Daytona Bikeweek 2001

Hi y,all!

Just found some old photos from our trip to Daytona in 2001.

Having sold our pub in Tideswell

in the Peak District

we flew to Daytona

for a a couple of weeks winter sun

and a chance to recover

after working for 20 hours a day

in the licensing trade

(dont ever think of being  a landlord

if you dont like work!)

New years eve 2001-I am the French Maid,Ann is Dennis the Menace!

At the time we were campaigning a K4 Honda 350

in the classics

and knew several Brits

who were racing in the classic races

which precede the Daytona 200

We took 2 weeks holiday

in Florida

with the “Bike week/Race week”

happening in the second week.

Talk about wacky races!

CHEECH AND CHONG LIVE!!!

Guys riding turbo charged Hayabusas

wearing only shorts and trainers.

All manner of bad assed dudes

riding their Harleys at 55mph!

V8 engined specials

which make the new Triumph Rocket 3

look like a moped

Some incredible choppers

and custom parts dealers

-you might not want one

but you have to admire the

quality and style.

I resisted the sales people who offered

false tattooes,

false beards

and even baseball caps

with colour matched ponytails

We overheard a guy saying

that he sold all this paraphenalia

to turn the all year round lawyers

into bikers for the week.

Another great laugh

was the number of bikers

who trailer their Harleys

from all over the States and Canada

and then claim they have ridden them there!

Not a Norvin-its an XV100 Yamaha engine!

The classic racing was very good

with a stunning display

by veteran Jim Redman

riding for the Team Obsolete outfit.

The sound of  big singles

on the banking

was awesome!

Its a huge track

BUT

the classic racing

attracted a crowd of about 1000

-half of them being the racers!

a trio of XS 650 Yamaha flattrackers

The highlight was watching

the rigid framed Harleys and Indians at speed

a lovely roadgoing Indian

girder forks and hand changes!

I have total admiration

for their pilots.

We had to return home before Sundays Daytona 200 race

This was the one

that will be remembered

for ending Scott Russells career.

“Mr Daytona”

5 times Daytona winner

Russell,s  Ducati stalled on the grid,

he put his hand up

and tried to drift to safety

on the infield grass.

Riders on the rows behind

storming through,

trying to get a good start

collided with Russell

and several bikes caught fire.

(watch it on YOU TUBE!)

Strong stuff!

The quote of the week

(and  often retold at dinner parties since)

“say are you guys from Canada?”

“No we,re from England”

“No shit!Y,all here for Bikeweek?”

“No weve come to watch the racing”

“No shit,you mean they race bikes  here as well?”

Says it all really-Don,t it

Trofeo 08 ducati

Lots of Dukes at the Trofeo Rosso,

val de Vienne,

july 2008

Heres some pics to drool over .

An absolutely stunning restoration!

the same guy had a Guzzi 750 in even better condition

(see the trofeo guzzi post for pics)

Ever seen one of these before?

I couldnt get any closer;sorry,to see any details of this special…

They dont always  run as they should

What a classic bike design-perfect!

Looks like a bargain to me

(look at the frames behind-500 euros with log book)

“Any colour you like sir,as long as its red!”

Simple pure lines on this ducati single

and this one too….

Thanks Again

A big thanks to all you bloggers out there.

3000 of you have viewed the PeterBetaBiker blog

since its inception in March

-about 300 views per week  currently;

AMAZING!

A very busy weekend  bikewise.

Floodlit motocross at Cussac on Saturday night.

Up at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning

we rode up to the Val de Vienne circuit

for the annual Italian bike festival-the Trofeo Rosso;

Ive got some pictures of great looking bikes

-so many that I,ll post them seperately,

in generic order-Ducati,Guzzi,Laverda etc;

Back for a quick bite,

then off to the French Pedal car championship at Chalus.

What a larf!

perfect weather,great action

AND

being  France,

like the Trofeo,

No admission or parking charges.

red ducatis 1

Is there any other colour suitable for a Ducati?Or for any other Italian bike for that matter.

Kawasakis are green,Laverdas are orange,Ducatis are red-period.

Having ridden several over the years,

the first one I owned was the Rutter Replica 600F2 pictured below.

It was the real thing, with a fully tuned motor,Paoli forks,cast iron Brembo discs,

spax shock,single seat-very radical for its day..

She weighed 150kgs and had a claimed 127 mph top speed.

I tried to ride her on the road but unless ”on the pipe”,

she was lumpy,snatchy and rough.

On a fast road and on a rising throttle,the power and torque were scintillating!

Every inch a thoroughbred,built for road racing-races like the TT and the big circuits like Spa,Hockenheim,the Nurburgring.

The reason I say this is because of the steering geometry and the 18inch wheels,

the bike understeered quite noticeably,

- quick turning was not an F2  speciality-it was built for the open road.

I took the bike to parade at Mallory ,

at one of Mick Walkers Italian bike, race days .

Greatly admired,and sounding every bit the racer

with its very loud,short stubby exhaust(ear plugs a must!)

the bike took some steering round the hairpin and Gerards ,I can tell you!

Soon after ,I was having a TV aerial fitted at my new house in Chesterfield.

The guy fitting it was an ”early stocks” racer

that I had met,  whilst racing  at a Cadwell park meeting,a few weeks before.

His father in law had been a sidecar racer of some local notoriety in his younger days

and whilst helping his son in law out,spotted the F2 in the garage.

“Did I want to sell it?”

“Well actually yes”-the bike was advertised in MCN,due out on the following day.

He agreed to give me the asking price-£3500-which was what I paid for it.

Disappearing off for half an hour ,he returned with the cash,

loaded the bike in his van and left,having mounted the aerial.

WELL 

9;00 clock the next day,I took a phone call from a collector,

ringing from Tokyo, inviting me to name my price.

His European agent had seen the advert and faxed him details.

I explained that the bike had gone already.

This was not a problem”,just get it back and I will pay”

Of course,the purchaser wouldnt sell it back to me!

Then later that week a guy from Denmark rang

and offered to wire me £5000 to find another F2 for him-apparantly he kept missing UK purchasers

as he lived in a remote corner of Denmark.

I didnt take up his offer-too much responsibility;

It pays to know your market though doesnt it?