Due to a rainout, it’s been quite a while since I had an update for you on my CB160 (now 175) race plans this year. Let’s fix that!
Did you miss Part 10? We get rained out of rider’s school, which means we can’t attend the first California race of the season.
This week I did a private track day with Volant Vivere at Thunderhill Raceway Park – I was excited because I had never ridden Thunderhill before and because there was just fourteen riders all day. My plan was to use the Kramer for the majority of the event but seeing as there would be ample track time and very few riders I thought it would be a good idea to get the CB175 out on a track for the first time as well. I figured that would require the CB to be running…which is something I had been procrastinating on after not being able to attend the race at Buttonwillow.
So last week our shop got the CB up on a lift and Steve adjusted the jetting on the carbs (and took care of a few other small things) so that I could actually get the thing to fire up…then I threw caution to the wind at took the bike out for a 68 mile ride from Iconic’s shop to the Rock Store and back!
The last time I tried that, things did not go well. This time, I called Vincent over at Motorcycle Mover LA and gave him a heads up. Luckily, I wouldn’t end up needing his services! Adam was kind enough to get some video footage of me on it, which you can check out here:
The CB got its fair share of attention at the Rock Store, which I found amusing.
I had to lean it against a gas pump as it doesn’t have a stand.
Good news: it made it back and it actually seems to bump start pretty great, which is wonderful news.
Bad news: there’s definitely still some problems
I sent an email to my shop detailing all of the issues, here’s a select few:
– one of the cylinders is intermittent (Steve heard it while riding behind me, he calls it “lazy”). The previous owner warned that the ignition might be an issue and if that’s the case then I need to buy the usual Accel coils/ignition/etc from Charlie’s Place.
– the shifting SUCKS, especially in lower gears. the clutch cable sheath is fraying against the fairing stay but I don’t think that’s related to the bigger problem, which is that it’s frequently VERY difficult to shift into first when the drivetrain is hot and the transmission is in neutral. This may actually not be too big a deal from a race standpoint as I should only be in first at the start of the race but if it’s acting up now then there’s a chance that other transmission problems could come up.
– I need a tach. On the street was fine but I have no idea how close I’m getting to redline and I need that for race purposes.
– the mesh grill on the right side velocity stack fell off during the ride
– the front brake doesn’t do shit. hopefully it’s just an adjustment thing but I suspect it might need new shoes or (hopefully not) new drums.
– the windshield flops around comically, it’s secured by roughly 1/10th of the available mounting holes. Need to cut the fairing down anyway as it’s in the way a bit.
– it’s getting way too much attention from old guys and not cute girls. Can you please fix that?
After the street ride, we had one business day before the bike had to go to Thunderhill. Steve made sure that certain pieces which fell off or got loose were replaced/tightened and left the other stuff for later – the motor/running stuff could theoretically wait until the race in July…I just wanted to take it to T-Hill for a session to get a feel of how it handles at max lean as it was tough to safely experience that on the street. So the CB got loaded into our trailer and Cory (our head of transport) drove it up to the track!
I only ended up doing two laps as I didn’t want to be a rolling roadblock for other riders, but it was enough to show me that I think the CB will probably survive its first race. I’m still not sure what the best route is in terms of body position on this bike but I guess I’ll figure it out?
Photo by Oxymoron Photography
I didn’t know what to expect but I knew it wouldn’t be fast! Still, I have no idea how competitive this bike will be against the other people I line up with for the Le Mans start, and I’m definitely nervous. I filmed a quick video of my time on the track – here’s me firing it up and my second lap:
With CB175 testing sorted, I also went out for some laps on a classic Moto Guzzi Daytona that my buddy Jay will be racing in AHRMA this year. Unfortunately there’s some sort of issue with the fuel delivery so we’ll have to get that sorted soon.
I still have some time to spend with this bike in the evenings but it looks like it’ll at least survive the first race as-is. Let’s see how it goes!