Main Characters:
Alan Fleming	'88 Suzuki GSXR1100J
Joel Frahm	'82 Yamaha XT550RR
Drew Schlussel	'89 Yamaha FJ1200
Todd Blachowiak	'89 Honda RS250

From: [email protected] (Alan Fleming)
Date: Mon, May 12 1997
Subject: DOD Track day report

Things have been pretty quiet lately, so I thought I'd post a quick write up about the DOD Track day we just had in Colorado. Be warned, its really long...

The whole thing got started when some folks were batting around the idea of doing Reg Pridmore's CLASS. Its a fantastic course but is a bit pricey ($250). Once the idea came up, a couple of people (Ed "Gooz" Guzman and Curt Conquest) came up with the idea of just renting a track for the day. Once all the numbers were pushed around, it looked like it would be $100 per person, with a limit of 30 people. We invited three MRA expert roadracers for instruction and hired a certified doctor to be onsite. Curt lined up three photographers, with both cameras and video. Finally, lots of fruit drinks, fruit and water were purchased. When all was said and done, it was $2500.

I got a late start on Saturday (May 10) morning and then had the voltage regulator in my Jeep fry on the way to the track. I arrived late, with every electrical option on the Jeep running (lights, radio, fan, windshield wipers, etc) to keep the wiring harness from popping.

After a quick riders meeting where the rules of the track, track layout and some riding suggestions were discussed, everyone was broken into three groups. "A" group for racers/fast riders; "B" group for experienced street riders; "C" group for beginning/conservative riders.

I had already prepped most of the GSXR (removed turn signals and mirrors, wired everything, removed the fairing lowers). However, I'd brought the bike to a local shop for some tuning suggestions (big mistake!) so I'd left the tag, side stand and lights on. I trailered the bike to the track, so it only took a moment to remove the side stand and tag. I then put duct tape over the head lights and tail light (also disconnected them) and the bike was ready to go. It should be noted that almost *no* bike prep was required. As long as the bike wasn't leaking oil, had all glass taped and reasonable tire pressures, it was okay to bring on the track. No problem with anti-freeze, turn signals, etc. It was my choice to track prep the bike.

I missed the first "A" group session since I getting the tag removed and my leathers on. Instead, I went out with the "C" group for a "no brakes" drill. The idea was to circulate the track without using the brakes. Mountain View (in Mead, Colorado) is a small track at 1.7 miles. It has 9 turns and good elevation changes. (A track map is located at: http://www.mra-racing.org/). It took a few laps to get a feel for the track and get some idea for gearing. I immediately discovered the bike was really slow (the jetting is still *way* off), the front suspension needed adjustment (bottoming in the downhill Turn 7 known as the "Dragon Slide") and my first gear dogs/forks are worn (kept popping out of first when downshifting).

My impression of the track starting at pit out (Turn 3):

Turn 4 is *slow*. Its basically a 90 degree right. There is a bump leading up to the brake markers, so its tricky to get turned while the bike is still unsettled from the bump.

Turn 5 is an uphill, "omega" left hander. You can carry a lot more speed into this than your brain is willing to accept. The uphill turn really scrubs off the speed. There are two asphalt patches, just before the apex so you need to cut your line to go between them.

Turn 6 is another "omega" but a right hander. This is the toughest corner on the track and leads onto a straight so you need to get it right. (All day, I kept screwing it up). You start out by waiting *late* to turn in, then constant radius until you get to some tar sealer lines that indicate when to peel in and head for the apex.

The back straight is just long enough to get into 4th gear, then start down shifting for turn 7, "The Dragon Slide". Turns 5 and 6 are basically hairpins climbing a hill. The straight runs along the crest of this hill. The Dragon Slide is a mild right hander that goes back down the side of the hill. Its a dangerous turn since there isn't much runoff but I never seemed to have a problem with it. I found it could be taken *fast*. Down one gear, the over the lip and down the hill.

Turn 8 is a quick left hander at the bottom of the Slide. You can use some brakes going down the Slide since you're basically up-n-down. I was trying to straight line from the Turn 7 apex to the Turn 8 apex but Curt Conquest was recommending making a wide entrance into 8.

Turn 9 is a *fast* right hander that leads onto the front straight. There is a concrete retaining wall on the left which is distracting but is out of the crash impact zone. However, when you're on the gas and running wide, you're *very* aware of it.

The front straight is shorter than the back straight and has a very fast entrance into Turn 1.

Turn 1 is basically just a little right hand kink. No reason to back off, just stay on the gas all the way through.

If you've exited Turn 1 correctly (staying to the inside, rather than drifting to the outside you've got a great entrance into Turn 2. Turn 2 is a left hand kink but since you've been on the gas, you need to slow down for it. If you've entered correctly (basically late) you've got the hot line for Turn 3. Thus, you have to exit 1 correctly to get the correct line for 3. Got that?

Turn 3 is really fast. Its pretty deceiving, since it goes under a pedestrian bridge. With the exit being blind, your temptation is to slow way down. However, its a pretty open turn so you can carry a lot of speed if you just trust your memory of the curve. Fortunately, there is an asphalt patch that you can use to set your entrance line. This helps a lot.

Put all that together and repeat. The really fast guys do that in a little over a minute. I was about 25 seconds off that. So much for my dreams of being the next Kevin Schwantz.

When "C" pulled back in, my friend Joel Frahm helped me bump the front preload up a notch. There wasn't anything I could do about the jetting or tranny, so I went back out with the "A" group for their "no brakes" drill. Wow, things were moving much faster now. I followed David "Nashville Flash" Braun around with Victor "Dances with Hawks" Johnson behind. These guys move! Watching Flash on his Beemer R-80 was like watching high speed ballet. He's very smooth. During this session, the front end felt much better. That extra preload really helped.

During the next "C" session, I got got out my stopwatch and took some times on my friend Drew Schlussel (FJ1200) and Joel Frahm (XT550 with FZ700 Forks). After they pulled in, everyone got together for another group meeting where Curt, Jim and Dave (the three instructors) gave some advise/feedback. We also took this break as a lunch break.

After break, we went back out in our respective groups. Some people changed groups to better match their pace. I had Jim Brewer follow me for a few laps, then I followed him while he pointed out lines and reference pointers. This helped me immensely! I went from being a total fool in Turn 6 to being a modest idiot. After this session, I felt much better about things. I was learning the track and beginning to get some idea about what to do where.

After this rotation, things changed to just being and open track. People could go out whenever they felt like it. I took a long break since I was beginning to feel sleepy (I had been out late the night before and the sun/riding was beginning to tire me out). I took some more times on Drew and Joel. I also watched while Jim Brewer (TL1000) and Todd Blachowiak (RS250) swapped bikes. Jim then took Dave Tharp's vintage Yamaha TR2B out for a few laps while Todd took Joel's XT out.

I went back out for a few more laps, then pulled in when my right arm started pumping up. I was doing well everywhere except 4, 5 and 6. Particularly in 4 and 5, my braking wasn't very smooth and it was really working my right arm.

While I was in, I worked pit out for awhile, then went out to Turn 7 to corner work. During this stint at Turn 7, Joel got distracted at the entrance and went off track. He got the bike slowed to a near standstill then fell over as his bike bounced over the ruts. Unfortunately, his clutch perch punched a hole in his gas tank and ended his day.

Throughout the day, various people packed up and headed home after getting their fill of track time. This resulted in fewer and fewer people on the track and thus better track time. By the end of the day, it was easy to get clean laps. However, I also had a blast following K100 around. I was much faster in the turns but his K's low end (and my GSXR's hideously crippled power output) kept him ahead on the straights. Since one of the track rules was no passing except on the outside, I was going to have to pass him in one of the kinks. It took about 5 laps for me to get a good enough drive out of turn 9 but I eventually was able to pass going through the Turn 1 kink. This really helped my riding because the slower speeds allowed me to work on lines and the need to pass forced me to get good drives out of Turns 6 and 9.

After I pulled in for the last time, I spent some time talking to Jim, Dave , Curt and Karl (Curt's teammate) about what I was doing wrong. I got some good advise, which I'm looking forward to applying next time I'm at the track. After the track was cleared so Joel could trailer in his wounded XT, the track was re-opened but in the opposite directions. I went back out on the GSXR to try it out. It was *very* distracting without brake markers. After just two laps, I pulled in since I never really felt comfortable. Weird!

Drew took the GSXR out and ran the track in both directions. I then loaded up everything and said my goodbyes. Joel, Drew, Nancy (Drew's SO) and myself all went to Old Chicagos for dinner, beer and bike geeking. On the way back through Boulder, I stopped by an auto parts store and bought a new alternator to replace the one in the Jeep that was misbehaving.

I got home at 7pm, then promptly unpacked and went to sleep.

My highlights for the day were:

Having Todd Blachowiak waste me on the front straight. His little RS250 just disappeared through Turn 3 leaving the faint smell of 2-stroke oil and the buzzing of his expansion chambers in the air.

Watching Jim and Curt wail around the track on their respective racebikes. The things Curt does on his XT just don't seem possible.

The incredible feedback I got from Curt, Jim, Dave and Karl. I wish I'd had the mental facilities to get even more instruction from them.

Finally, if anyone gets the chance to go to an open track day, *do it*. There really isn't a good excuse not to. Its reasonably cheap, a much better place to ride fast than the street and is open to any bike (There were touring bikes (three Beemer K bikes), a DP bike (the Beemer R-90 GS), a cruiser (Honda Magna) two converted dirt bikes (both XTs), some sport bikes and some race bikes). In the south, the SSA (Southeastern Sportbike Association) runs track days at most of the tracks in the area. Additionally, Ed Bargy has track schools as does a fellow in Florida.

--
Think Peace.
- Alan ([email protected])                     http://www.dorje.com/~alanf
KotBBBB (1988 GSXR1100J)  RaceBike (FT500)  DOD# 4210  PGP key available

Photos of me are courtesy of Deena Brewer's RockyRoad Publicity & Sports Photography"

Photos of Joel and Todd are courtesy of Nancy Uccellini"