Tangled

Thursday, June 29, 2006
  Radiator repairs
I removed the damaged radiator Tuesday (Jim talked me through a few of the more difficult aspects) and took it to the motorcycle radiator repair shop in Fontana. I wish I had taken before and after pictures. The radiator off the bike was more tweaked than it appeared on the bike.

I picked up the repaired radiator today. It looked fantastic, almost new. They had to repair a small leak at the base of the radiator and then they tested under pressure before returning it to me. They had great friendly service for a very reasonable price.

I think the fan blade will be here tomorrow. In anticipation, I decided to reinstall the radiator. I got as far as two bolts. I couldn't find the third so I'll have to pick one up from Hahm's in the morning. Some of the next few installation steps involve the use of a torque wrench. Since I don't know how to use a torque wrench, I'll need to wait for O. His plane gets in late tomorrow.

Undaunted, I decided to try and change the brake and clutch levers. I got the Pazzo levers today. They really look great. The guys on the SV1000 forum say it takes 5 minutes. After 5 minutes of reading the instructions and not clearly understanding them, I again decided that it would be best to wait for O.

Poor O. I've learned a lot about motorcycle repairs and maintenance in the last couple of years. But, I still don't know a lot about tools. I still have problems cracking bolts and I sometimes over-tighten or under-tighten bolts. I'm getting better bit by bit but I'm often concerned that I'll damage expensive parts by my lack of knowledge in this area. I'll keep trying because it really feels good to successfully perform maintenance on your own bike...kind of like picking and eating veggies that you grew yourself. :)
 
Saturday, June 17, 2006
  Helmet Maintenance Days
I always check the basics on my bike when I head out on a ride. Periodically, I perform maintenance on the bike as recommended by the manufacturer. The easy stuff, I can now do myself. With the harder stuff, I get help from friends and family as well as paid professionals. That being said, I periodically maintain my helmets as well.

I have a Scorpion Exo 700, an Arai Corsair and a Shoei RF 1000. All of the helmets have varying degrees of removable liners. Be careful when you remove the liners so that you don't accidentally detach something that shouldn't be detached. Yesterday, I pulled the liners out of all three helmets. They went into the washer with a mild detergent (like Woolite). I used the hand washable setting. After the liner pieces were washed, I laid them on table to air dry overnight. I would not advise putting them in the dryer.

I removed the shields from each helmet. I also pulled out the extra shields I have for each helmet. I checked each shield for cracks or damage. Then I cleaned each shield on both sides with Plexis and a soft cloth.

I wiped the inside of each helmet using a liquid spot remover and a towel. I paid particular attention to the fabric areas of the helmets that weren't removable. The outside of the helmets were cleaned using a soft cloth and Plexis. I checked the outer shells, helmet straps, cloth areas and foam for signs of wear or deterioration. I checked to make sure all the vents, breath guards, tabs, etc. were in good condition.

Today, I will reassemble everything and then pack each helmet back into their cases or bags. I will then store the helmets in the house or at least in the garage to avoid extreme temperatures. I perform full helmet maintenance every few months or so depending on use. After each ride, I will at least minimally check the helmet, wipe the interior and clean the exterior and shield without removing the liners.

I think some degree of helmet maintenance is important for safety reasons. Beyond safety, I prefer to put on a clean, fresh helmet each time I ride.
 
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
  Jacket Reviews
Since I purchased two new jackets lately, I thought I'd post a review. The first jacket is the Tour Master Cortech LRX Sport Women's Jacket in black:



I bought this jacket from a seller on eBay for a really reasonable price. This is the jacket I wore on last weekend's 400 mile Ojai trip. It comes with a liner that I foolishly forgot to bring since it was a bit cold at the beginning of the ride. In terms of fit, I'd give this jacket 8 out of 10 points. It fits better than most of the jackets I own and really does seem to be tailored for a woman in most respects. The sleeves were still too long but there were enough adjustments on them to compensate. The LRX jacket was very comfortable to wear on the ride.

Even with the liner, I think this jacket would not be warm enough for the winter though. But, it's great for the spring and fall. I will complain about the zipper though. The zipper frequently got caught in the too thin placket. Both the zipper and the plackets on the jacket could be improved

The other jacket is the Tour Master Cortech Breeze Women's Jacket:



I really don't have a lot to say about this jacket since I have not ridden in the jacket. I will note that the construction appears to be decent. Newenough has these on closeout for $61.50. The sleeves are even longer that those on the LRX jacket except the Breeze doesn't have sleeve adjustments. If I didn't know better, I would guess they just slapped a ladies label on the next smaller size mens jacket. The ladies Breeze does not seem to be tailored for a woman. I'll use this jacket this weekend and comment further later.
 
Saturday, June 03, 2006
  O's Accident

Yesterday. O, Jim and I went to a track day at the "Streets of Willow." It was Jim's first track day and we were very excited for him. O was also looking forward to the track day. Between France and his other obligations, he's had very little time for riding. I was going as the support person for both of the guys.

April and Jim came over Thursday night to load the bikes on the trailer. We grabbed a quick dinner after and then went to bed early. We left the house around 5:18 am and headed over to Hollywood to pick up Jim. We arrived at the track around 8 am....just enough time to pit,register and go through tech before the riders meeting.

O was in the Sport group and Jim was in the Street group. The Race group went first for a 20 minute session followed by the Sport and then the Street group. So, while O's group was out on the track, Jim's group was preparing to go next.

I told Jim I was going to try and shoot some pictures of O on the track. Our pit was near the end of the front straight so I looked to the right for O. I didn't see him and I thought that was unusual. I glanced to the left and noticed that a rider had gone down. Whoever he was, he was standing so I knew he was alright. His bike was located a short distance away from where he was standing. I looked closer and noticed that the rider's leathers looked like O's. That's when I realized that it was O. It's probably best that I did not see the crash. I saw the aftermath and at least knew immediately that my O was not too badly hurt.

I then snapped some pictures:


Here's some of the lone rider standing out there by himself and his bike:

























Here's Trackdaz Gil picking up O and his bike:















Coincidence....I crashed myself in almost the same spot last December. I went off-roading, abruptly stopped the bike and fell over. O was commenting that he crashed the opposite way....he sort of fell of the bike after hitting a rough patch in a turn and lowsided. Warmer tires might have enabled him to save the situation.

O's only injury is a small tear to his right thumb. Some how his thumbnail caught on something and was partially torn off. O looked at my hands after he got back to our pit area and warned me to make sure my nails were cut short for my next track day. This morning he was achy and sore, sort of all over and particularly in his lower left back.

You often hear riders say that the leathers did their job after a crash. It's true. O would have seriously hurt his back with out the leathers and their built in back protection:






















The leathers are going back to Z's for cleaning and repair.


The bike suffered some paint dings from rocks or gravel on the tank, a broken shift lever and a scraped clutch lever. Frame sliders helped, particularly the fork sliders I gave O for Valentine's Day that he just installed this week. They are called "Chewy's Track Day Crash Protectors." I got them from a guy who manufactures them in England. I really think they saved the forks on the bike:


















Here's a bit of an update. Chewy (Chris) is sending O free replacement crash protectors. I thought that was very nice of him. Here's a link in case anyone is interested:

http://www.chewys-stuff.co.uk/


Here's a picture of the tank damage. We were able to polish a lot of the scrapes away.

















O had a data recorder attached to his bike. Since he brought his laptop to the track, we were able to see all the details of the crash on the computer. The data acquisition program showed a picture of the track and O's path as he crashed. It also gave you angles, speeds, etc. Sounds strange to say, but it was pretty cool to be able to analyze the crash data.

We also liked the laptimer as well. Jim used it on his bike and it seemed to work fairly well.


I'm glad O was safe and I'm glad Jim had a good time. I'm sorry I did not get more pictures of Jim before we began having technical difficulties (the batteries in all of our equipment died).
 

Name:Cammie
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