Kenny Cummings Barber center of attention

Kenny is living the Commando life to the max. He's the main attraction to draw 2 Ozarks hicks away from paradise and a bunch of others from all over the place.
Also can processes more adrenalin that about anyone I've ever meet, in control but intense chemistry and radiation focused on more than one fire at once. Other pit tents are always aware of the glow coming from where he's set up for business, wining. A super star in these circles. I was just hoping not to get in the way form side lines or get chased off. Instead he makes ya feel like a part of his race effort. A hand full of others told me the same thing - all glowing inside from the special attention and recognition. Tim Elliot/britbiker220, first words on us meeting was how impressed he was on seeing Kenny's racer, smallest sharpest in the bunch, and of course how Kenny had welcomed him in mist of activity.
Its the most lingering glow from the whole affair to me and I'm sure others too.
Way to go Kenny, a model I've absorbed from much as I can.
Tim/bb220 supplied most the photo's below.

Kenny had to ask me twice to try on his racer. Huh who, me? Oh oh, very few bikes have remained whole for long after that. i recoiled the instant my grip on bars settled me on seat and peg, like grabbing hot poker by hands with a spike of fear up my spine. Like laying on a torpedo, hands next to chin, face leading the way into targets! Peg ends beat up and ground down 50' btw. Says some times pegs lift tires off ground so has to use knee down to lift bike back on its feet!
Recoil was recognition i might not be able to handle it : (

There was this mystery woman in his pits, riding a Manx and also Kenny's Cdo.
Others told me she holds woman's record at Isle of Mann and Knighthood from the Queen. Sharing bikes is pretty close trust relationship to develop. Impressed a bunch of us duller dudes to the core again Kenny.

Last I saw of Kenny was pushing his bike to photo line up of all the #1's while putting on a clean shirt with Colorado Norton Works logo to match the one on the fairing.













[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g35jqcOhaow[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8U_UEDeVq4[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGF3Xub1C-Q[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnGBhVgAGgQ[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWcnF_CekX4[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-oEOAIAp0U[/video]

translation: He is a very dynamic individual that is determined and driven.

Duh dude, about most everyone we encounter involved in motorsports is like that, so you are calling the pot black in my book on you Tim. Hm, there's does seem to be a good bunch of vintage focused individuals called Jimmy, Timmy, Kenny.
In our Instant case, Kenny's uniqueness is seen in his number plate and level/scope of people attracted, [i don't count so don't count me against him]

Kenny showed me he recognized my flavor of addiction, with a revealing phrase.
It both pleased me yet shames me on what I know is life/death hobby. I "think/feel" Ms Peel can wipe up the track going by what I saw, yet I don't think I could do it on the bikes i saw whizzing around. To qualify above I "think/feel" any bicycle capable novice could give even racers a terror on Ms Peel. There is just no terrorizing efforts/effects or sudden surprises on her, takes rather harsh wild antics to even get her to break loose into faster sharper phases. So not me that's impressive, its a tamed/dampened articulated energy storing vibration transparent chassis.

hobot
had to brake and beep two deer out my way today, 3 Sat. afternoon + half dozen leapers past grill just before car got there. I think I'm more crazy stupid than about any one still functional, to want to ride into face of known fates. Takes 80-85 for me to get most comfortable on m/c after dark through the woods, whats a race track secure place got to scare me to go for broke? Hits me in flashbacks now and then on the constant close calls - involuntary shudders to almost vomiting. I WILL NEVER BE STRUCK FROM THE SIDE AGAIN!!!

I spoke with 3 separate biker groups this am to absorb some of their road glow, from a caged window seat.

Wow, thank you, Steve. Yes, everyone is always welcome in my pit. Sometimes I'm a busy dude, but I want to make folks feel welcome in hopes they will safety-wire up their Commando and come out on the track. If anyone is remotely on the fence about the track - be it track days or racing - please PM or email me, as I'm always interested in helping out.

Maria Costello MBE (the blonde woman in the photos) was with us, over from the UK. She held record on the Isle Of Man for a woman from 2004-2009, was ordained by the Queen as an MBE for he excellence in motorsports, just broke the lap record for a woman at the Ulster GP, etc, etc. Yep, she's a star, and we were honored to have her over. The plan was for her to ride my buddy Jamie Waters's 500cc Dominator Lowboy in 500 Premier, but we had some teething issues that kept it from being a front-runner, so she ended up hopping onto my bike in the BEARS class (I had already clinched the BEARS championship), taking 3rd place!
In the meantime I raced a Summerfield Manx (my first time) to 2nd place in 500 Premier. Then went out on my bike and had one of the best races of the year with Tim Joyce and John Ellis in Formula 750, but I missed a shift on the last lap and Ellis got me for 2nd while Tim got the win. Didn't matter - it was a good show and great race.

At this point I should say, after breaking a crank at Mosport in August, I was immediately tended to and given the best support I could ever ask for to get my Seeley Commando back up and running. I sourced another crank from Ken Canaga of Left Coast Racing (thank you, Ken). Jim Schmidt went through my new crank and rods/pistons with the scientific eye he has. At Jim's suggestion we balanced the crank down to about 70% (from 78%) for this run, which was better than ever. Matt from CNW stepped up and offered his support, so in turn we sent the bits off to Jim Comstock to check out the damage and reassemble, as no one does it better than our very own Comnoz. Fortunately the BEAUTIFUL FullAuto head was not touched in the attrition, and essentially bolted it back on and away we went. Since I have been preparing the 500cc Lowboy for the last 2 months I had little time for my own bike. I uncrated and put the motor in on Monday, fired it right up, did a heat cycle/torque, fired it up again on Tuesday, did a heat cycle/torque, loaded up Tuesday eve and headed for Barber. My goodness... It's back, better than ever! Not a hiccup the whole weekend, and definitely able to keep up with those trendy Overhead Cam machines. And now, I don't have to tear it down this winter! What am I going to do with all this free time?

So, since 2010 racing is over, I want to mention the folks who are out there not only keeping my bike up front, but also doing good for all of us Commando riders. In no order of gratitude: Jim Schmidt/JS Motorsports, Jim Comstock/Comstock Engineering, Ken Canaga/Left Coast Racing, Ken Cockram from FullAuto Technologies, and last obviously but not least, Matt Rambow from Colorado Norton Works.
Please support those who keep our marque alive and up front.

I'll explain some of these photos/videos Hobot and Tim bestowed upon us:

The bloke with the white helmet sitting on the Commando racer with silver fairing and red rims is none other than our very own in house nutter, Mr. Steve Shiver, aka Hobot. The owner of this bike is RJ Reynolds. RJ brought the bike for me to race way back at Daytona, and we've been slowly getting it ready to run over the entire season. Unfortunately it too had teething issues at Barber. RJ can be seen in the white Norton t-shirt and floppy hat. He has been very supportive of my program, and we'll be out on his bikes again.
The lovely blonde-haired woman seen in the snaps is Maria Costello. What a sweetheart in the paddock, but a demon on the track. She will be back.
There's a great shot here of John Ellis (Yamaha XS750), Tim Joyce (our lurker and troublemaker Phantom 309 - 750 Triumph) talking to Maria, and myself, shortly after the aforementioned F750 race. What a hoot that was. Congrats to Tim for winning the F750 championship again this year. I will be chasing him down next year as I will focus more on Formula more than BEARS for 2011. Watch out, Pim.
In one of the vids I start my bike, but in another I start up the Manx. My bike is black and has a high-pipe on the LH side, the Manx has a green fairing and high-pipe on the RH side. You can see me give a "good job" kick to Maria as I head out for 500 Premier and she pits-in on my bike from BEARS.
Also seen and worthy of its own topic is Jamie Waters's 1973 Monocoque replica (#6). Jamie bought the last surviving original Monocoque a few years ago, but it is not really raceable, so he had an exact replica made by the original fabricators - Norman White and Bruce McLaren. This was its racing debut, although he did fly it to New Zealand and had Dave Croxford parade it last year. It is quite spectacular and always drew a crowd, but I thank God I don't have to work on it as that motor is buried deep within.

I hope next year I meet more of you. My pit is your pit. Barber is the perfect assembly of things to do for street bikes, race bikes, museums, and people-watching. And next year Daytona is the following week, so back-to-back banner events. Plan your time off now!

Kenny I've been waiting all week for the other shoe to drop - getting some low down on what went down and who's who' with what they'd brought to the show down.

Appreciate clarifying the front runner and owner/builders, food for the soul.
I am learning the various classes to compare properly what I was watching.
Tim Joyce sure put on a show with that all powerful Triumph wonder. I think Its a Formula 1 class. I see the rules allow unlimited modification for push rods.

I wouldn't have much a social life w/o Commando's, but I fear my spirit is broken way more than my neck and major joints have been. I can still visualize riding to a track day, in security of of semi trucks and weary driver cages at 80 mph on packed freeways, but my anus and chest cramp too hard now to visualize making it out of our rural county intact. Imagine racing where people were encouraged to throw water filled trash barrels at ya, several at once. On that note, best I can visualize is tempting you to test Ms Peel for me and prove or disprove her handling phenomena and add some value to her parting out while I still can. Rather better than injected white powders and on par with multi dose LSD. I've had my fill of that long ago, but withdrawal from Ms Peel before she even runs is making me sick. I can easy imagine and remember other motorcycle crashes, but I can't visualize or remember loosing control on Ms Peel. What is crashing states to other bikes is just next level of joy on Ms Peel. I need to know deluded or not on this before I go.

I visualize that sharp hook in front of grand stand as two 'ricochet rabbit' facets, by coming down the very outside of tract, getting tire spun up where everyone is hard on brakes, then fish tail out till I can trip 'er down in low side, by which time speed increased to point rear hooks up in spike of traction I can NAIL torque on its smashed down patch and use the rebound to hi side leap to get perpendicular to apex radius then accelerate upright a few yards till most open line appears then trip er down again for the hi side to land lined up with straight away, to NAIL more power on smashed down rear patch to get a launch ahead increase of speed that allows rear to take good throttle w/o spin or wheelie so I can catch breath and relax for brain blood to flow again. If I can't get rather lower faster than race bikes do the hi side does exactly what you see it do to others, goes too far fast out of control to enjoy. This does not side load Peel but about fully compresses suspension while twisting frame up so much you can feel the angle between handle bars, seat and foot pegs. Harshest acceleration I ever experience is when the chassis, forks and tire patch all unwind at once, right where there is generally the least traction Ms. Peel has ballist spikes of it!
Only effort besides throttle twist is breath control not to black out before the relaxion in opens.

A NYC area friend Joe Piska [sp], also a riding pal of Ben English, sent me this helmet video of sidecar view around Barber's, w/o the tipping horizons of two wheelers.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG1nQIBL6SI&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Excellent sidecar video.

I want to do that again so bad...

Steve, Kenny, thanks for this great reading and photos. With all the recent posts on these previously unknown (by me) events, Barber's has rapidly made its way into the top 20 on my bucket list. Not that there are any impending conditions to expedite exploring that list, but at 53, as the song goes "tick tock, tick tock, people, time's ticking away".

One thing I am curious about, Mr. KC, how much does that Seeley Commando weigh, and how much bhp? I would imagine the answer to be something like 300# and 90 bhp?

And Steve, best of luck getting Peel sorted and back out on the road. If I could help ya, I would.... If it were me resurrecting her for your riding conditions, It would most likely take forever and end up as a wasp knock-off.

Cheers,

Don

Amen Don, this hobby is best way I know to spend some of the limited weekends left us. I started losing best friends to motorcycles at age 14, six years before my 1st one. I love it so, but its no mindless lark when I mount up even to go to my mail box. I'd like to leave some mark on the hobby before i go, just not sure what.

I've lost two friends I met in my village square from out of state, even taking em home to see my Norton nest. They chided me on my crazy ways but died on bikes. not their fault, while I'm still here with you all, by pure luck only. Even crazier was riding with them, they pointed out places they lost best friend pressing extremely dangerous handling elite sports bike in public.

Peel was supremely competent in her past state with 750 power, nothing upset her and only got passed a few times against Ducci Monster, BMW RS1200, GRSX 1000 > when I either got too scared to hold speed going into blinds I'd had bad surprises in prior or hesitated behind a car on purpose and they took advantage of that - so not enough power to pass em again, but did catch back up around 130 mph. Everyone tells me lighter wheels and over all weight are a benefit plus other stuff crashes me like animals or run off road by school buses to hay rake tractors or log skidders pulling logs across path, so want less to pick up and load.
I got left behind once by a new Triumph Triple when gas slosh hit while front was lifted in a phase 4 switch back and took most of opposite lane to recover.



I'm kinda scared of race bikes and the posture they require. When I get going into corners I reflexly shift butt to rear of seat, moderns or antique bikes. ugh.
I screamed bloody murder on last goats strike for most a minute, partly from the pain of torn up knee/hip but most pain was it signaled the end of my wanting to ride all the time. I envy the joy i see in others now on or off race tracks.

Safe Journeys to us all.
Steven hobot