There have been bits and pieces of my preperation for the track leading up to yesterday's trackday (at "Big Willow" at Willow Springs) strewn about the board, but I thought I would condense them all and give a brief write up of my experiences.
I have been stocking up on gear and bought a trackbike since going through Level 1 of California Superbike School just a bit over a month ago. It took a bit of searching but I finally found a nicely track prepped 2001 Suzuki SV that I was able to get for quite a deal.
After seeing this pic of me posing in my new gear Mags' coworker asked "Who is Captain Fuego?!?"
Thus, my alter ego is born (and would soon earn another nickname...) >
So preparations done, this week began with me eagerly anticipating getting out to my first open trackday. Unfortunately, work would have other plans for me and I ended up stuck at the office late into the night on friday. The battery needed to be pulled and charged, and with the help of Speeddog (via phone) mags was able to dismantle the bike, yank the battery and get it charged.
I got home just in time to see her putting everything back together. She is extra cute when she's being all mechanical.
We got it all back together, secured and the truck packed for the early am departure for the track (which was now mere hours away
). I tried to turn it over a few times, but it just wouldn't keep running.
It'd crank fine but just wouldn't stay running for more than a few seconds. I'd been warned by the previous owner that because of the flat slide carbs (and corresponding lack of choke) that the bike could be a bit finnicky to get started, so I chalked this up to my inexpierence and gave up...but not before having cranked it a few too many times and all but killed the battery again. Oh Right, to go along with the racey carbs is a lightweight battery that doesn't hold charge for crap.
We headed to bed and I got a very restful 3.5 hours
I grabbed what gear was left in the apartment and set off for the track. The drive was uneventful and I arrived just as the gates were opening, paid my gate fee, and headed to the paddock. I managed to snag a place up by the pit wall and somehow single handedly shooed off all encroaching strangers in order to protect 4 more parking spaces for the other SoCal Monsters who arrived anywhere from 15-45 minutes later.
Derby was first to join me, followed by mdlb (Matt) and wife Sarah. gm2 (Garrett) and joekarati (Joe)/SteveG(Steve) would arrive soon to round out the participants for the day. Our pit quickly descended into a flourish of activity as the bikes were unloaded and set up. Suzuki's ruled the day (my SV, Derby's late model GXR, Steve's 01 GXR 750), with 1 late model R6 (gm2) and a 675 (Joe). Matt did the DML proud and brought his 620 for a proper flogging.
And that was when it all went bad...
With the bike up on the stand, I pumped a throttle a few times as I'd been instructed, crossed my fingers, and clicked the starter. The bike roared to life and then started in a increasingly sick sounding degradation of idle before dying. Two more cranks would have the same result before the third found the battery without enough juice to turn over. Derby mounted the bike and I (wearing a dainese undersuit covered by jeans & a tshirt and flip flops) started pushing him down pit lane hoping a bump start would do the trick. The first clutch drop got it turn over before petering out again. We tried again a second time but the tire just locked up and the bike came to a stop. Just at that moment my mechanic (and local SV Guru) Andy spied us with a mixed look of shock and amusement. He rode over on his pitbike, told us it was fruitless, and offered up his battery charger. He needed to bring his gear over from the other track to his pit here, so we returned to ours to take care of other requirements while I waited. I walked down to register, pushed the bike down for tech, and attended the riders meeting.
Afterwards Andy had returned and I swiped his charger before returning to the pits. While definately making progress, it was slow going. I remembered that I had jumper cables in the truck, so throwing caution to the wind I pulled out of my parking spot to gain access to the truck's battery and hooked the two together in what was surely the largest mismatch of power to ever sit side by side
. The bike now could start reliably, but we discovered a new problem. No matter what amount of throttle priming tricks we tried, the most we could get the motor to do was run for about 20 seconds before it inevitably quit. I gave up as A session was called (we had no riders in it, derby/gm2/joe/steve were in B and matt & i in C) and headed for Andy's pit to ask for his help.
Somewhere in the midst of all this madness we were joined by Bobspapa & Lilysmama for a visit. Additionally SDR John rode up on his Multi with camera to spend the day and take some on and off track photos for us.
Our b group riders
The gang in B group headed out just as Andy made his way down to take a look. He gave it a couple tries and knew we had issues. The bike began losing parts and tank was opened so he could dive in and figure out the problem. While my problems becoming more serious isn't exactly a positive thing, I felt better to know there was an actual problem instead of just my noob mistakes. Something was up with the carbs, and Andy did some technical mumbojumbo to get 'er running. We'll either rebuild them or replace them with more reliable (but limiting) stock carbs soon. The B group was just returning when Andy was finishing.
Andy doing his magic while I assist. Derby looking on. 350lb 80hp bike taking power from 4000+lb 500hp truck.
More magic. Steve observing.
Andy declared it done and started to put everything back together. Derby jumped in and assited and shooed me off to get suited up and ready for my group, which was already on track. I'd end up just missing my group, but it was for the best as I didn't want the rush and chaos to put me out in a poor mindset and cause a mistake. I took the bike on a quick "victory lap" of the pits and parking areas to get my first seat time on her since my purchase.
I then settled down to wait for the rotation and my turn to arrive.
During the wait, Gibbs and then Mags arrived to hang out for a bit. We all had a really great time just having a social day in the pits, with a solid 20 minutes (or more, as there would turn out to be quite a few wrecks and/or spill cleanups for the day) when everyone was in the pits, and the 40 minutes were alternating groups of us were out on track.
Joe and Steve
half-a-derby, joe loungin, gibbs
half-a-joe, gibbs, steve
My group finally got called around 1120 and Matt and I headed out to the grid.
Leaving our pits for the first time
Matt was in my group too, but this was his second time out since he actually made the first session
I'm sure there is some level of irony that the guy riding the Ducati was most reliable all day and the "bulletproof" japanese bike had a problem
The rearsets are quite high for my size, and being knurled take some deliberate thought and action to get my feet properly into position on them. This would turn out to be a bit of a distraction for the day, but by the end I was getting pretty good at it. I reached the front of the grid and was waved out. I deliberately bogged it off the line to be the last one in my group. I entered the track and eased into a few laps to get my tires warm. I got accustomed to the bike and powerband, and just as I was starting to feel comfortable the checker came out. Needless to say, I was passed by practically every person on the lap at extremely high speeds, and sometimes very close and inside (despite C group having rules against this :
). I was kinda shell shocked and fearful I wasn't cut out for this as I returned to the pits.
"How'd it go?!? Did you love it?" "uhh..."
Relaying my first experience (and doubts
) to Garrett and Derby. Matt suited up in the background.
This session was followed by an excruciatingly long break as an oil spill needed to be cleaned up. It gave us time to sit around and chat, get some lunch, and in my case...doubt myself some more.
Matt and Sarah are newcomers to our group, and it was great to get to know them. I relayed a story of my mother's comments upon seeing me in my track leathers ("Oh good! I was worried the red would make you look like a big Tomato, but you really dont!"
) and Sarah was so entertained she took to referring to me as 'mater. I think we've even designed a paintscheme and graphics pack for a "'Mater's Racing" livery for the bike.
We made it back out, and it was smooth sailing. I became more and more comfortable out there and really enjoyed the day! At one point my butt accidentally slid off the seat in a corner, and before I knew it I was deliberately hanging a cheek off and really increasing my corner speeds.
It was in the final session that I had the most fun, Matt ended up passing me when I was being a little laissez faire and that kicked it off. We had a total ball dicing it up and pushing each other just far enough to improve our riding. Unfortunately, it also took a lot out of us at the end of the day which led to...
I drug my first appendage on the track!..except it was my toe and it was because it was poorly placed (see above about foot positioning being difficult
). Very soon after I completely blew a corner. Just as I was thinking that I was pushing my luck being this mentally off, Matt threw his hand up to signal his intent to pit out and I decided to follow his lead. He too was exhausted and had developed dry mouth so severe he couldn't concetrate. We all begin organizing our stuff while waiting for b groups final time out, and then loaded up and headed home. All in all a great experience!
If you're on the fence, I highly recommend getting your butt & bike to a trackschool and open trackday. I personally really enjoyed Code's Superbike School (as did gm2, joe, and steve) and Matt speaks highly of CLASS.
Several of us head out to Buttonwillow on Friday. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm frankly feeling like these big fast tracks might be a bit too intimidating for me right now. I look forward to returning to the more technical Streets of Willow soon to see how my new bike and skills perform there.
On track photos, courtesey of SDR John, Thanks John!
joekarati
derby
gm2
sqweak
mdlb
SteveG
