8th September 2001 - Snetterton

Again I had planned to spend the Friday before the race practicing ready for the Rookie and Clubman Championships on the Saturday. Although I'm now out of hospital there is no way I can race a the moment.

As if my physical condition wasn't bad enough I had a look at the bike the other day which has survived much better than I managed to. I broke a clip on, the screen, scratched a bit more bodywork and broke the end off the rear brake pedal. My spares kit has got almost all of these bits so it's just a case of when I can put it all back together again, or when I can persuade someone else to do it for me ;-)

I can live with missing the racing at Cadwell Park but this was my best chance of a points finish for the year. I've been gradually moving up the results table having finished last in my first race at Snetterton I managed three 15th and a 12th the last time I was there. Since then I've picked up a bit more speed and, more importantly, sorted my starts so I can get it off the line without bogging down. Bah Humbug!

As the worst of the injuries start to heal up I keep finding new bits that are bruised or broken. The tally now include three ribs including one that was very well protected behind a chest protector. Trying to cut down on the morphine as it's now been a month and I really don't want to get in to the habit of taking it if I can help it.

Pretty much sorted the bike - Most of the repairs have been so minor I managed to do them myself with only one arm ;-) The fairing looks a little scuffed after the trip to the gravel trap but I'm sure the new owner, assuming I find one, can rub it down and give it a fresh coat of paint. The seat unit has a bit of a hole in it - I could repair this with a fibreglass kit but I'm not sure I'll bother. It doesn't look that bad and I've got a brand new one sitting in the van so when I sell it that can go straight on if required.

As you can see the bike, and possibly me, hit the kerbing pretty hard. Not only did it destroy the end of the crash bobbin it managed to bend the hardened steel bolt as well. From the state of it I think I can safely say that the frame and some other major components could have been totalled had a not had them installed. A lesson learnt there I think! Fortunately for me I managed to track down the guy the made them and he has been a complete star. He sent me a new one and even offered to lend me his tools in case the actual engine mount had been damaged. Fortunately it was okay but what a top bloke!

The broken clip on was the only other badly broken bit and the replacement simply slotted straight in. The clip ons are made by Harris and are designed to snap off at that point to prevent damaging the forks or the main mounting bracket. A single hex bolt is all that needs to be removed and the repair is complete. It even came with a new plastic bung in the end so I didn't have to swap things over. The hardest bit was getting the hand grip off the old one and on to the new one. Well, I'm sure if you didn't have a broken collar bone and could use both hands it would have been a bit easier.