| Author | Message | ||
     Hangontight |
Any other BadWebbers gonna be there tomorrow? I heard registration is full. This is my first track day so I'm pumped! (Message edited by hangontight on August 11, 2009) | ||
| Whatever |
Good Luck!  Keep it on the pavement! | ||
| No_rice |
blackhawk is alot of fun! atleast for me... http://www.gron4.com/2009/061009/adv/buell/  work on making your lines smooth, dont worry about being fast. smooth makes you fast. trust me. i actually run a higher gear through most of the corners then i would if i was really trying to race someone. it forces me to be smoother and carry more speed through the corner if i want a good exit speed, because i wont have the pull i would have if i was in a lower gear and relied on the throttle upon exit. if that makes any sence #1 takes some learning simply because you will want to be drag racing down the front stretch. you'll have to figure out your braking spot and how much you are comfortable with. i have a tendancy to come through it with the rearend stepped out, a bit sideways and on the gas(actually in many corners), but thats just me... and that leads to alot of this   if you hit the carousel(#3) right you can come out of it lined up to shoot right through the kink(before 3d) without even having to hardly make a turn. 3d (the bus stop)is just a pain in the ass. there is about a 12" track of good payvment around that corner that you are either on or your not. if your not the corner is never pretty. and work on turning 4 and 5 into one big continuous turn. there is really no rumble strip on the outside of 4-5. its actually a giant damn curb with loose rock right near it most of the time, so stay out of the gravel while still getting as close to the outside edge as you can at the peak of your corner when making the 2 turns combine into one. (exiting turn 5)  come out of 6 wide and set up for the turn between 6 and 6a(not sure why its not considered a corner because it sure is one. if you hit that corner right you can be pinned partway through it until your on the brakes for 7. although your going to have to do a pretty hard lean at speed to get through 6a without letting off the gas. tap the brakes coming into 7, pitch it in and back on the gas as soon as your settled into the corner, or even sooner if your feeling brave. that should get you a good start  | ||
| Rocketsprink |
turn 3 has been repaved and is in great shape. Just raced there last month. Ended up 2nd in Lightweight Supersport and 2nd in Lightweight F40. Will be missing the race weekend coming up. Have fun, be safe, and be ready to shell out some $$ for you new hobby. Weather looks to be ideal. www.gron4.com/2009/072609/amt/318/ (Message edited by rocketsprink on August 11, 2009) (Message edited by rocketsprink on August 11, 2009) | ||
| Gearhead |
Blackhawk is quickly becoming my favorite track! #1 Take a case of water with you and put it on ice. You never want to feel thrusty, if you do you're not drinking enough! #2 Ask questions!! The control riders are there to help you. #3 Don't feel like you have to ride every session! I've seen the majority of accidents happen in the session after lunch and the last one of the day. If you feel tired, rest!! #4 Remember, there is NO trophy at the end of the day for the fastest or bravest! #5 Have fun!!! Rocketsprink is very quick! I was a distant 3rd to him in the LWF-40 race last month! If you check out the photos, you'll see what happened to me as I chased Rocketsprink in the LW SuperSport race. He was several bike lengths ahead, all this happened behind him. I was real glad that I didn't go down! http://www.gron4.com/2009/072609/amt/902/ | ||
| Daves |
I like Blackhawk too Wish I was going God, I need to get back on a track. Been too long. | ||
| Sifo |
Had some time this afternoon so I buzzed up to Blackhawk Farms for my first time just to watch. I figured, who knows, I might even meet a fellow BadWeber there. So I get there and I'm riding through the pits having no idea where I should go. I find a shady spot to park next to some bleachers (turns out I was by turn 4). Only one guy in the bleachers - Perfect! As I'm walking toward the bleachers still trying to get my bearings the guy in the bleacher says to me "Nice bike". I say thanks and we start a conversation. Turns out the guy was Kirk, a.k.a. Hangontight. I had a great afternoon watching bikes on the track and getting to know a fellow Bueller when he wasn't on the track. Good to meet you Kirk. Glad you had a good time today and kept the shiny side up. I may have to look into some racing leathers. It looked like too much fun! | ||
| Rocketsprink |
last weekend in September there are CCS races at Blackhawk. Please come by and watch/help/hang out with us. As you cross over the track to get inside the facility, that first main stretch right after the gate is "Buell Alley". Also up for meeting fellow Buellers and I know we all always could use an extra pair of hands. | ||
| Svh |
I am going to try to make it down there for that. Hope to see some of you there. | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Come hell or high water, I will be there racing. PLEASE people, try and make it!! BTW, glad to hear that things went well for Kirks track day. It can become habit forming. | ||
| Gearhead |
Hangontight, How did it go?? | ||
| Paint_shaker |
I did my first track day at Blackhawk at the Buell 25th. I experienced the light bulb coming on in Turn 7, after a control rider invited me to follow. And follow I did. I came in way to hot (or so I thought. I was on the front brake, the back brake, downshifting and clenching the seat with my butt cheeks. I began looking for my "escape" in the run off area. Less than a half second later I thought "the control rider just made the turn, I can too". With that, I was off the brakes, leaned over and holding on for my life!! I came out of the turn in the wrong gear with a HUGE sh&t eating grin on my face thinking "Holy sh*t, I did it!!!!!" And thus begun the journey towards financial ruin... | ||
| Hangontight |
"How did to go??" awesome....thats how it went! What a great day. It was packed though....the first track day that blackhawk farms has ever sold out (according to the rider's meeting). There was so many riders that they had to split the intermediate riders into two groups, effectively reducing track time for everybody. We rode 15 minute sessions instead of 20 minutes. I felt that when I was done, i was still hungry for more riding. But the track was awesome. Everyone was right, picking the right lines is much more important than top end speed. The Uly held its own against all the sportbikes. I never felt like I was riding something slower than the rest of the group...in fact I passed many more riders than I was passed by. I'm glad I didn't crash! About 6-7 guys went down, but I think most of them walked away ok. It was great to meet Tom (Sifo) there at the track and have someone to hang out with between sessions. Good to know all you BadWeb guys aren't internet creeps!!  When I get photos I'll post'em up. Thanks for all the pre-track day advise from all you guys. It made a big difference being properly prepared. I'm hooked and am planning to do more. one of the control riders made fun of my cowboy boots and told me to get some real riding boots!! lol (Message edited by hangontight on August 13, 2009) | ||
| Hangontight |
No_Rice: I wish I would have read your post before I went! You're right on the money about describing the turns on the track. The hardest turn for me was 6. I felt like I always carried too much speed into it and ended up trying to shed speed while in the turn....never good. I Loved turns 3 and 5. Turn three is alot of fun because it is so long that you can really get the bike leaned over and the pavement is excellent in that turn. You're right about the bus stop (3d), that concrete patch sucks to try and maneuver around. Great photography on the link in your post! | ||
| Ulynut |
Good to know all you BadWeb guys aren't internet creeps!! Yeah, but some of us are.  Glad you brought the Uly home intact. | ||
| Hangontight |
well, wasn't quite getting my knee down, but not bad for a noob!  (Message edited by hangontight on August 17, 2009) | ||
| Gearhead |
I'd say you look pretty good for the first time at the track. Welcome to the insanity!! www.racingwithralph.blogspot.com | ||
| Fresnobuell |
There was so many riders that they had to split the intermediate riders into two groups, effectively reducing track time for everybody. We rode 15 minute sessions instead of 20 minutes. Overbooking a track day? that sucks IMO. Did they give everyone 25% of their money back? | ||
| Hangontight |
Did they give everyone 25% of their money back? nope, still paid the full $165. I found out about the NESBA thing when I was there. I'll definitely be doing that next year rather than the track sponsored track days. NESBA is cool because there track days are on weekends so I don't have to use vacation days! | ||
| Sifo |
Kirk, Please share what you found out about "the NESBA thing". | ||
| Hangontight |
Please share what you found out about "the NESBA thing" https://www.nesba.com/ The website is pretty detailed about what's included: $75/yr, rain insurance, crash/mechanical insurance, weekend track days, discount on multiple days, lots of dates in the midwest region, etc. Tom, check out the free intro track day deal on the website. You can do two morning sessions for free without having to prep your bike for the track(i.e. you can ride it to the track). Sounds like a great way to figure out if you want to get into track days. | ||
| Sifo |
Thanks Kirk! The biggest hurdle to a first track day I see is the racing leather. I see NESBA has a rental program for the leathers. Bookmarked their site!  | ||
| Sifo |
Kirk, I found out something funny today. The pace rider that was giving you tips when we were sitting in the bleacher is the brother of a friend of mine. I never met him before but knew he raced there a lot. Small world! I was supposed to go there today with some riding buddies to watch, but the day turned into a cluster****. Front wheel bearing failed first thing in the AM. Limped it home. My wife is out of town so I took her Sporty for a second attempt. Half way up there I high sided the Sporty on a spot of sand. Luckily I was going slow and just tweaked my ankle a bit. I'll have some 'splainin' to do when my wife gets back though. After all that we just stopped for lunch and called it a day before is spiraled down hill any more. Crashing seems to really put a damper on the mood of a ride. | ||
| Hangontight |
ouch....glad you walked away from it ok...bikes are replaceable. Sounds like it was just not your day to go for a ride! That's weird that you know that guy from the track. All the more reason to do a track day! lol. The two times that I've crashed I was pretty shaken up...gave myself a day or two before I got back on the bike again. Are you going to tackle that wheel bearing yourself? If you're taking it to Zylstra do you have a way to get it there? I got a pickup if needed. | ||
| No_rice |
If you're taking it to Zylstra do you have a way to get it there? I got a pickup if needed. your bringing it to me....?! oh wait you probably ment our store in St Charles. (my store in ames is alot better though, cause im not at the other one lol!) | ||
| Sifo |
It should be under warranty so I'm not sure if they will let me just stroll in with the front wheel. If not I've got to figure some way of transporting the bike. I'll let you know if I can't arrange something. Thanks for the offer. No-rice, yes St Charles store and my guess is that they would be better with you. The do have a good Buell sales guy, but when you walk in the shop with a Buell they seem to get lost. I had a great service experience last week getting a rocker box leak fixed on the Sporty, but that was at a non-Buell HD dealer. That shop has always left me with a good feeling. Our Buell dealers, not so much! | ||
| No_rice |
not that i think you would, but if you ever have a problem at one of my shops let me know and i'll try to get things worked out for you. and by the way, sorry about the luck. hopefully your week doesnt get much worse when the wife gets home! | ||
| Sifo |
No_rice, not that I expect you to step in on this, but since you showed interest I posted a thread on my latest experience so far on the XBoard... http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/327 77/490035.html?1251218463 I really like the Buell, and I understand that when dealing with mechanical things, things are going to break, but I'm just about at my limits with dealing with HD on warranty issues. I may actually be happier with breakdowns once I'm responsible for the repair myself. Or I may just buy a Triumph from MCC in Villa Park. I never hear of them jacking around their customers. | ||
| No_rice |
tom, pm me your number. it should be covered so i'll make sure it gets straightened out. | ||
| Sifo |
Tim, Thanks for the offer of help. It's getting straightened out. Wild Fire is picking it up tomorrow AM and they now say they will cover it under warranty. Simple warranty service shouldn't be this difficult. It really takes the fun out of having a bike. I just hope the fun comes back when the bike is rolling again and doesn't become a reminder of the incompetence of a very few people. | ||
| Rocketsprink |
the last CCS race weekend at Blackhawk is Sept 26-27 please come out and hang/help out in buell alley | ||
| No_rice |
the plan was for me to be there, Matt(carparts009) is planning on having his first race that weekend. but work decided i wouldnt be able to make it. %$$%$###^&$&^&^%&$%&*&*%$. | ||
| Gearhead |
I second Rocco's invitation! It would be great to have a lot of BadWeb Buell riders come out to the last race of the season at Blackhawk Farms in September. |
