Moto-Brian

This is what I am hearing in regards to this company. Kinda sucks because they look pretty cool... On paper, they should be bad ass, but fit and finish isn't on par with the price and the fitment has been shown to be somewhat limiting... Try the Bell Star. Their carbons are the SHIZNIT! I have worn Suomy since they were in the US up until the Bells in the last few years and the Bell was a bit of a question mark for me. But, once I got it, inspected it and even wore a few prototypes, it was awesome. Easton-Bell sports is a HUGE company and can make changes when and if needed... Shoei and Arai are awesome also for sure...

This Wilson dealio for $400... Is this for just 4G? Looks to be so for the LTE market, but I may need it to be 3G compatible if the 4G signal isn't possible to grab even with the device like this... I just want fucking better internet speeds, man!

That yagi deal is a shit pile cheaper than the example I mentioned. Is it a better choice than the zBoost ya think? Would I need one for each MiFi? I have two currently...

So, we have to use the Verizon MiFi units in our home to get internet and ability to do work from home. We cannot get cable or DSL and know that the DISH stuff is crazy expensive and very limited. Thus, the Verizon MiFi... We are on the skirt of 4G and 3G. Not a big issue using the 3G, but Verizon's 3G is painfully slow compared to ATT. ATT at our house is skirting 3G and Edge... So, if we are skirting both, I would rather try and amp the signal to get that 4G signal. Plus, if we can boost the 3G signal on both MiFis, I'd be happy with that also... So, heard that the zBoost YX545 SOHO is an option, but I am pretty much an idiot when it comes to this stuff. I just want to buy something and it work really good. MiFi so far is having me so pissed that we moved in to the country that I get to the point I almost give up trying to do anything internet related... Any thoughts or suggestions? We are locked into a 2 year deal with Verizon and have about 18 months left before we could change, etc...

VF- Here's how I do my pinch bolts. They are not really pulling in the tighten direction, but should secure from loosening. Note: This is before I decided to use the two pinch bolts... Here is how I do my caliper bolts. Again, in an effort to secure them as best as possible with diaper pins.

Correct. He should at worse, have the hole running horizontal to the ground and would be a better way. The diaper pins really are nice for pinch bolts, but limit the way to secure the bolts. Same with the caliper bolts. We all do it, though. I am guilty also. However, I try on the caliper bolts to have the top one and bottom one at an angle to at least try and have some tension on them, but again, to do it correctly, diaper pins need to be tossed and just use safety wire...

Actually used to do this also, but when I saw the issue it caused on the Suzuki, I have always used both now. The pinch amount needed to hold the axle isn't as high and even with just one bolt... I did a test and in fact even with the RC8, it is the same result. Even though it would take a huge amount of stress, the axle doesn't get as secure with one bolt vs two...

Take those plates out. They are only there to keep the pads quiet for street riders... They are of no value at the track...

It isn't really a good band-aide and honestly, if allowed, you have to clean it off to remove the pins, you then have to redab it back on to secure it and do it soon enough to set up to be useful. Wired, it needs drilled initially, but once done, you zip the wire on fast and off you go. I can do the Zook pins in probably 10 seconds... But, the RC8 has one piece calipers and that is all a thing of the past!

If you are seriously racing, you need to drill. But, you CAN get away with silicone, but it is a mess, has to be redone every time you change pads and honestly, not sure if Moto Series or other orgs will accept...

Not a bad way to do it, but when you add in the wire for the caliper bolts, you got a whole lot of wire going on. If you do what we do, you'll not only use less wire, but it is cleaner with the bolts... Just a suggestion and certainly isn't wrong the way you are doing it.

Jeff was looking at my ass also. Justin will get his soon enough. Had he not crashed at Mid-Ohio, I would have shown him mine also...

We drill through the body of the caliper and through the pin. Once tightened, you'll know exactly as the holes will line up. Safety wire through the hole and you are set...

If ya take $100, I will buy it from ya. Let me know, man.

Marty- When will all the pics be up? Thanks!

We rode MX (Poorly, I might add) and a lot of MTB bike riding. Consistency is the goal. If your fastest lap is a 12 and the slowest a 14, running 13s and 12s is a goal. Trying to run 12s with your hair on fire is going to wear you out and towards the end of the stint, you'll be so worn out, your times will fall a ton.

No, you are right. You could do it for less. But, if you fall for the ol' dream price and wake up finding you burnt more than you expected, it's a bitch, man. Also, you get charged $35/bike extra for practice. So, three bikes is an additional $70 or $35 each of the other two riders. An SV is a better choice. Better on tires, with a larger tank, they can run forever on a tank and you are going to have lower costs of repair and replacement. Another BIG note - DO NOT PIT to satisfy equal seat time. I see this a LOT with casual teams and first timers. You pit when the time comes to get fuel. We'd run 1-1/2 hours on a tank of fuel. We'd run a 4 hour race with 3 guys and the fastest guy runs first, second fastest next and third fastest last. But, a 3 hour is really a two rider deal. If a big tank and running 1-1/2 hours a tank, one stop. Maybe a splash at the end and a hot sprint to the checker. But, on a stock size tank, you'd get about 45-55 minutes a tank. So, three guys can pull it off and have a fresh rider each stint. Fastest guy cleans up on the last stint. Tires wear out and need changed? Ride through the tire issue until the tank needs filled. When you come in for fuel, you get tires, but you NEVER come in early unless there is a major issue that needs fixed. You cannot win the race in the pits, but you sure as hell can lose it there... 3 Hour, three hits of fuel and four stints. If you go and try to do equal laps and seat time, you'll be screwed. But, not many teams so, you can pull it off... But, fastest guy gets the biggest load usually to maintain that pace and distance in front...

No way you are doing it for $300 each. No way. Using shit take offs will get you through, but the next round, if you used take offs in round one and a fresh set for the race, both are done for. If you are practicing on those same take offs or dare I say the race set, you are not getting what you need out of it. So, you need two brand new sets for round 2 and can maybe get by with using the practice set again the 3rd round, but the race set after 3 hours needs to be thrown away. So, even if you are using cheaper tires and are getting them for $300 a set, that's $600 for round two. That's $200 each and that doesn't count the entry fees, gate fees, fuel, oil, etc... As for the bike, if you are absorbing the parts, the wear and tear and everything, sign me up. That's not the way to really do it and among the guys asking, I think they need to make sure that they get everything sorted prior and done the right way or the first crash can end the team and their friendship. I've watched race teams fold due to these issues... Also, another separation from casual team to serious team is the fact that if other riders are riding something different than your bike, they are wasting time. Learning lines maybe, but you have a larger tank. That feels different, causes the bike to handle differently, etc. They need that seat time on that bike at that track. Not being a dick here, but I have been doing this for almost 18 years. I've raced a few notable series and while Fasttrax was cool and every time we entered a race at Mid-Ohio or similar, we beat all the "established" teams, we were organized and well ran. Yes, we had support, we had freebies, but we still had expenses and we needed to get those sorted. The best team I ever talked to about these things was AOD and Sam Flemming as well as Mark Junge. A couple of fairly well regarded endurance guys... Point is that there are expenses that are typically missed and when you get home, that $300 is actually a lot more. You do that for 9 rounds and all of a sudden, you've burned an extra $1k you never expected. Credit Cards get jacked and when the crash happens, you need to add that up also... Reality is a bitch. Anyone that thinks they can do it on $300 a round is not really looking at the whole picture. But, for these guys, I'd sign up for Ducatis team and pay $300 a round. You'll never get by cheaper than that. And, if you don't have a bike and need one, that is something you need to figure out as to who is getting it, how you'll maintain it and who pays for the extras needed...

Just grab a tow from me or Wrobel and Justin and we can get you sorted. A lot can be learned on the turn via sit down and a track map also...

You can make a shit pile of time in 13. Drive out and entry for sure. I agree on the line choice, but there is certainly time lost or gained there and in 4 and the carousel...

There are some serious issues you need to address as priority. 1) Budget. You really should do everything in advance. We essentially sat down and sorted EVERY detail we could think of from bike to entry fees to tires oil to truck maintenance to food to crashes, etc. Once you have a figure that is realistic, you need to divide it by the number of riders. That is your target and really, what you should get up front. However, a lot of guys are not going to be able to pony that and what we did was take the amount and do 1/2 from each rider. That was still a big chunk, but what it allowed for was to cover things that popped up on us in say, round three of ten... Know what I mean? 2) Bikes. Yes, bikes plural. To do endurance the right way, you need 2-3 bikes total. One, seat time. Try splitting the limited endurance practices. Doesn't work well. 10 minutes each? Really? Two bikes minimum and allows for the most seat time for set up and practice. Fastest guy stays out the longest if need be to do set up. Or, best set up guy. You get the idea... The other idea behind two bikes is two fold. Spares. Crash replacement. You crash and total the "A" bike and have 2 hours and 45 minutes left, you need a "B" bike. 30 minutes to go? Nope... Finally, the bikes have to come from someone. DO NOT split a bike or bikes. Unless you have two bikes and two guys each buy one. The reason is if the bike/s is/are split three ways for example and one gets totaled, what do you do? But, if a guy buys a bike, that lessens his cost of the split. In other words, anyone that thinks they can do a Moto Series round for $300 each rider ($900) total is insane. Here's a break down: Bike maintaining expense - $20 ($60 min oil - 4 qts) Bike maintaining expense - $3+ ($9-$10 filter) Bike maintaining expense - $30-$40 each ($100-$120 a set brake pads) Bike maintaining expense - $30 chain (Three chains for 9 rounds at $100 each) Bike maintaining expense - $200-$265 tires (two sets @ $300 - $400/set. No way you can do one set per weekend...) Entry fees - $94 entry fees - ($250 per round plus $10 gate fee) Food - $10 each (water, cold sandwiches, snacks, etc.) Fuel - $27/each - 20+ gallons for practice and race (3.5 gallons plus per 45 minutes so, 4 fill ups.) JUST to run the race, you are looking at about $400-$450 each per round to just do that. Not including the truck oil change, fuel for the ride up and back, hotel, dinner, breakfast, wear and tear cost on bike, etc. Also, you need to consider these costs: Spares - wheels, radiator, clip-ons, rearsets, bodywork, etc. You really need to consider a second bike really, but if not, these are MINIMUM to have on hand. You are looking at anywhere from $800-$1000 plus or $300-ish each just to start the season. Then, you need to make sure the bike is fresh at the end of the season. Price motor refreshening and you will find that you'll have another $700 plus each. This gets the bike back where it started. As it should be... Now, you are looking at a 9 round season costing each rider (Moto Series) to be around $4500-$5k or about $15k a season total... Just to give you an idea, to do a WERA National season, we were running close to $40-$45k a season... Divided by 3-4 riders depending on the race length. Easily. That was 3 bikes for the most part depending on the model changes and what Kawasaki could send us, having a substantial parts budget that was free and free allocation of tires up to a set number total. We had free oil, free plastics, free pads, etc . All motors were a superbike build and had top end components with custom quick change and high capacity fuel tanks with quick fill setup. You also have to get your head around a crash repair. What do you do? It is a team, guys. 3 riders? Split a crash 3 ways. Now, rider goes out and bone heads another rider and totals the bike because he was an idiot, he pays. Simple. But, team is a team and the payment needs to be split. Now, again... the guy who buys the bike may be a lesser amount. At the end of the year, in refreshes, etc., it was equal as he raced the bike equally. Think if totaled. If a $10k bike is totaled, he has a pile of aluminum. Then, contingency... Split three ways and is handed out every check. DO NOT think to cover expenses with contingency. DO NOT bank on winning, an amount, etc... It is a year end spoil. That's it for now that I remember...

If it was the race I think it was, you really fucked my line up and screwed me out of the big payout. KIDDING!!!! Honestly, the last lap with the novices we were mixed into going on to the front straight wasn't an issue with exception to the kid laying in the middle of the track with a simple yellow flag and Justin, Agnes, myself and Wrobel were hauling ass, handling traffic and some dude on the track. Why they didn't immediately throw a red flag is beyond me. That's not a Moto Series issue - that's a corner worker issue. The best part was when we passed the start station, no red. Not until we got into turn one did they throw it and it was the cool down lap!! They had the waving yellow in the kink, but no red flag. It was insane... But, you must have been fine cause I don't recall anything...

Well, we used to run the WERA National Endurance Series for Kawasaki and did a fairly decent job considering the teams we were up against and one of the few teams that can say they beat AOD when they used to have such riders like some punk kid named Spies, etc... I can offer ideas as to how we did things, what to expect and the formula that most national teams used to go by for the races themselves. Let me know what you would like to hear and I can chime in or just create a list...

See? Take it from the old dude that has seen and been in his share of crashes... When I heard that your chest was sore, I mentioned going to the hospital. Glad ya did and am not shocked to hear you had damage. I just thought that cut on your nose was from a carpet burn off Craigs trailer floor...

I remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle replica when I saw him and passed him. Wait, maybe it wasn't actually Craig? I mean, this guy was saying he was all over the place and the guy I passed was fine as usual. Nah, couldn't have been Craig. He's a CRAAAAZIEEEE Mofo... Seriously though, there were SEVERAL Novices that we had issues with through the three races. All the OR guys or others I know were not part of that issue. I think it being the first race weekend, it had a lot of guys nervous and riding with hesitation. I understand that with everything, but the lesson here is that with racing in a not so sure manner, still hold your lines and ride predictable. Like I said, a lot of the novices were good from here or that I know. I will say one thing to this topic. When the checker comes out, ride somewhat quickly or off to the side if you do not - in practice, ride like it was the first or fourth lap.... Too many of the guys were riding around and all over the track slowly going back to pit. This was a practice issue more than anything as the checkered on the last lap of practice is still wide open. I was on a hot lap on the checkered and almost collected a guy that was sitting up with his hand on his lap like a cool down lap... In the race, I understand as this old, fat dude was beat also. But, don't run at 30 mph and edge to edge...