Ran the '98 VFR at Talladega GP

It went pretty well even though we had a rough start.

First things first. It was great fun and I didn't crash. =D
Mom thought I crashed when she saw another red bike go down, but it wasn't me. She got kind of excited about that. I didn't push hard because I am riding the VFR and I don't want to mess it up.

Mary (girlfriend) and I got a used motor for the CBR 954 on Monday. Drove up past Louisville to get it, got it home and off the trailer by 11pm.

Got up at 3:30am on Tuesday to get to the airport in time for my 6am flight to Florida.

Got back home on Thursday around 5pm. My friend Tom was already there working on getting the new motor in. Mary and my parents are there too.

Tom and I work like mad men getting the motor installed by 5am Friday morning. It runs! So, I get a badly needed shower and tried to sleep.

I sleep an hour and take the CBR 954 for a test run, it runs great but pops out of second gear. All the other gears are fine.

Decide to go with the backup plan, which is take the 1998 VFR to the track. I really didn't want to do this because I really like this bike and don't want to mess it up. The other thing is the VFR needed a new chain and I didn't have one.

I wait for Cycle Gear to open at 10am, get chain. Get almost home and realize I bought the wrong chain. Return chain and go home.

I have never installed a chain before so it took me a bit to figure it out. Gotta press a master link in the new chain. It was pretty easy.

By the time I get all this done and everything loaded it's 4:30 on Friday. We need to stop by Cycle Gear in Huntsville, AL to get a back protector in case I decide to move up from Novice to Intermediate. This takes an additional hour.

We got the hotel and bed about midnight, which is 4 - 5 hours later than I had planned but it's Ok.

Saturday is the first day. The bike feels heavy on the track and it takes some adjustment on my part but she is running good. It rained about 40 minutes. They don't stop for rain and neither did I, I kinda like riding fast in the rain. It's amazing how good today's tires are. I am running Michelin Road 2's and the bike sticks well, not a even a hint of sliding out. =D

Sunday it didn't rain, but was a bit cloudy which was nice. We park and set up under the trees. Dad brought a popup canopy and that was a life saver too.

I am getting a feel for the old girl in the corners and she is running well. I pass some people. One guy I lapped and he is riding a much faster bike. That felt pretty good. My training at California Superbike School was well worth it. Nothing on this track is scary it's just pure fun now.

Here are some pictures.
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Mary was able to borrow enough gear to ride with me during the last session on both days. She loved it!

Here is a Youtube video of our 2up ride the second day. Yep, Mary is on the back! I think she's hooked...
YouTube - Talladega Gran Prix - 2up Session - July 11, 2010

Mary is going to take the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) riders course and get her motorcycle endorsement. We have pretty much decided on the bike and there are plenty to choose from on the used market. It's just a matter of scheduling at this point. I am taking the class too since I have never been and I think it will be fun as well as informative.

Kelly

 

Wow. I wish I could get a girl to enjoy riding like that! Consider me jealous. Jealous of your fifth gen and your GFs affinity for the riding!

:rockon:

 

My heart sank when he came back from the test run to tell me that it pops out of 2nd. I still want to go up to Indiana and bust the knee caps of the a$$hole that sold Kelly the engine under the guise of it being a perfectly running engine. However, Kelly is just too nice of a guy so I guess we will just have to pull it off the bike and split the case and swap transmissions. (After Kelly does a compression check on the new engine to make sure it is all good before we go further)
I am proud of Kelly, he didn't even brag that his girlfriend is pretty. He is not only nice but modest too.
Tom

 

Tom is modest too. He went to WORK the morning after the all-nighter!

Crazy man... crazy! :crazy:



I do appreciate the help brother (even if you are crazy).

 

More pics of Talladega GP.

Mary is taking the MSF course in September. She is chomping at the bit to get her own bike.

All of the images are here: ImageBam - Fast, Free Image Hosting and Photo Sharing




Here are some that I really like:

Entering a decreasing radius.




Me on the Viffer chasing a Green Ninja around the track. I don't remember it it was a ZX6 or a ZX10. (someone help me out here...)




Mary riding 2up with me. Note the front tire. I was still running 30psi on front and rear. Didn't even think about bumping it up for 2up riding. Seemed to work well. I didn't get too crazy with her on the back anyways.