Back to the track for the first time since Stella was born a month ago. Rob, Jairo, and I went to Sonoma (pka Infineon Raceway) for lots of track action during a beautifully warm August day. I was pretty excited about it in no small reason due to the new (to me) race slicks I had recently put on my track wheels. After my last set of race DOT's having lasted me three seasons, it was high time to put a fresher set, and try my hand at full-on slicks.
Alas, it wasn't without incident.
That's my bike parked behind the guardrail, just between Turn 1 and Turn 2 during the 3rd session of the morning. No, fortunately, I did not crash, but as you can see in the photo, I did flatten my rear tire like a pancake. Here's what happened, which apparently, nobody has ever heard of such an incident before:
Turn 1 in Sonoma is actually a pretty quick left-hander, though you wouldn't think it cause it looks so bottle-necked. At the exit of it, you will find the view above, with the curbing pictured on the right edge of the track. Ideally for a fast line to carry as much speed up the hill ahead towards Turn 2, you actually ride over this curb, as shown (roughly) by the green line.
The red line shown is the line I inadvertently had to take yesterday after I went through Turn 1 a little bit quicker than I normally would (more on why I did later). Since I carried more speed through Turn 1 than I normally did, I exited it a little wider than I would. No biggie, I thought, I can still keep turning the bike left enough to ride over the curb, through the dirt, then back to the curb/track instead of having to ride the bike through the dirt.
I should've opted for the latter.
I executed my plan as I thought, but as soon as I rode back over the curb after briefly flying through the dirt patch, I just a loud "BAM" as soon as my rear wheel hit the tarmac, and just as instantly my bike was fish-tailing at speed. I just let off the throttle and stayed away from the racing line, and let the ride up the hill to Turn 2 naturally slow down the bike. I would've cruised it off the track, but the tire was so flat, I stopped right on the track. I simply pushed (like hell!) the bike off on foot to safety off the track from there. It didn't take long for an instructor to get to me and give me a ride back to the pits, so at the time, I didn't know whether I blew the tire bead off the wheel, blew the tire out itself, or if I dented the wheel. All I knew was the rear virtually lost all it's air pressure. It wasn't until I got my bike back in the pits that it turned out to be the worst of the scenarios.
Bent the rear wheel. Actually, I bent BOTH the front and rear wheels, with the rear having fared the worst. Didn't take long for a crowd to gather to look at the lips, and that's when I was told by racers and the instructors that they didn't know that could happen on that curbing if you take it in and out of the track so quick. Suffice it to say, my ordeal was bitter-sweet as I effectively did everyone a major PSA, hahaha!
Part of the reason I went through Turn 1 quicker than I normally would was that I took the corner one gear higher than I normally did. The 2nd gear in my transmission is starting to go bad; once I get on the powerband in 2nd gear, the transmission slips a little until it is able to actually spin with the engine. Because of this, I decided to simply short-shift to 3rd out of corners sooner than I normally would, or simply take corners I would usually be in 2nd gear for, in 3rd gear. Doing the latter though, did not give me the engine-braking I normally would have on a lower gear to help me keep my speed as intended through a corner.
I was fortunate to not have gone down as soon as it happened, and since these wheels were the OEM wheels that I only used for the track, there are a plent of them to be found online for cheap as a used set, so I'm not too worried. Even though my day was ended early yesterday, I could've gone home and got my Marchesini wheels I used for the street, and be back in time to only miss two sessions before I can be back out again. But I opted to not do that. I'm not superstitious by any means, but I prefer to let the bike sit out after a harrowing experience. :)
Besides, it gave me an excuse to ride Jairo's bike!
Keigwins@TheTrack was awesome enough to let Jairo and I share his bike, and while Jairo was signed up to one group and I to another, they allowed us both to use his bike for our respective sessions, which allowed me to also dice it with my friend Rob, as I jumped one group down so as to not push it on a bike that wasn't mine. This wasn't my first time riding Jairo's bike, on the street or the track. Last time he and I were in Thunderhill, I had to ride his bike to scrub off his then new tires as he wasn't feeling particularly confident with them. So I did two laps with them to help him out. Yesterday was a bit different though, as I would be riding them in full sessions.
The funny thing about Jairo's bike is, which is a 2006 Suzuki GSXR-1000, was that I recommended it to him myself. When his GSXR-750 was stolen and he was shopping for a replacement, I urged him to look for this bike. I had never ridden one before, admittedly, but have always heard nothing but fantastic things about the bike both as a street and track machine. Not to mention that as a race fan, it was clearly evident to me how predominantly favored this bike was among club and privateer racing.
I have to say, riding his bike opened my eyes to a new light over riding my bike. I LOVE my bike to death and I know how to make it go fast around a racetrack, and I know there's still more I can do to tap the most out of my bike to go even quicker. But riding Jairo's bike, which is really only four years younger than mine (not a new bike per se by today's standards), make me realize how much harder I had to work on my bike to go as quick as I do. The GSXR was just so much easier to ride, and easy to ride quick. It's substantially narrower to my legs and quick to turn, making it one of the best handling bikes I've ever thrashed around a racetrack.
I hate to say it, but it made me want to get another bike to retire my R1 for track duties. I hate it even more to say it, but it made me want an 05-06 Suzuki GSXR-1000...
Now, speaking of Jairo and his bike...
Jairo's a bit of a protege of mine, officially or unofficially depending on who you ask. The one thing I can admit myself though is that most, if not all that he knows about how to ride a motorcycle he got from me. The boy is a riding sponge soaking up anything and everything I tell him about riding a motorcycle. I guess, couple that with buying a bike I told him to buy, does make him my protege...
Whatever he is, he's made me proud of the rider that he's become. It is such a satisfying feeling having seen all the things you've dictated manifest itself into fruition. To mold something or someone with your words, and seeing them physically transform and conform exactly to it.
The two side-by-side photos above were each taken during his last two trackdays respectively. After seeing the photo to the left, I told Jairo to try and do one thing differently with his body position to help him feel better on the bike while riding at speed through corners. He did, which is why he now looks like he does in the photo on the left. He's also expressed to me how much it has help how he feels on the bike while he's riding.
Jairo in some ways is an investment of mine, since a lot of what he does and know about riding a motorcycle is a direct reflection of me.
Which is why I am so glad to be reflected so properly. He has been a substantial gamble that continues to pay off.
