I Have Too Many Anniversaries

Labor Day weekend a year ago resulted in this, when after having my bike custom-painted, I drop it on a pile of rocks and scratched up the whole of the right side panels. Obviously, I've since had it repainted, but I won't let that damn road have the last word.

So this Labor Day weekend, it was time to go back.

To ride well, you must eat well.

 I'm thinking of making this a Labor Day weekend tradition, to make the 90-mile trek northward on the freeway towards Healdsburg, and visitng Skaggs Spring Road, and my old friend Rockpile Road.

 

It's not two photos cropped together; the road really does
become a dirt road right in the middle of the corner.

 Last year, I wasn't able to take a photo of the site, so that was part of the reason I wanted to go back. This time around, it was also enlightening to see how far we had to ride over the dirt before I was able to come to a stop, and how amazingly I was able to still steer the bike as the dirt road continued to curve ahead. More miraculously, I'm glad that we did not ride straight through and over the ravine to the left; it would've been a very long way down.

Like with all mistakes you survive, you can only laugh when you revisit it.

And I will continue to have the last laugh for every year that I revisit Rockpile Road.

Damage Control Virtuoso

Speaking of things not changing - we're back in action!

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.

Things HAVE Changed

Pre-birth of Stella, of course everyone was telling me of how things would change once she arrived; certain fun will have to be sacrificed to make way for Stella and time with her, which included time with Rusty and my riding. I could only smile and nod each time.

So did things change after all?

I won't lie; they undoubtedly did. We're simply having more fun with our new bundle of joy. :)

I guess, I must really be blessed to be able to have my cakes, and eat them all too.*

(*of course, it's barely been just a month with Stella...)

The American Dream

Is not complete without a French Bulldog. :)

Am I happy?

Almost guiltingly so. :)

Escalation

Is the reason I won't be buying the forks I wrote about yesterday.

Let's rewind back to a time when the front end of my bike didn't look like this yet:

I'm one of those that, admittedly, wants to have his cake and eat it too. This was a big reason why I didn't buy a pair of Ohlins R&T forks for my bike a lot sooner than I could have; it's not because they were rare or people were selling a used set for too much.

It was because of escalation.

I remember having talked about it with Rob, that as much as I wanted to have R&T forks, I didn't want to have that and run it with the regular calipers. An upgrade like that to my forks necessitated (to me) an upgrade to the brake calipers as well. No biggie, but the problem was I was never one to collect parts in my garage; if I buy a part, I want it on the bike right away.

But I didn't want the forks on the bike right away without the calipers.

So I was basically leaving myself in a position to either have it all, or have nothing.

It was really by luck and a very big favor from Rob that I was able to have my cake and eat it too, when I found a pair of Ohlins R&T forks already fitted with upgraded (billet) brakes that Rob agreed to help me get.

So now the whole front end of my bike makes sense, in that they're comprised of parts that are in a way, up to par with one another; the Ohlins forks, billet and radial calipers, oversized full-floating rotors, and the forged aluminum wheel. Virtually nothing is stock in my front end with the exception of the wheel axle, and that's only because of my apprehension to run a titanium axle for daily use.

So what does this have to do with the superbike forks?

Escalation.

While the superbike forks would bring me ever closer to my ever continuing goal to make my street bike a rolling homage to today's absolute racing motorcycles, I can't just stop at the superbike forks, can I? What would be next? Nickel-plated billet Brembo calipers, perched over some insanely expensive rotors, like say carbon rotors?

I don't stop. When I get going, I do not stop.

So before I even get started again, I'm going to have to draw the line right now for me to not cross. Where the bike's at now is already elevated from where it was, far from where I ever thought I could take it.

So why keep escalating when I've already done more than enough?

You Will Always Find Me in the Corner of "No Regrets" and "With Reason"

I don't typically post a photo of anything I haven't already bought or installed on my bike, unless for reference. But this time it's a bit different.

That's an actual photo of a pair of Ohlins superbike forks (FG470) being offered to me for less than a third of what their retail were ($10k - $12k?), shipped from the UK. Normal me would be posting these photos right now too, but writing instead that "I just bought them and they're on their way, woo-hoo!" But within the next month, my first child is due to be born, so I'm not really my normal self this time out.

Before I got the pair of Ohlins FG43 forks currently fitted in my bike, I swear I would've never thought the day would come that I would actually score a pair of them for my bike. I swear. So imagine how I feel when these forks are being laid on my lap.

I'm basically in between the nexus of No Regrets, and With Reason.

So I wanted to make this entry and post these photos up anyway, either as a reminder of the time when I said "no regrets," and purchased them.

Or the time when I was "with reason," and this was the closest I got to ever having them on my bike.

I'll know which soon enough.











P.S.
Fuck you, temptation. Very much.

The Last Hurrah Before Stella

The title's a bit misleading; as a matter of fact, I've already got a trackday booked for October 2nd, AFTER Stella arrives. So that's two trackdays done this year so far, with a third one later on in the year. Don't know if I will or can squeeze in another trackday between now and October 2nd, but assuming my dwindled trackdays dwindle some more post-Stella, then what are we looking at here? Two trackdays a season, maybe one?

We'll just have to see.

One thing's for sure - however many I'm left with of few and far in between trackdays, what little of them left will be such catharsis. :)