat, clubman handlebars and the basic shape of a café racer. If one were able to look past the rattle-can-black paint job, lack of any seat padding and the fact that it leaked oil like the Deepwater Horizon, it was in fairly decent shape. I was able to ride it the 23 miles back to the house, and once I cleaned the Texas Tea from the back of my helmet and jacket, I began to get the feeling that something could become of this machine.

I brought the rat bike home five weeks ago and parked it in the garage next to our two Ducati Monster 696s, looking like the ugly step-sister next to two prom queens. The next day, I opened the tool box and began to tear it apart.

For the next few weeks/months or however long it takes, I’m going to post regular updates on the progress of building my first café racer, complete with stupid mistakes and every small triumph. I hope you find this project as much fun to read about as I’m having working on it.

Wish me luck…
Dave

*Keep up with the entire project through photos HERE.

Dave with Jordan Szoke

Jen with Amy Szoke

The Motourage crew were lucky enough to have a chance to meet reigning Canadian Superbike champion Jordan Szoke and his wife, Amy – an accomplished road racer in her own right -  at this past weekend’s AMA White Lightning Nationals at Virginia International Raceway. Jordan, fresh from a perfect seven-win season and his seventh Canadian Superbike title, made the trip from Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia to Alton, Virginia to show his stuff to the American audience.

Canadian motorsports program, The Auto 123 Show caught up with Jordan before the final race of the Canadian Superbike season. Jordan and Amy are a great couple, and you can tell by this video just how exciting their lives are.

Suzuki Alstare’s Leon Haslam extended his World Superbike points lead on Max Biaggi after a third- and first-place finish at Kyalami this past weekend.  Xerox Ducati’s Michel Fabrizio scored his first win of the season while Carlos Checa, Jonny Rea and Max Biaggi also climbed the podium in South Africa.

A 70-point round this weekend by the top three Motourage Fantasy Riders Race League teams made it difficult to catch the leaders, while less than 100 points separates fourth through 11th places.

The next round of the Motourage Fantasy Riders Race League will score next weekend with MotoGP round four, the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans.

All selections will be frozen on May 21 at Noon EDT in the US ( 17:00 BST, 16:00 GMT), so make sure your lineup is finalized before this time.

Notes:

• Rizla Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista suffered a broken collarbone in a motocross training crash, and although he is slated to compete this weekend, don’t expect him to be 100%.
• Last year’s Le Mans results were: 1-Jorge Lorenzo, 2-Marco Melandri, 3-Dani Pedrosa. Valentino Rossi and Mika Kallio both scored DNFs
• Results for the last MotoGP race, the Gran Premio Bwin de Espana at Jerez, May 2: 1-Jorge Lorenzo, 2-Dani Pedrosa, 3-Valentino Rossi

Current standings for the Motourage Fantasy Riders Race League:

The fine Pegasuses, Pegasi, Pegapeople over at SoCal Buell Riders recently – via Twitter – brought up the idea of putting together a meeting of Twitter users (the cool kids call it a Tweetup) who’ll be attending the US round of the World Superbike Championship May 29-31 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.

Since the main reason for Motourage’s existence is to bring together fans of racing across the country – and around the world – to share our love for our sport, we think this is a great idea, and would be more than happy to get the ball rolling.

If anyone would like to be included in the official twitter list for the Inaugural Miller Motorsports Park World Superbike Tweetup, please use the comments section below to include your twitter handle and real name – if you so choose.  We’ll get a good list together and grab a few prizes from the Motourage closet to give away at the races. Maybe Miller itself (twitter.com/utahmmp) would be so kind as to join us and recommend a suitable place to skirt the crowd to get together, or maybe they’d be willing to put together something special for the attending Twitteratti.

Please feel free to spread the word.  We’re looking forward to finally putting some faces with Twitter names and meeting our fellow motorcycle boys and girls in the real world and not just from behind a computer screen.

Not on Twitter? It’s cool. Bookmark this page or subscribe to the Motourage RSS feed for the latest updates about the Tweetup and the latest news from regional, national and international racing organizations.

We’ll see you in Utah!

The Motourage Fantasy Riders Racing League spreadsheet is getting too big to fit comfortably in the space provided by WordPress, so it has been moved to Google Documents.

For the latest results and standings, check out the new Motourage Fantasy Riders Racing League results HERE.

This weekend marks Rounds 6 and 7 of the Motourage Fantasy Riders Racing League season.
Due to the postponement of the Motegi MotoGP round, no points were scored in Round 4.  Round 5 was scored with the Assen Round of the World Superbike Championship, and teams will score this weekend based on the results of the MotoGP-Jerez and British Superbike-Oulton Park races.
The top scorer in Round 5 was Brad Boutilier’s East Coast racing team with a very impressive 70 points, but a big weekend by Luckyguess mixed up the standings at the top of the chart.

In MotoGP, Valentino Rossi’s health may have been in question at the beginning of the weekend due to an injury he sustained during a motocross crash, but he finished free practice at the #5 position.  Stoner, Lorenzo, Hayden and Pedrosa rounded out the top spots, but the Jerez race is anyone’s to win.  Will the Spanish Armada flex its collective hometown muscle or will it be an Aussie an Italian or even one of the field’s three Americans atop the podium on Sunday?

The British Superbike field is another story altogether, with a total of seven riders sitting this weekend out.  Hampus Johansson, James Edmeads, James Ellison, Pat McDougall, Scott Smart, and Simon Andrews are watching from the stands, and the big news is the sudden retirement of World Superbike Champion (and a familiar face in the AMA paddock for four seasons) Neil Hodgson, who was forced out due to his aggravating a two-year-old shoulder injury by crashing at Brands Hatch.

Team lineups have been locked in since Noon EST today, so sit back and get ready for some two wheeled action, both on the track and in the virtual world.

The current Motourage Fantasy Riders Racing League standings are below. Good luck to all the Motourage teams.

Round 2 of the Motourage Fantasy Riders League corresponded with Round 2 of the World Superbike Championship in Portimao, Portugal. Results and standings are posted below.
Round 3 of the Fantasy Riders league scores this weekend with the opening round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch Indy.
All rider changes for Round 3 must be submitted by the cutoff time of 17:00GMT (Noon Eastern time in the US) on Saturday, April 3. Log on to Fantasy Riders to make your changes, and good luck to all competitors.

Scores and rankings after two rounds
1st: MinellaSpeed, Dave Minella – 45, 50 = 95
2nd: Blue Galaxy, Alun Edwards – 0, 90 = 90
3rd: Flying Monkeys, Jeff Ritter – 29, 59 = 88
4th: Swamphole Racing, Noel Nunkovich – 46, 32 = 78
5th: East Coast Racing, Brad Boutilier – 33, 38    = 71
6th: Spieswise, A. Van Donselaar – 24, 32 = 56
7th: Team Motorious, Ivan Lo – 35, 16 = 51
8th: Ow My Freakin’ Ears!, Leigh Berwick – 0, 48 = 48
9th: CornerSpeedPhoto, Dan Lo – 27, 20 = 47
10th: team karbonated, Rebecca Saclolo – 27, 16 = 43
11th: BNG Racing, Bridget Kirkland – 27, 16 = 43
12th: Motherless Goats, Jared Koch – 27, 16 = 43
13th: Dark Energy, Camila Restrepo – 27, 16 = 43
14th: Team Rig, Lee Lilly – 27, 16 = 43
15th: irishlad, Dave Kelly – 9, 22 = 31
16th: Pretty.2010, Pretty Pretty – 16, 13 = 29
17th: luckyguess, N. Van Donselaar – 0, 26 = 26
18th: Uttley Allstars, Richard Uttley     – 6, 19 = 25
19th: JJ’s M1 Super Scooters, Jennifer Jabbusch – 6, 19 = 25
20th: ducatinewstoday.com, Mark Morrison – 0,0 = 0
21st: Desmodromic Demonoids, Aaron Boyle – 0, 0 = 0
22nd: rozlanbgsp, Rozlan Abdullah – 0,0 = 0
23rd: MotoGPNewsBlog, Chris Lykins – 0,0 = 0
24th: MotoGPBlog, Rob Jones – 0, 0 = 0
25th: gp1malaysia, Nazarie Francis – 0, 0 = 0

It has been a few weeks since Phillip Island, but the 2010 motorcycle racing season is finally getting ready to heat up.
Round Two of the Motourage Fantasy Riders League will again be a one-series weekend as the World Superbike Series heads to Portimao, Portugal.  If your results from round one were worse than expected, you have until 17:00GMT/12:00EST on Friday, March 26 to make your WSBK rider substitutions. You may also make BSB and MotoGP transfers during that time frame.  Remember, points are scored the same for all three eligible series, BSB, MotoGP and WSBK.

Good luck in round two!

The standings after Round One of the Motourage Fantasy Riders League are as follows.

1st Swamphole Racing, Noel Nunkovich, 46
2nd MinellaSpeed, Dave Minella, 45
3rd Team Motorious, Ivan Lo, 35
4th East Coast Racing, Brad Boutilier, 33
5th Flying Monkeys, Jeff Ritter, 29
6th team carbonated, Rebecca Saclolo,27
7th BNG Racing, Bridget Kirkland, 27
8th Motherless Goats, Jared Koch, 27
9th Dark Energy, Camila Restrepo, 27
10th Team Rig, Lee Lilly, 27
11th CornerSpeedPhoto, Dan Lo, 27
12th Spieswise, A. Van Donselaar, 24
13th Pretty.2010, Pretty Pretty, 16
14th irishlad, Dave Kelly, 9
15th Uttley Allstars, Richard Uttley, 6
16th JJ’s M1 Super Scooters, Jennifer Jabbusch, 6
17th ducatinewstoday.com, Mark Morrison, 0
18th Desmodromic Demonoids, Aaron Boyle    , 0
19th rozlanbgsp, Rozlan Abdullah, 0
20th MotoGPNewsBlog, Chris Lykins, 0
21st MotoGPBlog, Rob Jones, 0
22nd Ow My Freakin’ Ears!, Leigh Berwick, 0
23rd Blue Galaxy, Alun Edwards, 0
24th gp1malaysia, Nazarie Francis, 0
25th luckyguess, N. Van Donselaar, 0