Tag: honda

Track Days Will Never Be The Same

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

We all know that change is always right around the corner, there are far too many variables in life to know exactly what is going to happen.  That’s the joy in it.  As the track season has begun this year so has the burden of owning a trailer that is large enough to haul more than just your own bike.   When two of my friends and I bought a 20′ trailer, we only planned on carrying our 3 bikes, all of our stuff, and maybe 1 extra bike.

The only problem has been that over the past two years of owning this trailer, more and more people seem to need a ride to the track.   Well this just makes it more of a hassle for us to get everyone’s stuff and make sure everyone has all they need.  Not to mention hotel rooms get a little crowded at 6 people.

So, we finally decided to sell the big trailer and it just so happened that my brother-in-law was looking for one to carry around a 1966 Nova he is restoring.  So, this past weekend, I drove to Skaneateles, New York to deliver his new to him trailer.   In case you have never been there, it is in the country and so when I sent this picture to my buddies, their response was, “Wow, you really did take her to a farm upstate.  Looks like she’ll have plenty of room to run around.”

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Now that the trailer is gone and the next track day is only 2 weeks away, we are all trying to figure out the best way for us to get there.   So it looks like we’ll be back to the car caravan where everyone tows their own bike and we all have hours of fun on the CB’s.

Here at EXAIR change is happening every day.   We are constantly improving processes, designing new products, or figuring out ways to get information to and from our customers faster and easier.  We’re always looking for a good challenge to promote thinking outside of the box also.  So if you have any questions on your compressed air application then give a call, email, fax, chat or visit.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Quality Of A Knock Off and Racing Motorcycles

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

That’s right folks, the first track day of the year is getting close.  The first for this year will be held at Putnam Park Road Course, with Midwest Cafe Racers Association.  We will be heading out on Friday, April 19th, for the weekend.  The preparations already began a few weeks ago, actually over a month ago.  This year I am not only prepping my track bike, but also my friends track bike.   The best part is, I am learning more and more about his bike, and the bells and whistles that it has.

One of the many parts to prepping the bike for the track was changing out the coolant to a non-glycol based coolant, changing the tires, removing all glass / plastic from the bike.  Not to mention drilling and safety wiring the oil filler cap, oil drain plug, and oil filter.  Those are simply the necessities, we have taken it a step further and changed out some other stock parts for nicer track ready parts.  The main obstacle has been that he elected to go with a non-branded rear set foot control.  These were copies of a very large name brand rear set foot control.  Everything seemed to fit together until I went to install the shift linkage.  The linkage length should be 9″ long, the one they sent with the new set was actually 9-5/8″ long.  Because of this it actually placed the shift lever about 3″ too low and will not work.   Luckily, I have the knowledge and ability to modify things like this.  After cutting the extra length off and re-tapping the hole, the linkage is now to the correct length on the bike, and ready to go racing.

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The point to the story is this:  my friend went with the company who said they were just as good if not better than the big name brand, yet considerably cheaper and not made locally.  In the end the quality of the product was not what they made claims of over the internet and they don’t have near the level of support that the brand name does.  After some fixing, the units will work but it could have been a costly replacement as the manufacturer of these doesn’t stand directly behind their product.

Here at EXAIR we have instilled quality into our product and customer service.  If you were to receive a part that doesn’t work, we will be here to help figure out why, and then make the correct actions to remedy your problem as fast as possible.   So don’t always believe what you read on the internet about how great some products are when they are so much cheaper than a well established, market leading brand.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Time for Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

This Sunday afternoon I will be leaving for a two day trip to The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for two straight days of Motorcycle “Racing”.  It’s my second track riding event of the season and isn’t even actually a race.  For those that ride though they may understand how amazing it feels to be out on the track without having to worry about drivers that are distracted by cell phones or not seeing you.  This is because it’s only motorcycles and they even divide everyone one up per their skill level.   Here’s a good video of one of the Coach Riders having some fun with the Intermediate and Advanced group.  (Yes, the reason I chose this video is the music and I know the rider.  Also, yes, those are his dreadlocks you can see every now and then. )

The last time I was at Mid-Ohio I ran in Novice class on my SV 650.  I was told then that I should be running in Intermediate but the class was too full so just hang out and work on passing.  This year instead of going straight to intermediate I am hanging back in Novice for the beginning of the day just because I am still learning the ins and outs of the 600RR race bike I will be riding this year.

Along with the bikes the three of us going will be taking all of our protective gear, lots of snacks and drinks to keep our energy up, and an entire workshop of tools.   This is because we never like to be at the track and not get to ride because something breaks or comes loose.  I can guarantee our EXAIR E-Vac Motorcycle Brake Bleeder will even be in the tool box.

As long as everything goes according to plan I’ll be right back here on Wednesday and start working on another Friday blog that I can hopefully entertain all our readers with.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Weekend Warriors

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

I know everyone has that list (that hangs somewhere in your house or in your head) of things that need to get done.  Something that has jumped to the top of my list to get done this weekend is installing an electronic brake controller on my brother’s 2009 Chevy Silverado.  Along with race prepping the bike for the final track day of the year.  (It’s ok if you cry.  It’s a sad time of year when we don’t get to ride anymore.)

While I am no stranger to electronics in vehicles through my experience as a MECP Installer, I am always a little hesitant to deal with the electronics which handle the brakes for the vehicle.  So I checked out all the installation instructions and wiring diagrams and found an easy “How To” video that will help me to install the unit.

Then once the unit is installed I will have to test drive with the race trailer empty just to ensure the trailer brakes are in fact working and something like below doesn’t happen.

As long as everything is good then next weekend my friends and I will be on our last trip to Putnam for the year and we will hopefully all be coming back with our MCRA Race License.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF