Triumph 675 racing - Tough decision

My17 year old son Liam and myself are going to have to make our toughest racing decision this week. Liam has been racing a triumph 675 in our superstock 600 championship this year.

When we turned up for the 1st race this year we were greeted with comments like.why are you bringing a knife to a gunfight etc. Well it is now the end of the year and we both learned a lot. Having a bike that no one else is racing means that you have to learn from your own experiences, you cant just go along with what the others are doing.

It took several months and many crashes just to find tyres that work. 65 dyno runs to make the motor work. Endless suspension changes, numerous gearing changes.

During the year with racing ,the bike has done a total of 7000 km flat out on the track which includes winning the South African tourist trophy, a three hour endurance race by 9 laps.In this time we have been through over 50 sets of tyres and travelled the country completing in over 25 races.

In our last race Liam was rewarded with his 1st pole position and a 4th place finish. A good result for a 17 year old who prepares and sets up his bike himself. Now comes the crunch, we both love the triumph and have grown attached to the distinctive sound but we both realise that in order to progress to the next level we will probably have to change to a japanese 600. It breaks my heart but it will be much easier to find the 1 second a lap we are behind the leaders if we change to a r6 or similar.

It is very sad but as privateers with no sponsors it will probably be cheaper and give Liam a better chance of winning the championship.

Ps Liam ended up 5th out of 50 riders in the fastest riders of the year rankings only beaten by well funded national teams.