About 26 years ago and Long before I had a clue how to work on bikes, my friend asked me to go with him to the races and be his mechanic for the day. We had both just turned 16 so it was exciting to go without our parents. When he asked me to put on the the new grips, the only thing I could find was 409. They seemed to go on well and they weren't spining.
When the gate droped on the Shadow Glen track a Indian Dunnes, My buddy had the best start of his life but when he got to the first corner, I saw his left hand fly off. At first I thought he was giving a victory hand pump for the holeshot till I saw him go straight through the corner and crash. when I ran over to see if he was ok, all I saw was that grip still in his hand.
Till this day, every time a mechanic conversation comes up, I have to hear how I screwed up his best start ever. He now works at FMF, so you can imagine how often that comes up.
