Ready to Race Finally

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Brooking 850

Brooking 850

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Hi all, have finally had the '73 850 running, first start last Saturday and a few back country road runs Sunday.
Hoping to have it on the Dyno this week as I am running a set of JS motorsport flatslides until my Amals arrive later this week.
Have to run Amals to make class with the classic racing register here in New Zealand.
First race Saturday all going well.
Basic list as follows:

850 1973 motor bored to +0.040"
JS Motorsport rods and pistons, stage 2 cam, followers, push rods and beehive valves
KW valves 1.5mm oversize. Corrective porting in the RH10 head to suit both sets of manifolds.
Crank balanced to 63% and crack tested
Rex Caunt crank mounted ignition using and old inner primary case and realigned alternator posts to mount.
Modified outer primary cover to protect the ignition
Rev limited to 7500 rpm and set at 32 degrees full advance.
5 speed TTI gear box , although they send the wrong configuration , I got 1 dowm 4 up instead of 1 up 4 down, Bruce at TTI is helping me with that and hopefully resolved before Friday!!
Std frame and forks, some Lansdowne fork inserts , JS trucite sliders, Maddass tank, one piece rear axle and master cylinder sleeve.
Fibreglass seat base shortened to suit shortened rear frame loop.
Rear hub modified so as to be able to change gear ratios quickly.
I use a NZ made pit starter to fire it, it takes very little to get it running and was running on the fist few spins with the starter!!!
Headers are by Viking Exhausts , OEM mufflers until I do some dyno runs and get a designed exhaust made at some time.
It is a start and bulit to last and have fun on while racing.
Thanks to all on the forum who have given plenty of advice, you will know who you are from emails amd PM's
Thanks and regards Mike
more pics in the library link below main pic

Ready to Race Finally

http://s1228.photobucket.com/user/Brook ... t=3&page=1
 
thanks have a few small issues that are not show stoppers, seat height could be lower, a bit of clutch slip , dealing with that now, might just need to grit blast steel plates.
Shame I have to run with out the flatslides as it goes so well
Will add video later in the week
Regards mike
 
Nice job Mike, hope the racing goes well
Who do you use for the Dyno? I was thinking of have my FCR carb settings fine tuned via a Dyno run but there isn't one this side of the hill.
cheers
iain
 
Nice work, but more photos please!!

Where is the race?

I went to Pukekohe some years ago, but I thought it was closed now? It was a great circuit, fast, technical and a bit scary in places :)
Is Hampton Downs as good a circuit?
 
Pukekohe , like everything else - rapid rail , harbour crossings etc , theyve been whineing about it for centuries . Bit like Len Perrys ' retirement ' . :lol: 8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blETXfy_ubQ#t=118

Dunno if this Link Works ; Mar 12 , 2013 , so likely this centurie , " First look at revamped Pukekohe racetrack " http://www.3news.co.nz/First-look-at-re ... fault.aspx being T V N Z it isnt working at the moment . :?

( Someone asked Lord Hives in the 30s , ' How many people work at Rolls Royce ' & was taken aback to hear " About half of them " . )
need we say more . :wink:

' Puke ' in moir humble opinion the left hander before the Rt onto pit straight you sort it for a suitable line out into the right over the hill .
onto the back straight , they all drift out to the fence , but if you get a line into / through the Rt Hander onto the straight putting you near mid track
( study the camber there ) once youve achieved your ' aiming point ' youre ok wfo as it wont go into the bank .

Ready to Race Finally


was a common trick in the old days , throw it in , throw on the throttle . . . . :) :( :shock: many a time .

Dunno what pit bunnies are doing at classic raceing though . Put the word out to the wenches they should be in overalls & carry an oily rag .
they mustve been watching that G P stuff on the T V . And DONT spill the Champagne , THATS a ' modern era ' trick too . :p
 
Nice looking bike.

All I can say is, racing is fun if you are careful to stay within the abilities of yourself and your machine.
 
Hi Brooking

Really nice build. The 850 is a lovely engine on the race track. Hope you enjoy your track time immensely :lol:
Build up to it, get to know your wheels. I was whooping with delight after practise at Donnington as I finally got the bike right & I new it!!
Enjoy

all the best Chris
 
Hi

Ludwig is right. Use the adaptor plate & fit a Lockheed or gremica race caliper. The difference is night & day.

Chris
 
Thanks for all the postives, once I get it settled in and running well , I can start to make changes including the brakes.
I have one of Madass's front ends single disc, but I have to be careful what I use so I keep with in the class rules.
Waiting on Amal to produce some Mk 2's , have spoken to them direct , no joy there as yet, Jerry on here knows the story, so will be running a couple of Premiers in the meantime, shame I can't use the flatslides .
Dyno run tomorrow all going well will post results and video eventually
Off to fit the carbs now
Regards Mike
 
Keep up the good work; keep throwing your wallet at the bike until it goes better.
 
Thanks again all, yes you are right Doug, (thanks for all your advice)but hey, my teenage daughters give the wallet a pasting as well, so why not me???
Iain, going to Gary Pendleton in Te Puna , north side of Tauranga here is the link
http://www.dynotech.co.nz
Bolted on a set of new Premiers today, got them out of Auckland, cheapest available anywhere south of the equator!!! Check these prices in New Zealand dollars

http://www.britishmotorcycleparts.co.nz/info/about-us

Set them up , even though they are only 32's , changed the main jets from the standard 220's to 240's , they seem to pull well on my test track (back country sealed road , twisty and hilly, ) eliminated the clutch slip, but the flatslides seem chrisper and more responsive.
Having said that motor is still tight, haven't taken it over 4000 rpm on 30 weight Lucas break in oil, will finish the break in on the dyno tomorrow and switch to Redline 40 weight.
Will keep you posted
Regards Mike
 
Good luck with the bike, Mike. I would love to ride it. If you have never raced previously, force yourself to go slow at first and work up to the corners, counting your gear changes. Eventually you will go around a corner a bit out of control, and know your limit. If you rush it, you might go around a corner a lot out of control and get a nasty bump. When you are on the race track, always leave plenty of room above and below yourself and don't fall off if someone whizzes past you. I had the same experience as yourself with the TTI box, Bruce sent a change over selector drum. As far as spending money on your bike is concerned - you can get adequate performance fairly cheaply out of a commando engine, however I would always concentrate on increasing midrange power(torque) and increase gearing before I would move towards a 'top end motor'.
 
I noticed from the photos that the front end seems to have a lot of lock, and your clip-ons are set fairly wide. You might do better to change the fork stops to reduce the lock, and angle the bars back a bit more so that they just avoid hitting the tank (you only need thumb clearance at full lock left and right). If your bars are too far forward, unless you are very big you will probably be stretching and your weight will be on your wrists too much. Have you fitted a hydraulic steering damper, it could save you from disaster ?
 
Thanks guys for the positive in put, Matt the first Hampton Downs video link you posted I am friends with two of the guys on the second row, on extreme right as you look at the video(left side of the track) the very tall guy is Mike Ross from Gisborne who races vintage motocross as well and has a few bikes including a Trident with ray gun exhausts, here he is on his BSA 500 and rides motard style foot down and did well today at Taupo this weekend, ( he is quick and gives the Manx's a very good run for their money and is a always in the top three in his class), on the same row of the line up extreme left of the second row(right side of the track) is my very old friend Kob Hair also of Gisborne on his Triumph Adventurer 500 who runs every race of the race calendar and is always in the top 5 for the class.
My Commando ran so well this weekend, busted an oil line across the top of the head for a rocker feed line, but other than that a faultless weekend. Not to bad as it has only been running for a week!!!
Saturday saw morning practice for all classes and another good Gisborne stalwart, Dalkeith Jackson , turned a wheel finally in the track parade class(no points non racing class) on his 1955 350 Manx, now has the bug to race as well!!

I made a lot of mistakes, mostly shift changes due to the wrong pattern on the gear box, can only hope TTI come to the party on my selector change. Come on Bruce, ring back as you promised and send the correct selector!!!!
My 850 mid range is awesome, and made placing gains all weekend, some softer settings on the Lansdowne inserts (three turns out on both) with a second place in class for the last race of the weekend in the wet, (Sunday)seems me and the bike don't mind the wet.
First day of practice highlighted the gearing was too high, (a bit of clutch slip which was very easily rectified), running a Steve Maney 40mm primary, 21 to 44 on the final drive, never managed to get into top gear at any stage but loved the tall gearing for the start
Changed the gearing at the end of the day ready for Sunday, no practice, straight into racing and a 46 tooth final drive mad e all the difference.
Motor is so tractable and responsive and a ton of fun.
So in our garage for the weekend, we had a couple of issues, Mike Ross started his Sunday morning with a flat tyre and missed his first race, Kob Hair dropped one of his new headers on the deck after the head retainer cast the nuts off, well sorted to keep him going all weekend, Dalkeith Jackson had a couple of tuning issues that were no show stoppers, John Carter had two bikes there and did well until his Morini snuffed a head casket and my oil line failure !!! Johnny Stevens on his Triumph and Pete Dearness on his Atlas were as fast as ever all weekend.
Thanks to all and see you all at Hampton Downs Labour Weekend for the Barry Sheene Oceania Festival 26th October
Regards Mike
 
Acrotel, all in hand with your worries, when I set the bike up due to the long tank ( Madass supplied but leaked badly in 3 different places on delivery)and now repaired at my expense??? , I spent a lot of time trying the bars, have a set of multi adjustable Tommacelli's to fit if necessary, it turned out I needed to chop 25 mm off the end of the bars you see in the pics and as I am quite small 5'8" and 80kg the bar position is fine for me. It has standard steering lock, but doesn't conflict with the tank.
Regards Mike
 
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