morbidelli17
Sat 5/19/07, 7:23PM
Went out for the Solo 20-lapper. Made it two laps. Brake lever adjuster malfunction led to significant seat-tenting. More tomorrow ...
So here's what happened.
I entered the Solo race at WSMC; it's the 20-lap, 50-mile race on Saturday afternoon. In my class there are three SV650s, a Honda CBR400RR and my SV500. My lap times are good enough for third, maybe second.
I get a good start and I'm second going into the back straight, then two of the SV650s hit the gas and they're gone. I'm in third - I've got one of the SV650s behind me still - and it's a little frustrating because I can make up gobs of time on them from Turn One through the Omega, but then we hit the straights and it's all over.
On the third lap, I go into Turn Five and I just brush the brakes there, enough to scrub off a bit of speed and transfer weight to the front end - and the lever pinches my fingers against the bar.
I shit.
I make it through OK. I try pumping the brakes on the back straight - they seem fine, but the lever is still coming way back further than I like - these brakes have always been a bit marginal in terms of lever travel.
I think, well, it's an endurance race, no big deal, I'll just nurse the brakes for another 16 laps, then I think, I just bled them, maybe I forgot to screw in a brake adjuster, and I'll go into one of these corners and instead of a soft lever, I'll have none.
So I pull in. Some friends come running over and they can't see anything wrong. So I ride down to the Advanced Kawasaki/West Coast GP Cycles/Track Daz pits, where I have a bunch of friends.
Andy (Sideshow Bob) looks at the lever. He twists the adjuster from 5 back to 1 - where I normally set it. "There's your problem," he says. Shit.
As best as I can tell, when I checked in for the race, I rested the bike against one of those yellow poles outside the office. I put the pole in between the handlebar and the brake lever. That pushes the lever out, and when it was off the little adjuster divot, I think the adjuster moved.
There are a million ways to lose a race, and I'm finding a lot of them.
Next day, things go OK. I felt like I was riding well, but the times weren't there. I was using a different front tire than before, and it really, really made a difference.
500 Mod Prod was OK, other than getting my front wheel sawed off by a newbie on a 250 Aprilia (some riding coaches say this kid 'Rides With God'; I just don't wanna be anywhere near him when he and his maker have a little chat.)
And BOTT Light was a bit of a snooze, as well, although I've gotta say I'm just enjoying riding the bike. Crappy start, like fifth or sixth into the first turn, around the outside of some folks in Turn Two, under Tony on his big KTM in Eight, and then spent the race chasing a guy on a Honda Hawk 650. I'll take second, a bit of contingency money, and a hefty trophy any day.
Lap times weren't there, although when I look at it, my best was only .5 seconds off the best times I've ever posted with those tires. There's more in the bike - and there's more in me. I've gotta be more disciplined in how I go about this. Being a racer, to me, really is becoming more about doing the absolute best I can.
So here's what happened.
I entered the Solo race at WSMC; it's the 20-lap, 50-mile race on Saturday afternoon. In my class there are three SV650s, a Honda CBR400RR and my SV500. My lap times are good enough for third, maybe second.
I get a good start and I'm second going into the back straight, then two of the SV650s hit the gas and they're gone. I'm in third - I've got one of the SV650s behind me still - and it's a little frustrating because I can make up gobs of time on them from Turn One through the Omega, but then we hit the straights and it's all over.
On the third lap, I go into Turn Five and I just brush the brakes there, enough to scrub off a bit of speed and transfer weight to the front end - and the lever pinches my fingers against the bar.
I shit.
I make it through OK. I try pumping the brakes on the back straight - they seem fine, but the lever is still coming way back further than I like - these brakes have always been a bit marginal in terms of lever travel.
I think, well, it's an endurance race, no big deal, I'll just nurse the brakes for another 16 laps, then I think, I just bled them, maybe I forgot to screw in a brake adjuster, and I'll go into one of these corners and instead of a soft lever, I'll have none.
So I pull in. Some friends come running over and they can't see anything wrong. So I ride down to the Advanced Kawasaki/West Coast GP Cycles/Track Daz pits, where I have a bunch of friends.
Andy (Sideshow Bob) looks at the lever. He twists the adjuster from 5 back to 1 - where I normally set it. "There's your problem," he says. Shit.
As best as I can tell, when I checked in for the race, I rested the bike against one of those yellow poles outside the office. I put the pole in between the handlebar and the brake lever. That pushes the lever out, and when it was off the little adjuster divot, I think the adjuster moved.
There are a million ways to lose a race, and I'm finding a lot of them.
Next day, things go OK. I felt like I was riding well, but the times weren't there. I was using a different front tire than before, and it really, really made a difference.
500 Mod Prod was OK, other than getting my front wheel sawed off by a newbie on a 250 Aprilia (some riding coaches say this kid 'Rides With God'; I just don't wanna be anywhere near him when he and his maker have a little chat.)
And BOTT Light was a bit of a snooze, as well, although I've gotta say I'm just enjoying riding the bike. Crappy start, like fifth or sixth into the first turn, around the outside of some folks in Turn Two, under Tony on his big KTM in Eight, and then spent the race chasing a guy on a Honda Hawk 650. I'll take second, a bit of contingency money, and a hefty trophy any day.
Lap times weren't there, although when I look at it, my best was only .5 seconds off the best times I've ever posted with those tires. There's more in the bike - and there's more in me. I've gotta be more disciplined in how I go about this. Being a racer, to me, really is becoming more about doing the absolute best I can.