| Author | Message | ||
     Rocketsprink |
Boy all that were in the area that could have made it this weekend and didn't missed out! Saturday was a wash. Cold. Rain. I went down on lap 4 or 5 of the Thunderbike race. Cosmetic damage on the bike. Snapped a clip on. Although I did a flip and wrecked another helmet, I came out ok. Got the bike back together for Sunday and got 3rd in Ultra light Superbike.  Some of the best racing to watch was between Buell rider Paul James and is sworn enemy  Ed key on a SV. The back and forth passing and close proximity of them was great to watch. Another was Buell rider Greg Avello(sic) and his nemesis. Greg got the better of him this time and was over joyed with his well deserved 3rd place in a very tough class. Buell rider Tom Michels had a good weekend and has learned to change tires on his bike in record time thanks to the ever changing weather conditions. Ralf (Gearhead) made it out Sunday with the nice weather and did GREAT his first official race weekend. He's a fast rider who I think will only become better with time. Jason (UWgriz) and his S-1 didn't have much luck. It poured rain Saturday and EVERY tire vendor was out of rain tires. Sunday was dry and sunny and on lap 2 of a practice session, his bike decided to blow oil all over his rear tire and engine. He didn't go down, thank God, but his oil pump loosened up and the gasket blew out. He got a replacement, but the oil pump refused to work after that. The motor will be coming out of his bike. But at least he has all winter to repair it! Well. I'll post some pics latter. | ||
| Gearhead |
I hope that I already thanked everyone personally at the track but if I didn't here goes. The Buell community is awesome!! Period. Sunday was my first race day and on a track I'd never ridden before. Paul James took time out of his warm-up to tutor me around the track by having me follow him then he followed me for a few laps and debriefed me afterward. Totally unexpected, greatly appreciated!!! Everyone and I mean everyone in the Buell pit including wives and girlfriends helped me with advice, moral support and camaraderie making my wife and Brent, good friend who helped me in my pit, feel like part of the family. It was a perfect day for me, due in large part to the help of others. Thanks again everyone, from Brent Merrick and Ralph (Gearhead) and Janet Longus, see you next year!! | ||
| Coolice |
Great weekend to end the season at BHF! Good report Rocco! I'll try to post some of the many pics of the pits area. It was a GREAT turnout of Buells, at least 12 raced, and most pitted with us! Gearhead, you did a super job! Maybe Gingerman in 2 weeks? Daytona in 4 weeks?  | ||
| Daves |
Ralph, Glad to hear you had a good weekend! Rocco, Congrats on the 3rd! Podium baby! Pictures, we need pictures! | ||
| 99buellx1 |
I need a full report Ralph! ASAP! I HAVE to make it to the next race to get some pictures for you. I hope it will work out. | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Here's Ralph! http://www.gron4.com/event092406/902/ | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Here's Greg and some photos of his Brother. Greg lent him his bike for the Learning Curves License School, which he past! Congrats! http://www.gron4.com/event092406/21/ | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Here's Paul James. http://www.gron4.com/event092406/70/ | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Here's Tom. http://www.gron4.com/event092406/258/ | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Here's Jason. What few photos he has because of bike issues. http://www.gron4.com/event092406/812/ | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Here's Matt. http://www.gron4.com/event092406/991/ | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Here's Julian. http://www.gron4.com/event092406/103/ | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Here's me. Sorry it's not a Buell. http://www.gron4.com/event092406/171/ | ||
| Coolice |
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| Coolice |
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| Dylanfan53 |
There would have been another Buell out there if he weren't sidelined for the rest of the season with a broken collarbone. I see a few Ducs and SVs in the results that I think I might have had the better of to add to the cause! Maybe I'll come up and wander around the pits at Gingerman in a couple weeks. It's going to be a long winter and I miss the smell of U4 already... | ||
| Coolice |
Don, please join us at Gingerman. Do the therapy and get the strength in that shoulder. Maybe Daytona? | ||
| Blake |
Nice. Thanks Rocco and Mike. (Message edited by Blake on September 28, 2006) | ||
| Dylanfan53 |
Thanks Mike. I'll probably come by on Sunday to cheer you guys on.  | ||
| Buellgirlie |
great pics. sorry i missed it  too much chaos in my life right now, unfortunately. D | ||
| Neb25 |
Couple questions for you racers. I live near BHF and did some track days this summer on my firebolt and I am thinking about doing some racing next year. Where can I lean about the different classes and racing organizations for the midwest area? How do you get a race license? Why are some number plates yellow and some white and where can I find a number plate. Is it ok to go racing if I am not super fast? I did 6 track days this summer and I am a mid-pack intermediate rider. It looks like a blast and would give some purpose to doing trackdays. | ||
| Uwgriz |
To get your license, check out Learning Curves. CCS and AHRMA both have classes for your Buell, although I believe CCS has significantly more and is what most of us here in the Midwest are running. The yellow vs white number plates is yellow plates are for amateurs and white are for experts. Is it ok to go racing if I am not super fast? Well, I doing it so apparently lack of speed is not an issue. | ||
| Coolice |
Neb- you will also need a belly pan, safety wire oil drains, oil filter, and other critical fasteners. Number plates are easy on the XB's, just get some yellow vinyl, foam to fill in headlight holes, and put your numbers on. Contact me in a couple weeks, getting ready for Daytona right now, I can help you out. | ||
| Neb25 |
Thanks for the info. Good luck in Daytona Coolice. | ||
| Rocketsprink |
http://www.ccsracing.com/ www.learningcurves.com All the info is there including what classes your bike qualifies for and what not. | ||
| Gearhead |
Neb, As you have probably gathered, that was my first race weekend (day actually). It sounds like you've done enough track days to be more than comfortable on a track with traffic. Granted, riders don't come as close to you on track days as in races but if you are comfortable in traffic that is a big plus, in my opinion. Sign up for the first licensing school of the spring, at Blackhawk with Rick Breuer and company. I took my licensing school with TrackAddix but it was more of a timing issue with me although I was very happy with the level of instruction there. Decide if you're going to race your streetbike or buy another machine to race. I got my license in April but didn't find what became my race bike until late July so if you're going that route, start looking now! DaveS at Appleton HD/Buell helped me aquire my belly pan and number plate from Buell Racing as well as their race spec brake pads. You can down load the PDF file of rules from www.ccsracing.com which got me off to a great start. I also attended a few CCS races with my pad and pencil and a list of questions before and after I finally bought my race bike. I met all the guys above that way and they were ALL very helpful and encouraging to me to join their ranks, you won't go wrong with these folks. I also visited with the technical inspectors at one race with questions that weren't clear to me in the rulebook and they too were extremely helpful. Speed? I was told years ago that it's a rare person that is immediately fast, most get faster through seat time, experience and learning from others. That's my hope anyway. After the intial cost of the bike, prepping it cost less than I expected although I am running an all stock set-up except for ECM, air filter and Drummer pipe. The tire bill is the real kick in the butt, though. If you have tools to work on your bike now, you'll probably only need to buy a set of safety wiring pliers, stands like PitBulls and some means of getting the bike to the track. Since I'm the newbee, I'd be glad to share what I had to do with you since I just went through it. Welcome!! | ||
| Neb25 |
Gearhead, Thank you. If you don't mind would it be ok if I gave you a call sometime? |
