| Author | Message | ||
     Austinrider |
Well, today was the Buell track day at TWS. It was a great day and a good time was had by all. I got to meet Honu (White XB9R) and talked to Ken - sorry Ken I forget your screen name (Recon?). We had a great day. It was safe and pretty accident free in the Buell/Harley group. There were a few jap bikes in the mix, but it was predominantly (sp?) an American V-Twin group. There is nothing like seeing a Vrod take some sharp turns at a race track. I personally had a good day. Even though I went down around mid-day (low sided in turn 4) I was not cashed in. Some duct tape, a brake lever and a spare windscreen later, I was jamming. I did bust the frong fairing bracket on the bike, but it was not a show stopper.The Trojan frame sliders did their job well. I walked away with a pain in my ribs (probably when I hit the bike as it went down), and some sore spots I will probably cuss tomorrow.My leathers now have a badge on them. Anyways, just had to toss a post out to tip my hat to Mancusso HD for organizing this event. Also, I want to be sure to give a big and heart felt thank you to Marcus McBain. Not only did he tune quite a few suspsensins that day, he put on a class detailing suspension, what the individual components do, and how they work together. He had an XB12R to demonstrate everything on also. Very impressive Marcus, and again. Thank you! I took a great deal of knowledge from you in that seminar. I dont know if Rodney told you, but he loved the changes you made to his bike. He said it was very smooth after you tweaked it for him. Anyway, I need to go pop a few advil and get some sleep. Im bushed and my ribs hurt. It was really great meeting everybody and I hope we can do a track day soon again! --Phil | ||
| Unibear12r |
Is that his 12R to race? If so I haddn't heard. Good luck guys. | ||
| Docrecon |
Hey Phil, good to see you at TWS today & to meet Hanu (you lurkin' out there pal?), & thanks to Dan from San Antonio for the hot dogs! Nice to see a bunch of Buells on the track. Found it interesting when Marcus mentioned Eric's taking some cues off the FZ250 for the XB's (hope I didn't get those letters scrambled, I checked the TZ250 but their rake angle is pretty conventional.) Oh, and Phil? Keep the Shiney Side Up, UP!!!! | ||
| Austinrider |
Unibear12r - Yes, that 12R with the full fairing that Marcus used during his suspension class is the Central Texas Harley Davidson race bike. Rodney (its rider) was out there practicing in group 2 most of the day. Doc, I'm going to try. I still havent figured out why the bike slid out on me like that. Best I can explain is to much speed and not enough skill. I dont think I was off the bike enough as I was leaning it to get setup for the next turn. I am one sore puppy today. Hope to see you guys again soon. | ||
| Englishman119 |
Phil - Sorry to hear you went down - glad its nothing too serious - I've a few street parts like footpegs, bars etc you're welcome to if you need em. I would have loved to have made it to the event, but my day job schedule would not permit it. Also this race bike of mine is bleeding me dry!!! 119 | ||
| Honu |
It was a great day, it was nice to meet Austinrider and Recon, was hoping to see some other BadWebbers out there, maybe next time.  | ||
| Englishman119 |
You've gotta love Rodneys white boots!!!!! | ||
| Austinrider |
Honu - Thanks for posting that pic. It was great meeting you. Sorry you couldnt make it Mark. I hear you about the bike bleeding you dry. The CBR F4i that I bought as a track bike is having the same effect on me. I would go into the details of it, but they just tick me off. Needless to say, when a bike burns almost all of its oil in 1 lap, things are not looking good. | ||
| Docrecon |
Hey Phil, sorry to hear you're one sore puppy but as we know that'll go in a few days, glad you broke some minor stuff on the bike & not on the body. Yeah, it'd be nice to know why the bike went like that - Too Much Speed & Not Enough Skill is my primary problem - were your tires warmed up enough? I like the XB9R more the more I ride it, and being on the track gave me the opportunity to push it much harder than I've had the opportunity to do on the street. Although I'm overall comfortable on the bike, especially for turn 14 I was wishing the "gas tank" was designed w/ contours that allow you to hook the thigh under - for me, leaning the bike is very comfortable but for quick transitions like 10->11 & 13->14 I'd like a little more of something to "hook up" on. | ||
| Marcus_mcbain |
Hey Docrecon, I am not sure what is "conventional" about TZ250 spec's. The TZ as per 2003 rake is 22 degrees (Agressive). The Buell XB9r/12r rake is 21 degrees. Trail on the TZ is 82mm. Trail on the XB9r is 83mm. It has been said that Erik Buell looked at the type of tendancies the TZ has in order to make the XB the sportbike it is. I mentioned that in the free suspension seminar. To learn more about the TZ250 and the XB9r/12r, here are some bits of good reading. http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/2004/146_04_buell_xb12r_specs http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/2004/146_04_buell_xb9r_specs/ http://www.tz250racing.com/2002TZ250/2002_tz250.php | ||
| Henrik |
Doc; an idea for "hooking up" on the tank: Jason Pridmore has some sort of "rough" plastic sheet glued to the sides of his gas tank for that purpose. It's almost like the anti-slip tape you put on stairs, only not as abrasive. I've been looking for something similar since I saw that. Bet it would work well. Henrik |
