| Author | Message | ||
     Rick_a |
Hey guys. I've been absent for a while due to having lost any internet access. The last few months have been awesome. I got a bunch of new protective gear and have had a fun time setting my bike up. I finally got around to doing a roadracing school. I went to Penguin in Jennings in November. It was an awesome time. My only snag was not having broken in my boots. I was missing downshifts all over the track. My poor transmission really took a beating. The other thing is that my thighs were a little big for the AGV suit. I couldn't stretch my legs out enough to get a knee down, though I did manage to bevel the hell out of a toe slider and scrape the peg routinely on the left side. My S1 has the suspension raised an inch in the rear and the pegs are raised 2" so I had some decent lean angle going on. I was in the "A" group with other track newbees, although for some reason they let some fast guys in...which made closing speeds at a couple straights pretty ridiculous. Those track regulars had no business in our group, IMO. That was my only gripe. We do 3 instructor led sessions, each a little faster than the last. After that, there were 3 open sessions. The first one I blew downshifts all over the place and scared myself pretty good. Amazingly I kept it on the track despite running way wide at times. I passed a few guys as well as got passed by a few. The second session I hung it out. I got passed only by a track regular on an R1 and a Ducati 1000SS mounted instructor. I was slowing early for the fast corners in case I couldn't get into the right gear in time. Passing is really difficult especially when there are a bunch of slow guys in the fast line. The Pirelli Scorpions I was using were really starting to get slimey half way through the 20 minute session. I lost both ends at the apex of one corner when my peg dug really hard...I kept on it and after sliding abruptly towards the edge of the track a bit it miraculously regained traction. I laughed my @ss off inside my helmet. The last session I started charging hard. Street tires stick pretty well when cold so I had an advantage for about a lap and a half or so. After continuing to miss downshifts I got disheartened and slowed down a bit. Both our first and last sessions were cut short due to crashes. There was one guy slow enough to get a yellow flag where ever he went. They didn't want anyone running into him. There were machines of all types. Ducati 998, 999, 748, 1000ss, Aprilia, Honda, and Yamaha 250's, an Aprilia RSV Mille, another Buell, an X1, and several Japanese sportbikes of all shapes and sizes. A rider destroyed his R6 streetbike running off the track at high speed. There were several track run offs but only one other bike damaging crash. Both riders were ok though one was a bit dazed. I had one rider run across the first corner in a series of S's just as I came through...and I ran wide and hard to avoid getting T-boned. There was a female Canadian Superbike racer there. She was quite nice and quite attractive. I believe that is what caused one of the instructors to knock me down in the pits. She was there alone so my wife was helping her tighten her rear axle after a tire change. I think he was more focused on their rear ends and ended up having his front wheel right beside me as I turned towards my pit spot. I fell right into his bike and was almost too fatigued to pick my bike back up. Being wedged between 'em didn't help any either. He apologized later...and oh well, sh*t happens. Everyone in the fast group was pretty damn impressive. They were so smooth and fast they really made it look easy. I'm actually wearing these boots daily so shifting is a bit less stressful. I plan on doing a track day and an advanced school next year...as well as getting some race compound rubber. I did manage to pass one instructor...though admittedly he was on a vintage MotoGuzzi on bias ply tires! I'd recommend this stuff to anyone and it feels so much safer out on the track. If you use your street bike having a spare set of bodywork is nice...and having things well prepped before you hit the track makes things run really smoothly. | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Ahh, cool stuff. Come on March, hurry up and get here so I can make my track newbie story LOL! | ||
| Rick_a |
It is truly the most fun you can have with your clothes on. |
