mygixxer
05-17-2009, 12:58 PM
May 16th 2fast trackdays, ORP.
couldn't have asked for better weather conditions....82 degress...NO WIND!!!! I don't know what you guy's were complaining about!
1st let me say thank you to Mark degross and his staff for putting on such an incredible program, top notch!
2nd, a BIG thank you to Barry Russel-Dunlop tires for setting me up with some kick arse Ntechs that were amazing. Aside from suspension and tires he can also help you fix problems on your bike when you think you are having electrical problems yet again, only for him to find out that I did not tighten my contact to my battery which caused my bike to cut out. Barry you saved the day!
3rd EDR performance for tunning up my bike, it ran supurb! I was no where near the fastest guy out there, but the bike was everything I expected it to be and more.
I drove down on Friday night and camped out waking up at 5am with nothign but blue skies. I stumbled out of the back of my suv expecting to chock on my sack from the cold but was pleasantly surprised that it was actually comfortable to walk around in sweat pants and a t shirt. I got the pit all set up and when time came got checked in. Mark took us all on a truck ride along to go over each corner which was very helpful.
The day starts and I knew I would be taking it easy with me basically being on a new bike that I am not accustom to, a new track I had never been on, swiching from pirelli to dunlops, the dirt/dust/deep and obvious seems that were on the track. I headed out with a buddy of mine and we made our 3 easy laps around the track, only my three easy laps turned into 3 fracking sessions!!!!! I was beggining to think that I made a mistake by coming out. I just could not get the hang of the bike, the track, breaking points...etc. I wanted to pack up my bike and drive away with my tail between my legs. I didn't want to hold people up, and up until this point I had thought I was a descent rider. Guess it's a reality check when you visit a track with some actual elevation.
3 session out I got much more comfortable and started to find a rythm with not only my bike but the track also. Just before my session ended I noticed that coming out of corners my bike would start to cut out on me. This was a previous problem from last season so I automatically started to blame Dorn in my head. I thought it was my kickstand again and tried to tighten it but that still didn't work. Barry offered to help me so I brought my bike down a couple others and myself hunched around my bike trying to find what the problem was. Zack and Barry finally noticed out of the blue that my positive connection wasnt bolted down and was causing it to come undone with any bump or vibration. So thanks to Barry and others I was off for my next session. I through my leathers back on and headed out.
Something happened to me in this session that gave me more confidence in my riding than I have ever had. Maybe it was all those hours of watching Pat O connner on the track and studying his abilities. Whatever it was, I was riding faster/harder, breaking later into corners, comfortable with my bike sliding (which in past has always scared the living piss out of me).
I rode my ass off for the next 3 sessions and was able to get some great video footage. The 3 o clock session came up and I was exhausted. I went out on the track and was seperated at the start from my buddy which wasn't a big deal but it was keeping me motivated to get back on the track and kick his ass. I went around once and came in to the hot pit waiting for him to come around. I spotted him and I was off down to the first corner. He passed me and I was right on his butt until I half way through the corner my body gave up. I couldn't hang off my bike anymore, my head was high through corners, I was done. So half way through this lap I decided to call it a day. I hated to waste 2 sessions, but would rather have gone home with both my bike and my body in one piece. So I packed up and headed home.
Here is my video, hope you like it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnQvZHBl9TE
couldn't have asked for better weather conditions....82 degress...NO WIND!!!! I don't know what you guy's were complaining about!
1st let me say thank you to Mark degross and his staff for putting on such an incredible program, top notch!
2nd, a BIG thank you to Barry Russel-Dunlop tires for setting me up with some kick arse Ntechs that were amazing. Aside from suspension and tires he can also help you fix problems on your bike when you think you are having electrical problems yet again, only for him to find out that I did not tighten my contact to my battery which caused my bike to cut out. Barry you saved the day!
3rd EDR performance for tunning up my bike, it ran supurb! I was no where near the fastest guy out there, but the bike was everything I expected it to be and more.
I drove down on Friday night and camped out waking up at 5am with nothign but blue skies. I stumbled out of the back of my suv expecting to chock on my sack from the cold but was pleasantly surprised that it was actually comfortable to walk around in sweat pants and a t shirt. I got the pit all set up and when time came got checked in. Mark took us all on a truck ride along to go over each corner which was very helpful.
The day starts and I knew I would be taking it easy with me basically being on a new bike that I am not accustom to, a new track I had never been on, swiching from pirelli to dunlops, the dirt/dust/deep and obvious seems that were on the track. I headed out with a buddy of mine and we made our 3 easy laps around the track, only my three easy laps turned into 3 fracking sessions!!!!! I was beggining to think that I made a mistake by coming out. I just could not get the hang of the bike, the track, breaking points...etc. I wanted to pack up my bike and drive away with my tail between my legs. I didn't want to hold people up, and up until this point I had thought I was a descent rider. Guess it's a reality check when you visit a track with some actual elevation.
3 session out I got much more comfortable and started to find a rythm with not only my bike but the track also. Just before my session ended I noticed that coming out of corners my bike would start to cut out on me. This was a previous problem from last season so I automatically started to blame Dorn in my head. I thought it was my kickstand again and tried to tighten it but that still didn't work. Barry offered to help me so I brought my bike down a couple others and myself hunched around my bike trying to find what the problem was. Zack and Barry finally noticed out of the blue that my positive connection wasnt bolted down and was causing it to come undone with any bump or vibration. So thanks to Barry and others I was off for my next session. I through my leathers back on and headed out.
Something happened to me in this session that gave me more confidence in my riding than I have ever had. Maybe it was all those hours of watching Pat O connner on the track and studying his abilities. Whatever it was, I was riding faster/harder, breaking later into corners, comfortable with my bike sliding (which in past has always scared the living piss out of me).
I rode my ass off for the next 3 sessions and was able to get some great video footage. The 3 o clock session came up and I was exhausted. I went out on the track and was seperated at the start from my buddy which wasn't a big deal but it was keeping me motivated to get back on the track and kick his ass. I went around once and came in to the hot pit waiting for him to come around. I spotted him and I was off down to the first corner. He passed me and I was right on his butt until I half way through the corner my body gave up. I couldn't hang off my bike anymore, my head was high through corners, I was done. So half way through this lap I decided to call it a day. I hated to waste 2 sessions, but would rather have gone home with both my bike and my body in one piece. So I packed up and headed home.
Here is my video, hope you like it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnQvZHBl9TE