Survivor Rotax for Sale

Mike at Survivor Customs is selling his race bike to fund a new project. He came second in the Restricted class and third in the 2016 Thunderbike class on this bike this year. This is what he says. 

CCM Main frame with custom welded on subframe conversion to fit a Knight seat unit, custom twinshock swinging arm with Marzocchi shocks, R6 forks, 19in DID rims, front laced to a Talon spool hub, Rear laced to a KTM gs hub; polycarb American flat track tank, Renthal bars, carbon number boards, recent service with new throttle and clutch cable and oil lines,... This bike wants for nothing it's got a really nice strong motor. I can't fault it the only reason I'm selling it is because I want to build another one. If i don't get the asking price I'll keep it and put it on the road
survivorcustoms@gmail.com Tel: 07835649903

DTRA Round 1 Report: Rye House

The first DTRA race of 2016 was the biggest ever UK short track race (except for the Dirt Quake two-dayers that we hold with the DTRA). The meeting was split into two, with self-contained morning and afternoon sessions. Juniors, rookies and minibikes ran in the morning. Pros, restricted, vintage and Thunderbikes got on track at 2pm.

Rye House has a new owner and is under-going renovation. The DTRA seemed much happier with the new regime and the track was well prepared and looked after during the meeting. In the past, the previous owner would dump 1000 litres on it halfway through the meeting and totally screw it.
One result of the track being looked after was a very safe meeting. I didn't see the medical staff called once.

There were a ton of new riders in all the classes and some of last year's top restricted riders moved up to the Pro class. The DTRA has introduced a B Final for the Pro class to encourage those without a realistic chance of making the final to enter the dwindling Pro class in the knowledge they'll get three heats and a B Main. The B Main also acts as a last chance qualifier (LCQ) with the top two from the B Main qualifying for the A Main. There was a slight mix-up with the race order of this meeting so the B Main riders went straight from their ten-lap B into the 10-lap A Main without a break. That was a bit of a poisoned chalice, meaning they had to race knackered against the best amateur riders in Europe. The DTRA will sort that for future races.

The race attracted riders from Italy, Germany, France and Belgium, 12-15 foreign riders in total.
Thanks to the DTRA volunteers for all they do for the sport. They were working for ten hours on Sunday, plus travelling time, to make the event run as smooth as an oiled eel. GI

Sean Vukovic entered his very first dirt track race on his Survivor Customs CCM Rotax and won the Thunderbike class ahead of a strong field. Ross 'The King' Herrod was second, Survivor Mike Hill was third.
Want a potential race winner for £3500-£4000? Talk to Mike at Survivor Customs.

Frenchman Frank Chatokhine, #5R, came back to the series after missing much of last season and bossed the ever-growing Vintage class. We featured his Metisse Triumph in Sideburn 17.

17-year-old Ollie Brindley #24, hasn't had an off-season. over winter he has raced both Superprestigios and a bunch of Florida races, plus spent two weeks with AMA Pro Johnny Lewis. He followed the hard-charging current champ, Aidan Collins, for a few laps before finally making a pass stick and then he cleared off. Aidan came in second, Alan Birtwistle (aka Moto Ninja) came a good third. 

Vintage class rookie John Harrison looked like he'd been parachuted in from 1974. He is one of many riders who lost their dirt track virginity at Dirt Quake and now are racing in the DTRA.

Another is Ross Sharp, one of the Bike Shed MC full-time staff. Ross bought a used DTX bike last year, did a few practices, entered the Rookies and won first time out. A very confident rider.

Alessandro Rossi from Deus Milan bought Jason's gorgeous Wood Rotax (that we have a blueprint of for all the Wood Rotax fans out there) and flew in with his family for a weekend of motorcycle fun.

James from Hard Luck Tattoo is another graduate from the University of Dirt Quake. He raced two classes and was smiling like a loon every time I saw him. 

And me? I missed the Eastbourne practice because of bike problems at the Rye House practice the week before, then didn't get the bike working properly until the Friday before this race. It ran like a dream, but I forgot I only wanted to leave that rear tyre on for the pre-season practices and turned up to the first race with a worn Maxxis DT1. Better riders than me could cope with worn rubber, but I need all the help I can get. This photo shows ambition getting the better of talent. Still I made the Thunderbike final, stayed on two wheels all day and had a lot of fun. 

The next race is at the MCN Festival, Peterborough over the weekend of 14-15 May and Colin Edwards is racing with us! G

Photos: Ian Roxburgh

DIY Ice Tyres: Updated

The first Snow Quake is an experiment, and it doesn't make sense for a lot of riders to buy ice tyres for one ride a year, so Mike of Survivor Customs set about making his own. Here's what he says...

You want a half decent enduro/ motorcross tyre with some decent tread.  The length of screw will depend on the tyre tread depth, I reckon you want blocks at least 20mm deep,so if you use a 25mm screws you will need to line it with something 5mm thick at least 

I researched and spoke to a couple of people who made their own studded tyres, and discovered you need the screw to go right through the tyre carcass this will help it stay in as it bites into the cord. Hence why you need a liner. 

The screws I used were sourced from a local bolt and fasteners shop... they are M6 x 25mm Hex head self tapping screws with an 8mm head. These are also known as roofing or tech screws but you don't want the ones with the self drilling tips you want the pointed ones. 

I made a tyre liner from an old speedway tyre you need to cut the bead and half of the wall off each side of the tyre so it slots inside underneath the tread .... the screws slightly bite into the inner / liner securing the screws so I'm told. 

Once the screws were all fitted securely I used an angle grinder to cut slots in the heads roughly half the depth of the head... this is important because this is the tread of your tyre. The grooves make them grip. You need to change the angle of the grooves. In the centre of the tyre, the grooves should be horizontal, that means across the tyre. The outside screws, used when leaning, need vertical grooves. The screws inbetween need diagonal cuts. 

UPDATE: Bob in Minnesota (where they know a lot about ice racing) says to remember to tape the joint of the liner to stop it nipping the tube. I'm sure Mike at Survivor would have done that, but forgot to say in this quick how to he kindly wrote for us.

Hope it kind of makes sense... these methods are tried and tested, but I've never ridden on ice before so I thought it was best to use some seasoned knowledge, to make these on the cheap.

Click to find out more about the Snow Quake race we're promoting with Deus ex Machina and Pirelli in the Italian Alps. G

Survivor Customs CCM Conversion

Mike of Survivor Customs is converting CCM road bikes into ready to race DTRA dirt track racers. This is one he finished for a customer last week. They can convert any CCM with Rotax or Suzuki engine: 604, R30, 640, 644. Contact him if you want to convert any other makes, DR650s, Dominators, etc

Survivor are based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This is Mike's description of this conversion.

It is a converted CCM 604 supermoto. The bike was fully torn down and rebuilt in dirt track spec using the original main frame and motor. Modifications include: 
Altered swinging arm, shortened and side shock mount added. 
Altered sub frame to fit XR seat unit. 
Custom built replica Wood tank and alloy liner. 
Yamaha R6 forks and modified R6 yokes 
Yamaha R6 rear shock with uprated spring. 
Custom mid exhaust using original header pipes. 
Custom alloy underslung battery box and underseat wiring tray. 
19in DID rims with Maxxis DTR1 tyres laced to motocross hubs. 
Electric start fitted with lanyard killswitch.
Number boards.
The bike is ready to race.

The price of the conversion is £2700 (not including a good donor bike).
Contact Survivor Customs at Survivorcustoms@gmail.com or https://www.facebook.com/survivorcustoms/

Below: Before. This is the next donor bike. Looks how long and high it is, in comparison to a short, sharp short tracker.

Frame loop has its shock mounting removed and relocated to the left side to allow the wheelbase to be shortened. 

Alloy liner with a Wood-style tank cover. Centre mount bolt for single fastener removal of the tank.

Detail of modified bolt-on subframe; shorter forks; repositioned rear shock; shortened swingarm.

DTRA Round 1: This Sunday

The first round of the 2015 DTRA season is this Sunday, Leicester Speedway (head to Beaumont Leys, find the big Morrisons or use LE4 IDS, and follow your nose).

Spectators go free!

Huge Entry 
31 rookies; 24 Thunderbikes; 17 pros; 11 vintage, plus restricted (riders who are between rookie and pro), juniors and minibikes.

Here are some photos from the Scunthorpe practice eight days ago. G

My own Wood Rotax has had a refresh for 2015. New rings, new valve guides, secondhand Racefit Ti pipe. Death Spray paint! Same loose nut on the handlebars.

One of my favourite bikes in the series (except for its hideous front mudguard). Isaac's twin-cam Rotax with a liquid-cooled head. Can't remember which chassis it is, C&J I think. Imported from the US last year.

Tom, colour-coordinated. We have a handful of these Sideburn logo zip hoodies left.

John Boddy and the Triumph bitsa. Read more about this bike in Sideburn 18.

John's brother, James and his Ariel, first time out, few teething problems. I don't see it on the entry list for Leicester, but I look forward to seeing it again.

James and his XS650, straight into the Rookies.

Two of Survivor Customs crew chat with Geoff Co-Built. 32 is Murph, sitting; 35 is Mike Hill, checked shirt. Along with Ryan Quickfall they are all entering the Rookies on modified CCMs this year.
Mike did all the conversion work, making the exhausts, shortening swingers, twin shocking rear ends,  the whole shebang. Survivor Customs is based in Middlesbrough and looks like a good place to have a road bike converted into the Thunderbike. Mike is already well up to speed on his.

Mike Hill on his self-built Survivor Rotax. He had practiced at Redcar the day before, and came for another full day at Scunthorpe. Tank logo was handpainted by Ryan Quickfall. Behind is Ian Cramp on his own self-built CCM.

Happy Survivor crew heading back north.

See you at Leicester!

Survivor Customs: Part 2

Another lovely little film made by Drifter Visuals of Mike at Survivor Customs, showing some of the made-do-and-mend skills being used to build his budget DTRA Vintage racer. G

Survivor Customs Exhaust

Nice short film showing Mike of Survivor Customs making an exhaust for a DTRA Vintage Class Triumph.
Mike is based up in the North East (Newcastle, Middlesbrough way) and is converting a lot of Rotax and Honda single road bikes into DTRA racers.
He's also a ace hot rod builder, BMX jump king and a favourite to win this year's 2015 DTRA Rookie Championship (unless you know better). G