Pregled posta

Marketing

It is a long story, but an exciting one. It is 1977 and the last race of the first season of my racing this motorcycle and my clutch is slipping. Even street bikes are passing me in practice and I had finished last in the heat race. "you clutch springs have shrunk" It took me a while to buy into that one, and after measuring a spare against the ones in the bike and they were around 3/16 of an inch shorter. The same thickness as the round locking nut that goes on a valve stem. It took me a while to find six among the racers pitted in the infield.
Working in the grass I managed to lose one of the cups that hold the springs. So I gave up.
Reuben McMueter had just won the Open Production race and told me to go out, and if it still slipped then come back in. I jumped down from the roof of my van and got ready. I managed to be at the back of the grid in time for the start. It was an extremely hot day for late September. The green flag dropped and I pushed the bike to life after a thirty yard sprint. I overtook another bike on the first lap, but he came around again as we started the second lap. Dead last and I decided to come in after this lap.
As I came out of turn four and headed into the carousel a heavy down pour rolled across the track. The rain was so hard that it was difficult to see only a few yards ahead. Their were thirty five bikes in the field, and I went looking for some one to ride with hoping that between two or three of us we could find our way around.
After four laps the race leader came past at some speed on the front straight. I turned it up and followed. I soon recognized it to be Morrison on his new H model. He still had treaded tires like me. For three laps I followed. When we got the crossed flags I closed up and showed him my front wheel as we exited the carousel. He wiggled as he pulled away. I raced a five speed against the 6 speeds of the Yamahas at the Ledges, and this time when I asked the bike to go fast it did, as the air intake to cool the clutch was now funneling a stream of water on to the plates and springs. At the end of the back straight I was closing so quickly that we both ended up at the same point in the high speed turn called the kink. His leg grazed my fairing. He pulled away back tire spinning. I now began to challenge him in every corner. The rain was slowing down and we were going faster. On the straights he went for every puddle of standing water he could ride through. He exploded them, and I had difficulty staying beside him or following him into a turn whenever he did this.
It came down to the last lap and on the final turn he nearly went off the track as I came under and passed him down the front straight. The flag man had the checkered out, then the white and then the checkered as I had unlapped myself and taken 2nd place. We had managed to lap the entire field in our fun in the rain.
Morrison did not think it was fun.
The photo was by the track photographer.

1: GASKET SET
16323-001 $20.24
2: FLOAT SET
16984-001 $36.38
3: CHAMBER SET, FLOAT
17320-001 $84.13
4: SCREW SET A
17534-001 $12.47
5: LINK SET
17651-001 $31.75
6: DISCONTINUED 17749-001 $13.91
7: DIAPHRAGM SET, PUMP 17876-001 $59.87
8: CHAMBER SET,FLOAT
18757-001 $72.36
9: JOINT SET, FUEL 18216-001 $21.05
10: JOINT SET, FUEL
18275-001 $26.60
11: SCREW SET
(B) 18356-001 $24.62
12: SCREW SET C
18414-001 $13.15
13: TUBE SET A, FUEL 18560-001 $7.92
14: PLATE SET, VALVE
,A ,AC 18645-001 $17.11
15: DISCONTINUED 18667-001 $23.47
16: TUBE SET B, FUEL 18704-001 $5.48
17: VALVE SET, STARTER
18849-001 $38.76
17: VALVE SET, STARTER
18859-001 $38.76
18: VALVE SET, AIR CUT
18915-001 $74.91
19: SPRING 19014-001 $9.69
20: SPRING
19085-001 $4.58
21: SPRING
19095-001 $3.60
22: SPRING
19098-001 $5.27
23: SCREW, PAN (6X12)
(6X12) 19186-001 $2.09
24: SCREW, PAN (4X8)
19204-001 $2.09
25: CARBURETOR ASSY.
Area Code A 20138-001 $700.53
25: DISCONTINUED 20140-001 $524.53
26: CARBURETOR ASSY., R.
Area Code A 20991-001 $324.16
26: DISCONTINUED 20992-001 $313.44
27: DISCONTINUED 21448-001 $329.53
27: DISCONTINUED 21449-001 $322.44
28: TOP
22071-001 $24.95
29: DISCONTINUED 22274-001 $73.22
30: LEVER, STARTER
22478-001 $13.60
31: LEVER, STARTER
22493-001 $8.62
32: ROD, STARTER
22955-001 $11.91
33: VALVE, FLOAT
,A AC 23126-001 $26.49
34: HOLDER, NEEDLE JET
23397-001 $23.81
35: BINDER
,A AC 23824-001 $8.22
36: BINDER
Area Code AC 23842-001 $7.67
37: CLIP, PLATE
,A 29067-001 $2.25
38: TUBE, AIR VENT
24293-001 $3.76
39: TUBE
Area Code AC 24486-001 $5.71
40: JOINT, VACUUM TUBE
(A) ,AC 29113-001 $12.51
41: JOINT (THREE-WAY)
77221-001 $7.20
42: SCREW, PAN (4X8)
(4X8) 47125-001 $0.38
43: SCREW, PAN (5X10)
(5X10) 47228-001 $0.40
44: SCREW-WASHER (4X10)
(4X10) 47972-001 $0.53
45: SCREW-WASHER (4X12)
(4X12) 47974-001 $0.29
46: SCREW-WASHER (4X12)
(4X12) 47977-001 $0.29
47: CLIP, TUBE (B7)
(B7) ,A 50428-001 $0.67
48: CLIP, TUBE (B8)
(B8) ,AC 50430-001 $0.67
49: CLIP, TUBE (B6.5)
(B6.5) 50441-001 $0.67
50: BULK HOSE (3.5X8000)
(3.5X8000) (3.5X110),A AC 51090-001 $43.50
51: BULK HOSE (4.5X8000) 52309-001 $80.92
53: JET (#112)
(#112) 55545-001 $6.27
54: JET, SLOW (#35)
(#35) 55951-001 $17.91