Shop happenings and near disasters.

I know it has been another good bit since I last updated the blog. That's what starting a new job and life means to the hobby. I have been able to get out on the bike once since I moved here and it was great. I was gearing up for another weekend ride last week when I noticed that my FZ's tires were showing cords. Off to the internet I went in search of some new shoes for the old girl. While I was there, I threw a few others things in the online shopping cart. Follow along as I talk about what has been happening this past week.

The brown truck Santa Claus dropped these off while I was eating lunch. Revzilla never ceases to amaze me with their fast customer service and delivery times. The old Dunlop Q3's on the FZ lasted 3600 miles. The oil change interval on the FZ is 4000 miles. I suppose that is the price you pay for super sticky street/track day traction. Dunlop just released a new version called the Q3+ that is supposed to have the same traction, but longer life. I will give those a try on my next set. I set to getting the old tires off and wrestling the new tires on. This is my 4th time doing manual tire changes at home. While it has gotten easier, it still isn't easy.  The old tires came off easily enough with only a moderate amount of swearing and sweat.

The rear tire went back on easily enough, but the front fought me for about 2 hours before I had enough and went to a nearby shop to have them get the tire on the rim. For $10 I was back on track. I put the rear tire on the balance stand. Since I was able to line up the Dunlop yellow dot with the valve stem I didn't have to add any weight. The front tire was so tight to the rim that I couldn't aline up the dot to the stem after the getting the tire onto the rim. I stuck the front assembly in the balance stand and found that it was moderately well balanced. I decided to run with no weights. I figure the life of the tires is so short there isn't much sense in adding weights. Time will tell if this was the right call.

All was not roses and ice cream. In the process of getting the rear tire and wheel back on the bike, I ended up knocking the bike off the front stand and almost over onto its side and into the Ninja. My good wife answered my cries of desperation and helped me to get everything back on an even keel averting a crisis that would potentially have had me light both bikes on fire and walk away in slow motion as they explode. I scratched the fork legs and have a couple of small scratches on the front fairing between the headlights. I will call them battle scars to remind me to go a bit slower and to think things through a bit more. I am also determined to get some better tools to help with tire changes. The two tire irons approach works, but I need to be smarter so I don't have to work harder.

I also got some work done to the Ninja. I pulled all the body work to tuck some wiring away from removing the front fairing. I also tried to find a way to eliminate the key switch. The key switch idea didn't work so that will have to wait for another day. I also redid some safety wiring and checked the torque of a few key fasteners. I will go over the bike again before the next track day. I want to get out to the kart track to test and tune everything before getting to Chuckwalla Valley Raceway for a trackday. If I have the courage I may even try the New Racers School and get my race license for the CVMA 2017-2018 race season.

A problem I discovered at Buttonwillow with the race bike was brake fade. As the day wore on, my brakes got softer and weaker. The picture of the front brake disc shows some discoloration due to overheating. I have been using regular cheapo brake fluid and EBC sintered pads on the bike since buying it. There are not many options for better pads. Vesrah makes some race pads for this year of Ninja 250. I still need to do more research, but in the meantime I will change out the brake fluid with some race specific fluid that has a higher temperature capability than the cheap stuff I was using. I will provide some updates after my first big track day to see if the $28 bottle was worth it. Changing out the fluid was as easy as sucking up most of the old fluid from the front and rear master cylinders before refilling them with the new fluid. I then pumped and bled the brakes a few times to get any old fluid out of the lines and calipers. The brakes did feel a little more firm and the fluid looked a bit thicker and more viscous. I have high hopes for better feel coming off the high speed straights.

After struggling with the tires I wanted to get out and see how they felt. I looked at my map and planned a quick test route that had a mix of open and fast blended with tight and technical. I found a few great roads and got one surprise. Just around the corner from this picture the pavement ends. No warning or heads up, just a dirt road on the side of the mountain. I debated powering through as it is only 5 miles to the main road I was aiming for, but my better judgement came through and I turned around. I'm glad I did as I found a better road that I will be riding again soon. There are some great mountains to the east of me and many of the roads have names with "canyon" in them. I can't wait to get out and see more.

I am working to get back to regular updates. I thank you good readers for your patience I as do so. Come on back by for more updates on a regular basis as things are starting to settle in my life. Many new roads await and more opportunities abound for My Motorbike Obsessions. Thanks!

Blue