worst....weekend......ever....
0
its gonna be long. youve been warned.
arrive sat night...all is well
sun morning. get up and head to tech. while im waiting my turn i notice that the brake fluid is low "i should check my brakes when i get back" i think to myself. after tech i drive bike over to Dunlop. "hey steve.. how do these tires look?" i ask. "toast" he replies "how many races do you have?" "1" i tell him. "you should be OK". "fuck that" i think. ill change them.
i head back to the pits and put the bodywork back on to go down to contingency. after a long discussion about how im not getting my $$ im off.
back to the pits.
pull the wheels off and grab some take offs that steve has given theand take them down to get mounted and get some brake pads since i discover that mine are almost to the backing plate and have cracks in them.($60)
get my wheels and am putting my new pads in when i notice that the right brake line has apparently been rubbing on the tire and has worn through the plastic and the steel braid.
head down to get new lines. ($100?)
start assembling bike. i do everything except the right caliper line.(im trying to decide if i have time) now its race 2A and im in 4.
no time. i put racer tape, safety wire, and more racer tape around the "hole" in the line.
tire warmers on and go get dressed.
heading out for my race when it dawns on me that i dont have a grid position.
send amanda down to get it
go to start bike and......nothing.
keep pushing button and it fires. GO!!!
fly down to hot pit and get grid position at 40mph and get there just in time for sighting lap.
i go around. brake line situation still in my head. "tires feel funny". "somethings not right." "did i check my pressures? dunlop did them.. they should be OK"
i line up and get a decent start. 2nd into 1. guy checks out. tires feel funny. somethings not right.
lap 2. i miss a downshift into 1 and it lugs out of 2. Erasmo and Hobbs go by. FUCK! i knew it was coming.
head down. funny tires or not.
i hang with them. looking for a spot by Hobbs. Erasmo is there but inch by inch he pulls away. i gotta get by Hobbs. at least its 3rd.
a couple of laps tick off and we catch a backmarker. Erasmo gets by on the brakes into 3 but Hobbs cant do it. heres my chance. i brake late. stupid late. the rear hovers and hops into 3. i trail brake through the apex. Hobbs is following the backmarker. i pull in tight for the inside up the hill. i let go of the brakes when....TING!...BANG!... something goes by my head. :did i run over something?" i get off the bike for 4 and im wide open. i look down at the front wheel. the right caliper is dangling. i squeeze but nothing.
hand up
downshift
put around for my 2nd DNF ever
5 laps....DAMMIT!
whatever. im alive. i didnt crash. im glad it didnt come off before 3. apparently in my indecisiveness of whether or not i had enough time to change it i didnt safety wire OR tighten for that matter the caliper bolts
couldve been costly. the top bolt came out first. there is big grind marks on the inside of the caliper. then the bottom came out..flipped up and broke the fender mount off. (thats what flew by me). live and learn.
mon.
i/we stay overnight for TTD on monday. after spending the first 2-3 sessions bleeding my new lines that i got up at 630 to install. im done
im trying some new tires out. the G/F is doing well on the SV. she bumped up to yellow. a little bit of a sprinkle here and there kept it interesting.
2nd to last session of the day and i forgot to put warmers on and it was sprinkling a little harder. so i opt to take out "her" bike. im taking it pretty easy. i come through 11 and im noticing the 4 or 5 bumps much more on "hers" than mine.
i try going around them and inside of them but the bike wont cooperate. so i run over them.
the more i ride it the more i wonder "how the fuck did i ever do a 21.7 on this?" ( i rode a basically stock SV for the first 2 seasons)
i come into 11 and bumps...one..two...thr...whoa where did the front go?
i let go of the bike and watch it jump the curb. when i saw that i knew something would be broken. i slide hands up for home plate and catch the curb with my leading foot and pop to my feet and walk over to the bike.
pick it up
broken clip on and rearset. no biggie but cant fix it there so unfortunatly her day was over. my fault.
that was my weekend. pretty crappy and expensive.
a few good things. i had a blast at TTD even though he made fun of me all day.
i won a free trackday for the 28th
and this....my new personal best
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Originally Posted by SVRACER01
