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Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater Sun, 09 May 2010It all started, as they say, much earlier than the actual events. Without getting ridiculous about it, I can safely start with a few weeks ago, when I noticed that my wristwatch's band had broken. I took it off, and eventually brought it to a repair shop, where it's even now awaiting a new band. Thus, when I set off for the track yesterday, I didn't have a watch on. It was a fairly standard departure, made slightly less stardard by the fact that I'd had a theatrical event the night before, which kept me out until 1, and my plan was to be at the track around 7 am. So my alarm was set for 5:30, and I went to bed at 2. Grand. As I pulled the bike off the truck, I noticed that it seemed a bit tough to move, but I put it down to deflated tires, since both tires were low on pressure. I got my pit area set up, and after I'd pumped up the tires, something made me check the bike again -- it was still tough to move. Something wasn't right. So, I spun the rear tire (conveniently suspended above the ground by the bike's stand) -- no problem. I lifted the front of the bike with some effort, and tried to spin the front -- yep, that's not right. The front brake was sticking. I messed around with it a bit, and discovered that the rear of the two brake levers was actually sticking in the engaged position, and then as soon as the tire was rolled backwards any amount, it would snap to the disengaged position. Seeing that we had nearly an hour until our practice session (the only time we'd be on the track that day), I decided to pull apart the front wheel and grease up the various bits and pieces, something I'd never done before (so it was probably long overdue). Sure enough, the actuating shafts were bone-dry, as were all the other moving parts inside the brake. I applied careful smears of grease in the appropriate spots, and put it back together. Of course, what I'd forgotten to factor in was the "not at home" time multiplier. Any time you try to do anything like this at home, it takes X amount of time. Any time you try to do it away from home, ie without all the normal setup and tools and work areas, it takes longer because of that change. I think it was about 1.5x on this job, which isn't bad, but of course ate into that hour I'd thought I had. Added onto this (I realized part-way through the job that the time factor was hitting me), I didn't have a watch, and I'd forgotten to bring the little battery clock I usually have hanging from the shelter. So the only way I had to check the time was to check my cell phone (which I didn't want to smear with my greasy gloves), or call out, "What time is it? Anyone?" I had no idea how fast or slow time was progressing. So I started to panic a bit. Naturally, when you start to panic a bit, things do not get better. But I didn't want to miss this practice. If I did, then it was a huge mistake to even come down for Saturday, when we only had one practice instead of the normal two. I'd considered, very late Friday night, just not coming down for Saturday, but figured I should probably make it if I could. Now, I was up to my elbows in disassembled front brake. Not a thing you want to have go missing while railing into turn 2. So I was under double pressure to do it quickly, but do it well. As it happens, I did manage to get it done, and in enough time to head out for practice with everyone else, but the story doesn't end there. As we were sitting at the mouth of the track entrance, I realized that I'd forgotten to safety-wire my belly pan bolt, a bolt which will vibrate itself out within a minute or two of riding. Indeed, I leaned over to check it, and it was halfway backed out. I reluctantly turned my bike up onto the gravel return road and went back to my pit to hurriedly wire the bolt and get back out. Thus, I was able to get into the practice having only wasted a couple minutes of track time. But, of course, it doesn't end there, either. I have this routine I go through before a track session. I think everyone has a variation on this. I put on my suit about 30 minutes before we're supposed to start. I check the gas. I check the tire pressure. I look over the bike to see if there's anything I've missed. And so on, but the key fact here is that it starts about 45 minutes before we ride. What was I doing 45 minutes before we were to start? Well, the same thing I was doing 20 minutes before we were to start -- putting my front brake together. Even with all that, I didn't manage to get it adjusted correctly, so that it was both dragging and working at about half power. So, about 2 laps in, I finally remembered: I'd pumped up my tires with too much pressure (like I always do), preparatory to using the tire gauge to carefully set them. Tire pressure is terribly important, and too much or too little can cause serious problems, including crashing. And here I was, running with way more pressure than I wanted to. Afterward, after the tires had cooled down, I measured 27 PSI front and 35 PSI rear. I normally run 23 and 29. One pound of difference is the usual increment of change when you're tuning tire pressure. Needless to say, I backed off a bit, and had a generally unsatisfying practice, firm in the knowledge that if I pushed it, my tires would probably slide, potentially dumping me off in the process. So, although I did actually get out on the track, and nothing really bad happened, it was a completely unsatisfying time, and the rush-rush-rush pressure I'd felt before riding left me fairly exhausted and unhappy. The consolation prize for this story is that, because we didn't have any more events in the day, I was able to take a much more leisurely approach to rectifying the remaining front brake issues, and I was able to come away from the day with a much more calm and zen feeling than what the morning had produced. Posted at 20:39 permanent link category: /motorcycle Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net. |