I have been riding sporty motorcycles for 20 years.  Long enough to know that there is always room for improvement.  While the Motorcycle Safety Foundation classes get you an insurance discount and teach you the basics, it does not teach you the physics behind HOW bikes work the way they do.  The only way to truly learn the limits of what you and your bike can do safely is on the track.  On the track where there is no gravel in blind corners, no cars pulling out of parking lots and no cars pulling in to your lane.

My riding buddy Jeff (from FZ1-Forum.com) and I decided we would both do a track day together.  It is good to have a buddy with you in case you have problems and need a tow or other assistance later.  We paid for our track day by doing a corner work day with RideSmart.  A corner worker is basically a safety person that is required to be in certain corners of the track any time there is a track day event.  Corner workers are typically compensated by the track day organization with a free credit towards a track day of your own.  We used our credit to sign up for April 10th, 2011.

Custom Leather Suit & Helmet

Sidi Vertigo Boots

Gear preparation for the event was pretty straight forward.  For me it first meant getting the proper safety gear.  Since I cannot find comfortable leathers off the rack,  I ordered my custom racing suit from Spartan Leathers.  I was able to order to my exact measurements, pick my colors and even add my call sign on the back.  In addition to the suit I also ordered a T-Pro ForceField CE Lvl 2

HJC RPS-10

back protector from Spartan leathers since the one that comes with the suit is very entry level foam pad.   My street riding

boots no longer seemed adequate to I ordered from Motorcycles Unlimited some SiDi Vertigo racing Boots and a new HJC RPS-10 helmet.

Next on the agenda was getting the bike ready for the track.  When you take a bike to the track you are not to leave any glass or plastic lenses exposed for safety reasons.  You must tape or remove everything that may be sharp including your license plate.  If we did not do this and they were to break in a wreck and scatter across the track it could cause major problems for other riders.  Rather than simply take tape up the glass on my mirrors I decided to remove them.  Taking the mirrors off is one less thing to replace if  I were to actually wreck.  The location of the mirrors actually bolts your upper cowl to the sub frame so you have to have something to go there.  I ordered some mirror block off plates from JDA Custom with FZ1 engraved in to them.  My next preparation was to get some tank grips to help me hold on to the bike with my thighs and knees a little better.  I went with TechSpec Snake Skin tank pads.  Finally, I needed to get my suspension setup for the track so back to Motorcycles Unlimited I went.  They set my suspension up just for me at my weight and for the track.

I prepped my bike the night before by taping all lenses, removing fuses and removing my mirrors.  Even loaded it up on my new $250 trailer the night before.

With gear and bike ready we headed out early in the morning on April 10th to attend the RideSmart track day event at Texas World Speedway.  Jeff and I were just about the first ones at the gate and quickly setup camp once inside.

We finally got to meet Pete from FZ1-Forum.com.  He is from Austin, an experienced rider and all around good guy.

FZ1-Forum Boys @ Texas World Speedway

I am no Rossy but I had an absolute blast.

What did I learn at my first track day?  Well, I learned that after 20 years of riding I have not been riding.  I am looking forward to my next track day!

I had started running in October of 2010 for the first time in my life.  Sure I had run.  I ran playing tennis, football and baseball but I never ran just to run.  In high school, when I was in the former best shape of my life, I ran maybe 1 mile for fitness tests.  That was struggle and up until the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011 1 mile was as far as I had ever run.

I started a training program in October 2010 that runs on my iPhone named Couch to 5K (C25K).  It is literally designed to get you from being a couch potato to running a 5K in 9 weeks.  It works.  In the shot period from October to the beginning of January I worked from having never been a runner to running an official 5K.  I had run a few 5Ks as part of my regular runs in the weeks before the El Paso Energy 5K so I was not to worried.  It was an amazing event though.  The EP5K coincides with the Chevron Houston marathon which is a gigantic sporting event.  The energy out there was unbelievable and truly motivates you to push harder than normal.  I was not out there to win anything, just to finish.  My official time for my first ever 5K was 33:53  and I was very happy with that!

I have run a few more 5K’s since this event.  Each subsequently easier and times faster.  I am considering running a 10K next year but that is about then end of my limits.   I still do not enjoy running.  I do it to stay fit.

It has been a while since I have posted but I have been a busy boy.  I managed to complete each of my resolutions early in the year.  I will have separate more detailed posts about each of these items listed below.

1. 5K – I completed my first 5K at the El Paso Energy Corp 5K fun run on Sunday January 30th, 2011.  I have since done 3 other official 5Ks and worked my regular runs up to no less than 5K each timne I run.  I plan to try a 10K next year.
2. 20lbs – I lost about 25 pounds by the time March rolled around.  I will commit to this same weight loss in 2012 but for now I seem to be maintaining well.
3. Track Day – Oh yeah!  This was the highlight of my year.  Amazing!  Simply amazing!  I am no Rossy but I was able to push myself farther on my bike than ever before knowing that the normal hazards of the road have been removed.
4. Twisted Sisters – Jeff and I did the Twisted sisters in West Texas again and had an absolute blast.  This time Carl joined us.  Maybe, if we are lucky, the group will get a bit bigger each year.
5. Motorcycle Trip – This is the one thing I have not yet done this year.  Yes, you could consider the trip to Twisted Sisters a long motorcycle trip.   My idea with this resolution was a grand adventure with just me and my bike going where we have not gone before.  I was planning to make this trip next week on Sept. 29th but I have had a recent knee injury mountain biking so it is postponed.

I have been riding sport motorcycles now for over 20 years and I have never done a single track day.  I have done corner working a few times but never a track day.  A track day is one of those things that is just more fun with good friends.  Until recently, I have not had any good friends that ride motorcycles.  I now have a good friend, Jeff, that I have been riding with over the past year and we both vowed to do a track day this year.

Fortunately, I already had the inside scoop on how we can do this for free.  Well free if you consider your time on a weekend to be free. I do! All of the track day schools require safety personnel to be at each key corner of the track.  A corner worker diligently watches all the activity on the track and immediately reports any problems to the track marshal.  The track Marshal then instructs the corner worker on what warning flags they need to display (to notify other riders of issues) and at what corners to display them.  What do you get in compensation for volunteering to be a corner worker?  You get a free track day credit!  Free!

So Jeff and I have registered to do a corner work day with RideSmart at the track known as MSR Houston.  We plan to use the credit we earn at Texas World Speedway(TWS) on April 10th. We chose the RideSmart event at TWS because the lanes are much wider than most.  This means it will be a little less intimidating for the first time track rider, like us.  Additionally, I have registered for another corner work day with RideSmart on May 7th and with Lone Star Track days on April 1st.  I have yet to decide when I will use these additional credits.

So there are some things I need to do to prepare for my first track day.  On the top of my list is safety gear.  The top of that list is leathers and boots.  You can rent both leathers and boots at the track day.  I have two problems with this.  1.)  It can be expensive  2.) I have an odd body shape and nothing off the rack will fit me right at least in the way of leathers.

For the leathers I decided to order a custom 1 piece leather suit from Spartan Leathers.  Full suit for $699 with exactly the colors and options I want.  Below is an image of what I have ordered.  Where it appears to be Dark Gray it is actually Black.  Where it appears to be light gray is actually a dark “gunmetal” gray.  I had the name I use in most internet forums “Hail” added on the back hump in a slightly whimsical font.

Custom Spartan leather Suit

Second on the safety gear list is race boots.  I had a nice pair of Joe Rocket Super Street Boots but they really are not appropriate for the track.  They do not come up high enough on the calf and the velcro has a tendency to pop open when i ride aggressively.  I decided on SIDI Vertigo boots because they are at the end of their line and can be had for $150 less than most other racing boots.  They also are one of the few boots on the market that have an adjustable calf. An adjustable calf is a must have in a boot to accommodate my Popeye like calves.

SIDI Vertigo

After all of the above is acquired we just need a trailer that is rented, borrowed, stolen or purchased than can handle two motorcycles.   These track days get started at 6:30 am and we do not need to be riding the bikes that early in the morning.

I really look forward to updates on this topic throughout the year!

I am very much looking forward to 2011.   I have plenty of goals for this year and I plan to reach every one of them.

1. 5K – Complete a 5K for the first time in my life running the entire 3.2 miles.  Even in high school when I was in the best shape of my life I never ran more than 1 mile.  …and I only ran that one mile because I had to for a fitness test.
2. 20lbs – I plan to loose another 20 pounds.  I think my ideal weight is around 210. We have already been on a running program named Couch to 5K(C25K) for over three months so it is my hope that the pounds will soon start to drop.
3. Track Day – I have been riding motorcycles for over years and I have never done a track day.  That is just plain wrong.  Currently scheduled to do my first track day with RideSmart on April 10th at Texas World Speedway near College Station.  I have ordered SIDI Vertigo racing boots full leather racing suit in preparation from Spartan Leathers.
4. Twisted Sisters – The Twisted Sisters (or Three Sisters) are some of the best motorcycle riding roads in Texas.  I went for the first time last year with my riding buddy Jeff.   His families lake house at Canyon Lake was an ideal home base for this trip.  Last year we ended up with almost 900 miles in 3 days.  I cannot wait to do this again.
5. Motorcycle Trip – I have one more week of vacation this year than my wife.  I plan to take a solo motorcycle trip somewhere.  Maybe the dragon in the South East.  Maybe through the desert south west.

I have finished all of the mods on Sherry’s bike to aid in fitting her much better.  Here is a quick video summary of what we did.

Here are the first photos of her with her bike.

Current MODs:

• Yoshimura TRC Slip On Exhaust (w/db killer)
• Lars Air box Mod
• BMC Filter
• CopperDawg Sub Throttle Plates
• Graves fender Eliminator Kit
• Graves AIS Block Off Plates
• Watsen Designs LED turn Signals
• Power Commander 5
• CopperDawg Rear Seat Cowl
• Pazzo Levers (Black w/ Titanium)
• Driven D3 Grips
• Zero Gravity SR Dark Smoke Windscreen
• Stainless Steel Brake Lines (6/28/2010)

Wanted:

• Powder Coat Rims, Rider and Passenger pegs Titanium like color

Finally got some work done on the wife’s Motorcycle.  I installed the lowering link which drops the rear by 1″.  This took the better part of a day as it required removing the entire exhaust system and fairings.

CCM 1" Lowering Link

Next up was getting the handle bars higher.  The GT250R comes with clip-on bars which are very low on the forks.  Pretty much a race bike setup.  We want to give her a more upright seating position so we have gone with risers and bar from the Hysosung GT250.  The sock steering head was drilled and tapped to accept the riser bolts.

GT250 Risers and Bar on a GT250R

GT250 Risers and Bar on a GT250R

GT250 Risers and Bar on a GT250R

Next up is determining which cables will need to be replaced now that the bar is so much higher.  I know for a fact that the brake cable will need to be replaced.

My wife has expressed an interest from time to time in motorcycles.  She definitely encourages me to enjoy my passion.  Her interest has always been tentative.  Excitement mixed with fear.  I decided to go ahead and get her a motorcycle and just see where things go from there.

We will take baby steps.  We may even spend this entire season just playing around with her bike in a parking lot.  Over time I hope that she gets more and more comfortable.  Possibly even addicted to the sport/recreation.  If not, well no sweat.  The bike we are getting is incredibly affordable.

Tomorrow I will pick up a 2007 Hyosung GT250R.  Very much a beginner bike despite it’s aggressive styling.  Here is a photo of the one we will pick up.

2007 Hyosung GT250R

The flames are not quite my wife’s style so she will likely end up getting a custom paint job if she turns out to have a passion for this.  Fingers crossed…..

** UPDATE **

We did pick this bike up for a fantastic price.  Here is a photo after the first bath.

Our Hyosung GT250R

I have been looking at after market radiator covers for a while.  Most are flashy chrome which is not my style at all.  Fortune landed at my doorstep over at www.FZ1-Forum.com when a memeber there, JWhelan65, posted up his offering for the Gen2 Yamaha FZ1 at a fantastic price.  I could not pass it up.

He has 4 colors, gold, silver, charcoal and black.  I went with the charcoal color.

Gen II FZ1 Guard Colors

Here is a shot by the Jwelan65 of the cover installed.  I will post one on my FZ1 later.

Gen II FZ1 Guard Installed

You must make some changes to the stock radiator cover to accept the after market cover.  I have seen many photos but no instructional videos on the process so I decided to document the installation myself. Here is that video.