#33 Catching Up on the Races

#33 Relaxing in his new garage watching the return of Super Cross

Social Distancing?

I have been watching the news like everyone else and learned the new catch phrase “social distancing”.  So I stopped and thought for a minute on what I may have to change to conform to this new norm.

It seems I won’t have to change much since I like to spend most of my time on the motorcycle of the day, dirt bike, street bike, race bike, off road bike or dual sport.  Great!!!  It seems I should ride more according to the news media and the general public.

I looked back at a few of the things that have been taking up my time while I am not at home on the couch watching the news telling me to stay inside or remain at safe ‘social distancing’ spaces.  It seems I am already an expert at this ‘social distancing’ thing by spending most of my time alone working on my bikes or riding them. Well there was a couple of things that could have been considered risky behavior. I went riding with a couple of buddies, but we each had our own bike and were never closer that six feet! Lol.  I also helped with a patio concrete pour, but that was really safe because I mostly stayed out of everyone’s way.  I don’t know what the hell I am doing in the construction world so the ‘social distancing’ thing worked out perfectly!

I guess I really need to become a bit more social when this is all over!

Go for a Ride! But keep your distance…………

#33

‘Live like someone left the gate open!’

2020 OTMX Kicks Off IN AZ

2020 OTMX is Underway!

The Oldtimer MX series kicked off at Canyon Raceway in Arizona and had a decent turn out with a lot of old faces (pun intended) and a few new ones. The weather was great, not too hot, not too cold, kinda like we were racing at Goldilocks place.

It was fun seeing people I had missed for quite some time and riding the track with others I had ridden with recently on trail rides. Great fun.

The track was a good layout but the drawback is the fact that when they have to water to control dust it becomes an ice skating rink. Nevertheless, the racing was good and I watched a few good battles.

Sierra OTMX rider Tay Gragg was the smartest and most consistent in his class (50 Exp) and took home the win. It may have had something to do with his new $1500 dollar front brake. Well, maybe it was the $400 motor mounts. But then again it could have been the $850 foot pegs. Naw, probably just his 50 cent earplugs he wears while he rides. Keeps him focused razor sharp! Lol!  He rode smart and let the others crash, break their bikes, get poor starts and took advantage of their mistakes.

Meanwhile Keven Stewart #359 of SOTMX fame did his best to inflict pain on the 60 Exp class. He was doing a pretty decent job most of the weekend. The operative word being “most”. Seems #359 sometimes is a bit inattentive when they tell everyone on the gate they are now in the ‘2^nd’ gate for safety purposes. The decision was made to split the gate because the 60 Masters and the 60 Experts were a bit too much to wedge through the first turn all at one time after trying it once. It seems none of those guys want to give an inch! So #359 is on the line getting ready for his moto and forgets to wait for the second gate drop! Away he goes with the 60 Masters. Gets a decent start and rides his butt off thinking the whole time, ‘man these guys are rolling, I can’t get by anyone’. After the moto he realizes his mistake and finds out he did in fact go on the wrong gate. I can only imagine the despair he must have felt that he may have thrown away the whole weekend.  His club rep rallied for him and got the Arizona Chapter to do an average score somewhat like when they bump a rider up in class. It worked out that he didn’t ruin the whole weekend and ended up with 2^nd overall. Kudos to the Arizona Chapter for not ruining someone’s weekend for a simple non malicious bonehead move. I think it just may have taught #359 a valuable lesson, attention to detail.

The second lesson is how you go about earning the Not So Coveted Fish Award! The Fish trophy, or Grand Geezer award as it has been labeled/named is an award that was started many years ago by a SOTMX member to be earned by the person that pulls the biggest bonehead move of the race weekend. Going off on the wrong gate certainly qualifies you for the Fish. In the event of more than one person doing less than stellar things in his or her racing endeavor then the Fish Council is convened and a vote decides who will be the recipient. It has on occasion gone to the Fish Council and been decided by popular opinion/votes. It then remains with the recipient until the next person commits an act at the races that qualifies as the new owner of the Fish! Congratulations Keven #359 Stewart you are the proud new bearer to start the 2020 season. I would be watching everyone else very closely at all the OTMX races if I were you in order to hand that sucker off as soon as possible! You know how bad Fish start to smell the longer you keep it. Just sayin’………………………….

The other race I was able to actually watch up close and personal was the 60 Master class. I (#33) was able to watch #64 wax that class from my front row seat, chasing him both days. Mark Kaestner #64 was head and shoulders the king of that class. Mark rode fast, smooth and never slowed down.

If you missed the opener you have about 5 weeks to get ready for the next one at Glen Helen. So quit messing around, you are getting older by the minute!!!

#33

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”

#33 Logs Another Milestone

"Don't Let the Old Man In" ...Keep Riding!

Hinson Clutch Installation...Perfection

I was recently fortunate enough to meet Robert McClure at Hinson clutch components Racing.  I had no idea of just how fortunate it would turn out to be. I got a tour of the production facility and an explanation of how things were manufactured from start to finish. However, most of it was way over my head and I could only marvel at how much time and effort it took to make these jewelry quality pieces of art they call clutches. I no longer wonder why high quality clutches are so expensive; you get what you pay for!

Robert has worked at Hinson Clutch for over 10 years now and it is obvious he has used his time well and has learned, developed and practiced his area of expertise to a level seldom seen anymore. I can’t say enough about his level of expertise and professionalism displayed during an install when things did not go cookie cutter perfect.

I am currently riding a 2018 Yamaha YZ 450f.  Great bike so far but not quite the power delivery I was looking for, even with the seemingly unlimited ignition and fuel mapping available by the WiFi system. My latest idea to reach my goal was a weighted Hinson momentum clutch basket. Enter Robert McClure of Hinson Clutch Components.

I met up with Robert at the Hinson facility and observed as he showed the way a clutch should be installed. Amazing as well as educational. I had rarely seen anyone do every aspect of their craft with such perfect precision and attention to detail. I was getting an education as well as a new part to try. Robert showed, explained and taught me as he worked. From the removal and reuse of some parts to the use and even the age and type of Loctite. Incredible!

Now the interesting part, what should have been a short, sweet and simple install for Robert turned into a trouble shooting episode. He installed the clutch in short order and refilled with oil to test the adjustment. When he started the bike something was not “perfect”. Meaning there was a noise that was out of character and he did not let it go unnoticed. I could hear something but believe most people would have ignored it and just run it as is. Not Robert, back apart it comes. He investigates and can find no obvious reason for the noise. So he reinstalls in case something was not seated and listens again. He still hears it. So apart it comes again.

I am thinking ok, this guy is going to get frustrated, mad or impatient and start throwing tools. I know I probably would, lol.  Not Robert, he starts disassembling and thinking it through.  He decides to swap out a part he thinks could be the culprit, with a part he took out of another bike that he knows functioned properly. He does, noise goes away and he starts chucking up and checking surfaces with a micrometer on the removed noisy part.  He discovers an imperfection in the basket itself and goes into his inventory and checks each one until he finds one that is PERFECT.  Impressive, because now he has had this thing on and off multiple times while troubleshooting and has wasted almost two hours of his time on my bike.

It was actually nice to see something not go perfectly for such a skilled person and see how to properly handle it.  I thought it was just me this stuff happened to. He was a Saint, as well as a perfectionist.

After putting some time on the newly installed Hinson Momentum Clutch I finally got the desired results I was looking for. My motor is more tractable, easier to ride and works better everywhere!  It improved the whole bike. Something I was unable to do with the unlimited WiFi mapping from the factory.

A big Thanks to Robert at Hinson for making my bike not only much cooler, but MUCH BETTER!

#33

‘Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors’