| Author | Message | ||
     Slaughter |
Willow Springs saw Shawn (again) breaking a Twins class track record - taking the old record away from HIMSELF. I've gotta find some pics from the races - but as usual, they're gonna be BORRRRING - because the way he slingshot-starts the 1125R, any pics are going to be of just Higbee... until he starts passing slow traffic (like Slaughter!) More later - I'm supposed to be going to work (uh-oh, I used that 4-letter word again!) Mitsu - Shawn's mechanic was up all night on Saturday doing clutch work on BOTH bikes. Can't say enough about Mitsu's abilities as a wrench on these machines... Higbee has a LOT on his plate - he is STILL truly a starving privateer heading to Barber. Make SURE you stop by his pits - say HI to Shawn and say HI to Mitsu also! ...more later, gotta RUN! | ||
| Duggram |
Steve, do you know what kind of clutch problems he had? | ||
| Slaughter |
I'll find out. You gotta realize the bike he changed the clutch in is the one that has been raced for almost a year now... don't know that it's a clutch problem, it may have just been time. I know Mitsu had to work on both bikes but it may have been to change the non-slipper to a slipper... just don't know. It WAS an all-nighter for Mitsu though. If I didn't have to race, I'd have helped Mitsu since I haven't had the chance to see the guts of these engines too often. I've got a funny pic I have taken of Mitsu in my shop on Saturday night when Mitsu knew he was facing a long night's work... it'll be posted up later. | ||
| Coolice |
Good job Shawn! And Mitsu! (I know the routine very well, behind every team are dedicated, hard working people like him that make it happen) At least he'll get some sleep on the way to Barber...... And thanks Slaughter for keeping us updated! (Message edited by coolice on April 20, 2009) | ||
| Slaughter |
I gotta say that Shawn podiumed in the Formula One race this weekend, 3rd place behind Jeremy Toye (2nd) and Jeff Tigert (1st) Toye and Tigert were both on CBR1000 and BOTH Tigert and Toye have TONS of time on the track at Willow. Tigert is a development rider for HRC and Toye runs Lee's Cycle Racing and does tuning/setup for a living - and is a regular contributor to RRW. When you consider that Tigert and Toye's bikes are putting down nearly 185HP, his 3rd place finish is all the more impressive when you realize he's still running a nearly stock engine. You could watch Higbee gaining in the "twisty bits" but since so much of Willow is HP-driven, Shawn really had his work cut out for him. With the large purse, this race always draws some big names if there are no conflicts with AMA or other races. | ||
| Slaughter |
Oh - I forgot to mention... Shawn is doing ALL THE DRIVING to Barber... Mitsu is flying out. I was kidding Shawn saying that he should be having his "paid staff" do the driving to Barber and he should just fly out the night before first practice... that didn't even get a laugh - more like a pained smile. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Good deal for Shawn. BTW- It doesn't look like his site has been updated recently. I'm sure he could find several people here willing to do free website updates for him. | ||
| Slaughter |
Yeah - I check his blog and website but also I understand that at the end of a LONG day after a string of LONG DAYS, it's not always easy to find the motivation to sit at the keyboard for another hour to get a decent narrative down. The dude DESERVES what he EARNS this season. He's busting his butt. Bartels Buell/Harley gets him a lot of support but doing the whole AMA series means that Higbee is going to be stretched THIN for time and money. It would be cool to be able to get approvals for the Buell quote, RRW (C) and Higbee image - all put onto one T-shirt but Road Racing World would only give permission if we would use it as a fundraising effort in support of the Roadracing World Action Fund. | ||
| Drummer |
Could we set up some sort of account and everyone kick in $20.00? | ||
| Court |
>>Could we set up some sort of account and everyone kick in $20.00? I'd welcome the opportunity to help Shawn in anyway. | ||
| Slaughter |
I'll have to ask Blake. I know before he's cut us slack on the sponsorship thing on Badweb for Shawn - but I'd bet that Shawn can use ANYTHING and it would be so cool to see some TRUE grass-roots support develop here. Heck, he's got a picture of Underdog (the cartoon "superhero") stuck on his fairing, why NOT Badweb?  | ||
| Fresnobuell |
All shawn needs is a paypal account. Unless there is some reason i am not aware of, it would easy for all concerned to send some cash...maybe starting at $20 (or $21 to pay for the paypal fee as well) as a suggested donation. I am for sure in. Maybe we could have a sticky thread in the race section were contrributors could post up to keep a running total of sorts... | ||
| Slaughter |
Heck, I can try and see if his email address works for PayPal... he might just start getting small bits of money whether he likes it or not! | ||
| Court |
Let me know if it does. . . . it would be so cool if we could get behind him. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Let us know- I'm sure there are plenty of people that'd kick in $20 or more. | ||
| Slaughter |
Heck, I'D even kick him some money out of MY OWN race budget. I'll see if I can find out IF his email address is OK by him. I won't post anybody's address without permission because of the &$^%-ing spambots. | ||
| Bertman |
I was up in the Budweiser Balcony watching the F1 race, and what a sight that was seeing the Buell leading the pack through there and down the hill. Wouldn't you know it was the first time I didn't bring the good camera with me in the last six months, and I have zero shots to show for it. Great riding Shawn! | ||
| Slaughter |
I gotta say that Mitsu is a hard-core trooper. We took him out for a (promised) dinner at a local renowned sushi restaurant - he APPROVED! and then went back home so he could start working on the bikes... THEN he tells us that it could take him all night (but he didn't want to miss the sushi dinner)!!! He was going to camp in our extra bedroom instead of going back to Bartels and returning back the next morning (meaning adding another 4 hour round trip) In his hands, you can see the LONG breaker bar used to install/remove the clutch and rotor. He was THREATENING the bikes with PAIN if they caused him pain, they'd get pain in return! He STILL didn't turn in until almost 03:00 with the alarm going off at 05:00! The guy gets up, and just charges into the day just as enthused as ever! (ahhh, the exuberance of YOUTH!)  (Message edited by slaughter on April 20, 2009) | ||
| Eweaver |
Shawn's command over the Heavyweight Twins class is astonishing. Watching him lead part of the F1 race was absolutely exhilarating! In the post race interview, Shawn said he hopes to win an F1 race by the end of the season, and his determination to do so is apparent. | ||
| Paint_shaker |
Go Buell Racing!!! If you PM an street address, I will send a Shawn a check! I can't send much as I am trying to run my race season as well, but I can spare $20. (Message edited by Paint shaker on April 20, 2009) | ||
| Fresnobuell |
That would work too...an address to mail a check. I would have one on the way tommorrow! | ||
| Reepicheep |
I just sent a note to the EK chain folks thanking them for sponsoring Shawn, and telling them I just bought one of their chains for my KDX-200 as a gesture of appreciation of their sponsorship. (and I really did!) | ||
| Jlnance |
As I'm sure you will be able to tell from this question, I don't know a lot about racing. Forgive my ignorance. Does Higbee run the same races that Eslick does? I believe that Higbee was in the first race that Eslick won (I remember someone saying he was sick.) I haven't heard Eslick's name come up in reference to anything except the Superstock class, and in that class, Eslick is the only name I regularly hear mentioned. | ||
| Elvis |
Jlnance, He's running in the Superbike class against Mladin et al. He's also running in the Sportbike class with Eslick (he took 5th in Sportbike at Daytona for the best AMA Buell performance prior to Eslick's wins). In Superbike at Daytona, Higbee came in 25th. The first race at Fontana he came in 18th and he made 15th by the second Fontana race. He took off Road Atlanta to try to get some money together, but he should be back for Barber. Since there is so much complaining about Eslick racing against the 600's, it would be nice to see Shawn show something in Superbike, and I think he has a very good shot with some support and time. Both Fontana and Daytona were high speed tracks and Shawn was running a basically stock engine. The Superbike class allows modification to engine components that should allow him to narrow the roughly 40 - 50 HP disadvantage he currently has, but that takes money and slow, methodical development work. Barber has some tight twists and should be a track on which he can do well. It's probably an extreme long-shot for him to be on a podium in 2009, but with some money, I think it's realistic that he could break into the top-10, and, perhaps more importantly, anything he does this year will be key to putting together a potentially more competitive effort next year. . . . and any inroads he can make this year could also pave the path for other riders like Eslick or Knapp to run in Superbike next year or beyond. | ||
| Slaughter |
The Willow Springs races are run at Willow Springs International Raceway and are not the same class structure as the AMA races. The Twins classes that Shawn enters out here at Willow are eligible for Buell contingency money and since this is the "home track" for Bartels (Shawn's sponsoring dealer and friend - Bill Bartels) he always competes here when it doesn't conflict with his AMA schedule. He will also enter the Formula One class sponsored by Toyota. There is enough money put up by Toyota each month that if he podiums, he can actually pay for his lunch and laundry and with the Buell money on top of that, buy his crew dinner... barely. It'll be interesting to watch him in AMA Superbike class this season as the bike gets sorted and developed further. As Elvis said, he's running BOTH series in AMA - Daytona Sportbike AND Superbike. Two different machines since the rules allow different work to be done - though he hasn't yet started "pumping up" the Superbike. | ||
| Elvis |
Hmmm, a couple interesting points there. For one, I wonder if Bill Bartels could set up a fund for Badweb and other Buell enthusiasts to donate to. With some media savvy, he could probably publicize the fund and the grass-roots support in a way that might help get attention for the effort. The other thing is Toyota sponsored Shawn and RMR in Moto-GT if I remember correctly, but I haven't seen their name associated with the Geico team. I wonder if they would consider a sponsorship since they clearly have an interest in motorcycle road-racing. I wonder if there's anyone at Toyota who we could send letters to. | ||
| Doerman |
For one, I wonder if Bill Bartels could set up a fund for Badweb and other Buell enthusiasts to donate to. With some media savvy, he could probably publicize the fund and the grass-roots support in a way that might help get attention for the effort. Excellent point! Hadn't thought of it. I'll give him a ring and see. | ||
| Slaughter |
Yeah - I was ALMOST thinking that you could snail-mail payments to Shawn c/o Bartels Harley/Buell but would have to make sure that they wouldn't get lost. Haven't heard back yet about a suitable PayPal email to use. | ||
| Dano_12s |
Shawn put up a really great writeup on his website about Willow.Sure would be great to get down to Barber! | ||
| Blake |
With paypal, one should be able to put up a link rather than an email address, yes? |
