Friday morning Katrine and I dropped by Mancos Motorsports to see how the work on the bikes were progressing.
We were greeted by a red-faced Brian.
They had been working hard in an attempt to have both bikes ready for us the same day.
The previous evening Brian had sprayed degreaser on the new cylinder to clean it before installing it. Something had distracted him and when he got back the degreaser had discoloured the inside coating of the cylinder. He was clearly furious for having made the mistake – in his own words he had come close to firing himself.
Most likely the discolouring wouldn’t have any effect on performance or reliability, but taking into account where we planned to take the bikes, Brian didn’t want to risk it and had ordered a new cylinder. It would arrive later the same day. As a result my bike will be ready Monday or Tuesday at the earliest.
It was a shame that we couldn’t get the bikes the same day, but also confidence inspiring how they had dealt with the blunder. It would have been much more convenient for them to take the risk and use the discoloured cylinder. Most likely I would never have known, but still they chose the more cumbersome and expensive solution to achieve the best result. It tells a lot about their attitude towards their craft and customers.
Katrine’s bike on the other hand was almost ready. The valve clearance was spot on, the spark plug replaced and the new foam air filter installed. We picked it up later. Katrine was very happy to have it back.
Yesterday I put new rubber on the rear wheel of Katrine’s bike. I’ve become pretty good at changing tires by now. Then I replaced one of the front turn signals that had been acting up for a while because of a loose connection within the blinker itself.
Last thing to do was to replace the front brake disc and pads on the bike. The front disc is warped on both our bikes. I had received EBC parts from Procycle the previous day. As soon as I unwrapped the disc I could see it was the wrong size. It looks like they sent me the smaller discs for the non Rally version. I’m 100% sure I ordered the right ones. I’ve written them an email and will call them first thing Monday morning. Hopefully they’ll help me get the issue sorted.
The downtime has allowed both Katrine and me to catch up on all our tasks and chores. Now we are more than ready to get back on the bikes. Even though Chris and Stephanie are the best hosts we could ever wish for, I hope to write my next update from another location.
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