While Bruce Anstey and his Padgetts Honda RS250 and Yamaha YZR500 may seem to be cruising serenely through 2017 Classic TT week, team boss Clive Padgett offered BSN readers a glimpse of what it takes to keep older machines running on the Mountain Circuit.
“The 500 is a 25-year-old motorcycle,” he said. “That’s the key. We started work at 8.30 this morning and worked on it until 2pm. We had the heads and clutch off, the gearbox out, the gears off the shafts and inspected the individual gears. We’ll bed a new chain in for the race, and fit new clutch plates.”
Anstey is the fastest rider of Classic TT week so far, with a circuit of 125.49mph on the two-stroke V4. Horst Saiger is his next fastest challenger, with a best of 123.69mph with Dean Harrison next on a 123.739. Anstey is also the fastest of the 250cc competitors, at 118.81mph on the Honda.
In fact practice week has sped by so seamlessly for the Batley team that they are considering doing only one more lap on each bike before Saturday’s 250cc race and Monday’s Superbike contest. “Bruce has already done twelve practice laps on the two bikes, so there’s no point in wearing them out,” Padgett said.
