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Gentleman_jon
| | Posted on Monday, December 05, 2005 - 06:57 pm: | 
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I used to do a little road racing back in the sixties. Mostly on Italian 250 singles, like Ducati, and Parilla.
Racing those bikes was a lot of fun, and not as dangerous as racing the high powered bikes of today. The sport was also a whole lot simpler and cheaper. The bikes only weighed about 250 lbs, and they handled great, even with the small tires of the day.
Here is a photo taken in 1959. I was ridding my Ducati 200 on the Storrow Drive in Cambridge Mass. A series of three rotaries on this road, (no longer there), spawned several motor racing greats, not the least of which was my friend, and factory Porche driver, the late Peter Gregg, many time winner at Sebring, who took this picture.
I don't remembering crashing in a race, but I do recall having a competitor low side into my rear wheel on the last turn at Vineland New Jersey. My Ducati went into a lurid slide, but those light weight bikes were easy to handle and I made it to the finish line in one piece and in third place, with very clear tire tracks on my rear number plate.
I also did a some motocross racing on my 250cc Dot. We called it "Scrambles" in those days, and the circuits were often just laid out in some farmers back forty. I won my first scramble when a guy running in about tenth place drove right across a tight turn and took out the rest of the competition:-) |
Blake
| | Posted on Monday, December 05, 2005 - 07:04 pm: |
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Cool photo! No crashing ever and yet a winner. That is impressive. Hope you bought that 10th place kamikaze a beer.  |
Daves
| | Posted on Monday, December 05, 2005 - 07:35 pm: |
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I meant to say I'd like to do ONE.
Talking racing gets me all excited! |
Tramp
| | Posted on Monday, December 05, 2005 - 07:43 pm: |
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i would like to start...looks way too expensive, though. |
Blake
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 02:29 am: |
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Shoot no, err yeah if you want tires, but the saftey wiring is so cool lookin'! |
Blake
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 02:30 am: |
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Where's Walt and Brad and Skully and hey what about the Englishman?
Come on BadWeB racers, let us know you are still out there eh? |
Jimmytwobuells
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 10:24 am: |
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Never raced a Buell but my '99 M2 got me into racing. Summer 2000 our BRAG club went to Byron IL to do a little drag racing at a test & tune day. As soon as we pulled into the track it started to rain. We decided on the way back to Madison to stop at Blackhawk Farms 'cause I had heard there was some amateur racing going on that weekend. As Marty and I stood at the fence at turn 5 watching we thought "hey were faster than half those guys out there!" So I go home and race prep my girlfriends Honda Hawk and Marty buys a beater $1100 GS500. 2 weeks later we're taking the Learning Curves race school on Saturday and lining up to race on Sunday. Well those guys we watched were going a LOT FASTER than it looked. I finished second to last only beating Marty because his GS was probably making only about 30 RWHP! We were hooked. Unfortunately that was the last race of the season.
I raced a couple times in '01 and then decided to do the whole schedule in '02. Still on the Hawk ( which by now was 700cc's and 68 RWHP) I was the points leader in both middleweight sportsman and formula 40 when I had a fairly freightening get off at the end of July. 1 concussion and several broken ribs later I was back at Road America in August trying to maintain my points lead while racing all goofed up on Vicodan. Bad choice! Came in dead last in all my races and lost the points lead in both classes. I finished the season in second place and never raced again.
Highlights of my short career as a roadracer...
First time on rain tires at RA getting my knee down in the carousel.
Saturday night at the track camping(I was usually pretty hung over during Sunday morning practices)
Seeing Blake Young (now an AMA regular)first put tire to asphalt at age 14.
Meeting a ton of great people! ( including Paul James who back in the day raced a Honda Hawk)
I have a bunch of good stories but I don't have much patience for typing.
Jim |
Blake
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 12:39 pm: |
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That's great stuff Jim.
You've jogged my memory wrt to some now promising AMA professional racers that I had the pleasure of bumping into at Oak Hill Raceway here in East Texas. Was pretty cool sharing the track with guys like Ben Spies, Michael Sanchez, John Haner, Ty Howard, Logan Young, Ryan Andrews, Scott Beckley, and the like. It's amazing how many pro-racers travel through the ranks of the CMRA. Even had the pleasure of seeing Robert Jensen at Oak Hill; he traveled all the way from N. Dakota to race at OHR.
One of these days I need to get serious and set up a BadWeB event at OHR. |
Sportsman
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 09:23 pm: |
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I raced dirttrack in the early 70's but quit at 21. Made it to Junior, but XR's were out of my pricerange and that's all that was worth trying to run at the time.
Went to a Brag trackday in Sept 2000 and had the time of my life. So 2001 I thought I'd try roadracing and thought it was sooo cool to bring home wood in F40. It was really wierd to feel like a winner again at 46. VERY GOOD for the ego of a midlifer. Got 1/2 way compettitive in 2001 and even made a little money in 2002. 2003 I got knocked out for 20 minutes in a wreck at Daytona and struggled with confidence for the rest of the year. It was great fun, no regrets, but 50 is too old to be bouncing down the asphalt trying to catch the young and fearless.
IMHO, racing is as safe as trackdays, so if you feel confident on track, sign up and see how it goes. Racing a Buell was especially cool because I never met a Buell racer that didn't try to help me. That and Henry Duga (Buell Racing) make it easy with subsidises to the addiction with contingencies.
PS: Gent Jon, That is such a cool shot! Mike Hailwood lookalike.
(Message edited by sportsman on December 07, 2005) |
Blake
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 10:50 pm: |
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Nineteen so far. |
Philip
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 11:09 pm: |
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i raced (i think it was crrc) in 1074-76. oak hill, texas world speedway, greater southwest airport in dallas, a street course at fort hood and aquafest in austin.
rode in the 200gp class. low point was having a brand new stock yamaha 200 electric pull me out of a corner and down the straight at aquafest. duncan paul, a very talented rider, smoked me on the outside of a turn at tws on a ta125 factory bike.
it sucked being young and poor and trying to keep up on a modified 180 yamaha against quality stuff. best finish was a fourth.
my wifes husband of 6 months died at tws in 81 and she is not real excite about me doing track days or racing even though i think it is far safer than the street.
i still recall seeing freddie spencer's family roll up with a trailer full of bikes and see him kick a$$ in every class he entered. actually saw his dad push him off on a bike in the pits to go out and practice that he could not even touch ground on!
everyone should get on a track at least once in their life. you don't have to go any faster than you feel comfortable doing but DO IT!!
philip |
Skully
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 01:53 pm: |
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I finally sold the '97 F3 track bike earlier this year and used some of the proceeds to purchase a spare set of wheels (for race rubber) and a belly pan from Daves, and a steering damper (CMRA requirement for ALL bikes) from American Sport Bike to make the '03 XB9S track worthy.
The first time out with the XB was an experience. I tried to guess at suspension settings only to be disappointed. The second time out, I used the factory "track" settings and the bike handled beautifully.
I have now raced the bike twice in '05 and hope to get in a race or two in '06.
Keith  |
Oldog
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 02:02 pm: |
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thanks for the pics, cool... |
Motoboss
| | Posted on Friday, December 09, 2005 - 12:08 pm: |
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Semi long post warning-
OK, so I have never "raced" but have completed thousands of miles on the track. I was hooked on the "track day" after doing a B.R.A.G. event at Blackhawk in 1999. My '98 S1 was a hoot even though I am 6ft. 3in and 230 lbs. On the short track I felt i could stay up with anyone, even though I couldn't.
I immediately came home to Indiana and formed the United Sport Bike Association, rideUSBA.com, in order to do track days with my friends. I went to Putnam Park, a local track, and rented the track for the day, selling spots for $125.00 to offset the cost. We had 13 riders! Lost my a$$ but had a great day on the track, riding until we couldn't go no more.The following year we did it again and the result was even better. We included a "riders school", Learning Curves with Rick Bruer. We had 21 riders, again losing our a$$, but plenty of open track with one on one riding instruction. Perfect!
Every year we have continued to hold our annual "Riders Clinic" at Putnam Park which now is a sell out with sponsorship from 3 local motorcycle dealerships. Who would have thought by wanting to ride for free would turn in to yearly event with sponsorship and amazing friendships.
Continuing to do the "track day" thing I wanted to improve my skill and have now completed several sessions with Learning Curves, Sportbike Track Time, which now runs our "Riders Clinic" for novice riders and 3 Pridmore Star School's. The last one at Road America which included Michael Jordan and the Chi-Town Hustlers.
Not always have I ridden a Buell on the track. Although I have always had a Buell "track bike", a '98 S1, or '99 X1. I also ride an Aprilia RSVR Millie 1000 which is usually way faster than I need or want go! In December of 2004 I decided to move up to the new state of the art XB9R. I bought a brand new 2005 XB, out of the box onto the lift and gutted it. Applying all new innards, 1200 kit ect., wiring harness, chain conversion and Sharkskinz body. All the added extras you ought to have not necessarily need but, Full Race! Having all the work completed by Harley-Davidson/Buell of Bloomington, Indiana. Not only a great service shop but true enthusiast. Evident by their race team running on the National Circuit. Also a sponsor of our Riders Clinic. Once again losing my a$$, even though it's the best money I ever spent on a motorcycle.
Having realized I had built a top shelf race bike I decided we needed to race. About this time I also realized I did not have the skill or desire to race with the young guns, so we let a very good friend and excellent racer campaign the new XB in CCS/FUSA in 2005. Lee Bailey had been racing a United Sport Bike Association backed Speedway bike in AMA division one for three years and had done quite well.
We started off the year at Road America where we learned to register earlier because the later you register the farther back in the field you start. Lee , our rider, won 5 armature races in a row from the last row and was leading the 6th race by over 20 seconds and low sided going into the new chicane coming out of the carousel. Did I mention it was 21 degrees when we started the first race. And oh yeah, SNOW! I was having the time of my life!
To every up there is always a down. After leaving Road America Lee decided, for family reasons, not to continue the season. One race and we were done! I spent the rest of the year, once again, doing track days all over the midwest, Autobohn, Road America, Black Hawk, Putnam, and Barber only to realize that I wanted race "my" bike. I applied and received a CCS/FUSA competition license towards the end of 2005. Unfortunately, I was not able to compete in any events do to a very busy schedule. That's OK because I am looking forward to the 2006 season with an intense desire to see if I do have what it takes to ride with the young guns.
Not bad for a guy over 50!
I have mentioned "we" several times. The other side of "we" is my wife. Debi has been a supporter of all I have ever done and continues to support every effort be it racing, track day's or life's daily routine. Much appreciation to the "quiet" team member and my best friend.
Do all you can. Ride all you can. Chase that dream while you still breath, otherwise it's gonna be way to late. See you on the track.
"Ride Smart-Ride Safe" |
Xbcrazy
| | Posted on Friday, December 09, 2005 - 04:35 pm: |
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Racing was something that I would have never dreamed of doing a few years back. I have been riding motorcycles since I was a kid, but I went from dirt bikes straight to cruisers skipping the whole "sportbike" thing completely. Four years ago I took a part-time job at a Harley dealership. My co-workers, Ryan and Seth, convinced me to buy a 2003 XB9S instead of the new FXDX that I wanted. Later that year, Ryan invited me to go to Laconia, NH to watch his friend race his X1 in Formula USA Thunderbike at the Loudon Classic. Holy Crap!!
The teamwork, excitement and fun was unbelievable. I had never been on a track, but on that day I knew I would.
A few months later, BRAG held a track day at Pocono Int'l Raceway. My friend and I went. We got 3 sessions in before the skies opened and the rain washed out the rest of the event. Team Promotion, who hosted the event, gave us all credit to return. I had to wait until the next riding season to get back. After that I was going every other weekend. It was awesome.
That brings me to June of this year. My first event was the CCS/FUSA weekend at Summit Point, WV. For the first time since I graduated from college almost 10 years ago, I got to compete in something. What a great feeling. I love those butterflies that you get in the bottom of your stomach just before you roll out onto the track. That is the best part of racing for me.
Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad. On that weekend, for some reason unknown to me, I registered for the FUSA Thunderbike race. Exactly, what am I doing in that race? I have no idea. Anyway, going into turn 10 on lap 2, I watched my friend Anthony (mutation_racer)get tangled up with two other bikes and literally fly off the track. The pictures were posted here on the Badweb a few months back. He was lying flat on his back and not moving as I passed. That lap was the worst 2 minutes I have ever spent on a motorcycle. Fortunately he was OK, just a bit banged up.
If anyone reading this thread thinks they might want to give it a try, get with a track day club and practice. Find a buddy that wants to race too and go for it! Even though your Buell was built for the street, it is a worthy competitor in several lightweight classes.
I can't wait until the 2006 season arrives! |
Blake
| | Posted on Friday, December 09, 2005 - 06:02 pm: |
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Thanks for chiming in guys! Any more BadWeB racers or track day demons out there? |
S1eric
| | Posted on Friday, December 09, 2005 - 06:28 pm: |
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AHHH Yesssss
Track day at Homecoming, What a great time.
I got to pit next to Cap, Also got to meet
A lot of other crazy Buell riders.
And lets see--- I think it was Gary Bruer ?
From learning curves race school, Who gave us the
Low down on the track. (Blackhawk)
Just think about it.
A Track day just for Buellers !
There was a couple of other brands there, But the majority of the riders were on buells.
S1Eric
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Roadsurfr
| | Posted on Saturday, December 10, 2005 - 11:33 am: |
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My most harrowing experience was at West Palm Beach, trying to practice in the rain on a flooded track. Needless to say you couldn't see the track,or more accurately, the corners!!! Eddie Lawson didn't seem to have any problems though. Then there was the time I ran off the track at Oak Hill into a field of tree stumps. That was a 'high pucker event'. All I can say is that if you haven't tried it, you owe it to yourself. Butch |
Dirtsquirt
| | Posted on Saturday, December 10, 2005 - 07:44 pm: |
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Yes, I have tried road racing, too old and fragile to do it again. About 1967, I traded for a Harley Sprint road racer. The bike had some history, as it was Dick Hammer's 1963 ride in the Daytona 250cc race. He won again in '64 with a '64 Sprint. The first time I raced the bike was at Dodge City, Kansas. Had fun but the bike was far faster than I was. When i first looked at it , the foot-pegs (rubber at that time)were worn off at about 45 degrees. Leaning the bike over I knew I would never get it over that far! After Dodge City, the wear was fresh! I didn't think about the suspension not being loaded when leaned over at rest. Dummy.
The most interesting race we never got to race! We also had a Sprint rigid frame short tracker, no brakes, no downshifting. One Saturday afternoon we loaded both bikes in the pickup and headed for Wichita Jeeps MC Track for a short track race. Finished I think third.
We headed out late that night for Warbonnet Raceway in Oklahoma. We caught a little sleep in the pickup and arrived in time for practice. After about 4 laps the ship hit the fan! I grabbed the clutch and coasted to the pit. My wife Barbara and I pulled the head and found the intake valve buried in the piston!
I should have quit then, but most of the 250's in the practice laps were Suz/Yama/Honda/Kaw dirt bikes, with many riders putting a foot down in the turns. (no one put knees down at the time) I had a real roadracer!? After checking with the officials, we still had about an hour before the start. The wife and I put the 4 speed short track engine in the road racer, fired it off, got out for maybe 2 laps, and would anyone believe the bottom end let go? We loaded up and went home.
Hindsight being 20-20, we should have just changed head, barrel and piston. Hind sight being 20-20, I should never have sold those two bikes. |
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Ever Road Race a Motorcycle? Still alive to tell about it?
