Pitty Patter - our racing blog 2014

[Moonie]

For any of you who are interested in bike racing, we thought you might like a little insight into what goes on in between the race weekends, the preparation, the highs and lows and the organisation that brings it all together in time for each event. It's not as glam as it seems and there's much mundane stuff to be done, but it's all with the racing goal in mind so here goes...a little look at Team Pitty's Custom Vinyls Racing behind the scenes... :geek:

So, we take up the story so far...

12/3/14: Post Brands Hatch blues set in at the beginning of this week...this a regular mini depression we discovered last season, that discolours the days immediately following a big weekend. It takes a couple of days to reflect & consolidate the experience, but we dig in and get the kit unpacked, the van clean and the bike reinstalled in its home.
Nige is concerned by how the rear tyre has worn; John is round for a brew and points out that the tyre edge appears to have been rubbing against the chain...we changed to Pirellis during the event and the profile is different than the Metzelers we ran before. The solution may be to change the chain size, and run a 520 conversion.
Non-bike issues also need addressing; Karl requires a few minor repairs, and some serious plumbing work which Pitty will undertake himself, to ensure a good job and save money.
And me, I'm constantly trying to improve the set-up, and make everything convenient and slick to operate. In such a small space, I manage to cram a full kitchen set-up, which all packs away neatly(ish!) to allow us to sleep. As Pitty says, 'any idiot can be uncomfortable' so I take no chances, and we have big fat pillows and king sized bedding lol
We've picked up a good few enquiries from Brands, so there's emails to answer and design work to be done. There are new Pitty Crew members to add onto the bike livery, and we bagged a further sponsor in the form of AJB Photography. The list of supporters is growing, and the van and bike are looking busy with logos. We do pinch ourselves to make sure it's real, we are truly living our own dream and it's great to be sharing it with you all! More soon...

Love Moonie x

[Kwacky]

Nice little read, cheers.

Good news about the sponsorship as well. Every penny counts.

[C00kiemonster]

Interesting about the chain. Is it really that tight? I've never really thought about it rubbing, I'm going to have a look how close mine runs now!

Keep up the good work

[MLR193]

Great read moonie! Really explained it well. I would struggle to put feeling into words but I know what you mean! Worst feeling ever after a race meeting and straight back into work. Not looking forward to that this year but cracking read and hope the 520 chain helps!

[Moonie]

13/3/14: STOP PRESS, lucky 13th for us today, I've bagged us a new sponsor in the form of a Wirral based security firm I have been using at work, as a response team around Merseyside and North Wales! Notwithstanding the fact that their main man is from my home village lol they've agreed a deal today!!! So welcome aboard Custodian Security
In the meantime, Pitty is having a closer look at the tyre issue...racing intelligence is suggesting a different reason for the scuffed tyre...to be continued!

[D6Nutz]

Nice posts Moonie. Nice to find out what goes on behind the scenes..

Rear tyre wear == loon in charge of the throttle ???

[Bratty]

Great news about the sponsorship Moonie, hope to catch up soon x


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[Moonie]

15/3/14: a weekend filled with race fairings and vinyl...starting with The Ram's Blade fairings, which will be on display at the Manc Bike show next weekend, on the Hunts stand, and we are proud to say, also carrying the Pitty's branding. We might pop along next weekend, so if any of you Slappers are around, give us a shout...



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[Kwacky]

I can't see the photo

[Moonie]

Sorry, it seems it's something to do with me posting in Tapatalk from my phone
I'll upload again on my iPad...

[Kwacky]

and that's why you're the best

[Monty]

Has Nige put the front sprocket on the wrong way around?

Been there, done that and got the chain rubbing on the tyre t-shirt!

[Blade]

Great read thanks. Hope you can manage to keep updating as would like to follow.

Any update on tyre damage ? Would be surprised if because of a change of tyre manufacturer. Profile could change as suggested but a 180 is 180mm wide who ever makes it.

Will look out for the RAM Blade sporting Nige's awesome handy work at the ahow

[Moonie]

18/3/14: Nige is currently sitting on the living room floor with an industrial hair dryer, vehicle wrapping The Ram's seat unit with sparkly silver bling!!!

The last bum to sit on this seat unit was Gary Johnson's, it's an ex Honda TT-legends bit of kit.

Thanks for the comments gang, I will endeavour to keep posting little snippets and updates as they happen. Want to keep it lively and not tedious...

So, the chain and sprocket saga: the entire back wheel assembly has bed stripped and rebuilt about a zillion times...ok, maybe 20 times. Everything is as it should be and where it should be. Beanz and The Ram have all had useful suggestions and input, and they are all still a bit perplexed. The plan now is to do the 520 conversion as originally planned, borrow John's wheel alignment jig, and set everything up from scratch and reassess. The tweeks so far have already taken the chain away from the tyre, but Pitty is a perfectionist and is still unsettled by the apparent misalignment of the sprocket against the wheel. I have also seen the problem for myself, and have to agree that it's better but not right. We are bemused as to how this has happened, we can only think that something has misaligned when the sprocket carrier bearing was replaced off-season. Typically, a new sprocket carrier isn't cheap (nothing starting with the word racing ever is ) so the plan is conversion & jig action, hoping this will cure the wonky donkey!!! More anon...

[D6Nutz]

I recon it's all the extra calories in those gel packs causing the rear compress a bit more

Seriously though, could it have been related to the major compression at the bottom of hailwoods. Was nige a lot faster into the dip than last year.

There's not many other tracks that give you that level of suspension and tyre compression.

Just a thought.


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[Blade]

Good suggestion nutz

[Pitty]

It's a good call Nutz, but unfortunately not, the issue is that the sprocket was not running square to the wheel (if that makes sense?) so, when viewing the wheel from directly behind when it was spinning, the sprocket looked like it was wobbling from side to side, causing the chain to rub the tyre once every revolution of the wheel

A complete strip of the sprocket carrier and a new bearing fitted has got it much more true, but there is still a little side to side movement at the sprocket edge. Could be within tolerance maybe, but I can't find anything anywhere to say if there is a tolerance?? None the less, the 520 chain and a couple of different sized front and rear sprockets are now on order so we'll see just how true all of that runs when they arrive.

If anyone fancies a deal on 525 pitch 15 or 16 tooth front sprockets or a 49 tooth rear renthal sprocket, give me a shout (the 48 tooth Talon rear sprocket is damaged after the weekend unfortunately). Also have the 525 pitch Regina chain available with a soft link too as this has only done 9 race weekends and a test day, so minimal mileage when compared to road use and still in great condition.

[kiwikrasher]

This is a awesome read Moonie and Pitty! I'll be watching this thread with plenty of interest! Good luck for the rest of the season you both!

[Moonie]

21/3/14: The end of another week, and it's been busy and full on pretty much every day, what with our day jobs and then PCV orders in the evenings. The Ram's bike was finished at around 10pm last night and is already on the Hunt's Honda stand ready for the show opening tomorrow. We are going tomorrow too, for a bit of a time out and hopefully purchase a few show bargains...
Shiny bling arrived for our race bike too, in the form of a gorgeous 520 chain and a tasty sprocket selection. Pitty's fitting it tonight and we hope that's gonna line everything up properly...I will of course keep you all in the loop
We do like to keep a strong Pitty's brand in the paddock, and you may have noticed we've ditched black and gone for a chirpy royal blue this season. To us, it's as much a part of racing as the racing itself, to be the whole package, and make an impression, and I always get a little thrill seeing our pit set up and ready to rock at the start of the weekend
Anyway, maybe see some of you at the Show tomoz and here's a sneak preview of the Ram's Blade...Happy Weekend

[Kwacky]

That looks fantastic.