Hey, it's my turn -- you guys are talking about my bike, so maybe I should
add a nickle's worth.
Last year's World Finals hassle in inspection was indeed a rear-height
problem. I had a non-factory tailsection on the scooter and it measured 38"
off the ground. A bunch of turns out of the rear shock preload adjuster
took care of that -- but, in retrospect, I should taken some of the damping
out of the shock, too. Headshake around 170 is exciting -- it turned out
that the shock was "pumping down" on each bump and not coming back up, so a
couple of miles down the course I'd be riding on the stops -- no movement
left in the shock. All fixed now -- handled fine at 190+. The Toy bodywork
is low enough to pass inspection.
Then there's the sidewind issue -- see my earlier comments about heading for
the cones and the timing lights at EL Mirage last November while riding
through the strong cross-wind from the right rear. At Maxton last month
both Scott Guthrie and I were tossed right-to-left by winds of less than 10
mph from the side. Anybody got new shorts for us? With the bike as tall as
it is I'd be hesitant to add much more surface area to the sides fearing
major handling troubles. Maybe on a low-built streamliner, maybe -- but I'm
not going to get in the rules meeting and ask for allowance for more rear
wheel enclositude in the partial streamliner class. Going down the long
course at Warp 4++ with the bike tilted 10 or 20 degrees to one side (to
compensate for the wind) is more excitement than I need.
Jon and Nancy Wennerberg
Seldom Seen Slim Land Speed Racing
#436 Marquette, Michigan #1478
(that's way up North)
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