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Mt Fuji Battle of the Bottom Link Racing

Dec 02, 2015

日本のみなさん　この英文のあとに日本語があります

Every worthy race outing seems to begin and end with a long drive through the darkness in a van loaded with motorcycles, parts, gas and riders. Up at 0-dark-hundred-hours, loaded to the gunnels, ripping along a freeway, today already had the makings of a worthy one indeed. First light and the unmistakable silhouette of Mt Fuji pushes into the sky to tell us we were getting close.

In back, the Firefly, ready to be blooded on the track. Born Honda’s finest in 1960, the last two months of its life spent putting the ‘Super’ into its ‘Super Cub’ moniker. Pawing over the regulations, redesigning and even seeking the help of legendary local Honda guru Ted’s Special for our engine work, this once time-worn machine is now completely re-engineered. At 55 years young and with few parts available off-the-shelf, we’d been in overdrive for weeks with the mill, lathe and TIG. Hand fabricating, machining bushes, pivot pins, lock-nuts and suspension components till this little moto was tighter, leaner and smoother than the day it first took shape on Soichiro’s drawing board.

Arriving in the shadow of the mountain, frost still gleaming on the track, fingers and toes numb still from cold yet pulses starting to rise as thoughts drift to the day ahead. Battle Of Bottom Link machines roll-out from vans packed tight like ours to enjoy the gruff complaints of the scrutineers. All pre-1964, all bottom link front suspension, most push-rod overhead valve such as ours and many bristling with home grown “improvements” in the pursuit of speed and handling.

With the first warm up laps being cut by thawing riders under the watchful eye of their mechanics, the day is underway and our test pilot sits ready, the Firefly’s short megaphone letting out a willing beat, as the two prepare to join the fun.

Morning sprints roll by faster than the Marshall can wave the checkered flag and the Firefly is running strong, if further back in the pack than hoped. Between races riders, builders, spectators and family mingle in the paddock, ogling each other’s machines. The Firefly puts on its best pit lane show, stopping all from 8yrs to 80yrs for a photo or a chat. Some even with measuring tape in hand, we doubt the upper hand will be ours for too long.

The afternoon is filled with the bark of machines older than their riders being wrung to their limits, apexes clipped, foot pegs kissing tarmac and our best luck for the day, a pole position start in the final sprint. Most importantly, the Firefly has proved itself willing and eager.

With the racing done and the evening closing in, vans fill up and flow out from the paddock. We know we are not going to be the only ones recounting this, a worthy day, during the long, dark drive home.

2015年11月29日白雪が光に輝く富士のふもと、白糸スピードランドでバイクセクションの本格的な始動の第一歩として,TEAM DEUSがB.O.B.L(Battle of bottom Link)に参戦した。チー厶の期待を一身に集める、チー厶ライダー山本選手だったが、果たしてその結果は・・・。先日、中井インターサーキットでバイクの初シェイクダウンを無事にこなした山本選手だが、実はバイク経験は指で数えられる程度。しかもチー厶マシンのレ−シングカブへのライディングは今日が2回目。チー厶にとっても何もかもがブッツケ本番のレアーなレースデビューだった。バイクを仕上げたDEUSのモーターサイクルオペレーションズのディレクター、マシュー・ロバーツもマシンの事が気掛かりなのか、どこか落ち着かない様子だ。 B.O.B.Lを簡単にいうと、1964年までに生産されたフロントにボトムリンク式サスペンションが装着された、バイクのみが参加出来るレースだ。メカニカルな事もレースの重要なファクターなので説明しておくと、フロントブレーキを掛けるとフォークが沈み込むテレスコピックタイプのサスペンションとは逆にフロントのブレーキレバーを握ると、フロントタイヤが軽く持ち上がりブレーキが掛かる。ホンダカブに付いているあれです。パドックで一際目立っていた1960年式の50ccをレストア＆カスタマイズ、60ccまでスープアップしたマシューの自信作は、ギャラリーに「良くカブをここまで、カスタマイズした。格好良いよ」と言わしめ、その風貌はスペインのDERBIなどのスーパーナローな50ccヨーロピアンレーサーを彷彿とさる、随所にこだわりを見せるスタイリッシュな作品だ。参加クラスはＮ50, ノークラッチで50ccから60ccエンジンという規定はあるが、マフラーの改造範囲も広く、バイクのスタイルはノーマルからレーシーなものまで様々。コーナーが入り組んだ800mコース幅8mのテクニカルコースを7周するアットホームでハンドメイドなサンデーレースだ。今回はN50クラス36名,全レースを含めると59名の選手によるデッドヒートが繰り広げられた。

ENGLISH TEXT BELOW

Sabtu pagi, 17 Juni 2023, menjadi hari yang ditunggu-tunggu oleh 250 peserta reli sepeda motor dan 80 kontestan flat track race di Bali. Itu merupakan acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure keempat yang diselenggarakan oleh komunitas pecinta motor trail vintage yang lebih dari sekadar menggemari motor dual purpose era 80-90-an. Dikenal sebagai Trail Asik Adventurer, AKA… Tasik Adventure yang telah menunggu setahun untuk merencanakan dan mengerjakan nya demi tidak mengecewakan siapapun yang ikut berpartisipasi.

Coba kamu bayangkan , ada dua sisi koin berbeda pada event kali ini. Yang pertama adalah Reli. Mereka memberi nama Challenge "Tantangan", menjadikan setiap peserta sebagai "Penantang" Challenger. Jadi, di tempat parkir Sangeh Monkey Forest, sambil menikmati keteduhan pohon jati raksasa yang awet muda, 250 Penantang parkir untuk menerima kode QR untuk etape pertama rute reli. Seluruh perjalanan adalah 3 etape dengan 3 titik pemberhentian. 4 jika Anda menghitung tujuan.

Ada beberapa motor keren di sana, Honda XR, Yamaha DT, Suzuki TS, Suzuki DR, dan beberapa custom modern, motocross dan scrambler. Sekitar sepuluh atau lebih, mereka berbaris di titik start dan memulai rally dari sana. Misi setiap orang adalah menyelesaikan setiap tahap dan berhenti di 3 titik pemberhentian untuk mendapatkan kode QR untuk bagian berikutnya. Keindahan Bali selalu menjadi pendamping, saat kami terbang di sepanjang kombinasi jalan aspal, jalan pedesaan, dan jalan tanah di daerah Tabanan. Kami perlahan-lahan terbang tinggi dan semakin tinggi ke perbukitan dan pemandangan sawah dan hutan akhirnya habis, sebenarnya lebih seperti perlahan menjadi satu ketika kami sampai di tujuan. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF) yang juga menjadi tempat berkemah semalam. Jika Anda mengumpulkan semua kode QR Anda, Anda mendapat medali Rally sebagai bentuk penghargaan.

Sisi lain dari koin yang disebutkan sebelumnya, atau event kedua, adalah balap jalur datar (flat track). Atau dalam hal ini jalur dengan landasan yang tidak rata karena tempat mereka membangun jalur itu berada di atas tempat yang dulunya terdapat dua sawah terasering. Jadi titik start finish lebih tinggi dari jalur lurus pertama dengan penurunan pada tikungan pertama dan sedikit menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Saat kami masuk ke BOF, kami sudah bisa mendengar suara motor flat track dan sorakan penonton yang berkumpul. Kami parkir dan membuat jalur jalur seperti lebah.

Keseruan seutuhnya pada acara, disaat tingkat kesulitan tambahan dimasukkan ke dalam jadwal sore hari menarik perhatian yang sangat luar biasa. Mereka berhasil menarik sekitar delapan puluh peserta, terbagi dalam 4 kelas: Kelas Mesin Horizontal, Kelas FFA 4T Max 250cc, Kelas FFA 2T Max 250cc Flat Track, dan Kelas FFA Big Bore.

Antusiasme untuk balapan flat track sangat terasa. Kegembiraan tumbuh saat kami melewati babak penyisihan dan membangun sesuatu yang luar biasa untuk final setiap kelas. Tidak ada kata menahan, mereka hadir untuk memenangkannya. Pembalap dari setiap komunitas bersaing sengit di setiap kelas. Nama-nama seperti Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, dan lain-lain tak main-main, sebagian besar dari memamerkan skill mereka tanpa mengesampingkan sportifitas dan keselamatan.

Trek dengan permukaan tanah liat merah keras yang kering memberikan tantangan. Di awal, para pembalap disuguhkan dengan bagian menurun pada tikungan pertama, setelah itu mereka memeras gas di bagian trek lurus sebelum berputar ke kiri lagi tapi kali ini menjadi bagian menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Itu memaksa mereka untuk menggabungkan keterampilan balap trek datar mereka dengan banyak teknik motocross. Pada akhirnya, semua pembalap bersenang-senang dengan debu tanah liat merah yang menutupi segalanya dan semua orang.

Saat matahari terbenam ke arah cakrawala, saudara dan sahabat motoran kami meraih pecahan cahaya terakhir untuk mendirikan tenda mereka dan dalam persiapan untuk berkemah malam. Matahari menghilang di balik Gunung Batukaru memberi semua orang pemandangan yang menakjubkan, tetapi segera menyelimuti kami dengan udara yang jauh lebih sejuk dari dataran tinggi di Baturiti Tabanan ini.

Percakapan tentang rute reli dan balapan flat track mengalir dari pintu tenda semua orang yang berkemah, yang lain membaringkan tubuh mereka yang lelah untuk mengantisipasi perjalanan keesokan harinya, perjalanan yang relatif santai ke Pantai Pasut.

Dengan begitu, acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 pun berakhir. Sampai bertemu lagi tahun depan, salam untuk semua penantang, pengalaman yang luar biasa.

Berikut daftar pemenang Kelas Flat Track:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana

Saturday morning, June 17, 2023, was a highly anticipated day for 250 motorcycle rally participants and 80 flat track race contestants in Bali. It was the Fourth Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure event organized by a community of vintage trail motorcycle enthusiasts who love more than fanging about on their dual-purpose motorcycles from the 80s and 90s. Known as the Trail Asik Adventure Community, AKA… Tasik Adventure people had waited a year for the follow up and none were disappointed.

Just so you can get it straight in your head, there’s two very different sides to this coin. The first one was the Rally. They hung it under the banner of “Challenge”, making each partaker a “Challenger”. So, in the carpark of Sangeh Monkey Forest, which enjoys the shade of giant ageless teak trees, 250 Challengers parked up to receive the QR code for the first leg of the rally route. The entire ride was 3 stages with 3 stop points. 4 if you count the destination.

There were some amazing bikes there, Honda XR’s, Yamaha DT’s, Suzuki TS’s, Suzuki DR’s, and some custom modern motocross and scrambler bikes. In lots of ten or so, they lined up at the starting point then let them out for the event. Everyone’s mission was to complete each stage and stop at the 3 stop points to get the QR code for the next bit. Bali’s beauty was the constant companion, as we flew along a combination of asphalt roads, rural roads and dirt tracks in the Tabanan area. We slowly winded up high and higher into the hills and the views of rice fields and forests finally ran out, actually, it was more like blurred into one when we reached our destination. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF), which was also to be the overnight camping spot. If you collected all your QR codes you got a Rally medal as a form of appreciation.

The other side of the aforementioned coin, or second event, was the flat track. Or in this case staggered track because where they had built the track it was over a spot that had once held two rice terraces. So the Start finish straight sat higher than the return straight with a drop on the first turn and an uphill bit on the second. As we were pulling into BOF we could already hear the flat track bikes and the assembled crowd cheering. We parked up and made a bee line track side.

What an absolute corker of an event, the added degree of difficulty jammed into the afternoons schedule made for the most marvelous distraction. They’d managed to attract around eighty participants, split over 4 classes: Horizontal Engine Class, FFA 4T Max 250cc Class, Flat Track FFA 2T Max 250cc Class, and FFA Big Bore Class.

The enthusiasm for the flat track races was palpable. The excitement growing as we whittled down through the heats and building to something of a crescendo for the finals of each class. There was no holding back, they were in it to win it. Racers from each community fiercely competed in each class. Names like Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, and others were letting nothing slip, flaunting their skills without compromising sportsmanship and safety. Mostly.

The track, with its dry hard red clay surface, presented challenges. Off the start, the racers were presented with a downhill section on the first turn, they hit the gas on the bottom straight before spinning left again but this time into an uphill section on the second turn. It forced them to combine their flat track racing skills with a slew of motocross techniques. In the end, all the racers had fun with the red clay dust lay across everything and everyone.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, our compadres and accomplices grabbed the last shards of light to set up their tents in readiness for a night of camping. The sun disappeared behind Mount Batukaru affording everyone a magnificent view, but immediately enveloping us in the much cooler air of these high grounds here in Baturiti Tabanan.

Conversations about the rally route and the flat track race flowed out of the tent flaps of all those who camped others bedded their weary bodies down in anticipation for the next day's ride, a comparatively leisurely meander down to Pasut Beach.

With that, the Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 event came to an end. Until we meet again next year, greetings to all challengers, what an amazing time.

Here is the list of the days winners:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana