phobe

Hell of a weekend in the Calgary Motorcycle Roadracing Association! Weather was 100% perfect, track surface had no major craters, and lots of racers showed up to compete.

Saturday Practice

I was feeling a bit rusty, having not been on the bike for a few weeks. My times were hovering at about 1:30-1:31, a couple seconds off my previous best of 1:28.7. In round 2 I'd made a lot of progress, and my goal was to continue moving forward and hopefully score a few points. In the later half of the day I practiced with my teammate Chris, a 17 year-old motocrosser in his first season on a roadrace bike... his times were within a few tenths of mine so we "raced" and played leapfrog for a few sessions to try and find some speed. For the most part we still ran 29s and 30s but felt that in a race situation we would probably both get down to where we wanted to be.

As of yet I hadn't touched the suspension settings on my Honda, but I was now finding myself pushing way too wide mid-corner, and having trouble holding my line. I'm pretty green (and a little too cautious) on suspension setup so I had one of the crew guys (Rob Jessop, a very clever technician who also happens to be a pretty quick racer) take a look. The front end was a mess... way too soft, way too much sag and way too bouncy. We added a whole bunch of preload and a significant amount of rebound damping. Rob gave me a great lesson on suspension setup, and demonstrated how the bike reacted with settings at either extreme. I was using the wire-tie trick to gauge my suspension travel, but Rob explained how the progressive-rate springs neccessitate further measurements to be used effectively. He warned that since we had made drastic changes, I might hate it for the first few laps, but once I got used to it the bike would handle better. Well he was wrong about hating it for a few laps... The very first lap was a bit tricky because I found myself turning in way too much and banging into curbs, but right away if felt a thousand times better. It was carving like a speedskater through the turns and on my second lap I beat my previous best with a mid 1:28, followed by 3 or 4 more laps within a few hundredths of that. Now I could make some progress!

I was getting well fatigued and decided to sit out my last practice session. I'd changed out of my leathers and was getting ready for a nap but a few friends were going out and they didn't have much trouble convincing me to come out for "just one more". A couple experts had pulled me aside to show me the proper line through the carousel hairpin, (my "line" was slow and dangerous) and I needed to try it a few times. I always dread the carousel... it is my worst turn and I always find it extremely physically demanding and frustrating. My first try with the proper line went somewhat ok... a bit wobbly in the transition from full left lean to full right lean but it made sense. My second time through it was worse; I spun the tire hard and fishtailed. For the rest of that lap and the next one every turn felt strange and I felt like I was sliding everywhere. I though there might be a problem with the bike, but then I started second-guessing myself wondering if I was just tired and making mistakes. As I backed my bike into my pit stall a couple of guys jumped up and were yelling at me to shut it down. I looked down and there was a blast of steam from the rad and a belly pan full of coolant. I'd thought I did a pretty good job of flushing the system but there was still a green tinge, which I suppose would explain the um... traction issues. There was a pinhole leak in the core, from a rock or some sort of debris. For a moment I thought my weekend was over but fortunately a teammate had an 07 CBR600 in an unfinished state of build... So I went to work stealing his radiator. When I "drained" mine there was probably less than half a litre of water left in it... I wonder if a few more laps would have cooked my motor? I haven't worked on other brands but the Honda rads are a piece of cake to change, and I was finished inside of an hour. A lot of guys might have been pissed, but to me it was actually quite enjoyable and I suppose that's part of the club racing experience that I enjoy. Up until then I always found myself wondering why everyone else seemed to be always fixing their shit on practice day while I was out turning laps... guess that was a bit naive.

Race Day

This weekend I registered for Heavyweight Sportbike Amateur. This is a trophy class race that favours litre bikes, but a lot of middleweight racers enter it for the fun and experience. This would be my first race of the weekend. I was worried about my starts, after starting poorly in round 2, but my start from the back row was close to perfect. I eased the clutch out at 6000rpm and rocketed off the line, with no wheelie or spinning, leaving a pile of racers behind, including a few experts on big bikes. By turn 4 I was re-passed by a lot of them, and again found myself alone for most of the race. I settled into a somewhat sedate rhythm, turning 1:30s and getting bored. There was an issue with the scoring computer so the results still aren't posted but I think I finished 8th or 9th in amateur. Looking back now, there were a few guys that finished ahead of me who I know I can beat, so I regret not pushing harder to catch and race their group. I find it hard to go fast when I'm separated from the herd.

My second race was Middleweight Sportbike. It was a full grid with close to 30 racers in 2 classes. I started near the back again and repeated my earlier performance, blasting off the line and making several positions before turn one. Turn one was a magnificent clusterfuck with several bikes banging together but staying upright. Again I was re-passed by a few racers and settled into a rhythm, but stayed ahead of my main "rivals". In 2 laps I watched 3 racers crash in front of me in 3 different turns, graciously advancing my position. Towards the end I found myself in a battle with a Ducati rider, who would repeatedly outbrake me into the carousel, and I would repeatedly out-drive him out of the chute. It was a lot of fun, and I held him off to finish 9th in my class, scoring a few points along the way. Still, for much of the race I was alone, bored and tired, and filled with self-doubt as to whether I'd plateaued.

Thank Jebus for my third race!

My third race was Middleweight Superbike. This is a money-class race with a 125whp limit and no distinction between amateur and expert. I was gridded on the third row, and using the same technique as earlier, had another fantastic start. What followed in the next 10 laps was the most fun I've ever had in my life. Once the faster experts got away, I found myself in a 3 way battle with an amateur on a GSXR and an expert on a 848. The GSXR stayed ahead of me easily for the first half of the race, I'd gain on him in some turns, he'd pull me in others. I'd come out of the chute right on his back tire but I couldn't get him on the straight. I wondered if it was a 750 (it wasn't) because so far there hasn't been another 600 that I couldn't pass easily on the front straight. The 848 was right on my tail and would pass me coming up the hill that leads to the carousel, then I would re-pass him coming out of the chute and put some distance on him down the straight. The GSXR rider appeared to get tired in the second half and started parking it in the tight technical turns, but he was still out-driving me onto the straights and I couldn't make a pass stick. It got to where the three of us would pile into the carousel all at once, three abreast and dragrace to the start/finish line. I started getting excited to go through the carousel... I was flying through it and the close racing was incredibly fun. I was able to hold off the Ducati but never did get past the Gixxer. I finished 10th and was the third amateur across the line, scoring some points and winning some purse money... Fifty four dollars! I think I'll frame the cheque, marking the first time I've been paid to ride a motorcycle. My best lap was a 1:27.7, a new personal best, and on a lap where I was held up in 3 turns. It was a great confidence booster, knowing I haven't plateaued and I'm capable of quicker times.

So... I got my hands dirty, I got points, I got money, and I went faster. Racing kicks ass.

Here are a few pics:

CMRA Regional Race July 13, 2008 (180 of 180)
CMRA Regional Race July 13, 2008 (122 of 180)
CMRA Regional Race July 13, 2008 (101 of 180)
CMRA Regional Race July 13, 2008 (37 of 180)
CMRA Regional Race July 13, 2008 (11 of 180)
CMRA Regional Race July 13, 2008 (10 of 180)

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bwhip

Nice job, Tan! Thanks for the report. Very glad to hear of your continued progress. It's amazing how much difference suspension setup can make.

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CBR929RE

good job. framing the check is a good idea.

you ever worry about hitting your head on that wall?

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TornadoB8

Good show, and yes racing does kick ass.

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phobe

That one's not even the worst of them.

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CBRVFR

Well done!

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NorthernRR

Nice, glad that you are having fun out there, looks like a tight class

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phobe

There was a pretty cool story at this round:

A 52 year-old shows up to a track night a couple weeks ago on a brand new 08 CBR1000RR. He's out in B group turning 1:25s... quick enough for a top 5 in an amateur race.

Nobody's seen this guy before and the school owner / head instructor approaches him between sessions to shoot the shit.

"How do you like that CBR?"

-"Oh it's pretty nice"

"What'd you have before that?"

-"Oh this is my first street bike."

"??"

-"Ya I went to a Spencer school and I enjoyed it so much I decided to buy a sportbike.... Hey they said I needed a school to race here, I used to race motocross. When's your next school?"

So the guy takes a track school and Brad has to use his fastest instructors to "instruct" him. The guy learns the track instantly and he's absolutely floying. He shows up for the races this weekend, Honda still showroom-stock, with the lights taped up. He wins the novice race without even trying, then runs a bunch of amateur races. I think he got 3rd in the amateur heavyweight race and 6th or 7th in the senior open. Then he runs the friggin open superbike race and holds his own against very fast experts for quite a few laps, even beating 1 or 2 of them by the end. It was hilarious watching his bike go down the front straight... you could barely hear it. He turned a couple laps in the 1:22s, which would put him in the points in a national round.

Turns out the guy is apparently a former world champion motorcrosser. Ever hear of Pete de Graaf?

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macgyver

Good job Taylor. It was good to watch your battle.

I was at that race school that Pete was at. He passed my like nothing. Everyone was talking about him. First time out there and he's turning 122's. Crazy. I wish I could do that.

TornadoB8

Yes that name sounds familiar. I used to have my bedroom "wallpapered" with pics of bikes (mostly MX bikes) cut out from magazines when I was young.

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Jetbdude

You still run all stock suspension Phoube?

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FrenchieR6

Way to go

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slickwill

I've been meaning to ask you the same thing?

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phobe

Yes but now I definitely see the value of re-springing it. It was so much easier to ride once it had some proper setup. I had way less fatigue to deal with and could concentrate on hitting apexes.

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Firestorm

I believe this gentleman was at Stratotech sometime in June. He was at a track day running in the fast street group and was rocking that bike something fierce. Would have been interesting to see his lap times because I'm guessing he would have put a lot of racers to shame.

Jetbdude

Mine too. I'm going to try different set-up next race week-end. I'll let you know how it turns out. What are the current set-up on yours right now, and how fat are you, or how much do you weight.

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phobe

Sag was way off, and we added something like 6 turns of preload. We added a bunch of rebound damping too... the fork was bouncing up on the rebound. In the rear we added a couple clicks of preload, as well as a bit of rebound damping. I think I might try lowering the triples down 3-5mm to quicken the turn-in and transitions.

I'm 185lbs so probably 200 with gear.

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Firestorm

Are you coming to the EMRA round 3 this weekend?

phobe

Would love to but I'll be in Seattle on business. I've still yet to get to Statotech... Want to really bad though. My 'mates had an awesome time there in round 2.

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phobe

Here's a cool picture:

Kendal Photography- powered by SmugMug

I was able to beat the number 4 on the Ducati. Number 286 got ahead of me on his old Yamaha... I followed him through 3 or 4 turns as his exhaust puffed big clouds of blue smoke... then it died on the back straight.

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bwhip

That's because his lower fell off and he had an aerodynamic disadvantage.

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phobe

Those Ducatis are so slow they had to create their own cup class so it would be fair.

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bwhip

That's why I race them. I like overcoming my heavy, outdated technology bikes with superior skill over the rest of the grid.

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phobe

Masochist.

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Baketech

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