skip to main |
skip to sidebar
My first track day was at Willow Springs on a MotoYard day. I chose the New Riders School and both the Streets of Willow and The Road Course. The day started off a little shitty with me losing my bike key and all... but after about an hour of freaking out, someone found it and returned it to me just in time for me to get to the track tech to make sure my bike was sound. After a little orientation with how the road course is situated, we went out and got used to the track. All of the MotoYard guys were amazing and helped me in a lot of ways. Only on the actual track were they a little hard to follow, because they would just pull away everytime I tried to follow. At the end of the day I ran a 1:52(Good enough for a club license) and hit 150mph on the straight. Both of those accomplishments gave me a big shit eatin grin.
Here is me showing my bike to some friends who were in town this past weekend. I have a 2009 Yamaha YZF-R6. Words do not express the passion I have for this bike and how much time I am willing to spend riding it or working on it. The mods started small and modest, but obviously grew and keep growing into something greater. My plans now are to get it as close to being constantly ready for a track day. Modifications so far:
- Akrapovic Shorty Exhaust
- MJS Headers
- PC-V (Tuned by West Coast GP Cycles)
- GYT-R Air Filter
- Vortex Rearsets
- Pirelli Diablo Rosso Tires
- Galfer Brake Pads
- Fren Tubo Carbon Brake Lines
- DID Chain
- Driven Grips
- Puig Windscreen
- C&R Shorty Levers
- Shogun Sliders
- Magical Racing Carbon Rear Hugger
- Greggs Custom Integrated Turn Signals
- Power: 170 bhp
- Torque: 123 Nm of torque
Dry Weight: 413 lb
A slightly more accessible superbike, the 1195cc V-twin RC8 is a razorsharp street legal track monster. With 2010 being KTM's introduction into BSB and the Isle of Mann TT... I'm sure the RC8 will become a more common household name.
- Power: 163 PS bei 9500 U/min
- Torque: 126 Nm bei 7750 U/min
Dry Weight: 155kg
A German custom/made to order superbike. Who can ask for more? For the price of this perfection, you can get any suspension/brake set-up under the sun. And now with the Pons Kalex Moto2 team furthering their R&D... I'm sure future endeavors will be even more mouth watering.
Leon Haslam(91) wins race one and Carlos Checa(7) wins race two. A Suzuki and a privateer Ducati sweeping the opening weekend? This weekend made me so excited about this years WSBK(World Superbike). Leon Camier looked good until he ran it wide in the same corner both races... but I think he will be a top contender this year. Same with Cal Crutchlow, moving up to superbike seems like the right choice. Crutchlow did crash out in race one but persevered over two-time world champion teammate Toseland in race two to take ninth place. MotoGP dropouts James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen didn't have the best weekend. Toseland crashed out in race one but got a hard fought tenth in race two. After crashing out in race one, Vermeulen got an electrifying start to race two, getting up to fourth on the ill equipped Kawasaki before throwing the bike and himself into the tire wall. What impresses me the most though is how two teams that didn't really do much in 2009 kept the factory Ducati's at bay. Haga and Fabrizio had to be surprised at that.
- Power: 197.3 bhp @ 13,800 rpm
- Torque: 85 ft·lbf @ 10,500 rpm
- Dry Weight: 377.0 lb
There's something you have to appreciate about a motorcycle that is created out of pure racing heritage. Something that is purely meant to make you piss yourself and love every minute of it.
