When Things Don't Always Work Out As Expected

[rksaw]

So, I'm sure you've heard that I "Debaffled" Scarlett . She went from the Alto she used to be to a girl with a great Baritone voice. But not everything went as well as planned :-[. I think it is wise to tell others where there could be a speedbump or two.

One thing I noticed is that it took me significantly more time to cut out the second baffle than it did the first. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing ;). I think the second cut itself--for me on the right pipe--is a better, cleaner cut. I did see someone, although I don't remember who off the top of my mind, ask the question about getting a second hole saw because their second cut took longer as well.

A second difficulty I had was that my second baffle did not come out nearly as easily as the first. I am pleased to own a '99 Red on Red Nomad that has 22K miles. Now it could be a combination of years in a humid garage and carbon build-up on the inner 1/2 inch of the baffle that is held by the inner plate (see the picture in the PDF file--the file is a great resource as you are working on this project). :-/ I need to give credit to CaddmannQ and Terrebonne_nomad who each gave me different great ideas that helped in removing that second baffle. Cadd encouraged me to push the baffle back in--I know, we are trying to pull them out, but pushing it back in also allows us to 1) get a "running start" to pull it out, and 2) twist and turn the baffle to clean off some additional carbon. Terrebonne described a "hammer puller" that, for me, was absolutely necessary to force the baffle to move rearward. Without this "hammer puller", I would never have made some of the progress I made. I did, however, make one change to the hammer puller. After I caught my hand in the hammer once, I ditched that portion of it, and while holding the end with my Channel Locks, I beat the Channel Locks with a rubber mallet. This gave me more force to move the baffle. Before I used both ideas, I was becoming frustrated that I couldn't just bully the baffle to move. Brut force is not always enough.

I know this is going long, but if you are having difficulties, check out the threads and don't be afraid to ask what seems like dumb questions. ??? There is a wealth of knowledge out there, and so many of these guys and gals can really help you out. When things went wrong for me, the advice I got from these two and others, really made all the difference. Thanks guys and don't give up...all the changes we make to the bikes are improvements in one way or another.

Keep the rubber side down.
Rich