What a rush...That's all I can say.
Saturday was practice and unfortunately the timing system was down, so I didn't get any actual lap times. By approximation (using a stop watch), I believe my best lap that day was 1:38ish. My goal for the day was to hit 1:35 and I was very close. By the end of the day I was exhausted and wasn't sure how I would be for the Sunday races.
Sunday came along and with enough sleep, I was feeling somewhat rested...Besides the nerves, I was good to go. There was a short practice round in the morning and the first Novice race commenced at approx 10:30AM. Even though I didn't get a chance to practice my starts, I was rather impressed with the both of them.
For both races I started 10th on the grid and there were 16 racers.
First race I decided to hang back on corner one as everyone bunches up on the starting lap. From there I stayed in 7th place until the last few laps. I was on the ass of the 6th place bike the entire race and finally managed to pass her on the inside at the end of the straight into the first corner. However, I out-braked myself and went wide after the pass and didn't have enough confidence to keep it in the corner, so I had to stand the bike up and rip across the grass doing about 140KM. That was hairy. ;) After getting back on the track I was still behind 6th place, but just didn't have enough laps left to pass her again. We all had a good laugh after the race about my mistake and I guess I had more track and lean to actually make the corner. It's all about learning at this point.
The second race commenced at approx 1:35PM. My start again was great and I hung onto fourth place into corner one. After a couple laps I was passed and from then I stayed in 5th for the rest of the race. The second race is where I got my best lap time of 1:35:500. I was rather excited about that because I came very close to my original goal for the weekend.
Lap times for Race 2:
1st Lap: 1:42.800
2nd Lap: 1:37.500
3rd Lap: 1:39.600
4th Lap: 1:39.800
5th Lap: 1:39.300
6th Lap: 1:38.500
7th Lap: 1:35.500
8th Lap: 1:36.000
All in all it was an awesome weekend and I was impressed with how I did. I don't think I did all that bad for my first time. ;) Now I just have to wait patiently for July 17 & 18 for the next set of races.
June 13, 2010
June 7, 2010
Truck & Prep Work
So I got a little shit-beater truck on the weekend. Actually...it's not that bad. A 1994 Ford Supercab XLT 4x4 with 250K. I'm rather mechanically inclined, so this vehicle is perfect. Very easy to work on. Looks like it will eventually need a new oil pan/gasket and oil pump. Ford trucks are notorious for using thin cheap metal for their oil pan and over time it eventually rusts.
All I need this for is trucking the bike around to the race tracks and it cost less than the bike...This is what I call budget racing. Haha So far 'only' 6K has gone into the parts needed to start this little adventure of mine. And did I mention this was budget racing? Glad this is my only expensive hobby...lol
Today I officially registered to this Saturday's practice and Sunday's race. Here is a link to the handout for Round 02 at Race City:
Race Day Handout Round 2
I'm even listed as a racer on page 12 in the novice class. Yay! Sorry...To me that's rather exciting to be published in something. Minor albeit, but still something.
As far as other preparations go for the weekend, tonight I made a ramp for the bike and successfully loaded and unloaded it into the truck all by myself. I needed to make sure I could do this as I won't always have someone around to help. The bike is light, so it's rather easy to maneuver. Also tested tying it down to make sure I'm all ready for the weekend. So far so good...
All I need this for is trucking the bike around to the race tracks and it cost less than the bike...This is what I call budget racing. Haha So far 'only' 6K has gone into the parts needed to start this little adventure of mine. And did I mention this was budget racing? Glad this is my only expensive hobby...lol
Today I officially registered to this Saturday's practice and Sunday's race. Here is a link to the handout for Round 02 at Race City:
Race Day Handout Round 2
I'm even listed as a racer on page 12 in the novice class. Yay! Sorry...To me that's rather exciting to be published in something. Minor albeit, but still something.
As far as other preparations go for the weekend, tonight I made a ramp for the bike and successfully loaded and unloaded it into the truck all by myself. I needed to make sure I could do this as I won't always have someone around to help. The bike is light, so it's rather easy to maneuver. Also tested tying it down to make sure I'm all ready for the weekend. So far so good...
May 27, 2010
Damper Installed
The part arrived on Wednesday, but wasn't installed until today. I needed to find something to get the steering nut off so the base plate could be installed. The key was trying to find such a tool. It's a large nut, so it required a 36MM socket. I looked all over yesterday, but everyone was sold out. Finally today in the deep south I managed to acquire the necessary tool to finish the job.
That should help out a great deal for the track, plus with the dial, I can tweak it on the fly.
So the first official race weekend for me is June 12 & 13 @ Race City Speedway in Calgary. The 12th (Saturday) being for practice and testing and the 13th (Sunday) is race day. I can say that I`m a bit nervous for it being my first time racing in a competition. The times are up from last weekends race and the top 3 in the Novice are running a 1:26 to 1:30 range with the slowest being 1:43. I never had a chance to test out a full out lap and see what my times were. So far the only 2 laps I have (with pauses on the straight to alternate riders leading) are 1:58`s. I`m also going to be way behind on points.
These are the points awarded per race and there were 2 novice races on Sunday.
1 - 25 Points
2 - 20 Points
3 - 16 Points
4 - 13 Points
5 - 11 Points
6 - 10 Points
....
15 - 1 Point
I guess this year is more for fun and learning, but the competitor in me still wants to win. ;)
That should help out a great deal for the track, plus with the dial, I can tweak it on the fly.
So the first official race weekend for me is June 12 & 13 @ Race City Speedway in Calgary. The 12th (Saturday) being for practice and testing and the 13th (Sunday) is race day. I can say that I`m a bit nervous for it being my first time racing in a competition. The times are up from last weekends race and the top 3 in the Novice are running a 1:26 to 1:30 range with the slowest being 1:43. I never had a chance to test out a full out lap and see what my times were. So far the only 2 laps I have (with pauses on the straight to alternate riders leading) are 1:58`s. I`m also going to be way behind on points.
These are the points awarded per race and there were 2 novice races on Sunday.
1 - 25 Points
2 - 20 Points
3 - 16 Points
4 - 13 Points
5 - 11 Points
6 - 10 Points
....
15 - 1 Point
I guess this year is more for fun and learning, but the competitor in me still wants to win. ;)
May 24, 2010
License Aquired
As the title states, I managed to acquire a racing license. The school was at the beginning of the month and it was officially the first time the R6 was tested out on the track. After a few minor tweaks after the first couple runs, it ran great and felt way better than that R1 on the track. Maybe because it was lighter, or maybe because I was learning way more than I did last year. Last year felt like a guided track day, but this year it seemed that more attention was paid to the rider to let them know what to do. The apex's were also marked on the corners, so that made learning the track a bit easier. At first they told me not to come out of the corners so fast...I couldn't help it, I would hit the apex and go. ;)
At the end of the day one of the instructors said I would do very well in racing. That felt good to hear and I hope that I do. I worked very hard on improving my body position and that made the corners even more fun. ;) At one point of the school day we able to lead in front of the instructors. This allowed me to finally open the R6 up on the straight. It also showed me something I needed to order for the bike. Just after shifting it into 4th, the front end lifted slightly and shook like no ones business. Scared the shit out of me. With quick reflexes and slowing the throttle with ease, the front end settled and I continued down. This only meant that if I was really going to try to go fast, I would need a steering damper. One was ordered, but wasn't here in time for the opening race of the season this weekend. Should be getting here this week, so plenty of time to put it on before Round 2 on June 12-13.
I chose the number 45, as there weren't many good ones left. I had wanted 3 or 33, but didn't want 333, so 45 was the next best choice.
4+5=9
9/3=3
Quirky I know, but it works, ;) And yes, there were no other 2 digit numbers left that would get to 3.
Anyway, got some red tape (Novice and Amateur numbers need to be red...Expert is black), and put on some numbers.
At the end of the day one of the instructors said I would do very well in racing. That felt good to hear and I hope that I do. I worked very hard on improving my body position and that made the corners even more fun. ;) At one point of the school day we able to lead in front of the instructors. This allowed me to finally open the R6 up on the straight. It also showed me something I needed to order for the bike. Just after shifting it into 4th, the front end lifted slightly and shook like no ones business. Scared the shit out of me. With quick reflexes and slowing the throttle with ease, the front end settled and I continued down. This only meant that if I was really going to try to go fast, I would need a steering damper. One was ordered, but wasn't here in time for the opening race of the season this weekend. Should be getting here this week, so plenty of time to put it on before Round 2 on June 12-13.
I chose the number 45, as there weren't many good ones left. I had wanted 3 or 33, but didn't want 333, so 45 was the next best choice.
4+5=9
9/3=3
Quirky I know, but it works, ;) And yes, there were no other 2 digit numbers left that would get to 3.
Anyway, got some red tape (Novice and Amateur numbers need to be red...Expert is black), and put on some numbers.
February 21, 2010
All Together Now...
Finally after what seemed like a long process, the bike is back together. Last weekend I put the tank back on and verified that it did in fact start after it was all assembled. I only ran it for 30-60 seconds because the water is still drained from the radiator and I didn't want it to get overly hot. It ran nice and smooth like I figured it would.
Today I gathered all the plastics and put them back on. This was just because I wanted to see what it looked like all back together and with the new paint. I needed to re-drill a couple holes that were filled over from the fiberglass and that was about it.
I don't think it looks that bad. Regardless, it's just a inexpensive race bike and probably will be down a few more times. All that needs to be done yet is the suspension. It's all been put back to stock, and now it needs to be setup for my weight.
Today I gathered all the plastics and put them back on. This was just because I wanted to see what it looked like all back together and with the new paint. I needed to re-drill a couple holes that were filled over from the fiberglass and that was about it.
I don't think it looks that bad. Regardless, it's just a inexpensive race bike and probably will be down a few more times. All that needs to be done yet is the suspension. It's all been put back to stock, and now it needs to be setup for my weight.
January 24, 2010
Spark Plugs are In...
...But it was a pain in the ass.
Saturday was spent replacing the spark plugs on the R6. Since this was getting into deeper territory that I had yet to do on any of my bikes, I relied on the manual. Having printed off what was needed, the job seemed like it would be straight forward.
The bike had majority of what was required to be removed, but there were still a few items. Manual said to remove the heat protector plate. This was much harder than expected. Trying to manipulate a formed piece of plastic out of a hole that is slightly smaller than the piece, proved to be interesting. What the manual doesn't say is that you need to tell the piece who is boss while removing it.
Next step was to remove the ignition coils. That was fine and dandy if I could even see what they were referring to. On top of the coils is the AIS (Air Induction System) which they expect you to manipulate around. That wasn't going to happen.
After an hour of trying to figure out how the manual wanted things done, I took off the radiator. It was already drained prior to the winter, so I knew it would be easy. After 5 minutes it was off and even though this gave open access to the coils, the AIS was still in the way. I ended up removing that and the spark plug change went smoothly. This also reminded me to order a set of smog block off plates which replaces the AIS system and allows for some minor weight savings. Plus it would be easier in the future to change the plugs.
Today was spent pretty much putting the R6 back together. Everything minus the plastics & tank. Those are still at my parents and by the sounds of it, my dad has finished painting everything. I guess he had some free time and went over them again fixing up things we missed the first time. All that needs to be done yet is clear coating the tank.
When the bike was first taken apart on the fall, the battery did not come out smoothly. It wasn't until the lower housing was removed that it would slide out easily. I think that was due to the wires not really being managed that well when I got it. After the lower tray was securely zip tied into place and all the wiring back where it was supposed to be, the battery fit was tested. It slid in nicely.
New frame sliders were also installed today. They look odd against the slightly scratched frame.
And lastly, the suspension was reset back to stock. I need to set the bike up for my weight, but that won't be done until the spring. Figured it would be easy to set everything back to stock and then go from there. Still need to research what the stock height of the front forks are since that is not listed in the manual. All I know is they will be 1/4" off stock. That's because the front tire was changed to a 120/70/17 replacing the stock 120/60/17 which makes the bike 1/4" higher in the front.
All that needs to be done is to put the tank back on and test the bike to see if I put it back together correctly. ;)
Saturday was spent replacing the spark plugs on the R6. Since this was getting into deeper territory that I had yet to do on any of my bikes, I relied on the manual. Having printed off what was needed, the job seemed like it would be straight forward.
The bike had majority of what was required to be removed, but there were still a few items. Manual said to remove the heat protector plate. This was much harder than expected. Trying to manipulate a formed piece of plastic out of a hole that is slightly smaller than the piece, proved to be interesting. What the manual doesn't say is that you need to tell the piece who is boss while removing it.
Next step was to remove the ignition coils. That was fine and dandy if I could even see what they were referring to. On top of the coils is the AIS (Air Induction System) which they expect you to manipulate around. That wasn't going to happen.
After an hour of trying to figure out how the manual wanted things done, I took off the radiator. It was already drained prior to the winter, so I knew it would be easy. After 5 minutes it was off and even though this gave open access to the coils, the AIS was still in the way. I ended up removing that and the spark plug change went smoothly. This also reminded me to order a set of smog block off plates which replaces the AIS system and allows for some minor weight savings. Plus it would be easier in the future to change the plugs.
Today was spent pretty much putting the R6 back together. Everything minus the plastics & tank. Those are still at my parents and by the sounds of it, my dad has finished painting everything. I guess he had some free time and went over them again fixing up things we missed the first time. All that needs to be done yet is clear coating the tank.
When the bike was first taken apart on the fall, the battery did not come out smoothly. It wasn't until the lower housing was removed that it would slide out easily. I think that was due to the wires not really being managed that well when I got it. After the lower tray was securely zip tied into place and all the wiring back where it was supposed to be, the battery fit was tested. It slid in nicely.
New frame sliders were also installed today. They look odd against the slightly scratched frame.
And lastly, the suspension was reset back to stock. I need to set the bike up for my weight, but that won't be done until the spring. Figured it would be easy to set everything back to stock and then go from there. Still need to research what the stock height of the front forks are since that is not listed in the manual. All I know is they will be 1/4" off stock. That's because the front tire was changed to a 120/70/17 replacing the stock 120/60/17 which makes the bike 1/4" higher in the front.
All that needs to be done is to put the tank back on and test the bike to see if I put it back together correctly. ;)
January 17, 2010
Front Brake Lines
This afternoon I decided to tackle the front brake lines. Learning from the back, I played around with a bunch of configurations before finally tightening the bolts. I also learned another small detail...Proper torque settings. More about that at the end.
Anyway, the front lines seemed to go in just as easy as the rear. A bit more of a pain to bleed them and then refill though. Since there are 2 lines attached to one reservoir, the bleeding took some time and patience.
The new lines are much smaller and nicer looking that the stock ones. Plus they will allow for quicker stopping by keeping the fluid cooler under hard braking.
As I mentioned earlier, I learned about torque settings. A few months ago I purchased a torque wrench for the sole purpose to tightening bolts to spec on the race bike. Until today, I had yet to use it.
I looked up the settings for the bolts (30Nm or 22ft-lbs). I still had to torque the rear, so I wanted to wait till I had all the lines finished. I started with the rear brake line bolt on the caliper and set the torque wrench to what I thought was correct.
See, there had been an hour or so between when I checked the numbers to actually torquing the bolts. Remembering the number 30...But forgetting the Nm part. I set the wrench to 30ft-lbs. Oops. I was waiting for the click of the wrench, but instead heard the tear of a bolt. lol
It was no big deal. I just happened to have a removal kit that was in the tool chest I got from my grandpa. I grabbed the smallest one and lightly tapped it in the hole of the bolt (Since it's a brake line bolt, there is a small sized hole for the fluid...I would have had to drill it otherwise). From there the bolt threaded out effortlessly. Since the kit came with it's own bolts, I just used one of the ones from the stock lines and it worked perfectly. That's probably why it never bothered me when I had the moron moment. lol
Needless to say the rest of the install went smoothly. Next thing that needs to be done are the spark plugs which will probably be done next weekend.
Anyway, the front lines seemed to go in just as easy as the rear. A bit more of a pain to bleed them and then refill though. Since there are 2 lines attached to one reservoir, the bleeding took some time and patience.
The new lines are much smaller and nicer looking that the stock ones. Plus they will allow for quicker stopping by keeping the fluid cooler under hard braking.
As I mentioned earlier, I learned about torque settings. A few months ago I purchased a torque wrench for the sole purpose to tightening bolts to spec on the race bike. Until today, I had yet to use it.
I looked up the settings for the bolts (30Nm or 22ft-lbs). I still had to torque the rear, so I wanted to wait till I had all the lines finished. I started with the rear brake line bolt on the caliper and set the torque wrench to what I thought was correct.
See, there had been an hour or so between when I checked the numbers to actually torquing the bolts. Remembering the number 30...But forgetting the Nm part. I set the wrench to 30ft-lbs. Oops. I was waiting for the click of the wrench, but instead heard the tear of a bolt. lol
It was no big deal. I just happened to have a removal kit that was in the tool chest I got from my grandpa. I grabbed the smallest one and lightly tapped it in the hole of the bolt (Since it's a brake line bolt, there is a small sized hole for the fluid...I would have had to drill it otherwise). From there the bolt threaded out effortlessly. Since the kit came with it's own bolts, I just used one of the ones from the stock lines and it worked perfectly. That's probably why it never bothered me when I had the moron moment. lol
Needless to say the rest of the install went smoothly. Next thing that needs to be done are the spark plugs which will probably be done next weekend.
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