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.

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.