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MISC LINKS

[1]

Link to ReStackor web site [link01]

Shim ReStackor: Software to tune
a shim stack

Found this old newspaper clipping in a box:

This picture is from January of 1981. We had a freezing rain that left the sidewalks and roads covered with ice, followed by snow. That weekend the snowmobile club was holding a race on the 1/4 mile oval track at the fairgrounds. I was watching practice and noticed the dirt track was covered with ice. I had a 1980 Maico 490 with studded tires that we'd been riding on the river. It was hard work building the tires and I would never ride on dirt. But when I saw the 1/4 mile was iced over I went to the promoter and said I'd go get my bike if they would run an extra race. No problem.

By the time I got back the announcer had built up the race into a grudge match between motorcycles and snowmobiles. Everyone in the stands thought I'd be killed. But we had a lot of time on the tires and knew what the bikes were capable of. The only negative was the snow. On clear ice you could brake hard and do nosewheelies (stoppies), and the bike turned like nobody's business. Snow bogged you down.

We had a parade lap for a rolling start and were just coming out of the final corner when the flag dropped. The snowmobiles had been racing all day and the riders were expecting it. It caught me by surprise and got a dead last start. We had only four laps and the deep snow on the outside lines made passing difficult. I passed a rider on the inside, but then about got run over in the next corner. I had slowed and braked a little to get the inside line. Zane was right behind me and didn't expect that. He goes into corners with the gas on and throws it sideways. It took all four laps to work through the crowd, but did manage to overtake the leader as we exited the last turn. Too bad I didn't win some money or have all the girls chasing me, but it was a blast!

As a side note, we would drag race the snowmobiles on the ice and get creamed. They would pull up to the start and embed their wide studded track into the ice. We had studded trials tires with about a 5-inch wide profile. Not much of a match. But still great fun.

The ice and snow on the 1/4 mile track limited our speed. What we really liked was riding on the frozen river before it snowed. Traction was surprisingly good. Third gear power slide, dial on the throttle and the front wheel would lift. In the summer the Maico could do 3d gear starts in the dirt. First time I tried it on the ice the engine stalled. So much traction.