Last Sunday I hosted Flat Track Fundays number 2.
With 25 riders in attendance and the track resurfaced, watered and the sun shining it was set to be the best conditions yet!
It was a tiring week leading up to the event, with Streetfighters Harley all finished I concentrated on the layout of the pits and the track, huge thanks to my Mum and Dad for helping out, Dad did a great job of hand painting up these signs the night before.
I grabbed the bunting from eBay and the bollards from a local store.
As 9:30 rolled around the track was officially open and people were gearing up ready for a day in the dirt.
Tom was back with the Yamaha.
He said it wasnt running properly.
Im not sure if I want to see how fast he would be if it was!
Riders from all over Victoria brought their bikes down, it dosnt get much better than this rider/ bike combo.
From every age group.
Unfortunately the primary chain let go and broke the case on the old pre unit motor, the sound and speed of the thing was incredible though.
Shaun was back with a heap of bikes in tow.
Drive failures where a common occurrence through the day though.
With 3 belt drive Harley’s throwing belts out onto the surface.
Thats why you pack a spare Panhead to ride.
Hands down must inappropriate and beautiful machine in attendance.
Taking it easy wasnt an option.
And when all your own bikes are resting in the pits take your friends out for a spin.
This bike certainly brought out the best in a lot of riders and did it in style.
Big twins with big torque shift the surface easily.
Jack was back again and working hard at the controls.
When that didn’t satisfy it was time to borrow something a little more suitable.
The ideal tyre for this surface was probably still a set of trials tyres.
Jack showed everyone he does not need a front one anyway.
The CRF was showing how a late model dirt bike can be the perfect machine.
But when these two where out together it was a battle of the ages.
The track started to dry up a little, the constant stream of bikes turning the soil over.
Chris working at the little DT 175 that just kept going.
Lee was back again and getting some solid clips.
Ted was working the Geelong Harley Davidson 1200 and making it one of the fastest machines of the day.
Lee in the firing line.
For a stock tyre that was hand cut you could say Ted did a pretty amazing job at the transformation of this bike, you would be surprised at how effective a 1200 Sporty is on this surface.
Testament to that was Streetfighter on the bike we built in a week.
It looked, sounded and performed amazingly, it needed some work during the day though.
Too much angle and then the resulting flick from a high side is difficult to overcome, it happens in an instant and we were happy that Streetfighter got out of it unscathed.
A quick break and some water helped the afternoons sessions.
Streetfighter in the WILDIG excavations machine smudged the track
And took full advantage of the perfectly smooth surface.
It was the start of a jam packed afternoon of enjoyment.
The speeds escalated and the fun times continued.
Lee took a break from the camera and hooked around on the little CT
While Tom continued to flow around.
Full throttle entries are the sign of a seasoned professional
It sets up a fast a flowing left hander.
Just hanging off the bike.
Then getting it hooked up and ready to do it all again over and over, I cant imagine how good this feels.
The surface was just perfect, the moisture stayed all day and the big 1200 worked hard to get to the clay base.
Working the low line
The high line
Driving it through the middle.
Take a break
And repeat.
Everyone was in on the action
Including myself.
I got the CanAm out for a few laps
Until an ignition problem that I had earlier in the week arose again and ended my fun.
I got to steer the big 1200 for a laps though
And so did Dean, he managed to drop the camera for a few minutes at the end of the day and swing a few hot ones on the big Harley, have to say a huge thanks to the man for these images.
And to everyone that came out and made a memorable Sunday, couldn’t have done it without you all.
I learnt a lot from running this event, its exactly what I wanted to be a part of, there’s a lot of changes that need to and will be made if its to continue but those challenges are why these events are so few and far between in the first place. I have to thank the solid team we have for making everything happen, from the track trep to everything else behind the scenes its a good thing and we want to continue it on.