Portland International Raceway
Joe's
report from a very successful race weekend
http://www.portlandahrmaclassic.com/
The first www.AHRMA.org race just recently
came to Portland International Raceway on May 1,2 2010.
It was great turn-out with all types of racing
machines from Triumphs to BSA's, from BMW sidecars to hand-shift Indians! The
Parilla was in top shape for a "slightly" modified racer. 930 Amal,
with Mike M.'s lightweight valves, BoreTech electronic ignition and a well worn
X1 cam. We put the 250 on the dyno the week prior producing almost 21 HP.
I
was most thrilled by the new skinny Bridgestones (The tire was manufactured for
the Honda Dream 50R racer) that were fitted and dropped my lap times by about 4
seconds! They look like bicycle tires but perform like slicks. It is absolutely
the tire for this bike for fast cornering tracks.
The
Parilla was gridded mid-pack of 37 riders, mostly on fast 2 strokes and Honda
175's and 160's. The flag dropped and the giant grid necked into turn 1 without
incident. I was on about the last lap in a heated battle for 5th with two locals
and a "Brit" on Hondas, when two of the riders made contact and threw
one rider up in the air. Miraculously he regained possession of the handlebars
and pulled it off to finish 5th by a 1/10th of a second from the Brit and I.
After witnessing that "save" he rightfully deserved it! It was a very
satisfying 7th out of 37.
The
highlight of the weekend came when an older gentleman approached my pits and was
admiring the Parilla and asking all kinds of questions about it. He was none
other than the legendary Dave Roper. Dave Roper has the title of " The only
American to win the Isle of Man" (1984- 500cc class
on a Matchless G50 - see below) His 350 Aermacchi broke down and he
needed to get around the track for points in his 350GP class. Well, needless to
say I was ecstatic to loan him the Parilla but not before making him promise to
not go beyond 9,000 RPM's!
He rode it without incident, received his
necessary points and loved every minute of it. Dave is known for riding many
different machines at all events. He exclaimed while leaving the pits,
"well... there's another bike under my belt!" It was very inspiring to
see how the little 250 could be pushed to it's potential by a veteran racer like
Dave.
Next race will have a new piston and a set of
rings along with a slotted bottom gear to degree the cam...one step at a time.
More to follow soon. Joe
Joe's Signs 702 SE Powell Blvd. Portland, Oregon
97202 503-232-7259
www.joesignshop.com
Dave Roper
Daves IOM victory in 1984 was on a similar
machine to this pictured in 1983 when he finished 9th.
His victory in the '84 event was against some top
names of the time.
Pictures by Mike Yiend, results from the IOM TT
website - link below.
TT 1984 Historic 500cc
