So I made arrangements and the Operating Engineers Training Center had the lead grader instructor come down and put a bank on my flat track with a brand new Cat 140. He spent close to 8 hours over 2 days. I did this to make the track more suitable for mini stock cars, micro sprint cars and Legends cars. A bunch of the micro sprints came out a couple month's ago (when the track was flat) but there was a freak thunder shower overnight and it was too wet. Now their season is finished and a guy was organizing a practice session for Sep. 20. He asked if 6 cars was enough and I said sure but would be nice if the micro sprint guys (10 or 11) came back to try it out. Then I'm told they aren't coming back out but it's not because of anything I did. A few guys had tried it and really liked it. One guy that raced a micro sprint actually sold his car because he doesn't want to deal with them anymore. I couldn't get any info on what happened but will call the guy who runs the micro sprints and try to find out what's up. He seemed like a nice guy when I met him. Why does there always have to be so much politics and BS with any kind of racing or different groups? It's the same in MX too. I get the short end of the stick for catering the track for them. It's been a horrible year with all the rain and covid and now this.
It's pretty simple, people in groups have never and will never get along because everyone wants to be the ruler, king ****, A #1, top of the heap. Rule #1 don't have friends and don't belong to a click.
I think you're right. It's unfortunate for the guys that just want to go out and have fun. They have to be part of the group/club but a few at the top make all the decisions and 2 or more clubs just fuels the fire. Everybody loses in the end but they're too dumb to realize all it does it get tracks shut down because nobody wants to deal with all the BS.
I don't know if it has changed but found out early on no to show up to a "Harley" event while riding a Sportster, only thing worse would be to show up on a Gold Wing!
Funny one that happened on a Sunday afternoon in 2013. It was late in the day and only had time for a short 150 mile ride on my 1800 Gold Wing. I was riding through a very small town not far from home and knew there was a card lock fuel island there with a pop machine. I rode into the lot and there were about 25 harleys and leathered up doo-rags standing around. I went over to the pop machine got a water and noticed several were looking at the rear tire on one of the bikes. I asked what's up they looked at me and grunted a [flat tire] and no where around here to fix it. I said no worries and moved my bike over removed the small 12v compressor and tire plug kit and fixed it. They were all just happy as hell and offered to pay me for my time and the kit. No- But you guy's can do me a favor the next time your group is out on a ride and you see a Gold Wing and rider {everyone wave like hell at him} their faces went from a grin to a frown in a second. I rode off waving at them.
I dunno, I had a different experience with bikes. I had an '86 Honda Shadow, VT700c while I lived in Illinois. I used to ride with a group of Harley guys that never said anything negative about me or my bike, They even went out the their way to help my when it needed work. I rode a bunch with them, especially to bike night at whatever bar we were headed to. I never got crap from anyone when I rolled up. Or I was too naive to notice.
I know a couple MXer's that converted CR500's for drag racing and the HD guys were royally Pizzed they were getting beat by 2 strokes. You had to guess your time and you advanced if your actual time was closer to your guess. One of the guys was a very fast pro and did a 12 second quarter mile on a basically stock CR500 with lowered suspension, street tires and different gearing/sprockets.
It's not all the Harley guys that are that way, but mostly the ones who are into the bikes for the "Image".
Most are pretty good but some really frown on you if you ride anything other than a Harley. Sportsters kind of fall into this category too. Maybe because they're the smallest HD's?
Years ago the Sportster was known as a baby harley and for that reason alone many didn't want one.
I'd guess you don't want to show up in a Harley golf cart.
During the AMF years in mid 70's NO ONE wanted a harley aka {John Deere with handlebars}. I remember the XLCR 1000 cafe racer based on a sportster. You could kill it with a Yamaha 650 Maxum. It was a phony looking bugger. And really no one wanted any harley when the Japanese bikes came around. If the harley's of today were like the old pan heads of yester-year no one would want one in today's world.
From what I've heard the AMF years had the worst quality of all of the Harleys.
And they also get called "Girls Bikes" and the thing is up till about 1980 the biggest Harley's were only 1200 cc's Well not too long after I had my Sportster I swapped on a set of 1200 cc cylinders and pistons! And to add to that the "big" bikes were only 1,340 cc's. Heck 140 cc's isn't hardly enough to power a Vespa and when you figure in the added weight some of those "big bikes" carry in add on trinkets they would not stand a chance at a 1200 Sportster in the 1/4 mile!
I have a RD-350 Yamaha and have been approached several times at gas stations (it’s a thirsty rascal) asking if I’d consider selling it because their girlfriend needs a small bike to learn to ride. I generally answer that it’s not a beginner friendly bike. They look at me like I’m an idiot till I kick it over and they hear that 2 stroke scream. I look at them like they’re the idiot then. My cousin is a Harley snob and commented about my overgrown chainsaw, I laughed at him and said when your bike is wound out at 5 grand, I’m just getting on the pipe.
May be why I prefer to ride two up and NO other bikes around. Do not like cliques, do not care for 'Squirrel' stops or those that cannot ride for more than 15 minutes to take a butt break. Will Two down any bike I meet and see a few that do not respond, see a lot of bar riders do not ever get 60 miles from home. Have had a Pan and a Knuckle head bike, oil slobbering messes, shovels no better where Evo's started getting it right. Enjoyed my Harley's, not race bikes but was over the Crotch Rocket race scene as got more into the Harleys. '03 Road King was a bit of disappointment power wise, had the early version 88ci Delphi EFI and did not really go closed loop, '12 Road Glide has plenty of ass to please me 103ci and does go closed loop adjusting as needs to.
A snob lol
Did yours have the goofy "T" shaped battery? I had a '85 with that battery. The outer cells were short and fat and the inner ones were tall and narrow. Battery case was made only for it, barely able to sneak it in there. I think they only used it for 2 years or so.
Man, I got some sour news today. The Harley guy I mentioned above that went out of his way to help me fix up that old Shadow passed away yesterday. He let me use his tools, his bike hoist, taught me general bike maintanence and fed me more Coors light while turning wrenches than I can count. Ride on Tomcat, ride on.
To be honest, I don't remember. I sold that bike 11 years ago and I don't think I ever had to touch the battery. I did replace the tires, brakes, rebuilt forks, rebuilt carbs, replaced throttle and choke cables, replaced ignition coils, etc.
Funny what sticks in your head sometimes. I was trying to remember if mine was 85 or 86, I think it was 85, but its been 20+ years ago. I just remember it being a pain to source the battery. Its cheaper now than it was 20 years ago- I just found it for under $60, and it was close to $100 then. Sorry about your friend. Time marches on.
Same here.
Always sorry to hear close friend losses
Is your RD 350 an LC (liquid cooled) or an older one before the RD 400's? I had an 81 RD 350LC. They only made them in 81 and 82 but I don't think were available in the the US because of California's pollution laws. It would beat most 750's except some of the sports bikes. RZ 350's came out in 83 with the power valve which gave even more power. Over 60 HP if I recall and I think had the highest HP to CC rating of any bike. Later RZ's had full fairings and had their own race class. RZ 500 4 cylinder 2 strokes weren't as superior as the 350's. Suzuki's RG 500 Gamma was another 4 cylinder 2 stroke that was generally considered better than the RZ 500. The 2 strokes really give meaning to the term crotch rocket!
It's a 1974 RD-350, air cooled and hard on ignition points. A friend has a CDI unit off a Banshee he will give me if I can make it fit.
A guy owed me some money years ago, I took his Honda 90 cause he couldn't pay me back. I was too proud to ride it anywhere that someone on real motorcycle would see me.
I grew up in the sixties when the honda ST bikes were coming out, had LOADS of new subdivisions going in around us where could ride in open dirt or light brush trails, was the best time. Got into Kaw 175 enduro series bikes(ALWAYS Well used before I received) and managed NOT to kill myself or tear up too much skin. Got off bikes until the mid seventies after back from Ft Knox and in my positions in St Louis, bought into Yamaha street bikes. At times really miss the dirt bike rides then get out on the four wheeler and just as happy where does not fall down as easy!! Is just a Kaw 250 but is fine for a old fat guy running fence.
Had a RD400 for several years. It was an ugly Green color but ran good. One bike that I kind of wish I had kept was the Kawasaki S1 three cylinder 250cc. The biggest problem I had with that one is it did not like putting around in town, would foul up the plugs and then take some good running to clean itself out. But for a "little" 250 it would get up and go. It was a bit on the heavy side for it's displacement. I did get a ride on an 1800 wing one time at a rally. But got yelled at by the Demo rider boss. Seems traffic was a bit heavy and I was the last one in the pack and when I saw an opening I took off to catch up with the rest of the pack. Nothing wild just gave it a handful of throttle like I would do with my Sportster/sidecar outfit! Demo boss bring up the tail did not appreciate that! Said cool it or you are going to walk back! Why they build them with 1800 cc's if you are not allowed to use them?
The Banshee used an RD 350LC engine with different gearing. It made it's power in the top end. A friend had one that a previous owner put an RZ 350 engine in. The Kawasaki triples were fast but handled like a rock. My brother had an RD 400 Daytona Special that was the last of the air cooled. He put different expansion chambers on it and it sounded like a machine gun. Honda had probably the trickest 2 stroke with the V3 NS400 but it wasn't the fastest.
The last part there reminded me of when my son took to riding my RD. Like I said it’s hard on points and you must adjust them often as the rubbing block wears down. Well he accidentally adjusted the timing and got it retarded so it ran really sluggish. I bought the timing tool, and after some trial and error, dialed it in. He jumps on and rolls open the throttle full in the driveway and stands it straight up and barely rides it out. He’s mad as fire and claiming that something is wrong. No, that’s how it’s supposed to run youngun.
Buddy had a Kaw 550 three banger, was like tying your butt to a stick of dynamite. Once it hit around 5-6G it lit up and was all could do to hang on!!! KNEW when it went on the Pipe!!
The two strokes were fast but there is just something that doesn't look right about all the smoke.
Usually when warm and at speed there's not a lot of smoke. The RD 350LC I had was pretty docile for riding around in the city but a turn of the throttle unleashed the inner beast. It did 110 MPH top speed but you had to push it to get there. 107 MPH was more easily accomplished. The guy I bought it from (sold it to buy an RZ 500) put low bars on it so you could pretty much lay on the tank. A friend had a V45 Magna (semi chopper)and said you need at least a 750 to have decent power. He took my bike for a ride and said maybe not. The weird thing was he had a clear plexiglass windshield that basically limited you to highway speeds. Flexed too much and affected handling trying to go any faster than about 70 MPH. So much for having extra power.
Yea that little 250 Kaw was the same almost like it was running on one cylinder till it hit that point. Not sure I would be here today if I had bought one of the 500 or 750 cc versions of those bikes! Reminds me of what a guy I knew up in Canada called bikes like that and all "sport bikes" called them "ZOOM-SPLATS" said that the last noises they usually made.
It seems like you've had some challenges with the racing community, and it can be frustrating when politics and BS get in the way of your passion. Unfortunately, these things can happen in any kind of racing or different groups. On a different note, if you're interested in staying informed about the world of politics, you might find this resource helpful: ( spam link removed by moderator) . It provides insights and information about the upcoming US presidential election in 2024. Remember, setbacks and politics shouldn't dampen your enthusiasm for racing. Stay focused on your love for the sport, keep pushing forward, and surround yourself with like-minded individuals who share your passion.
It's a alpha/beta thing and those types of people like to stick together and have a hierarchy and if your different it scares the hell out of them. Im a charlie because I do whatever I want to and not because they are doing something, or not doing something.
ATHS-American Truck Historical Society.
rolandjen is a well written spam bot that bumped a 3 year old thread with some AI-generated drivel and inserted a link into it. That's our future. That crap needs to be pulled out like the weed that it is.
Which is quite easy for me to do as an admin, but that means I have to pull you're post as well since you replied to his post. If I pull his post and leave yours it wouldn't make much sense in the context of the thread. This is the very reason why we implore members not to respond to spammers, makes our job cleaning up their mess tougher.
I kind of figured something was up mentioning politics in the literal sense.
And considering HEF's rule about political discussions, spamming the forum with politics is a quick way to the exit.