Thunderhill Bridgestone R10 soft tire testing
It was a great day for tire testing with nice ambient and track temps in the mid to high 60′s. The tire was new to me and therefore needed to be evaluated carefully so over the course of three sessions we crept up on the performance envelope of the tire. The biggest revelation for me – transitions. Wow!
Getting ready for the event at Button Willow with Let’s Ride 3/25
Lots of prep with getting the trailer sorted out, coaching bike prepped and ready, pick up race bike for more testing with the GP Suspension 25mm fork kits and numerous other tasks before getting on the road tomorrow.
Busy week at the Leo Vince Performance center, Richmond CA
Panigale, ZX10, VFR 800, MV Augusta F4….. Yikes. Keeping Manny busy in the Performance Center and on the dyno for sure. Leo Vince is looking at holding another dyno night at their location, so look for some details in the next month or so. In addition as they have partnered with AFM for 2013, there will be a joint promo night held at the Performance center. Date TBD.
Losail March 18th, Qatar
With track and ambient temps changing throughout the day with sun, wind and cloud cover, getting the correct hot tire carcass temps can be very difficult indeed. Get it wrong and the tire can be gone in 10 laps, and that’s a lot of $$ down the toilet very quickly!
How do you fix wrecked tires?
Dunlop 195 rear, date code 5011, compound 6757.
2012 BMW S1000RR
NOTE:
The massive tire tearing issues at Losail were consistent with almost all riders irrespective of pace or make of bike. The first thing to fix is carcass temps, so we started with 1.5bar, then as the track and day warmed up depending on ability moved to 1.6, 1.65 and 1.7 bar hot off the track to manage tire carcass temps correctly. Front all wore perfectly at 2.3 bar off the warmers.
Bar to psi = x 14.7
Test Case: Abdulrahman
First issue to deal with was hydraulics. In this case the shock was a TTX (8.5kg) with settings of preload 8 turns in from soft, rebound and compression at 21 clicks out. I changed the hydraulic settings to 16/16 respectively and that helped clean the tire up a lot. Why? The bike was originally being held up by the spring with no valving assist so with 195bhp on tap, it crushed the spring and then hammered the outside 1/3rd of the tire. Rear pressure was also bumped to 1.6 bar.
With knowing this was the right direction to go preload was softened to 6.75 turns in to allow the spring and valving to work together to de-stress the edge of the tire. Carcass temps maintained a reasonable range, but rebound seemed a little slow so it was backed off to 17 clicks out. Heat was also being gained by the track so rear pressure was bumped to 1.65bar off the warmers.
The final picture you saw was after 40 laps. At Losail, 50 laps and the tire has to be turned around to get the rest of the day out of it. At the end of the day Abdulrachman have over 60 laps on the tire and was going to flip it for the next day.
In using this process, bikes belonging to Khalid (set a new personal best), Mohammed (got 72 laps out of the rear), Bater and Hammid had absolutely perfect tire wear by the end of the day and now have the ability to use 1 rear tire instead of 2 or 3 each day. That’s an enormous saving in Qatar. The other bonus? Riders trusted their bikes, let go of them and focused on skilled execution which reduced lap times and more importantly made those lap times very easy to acquire through being very comfortable with and on the bike.
Doha, Qatar: March15th and 17th
Riding under the lights is a mind bending experience for most riders, fun for some and terrifying for others. The reason? Shadows and lots of them, and they move as you ride by them. That can distract you enough to make you think there’s someone there when there isn’t. I posted a piece on this under the suspension school page, so go and enjoy the article.
A full track day on the 15th will create a nightmare for many riders due to differential temps changes of 20C or more with the track. It will torture tires and create massive gains or losses in confidence not to mention variable levels of grip as the track heats up. Therefore tire carcass temperature and management is the #1 factor at this track give speed of over 300kmph.
AFM Round 1: March 1st at Button (bumpy) Willow:
With the race bike being ready at the closing bell for departure to the track, all was in place. Unfortuntately, I contracted what was later diagnosed as walking pneumonia and a staff infection. At the time, I couldn’t ride my street bike to the store for groceries on Thursday, so I decided not to ride until Sunday morning and simply work and rest as best I could to give my body enough time to recover.
Sunday mornings warm up went without incident so I decided to ride and see what i could do in between coughing fits and dry heaves in my helmet. I took the lead from the 1st corner from the start and held it for half a lap. Dr. John Forman was having the best weekend of riding I’d ever seen and he passed me into lost hills and I passed him back immediately. The good Dr. stuck to me for the entire race, but I never once gave back the lead and ended with the win in 450 Superbike.
For 2013 I decided to enter Forumla 4 as the only way to get quicker is to ride with faster riders. I had already settled for points in this race, but wanted to finish as best I could. From a starting place of 11th I ended up 9th and that puts me on the 3rd row for race 2 at Sears. That was all I wanted to achieve from the BW weekend – get points, keep the bike in one piece and take it to Sears.
NZ SUMMARY
What an amazing experience to come to a country and find so much help is needed – but not only that, people are immediately ready to take on board the advice and make substantial improvements to their bike both ergonomically and in servicing brakes and suspension.
I am very honored to have had this opportunity and really look forward to traveling back to NZ with a much more in depth program of lectures and classes as well as track side support for all those that are interested.
Palmerston North 2/6/13
I was loaned a 2012 675R by Adam at Anza Triumph for the 400+km ride today with Sam, Alistair and John. We rode the planned route to Apiti, then Rangiwahai, Taihape, Whanganui, Hunterville and home. Along the way I worked the suspension and chassis of Adam’s bike in order to give him something back that was vastly different to his starting point. Great ride, spectacular scenery and roads and a little history along the way at vista points where the view exceed 100km to the distance!
MCR Motorcycles 1/31
I’ve never been to Dunedin before so this was a great opportunity to visit the South Island. The sights from Palmerston North to Christchurch then onto Dunedin were spectacular to say the least! A great seminar focused on a balance of road and dirt took place over 90 minutes with a long Q&A session and then six bikes were set up after the event. Everyone learned “heaps”, laughed a lot and really enjoyed the evening, especially the owner Rick Jamieson:
“Thank you so much for the fantastic evening! We can talk to customers to the point where they think we are only trying to sell more product, but your seminar backed up what we tell them and went further causing them to think about a more structured maintenance which is ultimately good for the customer and the dealership in parts and service. You have provided credibility to the dealership by backing up our beliefs in doing the best we can for our customers.
MCR would strongly recommend everyone does a Dave Moss seminar, it will save a life and strengthen your business and our community in general.
Thanks again Dave and we look forward to having you back in Dunedin in the near future!”
AFC motorcycles 1/29
Being in a rural area, AFC’s core business is with dirt bikes and farm quads etc. Strangely enough the core audience were road riders with only 2 dirt riders present. Using both dirt and street bikes, a 90 minute seminar and 40 minute Q&A session made for a really productive evening!
New Zealand trip:
Currently in Palmerston North with Sam Neilson getting ready for the AFC Motorcycles event today 1/29 starting at 6pm. Excited about the first seminar to launch the trip and get everyone excited about how their bikes can be improved considerably and thereby safer and better handling. Will post pics and feed back in 24 hours.!
2012 AFM Roadracing Banquet
What a great evening. Almost 400 attendees came to share in the season that was and riders picked up both AFM trophies an plaque awards from Thunderhill Raceway Park who ran a mini series concurrently with AFM.
I picked up the AFM’s 2012 450 Superbike Trophy for back to back titles and Thunderhills 450 Superbike plaque as well.
A huge thanks to everyone that supported me last year and in 2013 we are going for 3 straight!
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Sponsor |
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| BRIDGESTONE | Viets Performance | |
| VIETS PERFORMANCE | Jeff Viets | |
| G-FORCE | Mike Norman | |
| CATALYST REACTION SUSPENSION | Jim & Nickie Williams | |
| KINELOGIX | Kamal Amer | |
| LEO VINCE USA | Tim Calhoun | |
| GP FRAME AND WHEEL | Gerry Piazza | |
| MOTOGLOSS | Robert Brittain | |
| MOTION PRO | Chris Van Andel | |
| MCE ENGINEERING | Kevin Murray | |
| TECH SPEC | Dean Davis | |
| DREAMWEAVER PRINTING | Tracey Campbell | |
| GALFER | Sandro | |
| KEIGWINS AT THE TRACK | Lance & Linda | |
| FERODO / Brake Tech | ||
| POWER STANDS | ||
| PILOT LEATHERS | Josh | |
| INSURRECTION RACING | Wade & Carrie | |
| FOR THE TRACK | Paolo Carrere | |
| OLD SCHOOL CARBS | Jack Wagner | |
| GARY RATHER PHOTOGRAPHY | Gary Rather | |
| GOT BLUE MILK PHOTOGRAPHY | Dito Milian | |
| RACE GRAPHICS.COM | Zip Showket | |
| DELTA DESIGN SERVICES | Zip Showket | |
| SIK INDUSTRIES | ||
| MIKE LOHMEYER | ||
| DAVE WALLIS | ||
| MARK ELROD | ||
New Zealand Trip Jan/Feb 2013
I’ll be guided around by Sam Neilson on both Islands from Jan 28th to April 18th. The agenda is coming together for seminars, lectures, shop training for mechanics and track day/race tuning. All the momentum from Australia is being carried into this trip, so it should be an even better one for all those that want to learn.
Australia Trip
Thanks to Steve Millar and Jim Murphy who between them put the trip together. Big thanks to Justin and Kathy at Steel Horse in Brisbane and Peter and Donna Hoeymaker in Adelaide for the shop space and seminar opportunities. Thanks to Peter Green for the loan of the 07 R1 for testing and tuning on the new Bridgestone V01 tires. I appreciate everyone that showed up over the course of the tour during December. It was a pleasure to meet you all and thank you so much for your hospitality! I can’t wait to head back for 8 week next year in November and December and this time visit several cities!
Precision Track days at Thunderhill 11/12
The last Precision event of the year, so come and join them at Thunderhill. It will be a great time with a wonderful group of riders! For more info go to
http://precisiontrackdays.com/Event-Schedule.php
Sacramento Cycle Gear Sunday 11/11 from 10am to 2pm
Yes, the monthly trip to Sacramento is on. Make sure to note the date and time and I will be driving out at 2pm so please try to be early. $40 per bike 
Looking forward to helping all riders!
BMW HP4 notes already on the website
Go to product testing/bikes tested/BMW HP4 – there’s a lot of very interesting concise notes on the bike for those interested and those really serious about buying one.
Track Tactics Weekend at Nola Motorsports Park, New Orelans 11/3-4
This will be the last Track Tactics event at Nola for the year and with 75-80F temps forecast, it should be a great one. Seems like there’s a great sign up rate for all groups which makes me happy -that will mean a lot of work over the 2 days. In addition, we will do at least one “Ask Dave” night with TTRNO at their speed shop at Nola close to the track entry. No doubt Max will broadcast again from that location to their UStream channel.
Carrozzeria shoot Thunderhill 10/27-28
We have a set of wheels to fit to the 09 R1 and do a complete shoot for. This will include tech tips, installation, key points not to be forgotten, and on track experience with lighter wheels and what that means for chassis and suspension changes to get the R1 to accept the new wheels!
It is going to be a very long weekend indeed of filming with the Panasonic camera acquired from Neil Russell, but we will get it done. The finished product should be ready by November 15th to launch via FaceBook and Carrozzeria’s website.
Laguna Seca 10/23-24 with Keigwins
A wet morning turned dry before noon with riders enjoying afternoon sunshine and a dry track for the first day. As usual, the siren song of the run off areas lured in many unwary souls too, many of whom managed to get back out on the track. Day 2 was better weather and sun all day long so everyone had a tremendous second day.
I had a great time coaching Klaus on the second day and it was a really nice surprise to see Bob, John and Ben with others from the Pro Italia crew riding around and giving the MV Augusta F3 some exercise
When does the post season start?
How about today? Sooner is of course much better than February, but better still get started this month.
I’ve always been a fan of slowly pulling the bike apart, making notes if needed as progress is made. Why? If you inspect each piece carefully you have plenty of time to find replacement parts or fix ones you cannot replace.
Pulling the engine on your own can be a real challenge, so get help if you can and record all the bolt sequences and inspect all the engine mounts for threads that may need a little love, especially where there are spacers of different sizes (or no spacers) involved as with this bike.
When you are down to the last parts of the chassis, start the head bearing and swing arm pivot/shock linkage now before you put the frame away for a few weeks. It’s amazing how tedious that can be later on when the engine is back in etc. Yep, it is all in the details!!
Keigwins final weekend at Thunderhill October 13/14
It is going to be in the 80′s and we are really lucky to have such great weather this time of year! That’s followed by Monday at Sears Point/Sonoma Raceway and some wonderful temps again to complete and idyllic 3 days at the track. What a way to welcome in the Fall season.
October 8th, final Let’s Ride track day at Button Willow
No sooner than the last AFM race event was over, so to was the season for Let’s Ride customers and staff. I’d like to say thank you to Stacy and all the staff for a great year and than you to staff and customers that sought out information, advice and suspension tuning work. Don’t worry – it will be February before you know it. Besides, give the road bike a rest and get the dirt bikes out
Final standings:
With a hard fought win in 450 Superbike, I retained my title as champion for back to back titles. This year was extremely difficult as the competition really brought their game up at every race and with no practice at any of the race events, I had no choice but to exceed my previous best lap times and be clinically ruthless to ensure the highest possible finish in every race. For 250 Superbike, I finished 4th for the season, and next year I will do a lot better than that!
AFM’s last race of the year at Thunderhill 10/6-7
Sad times indeed – the last race of the year. The last “hurrah” as they say with the worker appreciation event on Saturday. I know I am very grateful to all the volunteers that make race weekends happen at tracks around the world! Without you there wouldn’t be any races at the club level, so thank you all very much for allowing us to race.
Keigwins at Thunderhill 9/29 – 10/1
What a great 3 day marathon at Thunderhill even though temps were over 100 most days. Everyone had a blast. It was wonderful to coach each day with riders every afternoon and have all riders make big improvements with decreased lap times.
Thanks to everyone that came under the canopy and sought suspension services as well. I’m fortunate to have so many riders seek help and trust me with their bikes,
OnTheThrottle Project GSXR lives!
Many of you will remember all the show we did on this bike, bringing it back to life from a beaten and abused stunt bike with a blown head gasket. The bike was taken to Thunmderhill Raceway Park to get it’s shakedown and a full work out.
See the dial in and listen to the progress made throughout the morning!
http://feelthetrack.com/?page_id=881
Ari Henning, Motorcyclist Magazine:
I’ve been helping Ari Henning from Motorcyclist Magazine a lot with his project CBR250. We made some massive strides with the handling issues at Sears Point at the last AFM round. See how much progress was made!
Galfer 1375 pad long term test report:
The latest report is here along with the video link at the bottom of the section to ride along with me on the track:- http://feelthetrack.com/?page_id=707
Precision Track Day, Reno Fernley 9/15-16
A gorgeous weekend up in the high desert at RFR with a great group of staff and riders for a truly wonderful weekend with temps in the 80′s and a slight breeze. Add coaching on both afternoons and it was a busy weekend with lots of riders getting personal bests.
Nitron visit, Witney Oxfordshire
The Cotswolds is a great paret of the English countryside so driving through such wonderful vistas created a very relaxed atmosphere. Nitron is located in a small industrial estate but once inside the building, there’s a lot to see. I really enjoyed meeting all the staff at the facility and seeing their R&D work for both cars and bikes. It was also quite enlighteneing to see how much reach their products had around the world making them a truly global company with facilities on multiple continents. I’m looking forward to going back there this winter and creating some videos with the possibility of a live show.
K-Tech visit, Moira in Derbyshire
Thanks to Chris Taylor for generously allotting quite some time to give me the tour of the facility and show me how everything comes together ala “How it’s made” via the engineering richness around Derbyshire with almost all products machined within a 30 mile radius of their facility. The incredible attention to detail, testing and inventory tracking is a huge part of how K-Tech produces such a top class product that has seen enormous success worldwide (that includes winning 3 of the 4 races at BSB this weekend at Donington with K-Tech products!).
You won’t find an easier to install 20mm kit on the market!
I had no idea how much off road work they do with fork and shock springs, excellent quality fork seals and bushings and valving kits for forks and shocks. Add to that the huge inventory of fork legs they have on hand from the 90′s forward that are damn near impossible to get and you’ll understand why I found a little resource goldmine that I want to draw your attention to right away. If you have questions, email the K-Tech team at:
Kinelogix Data Testing, Thunderhill 9/3
Kamal had spent Saturday at Sears Point putting a lot of data acquisition equipment on the bike in preparation for this test day. The purpose? Create data traces with the suspension using my race set up at a 90% pace and then change suspension settings one at a time to create a data trace showing poor suspension action.
Data sources: – throttle position, brake pressure, fork and shock travel, GPS, gyro for lean
Race settings:
Fork         Line 5 Preload, 12 clicks out on rebound
Shock        Compression at # 5, Rebound 21 of 27 clicks
The order in which we made the runs for sampling!
BASE RUN:- race settings of preload and rebound in the forks and preload, rebound and compression in the Penske shock
1. Fork preload minimum, rebound okay
2. Fork preload maximum, rebound okay
3. Fork preload okay, rebound minimum
4. Fork preload okay, fork rebound maximum
PENSKE SHOCK
1. Shock compression maximum, shock rebound okay
2. Shock compression # 1 (least) shock rebound okay
3. Shock compression okay, shock rebound minimum
4. Shock compression okay, shock rebound maximum
The full report can be seen at: http://www.facebook.com/messages/#!/davemosstuning
AFM Sears Point 9/1-2
The penultimate race weekend with a lot at stake. A win in 450 Superbike would give me a profound points advantage as class leader so getting through that race was critical. I wasn’t worried about the CBR250RR due to the coolant boiling over and not knowing if the bike would make it through the race.
I woke up Sunday morning in a cold sweat and could not get back to sleep. After checking the bikes through completely I wet to organize my gear bag and realized that it was in my other trailer 3 hours away. Some quick thinking and the loan of a car at 6.15am gave me the ability to grab some loaner gear and get back in time to be ready to make morning practice.
The CBR250RR lasted 5 of the 8 laps before the boil over started so I coasted the bike into a lonely 4th position which was frustrating. We checked the oil and there was no coolant in it, and I bought a new radiator cap just in case that was the source of the problem. I’m hoping that the head gasket isn’t going out so we will dyno the bike in a week to duplicate the problem and see if we can find the fault.
The VFR428 ran great all race after a very poor start for me leaving the line in 4th. After 2 laps I got into a pace and started to make passes to get myself behind the leader with 2 laps left. I was willing to make some interesting passes in traffic to contest for the win, but logic prevailed as the leader was on the GSXR 600/450 that doesn’t score points, effectively giving me the win on points – and that was the goal. I wasn’t happy about being beaten, but the Championship is much more important. The good part was that I set my person best time of a 1:49.0 wearing borrowed gear with numb hands from gloves that were too tight and claiming skin off my fingers while riding. That would have qualified me for an AMA grid position in Supersport 600, perhaps even fr Daytona Sportbike.
Wow, a month has passed and I haven’t posted to the blog?
What a crazy month and it’s almost over. Melting shoes on 150F tramac, good times at Reno Fernely with Precision Track Days and attendees during the Hot August nights festival, track days with Keigwins including their last Novice School of the year a stunning open track day with Eric Frech at Thunderhill. Not to mention exploding trailer tires and the trailer fender sailing over the freeway (no-one got hurt), electrical gremlins with the GPS antenna on the R1 and prep today to have the race bikes ready for next weekend’s AFM race at Sears. Yikes – what a month…..
It is back to school for most this week, so I’m testing all you student suspension tuners via FaceBook with a week of questions to answer Monday to Friday with answers posted daily. Join in the fun at my fan page:- davemosstuning!
AFM Race weekendAugust 4-5, 2012
What a great race day at Thunderhill with AFM – a mix of drama and strife but in the end, the never give up disposition comes through!
Everyone saw the posts on the transmission problems on the dyno and the quick turn around to get the bike back together, dyno, rejetted and in the race trailer.
At the track with the new Leo Vince muffler on Sunday morning (I don’t practice on my race bike) didn’t feel right. I took the bike to Kevin Murray at MCE Engineering for some dyno pulls to check out the pipe (dyno chart posted earlier). Getting an extra 3bhp with the LV pipe that is 20mm shorter was a huge bonus, but electrical gremlins were breaking up the top of the graph. The Thunderhill Raceway Park staff immediately helped out with a load tester to prove my battery was deceased. Up steps Mark that corner works with AFM to loan me his YTZ10S CBR600RR battery from his CBR600RR just in time, giving me 20 minutes to rebuild the VFR and get it on the track. Right off the start line I could feel the difference and settled into feeling the bike out on the first lap, waiting until I had the opportunity to pass Mike Lohmeyer for the lead in Turn 11. Each lap I felt a little more confident with the bike until I was okay with pushing the front when it bottomed and spinning the rear tire as I had chosen a YCY hard rear but not got the hot pressure quite right. By the end of the race I had the front straight as a margin for victory, but missed my goal time by 00.06. Hmmmm…….
After the great race on the VFR it was the CBR250RR’s turn to hit the track. I can’t launch this bike to save my life but today was a blue sky day. Off the start I battled really hard bar to bar with Brian Barlow of Feel Like a Pro fame for 3 laps and eventually through some of the best riding I’ve done this year, eeked out a gap to sustain my first podium in 250 Superbike in 3rd place this year. Brian is a tremendous rider and to be able to beat him is indeed an honor. Add to that my temp gauge fell out of the dash and the coolant bottle overflow tube got loose spraying the windshield in coolant starting the last lap making me very concerned whether I would complete the last lap.
Thank you to:
AFM staff and corner workers
Mike Norman of GForce
Leo Vince USA
Jeff Viets of Viets Performance
Bridgestone
Galfer
Powerstands
Ferodo
GForce engine shop 8/1
When it rains it pours as the saying goes, but then you want that to happen at the right time! As luck would have it the gear box let go on the dyno this week on the VFR 400 race bike, so I have 2 motors apart and transmission swaps in progress. I feel very fortunate that it happened here and not on the track or at the race weekend. Should be finished by tonight ready to load up for the AFM race at Thunderhill.
Track Tactics at Barber Motorsports Park AL
When you arrive at this facility, you are always impressed but more importantly to me, I feel home with all the greenery. We can all do without the humidity of course, but nonetheless it is a little special coming to such an amazing facility. We were toasted with hot temps and humidity on Saturday and given a little reprieve on Sunday. Those that came to the event had a great time with no afternoon monsoons at all and we were all thankful for that. Thanks to everyone that I worked with to systematically improve their bikes throughout the day with great results overall.
Viets Performance BT003 Pro blowout sale: http://viets-performance.com/
Bridgestone BT-003 17″ Full DOT Race Tires (these are NOT the less expensive Racing/Street versions!) TWO T3 Medium compound rear tires - 120/70 ZR17 front, 190/55 ZR17 rear tire sizes only
- Soft or Medium front compound, medium rear
– Date codes 2010 or newer!Â
3-Pack – ONE front TWO rear tires -Â SALE JUST $398 WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! Note that this combination is regularly $713. Use coupon code Moss003 for additional savings.
7/21 Viets Performance BT003 Pro DOT race tires
The revised Type 3 front tire profile complimented with the Type 2 rear including a contiguous medium compound makes for a much better tire from my on track testing. Test report is in the Product testing area and on track video with audio is at Dave’s YouTube channel: catalystreactionsbw
7/12: Leo Vince SBK carbon fiber case guards:
Just spent a coupe of days at their USA headquarters in Richmond CA looking at new product lines they are launching one of which is carbon fiber case guards. The pieces are made over molds so that you bolt them in place using OEM bolts (they might supply some other bolts and washers in instances). There’s a lot of thickness to these pieces for very obvious reasons and that provides a significant amount of protection to the left and right crank case covers most of which are really thin these days due to the weight saving game in sport bikes. The best feature? It takes less than a minute to install each piece – no removal of OEM parts, gasket scraping and surface prep and then parts transfer into the replacement case covers such as stators. Beautiful pieces and a steal of a deal all in all. How do I know that? They are on my R1 product testing bike!
Find the application chart here: http://www.leovinceusa.com/Carbon/SBK.php
Keigwin’s at the Track, Miller Motorsports Park
It is the annual sojourn to Utah July 7th and 8th to ride one of the premier facilities in the Western USA frequented by World Superbike for the last several years as one of their race events.
Lance runs the full configuration renting all 5 miles of track surface so your goal is a 3 minute lap time. Due to the length of the track, Lance also runs two 30 minute sessions rather than three 20 minute sessions to give you time to figure out where you are and learn the track. With two full days at MMP, it is a magnificent experience and a road trip you should make with a few riding friends. It is only 12 hours away, so half a days drive……. Don’t miss out on this event!
AFM Sears Point Round 4:
What a weekend…… After a weeks of work on the VFR428 by Mike Normanat GForce we got the bike ready and built after some final dyno testing and trials with Gunks Carburetor rubber conditioner on different slides (yes it works in as little as 20 minutes). I took the bike to Sears Point for the AFM weekend and went through it completely.
First session for me in lap 2 of the afternoon practice …the engine went off so I parked the bike. It felt like a rod knock. Text to Mike Norman for a loaner engine for the weekend? The owner Mark Elrod ok’d the loan so I pulled my engine Friday night. Saturday morning Michael Lohmeyer and Dave Wallis helped me with the installation of Mark’s engine while I worked on set up for all the AFM racers that needed help. Initially, the bike wouldn’t start and we were scratching our heads. John Lilleland came over and pluigged in the crank sensor that he unplugged Friday afternoon with the engine removal and the bike started. Phew….. First heat cycle and water dripped out of the water pump evacuation hole. 2nd heat cycle – repeat leak. 3rd heat cycle it dried up. Put the bike together and went out in Sunday morning warm up and watched the temp gauge climb so I came back in with the belly pan dripping coolant. Jim Williams found the leak from a loose hose clamp (my fault) and rebuilt the bike in time for the race #3 of the day.
There are times when you need to control emotions in moments like these while still allowing them to simmer. My college rugby coach ingrained in us that “To win you have to be clinically ruthless”. A fine balancing act indeed. I rode my race with purpose, anger and clinical effeiciency to put in a person best lap time and win the race by a considerable margin estimated at 10+ seconds.
The magintude of the win really didn’t set in until much later that evening. Without the help of the above mentioned people, that could not have happened. By the same token, my unrelenting desire to compete and my absolute resolution to never give up was also critical.
Thank you to everyone that send good thoughts to me for the race weekend. I owe you all a great deal for that!
Also thank you to Jeff Viets and Bridgestone for getting me the tires I needed!
Photo By Robert Redford
Keigwin’s 4 day weekend at Thunderhill 6/23 – 26
Perfect weather expected at Thunderhill Raceway Park this weekend in the 80F range. Much better than the frying pan from the previous weekend approaching 110F ambient temps especially with those riders I will be coaching!
Following the weekend track day event will be another sold out Novice School! Should be a blast
Sacramento Cycle Gear Superstore appearance 6/16
The monthly visit is back on to help Sacramento riders with their bike set up. Thanks to Bradee for her help! I will be there 9am until 1pm and then heaed south to Button Willow for the Let’s Ride event.
Erick Frech 6/14 Open Track day at Thunderhill sold out again!
The only open track day in the State with riding between 9-12 and 1-5 sold out again. With 7 hours of riding and the opportunity to ride on the track when you feel like it, there’s nothing better for pure enjoyment or really good test/tune time. See you there!
Nitron Race shock review:
I was very fortunate to be given this shock to test as it is a purpose built race application only shock for my 2009 R1. Normally you would prepare for having to ride flat out to get the valving in the shock to approach its functional threshold where it will work, but this shock did not require a beating like that.
FITMENT:
http://feelthetrack.com/?page_id=611
ON TRACK:
http://feelthetrack.com/?page_id=625
Bridgestone V front tire review posted:
The V front is a tire that I have never ridden before so it took me a little while to get comfortable with it especially in regards to throttle control and application and the timing of roll on. You want to get the throttle on asap to unweight the front but you don’t have to!
http://feelthetrack.com/?page_id=638
Dunlop Tire Test posted for the 2012 USA D211 GP-A
http://feelthetrack.com/
Bridgestone tire test at Thunderhill Raceway Park – new S20 tire
Bridgestone S 20 test on track video with audio is now live for you to enjoy. Please share the video so others can benefit from the information and let me know if you would like more tire tests done this way with the video/audio pus tech write up on chassis and suspension changes.
Note that Viets is offering discounts to those who buy a set using the coupon code “moss” on his web site so there’s an additional benefit to you all
Enjoy and I look forward to some feed back form you – the more comments I get the better I can make the end product you see and/or read!
http://viets-performance.com/
AFM Race 3 at Thunderhill
We had a terrible time with the carburetors this weekend on the 400 to the point hat it would not run at all. Thanks to Scott Thomas’ family for bring up 2 additional sets to go through and Mike Lohmeyer for his assistance. We managed to get something going by mid morning on Sunday and it was rideable but was down on power. The 400 race on Sunday was one for the books, especially the spectators. I flung the bike all over the track to make up for less power and was passed on the front straight again to take 2nd on the last lap just before the checkered flag. A great effort under the circumstances!
The CBR250RR screamed its way around the track in the 250 Superbike race after me starting it as though it was the 400 and being embedded in the 4th row by turn one…… I raced my way back to 4th grinning the entire time. New clutch needed!!
Thanks go to:
AFM corner workers and volunteers
Bridgestone
Ferodo
Power Stands
G Force
Viets Performance
Galfer
Catalyst Reaction
Motion Pro
For the track
GP Frame and Wheel
MotoGloss
Keigwin’s Intermediate School, May 28th at Thunderhill Raceway Park.
It will be an all night drive to get there if the flights from New Orleans are on time, Fingers are crossed for no delays. The school is fast with a real focus on pace at the top of A group. Limited space makes this a very sought after school. Looking forward to 2 days of riding at a very fast pace prior to the AFM weekend in a few days.
Track Tactics Nola New Orleans May 25th:
I am able to return to Nola with Track Tactics for visit #3 this year to the new facility. Every time I go more improvements have been made and the facility is looking great! Should be another glorious weekend along with a Saturday evening “Ask Dave” session in TTRNO’s speed shop garage right next to the track hosted by Max and Zach. Hope to see and meet many new faces there!
Live show is here:Â http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ttrno
Erich Frech Open day May 21st Thunderhill Raceway Park:
What is an open track day? Ride from 9-12 noon and then again from 1-5pm. You can easily hit 250 miles in a day like that and Eric is the only one doing an open track day format in CA. Go – you won’t believe how great it is to relax and ride when you feel like it or ride as long as you need to when testing.
Check out Eric’s web page and dates for 2012: http://www.trackside-signmeup.com/
During the event, I was fortunate to work with the proud new owner of a Ducati Panigale S. Go to the testing program section of the feelthetrack.com website for a full detailed write up of the days tuning work on that bike.
May 19th, RFR with Precision Track days
What a gorgeous day. Low 80′s no wind and a huge crowd for the May event. Very few crashes, lots pf happy and smiling faces and a great student in the afternoon who learned to straighten the track out and relax by turning less….. there’s a concept!
Tomorrow promises to be another gorgeous day with a huge influx of riders into the B and C groups.
Than you to all the staff and attendees that gave me the opportunity to work on their bikes!
Sunday race 3 – 450 Superbike:
I got the hole shot and led the entire race apart from the last lap between 3 corners. The bike handled much better but was still bottoming out with the rebound and compression pistons hitting each other in turn 2 and 6. I offset that by reducing entry speed slightly and getting to neutral throttle faster to take the weight off the front end. I was pipped at the line by Alan and his SV500 by 1/100th of a second. His transponder was forward on the fork, mine was behind. That’s all it took to win the race. I’ll win next time by being a better rider throughout the entire race.
Sunday race 1 – 250 Superbike:
Let’s be brief – through many weird and wonderful lines I went from 26th to 5th over 6 laps. I laughed all the time and got off the bike brimming with confidence and completely relaxed.
AFM RACE 2 Thunderhill Race way 5/11, 12 & 13
With both bikes track (but not race ready) we worked at the test day Friday morning and then I took a couple of sessions on each bike to dial them in. The CBR 250RR with the fresh oil and increased oil height worked much better out of the gate and with a little less rebound worked even better. The chassis set up from Button Willow worked very nicely at Thunderhill and after 2 sessions the bike was parked, ready to be race prepped.
The VFR428 proved to be much less happy. The new shim stack was clearly too much for high speed high g-load corners and was very harsh over sharp bumps effectively deflecting the tire. However with braking – wow!!!! Pile into the lever as much as you like. As momentum is critical, I decided to pop the forks apart and simply change the clamp shim from a 10 to a 9 and leave the stack as I had set it up to help with hard braking.
Two laps in and the difference was immediate with very high speed corners being much smoother. I could feel the forks ping back at neutral throttle and it seems that the .95 rate is too stiff for Thunderhill at practice pace.
I’ve been so busy I forgot to blog…..
So much time has passed, track days blend and races roll in to the sequence. I rushed back from PA with delayed flights to arrive late in the Bay Area. A long drive got me to the track for the Keigwins sold out track event at Thunderhill raceway park. A great 2 days helping riders get their bikes set up and stopping tires tearing as the summer heat builds.
I stayed at Thunderhill for the following two days to get both race bikes ready for the AFM weekend and spent 7 hours on MotoMorphics CBR250RR alone! BY Friday morning, both bikes ran perfectly, but there was still a lot of work to do to make them race ready.
What a great time at Beaverun!
It was a privilege to meet so many new riders that gave me the opportunity to work with them over the weekend on a huge selection of bikes and with a very diverse range of skill sets. It isn’t easy letting someone you don’t know work on your bike and make multiple changes in sequence while following instruction each session until the bike works with you while having the changes explained. However, the end result in all cases was a much more relaxed rider letting go of the bike on a fast track over some nasty bumps finishing the day with a lot less arm pump by trusting their bike through understanding and a slight shift of focus.
Next event is Keigwins at Thunderhill on Monday and Tuesday (get there by 3.30am Monday) followed by the 1st (actually 2nd but race 1 rained out) AFM weekend at Thunderhill. Exciting!
Track Tactics at Beaverun Raceway 5/3-4 PA:
Never been there and really looking forward to the event with a group of riders I have never met before! I’m thinking of taking my gear with me to ride as the track looks fast:
You can’t just go to a track – you need to experience it
Speedway Charities day with the 3J’s at Sears Point/Infineo 5/1:
Great weather, good participation and lots of prizes donated by the local business community for this event at the track. Thanks to the 3J’s themselves, Jenah and all the Sears staff for putting the event on and for all those in attendance proving once more how generous the motorcycling community can be in helping others.
http://3jsmotorcycledays.com/
When coacing, it is very important to be close to your student in order to provide good video, appropriate live narration on to the video and visually assess what the rider is doing with their hands and feet for body position, weight transfer etc:
Monday 4/30 at Thunderhill:- morning and afternoon sessions booked!
Should be a perfect day weather wise with Zoom Zoom at Thunderhill. Looking forward to working with two AFM racers (1 morning, 1 afternoon) in preparation for the first race AFM weekend.They’ll have all the critique narrated onto their video footage live on every lap for each session so no details are lost, forgotten or simply missed. See many of you out there!
Riding this weekend?
I had another follow on question regarding pressures, so let’s wrap up the week with this topic with some general rules of thumb:
Street:
- higher pressures for soft carcass tires so they don’t flat spot and don’t collapse under braking and accelerating (F38-40psi, R40-42psi)
- what is your mileage requirement? Want more miles, then run higher pressures to get longevity.
- only concerned with grip? Run lower pressure and lose a lot of overall longevity because of that.
- to get something you need to give something up, so YOU decide what your pressures should be after trying several different pressures
Track:
- start with recommended cold tire pressures
- do not check hot pressures until the end of the second session as you will be riding harder then and generating more heat in the carcass
- set hot pressures as recommended after 4 laps and a fast in lap including moving quickly but safely into the hot pit lane
- check tire heat by hand. If it is cold remove 1psi. If it is blistering hot you may need to add 1psi.
- always give the tires time to warm up. The harder the carcass the more time is needed eg; soft 1 lap, hard 3 laps
Race:
- over inflate the tire by 10psi from what it should be hot
- using tire warmers (and blankets if it is windy to keep the wheel hot) set at 85C in the morning for the first heat up for the recommended amount of time (30 minutes for soft carcass and 45+ minutes for hard carcass tires)
- 80% on the first lap with hard acceleration and braking in a straight line and all in from lap 2 on.
- after 3 laps come in and set hot pressure in session 1
- use temp probe to check carcass temps against hot psi reading. Adjust pressure as needed until carcass temps are correct
- check carcass temps mid day when the track has warmed up to see if an air adjustment is needed.
- set the warmer at 60C for the rest of the day and CLEAN all the debris off your tires before installing the warmers to make sure they are in contact with the tire.
Keigwins Novice School Thunderhill 4/23-24
The first novice school of the year and what an amazing time with great students in great weather at a wonderful facility! A very enthralling classroom session with some astute questions from those that attended. I rode every session except the open track and helped 1 rider per session.
Feel the Track Suspension School, Nola 4/22
Hosted by TTRNO Triumph and Ducati in their Speed Shop facility at Nola, Max organized the school for the track day. How did it work? You get a technical hands on theory session for 15 minutes. You go out with a suspension setting at it’s softest (eg: no preload) and then decide how much of a change you need when you stop each lap based on a specific test in one corner for the session. At the end of the session you ask for the best setting to be installed in the forks then we all debrief on what happened on track and how the changes manifested themselves. We repeat this cycle covering fork preload, compression and rebound, and then riders ride a session building the pace over 6-7 laps to see if the front end supports their riding style. Then we debrief again before riders then starting to problem solve any fork issues they may have. Knowing what you have, seeing it in your hands and understanding the internal engineering really helps you not only understand how it mechanically works but also realize why sometimes you can feel profound changes on some bikes but not on others – and that this lack of feeling is not your insensitive self…..
1199 Panigale Launch at Nola Motorsports Park 4/20:
I’m off to see the new bike (US dealers have been there most of the week) to create a full analysis of it it my own way and construct a significant review of this new revelation from Ducati which hopefully includes riding it. Thanks to Max of TTRNO for putting this together.
While at Nola I will provide suspension support for the Ride Smart track day weekend there and conduct a suspension school on Sunday. Busy, busy busy……. Then arrive late and drive at Thunderhill for the sold out Keigwin’s Novice School.
Keigwins at the Track 4/16
Very cold start to the day and a lot of tire wear problems to fix revolving around geometry and pressure. Once the track warmed up (slightly) and speeds picked up tire wear became less of an issue. As always a great day at Infineon (Sears Point) and I managed to get some time on the R1 to compile more on track video for A, B, C and getting on and off the track. Hope to have that posted soon.
What a great day at Capitol Yamaha today
Thank you to everyone that showed up and thanks to the dealership staff and Mike Summers for putting the event on. Good luck to all the dirt riders competing in the Virginia City event at the end of the month! What a godsend with the weather today
Attention Sacramento! April 14th at Capitol Yamaha
4622 Auburn Boulevard  Sacramento, CA 95841 Phone: (916) 485-9200
I start adjusting suspension at 8am and the schedule runs as follows:
10am dirt bike suspension seminar for 30 minutes, then back under the tent
12 noon for street bikes seminar for 30 minutes, then back under the tent
3pm for track and race bikes seminar for 30 minutes, then back under the tent
6pm close
Brian Lutz on his 09 R1 at his first CCS event:
“Last year I told Dave I wanted to start racing and asked for his help on how to prep my bike. Catalyst Reaction rebuilt my forks while keeping the cost well within budget. Dave provided valuable insight throughout the year on suspension, geometry, settings, tire brands and pressures etc – you name it, he helped with answers.
I just completed my first CCS race weekend: 6 races, one victory (1st) and two 3rd places! Thank you for everything so far!”
Keigwin’s at the Track, Thunderhill 4/3 & 4
The weather cooperated in staying dry but it was really cold Monday morning! Very constructive coaching afternoon with the audio on video going around the track with Sam. He is extremely impressed with the commentary during the follow sessions regarding lines, body position and turning.
Tuesday was a much brighter and warmer day and with no coaching booking in the afternoon I took the VFR out for some break in. The front end was as per last year but the shock was changed substantially with much more valving but a 1200 instead of 1300lb spring based on using all the shock travel. The bike ran very well in the lasts session of the day posting a 2:01 but the shock work was not the right direction to go. Some major revisions are needed there but that’s the price of progress and experimentation to be able to go faster safer with better tire wear!
Thanks to Dito Milian of gotbluemilk.com for the great images!
Cycle Gear Superstore in Sacramento 4/2 10am – 3pm
Thanks to the Cycle Gear staff for getting this sanctioned and to all those that turned out on a truly gorgeous day to have their bikes worked on. Forget the 10am start time – how about 8.45am? Thanks to Kevin Fanady for posting up the pics on Face Book!
Cycle Gear in Santa Rosa 4/1 10am – 3pm
Hoping that the dreaded rain stays away! Loading up and getting everything ready to go. Quick visit to Leo Vince on the way there today.
3/29 Bike Night in Sacramento at Hooters
Loading up the tools, chock and table and will be on location by 4pm. I can set up bikes until 7pm and then need to set up inside ready for the evening event! Look forward to seeing a lot of people there and passing on a great deal of valuable information to help as many riders as I can.
3/28 at GForce:
The CBR250RR is finished and ready to rock. After several days of tuning work with Mike Norman, the bike now has a considerably better fuel curve and torque plus peak power improvements that are substantial. It will see the track in a coupe of weeks.
The VFR 428 is also finished with dyno tuning and that will be broken in with Keigwin’s at The Track at Thunderhill on Monday afternoon. It will be nice to get the bike rolling again and get a feel for it at pace with the new shock set up re valving and spring combination
Busy week ahead:
3/26: PTT coaching
3/29 Sportbike night personal appearance at Hooters in Sacramento with Mike Summers
3/31 Santa Rosa Cycle gear 10am to 3 pm (suspension set ups)
4/1 Sacramento Cycle Gear 10am to 3pm (suspension set ups)
Thanks to Kendall Williams III for his dedication and drive
….. in making the weekend happen at Jennings. Thanks to those riders that came over and had their bikes worked on and experienced the benefits of much improved chassis balance and sag set correctly. Shame about the rain or more rightly, the monsoon/deluge that soaked the track on Saturday.
Jennings GP track event almost here!
I am packing up the tools and getting ready to head out to FL to enjoy a great weekend at the Jennings track. If you ride street or dirt, feel free to roll out there with your bikes to get them set up. There may be a dealership event as well – more to follow on that I hope…….
http://www.jenningsgp.com/events.htm
CBR250RR is breathing now!
After several hours of carb cleaning, jetting changes, dyno runs and fuel air analysis discussions, we are making significant progress. One more dyno run today to verify the jetting (needles are set) and the bike should be ready to rock. I feel very enthusiastic about this bike seeing as 2:10′s at Button Willow were done on a bike that was pouring unburnt fuel out of the tail pipe……….
GForce Dyno work with the CBR250RR 3/17
My initial observation on the track at Button Willow was a very quirky power band. Strong pull at 10k, then again at 14k and flat-ish until sign off at 20k (on the tach). Out of curiosity as the 428 carbs were being professionally cleaned that day, I put the 250 on the dyno for a fuel air run to see why the power delivery was odd and to assess if my intuition re power spread was accurate from the seat of the pants bum dyno. After a brief lesson on colors (blue being rich), the bike was run and after three short runs taken off the dyno. The blue line starts on the left corner of the screen as a solid bar for rich and then changes color as the fuel air mixture leans out and the bar progresses across the screen. The blue line started off and then retreated off the screen……. It was obvious that the engine was not igniting the fuel at all (30bhp on that run) or there was so much fuel being poured into the carbs that it was ejecting raw fuel out of the tail pipe.
The carbs were pulled and examined to see if a main jet had fallen out. No. The needles had 4 washers under them and the main jets were 118 all the way across. The air filter was dirty and the age of the plugs were unknown.
The OEM air filter was replaced with a new one and existing spark plugs (11′s) were replaced with hotter plugs (9′s). The bike was run again with the same general result although the blue line didn’t leave the left of the screen so there was a slight improvement.
The jets were replaced for (2) 110 out the outside and (2) 112 in the middle but the shimmed needles left in place. Another run showed only a slight improvement so the old stock air filter was cannibalized by cutting out the paper element and replacing it with foam that was safety wired into place. The bike was run again with a significant improvement, so we know it is a jetting issue. Mains will be changed to 105/108 and all the shims will be removed from under the needles. Work will continue 3/19 to get the jetting and needles optimized.
AFM race weekend cancelled, but Friday practice day is on!
Thanks to Les at the track and Chris McGuire from CT Racing for working this out. Should be perfect weather all day for those that want to show up. I’ll be there too for suspension help and in the afternoon riding the VFR 428 and the CBR250RR.
Good Morning San Diego! March 14th
I am excited to be here today to meet as many riders as I can to help with bike set up and then interact with everyone for the evening event. All activities will be centered around Giovanni’s at 9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego, CAÂ 92123
Set ups will be in the parking lot by the restaurant and the evening event inside for the presentation and highly popular “Ask Dave” session to close the event.
Thank you to Joel and the Red Hot Riders of San Diego for putting this event on, and make sure you thank them too!
MotoMorphic CBR250RR almost completed
Thanks to Craig Sanders for getting the belly pan made for the Tyga body work on Friday of this week. It will get cleaned up and painted flat black on the race weekend – I have to have something to do at the track in the evenings! I’ve never ridden the bike and with a 14,000 to 19,000 rpm power band it will be a very interesting experience.
GForce VFR ready for the 1st AFM race
It has been a lot of work and a huge thank you to Mike Norman at GForce for his help in the last 2 weeks getting the engine built and dyno tuned. Moto Gloss painted body work arrived last week. Rotors arrive from Galfer at the track. We are ready to compete!
Flight booked for Jennings March 23rd and 24th!
Yes, all Florida riders – get to Jennings on these 2 dates and sign up for the track event. I will be offering suspension services included sag and hydraulics, ergonomics and geometry during the morning and hot pit lane tuning in the afternoon for experts and racers alike!
If you are a street rider, come on out, get your bike set up for $40 and sample the track environment, hospitality and fun that everyone has. Who knows, maybe you can get out there on a 2 up ride?
Red Hot Riders event in San Diego 3/14
Hosted by Joel and the group at:
Giovanni’s Restaurant, 9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego, CA 92123
http://www.redhotriders.com/
Bike set ups running from noon until 5pm. All are welcome, $40 per bike. Evening seminar and “Ask Dave” event for those with questions that must be answered!
Let’s Ride March 12th @ Button Willow!
Should be another wonderful day with Stacey and the crew so sign up and get out there! My coaching spot for the afternoon is booked, so if you want some 1-1 help at $250 from 1-5pm, be sure to ask about future dates!
ZOOM ZOOM March 5th, Thunderhill
More coaching after a long drive from Button Willow to Thunderhill and meeting up with Sam Coates to work with him prior to the first AFM race with his RC8. Vision, turn in point timing and standing the bike up were the three main working points. Well done Sam – great progress with a solid plan for the first race weekend!
March 3rd and 4th: weekend high lights!
A great time coaching AFM racer Scott Thomas on Saturday and Sunday afternoon working on the importance of relaxing and planning/timing counter steering. Well done Scott in starting to let go of the bike!
We had quite ridiculous weather for March at 75 degrees or more??? Saturday was a full day for riders, with Sunday being a little quieter. Thank you to all the riders that came over to have their bikes worked on to truly get the most out of their track day.
Michael Medina:
“This weekend was an absolute blast, and it was imperative for me to be out there getting acclimated to this new bike before the season starts with Bridgestones that are new to me.”
“I very much appreciate the last minute work you did to get me a shock for the weekend. As if that wasn’t enough, Dave was a life saver throughout the weekend. I am really fortunate to be able to work with your team! Thank you so much again.”
KEIGWIN’S AT THE TRACK, BUTTON WILLOW March 3rd & 4th
The excitement is building as we close in on the AFM racing season and Lance and Linda’s first event of the year, so there will be a great crowd out there at the Keigwin’s event. I expect to be very busy both mornings, and I have the Saturday afternoon coaching spot sold already! Sunday afternoon is open as of today Wednesday. The Yamaha R1 is ready for the track and weather should be glorious. Now, if I can get the belly pan done on the CBR and the VFR running by next Friday, we’ll be all set. We will also be running the GSXR 450…. a GSXR what??!!??
PACIFIC TRACK TIME, INFINEON RACEWAY FEB 27TH
Starting at a brisk 28 degrees, the day SLOWLY warmed up. New PTT owner Ken Casey’s first event was a complete sell out with long wait lists. Thanks to Jed Hess and his crew for looking after me and getting some coaching in until unfortunately Jed fell victim to Turn 2 to end his day in the 2pm hour.
CYCLE GEAR SUPERSTORE: Sacramento Feb 25th
What a great turn out, great weather and a lot of happy riders. Thanks to Chris from MotoWheels for organizing and administrating the day.
http://s134.photobucket.com/
Does your group need to have bikes set up and get some education at the same time? Please contact me for available dates and services!
CYCLE GEAR SUPERSTORE: Sacramento Feb 25th
I will be at the Cycle Gear Superstore today from noon to 3pm to help with suspension set ups! If you can make it do so. It will be the best $40 you can spend on your bike!
Let’s Ride Track Days 2/18 & 19: sold out both days, great weather (eventually) and coaching both days from 1pm to 5pm with Alex Sahba on Sunday and Maja Tajima on Monday!
Dave and I after our one on one training at Buttonwillow. The man is a genius! I learned more in 4 sessions than I have in 2 years. Woohoo!
Let’s Ride Motorsports Seminar 2/18 : for a holiday we had a great crowd!
Track Day on Sunday Feb 19th and Monday Feb 20th with Let’s Ride Track Days!
Sign up at: http://www.letsridetrackdays.com/
I will be there helping track day riders with suspension set up and tuning all morning long starting at 7am. If you are not riding at the event and miss the Bakersfield seminar, come out to the track, watch the event and have your bike set up.
At lunch Dave will hold his “Ask Dave” 30 minute session where he will attempt to answer any and all questions you have have on motorcycles (tires, chains, fluids, after market parts and gearing as a few examples).
In the afternoons, Dave will be coaching on track with his 09 Yamaha R1. Alex Sahba has the Sunday spot but Monday is wide open at this time.
Would you like coaching help at the track with Dave? Check out his coaching page and rates.
See you at Button Willow Raceway this weekend!
Coming up Saturday Feb 18th at Let’s Ride Motorsports in Bakersfield, CA.
Dave will putting on a seminar for sport touring bikes from 10am-11am and then making adjustments on customer’s sport touring bikes from 11am-12pm
Dave will then put on a sport bike seminar from 1pm- 2pm with adjustments being made on customer’s bikes starting at 2pm and ending at 3pm
Cost @ $40 per bike and it will e the best $40 you have ever spent on your bike!
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 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11TH AND 12TH AT NOLA MOTORSPORTS RACEWAY, LA
Thanks to everyone involved at Nola, Track Tactics and the crowd that braved the cold to ride at a truly great facility in the making. Thank you to all those riders that allowed to me work on their bikes and had great questions at lunch with the “Ask Dave” session on both days. I look forward to other events here this year and to other events in Texas courtesy of the Texans that made the trip and intend to get me to their local tracks.
In 3 years this facility will a gem!
There are 2 configurations. 2.7 miles for the long configuration and 1.8 miles with the short version. The fast riders were pulling mid to low 1:50′s for the 2.7 mile config.
The hot pit is LONG to get up to speed and blend with traffic. Top speeds hit the 170′s.
The front straight is a mile long, so if you run it bring really small rear sprockets!