If the update I received this morning is accurate, a big box of top ends, reed valves, and new custom expansion chambers will be on my porch today. It’s Thursday, Nov 7, and the season opener for Salem indoor Flat Track is Saturday, the 9th. 48 hours. At the very minimum, 18 of those will be spent at my regular job, factoring in the commute…
48 Hours ago, the message from Fedex was that the box was in Montana, and delivery was scheduled for Friday at the end of the day. Mind you, my top end, with its oval cylinder, was in the hands of the pipe fabricator on 3 July, with the promise that everything would be back in my hands with plenty of time. Korry (@k_fitzpatrick) ordered his months prior, so my order was lumped in with his because we’ve the same motor. Enough about that.
Of late, our little posse Portland/Vancouver, WA, who all race in the 250 Vintage class, have been chomping at the bit. A week before the opener, Erick (@ethnic_foodwrap_aficianado) seized the top end of his Ossa, sending him scrambling for replacement piston and a bore before Saturday. Ugh. Just about the same time, Chris DeSanty (@theironsociety) does an about face, and shelves the Bultaco Pursang motor/pipe he’d been building, upon discovery of a significant crack in the freshly bored cylinder sleeve…sooo…he’s done a full 180 and gone back into the DR250 motor (top of the post), with which he dominated the class last year, easily winning the title.
Chris’ shop has become our haven. Our sanctuary. Our safe place to shoot shit, swap stories, crack each other up, and get into what he calls 'proper fuckin’ choppin’'. Chris is a doer, like the other people in this sport, I’ve met. If he can make it, he will, and when he does, it’ll be pretty, and sound, and probably a little esoteric, if not unconventional. He builds a lot and is always building in his mind. He’s built a barber shop, a salon, the furniture and displays therein, branding, hair products and a reputation. His slogan is 'Be easy, friend'. It’s nice to be around. His laugh is quick and infectious, and his attitude is always 'Let’s do this.'
That was his attitude when he decided to get into the DTX game, and get into it he did. He found himself a shit hot modern YZ450 set up for flat track, and make it shit hotter. In the course of a summer season, he progressed well enough to win the DTX amateur class at Castle Rock, which is in his words, 'basically anybody except experts' who want to run one of those bikes. Very impressive, particularly considering, he’d not raced ever up until a year prior. He does it all with a beaming smile, and will lend a helping hand wherever he can.
The class will be double in size, at least, this season. More bikes, more people to meet, more enthusiasm, more stoke. I’ll surely let everyone know how things shake out, but I can say this for certain: Chris has a lot of characters gunning for him… including #73Q.
The package arrived as I’ve been typing. It’s secure in the house. All systems are go. We’re making a pilgrimage to Chris’ shop in a matter of hours…
Joe* barked it out in urgency best:
Friday or Saturday, what does that mean?
Short space of time an’ needs a heavy scene
Monday is comin’ like a jail on wheels
Forty-eight hours needs forty-eight
…Thrills…forty-eight thrills
Dig
* That's Joe Strummer, everyone of Todd's posts has a Clash reference and is headed with a song title.