The school focuses heavily on bike setup, linking turns together, throttle control and riding position. Combine this with extensive personalized one on one instruction and the highly challenging Arroyo Seco Racetrack, and you have a great school package. Throughout the weekend I gained improved body position, more confidence trail braking, better interpreting the feedback the motorcycle is giving me and how to adjust the suspension to improve the overall handling of my motorcycle.

I also returned to Euro Motorsports for another fuel map, focusing on improving the response using VP U4.2 fuel. Mark Ledesma of Euro Motorsports was able to improve the overall map though the midrange and smooth the off to on throttle transition. The new map improved the ability to ride with maintenance throttle though turns and provide a stronger drive out of the corner.

Finally, I was excited to find out that I had been included as the rider of the month by CCS/SW.  It is great to be able to represent both myself and my sponsors to all of the other racers and spectators this weekend.

As the race weekend arrived, two of my close racing friends had their truck and trailer stolen. One of my friends lost his racing motorcycle and the other lost most all of his gear and equipment. I extended all what I could to help out my two competitors and provide transportation, shelter and what ever equipment that was possible. The Local CCS/SW racing community came together and supported these two racers with leathers, equipment, spare motorcycles, transportation and even a new race bike. If for no other reason the CCS/SW racing community is number one in my books for how they helped one of their own.

Onto the race weekend, again we had near perfect temperatures in the mid 70’s. As summer is just around the corner in Phoenix Arizona, this is expected to be the last of the cool race weekends for a while.

Round #3 of the CCS/SW series was a combined event with USGPRU, providing even greater competition in the Lightweight events. With this in mind I put allot of effort into focusing on what areas are lacking in my riding to improve my finishes.

My primary sponsor KurveyGirl.com has just become the Track side dealer of Vesrah brake pads. This gave me an opportunity to try the RJL compound pads on my SV650. Many of my competitors have recommended the RJL pad, so I was excited at the opportunity to try out the Vesrah brake pads. During the race weekend I gained greater confidence on the brakes and the ability to go deeper into many of Firebird raceways corners than I ever have before.

The first race of the day is Lightweight GP. Because of the GPRU Attendance, the grid for LWGP was the largest single race grid of the day. 18 racers and I lined up for the start. My start was better than expected and I found myself going on the inside of turn #1 and coming out in 8th place. I started to put in an effort for some better lap times but alas It was not to be. I was slowly picked off by 3 other racers and settled into 11th place, closely following 10th place. As I was getting ready to try to make a challenge for 10th place, another racer had a bad crash and was laying on the track. With the race red flagged, the race was called final in the pits.

My second was the Lightweight Superbike race, and while I was eager to do better, my start held me back. I finished an acceptable 11th place, but I found that I had done my best lap time up to that point, with a 1:04.014. My race weekend goal was to achieve at least one lap below 1:03.99, and this was close enough to call it good.

The third and forth races of the day were a back to back affair. I am not fond of riding two races back to back, but maybe I should change my opinion. In the Lightweight superstock race I got another one of my patented bad starts and found myself in 6th place. I quickly gained ground on Devin Hymer and became parked behind him. I spent several laps working on a way around Devin, but to my luck Devin had a mechanical problem and I was able to get buy for 5th place.

Pulling into the pits for just a few seconds to catch a drink of water, I was out for the Thunderbike race. Again I had another one of my patented bad starts and found myself dead last going into turn #1. I put my head down and immediately passed racers going into turn #3 and 5 and finally by the end of the first lap I found myself running in second place with the race leader in view. I was passed a lap later by a motard rider, which I was mistaken and was not racing in my class. I did my best to keep the race leader and motard racer in view for the rest of the race. By lap 7, I checked and I had a large gap on the next rider back and I slowed down to cruise to the finish. Once getting into the pit I was told that I was in 2nd place in the Thunderbike race, and I had gotten my best finish ever.

The icing on the cake was, with clear track I was able to put down a number of good laps with a best lap of 1:02.921. This was my best times ever on any motorcycle on Firebird East. I was excited by the new level I achieved.

None of this would be possible without my sponsors. Kurveygirl.com and the new Vesrah pads helped out a great deal. As always the combination of the M4 exhaust and the Mark Ledesma U4.2 map provided me with power that allowed me to keep chase with everyone on the track. Being a big guy, when something gives me an advantage over someone half my size, it must be the best.

Team: 2up Racing By Myself. / Event: CCS/SW – January 12^th and 13^th, 2008 – Round #1

Sponsors: Kurveygirl.com / M4 Exhaust / Euro Motorsports of Scottsdale

Preferred Tire Vendor: / Jim Cox Racing (Dunlop Racing Tires)

Spring time temperatures fell upon the Phoenix Arizona area for the first round of the 2008 CCS/SW racing series. Many would find racing in January a bit strange, but for phoenix this is the norm not the exception. The weather was a near perfect with clear skys and a high of 65°F.

As with any start of a new season the days running up to the first race is filled with expectations and challenges. The big change for the 2008 season is that only the SV650 will be raced leaving the older GSXR750 parked. With this new focus, it was felt that the SV650 needed some minor improvements and upgrades. But as the 2007 season had just ended in December, time was very tight.

My team mechanic Brice had just a two short weeks to complete a seasons worth of neglected maintenance. New plugs, chain, shift star, FI tune, brakes and fluids were put in and the bikes was prepared for the upgrade of a new exhaust and VP U4.2.

The most important upgrade for 2008 is the addition of a M4 Full Exhaust system to the SV650. The general opinion is that the M4 Exhaust provides the best power and midrange performance for the SV650. While talking to the staff about a M4 Exhaust, an opportunity for racer support for 2008 became available. 2up Racing by Myself is excited to carry M4 as one of its sponsors for the 2008 season.

While time was tight, M4 exhaust was able to get a complete exhaust system for the 2003 SV650 in time for the first race. The system fit and finish is first class and the installation was quick and painless. A big thank you to all at M4 for their quick action over the holidays, as this is most companies down time.

Euro Motorsports in Scottsdale, AZ continues its efforts to become phoenix Arizona’s, performance powerhouse. Euro Motorsports has just installed a new Dynojet Dyno, and was able to get it running by 4pm Friday night, right before the race weekend. Euro Motorsports staff went above the call of duty, and arranged a midnight dyno tune session for the SV650. The staff at Euro Motorsports worked late into the night building FI Maps both Pump Fuel and VP U4.2.

The first event of the CCS/SW season was run on Firebird Internationals Main racetrack that uses the Dragstrip as the main straightaway. Within the first few laps, it was obvious how much of an improvement in power the new M4 Exhaust system created. I was able to keep in touch with racers that I never could before. Considering my sizable girth many people were impressed by my new found speed.

Mark Weiss, my very trusted advisor and mentor provided some invaluable advice on where I was losing some valuable time. I spent my Saturday practice time applying his advice and improving my corner exit speed.

For 2008 I have decided to run the best race tires Dunlop offers for the SV650. The UK Made Dunlop D209GP provides improved front end grip over the US Made Dunlop D209GP tire I ran last year. The confidence to trailbrake into turns and get on the gas sooner while leaned over helped a lot this weekend.

The first race of the weekend was the Lightweight GP, which is the premier race for the SV650 class. A grid of 16 racers lined up for the 12 lap race, and the first turn was crowded but all got through cleanly. After a few passes in the first two laps, I settled into 11^th place. All the while just a few feet behind me lurked Alan Chook waiting for his chance to pass. Unfortunately for him I did not put a wheel wrong for the rest of the race.

The next race was Lightweight Superbike with a larger grid of 17 racers. This turned out to be my best race of the day with a 6 lap battle for 10^th place with Paul Patterson. Paul and I swapped places several times and drafted each other going into turn #1. Unfortunately I forgot to make a downshift in one of the last corners and that derailed my attempt for a final turn pass.

Lightweight SuperStock was the third race of the day. The start was less than spectacular, being too aggressive with the clutch and to much throttle, created a wheel stand start with a second wheel stand after the first recovery. Running dead last into turn #1 and a good 250 feet behind the next competitor, some hard racing was to follow. When I reached 8^th place, I started battling Devin Hymer, and got around him on lap 6. I was not able to hold off the charging Devin Hymer on the last lap going into Turn #1, and again a missed shift derailed plans for a final turn charge.

The Final race of the day was Thunderbike. After my best start of the weekend, I was able to get around two racers in the first turn. Again I found myself battling with Devin Hymer for 4^th place. Unfortunately I could not keep up with Devin and settled for a strong 5^th place finish.

Overall this was a good start to the 2008 season. My lap times have improved, and I am now able to keep with all my competitors down the long straightway due to the power combination of the M4 Exhaust and Euro Motorsports tuning of my motorcycle.

 I spent a recent weekend with about 30 like-minded nutcases in Primm, Nevada learning how little I really knew about riding off-road. I started riding in the dirt pretty late in life, about age 35. Fortunately, several experienced friends gave me plenty of practical suggestions to get me through my initial rides. And over subsequent years, I acquired additional ideas that helped me refine my craft.  But over the last few years I could smell the stagnation of a lack of fresh information. So it didn’t take much cajoling from one of my early mentors to convince me to sign-up for professional instruction.

Besides, the fact that I could combine it with a preceding week of riding in AZ this time of year didn’t hurt.

In case Jimmy’s name isn’t familiar to you, he was Cycle World magazine’s off-road editor for a bunch of years. He also competed in numerous long distance dirt events including the Baja 1000 and the Paris to Dakar. In the later, he took 3rd place in 1994. So the guy pretty much knows what he’s doing. The fact that he rides a BMW GS1200 means he tends to attract the Beemer crowd, but all brands, displacements and skill levels are welcomed. Jimmy performs all the same drills he asked us to attempt, but on the big and very heavy GS.

The class lasts 2 full days and costs about $600 and includes a very complete lunch both days as well as dinner the night in between.

The class had quite a diverse group of attendees. In addition to the expected GS, HP and X-Challenge BMW groups, there was substantial representation from the Austrian and Japanese faithful also. One guy even gave it a go on A Suzuki 650 V-Strom. The age seemed to range from mid-20s well into the 50s and maybe beyond. Even the fairer gender had several representatives. This mix demonstrates a  large diversity of riders in the off-road community.

We spent the first day doing drills. While this may not seem very interesting or challenging, it really let’s you know where you’re at and some of them were things you normally wouldn’t attempt while just out for a trail ride. My favorties were:

Purposely locking up the front wheel to get intimate with the sensation, and then reacting appropriately by releasing the front brake. I’ve always been very uncomfortable with a sliding front wheel but as I gained the “feel” for it, I started purposely trying to hold it on as long as possible and “enjoyed” it. The low sun angle this time of year allowed us to see the spokes stop rotating and feel the difference during the transition from rolling to sliding and back. Fantastic!

I also really enjoyed practicing unweighting the front wheel to assist in clearing objects which may be encountered out on the trail. It didn’t take long for this to turn in wheelie practice due to the ease with which the WR would hoist the front end.

 The second day we went trail riding and interspersed it with a few additional practical drills. We divided ourselves into “hard” and “easy” groups and took separate trails to various rendezvous points. I choose the hard group and was rewarded with several very challenging sections that really test my mental and physical envelope. Perfect!

My most remembered moments were:

On a first stop of the second day, during a demonstration of ledge ascent/descent, Jimmy used me as an example of how vertical a bike bike can get without going over.

Later in the day, some of the riders in the easy group were given a chance to try something a little harder. When the first two members of the hard group got stuck going up the steep climb, most of the courage gathered earlier in the day by several members of the easy group waned. Most headed back down the easy way. As the third starter, I motored past one of the zero-velocity climbers and made it to the top without event. Serious accomplishment confidence!One of our stops was a sizable sand dune. My first attempt at a long, steep sand climb was successful and exhilerating, so I did it several more times, gaining additional confidence and knowledge.

No one was made to do anything they didn’t want too, which kept everyone basically in their own personal comfort zone.The biggest lessons I learned were: I should be spending most of my time on the pegs (sitting takes away stability and control), the front brake is still more important than the rear (even in the dirt), smooth throttle application keeps your wheels in line and in control and it’s better to slow down and have more time to react to a hazard than hammering it and hoping for the best.

I definitely give this class my highest rating and will probably take it again next time my skills need a jump start. And if you find yourself looking for a top notch school to improve your own personal off-road riding skills…….

http://www.jimmylewisoffroad.com/Jimmy_Lewis_Off-Road_Riding_School/Ji mmy_Lewis_Racing_Inc._.html 

Rhino

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CLASS MEMBER JASON LIEBRECHT

A couple months ago I went to Firebird West which was a technical track at 1.1 miles with eleven turns.  The SV was rather well-suited for that situation.  Firebird East, even though its claimed to be 1.25 miles, is a faster flowing track with only one slower second gear turn.  Check ‘em out:

Anyway, I found there to be three hard braking points at the approaches to turns two, four, and one.  This is where the SV was a little lacking.  There is always room for rider improvement, especially in my case with turn four as I struggled with it all day, but the extra HP for a better drive and faster top speed was missed a little.

For this and future track days, I picked up a lap timer to provide a measureable of improvement, etc.  After yesterday, I almost wish I hadn’t.  My buddy I pitted with, also had this timer and we pretty much rode together all day.  Session #1 was 1:10’s, session #2, was 1:06’s, and session #3 dipped into the 1:04’s according to his timer.  Mine simply was not working and it was pissing me off. 

I’ve found that I need a clear head to ride ’sportingly’ (nice word) whether its through the mountains or on a track.  Things went south after I started focusing on the lap timer versus the laps themselves.  Next session was (for me) 1:08’s, then the next two were 1:07’s.  My wrists were absolutely killing me and GB noticed that the clip-ons were cranked inward pretty far and suggested that I move them outward.  GREAT advice.  I relieved the pressure some during hard braking some, but I think it was too late.  I was good for only 8-10 laps at a time then had to come in.  As of this moment, I can’t really make a fist without a reasonable amount of pain.  There is no doubt that I have not bee riding and that I need to start getting back my motorcycle muscles, but I am hoping that the next time will be improved comfort due to the clip-on change…and me learning to squeeze the tank with my thighs when hard braking.

We got the lap timer working correctly, and things clicked again…well almost.  Through some bs’ing and further advice , I changed up a couple of things and it made a huge difference.  The track flowed better on the back side and I was braking later into the turns on the front.

GB said the day before “every turn can be taken faster than you think”.  He was right, especially on the approach to turn two.  I was thinking that I needed to be in second gear which had me braking way too early.  On the last two sessions, when I had my mojo back, I chose cones much further ahead and took the turn in third gear and it made a huge difference in speed and flow.

I still struggled with turn four, but got it more figured out the last session or two.  I had the good fortune of following an expert into the turn to get his line through the whole thing.  Seeing that whole turn in action, and feeling it at speed made a difference.  I still suck in that area, but things are better.

All in all it was a good day.  It was on a Friday, and I could have been working!  A couple of funny quote I heard that I thought were worth sharing:

• “Don’t crash, don’t die, and don’t make me look like a cunt!”  - from Jack the British owner/operator of the track day organization.
• “If there was no crashing, we would never upgrade our bikes” - from Joe the expert guy parked next to us

I have to admit that I put myself under a little pressure with the MUST of not crashing.  That and the fact that it had been since 2001 since I was on a track had me a little apprehensive in the beginning.  That said, I can think of worse ways to spend a Saturday!

My newly acquired track bike is a ‘99 SV650 that was already converted to the hard life of track beeotch.  There are three reasons I bought this bike: cheap, needs nothing, and excellent reputation for short courses.  All three proved true.

The day started with the opening session taking place around 8:30am for my group and it was still a little cold.  This actually helpedme keep my head on straight to not ride over my head with new tires and a cold surface.  I spent the first session getting a feel for the track layout and the bike I had never ridden before.  It was a strange situation to be in - new to a track and knowing nothing about the layout or the ‘good’ (lines).

As I got more sessions under my belt things strted to click.  The lap times came down little by little, but the consistency improved greatly as well as my comfort level.  By the fourth session or so, it was game on.  I couldn’t wait for my session to start because I thought I had the track figured out and was in a little groove.

We were in groupings strictly by motorcycle size.  With a 650 twin, I was in the ‘lightweight’ group along with two-strokes, ‘tards, and vintage.  While I respect the old timers on the vintage bikes, they only served as pilons to practice passing.  In the later sessions after lunch, the vintage guys were paired with the roadrace license newbs.  That was rather nice because it cut the quantity of riders in my group by one third.

The sixth session was my best with a couple of faster guys getting around me in an area to which I was struggling.  I was able to hang with them long enough to realize that a series of turns where I was braking twice, could be done with no braking at all.  I greatly appreciated the free lesson fellas!  Anyway, that made the whole section of the track flow much better and I went faster with less effort.

I made a couple of mistakes towards the end of the day as fatigue increased right along side of courage.  Both times were FUBAR’ing the braking at the end of the straightaway sending me off into the asphalt runout.  In fact, both times were due to a little experimentation with my legs.  I must learn to squeeze the tank with my legs when under heavy braking to relieve the pressure from my forearms and my forks.  I got it right once (only once) and found myself waiting for the turn.  That equated to going into the turn a little deeper before braking.  The other two times were not so good.  The first mistake was accidentally up-shifting as I squezed the tank, totally borking my necessary engine braking to make the turn.  The second time was similar, but no mis-shift.

Overall I had a lot of fun.  Admittedly more fun than I thought.  I was able to keep the red mist at bay for the most part and kept a cool head.  Its the first time I did nothing to the bike except put fuel in her (damn…another gender reference).  I ran Dunlop Qualifiers with street compound and have no complaints.  This bike was so easy to learn to ride that it’s definitely keeper.  I have identified some areas that I can improve and will work on those before I go down the bike mod path.

So there it is.  A track day adventure wrapping up about three months of anticipation, excitement, and a little drama. 

GB - I have to give you a golf-clap for bugging me enough to get me off the fence.  While I cannot give you credit for having the bug (I have been thinking about getting back on the track for about two years now), it’s a lot easier to jump in when you have a willing accomplice and partner in crime.

I tried the technical path and it didn’t make a lot of sense to her.  See, explaining the difference between torque versus horsepower and the linear delivery of the former didn’t help the cause, so I continued.  I then went down the path of how an R1 is not the greatest machine for the track. That was followed by the SV “was easy to ride”.  I capped it off with “it’s a short course with a straightaway that’ll only allow…say…110mph or so”.

I then considered the easy way out (again).  The easy way was to bag on going to the mountains as dangerous and the controlled environment of a track as safer.  Heh - if she only knew about passing o the double yellow, uphill, around…I’ll stop here.  The bottom line is that I was smart enough not to sell out so easy this time.  If there is one thing I’ve learned, its that my wife has an excellent memory!

I then went down the path of the fact that I’m ‘older and wiser’…something to do with humble and smarter.  This was where my plea ended.  I cited the fact that I know there is no winner of a track day.  I also said that I am a better rider since moving to the mountains.  I’ve spent a lot of miles in the mountains in the past few years and there are things that have definitely improved since leaving Michigan. 

In the end, she knew I was going to attend.  I also knew that I needed to control the red mist and get through with the rubber side down.  That doesn’t mean uninjured from a simple low-side, it means no crashing.  Period.  I was joking with the buddy I went with that maybe I should just leave the bike parked all day to guarantee the results. 

The goal is not to undermine her, but to build back a history of not crashing.  If I can manage that, she’ll not freak out during the days leading up to the track day.  I could have gone down the path of deceit…you know…hide the bike at a friend’s house & go for an all day ‘ride’.  That’s just not how we are.  My wife is great and has our family in mind with her concern.  I can’t and don’t blame her for that.  All I need to do is simply not crash.  Time will tell, but it seems to me that if I can control my head first and foremost, I’ll do alright and put her at ease.

I bought my first ’sport’ bike back in 1989 - a 1985 Suzuki GS550ES.  It was a cool bike, but I did not have a cool head and needless to say, I got in a lot of trouble riding it.  During the end of my undergrad college tears at Michigan State University, I bought my second sport bike - a 1987-90 Honda 600 Hurricane.  It was a track bike that had some of the street parts left, but enough to be legal.  I got in less trouble with her (oops…in mean ‘it’), but more importantly got my first track experience.

As every college student does, I decided to load up my credit card as a graduation gift to myself.  My debt accumulation came via AMA/CCS & WERA amateur racing during my senior year of college.  Funny thing was that they gridded the races by those who took it serious first, then the rest based on first come, first serve.  As a college kid commuting to the track on the morning of the races, I was always late (~1.5 hours away).

Anyway, I did alright that year with my best finish coming in at eleventh place being gridded number fifty-two.  What was more important was that I learned that I sport bike - any bike for that matter - can do much more than just straight line throttle whacking.  I also picked up some valuable skills for street riding such as braking capability.

Over the next several years, I went through the popular process of turning several sport bikes.  One can never be satisfied with one bike forever in that variety is the spice of life.  I also was introduced to Deal’s Gap and the greater Smoky MT area.  Each bike I had went to a couple of track days and a few Deal’s Gap trips.  It is the combination of the two that honed my riding skills - good, bad, or indifferent.

Luck was on my side when I took my R1 to the track.  I loved the bike, but we just didn’t click.  I had it to the track in Grattan, MI twice and managed to crash twice.  The first crash was a low speed high side in the ‘bowl’ and I sustained a broken collar bone and a nasty concussion.

My wife, who is very cool with my motorcycle habit, took it in stride and helped me during the healing process.  We were newly married with no kids and it was just ‘part of it’.  It was my first crash on any sort of pavement and I assured her it was a fluke.

The next time I went to the track was for a weekend event.  This occurred exactly one week before we were moving from the Detroilet area to Arizona.  I put the first day in the books and life was good.  After luch on the second day, I had a high-speed low side in which the results were opposite of my first crash - I was alright and the bike was destroyed.

One week later we left for that 30+ hour drive to Arizona.  That’s a lot of conversation and yes, the track day thing came up.  I was pretty bummed still because my R1 was also my cherished street bike an now it was gone.  I had done many things to it to make the bike unique and ‘mine’.

To make a long story only a little longer, I sold my soul to the devil for the easy way out.  I could have (probably should have) dug in and argued that track days were still going to be a part of my future…after of course I got a new bike, built it that way I wanted it (time & $$$), and found a place to ride.  I thought I was right at the time.  Nope.

Over the course of the next four years, riding in the AZ mountains and the various road trips sufficed.  But in our current house, garage space is at a premium and I have two kids now.  This also includes a broken ankle from the dirt bike that required a plate and screws when my first daughter was only ten days old.  I also recently sold the sport bike for a sport-tourer to expand my options to ride, especially commuting.

In summary:

• My last two track day outings (albeit in 2001) resulted in crashes + injuries.
• I committed to be done with riding track days.
• I broke my foot and was down for a little while when my first daughter was ten days old.

It was looking to be an uphill battle to get back to the track given the above, and true history.

Stay tuned…

• I had an absolute ball.
• The SV650 is a great bike.
• I didn’t crash.
• It took a while to get back in the groove.
• I still made a few mistakes.
• I took some Advil when I got home.
• Its not that late but I’m still going to bed.
• I’m beat.
• I’m old.
• I’m sore.
• I had the best time in many months!

I’ll elaborate more over the next few days, but its sleepy time right now.

Step 2 - Register for a track day.

This is where I am.  I registered for a track day on February 17th at Firebird West.  My original intention was for Feb 18th at Firebird Main, but the organizer recommended the prior day due to it being a shorter handling course and my bike being an SV650.

Stealing a pic from a previous article by gothicbeaST, this is the course layout:

I am registered through aztracktime.com and they seem to have a pretty good system.  They try to keep the rider amount per shift at 1 rider per 0.1 miles.  I think the above track will host 12 riders per session.  That will seem to keep the traffic reasonable.

I used to do track days prior to 2002 back in Michigan, but at Grattan (a 2.2 mile track), thye would have 40+  riders per session.  That was a little nutty.

Now I’m off to step 3 this weekend.  While I bought the bike some time ago and took possessions of it in December ‘06, I have been storing it at a buddy’s house due to lack of space.  For me, step three is to actually take possession of the bike and give it a shakedown before it gets too late.

This machine is pretty much ready to go short of a battery (possibly) and some rubber (can likely get another couple days out of current skins).  Other than that, it simple maintenance and keeping the rubber side down! 

1. November 4th at Firebird West, Phoenix, AZ: TrackTime AZ (My Personally Favorite)

• Nice 1.1 mile track, very tight and a good learning track. I am still learning this track

• Advantage: Close to AB’s home.

• Disadvantage: Not the Uber Hot 3+ Mile super track.

• Note: You can also ride on the AZTrackDay hosted events at the same track.

2. November 25th/26th at California Speedway, Ontario, CA: Hosted by Fastrack Riders (I have never been to one of there events)