KIWI RIDER 01 2020 VOL1 | Page 96

blaster to clean everything up. I dropped the engine in to HPC Coating to get it coated matt black. The suspension was then stripped, the lowers and lugs were coated as well as the tubes. I machined up some 140mm nylon spacers for the forks which stopped them topping out. Paul from Speed Hub Motorsport got a Reiger shock and installed a 35mm spacer. I haven’t done anything with the valves and springs - it’s all stock. Johnny Abel was good enough to sell me a set of wheels. I’ve got 2.15 inch rim on the front and a 2.5 inch rim on the rear. They are both wrapped with Shinko tyres. Aaron Stone built the engine for the bike. It has a Carrillo crank and rod, Pro Circuit piston, cams, valves and springs. The head has been done by Pro Circuit and has a TI-6 Pro Circuit exhaust to finish it off. The Rekluse clutch puts the power to the ground. Everything else inside the engine is stock. Brett Roberts did an awesome job of smoothing out the power on the dyno and making sure it would be safe and reliable. This bike was a massive six month build and at points had made me wanting to bury it in a hole! 96 KIWI RIDER The deadline for the Clay Classic came up very quickly and I almost didn’t make it, but the day turned out to be emotional for everyone. My bike stopped about three practices in, so with some fault finding we managed to narrow it down to the fuel pump. Lucky for me Craig Brown of MR Motorcycles had a bike that was the same model year. I swapped the fuel pump, and then spent the next couple of hours figuring out how to ride Flat Track. The final was a great race. Blake Gillard and myself must have battled for at least 10 laps. Sadly for him he made a mistake and I got in front with a few laps to go. It was a relief and honour to win. The time and effort I put in was massive. To hold the Sam Smith trophy at the end of the day was awesome. I’d like to say a massive thanks to, Robby Bennell (Sculpt NZ), John Moulden (The Sign Shed), Paul and Bryan Hayton (Speed Hub Motorsport), Aaron Stone, Craig Brown (Mr Motorcycles), W White Wholesale, Vege (Kiwi Rider Magazine), Gary Almond (Almond Contractors), Nikita Gillard (Nikita Gillard Photography), Scott Wilkins (Classical Doors).