redkow97

I guess it depends on the org, because I know I was doing :19's in "I" last time I was there. That would be a boarder line time to be in Advanced in good conditions. Based on the crowd I was there with anyway. Many of the "A" guys run in the :12-:14 range. I'm shooting for 15's if I make that MotoSeries round. But regardless, I don't think there's any debate that the day was run poorly. Sucks that people and property were damaged. Anything anyone needs help with to be on track this weekend?

It's a long drive back from Atlanta. I'm sure Brandon will thank everyone when he's back at home and caught up with non-racing life. But the notion that the race weekend "couldn't have gone much worse" is insane. Brandon made an AMA grid and turned respectable laps under less than ideal conditions. He finished behind 37(?) other riders, but ahead of thousands who couldn't even dream of getting as far as he has. Not to drag other people into this, but Jeff Wrobel was "featured" in race 2 as Cardenes and Hayden lapped him. Cardenes stared him down, insinuating that he got in their way. Is Jeff a failure and an asshole too? Nice job this weekend Brandon, and better luck next round.

I'm not sure what disappoints me more; the idiocy displayed in this thread by ped and magley, or the fact that I'm letting myself get sucked into it... In no particular order: - Geoff May's shifter fell off in superbike race 2. I guess that means Erik Buell's shop is shit too. - Brandon does not have more experience than 90% of that field. I don't care of he's twice as old as some of them. Zach fucking Herrin is one of the youngest kids out there, and he's got a goddamn motard track in his back yard. - "everyone has an equal chance of winning?" my ass! I don't know what kind of money Brandon has sunk into his bike, but I promise you that there is a huge budget and resource drop off from the top 15-20 riders on down. I'm not saying Brandon would have won if he were on Jake Lewis's bike, but the notion that everyone had the same odds of winning is ridiculous. - All the AFJ members are awesome because Brandon can qualify for an AMA race, and all the ORDN members suck because Casper can't? I'm friends with some damn fast guys outside of both groups. By ped's standards, I must be fucking amazing! Ped and Magley, when can we expect to see the two of you on a race grid? Or do the two of you just like to talk about how great or terrible everyone else rides?

holy crap! how fast were you going, and how far did the bike tumble? Mine cartwheeled last time it was on the ground, and wasn't nearly that bad. I hope you came away in better shape than the bike.

I've heard good things as well. Most notably: "First weekend on the new Michelin Power Cups and finished with two wins and seven 2nd place finishes. Can't wait to get the bike dialed in and setup properly!" - Brad Burns. WERA Ex. #1 (213)

My friend Jeff won the Sportsman race. He posted a picture of the plaque on facebook on Saturday evening. I didn't know he was going to be there until I saw it. I texted him a bit ago, and he was the guy on the "ZX-10" turning 17's in the mock race. It's a ZX-6, and I know he's gone considerably faster than :17's at Putnam over the last couple seasons. I wish every racing org had a "test-out" option for the riding portion of the race school. Every time I've ever attended or witnessed a race school, there is a clear divide between the people who are there to be coached, and people who are quite proficient on track, but just need the class to learn the flags and starting procedures to get their license. There's no reason Jeff shouldn't have been out in Advanced, and I understand why people were pissed if he was out in N. That said, fast guys aren't above the rules, and I'd be surprised if he wasn't following them. But sticking "A" riders on track with "N" or even "I" riders is putting everyone at risk and/or wasting their time. Jeff used to control ride with NESBA at that track... I'm not suggesting that he couldn't learn anything from the race school instructors, but I am betting there were a lot of other people in the school who needed their attention more than him. Jeff mentioned that the MCRA people said there was a problem with their electronic registration system not cutting off registrants, and that's how they over-booked. Did anyone else hear that? If that actually happened I would think it would be appropriate to 1) notice pretty early on, and 2) notify the participants by email to give them the option of canceling, if not INSISTING that the last X number of people to register be issued refunds for safety reasons. 65 people i "I" group? I can't imagine any more than 40 being safe, and even that might be pushing it. Plus this early in the season, everyone's knocking off cobwebs.

Have empty spot on trailer if someone gets desperate, and room for at least a couple of extra people under my canopy pretty much at all times. I also bring 3 chairs to every event, and usually roll solo. My first trackday I showed up with no canopy, no suntan lotion, and I don't think I had a chair. I know for sure that I didn't bring a plastic knife to spread the PB&J I had brought to feed myself all weekend. I offered my pit-neighbors a couple beers in exchange for some plastic utensils, and 5 years later, I still regularly ride and talk with 2 of those guys. They provided shade, seating, advice, and homemade salsa. This is beyond common (okay, maybe not the homemade salsa part). Don't show up every weekend expecting to mooch off others, but if you're just getting started, people will almost always help you out. You can pay it forward some other time.

Ah, so THAT's how Jeff won right away. He has a TON of laps in at Putnam...

then maybe it was 29's and not 19's. I just remember Kaleb DeKeyrel being there on a 125 or a 250 GP bike, and I thought he and I were both doing 21's early in the day, but I grew some balls and picked it up to 19's before lunch, and was hoping for 17's after lunch. I may be way off base though. I figured race-winners would be in the 1:12 range there.

some of you guys make me want to make me quit the internet...

9,000? not really sure. It's been re-geared for so long, and my speedometer was covered until i crashed it, so I'm kind of guessing. Maybe more like 12,000?

is that fast? I know it's not a novice time, but I seem to remember being in the 1:19 range before lunch on my first trip to Putnam. It might even have been a damp track...

"A" is almost always fine, because the range of skill should be tightest, and everyone ought to know what they're doing... My buddy Jeff was on the green/black spotted "cow"-asaki ZX-6. He crashed out of his second race.

I think there are some inherent pit-falls of doing track days with RACING organizations. One is the fact that there is no such thing as "selling out" a race, and as a result, they will "over-book" the practice day to accommodate all of their race customers. MotoSeries has avoided that as far as I know, but I think they'd consider themselves lucky to be worrying about over-booking... Your complaints are 100% valid, so that is by no means an excuse, but I think it's probably the explanation. Running a race school in Novice would be fine if all of the students were novices; but track days have made it so that the majority of new racers are at a quicker pace. My friend Jeff may have been one of those guys in the race school. He won the "sportsman" race in his first ever race yesterday. But like I said, the MCRA is a RACING org, so their primary concern isn't catering to the first-time track day rider. I hope your friend doesn't come away with too much of a bad taste. I know there are some MAJOR draw-backs to the "go ride, and then we'll see where you need help" method (I was nearly in tears after 2 sessions in NESBA's "B" group my first time on track), but eventually, the lack of restrictions seems to be what people are begging for. Eventually. Not right away. Come play at some MotoSeries events though. They put on a good show for all skill levels.

If things work out w/ my job interview on Wednesday, I may be paying DTM a visit this season. Other than an oil/filter change, what maintenance should I consider doing before taking my bike in for a tune? would a valve adjustment be a prudent move?

I'm not worried about a fixable issue. My concern is if the forks or frame are bent. The type of thing I can't really anticipate or fix. I'm sure the bike is fine. I'm just psyching myself out. I bought my race license yesterday after Todd got back to me about number availability (see modified signature). I'll pre-register 8 days out, so I can get an idea of what the weather will be like. Anyone know what Quentin charges for a 211 rear at the track? Does he take card at the track?

I do trackdays and race on the cheap. It's still expensive, but not as expensive as people make it sound. My first track bike was a 1993 Honda F2 that was someone's old race bike. It had everything you could ever want on it but a steering damper. Cost me $1450. Other people spend $6k-$15k track prepping their bikes... The bike ain't what makes you fast. That F2 was a great way to learn. My 600RR still only cost me $3300 a few years back. I believe it came with a second set of rims that I later sold as well... It's nearly 10 years old now, and I know I will beat people on much newer and more expensive bikes. If you're really serious about riding a lot, sell your "nice" bike and buy something that's reliable, but cheaper. Use the excess funds to hit the track. Owning a "nice" bike is less fun than riding a less-nice bike, IMHO. Up until this point (I'm comfortable in any org's "Advanced" group, and finish in the top 1/3 in a WERA Novice grid) I have always run street tires (Pilot powers, or Q2's) $240/set rather than $350+ per set. Again, I also never ran warmers ($160-$400) or owned a generator ($100-$900). Even now that I'm running race tires and warmers, my warmers cost me $185 for used woodcrafts, and I spent $275 on an inexpensive generator. My open trailer probably cost me about $450 to set up, including the trailer itself, pit-bull trailer restraint system, and all the wood decking and rails. This is a far cry from spending $1300-$2500 on an enclosed trailer. I 'camp' in the back of my tow vehicle, and eat $5 foot-longs, or bring my camp grill and a pack of frozen hotdogs. my first set of leathers cost me around $150 on ebay. My current set was $650 used. (i'd consider that a splurge, although safety gear is never a bad investment) I run less expensive helmets, because a lot of what you pay for in the Arai and Shoei models are comfort features that I just don't need in a sprint race... For street riding or endurance, I might change my mind, but Scorpion EX700's and the Bell Vortex have served me well for around $100 each. Cortech gloves are the shit. I haven't crashed them yet, but Pegram ran the same set i'm wearing in the AMA in 2010. They set me back $65 on clearance. So yes, track riding is expensive, but you don't have to go "all-in" and get the best of everything. Buy good safety gear, and then skimp on the less important stuff. I'm probably riding almost exclusively with MotoSeries this season. Their fees are reasonable, there's no membership, and if you go racing, you get a STEEP discount on the saturday track days. Plus the fact that 8/10 rounds are within 100 miles of my house means that my fuel costs are practically non-existent. (did I mention my bike is mapped for 87 octane?) Just get out and do it once. You'll find ways to pay for more if you want it badly enough. I cleaned toilets and emptied garbage cans at a pre-school for 2 years to accommodate track plans. Next week I am interviewing for a job that might require me to wipe handicapped adults' asses. ...but it will cover my whole race season.

did that. brakes felt weird. bled them, and they feel better. I'm more talking about getting up to 100mph, and then feeling some kind of weird vibration or pulse. Stuff I just can't test around the block. I'm sure I'm psyching myself out more than anything. I may as well go buy everything now and just get it over with. $115 for race license + $160 for races + $75 for saturday (debating open v. advanced, given that I've been off the bike so long) = $350. ouch.

yeah, I'm basically just waiting to get my bodywork fixed before I register. I think zip-ties would work without any fiberglass work if I got really desperate though. But I have to admit, I am nervous about dropping $270 on the license and entry fees, and then finding out saturday during practice that there's something wrong with the bike that is only apparent at speed...

watch yourself with those models that have the legs slanting outward instead of standing vertically. They need to be anchored at the feet. Holding them down with straps to the corners tends to spread the legs and break the damn thing. And that might be an 8x8 canopy with a 10x10 footprint. Still a good deal for EZ-UP brand, but I think the 10x10 with vertical legs are much more durable if you plan on using it a lot.

you guys are killing me. when does the round 2 registration thread start?

I looked at buying an F2 from them when I was shopping for my first track bike. I passed, but I saw the eventual buyer at Nelson with NESBA later that year. Still had the "donkey punch racing" stickers on it. I felt bad for the kid. he was having some sort of problem with coolant leaking (i think). I remember loaning him some tools and my shop manual over the lunch break. That bike was pretty banged up (or BTS, if you will). I remember telling Buck Miller that I knew where that kid had gotten the bike, and his response was, "did he find it at the track?" I got bumped up to "I" that afternoon, right after I blew by that yellow Donkey-Punch F2 on the brakes coming into T1 at Nelson. That was a good day

Ironically, there is a Walmart less than a quarter mile from that cracker barrel. Local ordinances prevent them from selling ammo. Obviously that's doing a lot to prevent gun crimes <eye roll>

Leave the restaurant. A bunch of people did so.

Actually now that I re read that, I believe the genuine belief that another will be shot may fulfill the first prong, but the duty to retreat is still a problem. Technically.