The Wing Divider

I backed out from the C-clamp's steel jaw and clicked into first gear, surveying the open cedar floorboards. Barring the route toward the sunlit doorway lay an old steel wing divider, its tapered legs splayed across the wood like an open gate. I throttled down to an idle, planting my left boot on the timber to inspect the clearance. The curved quadrant arc was locked tight with a knurled brass thumbscrew, holding the points at a steady twenty-five-degree spread. Keeping my weight centered over the tank, I eased the clutch out and guided the front tire cleanly between the steel shanks. Both footpegs cleared with an inch of margin, keeping the advance dead on heading.