If there is one thing worse than looking at a TKM engine that has ten hours on it, it’s the sight of eight tyres that need changing! Aside from having to stomach some considerable costs, the lows of troubleshooting when you are out of your depth, running without an awning in what seems to be one of the wettest locations on Earth and watching your lad ignore your advice lap after lap, there isn’t really much I don’t enjoy about karting 😉 That is with the exception of changing tyres: everybody will tell you it’s easy – and they certainly make it look so – but I *really* despise changing the bloody things. Getting them off the rims is easier than putting them on. I don’t think my technique is far off and I have actually changed a set on my own but I fail more often than not – I just don’t think my office-boy fingers are built for it!!!
So it’s Wednesday, I have three evenings to replace our practice and race tyres (with more used ones, of course) for Clay’s end of season Turkey Trot and I’ll be spending tonight sat on a dust sheet on the kitchen floor, hands sticky with tyre paste, fingers aching, sweating profusely and cussing at nobody in particular!!! Now there’s a picture you won’t be seeing…
Wot u need to strengthen those pixie fingers bud is a tennis ball, one that is pretty soft to start with, then when you are walking around @ the home/office squeeze the ball up to ten times then change hands, give it two weeks and you will b lifting the kart on the trolley on your own and changing tyres with one hand 🙂 if using the ball at work, make sure you have baggy trousers on (to put the ball) as you will receive many strange looks with pipe trousers on walking into a meeting.