Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126010
l" s-. (l) ..c o .~ u o LET'S GO PROD / ION RACING =====================ByCharles Morey===================== Pro du cti o n cl ass am ate u r road racing is one of the easies t an d least expensive forms of motorcycle competi t io n for a be gin ner t o get started in. Produc tion racing, by _ de fin it ion, requ ires no more in the way of machinery th an an unmodified st reet bike .' Odds are that anyone who's co ntemplate d entering th e wo rld of pavement racin g already h as one. Like th e rider w ho shows up at h is fi rst MX w ith a Japa nese t rail bike , th e new soon-to -be sc ratcher has probably been play in g race r by him self and has go tte n to the point.where he wa nts to ru n against ' the loca l establishe d go-fasters. Way dow n deep he th inks he stands a ch ance at wi nni ng. In production racing, m ay be he's right. But before a street rider, no matter how skilled in the art of fast rid ing , can de throne t he reigning king of th e ci rcuits; he has to lea rn the big basic diffe rence between play-racing and t he real .thing: prepara t ion. The first te st of h is M/C I.Q is "Bike Inspection :" Many new fo lks either spend race day morning doing a lot of unexpected work on their scoots or t hey just get sup er d iscouraged due to be ing unp repared for inspecti o n . Shot down w ithout be il1g give n a chance? Not rea lly . If you read th is you can pass " In spection" and go on to the " p its ." Special brake lini n gs m ay be used an d ho les may be drilled for ventilation. Stock linings are usu ally ade quate and h oley drum brakes aren't practical for street 'us e , especially in the rain. . You can't tamper wi th internal gear ratios , either in th e gear box or in th e primary d rive. Extern al sprocket chan ges are co mple te ly legal. Put o n any combination of co un te rs ha ft and re ar wheel sprocket th at yo u like . Air clean er , tool box and license plate bra ckets ma y b e removed . Warn ing! Air cle aner s, particularly on two st rokes , are part of a ba lanced in d uctio n system . If y o u jus t yan k t hi ngs o ff, th e m otor may lose power . Air cle aner elemen t rem ov al re quires a car bureto r je t t in g ' chan ge . Most licen se plate brac ke ts also serve duty as tailligh t . m ou n ts. Unless the in spector lets yo u tak e off the en tire brac ket/light un it, ju st pu t a thick layer o f d uc t tape aroun d th e sharp e dges and cal l it go od . Side co vers and . C1ubman ba rs chain guard may also be rem oved in th e interest of and neat front saving a couple pounds weigh t . number plate Most new sto ck tir es will work OK for raci ng , but if bracket. Bars and when yo u feel th e need fo r" so me th ing better, try adapt to Dunlop K-81s . Rear shocks also m ay be replaced with " racing Kanis, o r wh at ever , b ut it can ge t exp en sive. As a crouch. " begi nner, t ry co mpe ting on a st ric tly stock bike, then when you feel t hat you need it , start changi ng tire s and .. shocks. ',,~ :, . . . .. I; Once you ,ge t invo lved in raci ng, many "secre ts" that . work on the local circuit will be come ap paren t, b ut until th en a we ll-tuned an d prepared st ock mach ine is the best . ~ay to go. Be su re ' the ' motor ' is" fre sh all the way ' thro ugh . Go ' over th e en ti re bike just m aking sure that everything's ti ght and works t he wa y it wa s de signed to . th e last four year s and sold equipped with full lighting Think about race day equ ipm ent. Frame s, fo rks, wheels, brakes, mufflers, On ce th e motorcycle is sq uare d awa y, the next thi ng exhaust pipe, gas and oil tanks, fenders , gear box, engine that must be atten de d to is your own riding gear. An and primary drive, an d clutch m ust be exac tly the same appro ved helmet and shatterproof goggles are required as was fitted to the ori ginal model for everyday ro ad use . by the rul e boo k. Th e hot set-up is the Bell Star type Original equipment cams, tappets, rocker arms, push helm et with a close sec o nd choice being a regular full ro ds, valves, valve springs, co llars, pistons, connecting coverage helmet with a flat , snap-o n face shie ld. Boo ts, rods , carbure to rs. cylinder. heads, igni tio n components, a t least eigh t inches hig h , must be worn. Leathers are lighting equipment and instruments must be use d. also req uired . It's acce p table to wear a regular leather Summarized, the co m ple te mo tor and mo st of the rest street-riding jacket and a pair of motocross pan ts or o f th e bike mu st be sto ck. Some m odificat ions, ho wever , almost anything y o u can scrounge up . Doesn't have to arc permi tted, . be of the n eat one-pie ce c ost umes like th e pros wear . The handlebars m ay be ch an ged. Th e only stipulatio n Leather gloves are mandatory . Not reco mmended are the is th at the y must be mounted to the original handlebar motocross rubber bumper style , since ' the rubber te nds mo un ts. to grip t he asphalt and rip the seams open , baring your Foot rests may be relocated. Many rider s don't mess soon-to -be-sore knuckles. Basically, that's all you need, besides Cycle News ' with th em ; but if yo u wish, rearsets are permissible. There are $60-70 b uy-an t-bolt-on kits. More prevalent calendar, which you've got. Join the sanctioning body if t hey req uire . it. (AMA, for exam ple , do es re qui re that ar e horn e-m ade sets that suit the build er /r ide r exactly . Foot pe gs must fo ld at a 4 5 degree angle and be ru bber you be a member.) Oth er than th at, just gas it an' h ave a . good time. co vered. inspector can see that your headligh t is working. Th e numbers sho uld be carefully formed and easy to rea d at a glance. It's re ally a bummer being mi s-scored, Headlight and taillight must operate for the inspecto r. The instru men ts, both ta ch and spee do , m ust work. All lenses on lights and in struments must be taped to kee p them from shattering in a fall , bu t th e lens are a need not be co mpletely covered. Leave a hole in th e middl e of the headligh t tap e to line up with the ho le in yo ur number plate for th e in spector's (an d th us, yo ur) bene fit . Leave a sli t o pe n ove r t he useab le RPM ran ge o n 't he tach . Th is next par agraph is take n -alm ost wo rd fo r word from t he AMA ru le boo k. The bike m ay be an y standard pro duction road m o torcycle wh ich was produc ed wi th in J • Mo torcycle modi ficatio ns co me in tw o ca tego ries: (I) those that you have to do, ' and (2) those th at yo u m ay do . Th e have-to changes are do ne in th e in terest o f safe ty , whil e th e m ay -do m ods help you go fas te r. On e im portan t t ho ught to keep in mind while m aking any changes is to do all wor k in a good workmanlike manner. It 's n ot o nly safe r an d be tte r appearing; it also impresses te ch inspec to rs and ma kes life ea sier for you . St ep one is to remove an ything that sticks au t from t he cycle and co uld punct ur e your (or so meone else's ) bod y in t he eve n t of a ge t-off . The rulebook lists sid e st ands and cen ter stands, but con sider th e hu rt invol ved in getting snagged on cras h bars, luggage racks, m irrors, sissy bars, license plate edges or sign al stalks, an d yo u'lI see the wisdom in making a cle an sweep of the entire bike . Inspectors will in sist on it . Any oil fitting or dr ain plug m ust be safety wired. Oil spills on th e asphal t will immediately dump any rider whose wheel finds o ne . Instantly. Th in k how mood y yo u ' d be if someo ne el se un wi tt ingly sabotaged yo u. .An d sore. Pick up a set of number plates at yo ur local dirt bike shop. You n eed three of th em, one o n ea ch side an d on e over th e headlight. The side p lates must be mounted so that the numbers are completely and easily visible whil e yo u are on the bike in riding position. 111e front pl at e must have a o ne in ch hol e in th e middle o f it so the • 33