Author Topic: 2021 Race Blog - Japanese Radness in all this Madness! (Read 25768 times)

Mikku · « **Reply #25 on:** April 04, 2021, 04:55 AM »

So yesterday I had a closer look at the Elite hub. I first removed the driver, then the pawls and springs and gave everything a good wipe-down. Post-clean pic below. There's not much tension in the springs, so I got in touch with Profile who said that the springs can be bent/reshaped if I want to increase the tension but I'd worry about weakening them by doing that, so am more inclined to just replace them. They also said that the pawls will most probably fine, being made of tool steel, so don't need replacing, which is a bonus. As previously said, I have no idea how old these hubs are but suspect, given the faded, blue ano on the Sun Envy rims, plus the condition of the rest of the components that were on the bike, that they must be quite a few years old by now. I'm guessing between 5 and 10 years. I love these hubs, so if I can get a few more years' use out of them, preferably on the GT, then I'll be a happy chappy.

nic968 · « **Reply #26 on:** April 06, 2021, 10:04 AM »

Great to see you're racing again out there, despite Covid and the weather. I'm sure unpredictaable weather reminds you of home too, we had blazing sunshine on Sunday and then it snowed a bit yesterday...Happy Easter!

Mikku · « **Reply #27 on:** April 06, 2021, 02:07 PM »

Unsurprisingly, the British weather's one of the things that I don't miss!

That said, you don't get the heavy snow, high humidity and typhoons that we get over here, so I guess that balances things out a bit.

Sunday's race is still on the cards, with entries to be made online to avoid everyone lining up to do it on the day. I've therefore just submitted my entry, despite going over on my ankle yesterday! I was practising on my homemade start ramp (pic below) when I put my foot down, slipped and fell over!

I could hardly walk last night but it's a bit better today, though I can't put my full weight on it. I had been planning to go to Gonzo tomorrow (Weds) night for some gate practice, so that's now off but I'm hoping that it heals up by the weekend. Whether I can ride the bike on Saturday will be the acid test.

In other news, Profile told me that the copper springs in my Elite hub are the older style, which they stopped using a few years ago. That has cemented the desire to replace them, so that's on the cards this week. In fact, the cost of those will be covered by the cost of the Gonzo trip that I'm now not making, so it's not all bad news!

Mikku · « **Reply #28 on:** April 07, 2021, 10:36 PM »

I kind of expected this to happen, so it's no big surprise, but Sunday's race has just been cancelled due to COVID, as per the attached notice. Half-disappointed but also half-relieved, for various reasons. On the plus side, I can let my ankle heal properly and spend some more money on the bike!

Mikku · « **Reply #29 on:** April 17, 2021, 12:04 PM »

As one door closes, another one opens, with Niigata having just announced it's 2021 race schedule for the Joetsu track. As shown below, round 1 is scheduled for next Sunday so, weather and COVID permitting, I've a week to get myself and the bike into shape!! The ankle's getting better, so hopefully that'll be okay by then and yesterday a set of new springs for the Profile cassette arrived, so I'll fit those if I have time, though there's no great urgency with those. Races at Joetsu often seem to get cancelled, so I shouldn't get too excited but you know how it is!

Mikku · « **Reply #30 on:** April 24, 2021, 11:12 AM »

So...it looks like tomorrow's race is on!! Maybe!! COVID restrictions are in place but since I'm now a member (I whacked in my membership application mid-week), I'm in!

The only problem now is the weather, with rain forecast for tomorrow (bloody typical - it's been sunny and dry all week!!), so I'll just have to see what the morning brings but in any event I'll be up early and on the road by 5!

Mikku · « **Reply #31 on:** April 26, 2021, 12:37 PM »

So the 5am gamble paid off and I got to race on Sunday.

It's never a busy meet due to it's location but there was a Japan Series race the same day, which reduced numbers even further. That and the dodgy weather. Anyway, I really like the low-key, relaxed atmosphere there, so I'm glad I made the trek. I was up against two other "older" guys, making it a proper over 30s class for a change, with all of us the wrong side of 40! Unfortunately they were both faster and fitter than me! The best starter was consistently a good meter ahead of me by the first jump and I was about even with the other guy until after the jump when he would nudge ahead. The two of them would then pull another metre or two per straight thereafter, battling each other for the lead, leaving me in a solid third place in the motos and again in the main. Results posted below (Race 5).

It was good to get out there again though, and I have a few things I want to work on before the next race, namely gates and stamina-building. Nothing new but a good reminder of what I need to focus on. And being my second race of the season, that already equals my total race count for 2020, which is good news. I have a few days off next week, so am going to fit those Profile springs. Hopefully I can also get some riding in too.

Midschoolfool · « **Reply #32 on:** May 03, 2021, 05:06 PM »

I remember back in my younger days I had a import N64. As such many games required serious work to understand.

I do remember that I had to work out who was who on the score board in Mario Kart 64. In the end I realised that one of the symbols must have meant "IO" because it was on the end of Mario's name and Kinopio's name (Toad). Which allowed me to know who I had to fook to win the league

It's nice to get out there man. I'm slowly getting out a bit more each week.

Mikku · « **Reply #33 on:** May 04, 2021, 12:03 AM »

Yeah, it's a constant battle with the language here! Speaking is difficult enough, let alone reading and writing!!

Another nice day here today, so after playing with the Quamen yesterday, I may turn my attention back to the GT and fit those hub springs. You were recently complaining about Profile's prices. Well, I recently shelled out about 6 quid a piece on these. The Elite driver takes 6 of them plus there's the shipping on top of that.

Midschoolfool · « **Reply #34 on:** May 04, 2021, 06:05 PM »

Sorry it has just dawned on me that you are the guy on BMXM

That driver is easily fixed dude. Mine was a train wreck and I fixed it easily. It was totally silent after being re faced.

Mikku · « **Reply #35 on:** May 04, 2021, 10:48 PM »

Yeah, one and the same! Like you, I flit between and post on both sides of the Atlantic depending on the topic.

Thanks for the help and advice with the cog. I don't have a dremel, so will have to work around that but I definitely think you could be onto something with the noise from the drivetrain.

Midschoolfool · « **Reply #36 on:** May 04, 2021, 11:31 PM »

This is not my driver (thank fook lol) but this is what a wrecked one looks like.

For some reason modern drivers tend to hook. I can't ever remember having that issue BITD. As you can see, that has hooked bad. What happens then is it doesn't want to let go of the chain. Which creates the noise I posted in thread on BMXM.

Mine wasn't anywhere near as bad as that pic there, but the noise as you could hear was fooking embarrassing. I like my screechy pads to warn people I am coming, but sounding like a wooden roller coaster is just plain annoying. I fixed mine when I finally realised what the issue was. Took me about ten minutes. You literally just have to "re face" the teeth.

That is what they are supposed to look like. As I said, yours is nowhere near dead yet. Needle files may be the way to go. Just make sure you get the ones for toughened steel.

Mikku · « **Reply #37 on:** June 03, 2021, 11:47 AM »

So where were we? It's been almost a month to the day since my last update, and quite a lot has happened. Well, sort of!

On the bike front, I've not yet attacked either the cog teeth or cranks, though I finally have a free Sunday coming up, so plan to at least take the cranks off to see what's what. On the racing front, the Osaka race on 16th May was cancelled again due to COVID and the following Sunday's race at Niigata was called off due to rain. Unfortunately, that decision was only made after a 9am track inspection, so on this occasion my 5am gamble didn't pay off and I had to trundle back home with my tail between my legs. The re-scheduled race did go ahead though last Sunday. There were 3 of us again in the over 30s class, though one of those was the high school girl who I was dicing with all day long back in November. The other rider was one of the guys who beat me last time out and he showed us both a clean pair of heels all morning. I had another ding-dong battle with the girl, though. In the first moto I was able to keep her behind me all the way until the final straight, when she just slipped inside with a few jumps to go. Close but no cigar! In the second moto she beat me into to the first berm, though I was able to keep in touch with her and then on the last straight, was actually able to gain on her, closing the gap to about a metre at the line. That gave me some confidence and hope for the third moto, when I was determined to beat her out of the gate. That determination paid off, as I nudged in front of her and took the inside line into the first berm. Thereafter I made myself as wide as possible in the second and third berms, and was able to hold her off down the final straight to take second place. That was the first time in 6 races to beat her and man, did it feel good! Sadly, only the top two made it through to the main, so that was the end of my racing for the day. It wasn't the end of the day, though, because I stayed on for some practice and then joined an afternoon training session with a local elite rider. The focus was on pumping and manualling and it was not only bloody useful but a lot of fun. So much so, that I'm planning to return there for some more training sessions next month.

This month's races are on the 20th and 27th at Osaka and Niigata respectively, subject to COVID and the weather, but I've now got the racing bit between my teeth again and plan to head down to Gonzo Park for a practice session before then. Hopefully I can smooth out and/or quieten the chainline a bit too.

hotdog · « **Reply #38 on:** June 03, 2021, 03:56 PM »

Good luck at the next race.

Mikku · « **Reply #39 on:** June 13, 2021, 10:55 PM »

Thanks mate! That should be this coming Sunday the 20th BUT Osaka is still under a COVID "state of emergency", so I'm not holding my breath, as it were. The following Sunday the 27th is more of a runner but we'll see what pans out.

In other news, I snagged these DXRs on eBay!

Mikku · « **Reply #40 on:** June 14, 2021, 10:10 PM »

As suspected, Sunday's race has been cancelled.

On the plus side, I now have no excuse not to work on the bike!

Mikku · « **Reply #41 on:** June 30, 2021, 12:15 PM »

No bike news to report but I did manage to race last Sunday!

It looked like it was going to be rained off right up until the last minute but then the approaching rain front slowed down, allowing the organisers to squeeze in the racing before lunchtime and the arrival of wet weather. With only 2 of us registered for the over 30s class, we were combined with other classes, meaning I was up against some youngsters including a couple of fast, 12 year old local lads, who I ended up battling with all morning. I would beat them out of the gate, but they would get past me later on. Oh, to have young legs again! That said, I had some good races with plenty of passing, re-passing and some judicious blocking (on my part) in the berms. Good fun, even though I lost out to them both in the main. Still pleased to be dicing and tbh, racing at all given the weather. So that was my 4th race of the year, which is double what I managed in the whole of 2020, and we're only 6 months in. I now have a 4-week break until the next race, by which time the rainy season should have ended and I will have fitted the DXR cranks. Hopefully!

Mikku · « **Reply #42 on:** July 26, 2021, 01:08 PM »

I'm still waiting on a new (Crupi) BB to wing its way over from the US (so that I can fit the DXR cranks) but in the meantime, I have been racing again back up in Niigata. For the first time, I decided to make a weekend of it and go up on Saturday then stay overnight for race day. This has two benefits:- firstly, I can practice on Saturday and secondly, I can save myself from getting up at 4.30am on Sunday and driving +3 hours before racing. Both are big pluses in my book, so much so that I plan to do it again for the next race. So after a really productive practice session on Saturday afternoon, I rolled up at the Kanayasan track for Round 4 of the Joetsu race series. It was already blistering hot, so I started early on the fluid intake. After a bit of a warm up around the track, I was able to get some much-needed gate practice in before the moto sheets were posted up. There were only three riders in the over 30s class but with the younger class below having quite a few riders, they kept the classes as they were rather than combining them, as they've been doing recently. That meant only two from the three of us would qualify for the main. I started off well, finishing 2nd in the first two motos. In the third I found myself out front, though I think that was the front-runner saving himself for the main. I was happy to cross the line in an unaccustomed first place though. That took us both through to the main where I couldn't repeat the feat or rather, the other guy rode at his normal race pace and took the win. I wasn't too disappointed though, as I rode as best as I could and didn't frazzle in the heat. More importantly, I could feel and see an improvement which I put down to the extra Saturday practice and being fresher for staying overnight. So I now have a few weeks before the next race, which should give me enough time for the BB to arrive, finally get the new (to me) cranks on and get some more track practice in.

Mikku · « **Reply #43 on:** August 10, 2021, 01:47 PM »

Still waiting on the BB, so on Sunday I decided to brave the heat and head down to Osaka for a practice session at Oizumi. Man it was hot down there (+35 degrees C), but with typhoons and wet weather forecast for the week, it was Sunday or no day!

I could only manage a few laps at a time before stopping to take on fluids and putting my head under a nearby public toilet tap to cool down. I was, however, able to keep going and work on a few things, plus some of the locals turned up, so it was good to catch up with them after a year or so. Hopefully the racing there restarts soon but with Japan's increasing rate of COVID-infections, I can't see that happening. However, I really like the track so intend to return for another session some time soon. Below are a few track pics.

Midschoolfool · « **Reply #44 on:** August 16, 2021, 03:17 PM »

Looks like you have been having fun. Weather is beautiful, scenery incredible.

Mikku · « **Reply #45 on:** August 17, 2021, 10:11 AM »

It's a beautiful country for sure but one thing that I didn't realise before I moved here is how extreme the weather is. It's literally rained every day since I took those photos, which means that a race clinic I was planning to go to on Sunday was postponed and tomorrow's gate session at another track is also off. It's not all bad news though, because the BB finally arrived today, so that's a job for the weekend!

Mikku · « **Reply #46 on:** August 25, 2021, 01:43 PM »

As detailed elsewhere, the GT is now sporting DXR cranks courtesy of the new Crupi bottom bracket that arrived last week. A few pics below show how the bike looks now but more importantly, it rides great! The new BB and straighter chainline has smoothed out the drivetrain, with the result that pedalling's now a much nicer, not to mention quieter experience!

The next round of the Niigata series is this weekend, so if the weather holds, the plan is to head up there on Saturday and hopefully give the cranks a shakedown test before Sunday's race. Full report to follow next week!

Mikku · « **Reply #47 on:** August 30, 2021, 02:41 PM »

Was able to make a weekend of it for Round 5 of the Joetsu BMX series. Arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday and had a couple of hours to loosen up the legs and test out the new DXR cranks/Crupi BB set-up. The latter performed flawlessly, with the no noticeable difference despite the extra weight. It may be a mental thing but the bike felt a bit more "solid" than before. Plus the DXRs look so much better than Rotor set-up that they replaced.

After staying Saturday night at a nearby ski lodge (the track is close to a ski resort), I awoke on Sunday to find that the race schedule had been put back due to heavy rain overnight, though when I arrived at the track, things were looking good. And hot!! Sure enough, the sunny weather soon dried the majority of the damp track in readiness for a 11 o'clock start. In fact, I nearly missed that because I had mis-heard the start time as 11.30!! Sadly, I did miss some of my regular rivals. The rider count was super low because of COVID restrictions - basically nobody can now race at this track if they're from a prefecture (county) that is currently under a government-imposed "state of emergency", which thankfully doesn't include where I live. Yet!! So I was in but was the sole over-30's rider, so was lumped in with the youngsters again. No glory to report thereafter but I had fun keeping them at bay until my legs cried enough, which was usually on the second straight!! I had a couple of elbow-bashing and handlebar-banging incidents as well - they may be younger but had no respect for this particular elder! All good stuff though and I enjoyed myself despite the heat. Below are a few pics from the main.

With the racing all done by lunch, I stayed on for a bit of an afternoon practice session, where I could work on some of the things that I never manage to do during races! I also sold a few spare parts, which paid for the entry fee and ski lodge, so all was good.

Unless COVID-restrictions at other tracks change, my next race is probably not going to be until October, back at Joetsu. In any case, I'm planning to get some more practice sessions in before then.

Mikku · « **Reply #48 on:** September 06, 2021, 02:37 PM »

As expected, this weekend's race at Oizumi in Osaka has been cancelled due to COVID, as per the notice posted on FB today. No great surprise, so no great disappointment. Although the race is off, the track is still open, so if the weather holds, I may head down there anyway for a bit of a practice session with the new crank set-up.

Mikku · « **Reply #49 on:** September 24, 2021, 02:07 PM »

Made it back down to Osaka on Tuesday for a practice session at Oizumi. Being a weekday, there was only one other rider there, so I had the run of the place. This meant that I could cut back and forth between different sections of the track without getting in anyone's way, so could really focus on one part of the track at a time. The goal of the day was to work on my pumping skills and manualling. The former's coming on now, and I'm noticeably faster through the rhythm section than before, at least that's how it feels. As for the latter, I'm trying to manual over the first part of some doubles and triples because otherwise I'm carrying too much speed into them and things are then getting a bit sketchy. I could try jumping them, of course but with my limited skill set that's even sketchier!

Manualling therefore seems to be a smoother solution, so I'll continue to practise that. Next race is back up in Niigata on 3rd October, so if the weather's okay (famous last words), I'll go for the weekend and have another practice session on the Saturday.