Nibelung is the name of my track bike. He (I give all of my bikes male names; in contrast to my female cars!) is named after the mythical German dwarf (or Nibelung) named Alberich, who kept a hoard of gold (an allusion to my Aprilia's somewhat blingy colour scheme). Legend has it that the Nibelung lived around Worms (a town in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany) - not far from where I lived for a while. My avatar on the RSVR.net forum shows an excerpt from the painting 'Der Mythos der Nibelungen' (The Myth of the Nibelung) by Michael Sowa.

1 - Background

1.1 The muse

I was leading a fairly hobby-free existence. The heady delights of nicotine and alcohol are, for me, a distant memory. I eschew externally-sourced stimulants of all forms (with the possible exception of caffeine) and I had thought my days of self-inducing adrenaline were largely over (I'm talking about rowing and skiing here!).   Then a colleague and biker friend persuaded me to do a trackday. Not having the courage to do it on my own bike, I found a school that provided the hardware (the now defunct Ducati Experience) and signed up for my  first venue, at Cadwell Park, in 1998.  I come from a biking family. I was taken to spectate at Oulton Park as a toddler, and pater had been a biker in his younger days (between the wars). He still had a bike, a James Cadet, and when I was a nipper  I was sometimes taken to primary school riding on the tank! My real biking obsession started when big bro' got his first bike (a BSA C12), but more so when pate took me to the 1968 TT for the day. (Ago won the Senior and Bill Ivy clocked the first 100 mph lap on a 125.)

1.2 Previous track experience - schools and own bikes

2 - Nibelung: the track bike

2.1 Why a track bike?

Triumph Sprint ST 'Wolfram'	Ducati Multistrada 'Neppomuk'	Aprilia RSV 'Nibelung'

2.2 Cost envelope

2.3 How much power - what kind of bike?

	Ducati 1098-S At £14k for the basic road bike and too new for any used bikes to get onto the market, this was way too expensive.
	Ducati 1098 At £10k this represented a lower price, but didn't have the suspension I felt was a prerequisite for a track bike. It too blew my budget.
	Ducati 999-S Used/New - these were on the market for about £9.5k new, so I reckon I could have got hold of a second-hand one for my budget, but the truth of the matter is that they're too small for my 1.88m (6'2") frame, and I find it hard to lift my feet onto the pegs when sitting in the saddle. Generally very uncomfortable for me.
	Ducati 998-S/996-S Used - well within budget, but again the size problems of the 999.
	Aprilia RSV1000R-F Used - just the right size for me; performance on par with a 999S and all the track-ready goodies (Öhlins front, rear and steering damper) as standard.

2.4 Straight out of the tin

2.5 No conversion

My aim was not to have to do anything to it to get it on track! In the event, I'm a wee bit shy of this mark, but not much. The main feature of the bike had to be that the exhaust would pass Castle Combe's strict noise restrictions. These are 105 dBA at 0.5m perpendicular to the outlet at three quarters maximum revs, i.e. 7000 rpm (for most other circuits it's at 5000 rpm). In the event, it just scrapes through, with three readings at 105, 101 and 104 dBA on three different days. (It just shows how variable the readings can be.)    It needed track bodywork. This was always in the budget, but having seen it in white, I just had to get it painted BRG, didn't I? The suspension was good, but after the first track day, I felt it could be improved, so I took it to my suspension guru (MHRacing) who increased the front spring rate from 9.5 to 10.0N/mm to cope with my track-ready 113kg (17¾ st) and tweaked the damping a bit here and there. A season later, as a result of some shimmy problems through Castle Combe's Folly, I've changed the rear spring rate from 95 to 100 N/mm.

The Brembo radial brakes are certainly on a par with anything I've used before (equal to the Tokiko radials on a Fireblade). The standard pads give very controllable stopping power, which can be easily applied to maximum effect with a couple of fingers (while using the throttle for down-changes).

Most trackdays are held on weekdays. For me, it takes a lot of planning and business manoeuvring to be able to get time off work for these, so I can't easily re-arrange them. Add to that the cost in terms of money and effort in getting to these venues (my wife and I haven't got the energy to get to a distant venue for the 08:00 sign-on time, so we need to book accommodation), and it becomes necessary to go ahead with the trackday whatever the weather. So I got hold of a pair of spare wheels and a set of rain tyres, to make the eventuality a lot safer than on road tyres. Then, of course, I had to have them in a matching colour for the bike!

2.6 Logistics

I decided to go with a Bikelug (now known as Motolug). (This picture does not show the final set of tie-downs.) This trailer has the advantage of pivoting just behind the hitch point so the chassis can be tipped backwards alleviating the need for a loader ramp. It also has the advantage of being collapsible so that it can fit in the back of a car. This has proved invaluable as I take the bike to quite a few places in addition to track days (tyre fitter, tuner, suspension specialist). The trailer fits together with just a few cotter pins so it is a literal ten minute job to assemble/dismantle. Now that Mrs BRG and I have perfected our routine loading the bike is also a ten minute job. I use four tie-down straps and a handlebar tie-down.

2.7 Running in

I've run in all of my previous bikes even more gradually than the manual suggests, carefully increasing the revs (and load) by 1000 revs every 500 miles. In the meantime, I read the Motoman article and became fairly convinced that his argument was a good one. So that was the approach I took. However, a word or two of caution: This strategy takes you into illegal road speeds in first gear right from the off! You're effectively caning it on a new bike, with whose behaviour you're not familiar - this is exciting to say the least - especially when you're mono-wheeling in second and third! If, as me, you're doing this at the start of the season (i.e. in the middle of Winter), then the road - to put it mildly - is not at its grippiest and this is the last thing you feel like doing! Whilst the argument for a high load break-in for the piston rings appears to be a good one, break-in for other components of the bike, such as gears and brake pads, would appear to benefit from a more gradual approach. Anyway, with oil change to the recommended dinosaur-oil before I even fired it up, and another change + filter at 80 miles, I clocked up about 850 miles before taking the SORN (and another change to dino 10W40). As an aside, I won't use synthetic or semi-synth in a track bike with oil-bath clutch. The jury's out at the moment, but I expect to have the pistons and rings available for analysis soon.

3 - Target circuits

3.1 Castle Combe

Castle Combe Circuit opened just 18 months after Silverstone in the summer of 1950, making it one of the longest established circuits in the UK. Until 1999, the circuit followed it's original layout, around the perimeter of the old air base. In that first year, a young Stirling Moss won a race and over the next few years, names like Mike Hawthorn, Colin Chapman, Les Leston, Roy Salvadori and John Surtees thrilled huge crowds. NB: The Bybrook chicane is a temporary feature put in only for the bikes and stems from an international Superbike race in 2004 at which Michael Rutter (I think t'was he) requested a feature to slow riders into Camp due to the limited run-off available on the exit. Made up of a 'pimple' of tarmac added to the inside of the circuit just before Camp Corner with hay bales and tyres put in the middle of the circuit proper to enforce the corner.   Length: - 1.850 Miles (2.977 km) Direction: - Clockwise Telephone: - 01249 782417 Website: - www.castlecombecircuit.co.uk Location: - Castle Combe Circuit, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 7EY   I've been here six times before 2008.

Bybrook Chicane put in place for bike trackdays and races

Paddock kitting up	Old Paddock TP	Old paddock AX+	Tower	Tower AX	Tower in traffic

Before Camp	Avon Rise Brow at BP	Losing the front	Rollin' an' tumblin'	After the shredder (£4,000)	Yellow - don't do it!!

Folly ca. 130+	Overtaking - the trackday way	Quarry	Shifting weight (Esses)	Close company (Tower)	Tower

Lap times		Top speed