The second Sounds of the Past race was held yesterday (Sunday) at Seattle International Raceway in Washington. The weather was great, partially cloudy but dry, and almost warm. The vintage turnout was great - there was a whole flock of Honda 160s, a few nice BMWs, several Triumphs (including the Jerry and his Slippery Sam Replica), and several Nortons, including Duncan's Weslake Special, Les' Atlas, Fred's slick 750 Commando, and one called "Dr Jag" that it's rider claimed to have used to win over 100 races (and from his showing on the track, I believe him).

My day could have been labeled "Eating Humble Pie". This was my first time racing at SIR, so I expected to be slower than I'm used to. But that track was more work than I expected. The turns were tighter than here in Portland (PIR), there are a couple of fast blind turns, and that damn "busstop" really takes some getting used to.

In addition to having the track test my skills, my Norton decided to test my patience. On the morning practice session I was having a lot of problems shifting, and on the last lap I was basically stuck in second. When I got to the pits I found my shift lever frozen in place. As I was getting ready to tackle the repair, I noticed gear oil dripping onto the ground.

My heart sank. I had an hour before the first heat, and a potentially nasty job ahead. I decided to start with the shift lever. Of all the tools I brought, I failed to bring a hammer and a set of files - fortunately some of my fellow Norton riders were better equipped. I managed to pound the footpeg out of the shaft and found that it had been scored sometime in the dark ages, finally binding up now of all times. A few minutes with the files got it into a workable state, and some NeverSeize will hopefully keep it that way for a while.

With the shifter sorted out, and with barely minutes before our first heat, I started on the oil leak. I found that the gearbox case screws had worked loose and the oil was coming out the joint. Fortunately for me, one of the day's many red flag events occurred right about this time, giving me a breather. After tightening them all and cleaning the case, I was ready to go again.

The first heat was great - I was near the back of the pack, but at least had Jerry and his Slipper Sam in sight, and thought I might catch him. Too bad the first heat was only three laps. I managed to worry myself a bit in the busstop after chirping the front end on the second lap, and again on the last lap going into turn five when the rear end locked up briefly when I didn't make a very graceful downshift.

Our second heat was a full eight laps. I got a good start and had a few bikes around me to race with. Duncan disappeared after the first turn, Fred followed a lap or so later, and I soon found myself swapping places with a Honda of some sort. I'd take him on the straights, he'd blow by hard on the brakes going down the hill into turn three (a right hand hairpin that I haven't sorted out yet). On the next to the last lap, the Honda rider blew turn nine, and I managed to put enough distance between us that I didn't see him again. On the last lap, I was gaining on another bike when I started hearing a funny noise that I chalked up to wind noise. Then I started hearing a weird popping sound. At first I thought it was the bike next to me, but after blipping the throttle I realized my bike was acting up again. I pulled off and looked down to find my header pipe had come loose. The first sound I had heard was the pipe skipping along on the pavement. Sigh...

Of course, this was after two people asked why I didn't safety wire the lockrings. Rational people may have taken the questions as a cue to at least check them, right?

The next Sounds of the Past race is at Portland International Raceway on July 4th. Practice on the 3rd. I'll be there, case screws tight, exhaust lockrings wired, and ready to go. I'm number 167, so stop by and say Hi.

You can contact Ralph at ralph@swmerc.rain.com

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