RACE BIKE

The purpose of building a race bike was a personal ambition and an Engineering/weight reduction exercise. Like all projects,having the time To spend is the major deciding factor. November 1999 seemed like a good time to start,the donor bike being a 1977 alpina. The main criteria for the Project was always weight reduction on every single component. If the bike was to be competitive in its class,then every advantage had To be gained by weight saving, as big bore kits etc. are not allowed.

The rules for the forgotten era 500 class allowed the bike to be period To 1980,monoshocks, floating discs,4 pot calipers etc. are out and the bike Must retain the standard frame. It took four months to build the bike, The main replacement parts/mods were as follows, Frame de-lugged Home made swingarm with taper bearing application Home made rear sets Astralite wheels and billet adapters Modified magnesium 35mm forks Alloy fuel tank Alloy rear disc Re- worked standard front brembo discs Alloy rear shocks. The engine was left standard montjuic spec for testing. The end results of the finished bike were better than expected. For a comparison against a Standard montjuic Mk1 which tips the scales at 360lbs,our racer weighed in at 272lbs. We have still retained the starter motor,sprag clutch and idler pinion gears so when these are removed for racing,a further 10lbs will be lost bringing the true dry weight down to Around 260lbs, 100lbs lighter than a monty!

What is like to ride? The first test was planned for the laverda track day at cadwell park,the weather forecast was good so of we set. On arrival it was good to see so many laverdas,the monty turnout was the best I had seen for a long time,6 in all. With the racer warmed up it was out on to the circuit,being the first time I had ever rode the bike I took it very steady for the first few laps Increasing to about 80%of potential,mine I think(everyone has limits you know) and back into the pits for a good check over the bike. Everything was ok so the afternoon session was used to fully open the bike up at race pace. The first thing that became apparent was how light it felt both in acceleration and handling,coming out of corners was so much quicker than a standard monty. The downside of the racer is from standing starts it aviates The front wheel only to easily,on a couple of occasions I nearly flipped it over,wheelies might Look impressive but they are no good in racing. The other downside is that it makes my formula 500 feel like a tub of lard. Overall I am very pleased with the results,I hope the bike and myself will be competitive in the forgotten era 500 class and I am looking forward to my first races at cadwell park(club circuit) on sat/sun 19/20th august,stay posted for reports and results.


Montydons Montjuic Racer

CADWELL PARK RACE REPORT - 2000
SAT/ SUN 19TH 20th AUGUST CLUB CIRCUIT FORGOTTEN ERA 500 CLASS

As mentioned above,other than testing at the laverda owners Club track day, this is the first time the bike has been raced in competition. The results of this meeting will determine my decision to compete next year or not. This may sound harsh,but the real question mark is over myself, not the bike. Its been a long time since I last raced,you either have it or not,its time to find out.

SATURDAY.

Arrived at cadwell 7.30 am,it's a gray day and its raining! By 9.30 am practice begins and Its starting to fine up with just a few damp patches around the track. The first race is confirmed at 11.30, so onto start positions. Some of the bikes in this class include simon bartling on his 500 montjuic Duncan pemberton on a very quick Suzuki, and a pair of RD 400 yamahas,one being a fahron 460. The first race went well,no scary bits,times were not as I expected,1.19s to be exact,but hoped I could improve on Sunday.Still, I ended up with a third place which was encouraging. Second race was pretty much the same as the first ,again with a third place,best lap being 1.18.4.

SUNDAY.
 The weather was dry and warm,the rear sprocket had been changed to a 40 tooth instead of the previous 38,so hopefully acceleration would be improved,and starts would be better. I really enjoyed this race,the gearing was lots better and I knew I was getting faster. Simon and Duncan were ahead but not by much, they were in my sights.Lap 2 and Duncan was on the grass,I took full advantage of his mishap which put me in second place with simons monty ahead.Duncan tried to have a go back at me, but I just kept going as fast as I could without dropping it.it was great to pass the flag in second place with simon winning. A one/two for laverda. Second race was again much the same as the first with the same results,second place.

Fastest recorded lap SUNDAY FIRST RACE, LAP 3, 1.16.9.
I am very pleased with the results,I think we can be competitive at this level of racing. Am I going for it next year?,of course. I must thank Robert kneeshaw,who helped me design and build the bike on some very long,cold winter nights,without him I could not have done it. As soon as next years race dates are confirmed, they will be up on this page,if anybody would like to come along to any of the meetings,they are more than welcome,come and Support us,we need it as I have been known to sulk and eat a full pack of jaffa cakes on my own when things go wrong, and Robert can`t stand it!.