Little Egypt CC

[Ernie Phillips]

The Lillian Swamp crew rode Little Egypt this weekend.  I chose to ride my son Christopher's '72 Six Day 6B.  This bike has an internal rotor ignition and is probably too pipey for an inexperienced rider.  It rained just before the start of the race and made things a tad slick in places but this was better than dust.  The bike just did not like the putt-putt of the sighting lap.  I put a fresh plug in and hoped for the best.  The bike failed to start first kick, second kick, third kick ... so I dismounted and kicked with my right leg - got going in last place.  The rig just would not pull below 1/2 throttle so I had to drop a gear lower than I wanted and row the gear box  -- very frustrating.  I came in second out of 3 but each of my laps was faster ... my last lap being faster than the winner's best. Now, if I could solve my throttle response problems, I could do better Sunday.  Right?

I decided to swap carbs (all Bing) from my spare bike  - 125 5A w/ 30mm that I had previously raced.  The spigot was different for some reason so I decided to just swap internals.  The bad running bike had a very worn slide, more so than I had remembered.  So, I swapped for a less worn slide, needle & needle jet.  I did notice that the bad bike had a 276 needle jet while the good running bike had a 273.  I kept the 148 main jet (a bit fat on top but no seizures either) verses the 5A with a 140.  The bad bike was totally transformed.  It is no longer pipey.  It pulls clean from the lower range.  The "Big Hit" is gone!   No loss in upper range.  I'm convinced that I'm still making good horsepower but much more "rideable."  Just goes to show how unreliable "seat-o-the-pants" dyno is.  Also, the importance of proper tuning.

Saturday night it rained pretty hard making Sunday's race very slick.  With the bike running so much better I was looking for  ... glory.  In a repeat of Saturdays dead engine start, I failed to light the fire in an efficient manner --  dead last again.  A lap & 1/2 into the race I caught my class leader and passed him. Wanting to demoralize the competition, I kept gassing it ... and pulled away.  I was cooking 'til that stupid mud hole!  Dang!  Not only did I fall, I killed the motor and could not get it restarted.  The new leader came by and rode away ... to glory.  Stranded by the trailside, I kicked & kicked & changed plugs & huffed & puffed ... finally a trail rider came by, help me push out of the woods and we were able to bump start it.  The bike was totally loaded up. I did get to see the fast guys ride by and it was neat to see how smooth & fast the black striper's are.  Fly'n Brian on his Can AM had Sunday's race in the bag 'til he hit the ground a couple of times.  And speaking of fast – Mr. Balentine on his Jackpiner was overall winner both days!  

Rider error caused my problems and I have nothing or no one to blame except ...   Is a Mikuni less likely to load up in case of a spill?  


Ernie P.
Chattanooga, TN

[Dwight Rudder]

Yes, The Mikuni is much less likely to load up.
Dwight

Dwight Rudder
7 time ISDT / E medalist
8 time National Enduro Class Champion.

[brian kirby]

Spencer Balentine rode the wheels off his Jackpiner and scored two overall wins. Saturday I got a bad start and got held up for the first lap which gave Spencer time to put a big gap on me. To make things worse my throttle started sticking partially open which made stopping for corners tough. I pulled off on lap 3 thinking it better to live to fight another day.

Day two, I got a much better start and went into the woods second behind Spencer. I stayed right on his rear fender with James Smith right behind me. On the second lap I made a pass and started to pull a lead. I led laps two and three and gained time both laps but just after start finish on lap four I made a silly mistake, overshot a corner and stalled the bike which was all that James and Spencer needed to get by. After that I never got back into my rhythm and had to settle for 3rd.

Congratulations to Spencer for two well earned wins.

Brian

'72 Six Day (on loan from Ernie P.)

[tlanders]

Spencer is hiding a 250 engine under that blue Piner tank - it's a Hare Scrambler and it is its' year!!!! I loved all four courses. The folks at Marion do a terrific job led by Lance Martin and his brother Derek. Looking forward to next year. We had over 80 riders.

Teddy

[brian kirby]

I thought that was an awfully fast Jackpiner. Still, even if he was on a 250 Spencer still rode the wheels off that thing.

Brian

'72 Six Day (on loan from Ernie P.)