Two years, thirteen track days, 0.01% highway miles, original chain and sprockets. That is all.

I don't know why I've waited so long to write about my most notable adventure, but I figured this is as good a time as any since I've moved up two classes since then. It all happened on my 4th track day at Jennings GP.

Each of my visits to the track has marked a significant improvement in my riding, and has given me new levels of comfort on the bike at greater levels of speed. This track weekend was no different. On this visit I was already familiar with the track layout, and my goals for the weekend were to improve my passes while staying on line. During most of the day I had been very comfortable making passes at Turn 11. I was able to make passes there, and then get back on line pretty easily. I had been doing well all day - albeit with the occasional run-off, and had been battling with another rider that was at the same skill level as me. Near the end of the second-to-last session of the day, I saw an oppurtunity to pass this other rider right at the exit of Turn 1. I had not previously made any passes here, but the gap was so perfect, I couldn't pass it up.

 

Turn 1 is a fast U-turn closely followed by Turn 2, which, is a really fast kink. Entrance speeds for Turn 2 at the level I was riding at are around 90 mph. All of the corners at Jennings have a lot of run-off, with the tree-line pushed back far away from the track. Since I had been battling with this rider for position for a few laps now, when I finally was able to get in front of him I was so excited that I made the pass - and, that I had made it on this section of the track - that I totally forgot where I was, and what I was supposed to do next.

Oh what a joyous occasion it was. I finally made the pass. It was a really good pass too! After I made the pass, I even turned my head to look and see how far ahead I was, and it was by at least two bike lengths. But wait a minute. Isn't there something else I should be paying attention to? Isn't there another corner right after this one that I have to steer really hard for? Yes. Yes there is. And as soon as I remembered this, I turned my head forward to resume focusing on the track, only to realize the front tire was now directly on top of the curbing. The curbing that is the last turn-in point for Turn 2.

In all my excitement I had forgotten to focus on the track ahead, and now had realized too late that I was headed off the edge of the track. I stood the bike up straight in those last few inches of pavement, and rocketed into the dirt at a little over 90 mph. Now at the beginning of the day - at the riders' meeting - they had told us that if you happen to run off the track, to only use the rear break. Now the only problem with that advice is; at 90+ mph the rear break only does two things, skids the back tire and kicks up some dust. The surface off-track of Turn 2 is not the smoothest either. It's mostly dirt, and really bumpy.

So I am coasting along, off the gas, trying to slow down by pumping the rear break. I was still going pretty fast, but at least the bike was upright and there was plenty of open space ahead of me. Over on that side of the track, there's also a a thin long ditch, that seems to run almost from the edge of the track surface, across the dirt and into the woods. I remember coming upon it, and wondering if the front wheel was going to get trapped in the ditch and flip the bike over. So right before entering the ditch, I got off the brake, and pulled up hard on the handlebars.

I probably hit the ditch at between 50 and 60 mph. I made it over the ditch okay, but the surface was still too sandy to make any sharp steering corrections. So, after riding through the ditch I continued pumping the rear brake again to try and get the bike stopped. It's amazing how much ground you cover moving at that speed. The rear brake didn't seem to be slowing me down that much at all. I wasn't worried about it though as it looked like I had at least another quarter mile of treeless surface ahead of me. Treeless, but not totally flat.

As the bike kept racing forward I started to notice something peculiar in the distance. Before, when I was farther away it didn't seem like much of a concern, as from afar it just looked like tall uncut grass. As I drew closer though, there was this nagging feeling that something just wasn't right. What looked simply like tall grass from very far away, I was now beginning to realize were reeds.

Still, I wasn't immediately worried about riding into reeds, as they are very soft (just tall). But, I couln't shake that nagging feeling though that something just wasn't right. Why would reeds be in the middle of a wide expanse of dirt. Where exactly have I seen reeds before. Hmmm....

And then, It dawned on me. Reeds... always... border... a LAKE!!! "There's a lake right behind those reeds".

By the time I reached this conclusion, the front wheel was already slicing through the edge of the reeds, and I could begin to see the cool blue surface of the lake beyond. I really wasn't expecting to go for a swim, but there weren't any other options now. The lake was so big, I couldn't see the other side right away, so there was no way I'd be able to ride across it. I'm sure it was going to be pretty deep. The reed perimeter was almost at an end, so there was no way I was going to be able to ride around it. There was only one thing left to do.

As soon as I realized I was going to be doing some off-off-roading, I decided I wanted the bike to stay as close to the water's edge as possible. Once the front wheel pierced through the edge of the reeds, I stomped on the rear brake, and locked the steering hard to the right. Keeping both brakes locked up, I slid the bike in sideways (almost backwards) into the lake. The bike slammed into the lake and stopped immediately, ejecting me promtly into the air, where I then came splashing down into the water.

So there I was, lying on my back, at the bottom of this muddy lake, in the middle of nowhere, looking up at the sky and clouds through the surface, thinking to myself: "I bet when you woke up this morning, you didn't know you would be swimming in a lake with full leathers on did you?".

I pushed off of the bottom of the lake and swam up to the surface. I then made my way back over to the edge of the lake where we (me and my bike) came in. The bike was completely submerged, but I could see it below the surface. As soon as I got over to the bike I tried to get it upright. Getting it upright was the easy part. I also tried to roll it as much as I could outside the lake. While the bike was fully submerged it wasn't too hard, but once the body of the bike crested the surface, all that weight was just too much for me to roll out of the mud. Pushed as I might, my boots just dug into the soft muddy bottom of the lake, and the bike would just not budge anymore.

So there I stood. Me and the bike were soaked. I wanted to walk out back onto the dirt outside the lake so that I could see if anyone was coming over to help me, but if I let go of the bike now it would surely slip down the side of the lake, and be deep underwater again. It was hard getting it out the first time. Damn. All these electronics, water inside the combustion chamber, carburetor. I almost started crying. Would it even run again. This can't be good.

I noticed that the ignition key was still in the ON position, and switched it to OFF.

I stood there sadly. Holding up my bike. Thinking this may be the end. We must have been out there for at least 3 minutes already. I couldn't help but wonder then, since I had gone underwater, it was a very lucky thing that I was able to swim back up. If someone were to be unconscious out here underwater, they would probably be dead. I could be dead. Wow. It's taking a long time for them to get here.

A minute or two later I could hear the crash truck pull up. I couldn't see anyone, but I could hear voices. They shouted out to me and I yelled back. The solid edge of the lake was about 8 feet above where I was standing, so I couldn't see anyone until they were right there. Yay! We were saved! Interestingly, they seemed to know exactly what to do to get me and my bike out of the lake without doing any more damage. As if this had happened many times before.

On the ride back to the pits, I had many mixed feelings and thoughts. Sure, you try and put on a happy face, because you are okay, but my main concern was would the bike run again. Everyone assured me it would since it went into "fresh" water. Just don't try to start it until all the water is out and the bike is cleaned with fresh fuel. Everyone helped give the bike a cursory wash off with the hose to get rid of all the mud. The rest of the evening me my wife and a good friend tore the engine down to get all the water out. We were at it from 5pm to 9pm.

At a little past 9pm it looked like we had gotten all the water out of the engine. And, although it was late at night, we pressed the ignition switch, and the bike came alive again, loud as hell too since we had the exhaust piping disconected. Team WD-40 was back in business.

The next day the bike ran even better than it did before. I also rode even faster than I did before, achieving a new personal best lap time. The following Monday it rained all day, and I was the fastest in my group in the rain as well. It must have been because I had the most experience riding in water. :-)

   

Weather:
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   Low: 32F

Details...

 

Riding every day - at least for me - is always about re-affirming whether or not the skills and techniques I used yesterday were just a fluke, and if I can still successfully implement and improve on them today. That's just me. I doubt every rider feels that way. It's kind of a scary way to go about living, never really knowing, or being sure that what happened yesterday or the day before will work today, but that's exactly how it is for me, each and every time I ride.

Such was the case when I decided to go to my 10th Track Day. The only reason I was heading to the track was to see if I could still ride the track the same as I did the last time (and maybe, even better).

I've never been to this track in January before, and never on a Friday. Maybe that's why it all went so wrong.

The day started out as ordinary as any other winter track day, super cold in the morning (40+ degrees), cloudy overhead, and almost no sunshine to get warm in. I prepped the bike as usual and suited up to ride right after the riders meeting. About the only thing that was going to be different about this ride was that I was going to be riding the very first lap of the first session of the day. I remember while checking my front tire, how much it felt like the white PVC pipes you find at Home Depot. It even had that dusty feel to it. Yes, it was hard as plastic and super cold, but I've ridden on these same tires in colder temperatures - maybe not at the same speeds though.

I rode out to Start/Finish so that race control could check my wrist-band, and for some reason I couldn't get the bike into neutral. I got fed-up after awhile and just let the clutch fly and stalled it. Fuck-it! I'll start it up in 1st gear when I'm done. So, race control comes over, checks my wrist-band, I put my glove back on, and now I'm ready to go. So, I pull the clutch in, start the bike up start down the entrance ramp in 1st.

I get the revs up a little, and kick it into 2nd gear. Continue accelerating, then hold neutral throttle for a second while I check over my shoulder to make sure there's no traffic coming down the front straight. There was no-one. As a matter-of-fact, there were probably only 7 or so riders on the track at the time. It was pretty empty. So, with no traffic approaching I get the bike up to speed for the first tire test - Turn 1.

The bike held it's line right on the very edge of the track as I accelerated around T1 in second gear to enter the track. Sure the back wheel was slipping a little, but doesn't it always slip at this temperature during the first few feet of riding. It's not like it's gonna go anywhere, it never has, especially as long as the throttle is applied smoothly and constantly. It might - and it has - wiggle around back there, but it never strays too far out off-line. So ignore it.

The first affirmation was almost over, with my knee already on the ground, on brand-new tires, on a very cold day about to exit T1. Later that day I checked to see how far I was leaned over on that first turn, and it turns out that the wear mark was halfway down the Trident on the side of the rear tire. So, of course there was no reason for me to even suspect what was about to occur in the next few seconds.

Exiting T1 I roll on the throttle as much as I can before I get to T2. I take one last look over my shoulder, since I'm still just entering the track, to make sure there's no traffic - there was none - and right before my turn-in, jam it into 3rd, and slam the bike over to the T2 apex, hard. All's good so far, and no complaints this time from either the front, or rear of the motorcycle. T2 for me is usually the quickest and most aggressively that I will switch directions with the bike on this track. Since, during a regular lap my bike will be approaching the turn-in point for T2 at anywhere between 87 - 95 mph depending on how much speed I can maintain through T1.

Anyway. So, now I dive into T2 and the tires felt really good, so now that's two turns I've already completed. One at almost full lean on the throttle, and the other at about 70+ off the throttle. I'm still freezing though, plus my breath is fogging up the lower part of my visor, and I don't want to open up the vents because the air is too damn cold. I press on.

Exiting T2, flying up the back straight, as soon as the bike was completely - well, as completely as it ever will be on that section of the track - I pin the throttle, and was lucky enough to pin it early enough so that the engine hit the rev-limiter just as I was on the number 2 braking marker for T3. For my bike, tires and gearing that puts me right at 120 mph (122 actually) going into T3. I ease off the throttle just enough so that the throttle isn't resting against the stop anymore. Now here comes the interesting bit.

I only eased-off the throttle so I would have something to play with while I completed my turn-in, but as I was approaching T3, and going through it, the track seemed a lot wider, and everything seemed to be happening a lot slower than the last time that I was there. What I am saying is, that the 120 mph today, right now, seemed slow compared to how it felt the last time I rode the track. As a matter-of-fact, typically I would be lucky to even carry 120 mph to the T3 number 3 brake marker before getting scared and rolling off the throttle for the turn-in. The fastest I'd ever gone past that number 3 brake marker (as measured by my GPS) is 115 mph.

Now usually, when I come through T3 I'm in 5th gear, and the Tach is somewhere around 9K+. Yep. That's where I usually ride, deal with it. Very rarely do I get the revs all the way up to the limit. So,... usually I'm in 5th, I bend it through T3, gear down into 4th right after I stand it up for T5, and then after completing T5,6 I'll drop it into 3rd again, to get ready for the esses.

Today, it all felt so different though, I was coming through T3 faster than I ever did before (I did not however know that at the the time) and I wanted to go even faster. As soon as I completed the turn-in for T3 I rolled on the throttle again - pinning it. In fact if it wasn't for the T4 coming up right away, I would've up-shifted into 4th. Did I forget to tell you that it was still freezing outside.

So, since T4 was coming up right after T3, of course I had to roll-off the throttle a little again to bend the bike over in the other direction, and then almost right away do the same thing for T5. The whole process from the turn-in for T3 to the turn-in for T5 takes less than 3 seconds. The whole operation involves changing the direction a couple times, but it's done so fast that you think the bike is standing almost straight up, ...but it's not. The fact is, I've come though that section T3,4,5 scraping my knee on all the apexes, unintentionally (meaning I don't put my knee out). So, a lot of the time I may go through that section of the track leaning the bike over even more than I do in T1, only just for a shorter period of time. I think this masks the fact that the front tire might be reacting even more violently with the pavement than other sections of the track. The fastest the bike can go on this track is on the back straight right before T3. And I was going even faster than I had before - on warm tires - and, I was doing it on cold tires.

As I went into T4 the front tire was slipping - almost imperceptibly, but it was there - however, as I said the whole operation takes so little time that I ignored it - as I should - figuring that I'm standing the bike back up in the next half-a-second anyway.

The thing of it is that, although the slipping wasn't that dramatic as I was leaning into T4, the front tire kept on slipping as I was standing it up to go into T5. Before the bike could completely stand up the slip turned into a full-blown slide, and in an instant (it was as if someone took a sledge-hammer and slammed it at the bottom side of the front wheel) the bike was sideways, heading toward the edge of T5 and me a little ways behind it.

The bike fell in the middle of the pavement, so I was sliding on the asphalt on my right shoulder for about a second and a half. It was pretty comfortable in the suit I must say. And, in spite of how violently the bike tipped over, it seemed like I had landed pretty softly. Now, I understand why. It was because I was already leaned over pretty far, I didn't have that much further to fall. Once I hit the dirt at the border of the track it didn't go as smoothly though. The ground off-track is very uneven, and once I hit it, it forced me into a roll.

I didn't like the rolling as much. In fact, I really hated it. It's amazing how you can actually see the blades of grass while you are rolling through it though. I wanted to get back to the nice slide that I had going on before, and thought about putting my arms out to try and regain that, but then I remembered something Randy said to me about flailing limbs getting broken. So, then I quickly resolved to make this the best roll ever. I tucked my arms in even tighter to my torso, and made sure my legs were together and nice and straight and rolled for all I was worth.

Finally I came to a stop. I think.

I looked,... really looked to make sure the ground wasn't moving. Then I wiggled a little to check if anything was broken. Then I looked around to see if I was close to the bike. The bike was by the track, and I was further infield. It looked pretty sad and lonely out there.

I got up then, and immediately ran further away from the track. Quite conveniently, there were some hay bales stacked at the perfect distance away from the track for resting and taking-in the sights. Which I promptly did. I just sat on the hay until race control cleared the track, and came over to retrieve me and my bike.

Well, I didn't get to do all that I intended, and the tip of my little finger burns a lot, but I did affirm a couple things, so the day wasn't a total waste after all.

1. The DC IIIs are still pretty awesome in the cold as proved by T1, T2, and T3.
2. The bike does get up to speed quicker in the higher revs.
3. I am very comfortable leaning the bike over at any speed.
4. I am faster than I was before (so now I really need to re-evaluate what my definition of slow is).
5. Holding the speed you carry from the straight through T3 and T4 works. There is no need to back off the throttle.
6. The Teknic suit holds up well in a asphalt slide. At almost 2 seconds at over 100 mph, and barely scuffed. That's not bad.
7. Same for the Speedstar gloves. Those nubs in the palm really do come in handy.
8. I need a bigger suit.
9. Rolling works in the dirt, even though it is definitely not fun.
10. Even though I was comfortable with the faster speed, I should still give the bike time to warm up at the old slower speed.

Talk about no run-off!!! And, on a wet track. MotoGP don't have anything on these guys.

Damn! Brand new tires, fresh off the rack, and they're worn below the tridents in less than five miles.

Update on the new setup; with the new tire and the front dropped, the bike feels better than ever. Really planted. Chicken strips are down to ~1mm rear and ~4mm in front. That one in the front looks like it's here to stay, which is good news. Before, I didn't have anything left in the front and I was a little worried. At least now there may be a little something extra left to eat.

The tire also wears a little better coming to the end. It doesn't have that overly exaggerated German soldier helmet hook where the tread meets the sidewall, which means its using the air better as well, instead of trying to flex the sidewall. The larger tire theoretically places more tire on the ground as well, offering added grip.

There is still a difference in the wear pattern on the left versus the right side of the rear tire. Somewhat too on the front, but now not as pronounced. I have noticed that I do hang-off the bike differently on either side, trying to correct it seems to upset the suspension, so for now it works. The front end has a slightly heavy turn-in, but it suits my style. Lee parks seems to have been right, in that I do control the bike with one hand. And since the right hand always has to be on the throttle, then that's the hand I use, whether turning right or left.

I've just been sneaking up on that corner speed bit-by-bit. It used to be the case that I was better at taking corners to the left. But since I noticed it and then worked hard to correct it, I think I may now feel more comfortable taking corners to the right.

Oh well.

Just wanted to note that on my sixth track day, the front tire started to slide while going around Turn 1 at ~75+ mph. I was pretty well leaned over when I noticed it. I was about to start my exit of the corner so I was actually rolling-on the throttle at the time, So when I noticed it sliding I arrested the throttle; it continued sliding. I then opened up the throttle slowly to see if that would work; it still kept sliding.

So I then raised the bike up and rode off the track.

NB: I believe the tire became what is generally termed as being "greasy". Meaning overly hot, so that the rubber sheds faster than usual. This may be correct since the track temperature was hotter than I had ever ridden in before.

Spin it up, flip it, do it dirty, smack it side-to-side..., these Pirellis do it all, and they do it all brand new, off the shelf with only a short warm-up.

As soon as I put a new set on, I typicaly just rail them right away. As a matter-of-fact, they seem to be the best when they are brand spanking new. "They purdy gewd.".

You know I had almost completely forgot,... that we have deer running around in the woods here.

These furry little woodland creatures sometimes appear right at the side of the road in the wee hours of the morning. It is at this time of the morning that I sometimes like to take my rides. And, wouldn't you know, I spotted one of them by the side of the road this morning. As the bike approached though, it darted into the woods.

Shy I guess. Anyway, I continue on with my ride, flicking in and out of the corners merrily on my way. There had been a terrible lightning storm here the night before and the road had some debris in it, not too much. I passed a serviceman clearing away what appeared to be a tree that had been struck down by lightning that was blocking the road.

While rounding one of the many blind corners on my route, I spotted something dark and sinister stretched across the approaching roadway. From afar it looked mostly like a dark patch of freshly poured tar, but as I drew closer the silhouette became more and more ominous. It wasn't until I was almost upon the beast that I fully realized what threatened to block my path.

This is what happens when you go out real early into the woods around here. The sleeping giant, sprawled across the road was no less than 12 feet long. I rode past the gator quickly, intending to just dismiss the occurrence and continue on. But then I realized, that wouldn't be fair to those that are stuck at home. They need pictures, and so do I.

So I made a quick U-turn and parked the bike at the side of the road and went back to snap some pics. These animals are so strange. Staring at it intently there was no way I could tell if it was dead or alive. The sides of it's belly weren't moving. It's eyes weren't open. However it was definitely big. That I could tell. I wanted to get closer to get a really good shot with my camera, but the cows in the field right next to me (and the gator) were mooing so desperately, cautioning me not to step any closer. I decided to heed their warning, because if this monster was alive, it most certainly could travel several feet in my direction in a split second. The next person to then round that corner would have a very interesting sight to behold indeed.

Alright, so I packed it up, got back on my bike and hightailed it outta there.

The remainder of the ride was pretty sweet. On the way back home nearing the same spot where I had seen the gator not too long ago, there appeared to be quite a commotion taking place in the streets. The first thought that came to me was that the people from the community, or a service worker, had come across the "dead" alligator, and were transporting it to the side of the road (or somwhere else). When I got up to the crowd of cars and people standing on the side of the road I asked what was taking place that was of such interest. A woman in the crowd replied "A alligator just ran off into the woods".

Wow.

It was alive. Good thing I listened to those cows.

Well, it's time (for some parts it may be past time) to do a lot of the maintenance on the bike. A lot of this stuff I've never done before, and like the very first tire change I could very well screw it up big time. The tasks I don't have any experience with include changing the fork oil, and renewing the brake fluid.

I have been dreading this day since I got the bike, but as it turns out it wasn't all that bad. It was actually quite rewarding and relaxing. As usual, I searched the Internet for all the help I could get. During my search I came across this very helpful site (blueproof bikes). The instructions although not pertaining exactly to my make of motorcycle, were very detailed and well written. There was information there on changing both the fork and brake fluids, along with a whole host of other goodies. So, I read up on all the necessary steps, grabbed my manual and then off I went.

Even though I was really worried that I might screw up the suspension by putting the wrong amount of oil back into the forks, and that the brakes might feel like jelly after I was done servicing them, the maintenance had to be done. Besides, after unscrewing the first fork cap it was way too late to turn back.

Since this was my first time, I went to the store and bought way too much of everything. I think there is enough fresh brake fluid left over to service at least five more bikes. Don't even mention the remaining fork oil.

It was definitely a good decision to do the maintenance now though. It was also great that I got to perform it myself. When I dismantled the forks, one of them had fluid in it that was a different color than the other. Not only that, but the fluid was really watery. It was a totally a different consistency for sure. Could this have been water from my excursion into the lake. Seems unlikely, but who knows.

The new oil was a different color from both the original fluids. This was an ocean-like blue compared to the old cough-syrup red, and the muddy brown water that was originally in there. I used a set of vernier calipers to measure the level of the new oil poured back into the fork tubes (while crossing my fingers). I pumped, and pumped, and pumped the cartridge some more to make sure the fluid was properly distributed. There was no way of telling what the bike would feel like until it was all back together again, and I could take it for a test ride.

Changing the brake fluid was pretty straightforward as well. It wasn't even that tedious. Those little reservoirs don't really hold much. My biggest fear next to getting air in the tubes was spilling fluid on the bike. Everything was well protected with a healthy dose of rags, so that was covered. And, I didn't get any air in the lines either.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I was putting on a new size tire as well?

Yes, I am going to start using the 120/70-17 instead of the 16's that come as original equipment from the factory, since there are a wider variety of tires available in this size (particularly racing slicks).

So aside from the bike feeling different from changing the tires, and lowering the suspension. It may not handle well because I messed-up changing the fork oil. Okay.

Well, I got everything back together, and finally got to test ride it 2 days after doing the maintenance. And, even though I was apprehensive at first, going around the corners at my previous pace, I noticed the bike was handling well. Very well indeed. The front feels just a little bit firmer than before, giving a lot more feedback, but it still rides over the bumps quite well (sticking, no slippage). The lowered front does turn-in quicker. I can only tell by looking at the tires, because I am way too busy going faster around the corners than I did before.

The new geometry actually seems to be perfect, as now I have a nice bit of chicken strip on the front tire (~ 4mm) that I didn't have before. This is nice to have for the times I really get hungry. The tridents actually seem to match up now with regards to the tire wear.

So, another maintenance complete, and the bike seemingly handles better than before. Awesome!