Track day report
 

I finally got to shake out the cobwebs yesterday at Thunderhill Raceway - I love that track!

I was pretty nervous, the first session. It had been so long, since I have felt dialled in, and riding fast. Lots of things in the back of my mind. One of them being the hard scale on my tires that had developed from sitting in the garage for a year. But I started feeling pretty good. The bike felt great. But I got back to the pits, wondering if I would ever get back in the groove. I got back and checked my tires and they were soft and sticky, so I knew I was good there.

The second session went quite a bit better, and I was starting to relax a bit. The map I had for the Turnone airbox was terrible. I went and spoke with Kevin about getting a map done. He told me it would take him 3-4 hours to build a map for it. I wasn't going to miss the riding time, but I said to myself "that's the guy I want tuning my bike". I could just tell he was extremely meticulous. I left it with him at the end of the day. I'll finally get it mapped at sea level, so Mikstr can have his dyno results.

By the end of the second session, I was pushing it hard enough for the front end to start feeling a bit vague. I added 2 clicks of compression damping to the front end and for the third session, it was a new world! The front end was perfect and my confidence level really started to come up. Now I was passing some of the guys that had passed me in the morning and pulling away. I ate 2 Ducati 999s as a late morning snack. Later in the day, I was starting to want the power I was missing, because there was a guy on a 1000RR that could pull away on the front straight, but was too slow in the corners. I finally did my old squirt through the 2-3 chute and got away. Now I was getting to the edge of the rear tire on both sides.

The rest of the day was a continuing, steady improvement. My shifting was terrible - I made lots of mistakes. But I was comfortable, the bike is one step away from perfection and I made more progress than I had hoped for.

Pics aren't available yet. Here's the only one I took of my bike in the sun. I think did her proud. Can't wait for the next one!

http://i42.tinypic.com/8zh53p.jpg

Wicked :) I want a racetrack near my casa.

Good on you Mate & that's gotta be the cleanest track bike I've ever soon!

Glad to hear it`s all falling into place :) You really have an awesome machine there (would love one just like it).

P.S. Looking forward to those dyno numbers, lol

Mikstr, keep your grubby paws off my future bike cuz I've got 1st dibbs!:evillaugh:

sorry guys. if i ever sold the bike, I would regret it forever.

I'm sure somebody will part with theirs...

Track day weapon > wife

And the best part is...no crashing. The bike looks great.

There were a lot of crashes - surprising. I think there were 6 bikes thrown away, yesterday.

I was in no rush to get ready to run, this time. Good preparation and no mechanical mishaps.

Just riding. Like old times.

No worries. In the all but imposible chance that he should sell it, the cost of getting shipped here would make likely make it cheaper to buy an 1198R....

I understand cuz last year there was a nice example of an RC51 SP2 that showed up at one of the local Honda steelers and I got within $1000 of trading in my SH for it and after I left there they kept calling me to come back and do the deal, but I had already realized that I can't sell my SH w/o major regrets!

Sounds like you had a great day. Bet you can't wait to get back there now!

awesome, got my first track day of the year on the 9th

Looking forward to the pictures! I too had the first track day of the year at a BSB track called Snetterton. I too got eaten up by the new 1000cc IL4s but anyone can open a throttle on the straight. It's the corners where the skill (and fun) is.

Good to get the first out of the way without incident after an "off"... I know this too.:-(

Yeah, I was nervous as hell. I won't say I was scared, but I probably was! My leg was shaking when I loaded her in the truck.

After the first session, I was wondering if I could get over it and how long it would take.

I was relieved when I finally got past it and started tuning in to what the bike was telling me. It had just been too long, between sessions. I needed to get right back on the horse, but couldn't get there - for several reasons.

I have a long way to go, but was very satisfied with the first day back.

And no, I can't wait to get back! It's always better after sleeping on it and letting the learning sink in.

Here's a few photos:

http://i41.tinypic.com/161xfew.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/16ne47.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/afer2f.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/21wnbd.jpg
all pictures courtesy of 4theriders.com

sweeeeeeeeet lookin' bike. Congrats on a job well done!!!