Photo credit to Deus Ex Machina, their site here.

We finally have another late model Bonneville for sale, its been a bit of a dry spell lately. All American hardware, 5 speed, left hand shift, 750cc motor, and disc brakes! Needs a little love, but its a good bike.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/mcd/3019664691.html

Got sidetracked with all this racing, and forgot to post these photos we took before crating this bike up for its trip home to Germany.

Got this email from Ralph at Hollywood 5&Dime this morning

“By the sweat of your brow, by the strength of your back’s, and by the spirit in your heart!! Fire up the engines on those Euro motorcycles and scooters, and burn up the road down to Expo Park Dallas!!!
Time for the Memorial Day Weekend, British Bike Burnup 2012, at the Hollywood 5&Dime..
Sunday May 27th, from 2-6pm… Of course, all Euros, come on. Everybody welcome, what ever the badge..
There will be refreshments at the 5&Dime canopy, and an event T shirt in the shop for purchase.. Also specials at the Meridian Room , and Amsterdam Bar on the block..
That’s Sunday May 27, 3621 Parry Ave 75226, 2-6pm.. We’re just east of downtown (off I30), across from the Fair Park DART train station..
See ya there…
Hollywood 5&Dime
Dallas
214-827-1680
Need more?? Go to www.stylekat.com, click on “Links” on the home page… There you will find photo’s, video, and info..
PASS IT ON!!”

It’s always a good time, bring your bike out!

I wasn’t ready to stop racing after Willow springs. Ryan was going to race dirt track out at North forty. I had two DNS results from sportsman 750 this year in the first three rounds. AHRMA was having another road race the weekend after Willow at the Talledega Gran Prix (Little Talledega), in Alabama. It was another track I had not been to, and I was having a little trouble finding away to transport myself and the bike to Alabama. I was trying to get anyone and everyone to go with no luck. I was looking into renting a pickup truck, when the phone rang at the shop.

It was Richard Asprey on the line. Richard owns Aggressive Insurance, and is the Rallye chairman for the NTNOA. He REALLY helps Ryan and me out when it comes to racing, and this past weekend he went above and beyond. After explaining my situation to Richard, he without hesitation agreed to meet me at the shop within a couple of hours. Richard showed up with his truck and a trailer and I loaded the bike, my spare stuff, and supplies. We then went to his house, where we transferred the bike and equipment into one of his nicer enclosed trailers. He also gave me 10 gallons of race fuel for the trip, along with a cooler full of his beer, and his personal credit card for truck gas expenses. Keep in mind, this was the middle of a weekday and Richard was supposed to be working. Never the less, he personally helped me load up the other trailer in his business attire with the temperature in the 90’s.
We are extremely lucky to know a guy like Richard that is passionate enough about vintage racing to do these types of things. Richard’s company sponsored three road racing classes with AHRMA this year, and passed all the benefits of sponsoring a class onto our race team. Richard is a fantastic customer, sponsor, and friend.

So I departed Dallas alone, headed for Alabama. I made it to the track the following morning and registered to practice and race. I missed the first practice session since, because I was still unloading my stuff. Once I did get on track, I knew within three laps I could do well there. Little Talledega is a short track with all left hand turns, except for one right. In the after lunch practice sessions; I was beginning to do faster laps than the others in my classes. A lot of the other guys had been here before, and I was besting them after a handful of practice sessions. I rode most of the day trying to shave more time off here and there.

Practice went well Saturday morning, and I was able to quickly pick up my times from practice the prior day. My two races were scheduled back to back. I had never attempted back to back races before. Our friend Tom sharp was hanging out at the track and agreed to help me out in the hot pit with refueling and rehydrating between the races. I lined up for the BEARS race and came out of turn one in second place behind Ivan Messina’s BMW. I followed Ivan for 3-4 laps trying to line up a place to make the pass. I passed him on the inside going into turn one and tried to run away. He stayed close behind but never was able to take the lead again, and I won the race.

I cut a quick cool off lap to get off the track ASAP and make the most of my time off the bike before the next race. I then paraded on the warm-up lap of the Sportsman 750 race to make the most of the short break. The flag dropped for sportsman 750, and I was again in second position coming out of turn one; this time behind Mike Dixon. I made an early pass that lasted a lap or so, then Dixon over took me. I was pretty tired but was able to stay focused and re-pass Dixon and win my second race of the day.

It rained heavily early Sunday morning, and practice got off to a late start due to lightning striking close by. One long round late round of practice was coordinated, on wet track conditions. The surface at Little Talladega is very grippy, so I figured it would be good to ride in the wet. My assumptions about the track conditions were correct, and I got a really good session in to practice riding in wet conditions. By the time my races came around, the sun had come out and dried the track surface. This set the stage for another good race between Ivan and I.

The start of Sundays race was an almost an exact duplicate of the previous day. The only difference being that Ivan pulled a larger gap, much sooner than he did the previous day. He dropped down to doing 1:08:XX lap time, as did I. We were really flying and I was giving it all I had to get back on his rear tire. I attempted to pass him on the inside of the final chicane a couple of times, but I was getting closer and closer to hitting him every time. So I thought to try the outside of the chicane. On the entrance to that turn on the next lap I hit a bump, or did something wrong to upset the front end of the bike entering the turn. I was trying to get the bike to settle down, but running out of track. Instead of running it off, I pitched it the chicane anyways. The front end never stopped disagreeing through the turn, and gave me a speed wobble down the front straight. I was surprised to still be in the seat. This incident caused me to lose time on Ivan, there was one more lap of the race. I reeled the gap back in, and crossed the line directly behind Ivan.

I realized then that I would not be winning four races that weekend, which pissed me off enough to drop the hammer from the get go of the sportsman 750 race. I drove around the outside of the field in the first turn and was never contested for the lead. After I got back to my pits and off the bike, I was happy to just lie down for a spell. Back to back racing is exhausting in the Alabama sun.

I had the best weekend of racing I ever had, all by myself in Alabama. I cannot thank Richard Asprey enough for making it possible. I would also like to thank Tom Sharp and Brad Davis for helping with my back to back races. AHRMA did a good job of getting the races done, with very little on track incidents. They are getting better and better and preparing the multiple race grids, and making it safer for the guys storming through traffic. Thanks also to AHRMA trustee (and newly elected secretary) Carl Anderson, who let me borrow various things throughout the weekend, and looked out for me in general. I had a lot of fun racing Ivan and Dixon, and am looking forward to doing it again, wherever that may be.

Keith’s personal Triton race bike. We never really have posted nice pictures of this bike. Today was a good day to shine it up a bit for some photos.

We rolled back into Dallas at 4am this morning, after driving for what seemed like days. The area around Willow Springs was not the sunny Hollywood California image we had in mind, but Willow is a diamond in the desert. The course is definitely deserving of the nick name “fastest road in the West”. The facilities at Willow are like a motorcyclist playground. There is a flat track, two road courses, a paved ¼ mile oval, and I spied off road trails in the hills behind the course. What else could you want? How about an on track appearance from Roadracing World magazine founder and editor in chief John Ulrich? Mr. Ulrich got on track and won the open two stroke race. Another notable celebrity mention was Mr. Rob North himself; who came by our garage to say hello.

The west coast café racer scene seemed to be more about the bikes then about the fashion, which was refreshing. Some of the café people I met at the track were actually there racing; not just parading the pits seeking looks of admiration. There was even an all girl club present at the track, the East Side Moto Babes. These gals weren’t toting around two wheeled fashion accessories. One of their members, Stacie London, was suited up and racing on track. I met two local 59 club guys that had wired their street bikes up to take the race school. They informed me that racing once a year was a requirement to stay a member in their local 59 branch. They kept it on two wheels and raced both days, nice guys.

We had never been to Willow before, and turns 8 and 9 provided some confusion during the first few practice sessions. After a few awkward laps we were beginning to wrap our head around the last corners. Local fast guy Jack Pfeifer was pitted not too far from us and came over to introduce himself. Jack gave us some pointers and I even got a good tow around the track from him a couple of times. Jack is a two time Toyota cup winner at Willow Springs, and can really hustle a big Thruxton around Willow.

I got a helping hand from Ted Van Doorn, who lent me main jets all weekend since we had forgotten our spare jets. Ted had two very well prepared machines out on track. He was competing in Class C on a Matchless G80, and classic 60’s 650 on a nice early Triumph unit twin. When you surveyed Ted’s bikes, you could tell he knew his stuff. Strangely enough, Ted and his family are neighbors with Jess Thomas. For those who do not know who Jess Thomas is, Jess rode for Jack Wilson and Big D Cycle in the 1950’s and 60’s. He set a record with the Texas Ceegar in 1958 at 212.28MPH using a 500cc twin running on nitro. Jess’s 212.28MPH record was unmatched for 50 years. We hope to see Ted out at the races again.

Saturday was a good day for us. Ryan won the class C race by a very healthy distance. I took my spot on the EBARS grid, which was in the very back. Local BMW fast guy Glen Campbell was on the front row. Glenn has been racing at Willow for over a decade. I kept him in sight but had to settle for second place when they threw a red flag due to a crash after half the race distance. Glenn outright beat me with experience. Ryan and I were both in the next race; I was in sportsman 750 and Ryan in Formula 750. We started from different waves, and both won our races. Ryan beat Scott Jennings who was on a Rob North BSA Triple. Scott had previously won the formula 750 race at Willow somewhere around 17 times. Scott was a little upset a guy from Texas who had never been to Willow before beat him on a Twin. I diced with the other guys in sportsman for a few laps, but eventually left them behind to take the win.

On Sunday, Ryan was again uncontested for the Class C win. I took second in BEARS to Glenn Campbell again, except this time there was no red flag and he walked off a little further. In formula 750, Ryan won again; this time Scott Jennings and his BSA were absent from the grid. I was feeling good about the sportsman 750 race, but my clutch cable broke on the warm up lap. So, I did not start the race. The final tally for the weekend was five wins, two seconds, and a DNS.

After the races, we took a trip to see our buddy Wes at Four Aces Cycle. Wes had a twin engine Triumph drag bike on his lift. He is restoring the bike, with the historical help of the gentleman who raced it back in the day. Those are the best kinds of projects.
If you are ever in the area, Willow Springs is definitely a place to check out. Whether you want to get on track or not, that place is awesome. We would like to thank Richard Asprey, Aggressive Insurance, Fulmer Gear, and the NTNOA for their support of our AHRMA championship conquest this year.

Special thanks and shout outs to Stacie London and the East Side Moto Babes for the T-shirt and other swag. Thanks to Gary Swan for everything he let us borrow over the weekend. Many thanks to Ted for loaning me his main jet box for the weekend and thanks to everyone else that showed up and gridded up. See you next time.

You can check out the Moto Babes at their site www.eastsidemotobabes.blogspot.com and www.facebook.com/eastsidemotobabes

Please also check out the Four Aces site, www.fouracescycle.com

Once again I forgot the camera so the following pics are from my phone.

If you have been following along, you know this T140 has been in the works for a while. Ryan has done an excellent job on this motorcycle. The end result looks like it came off a production line, although the bike is one off special. Its wired, and all the electrics have been tested and are working. We have heard it run and set the timing. We are waiting for the rear master cylinder to come in the mail, so that we can ride it and shake it down.

We received our first order of Shorai batteries today. Shorai’s lithium iron batteries are extremely lightweight compared to their lead acid counter parts, and do not contain hazardous acids or leads. They also offer a two year warranty on their products, please read all the details of their warranty here. Their batteries are nicely packaged and include a lot of nice foam for fitting. They also sell a nice charger that can charge both 6v and 12v Shorai brand batteries. The charger has a nice fold out hook to hang on your handlebars, and it comes with all the tender leads you would need to install on any bike. Their battery for an electric start Norton is 10lbs lighter than the lead acid version Yuasa sells. Please use their battery finder, to locate an appropriate replacement for your bike’s battery. Shorai batteries retail from $99-$159.

We spent Monday packing the Gulf up for its journey home to the National Motorcycle Museum in England.