redkow97

Does that ever get old; or do you at least feel yourself starting to get used to it? I sincerely believe that my 87hp F2 was twice as fun because I was riding a 45hp EX500 during the week. I suppose you can get the same effect from driving a car every so often, but bike-to-bike comparisons seem more "pure" somehow.

You're comparing experience and 'track' knowledge instead of skill. Brian's example is more appropriate. Take your Deal's Gap "expert" and your Mid Ohio "expert" and put them in a neutral environment that neither of them are familiar with. Then you're really comparing riding ability, because it's testing how their acquired skills translate to the same (new) variable: the road. Even then, you're predicating the comparison on an assumption that all (or even most) street riders are skilled enough to quickly navigate through Deal's Gap. I highly doubt that's true. No one is saying that you can't learn to ride quickly and skillfully on the street, but I believe (and I think many of the track riders are also trying to say) that the track allows you to learn much more quickly, and in a vastly safer environment. It's not about what can or cannot be done; it's about what gives you the greatest chance for success, and the easiest route to get there. No different than starting on a 250 instead of a 1000. Of course you CAN learn to ride on a 180hp bike; but it's easier to learn on a 250.

Just turned 28 a few weeks ago. I only feel old when I'm around kids between 18 and 22. Started riding at 22 on my EX500, which was a sportY bike, but not a sportbike. Got into trackdays 4/19/08 and bought a real sport bike ('93 F2) a couple months later. I've had my RR since June or July of 2009 I guess? I know I sold my F2 around the time I got married, which was May of '09, and I wasn't (track) bikeless for very long.

i only had liability coverage on my bike, so that was never even a thought for me. Good point. For serious though - ride the triumph down and hang out some weekend. I'll have a lawn chair and water/gatorade for you.

i'd trust that before I trust the kind that holds the full weight of the bike on the hitch. honestly, it's something I would have considered if it didn't require you to remove the chain for safe transport. They claim it's not necessary, but i'd be concerned...

because i'm me, I'm going to push and challenge you on that - why would a "track crash" be any more likely or any more severe than a street crash? Tracks don't have curbs or traffic for your bike to hit IF it goes down, and no one is going to force you to surpass highway speeds on the straights. Treat the track like a country road if you want to play it safe. Or just get that ZX6 track worthy ASAP. You will not find a cheaper trackday than Nelson Ledges with Moto Series.

524, and you can't miss my bike... I may try to ride Friday evening as well if the weather's good. Will probably pit with my friend Brad (Ex 213 I think).

it's a "WERA National," isn't it? Those always draw pretty big names. I rode at one of the Friday practices before a BeaveRun "National" and got smoked by Robert Jensen. He was riding in "I" or I might have felt bad for being in his way.

quoted for truth. I thought I was going to drag a knee in my first or second session on the track. Figured I was close on the street. It looks pretty easy. Wrong. I sucked beyond sucking, and I wasn't an unsafe or incompetent street rider by ANY means. I literally learned more in 1 day than in 2+ years of prior street riding. I have heard people with a LOT more street experience than me say the same thing after their first trackday. I think one of the overlooked benefits of a trackday is that you're negotiating the SAME turn a hundred times that day. You learn through repetition, and have the chance to fix the mistakes you were making in an environment where YOU are the variable, instead of the turn being the variable. While the technique for turn X at track Y translates to many other situations you'll encounter at other tracks and on the street, trying to learn 1 technique from a bunch of different turns isn't an effective method.

it's unlikely I will register for this until the bike and I survive WERA's "meat grinder" class at the end of the month. I will register 5/2 though, and yeah, unless my times are over 1:20 with WERA, i'll be in Advanced. Definitely looking forward to meeting up and hanging out. I will have JUST finished finals when this event rolls around, so even if I don't race on Sunday for some reason, I will stick around for some good times Saturday night. Hope everyone likes Highlife.

Which org do you usually race with, Brian?

that thing looked like it was covering a quarter mile in about 8 seconds. How can you see the damn thing to turn it around???

honestly, so did I.

I've dealt with a rescue dog that was tossed from a moving vehicle. The dog eventually passed away from other health complications, but the road rash wasn't pretty. The dog was a doberman mix, and he was just so happy to have attention. I damn near cried every time I saw him. Secondhand Mutts now does an annual "bacon, eggs, and pancakes breakfast" fund raiser in his memory. The first one was to cover the cost of all his vet bills. This past year was to raise money for other dogs' vet bills. Given that my pup came to SHM with a broken leg, I'm supremely grateful for the fact that they accept injured and sick animals into their adoption program.

Jinu, what kind of lap times do you normally turn at Nelson? You were a second or too faster than me at BeaveRun, so you're a good "rabbit" to chase

what I ended up doing was a combination of 500 degree RVT to fill in the divot created by the melting plastic, and covering that 'repair' with JEGS heat-tape (also good well beyond 500 degrees) *knock on wood* The tap is holding VERY well so far, but I will likely throw a loop of safety wire around the bottle in case the adhesive decides to give up. I'm not quite done yet, but I am THOROUGHLY pleased with the way this is working out. $15 in adhesive insulation saved me from routinely replacing coolant bottles ($17 each, if i'm lucky) or buying the aftermarket kit for $35, and then having to deal with mounting, routing hoses, etc. I'll post pics of how this ended up later on. May use the leftover tape to keep some heat off my lower fairing too

you're more likely to win him over with a pretty mouth.

your dad is certifiably insane and awesome. I can't imagine riding at night. I have heard stories from spectators of the 24 hour event, but not riders. Scott Rosey (coaches at BeaveRun with NESBA, and a few other orgs. Also wicked fast on an SV, and his 675...) was telling me how the teams used to mount lights on either fork, and have the beams cross so you could actually throw some light on the track while leaned over. The result was that the light facing the outside of the turn would illuminate the trees 40 feet in the air as the bikes went through the carousel. I wish there had been more paddock footage. What was that building everyone was sitting in, and when did it collapse, lol?

I wouldn't say it makes me mad, but it's not something I would do. Some dogs love it, and I don't think they're that much safer in the cab if there's an accident. The seat-belt harness is something I need to look into.

I foresee some Max Times in my future.

nice. My uncle is my insurance agent, so I was never allowed to have crap coverage. The bike wasn't worth much, but i had un-insured/under-insured motorist coverage to spare. You never know what kind of idiot is going to hit you.

$195/day at Mid Ohio, if not more. They probably have some kind of military discount, but it might not be advertised. All the major trackday orgs have military discounts btw. I believe it either involves free membership, or some kind of extended membership so you don't have to buy a 1 yr membership when you know you're going to be deployed in 2 months.

you're going to a track with a fresh repave, and then expecting not to hate Nelson? ...not solid logic On a somewhat related topic, I just watched the 1985 documentary on the 24 hours of Nelson. I swear parts of the track haven't been repaved since this footage. http://www.theriderfiles.com/ (scroll down a bit)

how does that radio have enough power to keep that thing in range???