| Author | Message | ||
     Davegess |
He would get a ton of attention, likely radio interviews the whole works. If he qualifies he will get even more. He is a long time TT racer so should have no trouble with support in the Isle of Man. Now if he can just convince Buell to give him soft enough suspension to actually run fast maybe he can qualify! I think they have a 120% rule and with the fasted 1000's doing laps at 129 mph he has his work cut out for him. He won't be running against 600s but full on World Superbike spec bikes! | ||
| Trojan |
Now if he can just convince Buell to give him soft enough suspension to actually run fast maybe he can qualify! I think they have a 120% rule and with the fasted 1000's doing laps at 129 mph he has his work cut out for him. Suspension isn't going to be an issue, as Maxton will take care of the front forks and AST can custom build shocks if necessary. The shock fitted is fully adjustable for just about everything, so the only change may be to a softer spring to suit Ago's small frame  Qualifying this year isn't being run on the 120% rule, but against a set time, which I believe is 21 minutes. This would mean a qualifying lap of around 105mph. | ||
| 12r |
I don't wish to detract from the TT as a racing institution but you have to realise it's not like a Superbike race around London. Yes it's on public roads but they are the most perfectly surfaced public roads you'll find anywhere, absolutely flawless. The services people can't go around digging it up whenever/wherever they want to and the TT takes priority whenever there are any alterations to the route, no matter how small. As you can see from Trojan's post, much of the circuit is straight or sinuous and this gives rise to the incredible average speeds. As speeds have risen, many subtle changes have taken place to the route - trees cut down, hedgerows cut back, road markings moved - whatever it takes to maintain the standard of racing. Mainland UK has many similar sections of road where high speeds are sustainable, even by mere mortals such as myself; they may look narrow but you get used to them  UK law prohibits racing on public roads but the Isle of Man is not subject to UK law and the racing is allowed to continue. | ||
| Davegess |
105mph lap, man that is flying. A Buell has to be giving up serious HP to the 1000 cc bikes. Matt do think it will have enough guts to pull up the mountain hard enough to turn that type of average? If an RR is getting 150 hp what would this bike be putting out? What are the superbikes putting out? Joey Dunlap once said that the only bike that he rode that ever had enough power up the mountain was the 500cc GP bike he tried one year. I don't think he raced as he didn't like how it handled over the bumps. 12R I agree the TT is nothing like a real road but is is also nothing like a real race track. It is one of the smoothest streets I have ever been on but it is very bumpy for a race track. Add in all the high speed wheelies and jumps and it is a real challenge for a suspension setup. It is far safer than its reputation but still very dangerous with lots of stuff to hit if something goes wrong. If you pitched it away down Bray Hill it would be a long way before you stopped sliding with a lot of concrete and stone to hit on the way. | ||
| Trojan |
As Dave Jeffries once said when describing one of the blind right hand corners on the course: 'Just aim at the wall on the inside, and hopefully you will be going fast enough when you get there that you don't actually hit it' Mad, the lot of them...... By the way, I have given irish Ago the address for this board, so he may pay a visit soon I don't wish to detract from the TT as a racing institution but you have to realise it's not like a Superbike race around London. Yes it's on public roads but they are the most perfectly surfaced public roads you'll find anywhere, absolutely flawless. hardly flawless when you are travelling at the speeds these guys go at....  Ballaugh Bridge  Bray Hill | ||
| Rocketman |
UK law prohibits racing on public roads That is not true. Road racing at Olivers Mount is run on public roads several times every year, and that's Scarborough, North Yorkshire. There are other circumstances where public roads are used for racing venues too. There have been go-kart races around several UK city centres, and many rally stages are run on public roads every year. Not so long ago Birmingham city centre played host to single seat racing around the Bullring. Some hillclimb events are also run on public roads. Hell, they even run a section of the Tour de France on the English mainland these days. Yes I know they're bicycles, lol. Rocket | ||
| Davegess |
Neat pix, here are a few more. http://www.davegess.com/isle_of_man/index.htm Seeing the Bray Hill pix reminds of standing at the bottom as the big bikes came by. You would hear a wail, rising as that came toward you and then, as they hit the gap between the walls that was the side street you were standing on, the sound would spike sharply in volume and pitch and then the air they moved aside would hit you. An awesome sensation. | ||
| Skully |
Awesome! | ||
| Nutsnbolt |
Look at the guy standing just behind the front wheel and under the 3 (the airborne picture.) Is that Rocket standing there? | ||
| Irishago |
Hi Guy,s Irish Ago here, I thought id better jump in here and let you know a few things. Its not going to be very easy to convince the organisers of the TT Races that the Buell has a place in their races this is the biggest obstical we have to overcome. With Factory support it might be otherwise a ittle bit different. I put in my Entry,s this morning but wont know for sure if we are in or out until about 10th of April all being well. I have raced on and off over the TT mountain circuit since 1984 so i think i know the course reasonable well but do we ever really know it fully . I learn a little more each year. I have lapped in excess of 111 MPH on a stock Yamaha R6 in both 2005 and 2006 and i believe if we can gear the Buell to pull in the reigon of between 160 + 170 mph we should be in the ball park of a lap in excess of 110mph. But as ive said it we all depend if the entry is accepted in the first place. I have a link on my site to the Diary page which was updated at last years TT Races. If we are succesfull in our efforts to gain an entry it will appear on our website the middle of april otherwise the site will undergo a total revamp before then all the best to you all Irish Ago......  I only wish the photo was of me on a Buell in the same place... | ||
| Davegess |
Buell has a bit of TT history. Eric supplied RW 750 engines and parts to a sidecar fellow who won one of the sidecar races back in the day. I will have to look up the year. Unfortunately the entry was made under the Barton name and cannot be changed. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Couldn't hurt to point out that the XBRR ran competitive laps (and finished) the Daytona 200 this year. If they will let a 600 race, it seems reasonable to let the RR race. Good luck! | ||
| G234146 |
Best of Luck Irish Ago!!!   | ||
| Slaughter |
Wow! You look to be getting some fans over here in the Colonies! Irish Ago - I like the image that brings to mind. Used to have a cat named after Ago (Giacomo the Cat) - and just the Irish for the fight that's in yah! We'll be watching! Be really waaay cool to be there watching on the 100th but it is not to be. | ||
| Irishago |
Well it funny how things pan out. Ive been called Ago since i was about 12 and yes it was after my boy hood Hero Giacomo Agostini So we decided to call the Team Irish Ago Racing about 10 years ago and its now know by a lot of fans who come to the TT each year. I will keep you all posted as far as acceptance goes with my entry.... | ||
| 12r |
Rocket, I refer you to the Road Traffic Act c52 sections 12 & 13. Racing on public roads in the UK is illegal but organised events can take place following a special dispensation from the local authorities. This consent is becoming more and more difficult to obtain as the costs of insurance and H&S regulations spiral. This law does not apply in the Isle of Man. The events you mentioned are all subject to this type of agreement. I have competed in many bicycle races and time trials on public roads and I can assure you that for legal reasons, no competitor is ever deemed to be 'racing'. | ||
| Trojan |
The Saltburn Hill Climb has taken place every year in North Yorkshire on the same public roads for nearly 100 years, until this year. The local council have suddenly decided that it is not legal, so have banned it. Meddling small minded local politicians should be marched outside and shot immediately. | ||
| Rocketman |
Racing on public roads in the UK is illegal but organised events can take place following a special dispensation from the local authorities. Which explains clearly that racing on UK public roads in the context this topic is dealing with, is in fact NOT illegal. UK law prohibits racing on public roads but the Isle of Man is not subject to UK law and the racing is allowed to continue. Suggests organised sanctioned events are illegal on UK public roads, which is why I felt it necessary to correct your comment, as that is not the case. As for the Road Traffic act, that deals specifically with road users, stating it is illegal to use the public highway for racing other road users. Sanctioned events on closed public roads do not fall under the Road Traffic act. The Isle of Man is not the only place in the UK that racing occurs on public roads. That was my point, which you clearly stated was not the case. So yeah, it's all good. I'm right, you were wrong Rocket | ||
| 12r |
I never said that racing on our public roads didn't take place, only that racing on public roads is prohibited by UK law. As Trojan points out more local authorities are becoming aware of this and concessions for any kind of road racing event are becoming difficult to obtain; no-one in authority wants to put their head on the block and sanction a road race that is technically illegal. The TT and the Manx GP are not subject to these restrictions. | ||
| Coyote5797 |
I hope it all goes well Irishago! I know we are all on the edges of our seats to see what our favorite bike can do At the Isle Of Man! If there is merchandise made available from your team, I would love to purchase some! | ||
| Terribletim |
Now you're talkin'! I think I need an IrishAgo Buell shirt with a nice pic of the XBRR in mid-air!  | ||
| Tigerbythetail |
just a few questions: 1. What will you do to get the XB to do 160-170 miles per hour with a 1250 long stroke engine that revs 6300 RPM and a 5 speed gearbox? 2. Big wheelies and jumps even with the longer swingarm of the Uly is still pretty dangerous in my books. So how you are going to address this issue? The frontend has already been corrected to bits that have shows their worthyness during several TTs.  tiger | ||
| Rocketman |
Mark, your actual words were... UK law prohibits racing on public roads but the Isle of Man is not subject to UK law and the racing is allowed to continue. That is incorrect and does not tell our friends in other countries that racing of many disciplines does indeed take place on public roads on the UK mainland under the scrutiny of British law. Just one example, and perhaps the most well known motorcycle road race run on a closed public road, in Yorkshire, England, are the meetings held several times a year at Olivers Mount, Scarborough. Road racing here is under no threat of closure and Auto 66 Club are now into their 52nd year of racing at Olivers. Let me also point out that racing at Olivers is no donkey race. Agostini, Reed, Sheene, The Dunlop's, Cosby, Redman, Farquar, Martin, Jeffries, Anstey, McGuinness, the list is endless, have or still do race here, and to mislead anyone from overseas who might one day be able to visit such a venue would be an injustice if it were because someone thought road racing on UK public roads was dead after reading your comments on BadWeB. No big deal I know, but why you feel the need to argue over your simple mistake is beyond me. I simply wish to put the record straight.  Rocket | ||
| Trojan |
just a few questions: 1. What will you do to get the XB to do 160-170 miles per hour with a 1250 long stroke engine that revs 6300 RPM and a 5 speed gearbox? 2. Big wheelies and jumps even with the longer swingarm of the Uly is still pretty dangerous in my books. So how you are going to address this issue? 1. Final drive gearing will be changed to allow much higher speeds on the very long straights, some of which are downhill all the way. I think a 47T rear and 22T front will do the job. It may not reach 170 but 160 is achievable I think. The main advantage of the XB is the higher corner speeds than most of the Superbikes, and the bike will make up a lot of time through the many turns. The bike will rev to 6800. 2. You would not believe just how stable and planted this bike feels, even without a steering damper fitted, and much more stable than a stock XB. For the TT a steering damper will make sure. The frontend has already been corrected to bits that have shows their worthyness during several TTs. The rear shocks are made for us by AST in Holland to suit our bike. It features adjustable ride height, high/low speed compression, rebound, stepless preload and a selection of springs, which means that the shock can be tailored to suit any circuit, even the TT. If we need to have something adapted or made specially then I am sure that Ronnie at AST will be able and happy to help We have always run the bike quite soft anyway, so I don't think it will actually need much work at the rear. | ||
| Court |
Matt: Gotta tell you . . . I am rooting for you guys. I think the combination of people in this makes for a credible effort. This really sounds like a neat deal. How cool would it be to see a Buell (with the name BUELL splashed on it) running at the Isla of Man??? | ||
| Tigerbythetail |
hi...........lets see how well the theory with the gearing works in the mountain section. I am no expert, but when you hear how hard the JD Suzuki had to work during that commented lap, than I am starting to think that it will take the XB engine a lot longer to reach the desired speed. A closed ratio gearbox with 190 plus BHP as featured in his case offers a significant advantage. Are there any chances to trial your concept quite soon? tiger | ||
| Rocketman |
The TT is 100 years old this year. I'm pretty sure Trojan's XB racer will be more than capable of scorching the mountain. Hell, a Gilera 500 put in the first 100mph lap in the hands of Bob McIntyre way back in 1957. I'm pretty sure the XB will climb the mountain given it's 50 years younger and adorned with much more sophisticated technology than the vintage Gilera. Rocket | ||
| Irishago |
Hi Gang well to be honest the Buell should make it up on the fast sweepers and twisty parts of the course. As for the mountain section of the course the Torque should help us in a big way to grunt up the mountain. To think back in the 2000 TT i raced a ZXR 400 Kawasaki stock making 63bhp and managed to lap in excess of 104mph and finished a creditable 11th gaining a replica in doing so. Im racing against the Circuit and the clock to do as best we can with the Buell we are not their to set the world on fire just to qualify and hopefully get a finish as well which i think would be a great achievement for us and also to become the fastest American Motorcycle around the TT Course. Even if the Buell only reaches 150mph it should qualify and lap in excess of 110 mph all being well. I think in its favour will be the stability and low down grunt. The VTR Honda i rode in 1997 only put out about 98bhp and i managed to qualify it and lap at nearly 109mph and it had a big hinge in the middle. Oh i know their will be a lot of doubters but all i want is to be given the chance to try and qualify it which i think is achievable with the right crew behind me...... | ||
| Irishago |
Hi Gang well i spoke with Slick Bass today about the performance of the Buell and he reckons with all that torque on tap and with the horsepower figure we have their is no reason why we cant gear the bike to pull in excess of 160+ mph in top on the long sections of the course. I think he will be the one looking after the bike for us should we be successfull in gaining entry. Just a foot note my web site is undergoing a major revamp over the next few weeks so keep an eye on it...... | ||
| Redponcho |
This is going to be a great event. I cant wait for the race. keep us posted and good luck! |
