Vintage Bike Tech Tips

REMOVING THE DARTS!

MAKING YOUR BIKE SAFER

By Rick Sieman

After you've been riding for a while, you begin to no longer doubt the old saying: "It's not IF you fall, it's WHEN you fall." You got it, LeRoy. Sooner or later, chances are you're going to bite the dirt. If you never take a spill, then you're not ever riding near your limit. And, if you're not riding near your limit every now and then, you're trail riding-not racing.

As long as you realize that you're indeed fallible, then you might as well take the maximum in precautions to get the minimum damage on your one and only body.

Naturally, a savvy rider will wear the finest protective gear he can afford. And we all realize the value of padded leathers, plastic knee cups, padded elbows on racing jersies, good eye and mouth protection, strong boots, tough gloves and so forth.

There's only one thing that tends to puzzle us a great deal: and that is the fact that the rider rarely takes the time to make his bike safer before the event of a crash. Sure, most riders pull good maintenance on their machinery, but tightening nuts and bolts is one thing and removing the "darts" from a bike is another.

Darts? That's the name we give to any part of the bike that can hurt you if you get tangled up with it when you go down. Note, we said when, not if. Generally speaking, if you happen to get off your bike and don't get hit with it (or tangled up), chances are you'll come out of the crash pretty clean. It's when the bike and the rider flip flop around and the various dangerous areas of the bike make contact with the rider, that serious injuries result.

Think of the damage a sharp cotter pin can do, even through a good set of riding pants? Just about every bike made has a huge axle nut with one of these pins dangling out. How many riders ever think of contour-ing the pin and then covering it with a piece of rubber band or tape? Only the rider who's been bitten by that part, normally.

Little projections stick out all over most bikes. Even though this article concentrates on the vintage/classis era of bikes, what you learn here can easily be applied to any modern bike. Many times, these darts can be covered up with duct tape, filed smoother or even slightly modified.

Often, a potentially dangerous piece on a bike can be partially relocated, or adjusted out of the way. A rear brake arm that's tucked in is less likely to snag a rider than one that's dangling in the breeze. Sharp edges abound. Chain guides with square edges, square edged fender brackets, protruding tabs, angu-lar exhaust pipes, sharp edged heat shields and a thousand other items are all waiting to snare the downed biker.

What we're attempting to do here, is give you a nudge in the right direction. Obviously, there are so many different models and makes around, that they couldn't be covered completely if we used the whole site. But, the things we show here should give you ideas on where to look on your own personal machine.

There are darts all over. It's up to you to remove the sting.

	A simple protruding tab like this can turn into a snagger. A bit of tape covering it will reduce the chances of injury.
	Sharp ended cable guides like this can be turned to the inside of the fork leg.
	Broken levers are the next best thing to daggers. Replace them with new ball ended ones.
	Petcocks can snag into leathers while riding the bike, and in the event of a lay-down, they can hurt.
	Instead, turn petcock levers to the inside.
	Hose clamps are very sharp. Just run your finger over the edge of one to see.
	This old and un-used muffler bracket is now something that can catch on a rider's clothing if he gets tangled with the bike.
	Cotter pins should be taped over, or tucked completely in. Axle nuts are sharp edged and can use a bit of duct tape over them to minimize danger.
	Route cables so they can't snag on pinch bolts. This front brake cable could catch on full compression, locking the wheel in mid-air.
	A simple holding clamp like this should be rotated inward to eliminate hassles.
	Sharp edged brackets should be filed smooth, or torched off. You don't need a kickstand anyway on a racer.
	Even a simple small bolt with a sharp edge could hook a rider if the bike makes contact during a slide-out. Round off the corners with a file.
	Square edged kill button connector definitely should be taped over. It's a natural finger cutter.
	Protruding bolts should be cut down to the lowest possible level.
	A rubber band over this sharp nut and cotter pin will not only protect the rider, but will assure that it stays in place and keeps the threads clean.