Northeast AHRMA - Cato NY MX and XC!

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Lets...Get...Ready..to...Rumble!  Greetings POGGERs - hope to see a few of you in Cato, NY on May 12th for our first NE event.  The North Atlantic guys had fun this last weekend and had a sign-up of 50 riders - pretty good for an XC only race date.

Thanks to Gary Ellis who has set me up with a very nice pair of 38mm forks and clamps for the MC5.  I had my (plastic Magura) straight-pull throttle fall apart in my hands last night due to old age, so Mr. Buehner is shipping me an XC-friendly Magura side-pull and new throttle cable.  I'm also going to try out a pair of the DC Plastics side panels (in orange) to see how they work this year.

Haven't really delved into my Six Day yet since I'm only going to run the MC5 at Cato, but will have that ready for Unadilla.  Or (drum roll please...) ready to sell.  I'm  really tempted to give a Jackpiner (that may be available at Mid-Ohio)a try in vintage XC racing classes, but stable will not hold Six Day and Jackpiner.  Hmmm...

Oh..and I lost 15 lbs and got my blood pressure down.  I'm almost ready to race!

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Attention for an update  - MX is still on, but the XC had to be cancelled due to the lower areas of the course being a bit "muddy". Just bringing the MC5 and will race a couple of classes and see if I remember which way to turn the throttle.  GREAT forecast (75 and Sunny) for the day.

I'm bummed about XC, wanted to get in a race before Unadilla where I'm guessing the Vint and PV races will be Game On.  THAT weekend is looking  to be an absolute blast - they are advertising  a lot of big names for the MX.  Wonder who might show up for the XC....

[brian kirby]

I'll be there Thursday afternoon with my 100, the 74.5 400 and probably the '79 440 Maico. Planning on riding the 100 Vintage CC. I'll probably  bring my '92 CR500R for the "Retro 2" support class too.

Brian

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Brian - I look forward to meeting you and your bikes.

As for the Cato MX race, it was a beautiful day, and a wonderful course, and - unfortunately - a smaller turn-out than last year.  Mr Dennis Foley pitted right next to me with a nice (Hi-Point alloy tanked) 74 Mint 400 and his immaculate (Fox Air-shocked) 1977 MC5 250, complete with Hi Point alloy side covers that I've never seen before.

My racing day was less than successful when my MC5 chose to quit on the white flag lap in two of my motos.  She tickled gas ok, so it didn't appear to be gas.  By the time I got towed back the pits and pulled the plug, the bike had spark.  And of course it would start at that point.  The immediate CSI from my fellow racers points to the coil.  

I know I will disappoint everyone if I do not entertain you with at least ONE story.  I raced in 50+ PV (where there were several big bore GP Maicos to contend with on this very fast track) and the PV Historic moto (all displacements).  As I pulled up to the gate for the first Historic moto, I realized my bike was in first and that I needed to get it into second gear for the start.  But...my clutch was slipping just enough that I couldn't get it up into second, much less neutral, so I went ahead and let my clutch out a bit thinking that will do the trick and instantly pin my front wheel against the gate (apparently unaware that they had flashed the one minute sign...).  BAM - the gate goes down and I go nowhere.  What's my first instinct?  To hold up my hand and signal the Starter!!  Apparently everybody watching along the fence pretty much fell on the ground or pissed themselves they were laughing so hard as I sat there with my hand in the air and the rest of the riders halfway down the front straight.  Killed the bike, found neutral,fired her up and got going with everybody at least 2 turns down the track.  For what its worth,I had a lot of fun in that race.  Those new 38's on the front were soaking up the bumps, and the track had lots of nice, loamy soil with very few hard-pack areas.  It took me about three laps to catch and pass everyone and I was on cruise on the white flag lap when the Gods on Mt. Olympus decided they had not had enough fun with me yet and my bike suddently died the mysterious death I mentioned above.

So I'm currently trying to chase down a "red wire Motoplat coil" if that is the right terminology.  Let me know if you can help OR have another suggestion to check out.

[Ernie Phillips]

Sounds like possible fuel delivery problem.  So it tickles fuels - that is on the outside, with you pushing down on float.  You need fuel inside the carb, gravity fed, where the metering system picks it up.  How predictable are electrical faults - not very.  White flag, two motos - fuel delivery .... just saying. luv ya man!

Ernie P.
Chattanooga, TN

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Thanks for the feedback, Ernie...but I'm struggling with why it would be okay for 15 minutes and then "starve", if I were to pursue your theory. In other words, what would change in the carb through a moto?

I ran a couple of CCs last year - one hour plus - and no fuel issue other than I race out of gas at one of the races that went about 1 hour 20 minutes and I wasn't topped off.

BTW - great to see your Christian getting faster and faster.  Stewart Baylor is an ALIEN, though.  Someone get a blood sample.

[Ernie Phillips]

What would change in the ignition in 15 minutes that would cause you to have to push in?  Fair question, eh?  My painful lesson on fuel delivery was a new carb with a too small float needle jet.  The bike ran fine in the woods, but put it on the MX track and at about 2 to 2-1/2 laps it acted like it was going to seize and then just died.  It ran fine in the woods because you were on and off the throttle and the bowl did not get sucked dry.  On MX with a few long straights, WFO  - loose power real quick at certain point.

Simple test, take you rig back to track and run the dog do out of it.  As soon as it dies, immediately turn the fuel taps off, in fact, pull the fuel line off so you know no fuel can get in the carb.  Wait around for it to kool and do whatever your restart routine is.  If it cranks up, I loose.  If it don't, it might need some go juice.  Turn on the taps, tickle the thang and bingo it runs  ... or maybe it don't.  It could be a tank,/fuel tap problem - have you looked at the screens, or some fish scales in you float bowl or a flake of debris in between the fuel hose connection and the float needle jet.  Down south, it could be mud dobber droppin's fowling things up.  It's +35 years old man!  Weird stuff happens you never thought of.  Take it apart and use some scrubbin' bubbles and get it spick-n-span clean.  Remember, free advise it worth exactly 1/2 of what you pay for it.  Moon pie and an RC to the winner?  Or you could put a new red wire on and - - get lucky?  (We're running Motosplats on our two-fif-tee's, and have developed that false sense of security.  It will surely bite us one day.)

Yep, the Kid is improving, best finish to date.  The Pros are unreal quick.  Stewart is having an amazing run ... and hope he is able to keep it up.  I'm pulling for the old guys; Lafferty and Dwight.

PS:  Move to Chattanooga and I'll get you going.  Or, you can ride my bikes - they can hole easy, it's up to the rider after that.  Actually, the rider has to pull the trigger at the right time to hole shot - right Bob?


Ernie P.
Chattanooga, TN

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"Ouch" on that last comment, Ernesto...

Thanks for thinking out loud.  Advice is being taken under advisement.

Move to Tennessee?  I dunno.  Thank god for Lamar Alexander giving McConnell and (tea party) company the proverbial middle finger, but Bill Frist and the rest....holy cow.

[Ernie Phillips]

quote:"Ouch" on that last comment, Ernesto...

All in fun my friend.  Good luck.  

There are later model coils with black wire that have the diode in them and will work.  You have to know what to look for and I forgot -I think you can tell by the spade connection orientation - somebody with the know, help Bob.  So, you don't have to be limited to the older red wire only.

However, if it is a fuel delivery problem ...[:0][V][xx(][|)][}:)]

Ernie P.
Chattanooga, TN