Author Topic: Ace assisting Bullet Whisperer racing effort  (Read 124659 times)

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Adrian II

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Reply #405 on: August 26, 2015, 01:36:08 pm
After all the blood, sweat, tears and welding rod that's gone into the 500 we all hope that with perhaps a few more tweaks to come, it's still competitive for a good while yet. Sadly I can't help seeing the words "rearguard action" forming in my mind, as we see the rest of the pack throw money at the problem of how to beat not only each other but also a team which has had the nerve to win by skill and determination on a long stroke pushrod single.* Or should we be clubbing together to buy B.W. a state-of-the-art CAD/CAM machining suite with a nice little aluminium foundry on the side?  ;D RE's have had four-valve heads before...

A.

* Speaking of long stroke push rod singles, what happened to all those Norton ES2s being raced just a few years ago, (those whose owners had steel flywheels fitted to them, at least), they can't all have been relegated to parade bike status, can they?

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Bullet Whisperer

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Reply #406 on: August 26, 2015, 01:46:39 pm

* Speaking of long stroke push rod singles, what happened to all those Norton ES2s being raced just a few years ago, (those whose owners had steel flywheels fitted to them, at least), they can't all have been relegated to parade bike status, can they?
Hi Adrian, Ace and everyone else who has shown an interest and support. We will keep doing what we can, with what we have, you can be sure of that.
 Regarding the quote above from Adrian, there are still some such machines running in these events, but fewer than in the recent past. There is a 'Pushrod Championship' running within all the BHR events and it might be reasonable to assume we could lift such a title with one or more of our machines, except we have to keep those big BSA and Triumph Triples in mind, before getting too carried away with that one  ;)
 B.W.


Bulletbaz

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Reply #407 on: August 26, 2015, 02:26:07 pm
I totally understand where Paul (B.W.) is coming from here. If you try racing beyond your financial means, much of the enjoyment (what it's all about at the end of the day!) goes out of the window, only to be replaced by frustration and angst. Far better, in my humble opinion, to continue chasing down (and embarrassing!) superior machinery on a budget that you can afford. The sweetness of that achievement cannot be bought ;)!


ace.cafe

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Reply #408 on: August 26, 2015, 06:19:12 pm
The entire season has been a complete success. Everything is better than previously, and the race results were excellent, with only the most stellar(and expensive) full-race short stroke G50 and Manx entries finishing ahead. And last month, the 500 finished in front of them, with an outright 1st place win! It's an awesome accomplishment.

I think that there may be some room to squeeze some more power out of this engine during the winter off-season with some dyno time, and especially some detailed work on the exhaust system and wave tuning areas, which is very low cost. It doesn't necessarily cost a lot more money. There has already been a lot of money spent on what is there now, and I feel there is some more that can come out of it when there is time to really get into it over the winter. The bottom line is that anything remaining tuned/optimized from the previous 7200 rpm engine should benefit from re-optimizing for the higher rpms around 8000 rpm. That's a pretty big jump in rpm.
 :)
« Last Edit: August 26, 2015, 07:59:43 pm by ace.cafe »
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ace.cafe

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Reply #409 on: September 24, 2015, 11:00:04 pm
Last race of the British Historic Racing series coming up this weekend!

Bullet Whisperer and the team will have the 500, the new short stroke 350, and the 250 Crusader all out there competing!

We are excited, and wish them all wins in each of the classes.
Let's finish up with some champagne!
 8)
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Adrian II

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Reply #410 on: September 25, 2015, 01:56:19 am
That is, of course, after some hard work by Ian to get the Crusader's frame and swinging arm straightened after the crash last time, as well as B.W. managing to sort out a rev-limiter for the 350 to stop any more incidents of trashed valves/rockers/pushrods, etc!

Hope final meeting of 2015 is the best one.

A.
Grumpy Brit still seeking 500 AVL Bullet perfection! Will let you know if I get anywhere near...


High On Octane

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Reply #411 on: September 26, 2015, 04:07:23 am
Go Team ASBO!  Good luck guys!  :D
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Bullet Whisperer

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Reply #412 on: September 29, 2015, 10:54:20 am
The last BHR race meeting of the season at Cadwell Park was a very mixed bag for us, with a track day on Friday beforehand showing both 350 and 500 RE racers to be going well, the new rev limiter on the 350 helping the engine to stay in one working piece!
On Saturday, Steve Cotrell's Crusader 250 joined the lineup, as did Dave Darby's Ducati 250. The Crusader won its' first race and came 4th overall, as the 250 specials were out at the same time as the pre '62 class. The next 250 race saw the Crusader taking 2nd place and its' last race came to an untimely end when the gearbox packed up.
The 500 was on for a 4th place in its' first race, but this was stopped just short of halfway, due to a crash and restarted. Unfortunately for Ian and many others, some thought it was a straight restart, while others, including Ian thought a sighting lap was also being run again - it wasn't and Ian lost a lot of ground and finished further down the field in 7th place, 12th overall out of 35 starters.This machine suffered a loose ignition rotor in its' next race, costing some power and it took 7th place again. The last race for the 500 ended on the start line, when Ian let the clutch out to go, there was a loud bang and it stopped.
For the first 350 race, the little Clipper was flying round and guaranteed a 3rd place, by the look of things. Pressing Jack Hebb for 2nd place and an unlimited machine getting in their way, resulted in Ian coming off on the last lap. Checking the points scored, DGH reckons had Ian stayed put in 3rd place, this would have bagged him 3rd place overall in the championship, but he was 6 points short in the end, this for just a handful of races, six out of a total of 23 races all season. By the end of this meeting, Ian had followed up on Sunday with 2nd and 3rd places on this machine, after we straightened it out enough to scrape through scrutineering again on Sunday morning.
The Ducati took two second places for a 250 in the Ducati Championship, and one DNF for an exhaust pipe which had worked loose.
The high side for us is just how well the 350 is starting to go - it has been an uphill battle with the new engine configuration, but I think we have turned a corner. A big thanks must go to Rex Caunt Racing for all their help in getting those excess revs under control with the new ignition system !!
Sorry there are no pictures or videos of the action, but Cadwell is such a long circuit, there would be no point trying to film the action from any one spot. There was to be video footage, but somebody damaged the on board camera bracket on the 500, so this didn't happen after all  ::)
 Just off to the workshop, to see what happened to the 500  :o
 B.W.


ace.cafe

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Reply #413 on: September 29, 2015, 12:49:47 pm
Congrats on a fine racing season for the entire team!

I hope the 500 isn't too badly hurt!

You guys have held the Enfield banner high all season, and we are so happy for that, and we cheered for you the entire way.
 ;D

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Bullet Whisperer

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Reply #414 on: September 29, 2015, 01:29:22 pm
Thanks to all for the support  8)
 Sadly, I already know with the amount of work done already, that we are looking at a broken crankpin on the 500  :(
 B.W.


Adrian II

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Reply #415 on: September 29, 2015, 09:49:39 pm
Thanks to all for the support  8)
 Sadly, I already know with the amount of work done already, that we are looking at a broken crankpin on the 500  :(
 B.W.

It's not the most stress-free job for a short piece of steel, especially on a race bike!

ISTRC that there was some reporting in the Classic magazines a few years ago that Alpha Bearings' one-piece Matchless crankpins were developing an alarming failure rate for shearing, and so they started making them from some ultra-special grade of steel used by the French air force as an attempt to improve reliability (though the problem was later reckoned to be down to something other than the metallurgy). Perhaps they still have some in stock?

A.
Grumpy Brit still seeking 500 AVL Bullet perfection! Will let you know if I get anywhere near...


ace.cafe

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Reply #416 on: September 29, 2015, 10:33:30 pm
It's not the most stress-free job for a short piece of steel, especially on a race bike!

ISTRC that there was some reporting in the Classic magazines a few years ago that Alpha Bearings' one-piece Matchless crankpins were developing an alarming failure rate for shearing, and so they started making them from some ultra-special grade of steel used by the French air force as an attempt to improve reliability (though the problem was later reckoned to be down to something other than the metallurgy). Perhaps they still have some in stock?

A.

For super steels, 300M or Aermet 100 might be good, or even S7 at a lower cost might do for end shafts.

« Last Edit: September 29, 2015, 11:54:02 pm by ace.cafe »
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Bullet Whisperer

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Reply #417 on: October 04, 2015, 05:48:08 pm
I am sure we will get the big end issue sorted for the F.A.B. 500 in time for next season, but meanwhile, a little surprise - Dave Henshaw has been checking the results from this season and it would appear the 500 has taken third place, after two very fast G50 based machines, in this year's BHR championship  ;D
 B.W.


ace.cafe

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Reply #418 on: October 04, 2015, 07:11:30 pm
I am sure we will get the big end issue sorted for the F.A.B. 500 in time for next season, but meanwhile, a little surprise - Dave Henshaw has been checking the results from this season and it would appear the 500 has taken third place, after two very fast G50 based machines, in this year's BHR championship  ;D
 B.W.

Awesome!
 ;D

So happy to hear that, Paul!
Congratulations!
 ;D  8)
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Bullet Whisperer

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Reply #419 on: October 04, 2015, 07:31:06 pm
Thanks, Ace and everyone else who has been following our efforts. Hopefully, next year, we will be able to field a 350 and a 500 that will be in tip top shape and capable of doing a season with only routine maintenance and servicing, most of the 'teething troubles' appear to be behind us with both machines now.
 B.W.