February 2009 Monster of the Month

[Pedro]

From CK....



Pictured is one of our 2 Monster race bikes, so its not your highly polished showroom Monster that you usually see on this page!
This is 'Tango' who started in life as a January 2005 620ie, pictured with the 2008 seasons haul of trophies.
She was purchased as new by a friend of ours who raced for half the 2005 season, and then sold her to us for the remaining 2 races that year. We competed her sucessfully in the Desmo Due series during 2006 with 3 riders & went on to win the Class A championship in 2007.
2008 saw a new challenge for us in planning to compete in the Thundersport GB Junior Powerbikes class.This class had a total of 9 weekends racing, mostly with 4 races a weekend.
To do this, we had to upgrade the bike to produce more power than the (then) current 65bhp she was putting out to increase her to within the new class limits of 80bhp at the rear wheel on a Dyno Jet dyno. A Sigma slipper clutch had previously been adapted for this wet clutch bike the previous season, and there was also an FIM fitted (instead of a Power Commander).
AK spent time in the garage during January & February doing engine work.........
The engine upgrades done were:
Fitting 900 cams - dialled in with race settings, racing light weight alternator, lightweight flywheel, 800 internals fitted into the 620 engine casings, 800 heads fitted - then ported & gas flowed by John Hackett.
Then a new map was created for the FIM by AK working with Neil Spalding & Mark Hill, to create better fuelling for the bigger engine.
The overall engine work produced 78bhp at the rear wheel on the Dyna Jet dyno, with a very strong curve all the way through to just under 9000rpm.
We uprated a set of replacement 999 forks to include Ohlins springs and valving to bring them up to Super Stock spec and an overhauled rear Ohlins shock, the fork bottoms were changed to take P4 4-pot calipers.
A radial Brembo brake master cylinder was added.

Other items fitted are: Full front fairing - ex Leon Haslam 999 full carbon Highland Spring (bought for a song on Ebay) with all paintwork done by Kato of UKMOC, 1098 rear seat pod (lightweight race copy), full 2-into-1 MHP exhaust system, rear sets from race Supplies Direct - modified by AK to fit higher and a pair of Carrozzeria forged wheels.

This bike will be out again in the Junior Powerbike class for 2009 with new team member 15 year old Sam Coventry on board.

verry nice keep up the good work chaps and good luck for this year with it

Hi Pedro, do the fork bottoms come off the sliders without too much trouble, my sliders are showing a few bits of chrome flaking, I thought about changing them. Purely cosmetic, its not affecting the seals.
Dookbob

[JerryXt]

Well done CK & AK! Always good to see the bikes out and looking pretty.

Dookbob, no, they don't come off easily. I saw the guys at PoTwins take off some fork ends to replace with radial and they used a bl**dly long bar in conjunction with a lot of heat to get them off.

Best take them to a good workshop.

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by Dookbob

Hi Pedro, do the fork bottoms come off the sliders without too much trouble, my sliders are showing a few bits of chrome flaking, I thought about changing them. Purely cosmetic, its not affecting the seals.
Dookbob

Nowt to do with me Dookbob, ask CK as it's hers and AKs bike

[CK & AK]

Originally Posted by Dookbob

...... do the fork bottoms come off the sliders without too much trouble, my sliders are showing a few bits of chrome flaking, I thought about changing them. Purely cosmetic, its not affecting the seals.
Dookbob

The fork bottoms can be a real barsteward to get off as they are bonded to the threading and you have to hold the tube without marking - needing specialist tools.
I've never bothered to do it myself, but send them to a good suspension company (like MCT - www.mctechnics.co.uk in Stowmarket) if they needed doing.

(could sell you a good condition set of std forks for a 620 for £100 plus postage if you want them)

AK

Hi AK, the bike I want the forks for is a 2002 620Sie, if the set of forks you have are suitable for this bike I will be happy to buy them from you.
Dookbob

[CK & AK]

Originally Posted by Dookbob

Hi AK, the bike I want the forks for is a 2002 620Sie, if the set of forks you have are suitable for this bike I will be happy to buy them from you.
Dookbob

These will fit then mate, might want re-oiling, but otherwise fine to go.
Fork seals are fine, not leaking, straight and no marking on the tubes that I can see.
Been kept as spares for previous bike
Drop me a PM if you do want them, tho am logging off for tonight so you might not get reply till tomorrow afternoon.
AK

Very nice. I assume this is raced in the DD series?

[CK & AK]

And the partner to Tango M800 this year - is 'BigBike' - I know its NOT a monster, but thought she deserved a piccy, as she only part emerged from her chrysalis yesterday at Brands Hatch.........



Both bikes ran well at their first airing of the season, so are just about ready for the official Thundersport GB test day next Sunday at Mallory

C

[CK & AK]

One more pic - both ready to 'rumble'

[crust]

well done team on getting them back in one piece in time

The boy done good.

Looking very impressive

crust

[CK & AK]

Just to let you know, that the testing went ok, no bike missed a session - tho temps hardly rose above zero.

NickB#34 piloted Tango round for Sam for the day - found a minor clutch prob which AK overcame by quickly stripping down & re-building, in between sessions.
Apart from the bitter cold, Nick got his head right into it & produced some good times, only 5 seconds off winning J/P pace on a good day - he also shot past a 1098R & a DD16 in his group during the afternoon........more than once!

Clint got to grips with Bigbike (1098s) well, taking his time to build up the relationship.
He started on a set of brand new Super Corsa's as the track was very very cold - quite a bit of salt down & a good amount of frost when off the racing lines. The sun didnt come out till about midday during the last morning sessions.
By the time he'd done the morning, he was asking to have a slick on the rear as we did need to test the different tyres.
Over lunch AK swapped the tyre over (the rear SC was by now shagged after 4 sessions on track!) & Clint cracked off out on track at 2pm when the afternoon sessions started.
This did make a difference - and despite track temps not getting above 1 degree, he still managed to pop in consistent 53's in this and the next session, popping past some Superstock lads in the process. Looking likely that 48''s - 49's will be the order of the day later in the year when its warmer - if not lower.

Good to see a few friendly faces pop in during the day - Uncle Brown (now official team film man) JerryXT & Toby, Lucaz, Jimbo696, MW & Lizzie - as well as others too.

Came home happy with both bikes intact, looking forwards to next weeks official test at Mallory

Big thanks to UKMOC's Kato for getting the 1098s paintwork done in time!

Great to meet you and Alan and the other chaps, I am glad to hear the day went well. Good luck at Mallory. See you soon.

orange and blue daring!!