Pssst! Pass it on!

I wrote this piece on antisocial motorcycle riding after finding a particularly compelling Australian public service announcement on YouTube. This could have just as easily been posted here, so I thought I’d share. Please share it with your fellow riders.

We May Be Hibernating, but We're Using Less Oil!

Full disclosure: lugnut is an AMSOIL dealer and SynthLubes™ is his website.

bigpuss and I may have been in hibernation for the past couple of years, but we’re still alive! Between our own familial, educational and professional commitments, we’ve had little time to enjoy the hobby of motorcycling and motorcycle racing.

But we both hope to be back to it in some capacity soon. I have a ton of how-tos I'd like to finish writing. So keep an eye on this space.

In the mean time, you can help support us and something we feel passionately about: reducing the amount of engine oil you use. Don’t be misled by fast lube companies and their suppliers. Switch to AMSOIL. It’s better for your engine. It’s easier on your pocketbook. It’s better for the environment.

The Racing Experience Part 5: Race Three

At the end of our last race, we decided that, although I was not at all fast, the times showed that if I hadn't gone straight to the back of the pack when the green flag dropped, it would have significantly changed the outcome—especially factoring in my last-lap tire issues.

Third Race Goals and Expectations

New tires, new chain, new sprockets! First, and most importantly, we have fresh rubber and four sessions to get it scuffed in. Not only was this great for grip, but great for my confidence level (remember, the goal this first year was to not lay the bike down at all). Next, we dropped a tooth in the front and added one in the back and moved to a 520 chain (the lighter chain reduces weight and lets the engine pull on the wheel instead of using its energy moving the heavy stock chain). The F4i didn't become a wheelie machine, but when you're competing against 2006/2007 600 machines on a 6-year-old bike, it is a giant improvement. Furthermore, on a track like Infineon with no long straightaways, any top-speed concerns were non-existent.

First things first. New Dunlop 208s are slippery—especially when your practice/qualifying group is first on the track after a night of fog and condensation. I spent the first of four sessions slipping around the track at moderate speed to a) do my part in drying out the racing line and b) start to scrub in the tires. Most importantly, I took the opportunity of the predictable track sliding to play with throttle and controlling the slide. Although I would have preferred to be putting in some hot laps, working on slide control at slower speeds was very helpful and increased my comfort level for later. The downside was that with the new gearing, I wasn't sure how much the increased torque would affect my previous habits of just laying on the throttle whenever I felt like it.

By the second session, the track had dried out and I was focusing on the most important things...

By the second session the track was warm and dry and I was back at work trying to look better for the photographer.

During the second session, I had to admit that I just wasn't feeling it. My times weren't that bad (for me as compared to last time anyway), but I expected more considering the changes we made to the bike. I was very disappointed in myself and my performance. By the third session I hadn't improved over my last race times and I had no excuse as to why. The bike launched out of the corners faster than before and the tires had great grip—I should have been going quite a bit faster than last race day. I knew why... my lines weren't tight, I was braking lazily and I certainly didn't have the eye of the tiger that day.

No one else looks this good going this slow—most people have to go much faster!

New Gearing

I would like to blame it on getting used to the new gearing, but to put it short, the bike felt great. I was being far too nervous in adapting to the changes and not taking advantage of them. It was still an almost stock 2001 F4i and it had new tires—it will grip almost no matter what—but the goal of not laying it down just wouldn't let me trust.

I started getting back into it and, although still not going faster than last race, I was passing plenty of people during practice. I was gridded about mid-pack and was looking forward to the race—especially the start. I had been practicing my starts before sessions and felt that I could make a marked improvement over last time.

The Start

Things went much better this time, but I'll the let the videos do the talking. The first video is of my atrocious Race 2 start. The second video (pardon the quality) is of my most recent start.

I didn't lose any spots and I may have even gained one or two!

The Race

Things usually get sorted out by the carousel and you can start picking out the people you know you're going to pass. Unfortunately, there's usually someone to my aft targeting me as well. By the second lap I was literally parked behind a bike that I needed to pass now! Even I was twiddling my thumbs and I'm sure it was letting others catch up to me. Heading out of four I got right up on the rear of the other bike heading into the carousel. I was almost licking the rear wheel deciding whether I should pass inside or outside when the darnedest thing happened—the rider must have grabbed a bit of front brake because the bike just washed out in front of me. I was watching the rider and bike skid towards the outside of the corner with sparks flying and I thought "I guess I'll take the inside." This has happened to me three or four times now, but it has yet to lose its surrealness.

I was passed by a couple bikes over the next two laps, but there were a couple bikes I could consistently hear behind me—but not too close. I wasn't worried about them, I was concerned with eking out a few more seconds so I could take a couple spots back!

Taking the long way around of #809 who met an unfortunate fate later. The 2006 Suzuki of #730 did eventually get me, but I must say that I think I look much better.

Besides improving my start, I could tell that I had gained something else this weekend: consistency. Although I was still hovering around my best time from our last outing, the times I was posting were more consistent lap by lap. It wasn't one flying perfect lap that dropped me down to a new low time—every lap time was more consistent from about the third practice session on. Consistency is much easier to build on and adjustments can be made towards real improvement.

#688 also eventually passed me, but I kept him in sight until the end.

An Early Ending

Besides the rider that washed out in front of me in the carousel, this race was a melee from the get go. Approaching the bus stop a lap or two after the carousel incident, I witnessed one bike taking the other out with quite a bit of force. Both riders were okay, but according to lugnut, mere moments afterwards a more serious incident took place at turn 7 bringing out the red flag. The race was roughly only half done and that was the end of my weekend. I was disappointed as I was really starting to feel good on the bike again and was picking up speed. All in all, I finished 16th out of roughly 30 that started the race, so, I'm still moving up!

This was an early ending for another reason. This race was our last of the season. We wanted to get in four races but, alas, we now face one of the most awful things that can happen to a motorcycle rider—our real jobs getting in the way. So, for now we have to go to work (the thought of which is just excruciating, I know). But we will be back next year and, with some luck and a lotto ticket, ride every race. Really though, we will be back and going for another half season in 2008.

The Moto411.com BigPussy Honda will be back next year, and it will be 7 years old!

We would like to take a minute and thank our "sponsors": Moto411.com, Big Pussy Racing and Bog Bros Serf Shop. Anytime you support one of these brands, you support us and our quest to build this site into an evermore useful source of unbiased information and reporting.

"Sponsors":

The Racing Experience Part 4: Our Second Race

And we're still improving by leaps and bounds! That's the nice thing about starting from the bottom; you have no place to go but up and improvement comes quickly. I will enjoy it while I can, I have a feeling things will get harder from here on out.

Second Race Goals and Expectations

For our second race I set only two formal goals: 1) finish at least fifth from last and 2) look much cooler than I did last time. Lugnut had mentioned during the first race that if someone of my skill level focused a little bit on looking good, it might actually help me go faster. Lugnut did have a historic basis for suggesting this: at a tack day last summer I was "caught" by a track photographer mugging for his camera. I saw he was at the corner and I did my best to lean that bike over more and get on the gas. Vain? Yes. When I was mugging was I going faster? Yes. The photographer came in after the session and mentioned just how transparent my efforts were, but he also remarked that I did indeed take the corner better because of it. So, as a beginner, just pretend there's a photographer in every corner and your bound to shave some seconds off your lap times.

Early in practice I was hard at work trying to look better for the photographer.

I did indeed need to shave seconds off my lap time. If I made the assumption that roughly the same people would be entering the race again this time and that they wouldn't be getting any faster (I know, that is faulty, but bear with me), I needed to shave at least three seconds off best lap time from the previous race. But, if you also assume that everyone else is trying to shave 3 seconds off their lap times, it would make sense that I would need to do better than that.

I Need All The Practice I Can Get

Four sessions, which amounts to roughly 16-20 laps, is all you get on Saturday before the Clubsman races. It's also a pseudo qualifying as your practice times are factored into your starting position. I need much more practice, but my most basic goal for practice was to start off doing times close to where I left off during the last race. The morning was cool and foggy and, being in practice group 1 with the rest of the Clubsman, we went first—with no time to let the fog lift or the track to dry. I was only moderately worried about the slightly damp track and decided to use the session to try some new lines I picked up while watching the AMA races one week before. No such luck. My visor fogged up within seconds of hitting the track and opening the visor only made it worse. We were riding in a cloud and I had not put any sort of treatment on my visor. I pulled into pit lane, coated my visor with saliva (an old SCUBA diving trick) and went back out. Again, it fogged up almost instantly. I didn't get in a single real lap that session, lost out on a full 25% of my practice and pulled into the paddock really pissed off. I wasn't mad at anyone or anything, but I really needed the laps and my first session was a complete loss.

Lugnut had a solution (he always does). His spray bottle with a highly diluted Dawn dish-soap solution did the trick. Spray it on, wipe away the excess and bam, no fog! It seems this Dawn solution does just about anything you need it to (cut grease, stop fog, quench thirst, etc.), but at the moment I was just happy that I would never fall victim to the foggy visor again. It was all a moot point for the rest of the sessions as the sun did eventually break through the fog, but at least we're ready for next time.

The sun came out and all was well.

By the end of the second practice, my lap times were down in the range of the last race, so I felt I was doing okay. I kept working on my lines and my braking for the next two sessions and ended up taking another second or two off my race times from our last race and was gridded on row 5 (versus row 10 like last time).

On a side note, I had the benefit of learning what it feels like to run out of gas on the track. Lugnut is the master of giving me just enough gas for the laps I need to run plus some contingency fuel to account for the warm-up lap, delays, etc. However, if you don't remind him to put gas in the tank, you tend to run out pretty quickly on the following session. I was leaned over in turn 2 when the bike first shut down—it is startling and does disrupt the chassis a touch, but it's really no big deal. Once the bike was straight up and down again, it fired back up. Through the carousel (a long downhill 180° left-hand corner), the bike really tried to die, but keeping it upright seemed to help nurse it along. I nursed it around the track and back into the pits—stuttering evermore as I neared our pop-up. It died just as I put it up on the stand. At least then we knew how many more laps the "contingency fuel" gave us.

The Start

I don't have the oldest bike our there, but I'm definitely in close contention for that title. I'm down about 20 horsepower compared to newer 600s, am heavier (both the bike and rider), I have stock gearing, and, at the time of this race, only had one start under my belt. Yet, there I sat with half the field behind me waiting for the green flag. As the green flag dropped and the field headed up the sweeping left-hander into turn 2, I ended up roughly 10 spots from last. Below is a video of the start which I am ashamed to post, but it must be shown because the shame it invokes will only make me go faster next time. That, and we're going to change the gear ratios a bit. Infineon is a technical track with few straight-aways and, with the F4i's stock gearing, no use for 6th gear. We are going to switch to a 520 chain, drop a tooth up front and add a tooth in the rear. For a track where acceleration off the line and out of corners can make a huge difference, this should help quite a bit.

The Race

I was feeling really good once we all got slotted into place. I had been passing some people during practice, but the race pace is always a bit faster and I had to wait and see if my pace was going to be up to par. I set my sights on a bike in front of me, reeled it in, and passed it. Wow! That feeling is very addictive. I wanted to do it again! So I set my sights on the next bike and started reeling it in, albeit more slowly. As I was reeling in my next target, I was also passed. "Oh well," I thought to myself, "maybe I can use this guy to help tow me up to the next bike." It did help for a lap or two, but then I lost touch with him and was back on my own.

This bike did pass me, but helped tow me along for a lap or two.

I was determined to make that one more pass before the end of the race. The bike or the rider's leathers were red so it was easy to keep targeted and I was making up time, just not fast enough. Also, unbeknownst to me at the time, there were a string of two or three bikes that had been behind me for most of the race. They hadn't been fast enough to get by me, but they were close enough that any mistake would give them the chance they needed.

I certainly wasn't holding them up, but they were ready to pass if the chance arose.

After seven laps, we were given the white flag at the start/finish. I had one more lap to catch "red bike." Unfortunately, I was dealt a new problem as a white bike came flying past me to beat me into turn 1. What? Oh no he didn't! I needed to take that spot back and I was pretty sure that I could get it back coming out of 2 and going into 3a if I just got on the gas early enough. I leaned the bike through the corner, tried to point it to the inside of the white bike and got on the gas hard. This is when the race got extra fun.

But first, a bit of historical perspective. At my third track day I was on a set of Dunlop street 208s that had seen a moderate amount of riding (and obviously a previous weekend of track time). The tires felt fine for most of the day and then, very suddenly from one lap to the next, became greasy. I opened the throttle out of a right hander and the rear slid out, I shut the throttle off, it caught and spit me out of the seat. There was no crash mind you, just some pain between my legs. I thought it might be an anomaly so I collected myself and got ready for the next corner. It happened a second time, although less intensely, so I decided those tires were done and I should call it a day. Now, I really hadn't been paying attention to how much time/how many heat cycles my current track 208s had endured. Now that I think back, it was about three track days and one practice/race day. Before last race though, we hadn't been using tire warmers on those tires. Needless to say, the tires could have been in better shape. Now, back to the race!

As I got on the gas hard (well, as hard as a stock F4i can) in turn 2, I felt a familiar sliding feeling. Not the "oh, the tire will eventually catch" feeling, but the other one, the "oh, my tire feels much different that it did last lap" feeling. So I shut off the throttle. And the tire caught. And the bike shook. And my foot came off my right peg. And the bike cavitated side to side a bit before heading straight again. I was not going to pass the white bike back, but at least my bobble hadn't caused me to loose a spot and I was on the last lap. I was sure however that the lost time probably allowed whoever was behind me to close any gap there might have been. Plus, now there was blood in the water, they had seen and could smell my weakness. The tire slid a bit through the remainder of the right-handers and I kept my fingers crossed through the long high-speed left-hand carousel that the left side of my tire was doing a bit better. It held and, as I was coming to the last corner before the checkered flag—a tight low-speed right-hander—I was passed coming into the corner. Knowing my tire had seen better days, I turned my bike in, tried to get it mostly upright again and pinned the throttle towards the finish line. It was no use, the SV650 had more grunt and I lost yet another spot mere yards before the end of the race. Had I fulfilled my goals? I wouldn't know until the results were posted days later.

Had he done it? Tune in next time...

Yes, yes I had. Exactly fifth from last and more than 4 seconds faster than last time. And I think the pictures are looking a little better too. For next time, we have fresh rubber and new gearing so look out! If I can keep the bike up, I'm gunning for mid-pack! Ride safely and see you at the track!

We would like to take a minute and thank our "sponsors": Moto411.com, Big Pussy Racing and Bog Bros Serf Shop. Anytime you support one of these brands, you support us and our quest to build this site into an evermore useful source of unbiased information and reporting.

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The Racing Experience Part 3: Our First Race

Nerves of Steal! (Rusty, Old, Broken Steal)

It was a week before Team Moto411.com's first race and I was nervous to say the least. Not that I really should have been, it wasn't even a real race. What I was about to participate in was a Clubsman Race—a race with no points, no prizes and no prestige. The Clubsman Races serve two main purposes: 1) they allow you to get used to riding competitively and 2) they allow the AFM to assess your skill level before they let you on the track in a more serious series.

I was most nervous because I have never ridden Infineon Raceway on anything but a pit-scooter. Tourist Trophy for the PlayStation 2 has a pretty accurate recreation, but a controller and a monitor can help only so much.

What's even cooler than Helimot leathers? A Helimot transponder case of course.

The Pre-Race-Weekend Track Day

To ease my first time racing/first time at the track worries, I signed up for a track day at Infineon the Friday before the Saturday AFM sessions. Not every AFM weekend is preceded by a track day, but in this case it was. Our good friends at Pacific Track Time (with whom I took my licensing course) set me up with a few sessions so I could get a feel for the track.

I find that, as an amateur, I am always far too tense the first time I get on the track and hence I exert huge amounts of effort to go rather slowly. As all my muscles fight against each other and the the bike, my riding is choppy, my performance is poor and I'm exhausted after a couple laps. This particular weekend it took me 6 sessions and the race to start feeling comfortable and fluid. The Infineon Raceway track is, in my opinion, quite fun and quite nice. Despite, or maybe due to the elevation changes and the lack of straightaways, I found the track very pleasant once I loosened up. However, if I didn't go the day before, race day would have been painful.

If you have natural skill and/or youth to spare, I could see this being a much smaller problem. But, if you merely dabble in motorcycle racing and your youngest days are starting to tick away, I suggest getting at least 15 laps in on the track before your three practice sessions on race day.

By the way, lugnut made me a couple seconds faster with a pen and some tape. I highly recommend it!

What is this, amateur hour? Yes, yes it is.

The Value of A Hotel/Motel—No Really!

Even though this track is only an hour or two away from the "Moto411.com racing garage," we decided a hotel close to the venue would be easiest on everyone especially considering we had a track day prior to the race. I had a fair amount of Hilton hotel points saved up from a job that required me to live in a Los Angeles Doubletree for a month (ugh!), so we used those to book a room at the Embassy Suites about 10 minutes from the track. Short of using points, usually lugnut and I find the cheapest motel we can—with some pretty funny/scary/disgusting results. The Embassy Suites, in all its mediocre glory, made us feel like kings in a castle compared to our usual accommodations. The real value of not getting up at 4am to go to the track is that, come race morning, you feel nice and rested.

Many riders camp at the track in tents or trailers and take advantage of Infineon Raceway's decent shower and bathroom accommodations. Given the sheer number of people at the track overnight, we staked our paddock claim for the next day and left the bike and tent—making the following morning even more leisurely. We did lock up the bike, but, to this day, a motorcycle paddock is one of the few sacred places left in our world—where everyone looks out for each other and bad apples are still rare... for now. That all might change as this sport becomes more mainstream. I hope it doesn't.

The real value of the hotel was the continental breakfast. It was a complete made-to-order breakfast bar! Omelets, pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, you name it and (if it was mainstream) they had it! The Moto411.com team ate well that morning. I'm not talking high quality, but if I had to choose between the hotel breakfast and a Denny's, I would choose the hotel breakfast—I know... that's not saying much.

Remember, the most important thing about your bike—wheel stripes!

Race Day Morning

The Saturday of the Clubsman Races consists of rotating practice sessions for all the racers and then the three Clubsman Races (light-, mid-, and heavy-weight) at the end of the day. All the real races are the following day, on Sunday. The morning was relaxed and went something like this:

Riders Meeting

Practice Session Group 1
Practice Session Group 2
Practice Session Group 3
Practice Session Group 4
Practice Session Group 5
Practice Session Group 6

Practice Session Group 1
Practice Session Group 2
Practice Session Group 3
Practice Session Group 4
Practice Session Group 5
Practice Session Group 6

Break for lunch

The afternoon was equally as predictable:

Practice Session Group 1
Practice Session Group 2
Practice Session Group 3
Practice Session Group 4
Practice Session Group 5
Practice Session Group 6

Practice Session Group 1
Practice Session Group 2
Practice Session Group 3
Practice Session Group 4
Practice Session Group 5
Practice Session Group 6

Mid-Weight Clubsman Race
Light-Weight Clubsman Race
Heavy-Weight Clubsman Race

Photoshop a Ducati 749 underneath me and win a free Big Pussy t-shirt!

You are placed in your practice session group by speed/times at the last event and, on the busiest race weekends, all Clubsman must be in group 1. If you start going faster, you can move up a group—but not as a Clubsman at a busy event.

Overall I had four practice sessions of about 5-6 laps each and then one 8 lap race. I felt I was getting smoother and more comfortable throughout the day and, even though I didn't get faster on the last practice session, I was much more loose and relaxed and did not fatigue as easily.

I spent most of my practice sessions following a Ducati 749 around the track. We were both equally slow and, during the later practice sessions I felt that, under braking, I could pass her—a young lady standing roughly 5' 3" with eye lashes too long to be real. In an earlier session, a rider dove deep inside both of us, passing me and hitting her. It bumped her wide, but she put her head back down and got right back on her line. I asked her about it later and she said something to the effect of "that's good practice for the race! It threw me off for a second, but it was no big deal." At that moment I had rethink my approach, find my male genitalia and get my ass somewhat more in gear.

Lugnut, with all his "championship winning [whining?] experience" had been telling me to get my ass in gear all along, and he was right. He had made two [other] key observations: 1) When I came in from practice, he could comfortably put his bare hands on my brake rotors and 2) he remarked that, I looked like I was on a Sunday ride. A picture I saw later (and which I will not be posting here) confirmed that, indeed, when everyone else was tucked down in their most aggressive racer form, I looked like I was pulling up to a stop sign. Also, yeah, I could use my brakes more often. Damn, that lugnut is good!

I'm easy to spot because my whole row was nice enough to move in front of me when the green flag dropped.

The Race

I was gridded 45 out of 54 (outside of row 10) for the race. There were three rows behind me and quite a few bikes in front of me so I decided to be a bigpuss for the first race and not go for any holeshot for the sake of me and everyone around me. My start wasn't what I wanted, even for a bigpuss, but we all eventually filed in line and the racing began.

Sponsorship money-shot! Now, if only I had any real sponsors.

My only goal was to finish, and not finish last. The entire "crew" agreed that I could not count DNFs as being behind me nor could I count riders who remounted after an incident and returned to the track. I had to pass at least one other rider. Also, it would be nice if I didn't get lapped. The short of it is that I did achieve my goal, but fate dealt a helpful hand.

After everyone had settled into the race, I found myself behind a familiar Ducati 749. I was pretty sure there was at least one other rider behind me, and that was confirmed when he passed me shortly thereafter. The rider that passed me, the Ducati 749 and I made up the tail end of the pack. And there we stayed, lapping for 3 or 4 laps—not making any time on each other, just following the track around and pausing ever so briefly at the frequent offs and yellow flags.

The rider that passed me towards the beginning of the race began to fade around lap 5 and the Ducati 749 was opening up a slight gap on us—it was time for me to make my pass and ensure that I didn't actually finish last. I came up beside him into eleven and got a better drive down the front straightaway, passing him right before start/finish—right at a waving yellow flag. Crap! I waved him back by and started setting him up again.

Half way through the next lap, the red flag came out and the race was over. An incident had left a bike laying on the track and, with 6 of 8 done, that was it. Although, I was only lapped by one rider, I finished last. Or had I? In all actuality, I completed my pass before the waving yellow and before the start/finish line. With only half the following lap complete, I could only hope my transponder crossed the line before his. It had! I was second to last! Success!

Am I not hot? When I was in my Indonesia, I was a gigolo!

Conclusion

That was totally worth it! It was the most fun I've had in ages. My goal for next time? I'm getting that Ducati 749 and hopefully one or two other riders. Lugnut figures if I actually use my brakes instead of coasting into corners like I was pulling up to a drive-through, it shouldn't be too hard—even for a monkey.

We would like to take a minute and thank our "sponsors": Moto411.com, Big Pussy Racing and Bog Bros Serf Shop. Anytime you support one of these brands, you support us and our quest to build this site into an evermore useful source of unbiased information and reporting.

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The Racing Experience Part 2: Getting Licensed

I Need Another License?

Yes you do! At first, the race licensing process seems like a rather inconvenient barrier to entry. It costs money, it eats up a day of your valuable time and, once you're done, you might find yourself thinking: "I don't think I actually learned anything today that I couldn't have just read in the rules, and my track day money could have been more usefully spent on one-on-one instruction." In fact, the licensing process might be enough of a hassle that you'll skip racing again this year. And that's exactly (well, errr, partially) what it is: a barrier to entry for casual wannabes.

Imagine if every yahoo that got a bug up his boot to go racing showed up at the next race, papers and check in hand, and was allowed on the track to try and qualify. Safety issues certainly come to mind and don't get me started about what else would end up horribly wrong with the sport. The licensing process is incredibly important to a) ensure everyone is starting with the same, although very basic knowledge of racing protocol (you may find this shocking, but there are people who never read through the rules if they don't have to), b) demonstrate that you can ride a motorcycle well enough to keep up with Noriyuki Haga on one of his warm-down laps, c) observe if you can conduct yourself appropriately both on and off the track and, d) make sure you're not going racing as result of some drunken party bet gone horribly awry. In other words, this process forces you to think twice or even three times about what you're getting into.

Putting The Process In Motion

Getting licensed is actually pretty easy once you look into it. It's even easier if you've raced with other recognized organizations in other regions or countries. If it has been less than five years since you've raced with a recognized organization, you don't have to attend any new racer courses. However, for new racers, I've outlined "five simple steps" below for getting into AFM racing.

First: download your application here. Now read it! The entire thing!

Second: if you are new to road racing, read this.

Third: in case you didn't see this when reading the link from the second step, sign up for New Racer School (NRS) at an AFM-approved provider. I went with Pacific Track Time because I'm already familiar and comfortable with the folks who run it. I suggest that, if you have been to track days at one of the NRS providers below, you choose the one with which you are most at ease—this will make you much less anxious the day of. Feel free to contact them before your NRS and ask them what to expect and see if they have any pointers.

Pacific Track Time 530.223.0622
Keigwins @ The Track 650.969.5609
Zoom Zoom Track Days 888.929.9666

Fourth: go back to the second step and read through all the links and documentation the AFM provides before your NRS!

Fifth: prep your bike for racing. Download these two documents (2007 AFM Rulebook, AFM Tech Inspection Sheet) and get your bike as close as you can to race-ready. The NRS only requires that your bike be track day ready (if you haven't been to at least one track day, I might suggest you not go racing quite yet), but prepping your bike to race spec is an important learning experience that provides a better perspective of the effort it takes to go racing.

Optional Step: read all the rules. I know it's 84 pages, but for our sake, at least skim it.

The Day Of

My NRS school was held at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, California—a not-so-distant 175 miles from home base. However, in order to get there in time for bike tech and the rider meeting, we had to rise at a painful 4am. Luckily I had lugnut to drive the Moto411.com/Big Pussy/Bog Bros/Amsoil rig as I nursed a Red Bull and tried to sleep (hmmm, that just doesn't sound right). In hindsight, the thought of staying in a cheap motel the night before began to look really good to us. Next time we wont be so cheap.

Fortunately, we were already familiar with Thunderhill from a previous outing. So, despite our tiredness, we felt relatively comfortable when we arrived. Unfortunately, we didn't spend that much time on the track during the previous track day and were by no means up to full speed. Regardless, knowing the track was a huge help.

We rolled in at about 7:15am and got one of the last spots under the giant metal canopy. There were already many "camps" set up outside of the permanent structure and, if any one of them had decided to use said structure, we would have been SOL considering we left our pop-up at home (i.e., always bring your pop-up just in case). At that point, it seemed that luck was with us that day.

Considering the bike was 98% race-ready, we breezed through sign-in and tech and had time to get everything unloaded and ready before the riders meeting. Well, I guess lugnut unloaded everything and let me bask in my "rider's glory" however ridiculous that prospect seemed to me.

A note of clarification here, most track day companies offering NRS certification combine their NRS with a normal track day (otherwise it would be prohibitively expensive) and you must abide by all of the track day rules in addition to the NRS rules as laid out by the AFM representatives present at the track. Hence, you must go through all of the track day processes before you get down to NRS business.

Moto411 Race Bike: ready for licensing!

After we arrived, signed in, got teched, and attended the rider meeting, our NRS classroom session began at 9am. Many of the attendees were clearly ansty. While the rest of the track day goers went out to hit the circuit, we were stuck in the classroom. Remembering why we were here allowed us to keep our focus despite the distraction. The classroom session takes about 2 hours and covers only the most basic rules and protocols. At the end of the classroom session, you must pass a test of roughly 25-30 questions. If you don't pass this test, they should take away your license to breed much less race. Regardless, I'm glad they have some sort of test before they let people loose in the pits and on the track.

After the classroom session, they give you an orange belt to wear the remainder of the day, split you up into groups of three or four, assign you to an evaluator and get you out on the track.

The Orange Belt

Before I go any further, let's talk about the orange belt. First, I'm not the fittest of all people and wearing a bright orange belt around the part of my body with the largest circumference proved most unflattering. Second, that orange belt is on you because your behavior is being assessed for the remainder of the day—all your behavior. Even after your track evaluator signs off on your track skills, you are given the rest of the day to fail—both on and off the track. Break the pit speed limit—fail. Fall over on your bike anywhere—fail. Get in an argument with someone in the pits—fail. I didn't anticipate doing anything "common sense stupid," but things can happen and wearing that orange belt reminded me off that fact every time I took a breath.

On-Track Evaluation

The actual on-track evaluation was pretty simple. During one of the track day's "fast group" sessions, the evaluator leads the group around the track once before the first licensee takes the lead for a lap. Then, the next in line takes the lead for the subsequent lap, etc. The point is not to go as fast as you can (in fact, you're told specifically not to do so), the point is to keep the group together so the evaluator can assess a rider's technical skill and ability. Given that, the pace was comfortable even for me. If everything goes well and without incident, you're back in within 5-6 laps. The Evaluator will come talk to you, let you know whether you passed or failed and, if they're nice, offer some pointers. I found the last part especially helpful. My evaluator easily singled out my weakness (staying on some kind of consistent line) and gave me some helpful tips. He then stuck around to answer my endless string of questions and worked with me to help me improve.

Oh The Humanity!

So, that was it right? I passed the paper test and I passed the on-track evaluation. The only thing left to do was wait until the end of the day for the mandatory practice starts. Now we could just sit in our chairs for 2 hours and we'd be set. Well, I just paid for a track day and it was only 2pm. But, if we tried to get in more track time, there was the chance something could go horribly wrong. Any self-respecting rider knows what the right answer is—get back out on the track dammit!

You have to continue wearing the orange belt as a reminder not to do doing anything too foolish and that in and of itself was nerve-racking. Regardless, I needed the track time. So there I was, back on the track, getting faster in each corner on every lap. Although I was improving, there were plenty of faster bikes out there; each one passing me at predictable, if not down right courteous parts of the track. For example, coming down the hill on the back part of Thunder Hill is one of my favorite places to pass slower riders. Coming down the hill from 9 to 10 lets build up your speed, even on a 600, and most track day riders brake far too early for 10—which, although you're coming downhill into it, is on-camber and you can carry all sorts of speed and "creative" lines. All of this makes it easy to pass slower riders without spooking them and that's exactly where a particularly fast Buell passed me. Given that one of my weaknesses is my race line, I seem to speed up when following faster riders (at least until I lose sight of them) and through 10 and into 11 I was right on his ass. Well, the torquey Buell laid the throttle on a little too thick exiting tight turn 11 and low-sided mere inches in from of me. For a split second, I watched the rider and bike scrape along the ground—clearly okay minus some scrapes and sparks—before I realized I should probably be watching the track. I snapped my eyes back and luckily steered around the wreck. This was perhaps my best lesson of the day.

The rest of my laps that day were thankfully uneventful and, when I pulled in after my last couple laps, I felt relieved despite the orange belt still being around my waist. I was looking forward to the practice starts and heading home with my license.

Practice Starts

The practice starts were incredibly fun, but they certainly weren't thrilling. The entire track day, 50 bikes or so, lined up on the start/finish four bikes wide to practice our 2- and 1-minute board procedures. Given there was no prize and no winners, everyone but the front two rows had to keep it toned down to avoid any incidents. The race was only to the first corner and everyone had to form a single-file line before the apex to avoid confrontation (and being thrown off the track or, in the case of NRS riders, failed). I was about halfway back in the pack and my goal was to gain at least one row per start while being controlled and courteous. I did make up about a row or more per start, but never really got to see what the old F4i could do considering my mid-pack position.

Conclusion

How fun was that? What a great day. I wasn't on the track as much as I would prefer and any day starting at 4am is too long, but man did it feel good going home with some sense of accomplishment. If you're a track day regular, I recommend the experience of getting licensed if only for bragging rights (but only to those who haven't been through the experience and don't know how easy it is). I know this isn't first grade, but getting some sort of certificate still feels good no matter how old you are.

Yup, definitely a novice!

We would like to take a minute and thank our "sponsors": Moto411.com, Big Pussy Racing and Bog Bros Serf Shop. Anytime you support one of these brands, you support us and our quest to build this site into an evermore useful source of unbiased information and reporting.

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The Racing Experience

Why We're Racing

Here at Moto411 we've decided to field a race bike in California's AFM Race Series. Why? We feel that to best test the equipment we review and to reassure our readers that we really can ride decently, we should race. Additionally, since we're new to the racing experience, we will also provide insights and reviews regarding the entire racing process and what it requires from start to, hopefully, finish.

Plus, who wouldn't want to race? This gives us a great excuse.

What We're Racing

The bike is a 2001 Honda CBR600 F4i. Certainly not the latest technology, but it's in great mechanical shape and many parts are available for the bike.

Moto411 Race Bike:

Moto411 Race Bike:

When We're Racing

We aren't going to race every round this year—perhaps only 4 or 5 races at the tracks closest to us. We will have schedule updates when they become available. As much as we encourage you to come by and say hello (mention you read this on Moto411.com and get some free stickers), don't expect to see us leading any packs or winning any races—not this year anyway. We will have a yellow "rookie" number plate and we plan to use it. This year I will adopt the name Slowie McSlowerson and report on our AFM racing progress and the things we learn and any tips we have for newbies coming after us.

"Sponsors"

We would like to take a minute and thank our "sponsors": Moto411.com, Big Pussy Racing and Bog Bros Serf Shop. Anytime you support one of these brands, you support us and our quest to build this site into an ever more useful source of honest information and reporting.

"Sponsors":

Christopher Matthews On The US MotoGP

Christopher Matthews has written a surprisingly scathing review of the US MotoGP. We found it to be pretty informative and think you will too.