So I was on my way riding to Home Depot (looking for some metric nuts to install the fuel tank mounting bracket i designed so my tank wont sit on my frame and mess with my rear brake cable) and things were going smooth. Not too much bogging once my engine warmed up (i still havent rejetted my carb, waiting on drill bits), a bit cold outside but it was alright, no problems from my drivetrain, no idiots on the road cutting it way too close to me, pants not falling off my butt.
About five miles away from home I hear something that sounded like metal hitting the ground and i look over my shoulder and what do you know, unidentified pieces of metal flying across the road. I pull over and inspect my bike and everything looks good...weird. I start up my engine again and notice a ton of slack in my chain, then stop again and see that my engine mount spacers are gone! My motor was hanging on for dear life on my down tube. I start the thing back up and travel a bit further, vibrating to the point where i think its about to collapse, and find a good place to bust out the wrenches and adjust the thing accordingly and reinstall my chain roller (thank god i keep it in my backpack for events like this.) I was pretty close to home depot but felt it was a better idea to just turn back as soon as possible. The ride back was suprisingly smooth as well, no problems from my chain roller like i usually have. Somewhere down the road i found that my rear derailleur lever was gone too. Getting a single speed conversion kit sounds like a better idea now than it ever has.
To top it all off, i ran out of gas about a quarter of a mile away from home. Had to pedal the rest of it.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. use washers instead, or at least make sure you cut metal spacers that wont fall out when using engine spacers instead of a chain roller.
2. if you do use engine spacers, keep your chain roller with you anyway (i never imagined i would actually have to use it again)
3. fill up your gas tank before a 10 mile ride you lazy jerk, jeez
4. I had no idea my shifter levers could even come off, so make sure you know what may or may not come loose while riding.
5. its more likely youll be too cold instead of too hot, so bring something extra.
About five miles away from home I hear something that sounded like metal hitting the ground and i look over my shoulder and what do you know, unidentified pieces of metal flying across the road. I pull over and inspect my bike and everything looks good...weird. I start up my engine again and notice a ton of slack in my chain, then stop again and see that my engine mount spacers are gone! My motor was hanging on for dear life on my down tube. I start the thing back up and travel a bit further, vibrating to the point where i think its about to collapse, and find a good place to bust out the wrenches and adjust the thing accordingly and reinstall my chain roller (thank god i keep it in my backpack for events like this.) I was pretty close to home depot but felt it was a better idea to just turn back as soon as possible. The ride back was suprisingly smooth as well, no problems from my chain roller like i usually have. Somewhere down the road i found that my rear derailleur lever was gone too. Getting a single speed conversion kit sounds like a better idea now than it ever has.
To top it all off, i ran out of gas about a quarter of a mile away from home. Had to pedal the rest of it.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. use washers instead, or at least make sure you cut metal spacers that wont fall out when using engine spacers instead of a chain roller.
2. if you do use engine spacers, keep your chain roller with you anyway (i never imagined i would actually have to use it again)
3. fill up your gas tank before a 10 mile ride you lazy jerk, jeez
4. I had no idea my shifter levers could even come off, so make sure you know what may or may not come loose while riding.
5. its more likely youll be too cold instead of too hot, so bring something extra.
