"IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS'
I guess in racing, as in life, it can often be the 'little things' that sneak up and cause problems. A good example is when I was riding in the Alligator National enduro earlier this year. I had loosened my left hand rear brake lever to rotate it out of the way for something, I don't remember what.
I was sure I had remembered to tighten it, but NOPE, I did not. The result was about half way through section #2 the lever started falling down out of reach because the clamp bolts vibrated loose. I stopped a couple of times to finger tighten them but the tool to tighten was in my camel back which meant stopping and stripping out of a lot of gear to get to it. I just struggled on, distracted by the loose brake lever, stopping when necessary to finger tighten again when it got so loose I couldn't find the brake lever. This slowed down an already slow rider! Imagine the surprise of the guys who were enjoying watching the race from the back of their pick up when I pulled over and asked if anyone had an 8mm wrench or a pair of pliers handy! My fault for lack of proper bike prep prior to the race.
Modifying and updating a 20 year old KDX to be competitive with modern bikes opens the door for even more "little things". I have KX250 forks from the time when Kawi ran the brake line under the fork instead of wrapping it behind the lower fork tube as on "modern" bikes (and a stock KDX too!). To solve the problem of how to attach the KDX brake line to the fork guard I've fabricated a plastic tab riveted to the fork guard. It worked sorta, but has failed me twice now so I recently fabricated a new bracket out of aluminum stock that will hopefully be a little more durable.
- Bracket 2.PNG (605.25 KiB) Viewed 32007 times
Another "little thing" popped up yesterday while I was doing some bike work. I have a left hand rear brake set up. Lately I've noticed I am loosing brake fluid in the master cylinder. It's a very small leak and hasn't affected the rear brake yet, but just another distraction on the trail when I should be giving the ruts, roots, rocks and trees my full attention! Yesterday I noted through the site window the fluid was low again. (I've never found the source of the leak.) When I took off the cap to fill the cylinder, this is what I saw:
- LHFB master cyl..jpg (99.16 KiB) Viewed 32007 times
See that little gap between the gasket and the edge? I wonder if that is another "little thing"? Dunno' but I paid more attention to seating the seal this time before tightening down the cap for sure!
So....the next event on the NEPG National Enduro schedule is June 9, the 53rd running of the Cherokee Enduro in Greensboro, GA.
Y'all comon' down and let's show off some green machines!!!
Old Guy Racin'
