SF186

Those of you who've been wise enough to subscribe will've already seen the new issue of Streetfighters, but for those of you who're waiting for it to arrive in your local snoozeagent, here's what you need to be looking for, complete with free stickers!

If It's Not One Thing...

So, it was MoT time for my faithful old Slabside GSX-R.
No problem there, the insurance was all sorted and paid for, and a test booked.
Trundling over to the MoT station but a mere five miles away soon showed that the freshly-installed headstock bearings had begun to settle in their seats, with a slight knocking under breaking. In itself no great shakes, and with a spare ten minutes I had time to turn round and go home to nip them up. Which was also no huge trauma, but for the fact that, as the bottom bearing settled, the freshly-made steering stop that bolted to the bottom yoke began to rub against the underside of the headlight bracketry.
So, with the top yoke yanked off to tighten the bearings, the steering stop was also unbolted and, after a swift massage with the grinder, quickly sprayed over with Smoothrite and bolted back into place. So, back to the MoT station.
A pass, with not even a single 'advisory'!
But, all was not well. When leaving, the starter was a touch lazy, but it started, so no worries.
However, once home, lid and leathers were chucked inside the doorway, and the bike restarted to ride around to the garage. Except it didn't restart, just have out a nasty whirring noise while just turning over. Hmmm, shagged starter motor?
Starter motor out, after a bit of cursing and fiddling with the carbs and oil lines at the back of the block. Starter motor stripped and checked - everything honky-dory there, and brushes barely worn. Hmm, starter clutch maybe? Crank end cover popped off, and the starter ring gear spins freely on both directions... it shouldn't do that! Okay, so let's whip it off - I can make a tool to hold the starter clutch, except that it's spinning on the end of the crank. Ahah! I can use my 'windy gun' (pneumatic ratchet) to spin the bolt out. Oh. I've only got 20psi in the compressor, and although it's pumping away furiously the pressure isn't going up... yes, my compressor is also knackered.
But no problem, I have found the answer to my woes, and there's a picture of it here...

Your Space, Your Pics, Your Vids

As you'll have sussed out by now, our most recent update of the website means that we have the wherewithal to show you lots of lovely coloured images of the streetfighting lifestyle that we know and love, and there's also a video section (that'll be the 'Streetfighters TV' section) for moving pictures too.
Well, just to let you know, you can have your pictures and videos on the site too!
The images will have to be nice, big, crisp and bright digital pictures, and the videos will have to be Youtube jobbies, and you can send your pictures (or Youtube URL) through to us at streetfighters@oceanmedia.co.uk
And if you want to send naughty pics or videos of your bird / wife / mistress in the buff, feel free...

Horse Power

Although Aintree is better known for the Grand National, Sunday 28th June will see far more horsepower than is ever produced by the dog-meat-and-glue that normally inhabits that Lancashire venue.
While there's a focus on classic machinery, with Christian Sarron's TZ 3 1/2 and Randy Mamola's RG500 on display, there'll be a wide range of two-wheeled machinery taking to the strip. Aintree was used as the venue for the British Grand prix back in the 1950s, playing host to racers like Tommy Robb, John Surtees and Mike Hailwood, and the original start/finish straight still exists, thus allowing the continuation of motorsport at the classic venue.
Run as a joint venture between the Vintage Motor Cycle club and The Mersey Motor Cycle club, spectators and competitors can see everything from Vincent Black Shadows to turbo Suzuki Hayabusas, via sidecars and scooters, blasting down the course; there are sprint classes to suit every type and age of machinery. Day memberships for the club and sprinting licenses are available at the event.
The Aintree venue has easy access from local motorway networks, being close to the end of the M58 and M57 junction, on the A59 just north of Liverpool, and is open from 9.30am with sprinting beginning at 11.30am. Spectators pay £5 (under 16s free) and competitors entry costs £48 which will give four runs of the quarter mile course.

Moving Pictures

To celebrate the fact that copies of the new issue, SF186, are currently being trawled around the UK in the back of post vans and trains on their way to subscribers' letter boxes, here's some moving pictures of one of the new issue's feature bikes - Wizz's turbo Gixer...

Sur La Manche

Doing anything this weekend?
How about a trip across the Channel to see the most extreme circuit racing class on the planet?
The Joe Bar class allows any amount of engine tuning, and that includes forced induction so turbos and superchargers are allowed!
More details at Joe Bar

Honda SS50

Do you know that Jack Shit, the immortal anti-hero of Bloodrunners fame, started his motorcycling career on a Honda SS50?
Well, you can emulate everyone's hero with an SS50 of your own - a classic piece of metal that can be found on the site-the-we-dare-not-name, item number 170344881328...

PS Never mind what the bike is really, it's the seller's spiel that makes it...

Fast & Naked

There's been a number of people, usually in the mainstream press, who have suggested that in order to go very, very fast, you have to have swoopy bodywork to hide behind.
Bill Warner proves this wrong...
Fast, with nowt on

First Trial Without Jury Approved

Buried on the BBC News website, among stories on Big Brother, was this little gem.

Wot No Jury

At first glance it all seems reasonable enough - allegations of jury tampering are countered by the Lord Chief Justice, and the best way to do away with jury tampering is to do away with the jury, right?

But this sets a dangerous precedent. The whole point of a jury is to ensure a rational, fair and democratic judgement on a case, and this is a right which has been an integral part of the legal process for centuries. Without a jury, a decision will be made by the judge alone - just that one person, which effectively destroys any hope of a fair trial. All you need is a judge with a slightly loose grip on reality - which, some would say, is most of them - and you could have your entire life made or broken by this person without the rational, reasonable debate initiated by a jury.

It is yet another fundamental and ages-old democratic, civil right which, unfortunately, is now being cast by the roadside.

Wanna job?

While we're talking of Big CC, head honcho at the Wokingham tuners, Sean Mills, tells us that he's on the hunt for a couple of new staff members to join him in his move to new premises.
He requires a trained and experienced mechanic with good motorcycle skills and electrical ability, plus a fabricator / welder / in-house engineer with an ability to weld aluminioum and stainless steel, operate a lathe and milling machine, and be generally profficient in motor engineering.

More details from here - Click me

Big Sucker

The primary thought was to show you these pics simply because of the size of the turbo...
But take a closer look at the rest of this Big CC full race turbocharger kit, as fitted to a Hayabusa engine, and check the quality of engineering - the beautifully formed exhaust headers and up-pipe, the exquisitely milled plenum chamber and the dual wastegates and blow-off valves.
More details can be found at Big CC Racing

Ever'ard?

There was a time when we had heard that inveterate snapper Everett had got 'a big one' but we soon realised that he was talking about his lens...
For those of you who are yet to experience meeting The Everett, here's a handy cut-out-and-keep picture that you can use for identification purposes.
So, if you see this man at Santa Pod (for that is where this pic was taken) or anywhere alse, run away! Unless you have a nice bike, in which case point him and his camera in the direction of the bike, and then run away...

My, how we giggled...

... at the piece in a recent copy of a magazine that caters 'for all kinds of riders...' when, after perusing their feature on a certain international stunt rider, we spotted the article that referred to a recent poll that they had done, asking their readers if they partook in stunts...
Over 60% of the readership did no kinds of stunts whatsoever, a third of respondees claimed that they "don't try - it's dangerous and wrecks your bike", and a further third said they can't do stunts. Of the remaining third, 28% can do wheelies, with most of them saying that they weren't very good. So, the question that jumps to mind is, why run a feature on a stunt rider when your readers aren't interested in stunts?

Straightliners Round 4

This Sunday, June 21st, sees Round 4 of the Straightliners championship at Elvington airfield just outside York.
Rumour is afoot that Dodge will be debuting his supercharged Hayabusa in the Wheelie class, and there's a number of Superstreet riders going to be having a look in preparation for an attempt of the track record...
Somewhat conveniently, Elvington is only a short trip away from Helmsley, the veue for the Farmyard Party, so you can get two events in in one weekend!
More details, and location, for Elvington can be found at Elvo

Keith Parnell Tribute Sprint

Keith Parnell was the first man in the UK to run an eight second quarter on his Rouge et Noir Triumph back in 1975, so the National Sprint Association thought it would be a nice gesture to run a commemorative sprint at Weston Zoyland this weekend - the 20th & 21st June.
We ran a profile on Keith in SF182, detailing how he has become part of Britain's drag racing heritage, and the meeting this weekend is set to be something special, with many names coming out of the woodwork to attend, including Walter Sprout, the American Pro Street racer who ran on Steve 'Copperhead' Mead's Hayabusa at the Summer Nationals last weekend. The non-prepped Zoyland track should test his mettle!
More details can be found here - Keith Parnell Sprint

OSS Piss-Up

The obsessive Hamamatsu-heads over at Old Skool Suzuki have a couple of gatherings each year - one of which is north of the border, while the other is generally of a more central location in the UK.
And it's the latter - at the Waterloo Hotel in Taddington near Buston - that's on this weekend, June 20th and 21st!
If you're interested in air or oil-cooled Suzukis, or water-cooled Gixers or even TLs or RGs for that matter, head over to Derbyshire, but watch out for the rozzers around the Cat & Fiddle and on the A6...
Old Skool Suzuki

Farmyard Power

Moo! Baa! Cluck!
It's a busy weekend coming up, and high on the priorities for many people is the Farmyard Party near Helmsley in Yorkshire.
Organised by the Motorcycle Action Group, the Farmyard is well known for its intimate atmosphere and calming rural setting.
With a mind to being prepared for the fickle Yorkshire weather (and that the site was flooded in 2005), there's more covered areas than any other British rally - with bars and eating areas all having marquees to shelter from the rain / scorching sun (delete depending on how optomistic you are), there's even a cafe area with tables, chairs, plates and real cutlery!
There's five areas of covered entertainment (bands, comedians, DJs etc), a custom bike show on Saturday afternoon, and a Streetfighters-sponsored horsepower competition, witht he winner declared at the same time that the bike show winners are announced (about 5pm on Saturday)
Unlike many rallies, the Farmyard has a 'fires field' where you can camp around a campfire (some wood is supplied!), but if you're not a pyro and want some peaceful overnight slumber, there's an area with no fires as well.

Farmyard Party

Bulldog Update

As some of you may be aware, Warwickshire police had attempted to lodge an objection to the ten year licence that was granted to the Bulldog Bash in 2008.
Fortunately, the good people of Straford-upon-Avon and its surrounding environs know better than to label the event as 'a danger', and local councillors concluded that the police had 'provided insufficient evidence' to warrant the review.
However, we can still expect the kind of heavy-handed police presence that blighted last year's event which, of course, is all the more reason to go and prove the narrow-minded bigots wrong..
If you're quick, you can still get advance tickets, but you've only got until the end of the month...
Bulldog Bash

Shires Show

For those of you who find that drag racing offends your sensitive little ears, then the Summer Nationals won't be your bag, so what about the Shires Show?
Held just outside the market town of Market Drayton in Shropshire (the place where Muller yoghurt is made!), the show is run by the National Chopper Club and, as the organising club's name suggests, the Saturday custom show favours the hard-tailed, long-forked fraternity, although there is a class for Best Streetfighter.
More details at Shires Show

Summer Nationals

Given that this shiny, new blog-thingummy is capable of following news and events somewhat closer than a monthly printed magazine, it's probably a good idea for us to get into the habit of advising you lot what you can do during your weekends and leisure time. So let's begin - are you all listening carefully children?

This weekend sees the Summer Nationals at Santa Pod, with the bike line-up including an unprecedented number of seven second Superstreet bikes, including one particular rider heading over the Pond from the US of A to have a play. Florida-based Walter Sprout is a Pro Street rider who has clocked an astounding 206.54mph through the traps at the end of the quarter mile last year, and has run as low an ET as 7.20 on his Nxt Level Racing equipped bike. He'll be riding Steve 'Copperhead' Mead's turbo Hayabusa at Santa Pod this weekend - good luck Walter and Steve! It'll certainly be interesting to see how he copes with the British race environment, and how the ACU top runners react to the AMA number two Pro Street bike racer!
There's a Peak Performance Day at the Pod today, where many racers will be testing, and qualifying starts tomorrow morning. More details at Santa Pod

SF Girls World Domination

After our realisation that our latest cover starlet, Hannah Owens, is in with a shout at the Sun newspapers Page 3 idol competition, adman John Cole tells us that one of our favourite spreadbike models of the last year, Sophie Reade, has recently been inducted into the Big Brother household (we'll resist commenting on John's televisual addictions).

Sophie was on the cover of SF 177, astride Matty Warwick's gorgeous GSX-R 7/12, and while Ms Reade is a close neighbour of MDM, we're uncertain as to whether she'll be enjoying her new surroundings more or less...

Wet & Dry

After a trip to catch the ferry from Liverpool in torrential rain, Will and MDM enjoyed almost continual sunshine at the TT.
The combination of sunshine and sea breeze has resulted in a crimson tinge to noses and foreheads, and as soon as they've brushed the flaking skin off their keyboards, they'll be posting some updates...

Off To The TT

That's it, MDM and Will have loaded up their bikes and are off to the TT first thing in the morning, just in time for the weather to turn to cock... They'll be reporting back in as soon as they return, well, as soon as they've dried out...

Hannah

Current covergirl, the lovely Hannah Owens, is currently in the top six of the Sun newspaper's 2009 Page 3 Idol competition.

You can see more of her size 8, 32D figure and her golden bum, in the current issue of Streetfighters, on sale in newsagents from today!

Aim For The Sky

The eliminations at the last Straightliners round at Elvington saw Clive Seddon and his turbocharged Hayabusa head for the stars...

The pic was caught by Becci Ellis, and more of her pics can be found at www.hand2handphotography.co.uk

More details on Straightliners Round 3 will be in SF186.