[Bullet Whisperer]

Now loaded into the back of the van to go to the racing, here's what the 500 looks like, all done, out in the sunshine:

[DanB]

Good luck Paul! 

[High On Octane]

Absolutely beautiful!  Good luck at the races!

[boggy]

Looks incredible. Nice to see a race bike and have some insider knowledge about what's under the fairing.  Not that understood half of what was written - but nice to try and keep up.

Good luck. Go fast.

[Sailorjohn]

Let 'r rip.

[1 Thump]

Give them hell !

[cafeman]

Sweet!

[Bullet Whisperer]

Well, sometimes things don't quite go to plan.
 Some practise laps on the Saturday morning showed lots of promise, going up to about 6000 rpm for short bursts, but this was cut short when Ian thought the engine was starting to feel tight.
 Talk about always expect the unexpected - swarf from inside the new fuel tank had got through to the carb and starved the engine of fuel, no filters are used because of the high flow rate required and all fuel is filtered as it is poured into the tank in any case, so it is not usually something to worry about. Also, the cylinder head nuts had settled, allowing a blow at the head joint - these were tightened again to fix that.
 With the tank flushed out and a few other 'teething issues' dealt with, we tried some practise again on Sunday. Again, Ian reported the engine as feeling very 'punchy', but it was decided to pull this machine from the races, as further fine tuning, preparation and setting up are required to get her running at her best.
 Next up, Cadwell in a few weeks time, we will be aiming to run her in the races there 
 B.W.

[AVL Power!]

Great Stuff! Good luck Paul!!

[ace.cafe]

Things happen!

Always takes some sorting on a new build.

Glad to hear that it was "punchy". That is a very good sign of high torque. And we need high torque to make high hp at high rpms.
So, that report makes me happy about that part of it.

I read in the Darley Moor results page that Ian had some nice finishes on the other bikes. Congratulations on those!
He was quite a busy rider over that weekend!

[Bullet Whisperer]

I took the top end apart today, nothing too alarming, I have seen what I need to do 
 Meanwhile, these pictures are for Ace in particular - hopefully they will soon be a source of pride !
 B.W.

[ace.cafe]

Thanks for showing those pics, Paul.
It most definitely is a source of great pride to see those Fireball stickers on your 500 racer!

I'll tell you a little story.
When I was in my very early stages of learning about Bullets, I did some internet searches for info, and I read some articles and saw a website which told about these "Henshaw Brothers" who were racing Bullets, and a Clipper(or Crusader?). I read all that stuff, and I thought(still do think) that you guys were the coolest. I studied the pics of your machines for any hints that I might find. So you guys were very influential in my early years of Bulleteering. I find great personal happiness to have been able to participate in the efforts of your team. You guys are like my heroes.
I want SO much for you to win the championship, and also see you at the Isle of Man race. The thought of having our parts and efforts on your team at the  IOM would be like a dream come true!

I think we would definitely have to find a way to create replica racers of your 500, then. This is all just SO cool! I am loving every minute of this!
 

[High On Octane]

I'll tell you guys a little story too.  Watching the early stages of this project develop is what made  me pull the trigger on my Twin race project.  Both Ace and Paul are my inspirations for wanting to race a vintage bike and doing performance mods that all competition tells you that can't be done. 

The best of luck to you, Ian and the rest of the Henshaw Team this season.  I will continue to watch from this side of the pond with great anticipation which each of your races.   

Scottie J

[High On Octane]

Calling Dr. Ace!!!!!

BW just posted a video on facebook that you want to see..........   

OH wait a minute, this may be an old video.  I think Paul may have tricked me.     Looks like this video is from 2013

[Bullet Whisperer]

Sorry for the long absence on this topic, but there hasn't been anything to say about it for a while. Due to technical issues, we were forced to revert to the 'ordinary' head to catch the last round of racing at Cadwell Park in September and other work commitments put this project on the back burner for a while. However ... yesterday, I removed the 'ordinary' head [which gave us 40bhp on methanol and 41.5bhp on special 'petrol' when dyno'd recently] and adjusted the barrel spacers to accommodate the Ace/B.W. head [I include my initials, as I am responsible for the squish bands alone, Ace reworked the head for his high ratio rockers, titanium valves, special seats and some more porting].
 Anyway, long story short, it is running again and back on 14.5:1 C.R., as opposed to 11:1, as well as the above improvements.
 I started her up this morning, but it is very cold and wet at the moment, so it stayed within the confines of the workshop. It was filmed and here is a link to it on F.B., I will try and get another means of accessing the video soon.
 B.W.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=407437576099468&set=o.132597770120179&type=2&theater