oh i take care of the girlie too, and she is very supportive, but in the big picture, i need to get a handle on my money and actually establish myself as a responsible adult rather. thankfully my 401k is healthy so the long term picture is fine (considering i have nearly 40 years till i see it), it is the short term that needs some improvement.

will let you know. hoping to get at least 6 in this year. i may just leave the bike roadworthy and let it get torn apart over time. it doesnt really matter to me as i dont care about the bike like i do the S.

repoe3

That's the wrong approach, dude. There should be no rump to be handed at a track day. You're there to learn and challenge yourself. Leave the macho sh it at home or for the backroads with your homies.

carlos is right. and to be very honest i was nervous as ***** when we rolled onto the grid for the first time. it took the three sessions before i felt comfortable and had a handle on what to expect. by days end, you will find yourself right on the a$$ of some squid on an R6 that parks it in the tursn and, at least i was, yelling at him to get out of the way. of course he could not hear me as i could barely hear myself. but it got to be that kind of thing over and over. even if you wont have leathers by then, cosider getting the soft side of velcro added to your pants or duct tape knee pucks on your pants. you WILL get a knee down a lot. beleive me, you will NOT want to get your cylinder heads down like you do on 211, the track actually will not be as forgiving, because you will think can really hammer it and reach the point of no return quicker. the up-side is that at least it is a conrolled environment.

carlos...so you see i aint made of money, i just need to start saving some ;)

repoe3

I had a total blast riding the Buell at Pocono East this Fall and that was my first experience riding. I'd get blown away on the back straight but I could really pull outta the bus stop. I learned so much about being in the right gear and trusting my front end that day.

I highly recommend that you read A Twist Of The Wrist by Keith Code over and over again before you do a track day and try to do some of the things he says on the street as well. I'm talking about the original book not the second and third books which I think are just poor rehashes of the first. Once thing that really helped me is that I have been consciously trying not to chop the throtle going through turns. You gotta really override this reflex (I'm still not even 80% on this yet). If you had to sum up all of Code's books in two words, these would be "throtle control." Everything else is kinda BLAH BLAH BLAH.

I put a shorter torque arm on the bike today. This should give me a touch more clearance. I will also put on the plastic protectors so I don't grind the heads any more than I already have. I'm worried that they are getting thin.

When I say getting my rump handed to me, I just don't want to get toasted by some 300lb old man on a Nighthawk 250. My dreams of the MOTOGP Championship would be dashed!!!

It's exactly some these old guys that WILL hand your as s on a platter. Just look at some of the "old men" here...Joe ;) :D

Go riding with Joe and you'll soon see his tailight getting smaller and smaller :D

The more the merrier.

Piggy-backing on what Repoe mentioned . . . While it's natural to feel a twinge of competitiveness in that environment, chances are you'll get into your own ride and not pay much attention to what others are doing. This past November was my first time on the track, and after the first two sessions of the day when a group of Introductory riders left, I found the traffic not too cumbersome. Even so, unfortunately you will have those riders who may not be as capable as yourself through the turns, but will blast down the straightaways on a faster bike making passing difficult at times. That just will make you want to practice/improve entering and exiting techniques. Worse case scenario, you just pull into the pit area for a moment to create some space.

I've briefly mentioned it before, but maybe this coming summer we could designate one of NESBA's track dates as a gathering for anyone on the board who's interested. Spend some time riding on a track and camping. Man, I'm ready for some warm weather.

So Repoe, you agree with my questionable reasoning, are having serious conversations about your habits with your girlfriend, hmmmm... Be careful if you walk into a room full of people you know. I've heard that interventions can be brutal.

My NESBA sessions at Pocono went "green" right away because it was a beautiful day and a Friday but the overall group was small. While this maximized riding time for everyone, I wish I hadn't been on the track with intermediates and experts all day...I kept getting blown away and I had a hard time gauging my progress. I tried to stay outta their way on the back straight, too. My buddy Buck finally got bumped to intermediate so his 2004 season will be very challenging and enjoyable without newbies like me creating "moving chicanes."

this is great...it is still december and we are talking track days, get togethers, etc. i will have to trailer to these things just so i can have the S there and fit in with the group.

i think the only intervention i might get surprised with will either be one to purge the demons from my soul or pry the gin bottle from my hand. work has been hellish lately and have been keeping bombay sapphire on hand in large quanities with the occasional low carb rolling rock they have out now. there is some dark pleasure in consuming the only type of liquor made from food that is poisonous in its naturally occuring state yet is oh so pleasurable with some tonic over ice...talk about revenge being a dish served best cold.

repoe3

I found it a strange sensation riding without my mirrors, not knowing what was happening behind me. This also makes it necessary to try and guage the movement of the rider in front of you when passing, keeping in mind they are oblivious to what you are doing. After awhile I felt more comfortable with it, but it takes a while.

Speaking of spirits... over the weekend I stumbled across a fantastic brew that I have been telling friends about - Auckland's "Premium Dark Ale." It's a product from a mirco-brewery in New Zealand and it is mighty tastey, just right for this time of year. You'll probably have to find this jewel at your local beer/wine shop as I doubt it's stocked in any grocery chain.

you guys are kind to refer to me as a moving chicane and not use my real name . . .

as for gas, if i'm at the track i'll bring extra.