(Above) "set your suspension so It sinks about one inch at each end of the
bike. "(Below) "Adjust the rear brake really tight with about half an inch free
play."
By Bob Hannah as told to Jim Gianatsis
"I don't usually concern myself with making
big changes to the bikes I race, whether they're
works bikes or stockers. My minibike has more
modifications. When 1 race a production bike
my mechanic, Keith, might work
on · the forks or fine tune the
monoshock a little, but that's it .
I'm kinda short so I do like to
raise m foot pegs up a little, about
half an inch. •
"M
h
1
y arms are s art , too, so use
'I'L 'me hes WI e,
wid
es
re a IIy narrow b ars J 7Z
turned back a little like CZ bars. A CZ
was the first bike 1 used to race .. . so
it's all kinda what you're used to. You'll
find the front end will want to swap
more if you have narrow bars, but 1
wheelie a lot so it doesn't bother me .
Hi -Point Accessories will be selling a
bar soon with my bend. 1 set the bars
in line with the fork tubes, then pulled
back -a little. On a smaller bike like a
. I25cc I'll puJl the bars way back to
give me more weight over the rear of
the bike, since 1 don't have the
horsepower to bring up the front end
as easily.
"I like to have my forks and shocks
adjusted so they'll bottom out once or
twi.ce on a. partic~lar track. Also ,
adjust t.he al~ or spnng preloa~ so the
suspensIon will drop about an Inch on
h d h
.
he bi
eac en _ en you su on t e bike,
w
"As far as levers go, I like everything
really sensitive. My shift lever is heavy
steel s? it won 't flex. My rear brake
travel IS ~t so the pedal only has about
half a~ .ln ch of free play. The front
brake 15 Important too, and you should
use it all the time. Adjust it for the
track. If you really have to use it hard
like on a track with lots of comers,
then adjust it really tight so it will pull
you down fast . Tracks where you won't
use the front brake as hard , you can
leave it adjusted a little looser.
