A couple tech insp questions

[CrazyBoy-1]

This Sunday at Pocono East will be my first track day since I crashed out at the end of the 2006 season. I've been getting the bike back together and noticed a few things.

1. The brake lever ball end has been partially ground off. I thought I remembered seeing something about the balls being required on the ends of both the brake and clutch levers. How much is needed to pass? Most (over half) of it is still there.

2. Even though I went down pretty hard on the right side, I didn't leak any fluids. However, as I was going over the bike this evening I did notice that the radiator has been bent down on that side. There are no leaks and the flow of coolant is fine, however the lower corner is now quite close to the exhaust header for the no. 4 cylinder. I'd say it's about 1/16th-1/8 inch away. Is that going to be a problem as far as heat from the header? The bike will only be run for 20 minutes at a time with almost constant airflow, so I don't think the radiator will get melted etc. but I wanted to get a tech inspector's opinion. I can swap out the radiator for one from one of my other CB-1s, but I'd rather not go through all that if I don't have to.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks and I'll see you guys and gals on Sunday.

 

[Thunderace]

Tim, first of all, welcome back! It's been a while since we've heard from you. First, smooth out the ball with a file and I think you'll be fine. As long as there is a nub on the end (rather than a sharp end) you should pass tech. But it wouldn't hurt to throw a picture up on the board and get the input of some CR's who may be teching your bike. Second, the radiator bent down you say? Can you bend it back up? I had mounts on my old R1 that had bent slightly and I just pulled it back into place. If you can't, I doubt there would be much harm to the radiator even at that close proximity to the header pipes.

Again, welcome back!

 

[CrazyBoy-1]

Hey Jim! It's great being back I must say. That 2-year hiatus was way too long for me.

Thanks for the input. I'll smooth the lever end down and maybe bring a spare. I just prefer not to steal too much from my other CB-1s if possible. The radiator itself is bent on one side. I thought of trying to bend it back, but I'm afraid of stressing it too much. I may see if I can modify the mounts to move it away.

Are you going to be there Sunday by any chance?

 

[barry38]

It's got to have a ball on the end of the lever. Can you post a picture of the lever? As long as most of the ball is there you should be ok.

 

[CrazyBoy-1]

Sorry, no can do on the pics. Most of the ball is there, and I can easily smooth it out. It's not ground down to a sharp edge anywhere. Just in case though, I'll go ahead and pull one from another bike.

As far as the radiator is concerned, I had a mechanic buddy check it out, and he said it looks safe to run with. I'm gonna trust him on that and hope tech inspection agrees.