While reading a forum thread about whether or not a certain track day provider had gone out of business I had a realization that track day providers were also cult icons in the motorsports world. We already recognize some of the other cults readily; the cult of the classic bike, the cult of the Ural with sidecar, the Cult of the Harley Davidson, and even the Cult of the Professional Racer (we also call them fans).
I noticed that the people commenting on the aforementioned thread were all talking about what a great operation the TDP puts on and how great of a guy the owner is. I like to believe I'm a pretty objective guy when it comes to Track Days, I've gone to a ton of them and have been with about half the providers in the NorCal-Oregon-Washington zone, so I should have a valid opinion about the matter. In those myriad track days I can only point to two, maybe three, track days which I felt were badly run. Of those badly run days I can blame the problems on the track day being oversold or rules not enforced, not the good or bad personality of the people running the day.
So why is it that an anonymous internet user would back up his review of a TDP based on "Bob the owner is a great guy"? Cult of Personality. An organization must be great because the owner is great. A member of the cult will shout down (usually not literally shouting) anyone who has an opposing viewpoint. Also we as humans have a tendency to want to justify our actions. For example, I've spent X dollars on this product or service that might be technically equivalent of another product or service, but in order to make myself feel better I have to tout it was the best product or service to everyone around me.
We're the heroes of our own story and our behaviors often provide cyclical affirmation that our choices are right.
"I've been going to 2-Awesome Track Days for years and they're the best. Mike the owner is a great guy. The other Track Days are all dangerous and the owners are just doing it for the money."
OK really? 2-Awesome Track Days statistically has the same safety record as MotoGroup. They cost the same. They use the same track. The only tangible difference is the day of the week they operate, and which crowd historically shows up that day.
What's even stranger is the cult of personality that I see arising around coaches and training programs. Most of the coaches claim that they'll work with you to make you faster and safer, most of the mature coaching programs can claim a champion or two as students, and most of them are former or current champions in at least one race series.
Often a discussion of a certain technique devolves into an argument of "my coach is better than your coach". I've worked with multiple coaches and training programs in the eight years I've been riding. I can tell you that personally what holds me back is my own mental baggage, not the correct or incorrect teachings of Keith Code, Ken Hill, Dave Moss, or Rob Burch.
Despite my inability to progress past B group I can say all their teachings when I manage to apply them properly does make me faster and safer. But I must come back to my original line of thought, the "my coach is better than your coach" cult of personality. I've noticed that members of any of the cults have a tendency to isolate themselves from possibly getting contaminated with the ideas of others and shout down opposing viewpoints.
I guess too many people skipped the day in school where they taught us the scientific method for testing something.
What's better, 2-Awesome of MotoGroup trackdays? Run an experiment and find out. Both cost the same and have access to the same tracks and follow the same AMA based rule set.
What's better, Royal Crown development camp or Big Willow Superbike School? Both teach the same basic techniques, but in a different way. Both have taught and continue to coach national champions and international contenders. Maybe we should Pepsi challenge it?
I'm not even going to start on brand loyalty cults because:
Kawasaki has won the last four years in WSBK
Yamaha is consistently dominant in MotoAmerica SBK/SS
Honda always seems to win lately in MotoGP
BMW wins in Euro-SuperStock (although this class is deprecated)
Suzuki has an odd following despite not consistently winning in any race series I follow
Triumph owners are weird
Ducati and Aprilia owners... well I'm not going there.
In closing I'd just like to say, can't we all just get along?
Saturday, December 8, 2018
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Fossil 2018
Fossil Run 2018
July
There was a point that Saturday night when I was standing on the second floor balcony of the Motel 6 in The Dalles, smoke from my friends' intoxicants mixing with the night air and wildfire smoke, friends chatting about how great the riding had been and my stomach full of beer and chicken fried steak that the simple unabated joy of existence became apparent to my conscious mind. Days like this is why I ride a motorcycle and why on days I can't ride I daydream about it.
Twelve hours earlier we were excitedly drinking Red Bull, checking Facebook, and smoking at an ethanol free gas station on the edge of Lebanon Oregon. One by one our numbers were growing until everyone who had RSVPed was accounted for. Today was the day and we were doing the legendary Fossil run. Talk to any Oregon rider about where the best spots are to ride and you'll eventually hear about highway 218 from Antelope to Fossil. Its 36 miles of relatively empty un-patrolled twisties and sweepers out in sunny central Oregon.
My current group had mostly never done it. We made a plan and set a date.
Our motorcycle line up was as diverse as it was fast.
S1000RR x2 CBR1000RR, GSXR 1000, Ducati 848, ZX6R, Triumph Tiger
Normally on group rides the excitement pulling out of the gas station is palpable and holding back is a challenge suited for a saint. On this ride it was like trying to hold back a herd of mavericks, except the mavericks are men wrapped in leather on sport bikes. Our run from Lebanon to Sisters was uneventful and quick. Most of the weekend traffic hadn't herded the kids into the minivans yet and we beat them to the highway. As usual the roads all the way out to Madras were slow, congested, boring. Again is was like holding back wild horses, except in traffic.
No matter though, we were almost to the good part. Our first real taste of the twisties on 293 between boring hwy 97 and Antelope got our appetites whetted. At Antelope we stopped to meet some locals, friends of a friend type of thing, and had one of those odd experiences you only get in small town America.
Antelope Oregon doesn't have a gas station. Its for intent and purpose a ghost town with a population of less than 100. There is no gas station here. The guys we met there didn't subscribe to Lazyeye's rules of ride planning and were already 70 miles into their superbike sized gas tanks. As fate would have it the shade tree we parked at to meet these fine gentlemen was in front of a house where people lived. Those people came out to talk to us and graciously offered to sell gas to the two thirsty superbike owners from their metal gas tank on the side of their house.
Like I said, the interesting things you see in a rural area. All needful things out of the way and it was time to actually start the Fossil run. I'll leave the embellishments up to travel authors that have a better command of verbs than I. Highway 218 was beautifully clear, traffic light and amiable, and devoid of those that would write us a ticket.
Like a freight train made up of superbikes we wound our way to Fossil and then into the canyons up to Condon Oregon. Seeing the ballet of synchronized corner lean in is a thing of beauty only a rider can fully appreciate.
At Condon we had lunch at a drive in and conversed with the locals. Everyone there was quite friendly to this rowdy group of bikers. With our stomachs full and gas tanks topped off we departed out Highway 206 towards Cottonwood canyon. To say this part of the ride is fast is an understatement. You climb out of Condon to the high prairie and then follow the gently curving road for twenty miles to Cottonwood Canyon state park.
A wise man once told me; if a corner is boring, go faster until its fun. We tested that theory all the way until the road drops into the canyon and we carved it. This is the real canyon carving that we all dream of. The only detractor was the somewhat low quality chip-seal pavement. We pulled into Wasco with our sense of speed completely de-calibrated from the high speed run through the prairie.
According to the plan this was just a regroup point but we discovered as the last two bikes rolled in we were stuck there for a little longer than anticipated as our Ducati friend had a rapidly deflating rear tire. Unable to find a plug kit in Wasco and finding out our support rider on the Tiger with the tools had forgotten his, I did the next sensible thing I sent a mass text to all The Dalles riders I know with an SOS.
This is where its good to have friends. Old man Mike, a friend of the Jackal, was willing to ride out and assist. We waited for an hour chit chatting and napping in the shade until we heard the distinctive sound of a Triumph triple approaching.
Our hero old man Mike had the tire plugged in a few minutes and then we were back on the road. Along the way he showed us a side road through another canyon that was pretty great and then we were onto the freeway for the last leg into The Dalles.
We checked into our motel, hit the pool, and then went to Cousins restaurant for some good country cooking. That brings us to where I started my story. Hanging out with friends on the balcony at a motel chatting about how great our riding day had been. Life is good.
The next day we backtracked our route since fires had overrun our planned route and had a great time. Along the way we met some friendly locals that shared fresh picked fruit with us and saw some classic cars from a meet in Fossil. All in all a fantastic trip that everyone is itching to recreate.
Favorite roads: 293 From Willowdale to Antelope. 218 From Antelope to Fossil. 206 from Condon to Wasco. Upper Fulton Canyon road.
July
There was a point that Saturday night when I was standing on the second floor balcony of the Motel 6 in The Dalles, smoke from my friends' intoxicants mixing with the night air and wildfire smoke, friends chatting about how great the riding had been and my stomach full of beer and chicken fried steak that the simple unabated joy of existence became apparent to my conscious mind. Days like this is why I ride a motorcycle and why on days I can't ride I daydream about it.
Twelve hours earlier we were excitedly drinking Red Bull, checking Facebook, and smoking at an ethanol free gas station on the edge of Lebanon Oregon. One by one our numbers were growing until everyone who had RSVPed was accounted for. Today was the day and we were doing the legendary Fossil run. Talk to any Oregon rider about where the best spots are to ride and you'll eventually hear about highway 218 from Antelope to Fossil. Its 36 miles of relatively empty un-patrolled twisties and sweepers out in sunny central Oregon.
My current group had mostly never done it. We made a plan and set a date.
Our motorcycle line up was as diverse as it was fast.
S1000RR x2 CBR1000RR, GSXR 1000, Ducati 848, ZX6R, Triumph Tiger
Normally on group rides the excitement pulling out of the gas station is palpable and holding back is a challenge suited for a saint. On this ride it was like trying to hold back a herd of mavericks, except the mavericks are men wrapped in leather on sport bikes. Our run from Lebanon to Sisters was uneventful and quick. Most of the weekend traffic hadn't herded the kids into the minivans yet and we beat them to the highway. As usual the roads all the way out to Madras were slow, congested, boring. Again is was like holding back wild horses, except in traffic.
No matter though, we were almost to the good part. Our first real taste of the twisties on 293 between boring hwy 97 and Antelope got our appetites whetted. At Antelope we stopped to meet some locals, friends of a friend type of thing, and had one of those odd experiences you only get in small town America.
Antelope Oregon doesn't have a gas station. Its for intent and purpose a ghost town with a population of less than 100. There is no gas station here. The guys we met there didn't subscribe to Lazyeye's rules of ride planning and were already 70 miles into their superbike sized gas tanks. As fate would have it the shade tree we parked at to meet these fine gentlemen was in front of a house where people lived. Those people came out to talk to us and graciously offered to sell gas to the two thirsty superbike owners from their metal gas tank on the side of their house.
Like I said, the interesting things you see in a rural area. All needful things out of the way and it was time to actually start the Fossil run. I'll leave the embellishments up to travel authors that have a better command of verbs than I. Highway 218 was beautifully clear, traffic light and amiable, and devoid of those that would write us a ticket.
Like a freight train made up of superbikes we wound our way to Fossil and then into the canyons up to Condon Oregon. Seeing the ballet of synchronized corner lean in is a thing of beauty only a rider can fully appreciate.
At Condon we had lunch at a drive in and conversed with the locals. Everyone there was quite friendly to this rowdy group of bikers. With our stomachs full and gas tanks topped off we departed out Highway 206 towards Cottonwood canyon. To say this part of the ride is fast is an understatement. You climb out of Condon to the high prairie and then follow the gently curving road for twenty miles to Cottonwood Canyon state park.
A wise man once told me; if a corner is boring, go faster until its fun. We tested that theory all the way until the road drops into the canyon and we carved it. This is the real canyon carving that we all dream of. The only detractor was the somewhat low quality chip-seal pavement. We pulled into Wasco with our sense of speed completely de-calibrated from the high speed run through the prairie.
According to the plan this was just a regroup point but we discovered as the last two bikes rolled in we were stuck there for a little longer than anticipated as our Ducati friend had a rapidly deflating rear tire. Unable to find a plug kit in Wasco and finding out our support rider on the Tiger with the tools had forgotten his, I did the next sensible thing I sent a mass text to all The Dalles riders I know with an SOS.
This is where its good to have friends. Old man Mike, a friend of the Jackal, was willing to ride out and assist. We waited for an hour chit chatting and napping in the shade until we heard the distinctive sound of a Triumph triple approaching.
Our hero old man Mike had the tire plugged in a few minutes and then we were back on the road. Along the way he showed us a side road through another canyon that was pretty great and then we were onto the freeway for the last leg into The Dalles.
We checked into our motel, hit the pool, and then went to Cousins restaurant for some good country cooking. That brings us to where I started my story. Hanging out with friends on the balcony at a motel chatting about how great our riding day had been. Life is good.
The next day we backtracked our route since fires had overrun our planned route and had a great time. Along the way we met some friendly locals that shared fresh picked fruit with us and saw some classic cars from a meet in Fossil. All in all a fantastic trip that everyone is itching to recreate.
Favorite roads: 293 From Willowdale to Antelope. 218 From Antelope to Fossil. 206 from Condon to Wasco. Upper Fulton Canyon road.
Lessons Learned
Who doesn't love lists? So without further ado I give you:
Lessons I've Learned in this Sport
1. Always have a plan
-Plan the ride. Seems like a no brainer until you go on someone else's ride that meanders from one road construction site to another, then doubles back on itself, the leaders stops to look at a map, someone runs out of gas....
-Plan to crash (wear your gear) and what to do when you crash (insurance, towing, etc). The last part of this is huge. I've seen plenty of riders crash on a group ride and then have no idea who in their life they can call to pick up them/their bike. Heck, I was pretty confused my first crash about what to do. Now I have a pretty clear idea of what happens next and wear a road ID bracelet.
-Plan maintenance so you don't have a trip/track day coming up and you realize something is worn out or broken the night before. I wrote this list before I had my ZX6R stolen and was then guilty of taking a VFR that needed brake work to the track. This summer I was guilty of it several times while the VFR was laid up with leaking forks and I took the ZX6R on two long trips instead! Or maybe I should have planned tire and chain replacements better so I don't anger my mechanic with short notice requests. I guess this bullet point should go under "lessons still learning"
-Plan rest. Rest days on trips, rest stops, you get the idea. Just because I'm fine on the VFR with the 5gallon gas tank doesn't mean the guy on the RSV4 is OK or still has gas. Or take a short mileage day while touring so you don't burn out.
-Don't deviate from the plan unless you have a good reason. When things go off rails especially with groups, people make mistakes. I hate that sinking feeling when you start losing people on a group ride because you changed the plan. Did they quit, get lost, or crash? Who knows. One of my pet peeves is when your group meets another group and then you have twenty people trying to shout out what route they want to do because they all know the best route. That's when things start going badly.
2. Nothing is ever as cheap as it seems
-Spending money to save money. Ever think about buying a 250/300 so you can save money on trackdays or tickets? Lets see, spending $3000+ on something to save what exactly? A few bucks on tires?
-Upgrades. I regret buying a $700 exhaust even though it looks and sounds cool. That could have been 2.5 trackdays. The Power Commander may have ever so slightly evened out the power band and added some top end but it could have been a California Superbike School day.
-Whats worth it? Comfortable seat, good tires, good maintenance, having a pro set up your suspension. By good tires I also mean good tires, not wasting money on Supercorsas for the street and wearing them out in 1000 miles of street riding because you run them at track pressure on the street because you think it'll give you better grip. You know who I'm talking about.
3. Take it to the track
-You've heard it: you don't get speeding tickets on the track. There's no gravel or minivans or bad patches of asphalt.
but...
-Riding on the road is so much more accessible. If I rode track only I'd only ride six times a year and each time would be a huge logistics production of getting to a track. If I ride street, I can throw a leg over my bike and be in the twisties in ten minutes.
I've gone with plenty of people to their first track day and seen the light come on. This is my outreach and my mission. Instead of shunning the canyon carvers I ride with them and take them to the track. Not that we stop canyon carving, its not that kind of religion mind you.
4. Wear your gear
This is a no brainer really. Also I should say wear the right gear for the temperature. Wear a helmet that fits properly so your head doesn't bounce around in a crash. I've seen some unfortunate crashes that could have been walk away crashes with different/better gear.
5. Know who to take advice from
-Lot of idiots out there that really seem confident in what they're saying but their results (if they have any) are from having more balls than brains, not superior riding skill.
6. Stop trying to control everything, especially in a group
This goes against my point in #1 because sometimes I'm better off just saying screw it and letting the group go wherever fate takes us. I'll just migrate to the back and let the chips fall.
7. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast
-you must slow down to go fast.
When I did a bunch of trackdays in 2017 on a Ninja 250r I learned how bad my throttle control had gotten. Going to a gutless little bike shows you where you're taking off too much speed and covering for it with more throttle. Not that I'm perfect, far from it.
8. Take care of your bike
I already touched on this but its worth noting again. Take care of your bike and it will take care of you. We are in a sport where a faulty brake, blown tire, or bottomed out shock can mean a bad crash. If you're worrying about your bike's condition you aren't focusing on riding.
9. Take care of your body
Its tough to ride a sport bike if you don't maintain strength, flexibility, and endurance. They say that every seven pounds of body weight you take off is like adding a horsepower to your bike.
10. Breath, relax
-If you're tense on the bars you aren't steering and you're scaring yourself
-If you aren't breathing your body is tense and scared
Lessons I've Learned in this Sport
1. Always have a plan
-Plan the ride. Seems like a no brainer until you go on someone else's ride that meanders from one road construction site to another, then doubles back on itself, the leaders stops to look at a map, someone runs out of gas....
-Plan to crash (wear your gear) and what to do when you crash (insurance, towing, etc). The last part of this is huge. I've seen plenty of riders crash on a group ride and then have no idea who in their life they can call to pick up them/their bike. Heck, I was pretty confused my first crash about what to do. Now I have a pretty clear idea of what happens next and wear a road ID bracelet.
-Plan maintenance so you don't have a trip/track day coming up and you realize something is worn out or broken the night before. I wrote this list before I had my ZX6R stolen and was then guilty of taking a VFR that needed brake work to the track. This summer I was guilty of it several times while the VFR was laid up with leaking forks and I took the ZX6R on two long trips instead! Or maybe I should have planned tire and chain replacements better so I don't anger my mechanic with short notice requests. I guess this bullet point should go under "lessons still learning"
-Plan rest. Rest days on trips, rest stops, you get the idea. Just because I'm fine on the VFR with the 5gallon gas tank doesn't mean the guy on the RSV4 is OK or still has gas. Or take a short mileage day while touring so you don't burn out.
-Don't deviate from the plan unless you have a good reason. When things go off rails especially with groups, people make mistakes. I hate that sinking feeling when you start losing people on a group ride because you changed the plan. Did they quit, get lost, or crash? Who knows. One of my pet peeves is when your group meets another group and then you have twenty people trying to shout out what route they want to do because they all know the best route. That's when things start going badly.
2. Nothing is ever as cheap as it seems
-Spending money to save money. Ever think about buying a 250/300 so you can save money on trackdays or tickets? Lets see, spending $3000+ on something to save what exactly? A few bucks on tires?
-Upgrades. I regret buying a $700 exhaust even though it looks and sounds cool. That could have been 2.5 trackdays. The Power Commander may have ever so slightly evened out the power band and added some top end but it could have been a California Superbike School day.
-Whats worth it? Comfortable seat, good tires, good maintenance, having a pro set up your suspension. By good tires I also mean good tires, not wasting money on Supercorsas for the street and wearing them out in 1000 miles of street riding because you run them at track pressure on the street because you think it'll give you better grip. You know who I'm talking about.
3. Take it to the track
-You've heard it: you don't get speeding tickets on the track. There's no gravel or minivans or bad patches of asphalt.
but...
-Riding on the road is so much more accessible. If I rode track only I'd only ride six times a year and each time would be a huge logistics production of getting to a track. If I ride street, I can throw a leg over my bike and be in the twisties in ten minutes.
I've gone with plenty of people to their first track day and seen the light come on. This is my outreach and my mission. Instead of shunning the canyon carvers I ride with them and take them to the track. Not that we stop canyon carving, its not that kind of religion mind you.
4. Wear your gear
This is a no brainer really. Also I should say wear the right gear for the temperature. Wear a helmet that fits properly so your head doesn't bounce around in a crash. I've seen some unfortunate crashes that could have been walk away crashes with different/better gear.
5. Know who to take advice from
-Lot of idiots out there that really seem confident in what they're saying but their results (if they have any) are from having more balls than brains, not superior riding skill.
6. Stop trying to control everything, especially in a group
This goes against my point in #1 because sometimes I'm better off just saying screw it and letting the group go wherever fate takes us. I'll just migrate to the back and let the chips fall.
7. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast
-you must slow down to go fast.
When I did a bunch of trackdays in 2017 on a Ninja 250r I learned how bad my throttle control had gotten. Going to a gutless little bike shows you where you're taking off too much speed and covering for it with more throttle. Not that I'm perfect, far from it.
8. Take care of your bike
I already touched on this but its worth noting again. Take care of your bike and it will take care of you. We are in a sport where a faulty brake, blown tire, or bottomed out shock can mean a bad crash. If you're worrying about your bike's condition you aren't focusing on riding.
9. Take care of your body
Its tough to ride a sport bike if you don't maintain strength, flexibility, and endurance. They say that every seven pounds of body weight you take off is like adding a horsepower to your bike.
10. Breath, relax
-If you're tense on the bars you aren't steering and you're scaring yourself
-If you aren't breathing your body is tense and scared
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Thieves, Irony, and Lessons Learned
There's an expression that goes like this: "experience is what you get when you don't get what you want". So there I was getting ready for the last track day of the year at ThunderHill West. My friends had signed up and it was quitting time at work. Just like I had numerous times before I came home practically bounding through the steps to connect my trailer to my Sedan. I wanted to get an early start the next day (ThunderHill trips take a day of travel down and a day back) so I loaded my ZX6R onto the trailer Friday evening. Most of the time I don't sleep well before a trip and Friday was no exception. Saturday morning I got up and looked out the window to see my bike was gone.
In retrospect I can say I was calmer than I would have expected I would have been in this circumstance. I posted to social media that my bike was gone, I called the police, and I gave a report to the officer that responded. Odd that I kept my cool in a situation that I should have completely lost it.
Lesson: Just because you think your neighborhood is safe, lock your stuff up
Here's where the irony comes in. When I renewed my insurance in October I dropped full coverage on the Ninja and went to Liability only.
Talking with my dad on the phone he practically insisted that I should load up my VFR and go to the track with it instead of staying home and feeling helpless and angry. So that's what I did. I loaded up the big red bike and headed south. By the time I got to my motel it was well past dark and I got some unwanted practice in backing up with a trailer in a crowded parking lot.
The next day I finished my pilgrimage to ThunderHill and met up with my friends. The Sunday TrackDay was at ThunderHill West where I'd never been. The west track has its own pits, garages, overhangs, and Club house. Its a very nice facility. As the sun slowly crested the hills I tried my best to capture a golden hour photo of our lineup.
Overall I had a pretty good time on track. The west track is a lot of fun. We ran the counter clockwise configuration which is 1.6 miles. Its short, twisty, and fast The pavement is pretty fresh and except for CCW T-1 is in great shape (there's some weird texture from grinding there). Unfortunately I started having pretty bad brake fade once they got hot. There's nothing like hitting your brakes at 130mph and they go to mush. Because of that I missed some track time and outright skipped the last session, better safe than sorry. A lesser problem is that the VFR has Pilot Road 4s on it that are a fantastic road tire but a little squirmy on track. Although I didn't get my mind off the theft of the ZX6R, it helped my state of mind.
Pictured: There's no way to look cool on a sports tourer with bar risers on an unfamiliar track
Lesson: Don't put off maintenance on your B bike, just in case your A bike goes missing
On Monday I returned home and got a call from LPD that they'd located my bike. I rushed over to where they found it and loaded up my rolling chassis of a ZX6R. The thief had dropped it on both sides, busted out the ignition (holy hell ignitions are hard to replace), gas tank lock, rear seat lock, spray painted the windshield, and removed a bunch of stuff. At the scene the police commented that they knew the guy, he's a repeat offender, drug user, transient, and general scum.
I spent the next week agonizing about what to do with it and shopping for parts. Finally my dad suggested that I just bite the bullet and take it to the Dealership and let the pros do their thing. Amazing how much anxiety is off my shoulders since dropping it off there and them saying no problem.
Lesson: Its OK to call in the Pros
Lesson: Dad has some good advice now and then
Before dropping it off I re-assembled it the best I could with what I had on hand and a spare windscreen I had. Doesn't look bad from 20 feet when you can't see the scratches.
In retrospect I can say I was calmer than I would have expected I would have been in this circumstance. I posted to social media that my bike was gone, I called the police, and I gave a report to the officer that responded. Odd that I kept my cool in a situation that I should have completely lost it.
Lesson: Just because you think your neighborhood is safe, lock your stuff up
Here's where the irony comes in. When I renewed my insurance in October I dropped full coverage on the Ninja and went to Liability only.
Talking with my dad on the phone he practically insisted that I should load up my VFR and go to the track with it instead of staying home and feeling helpless and angry. So that's what I did. I loaded up the big red bike and headed south. By the time I got to my motel it was well past dark and I got some unwanted practice in backing up with a trailer in a crowded parking lot.
The next day I finished my pilgrimage to ThunderHill and met up with my friends. The Sunday TrackDay was at ThunderHill West where I'd never been. The west track has its own pits, garages, overhangs, and Club house. Its a very nice facility. As the sun slowly crested the hills I tried my best to capture a golden hour photo of our lineup.
Pictured: There's no way to look cool on a sports tourer with bar risers on an unfamiliar track
Lesson: Don't put off maintenance on your B bike, just in case your A bike goes missing
On Monday I returned home and got a call from LPD that they'd located my bike. I rushed over to where they found it and loaded up my rolling chassis of a ZX6R. The thief had dropped it on both sides, busted out the ignition (holy hell ignitions are hard to replace), gas tank lock, rear seat lock, spray painted the windshield, and removed a bunch of stuff. At the scene the police commented that they knew the guy, he's a repeat offender, drug user, transient, and general scum.
Lesson: Its OK to call in the Pros
Lesson: Dad has some good advice now and then
Before dropping it off I re-assembled it the best I could with what I had on hand and a spare windscreen I had. Doesn't look bad from 20 feet when you can't see the scratches.
Final Irony: My precious super-sport gets stolen right before a track day in the cold autumn and not stolen during the nice sunny summer when I had it out on the trailer and parked at motels while on trips.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Fantastic Bikes and Where to Ride Them
Waiting for trackday photos to come out makes me feel like an irrational eight year old who gets told he has to wait a week for a toy. Every day and sometimes several times a day I go to the website and refresh it to see if they're uploaded, like a kid checking the mailbox at all times of the day.
I've been doing trackdays since 2011 and I still get the feeling. For that matter I still get the jitters the night before a trackday right up until I finish my first sighting lap.
When you were a teenager remember having a crush on someone? The pure distilled feeling of desire you have towards that person as if your life depends on obtaining love from them. Any moment your crush goes unrequited is heart wrenching to the point that you can't concentrate on anything academic.
Have you noticed that past your twenties those extreme feelings towards another person fade and go away? Do you miss that emotional high, even if you never got the person you crushed on?
Here's how to recreate that emotional high as an adult. Think of your dream bike and your dream trip (be it to the track, or tour, or whatever). Bingo, now you can't think about work and you feel like your life won't be complete until you obtain that goal.
I'm going to share one of my fantasies with you. This is literally one of the things that distracts me from work and gives me that emotional high of desiring something I can't have.
My fantasy starts with buying a new hot overpowered sport touring bike. For the purpose of this blog I'm going to go with the KTM SuperDuke 1290 GT. But don't worry, my VFR doesn't get jealous. The details vary but sometimes my fantasy includes flying somewhere to score an amazing deal on a new-old-stock bike from some nowhere KTM dealer.
Anyways my fantasy continues as I ride it to all the different national parks in the western US. Sounds pretty... vanilla, doesn't it? OK here's where it gets more interesting. In my brain I take the SuperDuke to all the tracks in the western US along the way and am the King of C group on my sport touring bike with my yellow touring suit.
When I put it on paper (electronic paper) it actually doesn't sound that fantastic or unrealistic. Funny how that works.
There's a joke that circulates motorcycle social media regularly that goes like this: All my friends are getting married and having kids and I'm like "Look at my motorcycle". That's my life now. I've seen no less than five pregnancy announcements among my friends and acquaintances in the last month. Meanwhile I've been on a short super-tour and gone to the track.
My life is a joke. An awesome joke.
Hey, look at my motorcycle!
I've been doing trackdays since 2011 and I still get the feeling. For that matter I still get the jitters the night before a trackday right up until I finish my first sighting lap.
When you were a teenager remember having a crush on someone? The pure distilled feeling of desire you have towards that person as if your life depends on obtaining love from them. Any moment your crush goes unrequited is heart wrenching to the point that you can't concentrate on anything academic.
Have you noticed that past your twenties those extreme feelings towards another person fade and go away? Do you miss that emotional high, even if you never got the person you crushed on?
Here's how to recreate that emotional high as an adult. Think of your dream bike and your dream trip (be it to the track, or tour, or whatever). Bingo, now you can't think about work and you feel like your life won't be complete until you obtain that goal.
I'm going to share one of my fantasies with you. This is literally one of the things that distracts me from work and gives me that emotional high of desiring something I can't have.
My fantasy starts with buying a new hot overpowered sport touring bike. For the purpose of this blog I'm going to go with the KTM SuperDuke 1290 GT. But don't worry, my VFR doesn't get jealous. The details vary but sometimes my fantasy includes flying somewhere to score an amazing deal on a new-old-stock bike from some nowhere KTM dealer.
Anyways my fantasy continues as I ride it to all the different national parks in the western US. Sounds pretty... vanilla, doesn't it? OK here's where it gets more interesting. In my brain I take the SuperDuke to all the tracks in the western US along the way and am the King of C group on my sport touring bike with my yellow touring suit.
When I put it on paper (electronic paper) it actually doesn't sound that fantastic or unrealistic. Funny how that works.
There's a joke that circulates motorcycle social media regularly that goes like this: All my friends are getting married and having kids and I'm like "Look at my motorcycle". That's my life now. I've seen no less than five pregnancy announcements among my friends and acquaintances in the last month. Meanwhile I've been on a short super-tour and gone to the track.
My life is a joke. An awesome joke.
Hey, look at my motorcycle!
Monday, July 2, 2018
Tool Abuse, Bike Maintenance, and Making Things Just a Little Better
Its no secret that I consider myself a disciple of Dave Moss. If you haven't heard of him, search youtube and facebook. He's a suspension tuner and racer, although his outreach goes beyond setting sag and twiddling knobs to trying to get all riders to take care of the basic ergonomic tuning and maintenance tasks that all too often get ignored.
The other day I was watching one of his videos and he was harping on brake fluid. So I paused the video and went to change the brake fluid in my special lady friend's 2012 CBR250r, which had probably never been changed.
Yucky.
Funny that after I changed that suddenly the brakes worked like they should. All this time I just assumed the brakes on it sucked (they felt sticky), but in fact the fluid was just awful!
I've bled the brakes on the VFR about four times this year trying to get the feel that I want. They were mushy as hell after I did a complete flush, I was thinking I was going to have to replace the lines. First though I removed the calipers and cleaned them thoroughly, then very carefully bled the brakes again, watching for tiny bubbles coming out. Voila, good firm brakes. Also my reservoir was weeping and as it turned out that happens when its over full, my fault.
I finally changed the coolant, which was a phenomenal pain in the ass due to the way Honda built the VFR fairings and where they placed the cooling system pieces. Two radiators and bits and pieces all over.
The fork oil on the VFR needs to be changed but that's a bigger job than I can do, and I don't have tools for it. So I'll let my guy do that for me before my big trip in August.
The baby CBR has much simpler forks where you can access the oil from the top, so I changed that tonight. I sucked out the 0W Honda fish oil and replaced it with 10W Repsol oil. Big difference, it no longer pogos.
Ironically Honda didn't see fit to put a place for spools on the swingarms. If you want spools you have to put on aftermarket pieces that go onto the chain adjusters, which ironically you need to lift the back end to do which you can't because you don't have spools. Using a paddle lift is a no go because it grabs onto the part of the swingarm that blocks the axle.
Tim the Tool Abuser Jensen to the rescue. Ladder plus rachet straps = motorcycle lift.
I also used this method to reassemble the forks.
While Dave would be happy that I'm taking care of my suspension and brakes, he'd probably be horrified at the way I improvise on things!
The other day I was watching one of his videos and he was harping on brake fluid. So I paused the video and went to change the brake fluid in my special lady friend's 2012 CBR250r, which had probably never been changed.
Funny that after I changed that suddenly the brakes worked like they should. All this time I just assumed the brakes on it sucked (they felt sticky), but in fact the fluid was just awful!
I've bled the brakes on the VFR about four times this year trying to get the feel that I want. They were mushy as hell after I did a complete flush, I was thinking I was going to have to replace the lines. First though I removed the calipers and cleaned them thoroughly, then very carefully bled the brakes again, watching for tiny bubbles coming out. Voila, good firm brakes. Also my reservoir was weeping and as it turned out that happens when its over full, my fault.
I finally changed the coolant, which was a phenomenal pain in the ass due to the way Honda built the VFR fairings and where they placed the cooling system pieces. Two radiators and bits and pieces all over.
The fork oil on the VFR needs to be changed but that's a bigger job than I can do, and I don't have tools for it. So I'll let my guy do that for me before my big trip in August.
The baby CBR has much simpler forks where you can access the oil from the top, so I changed that tonight. I sucked out the 0W Honda fish oil and replaced it with 10W Repsol oil. Big difference, it no longer pogos.
Ironically Honda didn't see fit to put a place for spools on the swingarms. If you want spools you have to put on aftermarket pieces that go onto the chain adjusters, which ironically you need to lift the back end to do which you can't because you don't have spools. Using a paddle lift is a no go because it grabs onto the part of the swingarm that blocks the axle.
Tim the Tool Abuser Jensen to the rescue. Ladder plus rachet straps = motorcycle lift.
While Dave would be happy that I'm taking care of my suspension and brakes, he'd probably be horrified at the way I improvise on things!
Sunday, April 29, 2018
SpringTime
Spring in Oregon is like a bipolar Ex. One minute its 80 degrees and sunny, then next its a thunderstorm. People start poking their heads out in the sun and after a few cycles of getting rained on wearing shorts they just say "screw it" and start doing their spring/summer activities rain or shine.
Motorcycles riders are no different. Although some stay indoors until a forecast of 100% clear some of us are out there getting in some great tourist free road miles in the foul weather.
As it turns out the Q3s on my Ninja are worse in the rain than the Pilot Road 4s on my VFR. I didn't go down but I felt the rear twitch a lot on this ride.
Yesterday I lucked out and had a traffic free run to the coast (in the rain) on board my VFR. At the coast it was sunny. The ocean was incredibly blue, a rare sight in Oregon where its normally green or brown looking. Of course getting to and from this beautiful sight was torrential rain, but proper gear and tires handle that pretty well. Easy does it on the control inputs and remember the fundamentals, the engineers at Michelin and Honda will take care of the rest.
The weather only gets better from here. Until the end of May and then it gets worse briefly, but then it gets better.
Motorcycles riders are no different. Although some stay indoors until a forecast of 100% clear some of us are out there getting in some great tourist free road miles in the foul weather.
Yesterday I lucked out and had a traffic free run to the coast (in the rain) on board my VFR. At the coast it was sunny. The ocean was incredibly blue, a rare sight in Oregon where its normally green or brown looking. Of course getting to and from this beautiful sight was torrential rain, but proper gear and tires handle that pretty well. Easy does it on the control inputs and remember the fundamentals, the engineers at Michelin and Honda will take care of the rest.
I've said before that the motorcycle Gods look kindly on acts of charity. This week I had the opportunity to lend my garage and (limited) technical skills to a friend so she could remove her forks to be re-sprung, change her oil, and change her coolant. It was an interesting learning experience. Six year old original Suzuki coolant looks like some kind of blue syrupy sports drink.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Track Day Stereotypes
A wise man once said: "Stereotypes are in place for a reason". Granted he might have been talking about getting drunk on St Patrick's day when "everyone is Irish", but we'll just go with it. Without further ado here is TrackDay Stereotypes volume 1!
-The streetfighter rider that shows up to talk to his track friends and brag to anyone that will listen about how awesome his bike (old GSXR missing all its fairings with a dirtbike front end) is. Bonus points if he's wearing a "cut" advertising some RC/MC.
-The 16 year old girl on the 20 year old 125CC GP bike that spends the first half of the day lapping faster than adults on 1000cc bikes, then leaves after her engine explodes because its a 20 year old 2-stroke. Her family is one of those mainstays of the local racing community (in one niche class) and always operates on a shoestring budget.
-Guy with a BMW that starts super aggressive then spends more time trying to sort out why his bike won't run (electrical gremlins in a sensor somewhere) than riding, then leaves early.
-The clueless first timer on a Monster/FZ1/other upright standard/sportbike that shows up with a backpack. Usually someone takes him in and shows him the ropes/lets him rest under their canopy so he doesn't dehydrate and die.
-The guy who shows up with a motorhome/trailer and a full MotoAmerica/MotoGP sized pit worth of stuff. Usually has all his club racing buddies pit with him and they hang up some kind of sign advertising their edgy "race team" name. Included is optional pit wife with a gaggle of small children or dogs. OK I'm a bit jealous maybe, but I'm not jealous of the logistics. Bonus points if the grill (that costs more than my bike) comes out at lunch and they make the pit smell like Burger King. Even more bonus points if their "pit bikes" cost more than my bike and their pit wife drives around the pit in a brand new $20k SxS ATV (also Pit Wife costs more than my bike).
-The C group guy on an ex-race bike. For whatever reason someone totally new the the track that plunked down the cash on a turn key race package and *looks* like a racer but isn't, but thinks he is. He doesn't know how to maintain the Graves R1 he just bought and surely doesn't know how to ride it. But his Instagram has like 1.2m followers so who am I to talk, right?
-The super aggressive club racer in C-group. This guy normally races in the open-sportsman and can't seem to ever make top 10. He goes to trackdays and signs up for C-group so he can "practice his passing" which translates to "ignore C-group passing rules" and dive bomb all the newer/slower riders. He's pretty much just padding his ego in C-group.
-The tiny Asian guy on a 250/300. No idea where he's pitting, don't know who he is, wears Dainese, doesn't speak English well, passes me about twice per session. Dangit there he goes again, three times.
-The GoPro Hero. He has a camera on his helmet, one on the tail of his bike, a forward facing one, and reverse facing one. His youtube channel has more subscribers than mine. Often seen walking around the pits with a GoPro on a selfi stick talking to his subscribers or getting close up shots of his melty tires
-The streetfighter rider that shows up to talk to his track friends and brag to anyone that will listen about how awesome his bike (old GSXR missing all its fairings with a dirtbike front end) is. Bonus points if he's wearing a "cut" advertising some RC/MC.
-The 16 year old girl on the 20 year old 125CC GP bike that spends the first half of the day lapping faster than adults on 1000cc bikes, then leaves after her engine explodes because its a 20 year old 2-stroke. Her family is one of those mainstays of the local racing community (in one niche class) and always operates on a shoestring budget.
-Guy with a BMW that starts super aggressive then spends more time trying to sort out why his bike won't run (electrical gremlins in a sensor somewhere) than riding, then leaves early.
-The clueless first timer on a Monster/FZ1/other upright standard/sportbike that shows up with a backpack. Usually someone takes him in and shows him the ropes/lets him rest under their canopy so he doesn't dehydrate and die.
-The guy who shows up with a motorhome/trailer and a full MotoAmerica/MotoGP sized pit worth of stuff. Usually has all his club racing buddies pit with him and they hang up some kind of sign advertising their edgy "race team" name. Included is optional pit wife with a gaggle of small children or dogs. OK I'm a bit jealous maybe, but I'm not jealous of the logistics. Bonus points if the grill (that costs more than my bike) comes out at lunch and they make the pit smell like Burger King. Even more bonus points if their "pit bikes" cost more than my bike and their pit wife drives around the pit in a brand new $20k SxS ATV (also Pit Wife costs more than my bike).
-The C group guy on an ex-race bike. For whatever reason someone totally new the the track that plunked down the cash on a turn key race package and *looks* like a racer but isn't, but thinks he is. He doesn't know how to maintain the Graves R1 he just bought and surely doesn't know how to ride it. But his Instagram has like 1.2m followers so who am I to talk, right?
-The super aggressive club racer in C-group. This guy normally races in the open-sportsman and can't seem to ever make top 10. He goes to trackdays and signs up for C-group so he can "practice his passing" which translates to "ignore C-group passing rules" and dive bomb all the newer/slower riders. He's pretty much just padding his ego in C-group.
-The tiny Asian guy on a 250/300. No idea where he's pitting, don't know who he is, wears Dainese, doesn't speak English well, passes me about twice per session. Dangit there he goes again, three times.
-The GoPro Hero. He has a camera on his helmet, one on the tail of his bike, a forward facing one, and reverse facing one. His youtube channel has more subscribers than mine. Often seen walking around the pits with a GoPro on a selfi stick talking to his subscribers or getting close up shots of his melty tires
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Warm Up 2018
Its almost officially spring in the Central Valley. The temperature is coming up, the sheep are getting shorn, and motorcyclists are coming out of hibernation.
Not me of course, I rode all winter thanks for Pilot Road 4 tires on my VFR, and a Joe Rocket Survivor suit.
But I digress. *Other* riders are coming out of hibernation. Just like every other year there's the safety Nazis making posts that nobody will heed about taking it easy because the roads aren't clear and you haven't kept your skills sharp all winter. Just a thought, they might get more attention paid to them if they reached out to the squids and crotch rocketeers instead of vilifying them. I'm no safety Nazi, but I do appreciate the consequences for my actions (tickets, crashing, etc) and take steps to mitigate the damage (see yellow dork suit above).
The first real group ride of the season last week was pretty cool, if short. Six riders showed up for it. It was invite only so we had a small but skilled group, all ATGATTing, and all riding fast well-kept machines. Our intent was to go check out the hills and see how the roads are; to take it easy because we don't know the conditions out there. Well if you read my "Lies Motorcyclists Tell" story you probably know what happened next when six crotch rocketeers on top end machinery get out on the open road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXXB5r85QQ - SalemCBR's video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO-tM6NiHcs - My video
Funny thing is that I was riding the smallest displacement bike out there. As Cutback would say though: "modern 600s are so god damned fast there's no difference on the road". Funny thing about group rides; plenty of people are willing to haul ass when they're following, few are willing to lead. I find myself in the lead occasionally and always start feeling super self conscious (am I going through this corner fast enough to satisfy the followers?).
This year I was due for new leathers. My four year old Sedici leathers are really showing their age (and price point). I decided to follow the crowd and plunk down some coin on a 1-piece from Comet Racing Leathers. Unlike the other guys (looking at you Native-D and SalemCBR) I wasn't willing to be a shill and become a brand ambassador, although I'm perfectly willing to use their discount code.
Not me of course, I rode all winter thanks for Pilot Road 4 tires on my VFR, and a Joe Rocket Survivor suit.
The first real group ride of the season last week was pretty cool, if short. Six riders showed up for it. It was invite only so we had a small but skilled group, all ATGATTing, and all riding fast well-kept machines. Our intent was to go check out the hills and see how the roads are; to take it easy because we don't know the conditions out there. Well if you read my "Lies Motorcyclists Tell" story you probably know what happened next when six crotch rocketeers on top end machinery get out on the open road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXXB5r85QQ - SalemCBR's video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO-tM6NiHcs - My video
Funny thing is that I was riding the smallest displacement bike out there. As Cutback would say though: "modern 600s are so god damned fast there's no difference on the road". Funny thing about group rides; plenty of people are willing to haul ass when they're following, few are willing to lead. I find myself in the lead occasionally and always start feeling super self conscious (am I going through this corner fast enough to satisfy the followers?).
This year I was due for new leathers. My four year old Sedici leathers are really showing their age (and price point). I decided to follow the crowd and plunk down some coin on a 1-piece from Comet Racing Leathers. Unlike the other guys (looking at you Native-D and SalemCBR) I wasn't willing to be a shill and become a brand ambassador, although I'm perfectly willing to use their discount code.
In case you can't tell I like to mock other YouTubers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SmgPo0Uz-k
Its been years since I wore a 1-piece (seriously, like 2011 my first onesie was a Frank Thomas) and I'd forgotten what its like. New leathers are stiff and hard to get into at first, then if they fit right they crunch your balls when you're standing, but fit like a second skin once you're in position on a supersport motorcycle.
The motorcycle gods approve of acts of charity so I'll probably hand down my Sedicis to a less fortunate squid. One could say that's part of my outreach work to turn squids into proper canyon-carving/trackday riding/ ATGATTing Crotch Rocketeers. For every one that I fail to bring the Gospel of Keith Code to, I will succeed with two others.
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