Almost Racing, Part II

[j_thaddeus]

Well,<br><br>The YSR I blew up a while back got put back together. It was fun and educational, even if it did take too long. One of the many advantages of small bikes is cost. We put together a whole engine for under $300. that was $200 for two complete if disassembled and somewhat dirty engines, and about $100 in various seals, gaskets, goop, etc. And it was educational. I've never really been through an engine and tranny in that level of detail before.<br><br>Then we got out to the track. Since I broke the bike before the other rider had a chance to even ride it, after a few trips up and down the pits, combined with the break in riding we did prior to taking it to the track, we determined she was ready. While she was putting on her gear, I warmed up the bike and had it waiting at idle for her.<br><br>It was an open practice. About 75-80 degrees, a faint breeze. Just enough to help cool off a little, not enough to blow any dust around. I went over her flags with her one more time, checked out the bike, and showed her where to get on the track and how to time her entry to not interfere with anyone else.<br><br>She merged in perfectly and I took off for the grandstands to watch with her boyfriend and our defacto mechanic/sponsor. I watched her going down the straight and then when I got to the grandstands, took a second to find her again. (there were over 20 bikes on a 6/10's mile kart track)<br><br>There she was... in the dirt, right after turn 1 :(<br><br>It was only then that all three of us realized she didn't know how to start the bike.:( So with permission from the race director and under the guidance of the corner workers I crossed onto the track and got her started again and off the track. She was fine, and the bike appeared fine, but she had a bit of a stiff neck and decided she was done for the day :( We did take a few seconds to make sure she knew how to start the bike, and to work on some technique in the pits, and then I suited up and headed out.<br><br>(continued below)

[j_thaddeus]

I entered the track and gassed it. The rebuild had actually been a good thing and the new engine was fresh and seemed to have a hair more power than it did before. Down into second for the first turn, since I wasn't sure the tires were warmed up, and WOAH, remember kids, a 180lb bike doesnt take nearly so much to toss into a turn as your 650 does. Got passed on the inside by some 10 year old doing about mach 1 and decided to latch onto his tail and try to follow him into the next turn.<br><br><b>CACHUNK CACHUNK BANG RATTLE CACHINK!</b><br><br>I don't know WHAT that noise is, but it's coming from my engine. :( Back WAY off the gas and just about coast off the track. At the time all I could see was a broken magneto cover. Neither myself nor Travis the aforementioned boyfriend) could figure out HOW we missed that in the post crash wipe down and bike check. We loaded up the bike and went home.<br><br>Well, once we got home, we found that all of that had been caused by a screw coming loose in the magneto, and then getting flung sufficiently to hole a magneto cover that I presume was stressed somewhat from the crash.<br><br>I would like to point out that when we were working on the bike, we removed the magneto as a whole unit and put it back likewise. At no point did we touch the bolts holding the coils in place. So the good news is we didn't break it. Since then we have taken all of the screws out of the magneto, blue loctited them and put them back in. We also decided to get the bolts on the triple clamp and the rear suspension mounts, those being the only other places of the bike we hadn't put our hands on yet. Luckily, I had a spare magneto cover from the last case I cracked and the bike is up and running again, and hopefully in May we'll make it through a days practice and get out for an actual race.<br><br>So, still not a stellar start to this whole racing business, but we went out, and had a good day, and at least proved to ourselves that the reassembled motor worked.<br><br>Next time, I race. (God Willing)<br><br>-- James

[oldironnow]

Maybe not stellar. But in my experience, entirely normal, and right around the racing mean - pun intended. Good hunting!

[fullmetalf4i]

<div>hey if everything went easy it wouldnt be racing ;)</div>

[bichomalo]

<div>:manmad:</div>