Four Dudes, a vintage Honda Twin, and the 2012 Mexican 1000

[oregoncoast]

I knew that selling t -shirts was never going to pay for Outta Sight to get to Mexico...but I had hoped they would be done well before this. As mentioned earlier, I had a local artist with a true small-town screen printing shop working on the design. He ran into some trouble with some of his screens, and when I went there today, he was distressed and said that he was reworking the whole thing. He really wants it to be a great looking piece....and by great looking...we both mean outrageous 70's Rat-Fink funk!

He feels horrible but I am sticking by him because in the end, any money he can make from us will be helpful for his tiny business. Besides...I love his design...although based on my wife's reaction...I may be in the minority!!

Here's a sneaky spy-photo of what he's working on....

[Mr. Fisherman]

Sweet! can't wait to see your new tatoo!

[oregoncoast]

Of the four Outta Sight Racing riders that will be riding in Mexico, Paul Jr. (Kootenai Rider) lives the farthest away in Coeur d'alene, Idaho and therefore, he hasn't had much of an opportunity to work on the bike...much less actually ride it since we made the upgrades to the suspension and brakes. So, this weekend, the plan was to drive out to Juniper Dunes OHV area near the Tri-Cities in Washington. We took the SL there last year and it proved to be a great place to shake down the bike for the Desert 100 and Mexican 1000; some rocks, deep sand, and lots of whoops.

http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recr...php?siteid=270

Allan came along too. He is planning on riding his Yamaha WR250R along the route in Mexico to photograph the event, so it was a good idea for him to hone his sandy skills. Of course, he took a few photos. Rick had Bobcat issues on his property, so he could not make it.

We arrived at around 1 pm on Saturday after a nice long slab-haul in the Sprinter east on I-84. Jr. showed up shortly after. We mounted up our flags and hit the whoops. Luke's plan was to mess around with suspension settings trying to dial it in for each if us...in the end, it turns out that we were all pretty happy with the same setting, despite our different heights and weights.








Then the problems started.....





Let me back up a bit. A couple of weeks ago, Rick and I were riding up behind Lonnie's house when I heard a clunking sound. I assumed it was a rock hitting the skid plate, and thought nothing more of it. Then when I went to Sandlake, the clutch seemed to be out of adjustment, I was able to readjust it and ride the pee out of her that day without issue.

Cut back to Saturday: I noticed some oil in the skidplate saw it was leaking from the side of the motor. We pulled the side cover which houses the clutch adjustment mechanism and covers the counter sprocket. What I found, or more precisely, what we didn't find, was a bit concerning (no photos of course). The counter sprocket was missing its retainer and bolts - it was just sitting unattached to the spline. The clutch push rod also had some serious gouges in it and when pulled out, was markedly bent.





It was always a concern of mine that some issues may arise due to us extending the swingarm and adding more travel. Also having that longer chain and chain roller and guide were something we needed to keep our eye on, as they were really the big unknown. However, I think that the current issue (bent clutch rod allow oil to leak out) was caused by the CS bolts and retainer coming off and getting spun around under the cover. We later noticed some gouges in the case itself which really concerns me.

In my spares box, I had another CS retainer and bolts (and loctite) but I could not find my spare clutch rod...it was either in the parts motor or somewhere in Lonnie's shop. This was Saturday, so unless we found a replacement clutch rod, we were not going to be riding the bike any more this weekend, thus, wasting more than $200 worth of diesel roundtrip just to get there. Of course, local Honda dealers don't exactly stock that part!

Luke decided he could make one.

We called Rick and had him measure the length of a proper clutch rod and then we were off to ACE hardware for a 5/16th rod stock and then Harbor Freight for a $9.99 angle grinder, cut-off and grinding wheels, an extension cord and some clamps

Luke and Paul Jr. got to work on the Shilo balcony, and in about 5 minutes, Luke had a replacement rod ready to try out.















I took the bike around the parking lot with proper redneck ATGATT on and the bike seemed to working find. Very impressive. A good and proper Baja fix right there in eastern Washington!




The next morning we went back to Juniper and Luke and Jr. flogged the crap out of the old SL















I got to ride a real dirtbike, Jr.'s CRF450X.....wow, power and suspension...who'd a thunk it??




After awhile, I noticed some slight oil leaking. Back to the van, checked out the situation and discovered that although Luke's rod allowed the clutch to operate correctly, because the end wasn't machined with the proper dimple for the ball bearing on the clutch adjuster, it did not sit as it was designed to. Also, the other end which engages in the clutch basket was not exactly right, so the rod would spin which caused it to cut a groove and stretched out the seal a bit causing the leak. Luke filed on the rod a bit and I'm confident that if we had to race or ride it would have worked sufficiently to finish. But since we did not have to, I decided I'd rather just get a new rod, change the oil and install a new seal before beating on the bike again.

Frustrated but happy to have ridden what we could...and for discovering problems before we head to Mexico, we called it a day.



All in all, it was a great weekend, which allowed us all to get in some sandy whoop training, and for Jr. and Luke to really get a feel for the SL and how their riding style needs to be adjusted when dealing with a vintage ride.

[crazybrit]

Originally Posted by oregoncoast

Luke decided he could make one.

I feel a bit denied here. When i read this i was expecting to see Luke construct a lathe out of the contents of his pickup bed toolbox and bicycle pulled from a dumpster.

Still his ingenuity is (as ever) incredibly impressive

[LC Garage]

Still his ingenuity is (as ever) incredibly impressive [/QUOTE]

Amen, you guys made lemonade out of lemons, well done!

[Motomuffin]

[Mr. Fisherman]

Luke is my hero.... some more

[Motomuffin]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fisherman

Luke is my hero.... some more

me 2

[Luke]

Wow, I'm flattered. I can't imagine what you guys would be saying if that thing had worked for more than a couple of hours.

[oregoncoast]

Originally Posted by Luke

Wow, I'm flattered. I can't imagine what you guys would be saying if that thing had worked for more than a couple of hours.

Picked up a NOS clutch rod at the local Honda dealer. I love old small town motorcycle shops. Thank you Tillamook Honda!

I am thinking of having some machined up, because they are apparently made of platinum with a retail price of $46!

Ordered a new seal and a spoke set to re-lace the front wheel. The bike is still sitting in the Sprinter because we had 90 mph winds and then 4 inches of snow on Monday!

[oregoncoast]

Looks like we have inspired some madness in regards to racing a SL350 down in Baja

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=772809

Of course, that means the gauntlet has been dropped



hmm that looks familiar....XR forks.....extended swingarm...YSS shocks....


Since I'd rather not give Azcagiva any more research and development help (now I know how Giant Loop feels about Nomad..lol), I think I will start limiting any more details on improvements, fixes or solutions we have come up with when racing a 1972 Honda SL350 Twin in a Baja race, lest we give the competition anymore edge up then we already have Ok, maybe not.

But it looks like we actually have to race this sucker and not just finish!

Of course, he is an actual racer who has raced the Baja 1000 and placed well.....and we are...well, we're not that


I wish azcagiva and halffast a great race and a lot of fun!!

[HalfFast]

Originally Posted by
Since I'd rather not give Azcagiva any more research and development help (now I know how Giant Loop feels about Nomad..lol), I think I will start limiting any more details on improvements, fixes or solutions we have come up with when racing a 1972 Honda SL350 Twin in a Baja race, lest we give the competition anymore edge up then we already have :1drink Ok, maybe not.
[/SIZE

[/COLOR]

I guess we have to do our own R&D from this point on. .

[Treadless]

For years I've been told that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Although in racing I'm not so sure.

[oregoncoast]

Ok, for those who might want one, T-shirts are available for purchase, proceeds go directly to help offset fuel costs to help up make it to Cabo in May! Otherwise, it'll just be a funky shirt for us to wear around the pits in Mexicali.

As mentioned earlier, I have an acquaintance I've known for years who owns a small screen-printing shop design the shirt and he is now ready to start cranking them out. I'm proud to be supporting a small, local one-man shop.








These cell phone photos don't really show all the detail, but you get the idea. These were the first two shirts and the actual colors are being tweaked. These are truly one-off shirts and because his equipment is probably as old as me, they are painstakingly crafted by hand.



I had originally thought I would just print them all on black tees, but I asked him to do the second sample on a dark brown shirt and I must say that I almost like that one better. Either are available.



Our rider is a crazed dude, hell bent on making it down the Baja Peninsula!! There are some details in the shirts that I am sure some ADV'ers will appreciate once they see the shirt up close. The bike is acutally a cool metallic silver in all of its 70's glory

The artwork is on the front of the shirt, I will get better photos up tomorrow.


There has been a email and paypal account set up to handle any pre-orders. Any shirts ordered in the next few days will be made this week and shipped out. T-shirts will be $25 dollars plus shipping.

If you have sent me a pm in the past wanting a shirt, please send a quick note with quantity, color and sizes to the gmail account so I get an order together on Monday.

outtasightracing12@gmail.com

There are some hoodie sweatshirts available in black and brown as well, with those costing $40 plus shipping. Of course, tees and Sweatshirts in giant sizes (2XL, 3XL and 4XL, etc) will be $5 dollars more.

For those who are planning on going to the Desert 100 in Odessa and want a shirt, I will hand deliver them so you can save shipping costs. Every order gets a couple of fun Outta Sight Racing stickers thrown in.

PS Mr. Fisherman, I could probably find you a pocket tee if needed...

[Kootenai Rider]

Put me down for an XL Hoodie - Black. The brown looks better IMHO, so Brown XL for T-shirt.

Jr.