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I just got back from(an 18 hour drive back to Wisconsin)Daytona International Speedway, where I finished 4th overall in the Amateur Lightweight Grand Prix class. I was running 4th in my next race, Lightweight Superbike, but the bike started stuttering and hesitating when rolling on power, so I pulled off with about a lap to go  . I'm extremely happy with my 4th place finish, that's the best I've ever done so far in my 2 years of racing.If you're in the Florida area (or willing to drive from all the way across the country) you need to ride this track. The bankings are so god-drat rediculous, and the outright speeds you can achieve are awesome. A lot of riders were a little bit too eager, as they were going all out on the first laps of their races, and the unusually cold weather made for a cold track-lots of high-sides on first laps coming out of the International Horseshoe. Unfortunately, as I went to put my GoPro camera on the bike, I opened it up and realized my only memory card was 18 hours north I too, melted the poo poo out of my boot on the Sv650's exhaust. Theres actually a small hole on the inside heel. Later in the week, I'll upload some (hopefully) awesome pictures, once all the camera guys put their stuff on their websites.
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Oct 20, 2009 16:35
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Z3n posted:Congrats on 4th place! How big was the field? I believe it was about 9 or 10 or something. No where near the grid sizes you get to play with. I was honestly expecting more with it being in Florida. I understand not a lot of people racing in Wisconsin, but I guess it's just the CCS club. The original grid was like 13-14 but one too many people crashed that morning. And too bad about not being able to race next year
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Oct 21, 2009 19:20
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Thought I'd finally stop being lazy and post up some pictures of me from the CCS Race of Champions at Daytona last October. I think most, if not all, are from the Hammerhead Trackday the Thursday before the weekend. Pretty sure most of the photographers left before my practice/races late Sunday afternoon.   This picture was taken from ground level looking straight at the track. A.K.A. bankings are sweet.  My dad took this picture with his old film camera and I just think it's cool. 
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Mar 2, 2010 22:13
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Tsaven Nava posted:Not that I really know jack poo poo about anything race-related, but aren't your shoulders supposed to be farther off the bike then your butt? Yeah, probably, but I've gotten multiple comments from control riders in track days that my body position is great, and it works fine for me so it's just another thing to work on. I've only been racing for 2 years, this year will be my 3rd season  aventari posted:Are those Michelin Power One 2CT's? How do you like them? Yes sir. They work out great for me, I've never had a problem with them this past season. Although I've heard from one other guy that he didn't like them because he felt that they lost front end grip without warning, but I've never had that problem.
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Mar 3, 2010 18:54
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It's right up there at top for me. I know I personally give NASCAR a ton of poo poo for it, but there really is nothing like haulin' rear end around those bankings.
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Mar 3, 2010 21:24
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Another fun one is Grattan Raceway in Grattan, Michigan. The thing might as well be a drat roller coaster, there's more off-camber turns and elevation changes than you can shake a stick at 
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Mar 4, 2010 18:40
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drat you guys and all your early track time First race is the weekend of the 23rd this month at Topeka, Kansas. Never been there before so we'll see how that goes. Probably get my rear end kicked since I'll be running the SV650 in middleweight supersport 
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Apr 8, 2010 16:49
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Z3n posted:T-Square, why can't you run it in lightweight supersport? I am, but I'm running in middleweight as well, because I'll be racing a CBR600RR in the middleweight class the rest of the season. Double points weekend, might as well get a leg up on everyone else that inevitably won't be out there. Edit for clarity: A CBR which won't quite be ready for the first race in Topeka. Next race we're good
T-Square fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Apr 9, 2010 |
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Apr 8, 2010 20:08
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2ndclasscitizen posted:Oh, and never pass round the outside unless you're in the top group, and even then be careful. Take them under brakes early, or up the inside on the gas on exit. That's kind-of odd, the last track day I went to had rules that the only time you could pass (in the intermediate group)was on straights or on the outside. Novice was pass on straights only, and advanced was anywhere. Edit: Duurr nevermind he is in the novice group  Anyways, best of luck needknees, and have fun! T-Square fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Apr 9, 2010 |
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Apr 9, 2010 03:06
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Yeah, I understand what you're saying. At first I didn't realize he was going to be in the novice group where riders running wide is a greater possibility. I just need to get on the track
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Apr 9, 2010 13:20
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needknees posted:I'm in Iowa, it's ~850 miles from me to Birmingham. I don't think I could make that work Page or so late, but I may or may not be doing a track-day in the near future at Blackhawk Farms with my father to get help with the suspension set-up on our CBR. I'll make a quick post on here if I find out what we're doing
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Jun 17, 2010 01:55
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Well, just got back from Daytona last night for the CCS Race of Champions. Did it back in '09 on an SV650, as well as a Friday race with AHRMA, which was a blast as usual, Daytona is probably my favorite track I've ridden so far in my 4 years of racing. And then I raced it on our '08 CBR600RR.  I have a few different Go-Pro videos from different angles, of practice and my Middleweight SuperSport and Middleweight GP races, I'll put them up sometime within the week, and hopefully I'll have some pictures later this week or next. But holy god-drat that track is rediculous on a 600 supersport.
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Oct 19, 2011 16:39
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Z3n posted:That's awesome, looking forward to the video. Still workin' on that, I have to cut down the videos, there's a lot of downtime waiting for the track to go hot. And that's awesome you bit the Fanatec bullet. I've had mine since Forza 3 came out and it's still going strong. Gotta brush up a little though, haven't played for about a week or so.
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Oct 21, 2011 03:57
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Incursus posted:I'm in Indiana and the only track we have here is Putnam and it sucks. Incursus posted:Hey guys! I do my first trackday next month on July 19th at Putnam Park here in Indiana. FYI, Putnam Park is an extremely fun track. I'm going to be racing with CCS this weekend at Road America, anyone going to be up there? I know there's a few Wisconsinites in CA, dunno if any of them do any track stuff though. Edit: I'll probably only be running on Sunday, 7/6. I already ran at RA earlier this month, and I want to get drunk and blow poo poo up on Friday!
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Jul 1, 2014 04:17
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Welp, had a pretty good run at Road America yesterday. Even though the Amateur grids were small, I'm still pretty happy to have brought home my first two wins in both Lightweight SuperBike and Lightweight Grand Prix. The ol' SV did good work, halfway through my SuperBike race the clutch cable snapped braking into Turn 1, and I said gently caress it, and kept going. Regardless of the small Amateur grids, I was able to work my way up into the Expert field in both races, and piss more than a few of those white-plates off.  Grand Prix was probably my favorite race I've had so far through the years. I caught up to a pack of Expert riders, and was right on a Ducati's (not sure what model) rear wheel the whole time. I didn't have enough power to keep up with him on the long straights, but I've been going deeper and deeper into Turn 5 if anyone's familiar with it. Braking deep into 5, I was able to run side by side with him up the hill, through turns 6, 7, 8, and was running on his outside through the carousel and jumped him on the inside of the bus-stop. He then blew past me going down the back-straight, I stayed close under braking into Canada Corner, up the hill, and into Turn 14. Next time around, I chucked it down the inside at Canada Corner on the last lap and held him off until the checkered. Good times were had.   Can't wait for pictures! 
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Jul 7, 2014 17:53
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Threw a Yoshimura fender-eliminator kit, changed the oil, modified the airbox, and cleaned up Grom #1 today... ...because we're going to USAIR/Shawano tomorrow for an open mini-moto track day!
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Sep 6, 2014 23:24
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Aww yeah, new Midwestern Regional champion for CCS Amateur Lightweight Superbike and (I think, have to wait for results) Lightweight Grand Prix.
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Sep 29, 2014 01:28
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Guys, this thread is dead, what the hell. Took 3rd in Amateur Lightweight Grand Prix, and a (hard fought) 2nd in Amateur Lightweight Superbike at the 31st Annual Race of Champions at Daytona International this weekend. Little upset about the 3rd, got pushed into the grass on the outside of the high-speed dog-leg/kink on the infield. I know I had a shot for a win that race, as the higher-powered Ducati had a mechanical DNF. Was a huge oh poo poo moment though. Superbike, on the other hand, was awesome. Less than a second between myself, 3rd, and 4th position at the finish. The battle for second was throughout the last 3 or 4 laps between myself and two other guys. All three of us had swapped positions in the draft several times each lap. For anyone familiar with the layout of the track, I went from 2nd down to 4th in the tri-oval across start/finish going into turn one on the last lap. I made ground on 3rd position braking late into the first horseshoe, the dog-leg/kink, and braking late into the second horseshoe, as well as the tight right before going into the west banking. Going up into the NASCAR turn 2 banking, and onto the back-straight, I got into 3rd positions draft and passed him just before the braking zone. Here's where some strategy comes into play. I had to brake late enough to keep my pass on 3rd place secured, but I didn't want to get past second position, just yet. I merely closed the cap in preparation for the last corner and the final time around the tri-oval, as well as making sure I didn't ruin a good drive through, and out of, the chicane. I was probably about 5-8 bike lengths behind 2nd position coming up and through the NASCAR turn 4 banking, and I was screaming at myself in my helmet that I wasn't getting in the draft, didn't get close enough, because I wasn't pulling on him at all. Then as we swooped down off of the banking into the tri-oval for the last time, I started reeling him in. Tucked in as far as I could be, cranking the hell out of the throttle, yelling something along the lines of "gently caress gently caress COME ON FUUUCCKKK," I slowly pulled up alongside him on the inside, I might as well have been leaning against his bike. I got him by less than 3/10ths. Have a picture from practice. 
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Oct 22, 2014 02:59
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xaarman posted:That's awesome, nice job! I entered my first (completely amateur) race, and everyone faster than me was ahead of me, and everyone slower than me I passed. Was a lot more benign then I was expecting, nothing as exciting as that That's how it was for most of my 7ish years of racing. Daytona's also a different story, because most of the racing comes down to getting and staying in the draft, making everything a lot closer. Just this year was really the first year I've found someone right at my skill level that was able to push me, and race close with. It makes things so much more fun. Just try to work your way up to the faster guys and you'll be playing with them in no time.
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Oct 23, 2014 03:20
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Little late, but chiming in on the Vortex rear-set train. I did A Dumb Thing in a practice session earlier this season, saved a high-side and then low-sided when I thought I was about to get away with it in a moderate-speed carousel. Snapped the brake lever and ground down the footpeg, rest of the bike was virtually un-touched. In other news, went to the Midwest Region CCS awards banquet last weekend. Picked up an Amateur Midwest Region Championship in both Lightweight Superbike and Lightweight Grand Prix. Also got track championships in both classes as well for Blackhawk Farms. Going Expert this year and going to get my rear end kicked. 
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Jan 26, 2015 04:53
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Grattan is one of the coolest tracks I've been to (besides Road America and Daytona, those will always be my top two), although I have only been there once, and that was the first year I was track riding, so I'd love to run it now that I've been racing for 8 years. Very challenging through, tons of elevation changes and off-camber turns. I'm not really a fan of Gingerman, but that's more of a personal opinion, it's a fine track. My biggest issue was the track was split laterally into thirds by two seams and that didn't play well with bikes, but they've since repaved the whole track and those aren't an issue anymore.
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Jun 22, 2016 18:44
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Spiffness posted:Also you'll go through about one every 4 track days. Our two canopies got loving annihilated by wind two weekends ago at Road America. Knocked over one of our Groms, smashed the windscreen on our SV and put a half-dollar sized dent and chip in our fancy candy tangerine paint (I don't know what my dad's deal is with extravagant paint). The second one was brand new, first time at the track, both of them are scrapped now. He got a badass heavy-duty Fly MX one from a friend that happened to be at the track for $150 though, it's like a $500 canopy. So the guy that used to rebuild our motors and go through them every winter started a new life with his family waaayyy the gently caress up North in bumfuck Wisconsin, so he won't be able to build our new "monster" SV motor. He felt bad, so he gave us a smoking deal on this, which had been collecting dust in his basement for several years now:  Factory HRC '97 RS125. You can see several totes full of spares, my dad unloaded the same amount of crap before this picture was taken. Spare exhausts (including a titanium one!) magnesium wheels, aluminum wheels, three sets of fairings, cams, Yosh cams, spare motor (those are SV blocks at the bottom), on and on and on. I believe Blake Young did some notable stuff on this bike. I can not wait to loving get on this thing. Nitrospazzz, we need to find a trackday (Grattan would be a blast on these) and play some 2-smoke tag  Only one catch though: for some reason my dad wants to polish the poo poo out of the aluminum tank 
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Jun 28, 2016 01:31
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Whoops, cams are for the SV. Sorry, I was excited 
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Jun 28, 2016 03:32
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See my response to Z3n, it's still the 125. The cams are for the SV which is being sent out to a different local guru to be built.
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Jun 28, 2016 04:25
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BlackMK4 posted:I was still kinda curious because of the RSF450 on the fairings. Oh, yeah the guy we got it from has an interesting sense of humor. Z3n posted:Haha no worries! You're gonna have a blast on that thing. I was just really hoping that someone had jammed a 450 single in it! And I'm sure something like this will be inevitable far in the future, as we have only have the one extra HRC motor and I'm sure one or both will seize at some point
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Jun 28, 2016 18:54
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captainOrbital posted:The track is Blackhawk Farms International Raceway. 3a sucks because it's always chewed up and constantly getting patched. The way I approach turn 5 is accelerating through and out of 3b and lifting a little just before 4, lean in, and power on at the apex and take it to the outside of the track between 4 and 5. Continue to accelerate and up-shift about halfway between the two corners, about where the outer curbing gets kind of lovely. I take the entry to 5 kind-of wide and try to keep it tight to the inside of the turn on exit while continuing to accelerate through until the braking zone for 6. That way you're set up to take a good line through 6, instead of having to sweep from track-right to track-left. Treat it as one big sweeping left with a wonky radii, and you can really rail it through there. The scary part is staying on the throttle until after the kink before turn 7  Disclaimer: I may or may not know what I'm talking about, so grain of salt and all.
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Sep 25, 2017 19:23
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It wouldn't be unreasonable to grab another gear coming through 5 depending on your gearing, but yeah I try to stay as leaned over as possible and hug the inside while still winding out the throttle. We're super lucky to have a place like RA, it's such a fun track. Grattan is the one place I've always wanted to get back to, I've only been there once years ago and that was like the second or third time I've ever been on a track. It's very roller-coaster-y and really neat. I definitely want to run it now that I have a lot more experience. Also, fast bikes can catch air on the back-straight when they run the course backwards.
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Sep 25, 2017 22:35
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I'll try to post my lovely GoPro footage from last Saturday at Blackhawk tonight, but apparently I'm not exiting 5 as tight as I think I am Also, Gingerman has pretty good flow to it. It used to have two seams in the pavement running the length of the track, splitting it into 3rds and it hosed with the way your bike tracked if you went over them. Now it's re-paved all the way around and it's pretty ace. I also want to get to the full Autobahn layout, I've only done the other short track. It sucks.
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Sep 27, 2017 18:58
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Double post: Year or so ago, we got a hold of a friend's Honda RS125 for cheap with a ton of spares. Ran 3 laps at Putnam Park and it melted the piston. Said friend threw a top end at it, and we made it all pretty after sitting in a basement for years. I took some liberties (stole) from Brawn GP and here's how it sits now: https://imgur.com/a/3pcql And then we went to Blackhawk, wherein I finished my first race without retiring due to some stupid mechanical bullshit in over a year. Ended up with a 3rd place in Combined Moto 3. Pretty drat happy with that as a maiden voyage, was expecting to either blow up again, or get smoked due to having never raced a 2-stroke GP bike before. Have a vidjeo, make fun of my riding or whatever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztPmOroda5c
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Sep 28, 2017 02:11
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