Track day tomorrow!!

jjm004 said:

what do you have the rear and front tie downs attached to?

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GoodKnight said:

There are holes in my trailer specifically for tie down points.

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jjm004 said:

no which part of the bike do you have them attached to?

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GoodKnight said:

Track day was probably my worst one ever.

This was with team promotion, and I'm still in the white (beginner group) with them. I ride intermediate with nesba, but i kinda like being the fast guy in the slow group.

First session I always use as a warm up, but I know this track pretty well, so I rode at a 'brisk pace'. I think I must have passed 80% of the people in my group (I know I lapped at least 2 guys).

Second session, I got into pit lane feeling uneasy. Sure enough, 3rd lap in I went down at the SAME TURN i crashed on my first track day. Went into a turn too slow, lost my concentration for a second, and the next thing I know, I'm cutting in too close, knee on the ground, lost the front, and I lowsided. No big damage to me or the bike, but a few things did need to get fixed.

Spent the 3rd session readjusting my clipons (fyi, woodcraft clipons are the bomb diggity), cleaning the dirt off my bike, the left side of my sharkskinz are cracked/scraped nicely, but nothing unrideable. Had to replace a few bolts that got sheered off (note: spare parts can save your day if you do go down! bring plenty).

4th session I went out just to get the kinks out and get rid of all the dirt on my tires. Was moving ok (actually matched my times from the first session), then coming onto the straight went to shift to 3rd and i felt the shift lever move down a bit. Went to downshift, and NO LEVER THERE!

Went through the turn, look down, my lever was there, but very far down. So I pitted in, and sure enough my shift joint was grounded down a bit, and had too much free play. No spare joints, so my day ended there.

On the way home, stopped off at the suzuki dealership to order some parts. Just made a call to my buddy at www.washingtoncycleworks.com to order some misc spares. Next day is at beaverun in 2 weeks. Actually thinking about just running the rc there.

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TravRSX said:

Damn dude, sorry to hear that. At least you made it away unhurt, and bike is okay too. It must really hurt your confidence to go down in the same turn again. But, you did what you had to do and got back on the bike and rode another session, that makes a big difference. It can sure be frustrating when you have to end a day early because of mechanical failure though.

I did one day with TPM, and i'm in white group with them as well. Its fine, except when the ART basic people are out... man they are slooooow.

Hope you have better luck at beaver...

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jjm004 said:

what made you loose the front end? what do you mean you went into the turn too slow?

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GoodKnight said:

All packed up. Going to hit up the Poconos East.

Last time I ran that course was last year. Was also the first time I used the sv on the track. I typically ran it consistently in the 1:24s on my f4i. Last yr I ran a 1:22 on the sv. Each track I've been to this year, i've lopped off good time, so I'm hopping I can get into the 1:19s. That would put me close to mid pack the intermediate group.

We'll see.

The truck is my fiance's engagement present to me. Used to be blue, then I repainted it flat black. Much like my sv, it has a 50/50 paint job. Looks good from 50 ft away or at 50 mph.

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GoodKnight said:

Track day was probably my worst one ever.

This was with team promotion, and I'm still in the white (beginner group) with them. I ride intermediate with nesba, but i kinda like being the fast guy in the slow group.

First session I always use as a warm up, but I know this track pretty well, so I rode at a 'brisk pace'. I think I must have passed 80% of the people in my group (I know I lapped at least 2 guys).

Second session, I got into pit lane feeling uneasy. Sure enough, 3rd lap in I went down at the SAME TURN i crashed on my first track day. Went into a turn too slow, lost my concentration for a second, and the next thing I know, I'm cutting in too close, knee on the ground, lost the front, and I lowsided. No big damage to me or the bike, but a few things did need to get fixed.

Spent the 3rd session readjusting my clipons (fyi, woodcraft clipons are the bomb diggity), cleaning the dirt off my bike, the left side of my sharkskinz are cracked/scraped nicely, but nothing unrideable. Had to replace a few bolts that got sheered off (note: spare parts can save your day if you do go down! bring plenty).

4th session I went out just to get the kinks out and get rid of all the dirt on my tires. Was moving ok (actually matched my times from the first session), then coming onto the straight went to shift to 3rd and i felt the shift lever move down a bit. Went to downshift, and NO LEVER THERE!

Went through the turn, look down, my lever was there, but very far down. So I pitted in, and sure enough my shift joint was grounded down a bit, and had too much free play. No spare joints, so my day ended there.

On the way home, stopped off at the suzuki dealership to order some parts. Just made a call to my buddy at www.washingtoncycleworks.com to order some misc spares. Next day is at beaverun in 2 weeks. Actually thinking about just running the rc there.

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jp182 said:

wow man, sorry to hear
I hope you can do Beaver. If not, just let me know. Maybe you can borrow Craig's bike

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GoodKnight said:

I'm definitely doing beaver. Bringing both bikes, and should have the sv completely good to go by next week.

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