redkow97

does anyone know what the paint marks on the back straight are all about? I would occassionally find a smooth line through all the patches on the back straight, but never consistently. I ended up trying to use the paint marks as reference points, but I suspect those are markings for some kind of patch or repave (dare to dream), and will go away before the end of the season. anyone have inside info?

I believe Brian that it takes that kind of budget to do it "right" and compete for wins, but at our level, just getting our feet wet, I think we could ride, finish, and have fun for a bit less. I am by no means volunteering my bike (because I probably can't afford to throw in on a team this season), but several of us have 03-06 CBR 600's that are are 80-90% identical... Off the top of my head, I know Jinu's old bike and my bike are the same generation, Tyler's is the same, except with inverted forks, and Imprez55 has another first gen 600RR as well. ...but all that said, we might do better with a smaller, slower, less expensive to run bike. SV650, or even EX500 endurance? Tires are cheaper for slower bikes. And when you're pulling 30-60 minute stints, I would plan on my pace being 3+ seconds slower than normal. Street tires (insert your favorite brand here) might wear better and will cost less. Obviously we'd have to restrain ourselves from going all-out on tires that will get greasey at full pace, but as noted, I don't think any of us can really pull race pace for more than 20 minutes at a time anyway. if we did stick with a 600 (the fact that people already have them is nice), it's at least something we're used to, but more power, more speed, etc. only increases costs.

some good video of Race 1. this guy chases Hollywood33 for a fair bit. http://youtu.be/XzEADKRdFOQ I never catch up to the camera bike, but I'm going to blame that at least partially on my grid position. He's first row of the second wave. I was in row 12...

Question #1 - are we aiming to finish, or really shooting for wins?

exactly. A well written agreement eliminates future disputes. And some kind of arbitration clause should handle the rest. "in the event that a situation not addressed in this agreement arises, financial responsibility will be determined by a vote of team members, with a three-quarter vote required for the proposed solution to be implemented." And then add provisions for a 2-2 tie, etc. We'll figure out most things just by talking. Other than rider weight, it would be good to keep people who run GP shift on the same team Honestly I don't know if I'll even be able to afford to throw my hat in on the endurance stuff, but i guess we'll know more once we learn everyone's expectations.

Let's talk at the next round. You could create an OR "rule book," and swap in different people when necessary. Ultimately, you would just need to know the definite costs (entry fee, gas, ??) and then split those by the number of riders. The unknown costs will be harder. Tire wear, crash repairs, etc. You already volunteered the CBR, but of anyone else is considering a second team, I might propose that the bike owner pays his share of entry fees, but the other riders cover gas and tires to acknowledge the inherent risk of having his bike out of commission after a crash. I can draft something once we all agree on basic terms though.

My inner (almost) attorney thinks there needs to be something in writing about who pays for what repairs in the event of a crash. I have heard of arrangements as simple as "you crash, you pay," to more complex arrangements like dividing repair costs by all the riders, but crasher pays double. Tires are another cost to consider. Splitting 3 or 4 ways for the race is fine, but whoever is riding it on Saturday is potentially using the team's tire. Etc. Just some things to consider.

There were 2 serious wrecks out of over 100 riders and a combined thousands of miles at 80+ mph average speeds. Even ignoring the fact that these were incredibly freak accidents, the overall ratio of crashes per rider per mile is extremely low. Probably lower than most group street rides.

Is that what she told you? I would tell you anythIng to avoid using the Nelson showers again. Wheelies look more dramatic up close anyway. Have gf's watch from the tower.

that occurred to me after I posted. with regard to space, a small SUV has never given me problems. i did create a "coffin" box that rides on my trailer next to my bike though. That keeps a ton of stuff that I used to have to put inside the vehicle. To put things in perspective, without the box, I had all the passenger seats folded down in the SUV to fit everything. With the box, I was able to bring my wife and dog to the track. And that includes a bunch of extra "camping" stuff to accommodate her. We're talking a huge pillow, makeup bags, blow dryer, a lounge chair so she can tan, and our bigger tent and bigger cooler on top of that. Granted, I didn't ahve the generator back then, but I'm sure I could pull of the same trip and fit it all.

can't wait to watch that onboard video when i get home. We were talking about the 250 class this weekend at Nelson, and it has to be a surreal experience to come through the carousel in 5th gear, and go through the kink still totally pinned in 6th. I wish spectators could get out to the further reaches of the track. I would have tried to watch some 250 action out there.

I'm glad you said so, or I would have always thought of him as "that guy who bitched at Craig for no reason," and probably been kind of a dick in the future... That guy in the Scorpion leathers really is weird to follow and difficult to pass. I can't put my finger on why, except that he's fast in some parts of the track, and just way off in others. I've followed him a lot at BeaveRun, and had the same experience, so it's not like he just had never been to nelson and was getting thrown by the track. I guess I can't really get mad at him for being hard to pass, it's just weird when someone is so easy to catch, but hard to get around.

that was bogus. I can't believe I resisted the urge to say something snarky to that guy. 1) I followed you for a while before passing you, and if you were "all over the track," it was because the guy in the Scorpion leathers slows down in weird places and you had to avoid hitting him (same thing happened to me) 2) what was he hoping to accomplish by talking to you? Next time, I urge you to say, "yep. I'm all over the place. that's my riding style. You never know what I'm gonna do next, muthafuckah!!!!!" and then kiss him on the mouth. (please for the love of god, actually do this if he ever approaches you again after a race) 3) Other people passed you, and none of them had any complaints about your ability to hold a line. 4) If he was so much faster, it wouldn't have been an issue for him to go around. I know Neyra and Brian came around me like I was standing still, so that means they passed you at some point as well. I doubt you slowed either of them down. I'll have to take a look at that guy's results from the rest of the weekend. something tells me a bad finish is never his fault :eyeroll:

I feel compelled to point out that the three of us with ginger-like qualities finished ahead of the rest of our group in the 600 superbike races.

IMHO, the towing mpg is really inconsequential given how infrequently you'll really be towing. If you're talking about a work truck that tows a trailer daily, that is much different than going to the track once a month.

Does anyone know when they usually post results? I have no clue how I ended up in either race.

1600 isn't much at all. Hell, an old Taurus probably gets 26 mpg highway and will probably tow 2,000 lbs. For reference, I tow with a 2.7 Korean v6. Mileage on the way home today was 24.1 But I spent a lot more than $5k on it. Just a 3 liter range and 4 liter ranger both get about 18mpg in real world mileage. The bigger engine tows a lot more though. ...but you don't need more. 3 liter v6 (the DOHC 24 valve engine is actually pretty powerful) should pull 1600 no problem, get good mileage, and fit your $5k price range.

So Joey is nice in person?

For those who missed the Mini 20, Nick's right, it was a great race between ORDN members. It was hard to keep track of what place everyone was in because they run the 1-hour and 3-hour at the same time, and the color of the number plate doesn't matter, but if it had been a 600cc novice race, I believe Hollywood33 (matt) and TRMN8R (brandon) were battling for 3rd most of the race before lap traffic held brandon up and let matt walk away a little. Craig got a pretty bad start, and Nick had a good start, so I watched Craig hunt Nick down for a while, with John chasing (and eventually catching) Nick. But when the leaders came through about lap 15, they pushed John wide and Nick was right there to take the position back. By the end of the race, I think the only OR member who was really off on his own was Craig, but he'd spent plenty of time trying to catch Nick. Really entertaining stuff! Great seeing everyone. If I can't afford to race next round, I'll come out and pit-bitch for sure.

Wow. I am glad to hear it. People were putting on a brave face in front of your daughter, but I was really worried when I had already changed out of my leathers and you were still laying on the track and weren't doing much moving. Your wife mentioned that you were awake and talking by the time they loaded you up, but that was an anxious 20+ minutes. From what I heard, Farmer(?) hit Steve's bike, and went over the bars. Supposedly his own bike landed on him and that's what broke his leg. I didn't see it, but I was told it wasn't pretty. If there's a bright side, I believe he's only 14, and should bounce back quicker than most of us would. Unfortunate incident all the way around. I couldn't believe something so similar happened again today. We saw a 1 in a thousand wreck twice in one weekend... Walt - we still need to get that picture. Just now both our bikes will be ugly. Yours really didn't look too bad. Sub-frame, some bodywork (or tape), and ride the piss out of it. Let us know if you need help with anything.

Should be there by 8:30

Never agreed with you more. He's expecting his first kid. I actually appreciate the fact that he's a little bent on seeing the first steps, hearing the first words, etc. He'll be back in 3 years or less, and I'm betting he won't slow down much, if at all. 3 years of good healthy rest might even make him more of a freak.

Don't feel overwhelmed about the terminology or anything else, Josh. It's all new to you, and everything will make sense tomorrow. Track days have really changed the way club racing works. It used to be exactly as you were understanding it. People with zero track experience would do the race school on Saturday, and could race on Sunday. Track days just didn't exist back then. But now that they do, a lot of people hold off on actually racing for months, years, or forever. The riding is all basically the same whether you're doing a track day or a race, but the major differences are: Track day = no race start. You're released onto the track spread-out to eliminate traffic, and can pit in or pit out as you please. In a race (obviously) we're all waiting on the green flag to fall, and then fighting for elbow room in turn 1. Racing also uses some flags you may not see in a track day environment. Racing has (virtually) no passing rules. Track days definitely do, to maintain a safer environment for all involved. This will all be covered in the riders' meeting, so don't sweat it now. And races are actually a lot less riding than track days. If I register for 2 races, that costs more than a full track day, and I get 2 practice sessions, and 2 races. So 4 total "sessions," where I'd get 7 sessions at a track day for less money. Both are fun, and while the riding is similar, racing and track days are completely different animals. (like going for a jog, versus a mile run at a track meet) You're going to have a blast. I'm trying to get there before dark tonight and pit with all these jokers. Stop by an introduce yourself, and just soak it all in. Don't over-think, and don't ride over your head, and you'll go home with a shit-eating grin that will last for days.

Cool. Updated. I just need to ride enough on Saturday to make sure the bike is working right, then make sure I'm working right, then take all steps possible to conserve as much tire as I can. Anyone flipped a 211? I've done it with Q2's and never had a problem, but I did experience some troublesome separation that had me worried. Never felt bad, just looked bad...

Does this go for everyone? I bought my license back in April, but all I haev to show for it is the "recent transactions" section of my PayPal account. guess i'll bring that to the track. I had previously been planning on coming down Saturday morning, but my afternoon may have opened up enough that I'll make it before dark on Friday. Bike went on the trailer last night.