FAST BERKS!
Charlie Oakman and Gary Hartshorne go racing!
In 2017 I came up with a hair-brained scheme to build, restore and race a 1988 Yamaha TZR 250 2MA that we had languishing in numerous boxes in Fast Bikes magazine’s lock-up.
You may be aware of Fast Bikes, a sister title to CMM from the Mortons stable, which deals with all things new, shiny, dependable and dripping with electronics and rider aids. This is where I did my ‘motorcycle knowledge apprenticeship’, but had a hankering for something different.
This was a monumental project for me, lacking as I was in any real mechanical skills. I had little knowledge or understanding of machinery of any significant age, let alone two-strokes, with the final challenge if we ever got to this stage – I had never raced before either. There were a lot of things to overcome to make a success of this project. In Fast Bikes it was termed ‘Project Likely Fail’ and our Bertie revelled in his play on words as I was swiftly penned into CMM as the ‘Fast Berk’ (the slow ‘Fast Berk’ at the start, Charlie… Bertie).
Fortunately I had help, an enormous amount of it, especially from my local Yamaha dealership, Phoenix of Trowbridge. Head spanner at the dealership is Wayne Phillips, a man who loves a bit of the old school, was up for a challenge and didn’t mind a TZR sitting on his spare bench for the best part of six months. My role in the build dissolved into the logistics, sourcing, organising and paying for the numerous parts that would get this near 30-year-old bike up and running again.
It needed a new fuel tank, a new radiator, which had to be modified for fitting, new hoses specifically designed by Samco Hoses, new rear-sets, brake calipers, wider wheels for racing, seals, fluids, etc. The list went on, but finally the race bodywork went on from Bardney Racing and the bike was ready to race, with the final element of this project being truly down to me.
The race series I was entering is part of Bemsee. The class was the DFDS Yamaha Past Masters, and I had done my homework. Having visited the paddock at the start of the season, the YPMS were preparing
for the opening round at Brands and I was introduced to everybody. Not only the people, but the genuinely friendly atmosphere that oozed out of like-minded TZR riders who were there for the crack of it all, the bikes, the competition, but mostly just to be within the YPM family. Any long-term nerves I may have had entering into this series, especially the last race where everyone would be properly dialed in, disappeared immediately.
My first day within the YPM family had really caught my imagination. Everyone had a story; a plethora of advice on not only racing, but also TZR building, and I left Brands with a lengthy list stating exactly what I needed for the build and what to consider for a TZR race bike.
It was within this paddock that I was also introduced to the YPM Renta-racer and a man that would be in my corner throughout my YPM experience, Len Whalin. Len is a true gent, works tirelessly for the good of YPM as technical coordinator, but also is the visionary that bought about the Renta-racer, which is really where the continuation of this story begins.
The Renta-racer is, coincidentally, a TZR250 2MA, the same bike as Wayne was toiling with at the time on his bench in Trowbridge. The concept for this bike is that you can rent it for a race weekend to introduce you to TZR racing. Rock up with your ACU licence and riding gear, and then be treated like royalty as the bike is set up, prepped, fuelled and warmed up for you ready to go out for each session with your own team of mechanics. I had a sit on it at Brands Hatch and it was available for Donington Park, an offer I could not refuse, so it would appear that the Fast Berk would race earlier than expected.
Enter Gary Hartshorne, head of all things Bridgestone Moto in the UK and my sponsor for the TZR build. He came to support me on my first ever race on the YPM bike and was hooked immediately. A non-racer just like me who just really wanted to give it a go – just like me. As it came about the Renta-racer was available for the Snetterton round, and as this was my target race for my build, the opportunity for us to race each other was too much for him to ignore. He booked it and our racing collaboration had begun.
So to Snetterton and the completion of my project. Wayne had pulled a masterstroke with the TZR and despite the bearings collapsing in my front wheel in the first race and having never even ridden it before I brought it home the following two races, improving times with each lap despite the rain and just loving being a proper ‘racer’. Gary left Snetterton a changed man, the experience of racing (handing me my arse) and winning a trophy in his first ever race (third Rookie home) on the rental bike had him chomping at the bit for more. I have to admit to feeling very much the same.
The plan was to both buy TZRS and race the 2018 season, as my build had to go back to its rightful owner, but I wanted to carry on and embed myself further into the YPM family. It didn’t happen, however, because cost was a factor, but mostly the lack of time and – another common trait that Gary and I share – a massive inability with the spanners. This is essential for TZR ownership/racing!
Racing petered out for me then. I had loved what we did, what I had experienced and the whole two-stroke vibe with the guys at YPM, but now it was back to the day job and modern sportsbikes once more. One project I was working on for the following year was the Fast Bikes Trackday, another project
sponsored by Bridgestone, which included a place for Gary. Fast Bikes had a fleet of modern bikes at our disposal for Gary to try around Cadwell Park. But he refused all offers of a S1000RR, ZX10-R and Yamaha R1 and the like. Gary would bring his own bike that he had been advised to purchase by a friend, a Honda CB500.
At first sight I was not impressed, but I was certainly intrigued. This grew as Gary continually lifted the front wheel over Cadwell’s Mountain and kept it pinned into Hall Bends, taking a few modern bike scalps as he did so. I was not riding on the day and therefore had plenty of time to see what Gary was making this humble CB do.
Then the bullying started. Gary was going to race his CB with the East Midlands Riding Association (EMRA) series at Mallory Park, and I should buy a CB and join him. I was having none of it, but was gently being worn down until Gary stated: “Look, the beauty of the CB is that they are cheap and great fun, and when you finish with it at the end of the day you park it up in your garage and don’t need to do anything with it until you wheel it into the van again for your next track session.” So, cheap and low maintenance, and having already witnessed how much fun my old mate Gary was having, I caved in, put the phone down and within an hour Gary had found me a CB500 for £1500 in Hull and I was back on the phone paying for it.
The new racing target was the final round of EMRA’S 2018 season at Mallory. I had some work to do, but it looked like this Fast Berk would be racing an old classic again, albeit a very different one! Stay tuned…