Bring a Tape Measure ...
M Spec Racing Mechanical Training Day
"Bring a tape measure, a flat blade screw driver and a good attitude," said the blurb, "plus a CLEAN bike, a lift or box stand, a pen and something hard to write on and, (here's the clue to it all), tools for a general check over.
Yes, riding isn’t the only thing budding MXers do during the school holidays; not, that is, if you are a member of the Tauranga Boys’ College MX Team.
14 riders from the school team, 5 of their dads plus an assortment of sockets, T bars, ring spanners etc all attended the M Spec Racing Mechanical Training Day at M Specs premises in Roxanne Street on Wednesday.
The training day covered basic general maintenance such as greasing bearings, checking brake pads & chain glides and sliders for wear out. M Spec owner, Mark Scobie, gave guidelines about servicing, when to do piston rings, clutches etc. Suspension set up and the gearing for different tracks was discussed and, with Mark and Scott Barr-Smith’s help, the boys set up their own sag at the end.
According to the boys, they learnt heaps and are now much
more aware of how important bike maintenance is. “I liked the swing arm stuff” says Nick
Heyblom while Matt Hobbis found out he
has to change the spring in his bike. “I’ve
got the wrong one in,” he says, “but another guy found he had a half disintegrated
piston. It had been in too long.”
The parents learnt heaps too. They were probably the ones who asked the most questions “It actually made us dads feel a little guilty,” admits one, “that we hadn’t been doing everything we should have”. Another who had always struggled with tyre pressures, but didn’t know why, happily discovered that heavy duty tubes should have a lower psi than thin tubes.
“It was a very informative day and we are VERY grateful to Mark Scobie for sharing some of his wealth of knowledge with us!” reports Tony Heyblom, the pro-active team manager for the Boys’ College MX. “I wish there had been an MX team when I was going to school, these boys really are very lucky! The parents of our riders are a passionate bunch, very supportive and a pleasure to work with. We are doing our best to provide all the resources the boys need to become successful athletes in the sport of motocross with discounted gym memberships, Broxy training, Mechanical training, training at Maddix Park and whatever else we can do to help. I think MX has a great future in NZ schools and there will definitely be future world champions to come if we don't let politics get in our way, and just get on with it”.
Hear, hear, say we all.
