I have gotten massively frustrated with rattle can paint on the bike.  It can be done and done well, but I am out of patience and plan to take the bodywork to a shop recommended by a friend for professional paint.  It will be whatever the darkest blue they have is.  I'll do the paint for number plates, since I'm certainly capable of doing a decent paint job.  I have done it in the past, but I don't have proper respirators, the fuel resistant clear coat I found is extremely toxic, and I don't feel like doing something really dumb to save a few dollars and have a decent looking, fuel resistant bike.  The costs for rattle can paint start to add up to the same price as a professional paint job fairly quickly anyway.  The plastic and tank have all been repaired, so all the shop has to do is scuff it, do the final filler to make sure there are no residual pits or scratches in the substrate, and shoot it.  They can use fuel resistant paint in one shot, eliminating the need for clearcoats and any other messing around.  It won't be quite as nice as a clearcoated paint job, but considering what the bike is intended for, it doesn't matter too much.  I'll get a nicer job on the ceremonial plastic I plan to save for display purposes.  That way, I'll always have a good looking set to put on the bike for shows and the like, no matter what happens to the plastic use on the track.  The idea is to make sure the bike has the chance of being shown as much as possible, along with all of my sponsors' logos.  I have to do something to make sure all of them get something for their support this season, since I'm still not sure how much racing I'll be able to do.

The Husqvarna magneto is STILL hung up in customs.  What an amazing saga this whole winter is turning out to be!  Good thing it's spring.  Things always get better when the sun starts to come out and the daffodils bloom.

The brake calipers are back together again, and the bodywork is in primer.  It doesn't look too bad, and filling the dents in the tank turned out better than it had any right to.  It's flat gray primer for the time being, so it may not look quite as good once it's shiny, but it's better than it was by light years.  The white background for number plates is started, but I'm not completely happy with the way it covered or the texture, so I may do some more sanding and redo it.  More sanding means smoother, so it will look better.  It's a theory, anyway.

Once the bodywork is done, it will be time to finish the front end of the bike, get all the dust cleaned off of everything, and then put on the bodywork.  Round 1 is coming up, and my intention is to have the bike ready to go whether I can race or not.  I'll be taking it to the track with me as long as it's ridable.  If the first round includes the traditional snow, hail, and a downpour, I'll do technical inspection duties and then just hang out at the track.  I probably won't even unload much of anything.  Maybe the canopy and a couple chairs, but I don't see the point in spending the money for rain tires so I can freeze my tail off and risk a crash which would end the season immediately due to the cost of rebuilding anything at all.  When I start landing clients or find other work, it's a different story, but for now, caution is the unfortunate and uncomfortable order of the day.

I finally got the chain sorted out and squared away.  I was beginning to doubt my competence.  The brakes are completely apart now and soaking in Simple Green.  I thought the Gixxer's brakes were a mess when I got them apart, but these are worse by a whole lot.  The pistons had rust inside and were scored on the outside.  The rubber was OK, but it's out now anyway.  There was crud UNDER the rubber on the outer seal.  I don't know how it got there, but it can't be good.  The calipers were clean outside, so somebody cared, but once they were pulled apart, it was pretty obvious the inner parts hadn't been cleaned in a very, very long time.  Everything was baked on and will take a good soaking and a good scrubbing to get as clean as they should be.  The pins looke a bit worn, so it's only a matter of time before I replace both front calipers.

I also pulled off the old front fairing stay.  It was pretty well twisted up from my one crash on this bike last year.  It's going to be a challenge to find a way to mount the choke so it's easy to use, but really, once the bike is started, it doesn't matter much for the rest of the day.  So it takes three hands to use the choke and start the bike.  It takes about eight hands to deal with all the spacers, the chain, the brake caliper and the rear wheel.  I probably should pull off the rear caliper as long as I'm doing all this, since it will get a new brake line anyway.

With the front of the bike disassembled, I cleaned the headstock which didn't look too bad.  It wasn't the same kind of mess the swingarm was.  Next cleaning stop will be under the airbox.  Then it's time to refinish the bodywork and put it all back together.  I have a goal- get it ready for the first round in April.  I may or may not race, but I would sure like to be ready to race.

The magneto is hung up in customs.  It is waiting on some kind of Italian paperwork about what kinds of materials it's made of.  What a pain in the neck!  The brake rebuild kit is in, so I'm going to pick it up today.  I found out how the Regina chain's riveted link is supposed to work, but now it's all screwed up and I'll be buying another chain.  Chains are also hung up in customs.  I guess this is one way to encourage domestic manufacturing by making it such a hassle to get anything into the country.  It never ceases to surprise me what else can happen.  It is probably a reaction to the melamine and lead problems in certain imports from China, but like everything else, it suffers from the laws of unintended consequences.

Last night was a coordination meeting for WMRRA's volunteer technical inspectors.  I'm looking forward to it, since it's going to be a learning experience and a way to keep involved even if money is too tight to race much.  I'm sure there will be work sooner rather than later, and I will be kicking myself if I can't race this season.  The grids are likely to be pretty thin, especially early in the season, meaning I would be able to get some points before the real fast guys start coming out with the sunshine.

So, now I'm going to pick up the front brake rebuild kits from Aurora Suzuki.  Once the brakes are completely clean, rebuilt, and have new lines, they should work even better than before.  Then it's just a matter of reassembling everything, prepping the bodywork, and making sure everything is put together properly and adjusted.  I'm looking forward to riding this season!

The big news for me today was ordering brake rebuild kits at Aurora Suzuki.  They told me it would take about a week for the parts to come in.  I had expected two weeks, so I am pretty happy.  The economy is tough on them, and I really like the shop.  I had a long chat with Randy McAllister, the owner, and he's got concerns regarding future land use issues on top of everything else.  Nothing is ever easy for anybody, so we all have to stick together as motorcyclists and enthusiasts.

A racing friend was at a trade group meeting this morning and gave me a tip on where I might be able to get my bike painted for a whole lot less than I had expected.  I might actually be able to get my bike painted professionally after all.  Having fought the rattle can mess for a few years, the thought of professional paint makes me pretty happy.  I'll probably have to do the prep work, but having it sprayed out by somebody who knows what he's doing will make a big difference.

As a final note today, I'm in the process of writing business plans and getting the start of a company together.  Instead of finding one job, like a sane person would do, I'm seriously considering trying to find a bunch of jobs.  Smart?  Probably not.  But being smart limits your fun and your opportunites sometimes.  Pathological optimism is far more productive for me, and, once I have a company logo, I can advertize on my bike.  Beats me how motorcycle racing has anything to do with construction management, but there's got to be a link somewhere.

New brake lines arrived, as did a new chain and sprockets for the SV.  Still no sign of a magneto which will work for the Husqvarna, so I'm likely to miss the entire indoor flattrack season this year.  It's probably just as well for money reasons.  I like the Husqvarna, but road racing is what I really like best.  The chain has been a royal pain to get sorted, since Regina doesn't seem to make any kind of rivet type master link for the one I bought.  It makes no sense, and if I can't get a master link, I'll use the chain on the Husqvarna and just buy another chain.

Next on the list of maintenance items for the SV is rebuilt calipers at the front end.  If the bike were a dirt bike, I would rebuild the rear caliper, too, but as long as the rear brake works when called upon, it's not high on my list of priorities for the road racing bike.

As the economy continues to slow down, I really wonder how much racing I'm going to be able to do this season.  The three endurance rounds are a given, as far as I'm concerned.  I'm committed to those three rounds no matter what.  Other rounds may see me doing tech inspections and corner working.  The second WMRRA round is already victim of a scheduling conflict, and the first round always requires rain tires or even snow tires.  Considering work prospects, I would rather skip the rain tires for the time being.  The endurance rounds are in Spokane and Portland.  The early round is in Spokane, so it's likely to be cold but dry.  Later in the summer, Portland is more likely to stay dry, making tires less of an issue.  The SV's current tires have plenty of life left in them, once scrubbed back in, so they are likely to stay on the bike until mid-summer.  Once they are toasted, the bike will get new Bridgestones.  Bridgestone makes BT003s for the front, but SV racers on Bridgestones use BT090s on the rear, since BT003s are not available in 160 sizes.  No matter, since I probably won't be using all the tire's capability anyway.