I’m pretty naive sometimes. I thought that getting a bike that was mostly fully set for racing up would solve the issue of having to prep the bike for me.
I was wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, it saved a ton of work and money, but more than a full day’s work had to be done with it.
I already knew that the suspension would be unacceptable for me- the previous owner was over two hundred pounds, I’m about one hundred forty pounds with my gear on. Gunther was purchased with Andreani fork internals and a Penske rear shock, so I made sure to take care of getting new springs right away. Conveniently, Jon knows somebody who does suspension! We gave Mike at GP Suspension all the necessary info, and he sent a box with a new rear spring and new front springs that are perfect for my weight. I went from not being able to even touch the ground on Gunther to being able to tippy-toe it, which is all I needed.
Jon and I set aside a day to change the suspension and make a list of anything else that would need to get done. He tackled the suspension issues first, then gave the bike such a thorough inspection that I’m pretty sure it feels violated.
I used the time to peel off the existing decals with a heat gun, because I’m helpful like that. And Jon is so fast and efficient that I normally get in his way as he hovers about the motorcycle, flitting from place to place like a hummingbird.
Since my Gunther was someone’s “B” bike, we figured out pretty quickly that bits and pieces here and there were cannibalized as needed. A small list was created, but overall there didn’t need to be many purchases. Some bolts had vibrated out and needed to be purchased, along with new handgrips. Mostly, we set about making sure that the bike was in race-ready condition: everything clean, tightened to spec, controls/suspension adjusted for my (smaller) body and lighter weight, and a complete fluids flush.
In the end, I think it came down to a little over twelve hours of labor done on my bike alone.