Team "Dallas Honda" starts the 2013 Modern Classic Endurance season at MSR Houston
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, 02-27-2013 at 09:17 PM (12526 Views)
Team Dallas Honda competed in our first CMRA endurance race of the season at Motor Sport Ranch Houston.
We organized the team near the end of last season and committed to race the entire 2013 endurance season.
Team members include Nick Chapman who has returned to CMRA racing after many years away, Daisy"Rainbow Sox" DeSimone in her 3rd year racing CMRA, Larry Wise in his 2nd CMRA year, and myself, Bill "Old & Slow" Klindworth.
We are pleased to see seven Modern Classic teams competing this season! There are some very talented racers on those teams so it looks like it will be a very challenging and exciting season for us! We are proud to be a part of it.
For the MSRH Endurance Race Nick took the starting stint (he loves to start) and took the Dallas Honda bike out, hitting it hard right from the start with help from the CMRA's new 'Starting Light System'. We thought we were off to a great race but after two laps he pitted & said we had brake problems. While looking at the brakes my gloved hand touched the rotor & started smoking ! I said "Yep we have a problem!!!" and a few other things....
We found the caliper pistons would not retract fully with new pads & resolved the problem by using a set of used, good condition pads from our backup brake calipers. Nick took the bike back out it again. The brakes were working much better and improving every lap as the pads bedded in. The brake fix allowed us to complete the race without any further mechanical problems. We wondered why the problem did not show itself in the 30 minute morning practice. It was probably because we were not pushing the bike that hard. The calipers will be getting a fresh overhaul before the TWS race.
All in all, the mechanical cost us about 12 minutes - a costly mistake but that's part of what makes endurance racing challenging. It was a good learning experience. Seems every endurance race I learn something to make it better next race.
We were fortunate to finish the race 4th in MCE with no crashes and everyone in good health.
All this would not have been possible without the help of Al Lamb at Dallas Honda, David Hirsch at Island Racing & Michelin tires, Roger Albert at On Road Off Road Cycles, GPR, Lockhart Phillips, Silkolene Lubricants, EBC Brakes, Nick's Custom Detailing, and Motomassage.com .
We thank each and every one of you for your help and support this season!
Looking forward to TWS !