86th Laconia Classic

 A couple of weeks ago I was able to go to the 86th running of the Laconia Classic motorcycle race. This is the longest continuous running motorcycle race in the U.S.

Most of the races were different classes of modern sport bikes as well as a modern sidecar class and a vintage sidecar class. The race is held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the weather for the event couldn't have been better, lots of sun and mid 80's. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked because all I had was my phone, that also explains the quality.

Diving into turn 1 during morning practice

This was a great looking Honda sidecar. Notice the frame and the offset engine. I saw the owners (who were competitors in the sidecar classes) driving this two up on the bike with one in the sidecar.

Most of the vintage sidecars were larger BMW 750's but I was drawn to this little CB450. Check out the custom laced wheels using half the rear drum and the front rotor so they can run a "wide" front wheel!

Very nice Laverda

One of the fastest vintage sidecars of the day.

I really loved the pipes on this BMW, I was going to talk to the guy a little but their brakes were not working so they were a little busy between sessions.

Out with the Old, In with the New

The battery I've had in my bike was a conventional lead-acid battery which usually requires replacement every riding season. I've been looking into getting something that hopefully will turn out to be a good investment. It's a Iron-Phosphate battery which is totally sealed and dry so it can be mounted in any position as well as not having to worry about leaks and it quite a bit lighter.

Here is my old battery weighing in at just over 10 pounds!

Here is my new battery from Ballistic Performance weighing in at just over 1 pound!

Front view side by side

Side view

from the top

The Ballistic battery has a special charging port between the terminals if you want to use their charger which allows you to charge each individual cell equally. They also have a three year guarantee this small battery has 270 cold cranking amps and doesn't run out of juice the more you crank like lead acid batteries tend to do. It doesn't seem to crank the engine over any faster than a new well charged lead acid but it keeps cranking and doesn't slow down which is a big difference. Some of the draw backs of this battery is that it cost a good bit more but if it lasts for several years then it equals out. Also, if it is run down to less than 20% of it total capacity then it can kill the battery permanently which is not covered by the manufacturer and over charging can do this as well. So, make sure that you regulator is working properly and that you have no parasitic loss anywhere.and you should be good to go. So far I've been very happy with the purchase. I have plans to build a new battery box in order to fit different suspension under the bike which will make the battery side mounted. I'll post on any new news of this battery good or bad...

Allagash Brewery: Portland ME

A few weeks ago Molly and I went up to Portland, Maine for a bluegrass concert and while we were there we visited the Allagash Brewery.

Even though this is a pretty small brewery we were able to get many of their brews while in Ga. While Molly and I were in Maine a few years ago on our honeymoon we picked up a bottle of Allagash's Triple White. We had been discussing how we thought it was kinda gross that a lot of people keep the top of their wedding cake in the freezer for a year then pull it out on their first anniversary to celebrate with frost bitten dry crumbly cake. As this didn't sound particularly appetizing to either of us we figured we would cellar the Triple White and have that on our one year anniversary instead. It turned out to be a great idea. We liked the idea so much that we bought a bottle of their limited release Odyssey and It is happily living in our dark closet until after the baby is born. Then Molly and I both will be able to celebrate with a good beer.

Kegs ready to ship

One thing that was pretty cool was that when one of the employees has a recipe that they want to try out Allagash will help them brew it and even give them a spot in the cellaring cooler. Some of the barrels in here have been in here for three or four years!

They were generous with their samples and our tour guy was very knowledgeable about all the beers they had available.

If you get a chance to get some Allagash especially some that is of limited release anni up and get a large bottle, it'll be worth it and you'll be glad you did.

Isle of Man Motorcycle Race Highlights | Break.com

If your heart rate doesn't go up watching this you must be asleep!!



Isle of Man Motorcycle Race Highlights - Watch MoreFunny Videos

2011 BARBER VINTAGE RACE part 3

This will be the last post in the Barber Vintage Weekend post, and it will be fairly long with a lot of pics. Not every picture will have something written about it mainly because I don't remember
a lot of what I saw... there was a lot to see!

This is what is on the wall just inside the main entrance to the motorcycle museum. They obviously don't have only motorcycles they also have several cars and I believe the worlds largest collection of Lotus race cars.

Erik taking in a beautiful example of a matchless.

Indian

Look at all those pipes! Power, Power, Power!!

The entire grounds of Barber Motorsports Park was first class and the artistic detail in something as simple as the presentation of museum pieces was just outstanding!

The Man

Mechanical fuel injection with individual intake runners, dual overhead cam and look at that belt drive!

This "Motorcycle Tree" was really amazing. I didn't take the time to find out but there are quite a few bikes up there. It went down another two sections but my camera could not get the whole thing in one shot.

I posted a picture of a double swingarm Bimoto not that long ago and the whole time I was trying to figure out just exactly how does that thing work? I was in luck because they had one there and if you look at the pictures you can see the design genius.

LOVE these fairings...

Two stroke power

John Surtees, (born 11 February 1934) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver fromEngland. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels.
(above borrowed from other sources not out of my own head)

This was a really incredible bike. This was a non factory race team and the innovations on this bike were truly amazing. take a look at the just the frame, there was detail and innovation like that throughout the whole thing!

Same team as above, different rocket ship.

It's all about power to weight.

They even had outboard motors!

This is the area that is on the bottom floor where much of the restoration and preservation processes take place.

The next three pictures are of bikes that are waiting their turn for attention. The museum has around 1300 motorbikes with about 750 always on display. Most of these are ready to be restored.

Nice place to work. This is another area where the workers apply their handy work.

You can walk around the walkway from floor to floor or you can take the elevator. There are bikes on all four corners all the way from floor to ceiling, about four stories up.

In my opinion one of the prettiest bikes Honda has ever made.

One mean Royal Enfield with the track out the window.

Dunstall Triumph

1974 Hercules W2000

Click on the picture below that talks about this bike. I bet it sounded amazing with three combustion's per revolution!

Again, the artistic vibe is everywhere and if you look up from your table as you eat lunch you'll get a good view of these bikes.

The whole weekend was really great and I had a blast with Erik and Ed. I hope that this won't be the last time I get to go to Barber. Maybe this should be a yearly trip?.....