After the mammoth journey to the Slovakia Ring, which was made even longer by my buddy’s underpowered Dacia towing a big box trailer with 3 bikes in it, we were ready to hit the track. To say I was nervous, is a massive understatement.. my biggest concern was the fuel tank I had made. Partly because it’s the first fuel tank I’d EVER made, and partly because of the paltry 10mm clearance I’d allowed between the rear cylinder head and the tank… What if I ended up turning into a fireball halfway down the straight..?
Still, in the spirit of “he who dares wins” I headed out for a gentle first session. After about 3 laps it became apparent that all was in fact utterly splendid, and with the bike inspiring absolute confidence, I warmed up the pace.
Back in the pits, there was no signs of leakage, or any problems at all with the bike. All it needed was gassing up for the next session. Each session was using most of the bike’s 5(ish) litre capacity. After a proper hard-on-it session, the bike was taking about 4.5 litres of fuel. For some time afterwards I wondered if I should modify everything to increase the fuel capacity, but decided that frankly, it’s way too much hassle. In any case, in the real world this bike isn’t going to be crossing continents. I’ll make do.
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I love how short this bike looks
Definitely didn’t want to drop it due to cold tyres!
With no fairing it’s pretty windy down the straights!
Before the headlamp fairing was developed, the speedo sat in front of the yoke. The red box is a transponder for lap times.
All in all, after 2 days at the track, and not a single problem with the bike we returned home in positive spirits, ready to make it roadworthy.
