Not Daytona

Well, this past weekend was Daytona.  Special this year in that the TPL crew were back down there, helping out with Jake Zemke (who led at one point and then retired) and new AMA rider Jordan Imrie.  The press whined about the cold temps (not freezing, but still not ideal for fast laps) while up here in the Great White North I saw this out the front of the house.

Yep, winter is still here in March.  As Kate and anyone who will listen has heard a hundred times, on March 16, 2012, I rode the 636 to school.  Granted, I don't have a streetbike anymore, but this is a bit much.

With not much to do on the bike (while I still have some tweaks in order, they can wait until warmer weather) I set about working on some shop items.  With the new rear shock, there is a likelihood I will need to play with the ride height.  Obviously the rear end needs to be suspended, but not by a typical swingarm lift.  And with the Arrow exhaust (and most under-engine systems for that matter) the task of jacking up the rear necessitates removing part of the exhaust system.  A simpler and easier solution involved some 1" square tubing from Canadian Tire, and a section of leftover 1 1/4" tubing.  The round stock is 4130, but it was an off-cut, so I didn't feel too badly about using it on this project.

This is what the end result looks like.  I ended up using the mig welder as the gas welder was at the high school for work on the Cafe Racer project.  I was out of practice, so the welds are not my best.  And just using unshielded wire meant a lot of spatter.  However, they will hold.  When it gets warmer I will paint them to prevent rust.

They fit over the solid Woodcraft pegs, and match the height of the rear wheel up on the stand.  So, after sliding them on the pegs and removing the stand, hey presto!, you have got the rear end elevated, independent from a swingarm stand.  The front wheel is still kept in the front end lock stand (a cheap copy of the baxtley stand) for extra security.  If someone was swapping out shocks, changing a spring, or adjusting ride height, this is the ticket.  It will join me at the track while I get the shock set to my liking.  Total cost, $30 in materials, plus a couple of hours in the garage.