Ducparts10

Attention To Detail Can Make The Difference

Beginning any racing project requires patience, and good working habits. Oh how I could tell you some horror stories on this subject. Look around at the machines at the next race you attend, you'll be surprised as to the varying degree of workmanship and pride in such. There is no reason to race junk, whether its an old motocrosser or a road racer, take some pride in your machine. You don't want other competitors or spectators pointing and giggling at your bike, do you? Some sanctioning bodies have a number of rules pertaining to this, including AHRMA. During the time I was the Chief Tech Inspector with AHRMA, I had to turn away a number of machines, the reasons varied from "total rats"; machines that looked as though they'd come straight from their twenty year hiding place in the bay to the race track, to decent machines that were covered in road dirt and oil film, and of course those just plain illegal (not complying with the rules for a given class, as determined by the rule book). Machines are to be presented to Tech Inspection in a clean and suitable manner.
Anyway, there'd always be some sort of argument at tech, it never failed, there was always that one guy, be it at Daytona, or Sandhill Ranch during a national motocross, nobody seems to read the rulebook. One case in point occurred at Daytona some years ago when a young man submitted his Honda CB450 for inspection. The bike was tidy and suitable for the task ahead, though it was covered in road dirt and oil film, thus looked quite nasty. When asked about its present condition, the rider replied... "I race it a lot". Wrong! What a poor excuse. My immediate reply was... "The last race was Steamboat last September, its now March. I raced a lot last year too, and today I've brought three machines for two of us, mine aren't dirty, neither is that one, or that one...” He still hadn't figured it out. In the end we refused to pass the machine, instructing the rider to... "Go across the street to K-Mart, buy yourself a couple of cans of Foamy Gunk cleaner and a brush, then head for the do-it-yourself car wash down the street. If it’s clean and shinny on Monday morning, we'll pass it and you can race”. More arguments. “How bad do you want to race?” I asked. Monday a.m. the bike was again presented to Tech, this time in gleaming condition, and we commented on how nice it now looked. Hell, I've seen the AMA refuse a Superbike because the rear wheel was covered in chain lube.
Another incident comes to mind, one that would have an impact on a track we'd tried long and hard to get into on a regular basis. The CVRG had finally pulled it off, we'd race with the AMA at Laguna Seca during the National road races in August. Our eleven-race schedule was now complete and the best in the country, as our tracks would include: Sears Point, Riverside, Las Vegas, Willow Springs, Steamboat Springs, and now Laguna. Saturday was going just fine, no crashes, no oiling of the track, and a good entry list... plenty of 250s, 350s and 500s. Late in the day we're sitting there hanging out when an older gentleman approaches us and asks, "who's in charge of this vintage program?", before I could reply I was handed a list that included the numbers of three machines, and told quite bluntly, "I don't want this junk on my race track!" (blank stares from Fred Mork and I). Wow! That pretty much said it all, and was quite embarrassing to boot. The three were CVRG regulars, all suspect in their condition and appearance, though it wouldn't be until now that we'd finally have the horsepower in which to get these bikes cleaned up. All three riders were summoned to our hangout, then told the bad news... "Clean it up, or load it up". Of the three, two were cleaned up during the night, one even getting its fuel tank re-painted in the hotel parking lot. Weeks later one of these machines, a Kawasaki A1R, would arrive at our shops for a full ground-up restoration (though would never race again). The T100R Triumph would get a further tidying up and go on to win a number of races in both CVRG and AHRMA, while the lone DBD Goldstar would never race again after a catastrophic blow-up near seasons end.
I, nor the rulebook, require that the machine be up to concourse standards, but every effort should be made to build and present a nice looking machine, one you can be proud of. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to build a sharp looking and reliable racer either, but a bit of thought and patience will go a long way to make your race day more rewarding. Been to the historic car races lately? Notice the cars and their condition? There seems to be two categories, the concourse standard racers, and the others. The same applies to historic motorcycle racing. Which classification do you want to be in? Attention to detail is far more important that most people think, as it's these details that can make your machine stand out, both in appearance and performance. Not detail oriented? Many aren't, but it is something that you'll have to learn to do in order to build any racing machine. Again, it’s these details that set machines apart from others. Some of you have no doubt thought or said; "details cost time, I don't have time". Make time. Speaking of such... I've heard that excuse many times over the years, it’s a very poor excuse. As I've told my guys any number of times over the years, "if you want to go racing bad enough, you'll find/make the time, otherwise you don't want to race bad enough". The same applies to the "wife" excuse. Also, if your not sure about something, ask someone. Don't be the macho man and screw it up, you'll be surprised to find out how many people there are willing to help a fellow racer. In some cases this isn't true, as there are a few out there who feel that they shouldn't help "the competition". In general, if you’re not sure... ask, look it up, or think it out. One way or another you'll figure it out.
Getting back to the “details”, when building any machine, details make the difference. What do I mean? When rebuilding that front wheel assembly, someone always forgets the details, such as re-plating the brake linkage... or the axle spacers are rusty, and really should have been replaced with aluminum spacers. Another example may be you figured the fork seals were okay for the time being, that is until they began seeping fork oil down the back side of the fork leg(s) when en route to the track for the first time. Then there’s the... “I’ll paint it later” excuse. No excuses. Why assemble it without painting it? Your gone to the trouble to make things right, so why not complete the project? Details are just that, details. They come and many sizes and shapes, but in the end, it is these details, small or large, that can make or break the machine.