four20

still think my win was a fluke nick,those syvlas should have wiped the floor with us - look forward to trying again next year though. and the tankard looks nice. Edited by - four20 on 23 Oct 2013 11:55:59 Edited by - four20 on 23 Oct 2013 11:56:44

thanks chris, i find the palace a frustrating place to drive and i've nodded off at night many times wondering how to get round that twiddly bit at the top. fortunately my nearest rival this last coupla years taught me about braking into corners. he did it so well that i beat him last time out which sums up the great atmosphere in the paddock and keeps me getting up at dark o'clock to get to the track. see you in may whoosh - that's mechanical porn, thanks.

thanks for all the work roger, it has pointed me in the right direction. yes, it still has a wet sump and given that it has spent the last 2 years thrashing round gurston, crystal palace and combe on trackdays and sprints i think the dry sump conversion would be wise and also adds weight to the big end theory. although i'm not particularly fast i managed to win my class last week by a combination of several flukes and some severe weather which has given me fresh impetus and i'm minded to do a complete refresh with gearbox oil change and anything else you can think of that might be thinking of wearing out. although i'm mechanically fairly competent i'd give this to someone definately competent and james whiting in ashford advertises in lowflying and is not far away. thanks again. tony booth. whoosh - thanks i'll check that one out too.

morning Roger, reg: N384RRY engine#: VR 01 10 259 date fitted: 23/11/01 owner then: Dave Gilbertson, Dorset am i right in thinking that you don't work on these beasties any more? if so, do you know anybody this side of london who does and how much i'm likely to need from my piggy bank! thanks in anticipation.

appreciate that, thanks Roger - gives my suspicions a finite direction and something to do over the winter. by the way, don't suppose you have a typical torque curve for this particular state of tune have you. it would be interesting to see what develops where. thanks again.

my '95 Roger King 1760cc X flow is still going well and is competitive in sprints and hillclimbs locally but recently i've noticed that on the way home after a fast trip up the motorway, when i stop at the first set of lights and the engine drops to tickover, the oil pressure drops to near zero and there's an ominous knocking from the engine. if i increase the revs a shade it goes away and the oil pressure lifts a little but not enough to be reassuring. (can't remember the psi off hand, sorry). engine oil level is correct and of the recommended variety from caterham and is only about 2000 miles old. is this a sign of something developing, like clapped out big ends or am i being paranoid?

i tried sitting on a cushion on the floor for a solo but i slid around quite alot despite tight, properly adjusted belts. the side to side motion was bad but submarining was worse and i spent alot of time repositioning myself to use the brake and reverted to normal seats soon after to give me better control. stuffing padding either side of my hips would have probably helped but there's a limit to the amount of unsecured stuff i want in the cockpit. the view of approaching corners is better for being higher up too and i'll stick with what i've got until i can afford a proper race seat.

tripped over the answer on the castle combe website - it's 17.

just a quick one to see if my grandchild is old enough at 10. (she regularly rides pillion on her dads fireblade) thanks in anticipation.

btw they are vinyl ones from SBFS. i'm usually home during the day.

i have a brand new pair. not even any studs fitted yet. cost 65, i'll take 30 and i live in west berkshire, close by aldermaston. how far west on the chilterns are you?

i've spent an enjoyable evening drooling over the rFactor stuff and come to the conclusion that the fanatec CSL Forza seat unit with the recommended wheel and pedals is the way to go. price is better than i'd hoped too. thanks everyone. tony

thanks cagey and bradders - crickey that was quick. tony.420

i'm thinking of getting a cheap simulator together but have no games experience. I'm therefore looking for advice on everything from the game itself to the type of seat, pedal set, steering wheel, monitor and PC. I'm willing to spend up to 2 thousand but hope to get away with around half that. any ideas welcome.

what's the score with tyre fitters then? when i've had to undo nuts tightened with an airgun i've usually needed a scaffold bar over the spanner to crack it off. am i a weakling or are the tyre shops stretching my studs? this is on an old Merc estate but would mean that i'm undertightening the seven i suppose. (too mean to buy a torque wrench) Edited by - four20 on 17 Dec 2012 17:48:49

yes it is long but no sign of siphoning so far, imminent overflow seemed more likely. something else to keep an eye on. thanks kenny

it's dripping through an old pair of tights right now.

thanks for putting my mind at rest Nick, yes i was nailing it trying to learn castle combe so i don't come consistently last in next years sprints! cheers, tony.

i did a trackday last monday and spent around 90 minutes on track. when i checked my breather bottle later there was around 600ml of oil that had come out through the breather. is this normal or can i expect something to go bang soon (roger king X flow). also, is the xs oil reusable after filtering?

final follow up - mechanic wanted to extract the gearbox from the car but i told him about richards suggestion and i've now got a detachable plate in the passenger side of the propshaft tunnel. he had to drill out the old quill, it had burrowed itself in nice and tight but if it happens again i've got access. final cost was 144 quid which is well spent if compared to how long it would have taken me and how much blood and skin i've saved. thanks again everyone.

yup, discovered that pretty quick.....i actually had it on axle stands but lying underneath with no-one around was still a bit edgy. i'll talk nicely to my friendly mechanic tomorrow and book some ramp time for when the quill arrives. thanks for all your help people, i'm returning to sevens after nearly 40 years with the intervening years spent on bikes and alot has changed. finding out is fun though.

Quoting rjnewman: Had a similar problem with a broken quill. Couldn't remove the stub from the gearbox and in the end removed the gearbox drive. This was possible by removing the metal push in plate on the other side of the gearbox. Refitting the plate was more difficult. thanks rj, i'll pass that onto my mechanic, this is getting a bit too complex for me. didn't expect this level of complexity to repair a broken speedo drive. hohum.

i'd come to much the same conclusion elie, the whole weekend is cream crackered anyway, ameliorated only slightly by rossi getting a podium in the mgp. poor old cal. Edited by - four20 on 16 Sep 2012 15:26:59

thanks terry, it's got to be that the quill broke when the circlip let go and the angle drive got loose and off line. it's a bit worrying 'cos the circlip isn't damaged - however - my first problem is in getting the broken piece of quill out of the gearbox bit, it seems to have broken off flush. thinking of taking the car out and getting the engine hot in the hope that it drops out of it's own accord or at least presents enough to get a hold of. i'll remember to ask about fitting when i order a new one from redline on monday but if i get no joy i'll be back at you to search for that post - thanks for the offer. Edited by - four20 on 15 Sep 2012 23:08:46

got the drive off this afternoon, it actually fell off when i put the spanner on it. the circlip was loose so i initially thought i'd found the problem (cable itself is ok). i also thought that the quill was undamaged but it looks too short at just under an inch and if it normally fits into the central protrusion in the gearbox it must have broken off flush 'cos there's no hole for it to go in. any tips for removal, there's only about 2 inches clearance so not much in the way of tools you can get in to dig it out.