track days A word of warning....

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Copperslip Cowboy
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Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 5:17 am
Location: Lancs. UK.

track days A word of warning....

Post by Copperslip Cowboy »

Hi All,
After my recent off at Oulton Park, I've been checking things over,
and with suspension problems in mind I took the bike back to Kais,
to let them check the bike's set up.
In short, they had been scratching their heads as well, untill they checked
it that is... Front rebound damping 1 off max, they set it up at 5 clicks
less. 5 CLICKS LESS.
I have since checked my paperwork, I usually record any suspension
settings changes. I had gone from Kais's original 6 from max, to 5 from
max.

Why was it one from max.........

The previous track day to Oulton had been a two day event at Croft. I
had been having a bit of a dice with a scottish lad on a trick GSX R,
he had mentioned at dinnertime that his bike was not quite "right".
In the afternoon, he was a lot faster, so I went and asked him what
he had done to his bike. He said he'd checked his bike over and found the
front preloads were three rings different between his forks.....
From what I'd seen of him, his bike, and his garage set up, this was
no idiot, and not a man to make such an error.......
He was suspicious, thinking someone had altered his settings the
previous night, when the bike was unattended in the pit garage.
Did my bike have a few "alterations" done as well.
I really hate to think so, but, in future I will check my own bike's
settings each trackday morning, just in case they have "altered"
overnight....I'll also get a static feel for them, once Kais showed me
the difference, it was unmissable....

Lesson learned.
As I said, I really hate to think that my settings were changed,
beware there are some really sad, and bloody dangerous people
out there.

Yours Slip.

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djalbin
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Good advice

Post by djalbin »

Slip,
Two bikes with the same tampering is not coincidence. Someone is sabotaging your bikes. Good advice to check your bike in the morning even if you checked it the night before. You may want to pass the word around the paddock to tip off the other riders. If it happened to two of you it may be happening to others. At least the other riders will be aware of it and know to look out for it. Maybe the guilty person will stop doing it once the word gets around to them.
Motorcycles do not change their own fork settings in the middle of the night. They may get up in the middle of the night for an oil leak but they do not change their fork settings.

Don

jjs777
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Post by jjs777 »

heck that is scary just thinking about someone tampering with your bike

definitely something to watch out for

geez I really hope its not true but like you said...how could you not remember changing the setting that drastically

steveyracer98
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Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2005 5:17 pm
Location: Just left and past Uranus

Post by steveyracer98 »

Doubtful that it is tampering.

Many cases of adjusters readjusting themselves out on track, in transport....

Can sometimes readjust during use...can also "be" adjusted during transportation or occasional things brushing against them, or the internals settling.

I wouldn't call it tampering, but I would check them every so often now and again.

You will be surprised that they sometimes actually do move on their own....
SR - WSMC 98
TrackDaz.com, Dunlop, Ferodo, Pit Bull Stands, Fluid Suspension, Motorex, Catalyst Composite

Nbot
Help!!! I need a LIFE!!!
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Joined: Wed Dec 10, 2003 2:00 am

Post by Nbot »

slip...I know its off topic, but you've got one of the slickest FZR's I've ever seen....
Can anyone give me advice on how to create a sig? I can't for the life of me figure out how to do one.
~94 Fizzer Thou

Copperslip Cowboy
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Posts: 251
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 5:17 am
Location: Lancs. UK.

Post by Copperslip Cowboy »

Hi All,
Thanks Nbot, appreciated, errr, but it's a YZF.....
Re Sigs. ask hooligan he is a very helpful chappy...
Also he has an FZR..
Steveracer, I really hope your right, I'd like to beleive
that as well, either way, the lesson is, as you say,
"check your settings regularly"
yours Slip.

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