Hi Ledwardio,
Great to hear that your intending to enter the next Plops!
Apologies for not responding to your post earlier.
As these events are 8-hour Enduros, the first priority of the Plop is to ensure reliability.
It counts for nothing if its the fastest out there but grinds to a halt after 2 hours (or less!!)
One way of ensuring nothing falls off is to keep the bike road legal and doing lots of shakedown miles on the road.
That counts for a lot!
A well maintained or recently overhauled engine helps a lot too, and ensuring all the nuts and bolts are tight and locked up where necessary.
Checking the basics such as tappet clearances, spark plug, chain tension and lubrication, tyre type/condition/pressures will all help add to your performance.
Then once you've done one, and enjoyed the experience, you'll be hooked!!
This then generally leads to spending far too much money and man hours getting it better for next time.
Just like the rest of us do!!
V.