wrongway
Pro
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posted October 31, 2011 04:20 AM
Maxton conditions for the last race
ohhh.. and that aint a tail wind :-(
Roy
  
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oldkawboy
Needs a job
Posts: 2125
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posted October 31, 2011 05:11 AM
Yeah, but it was fun!
The conditions were probably the worst in the ten years we've been going but we had a hoot anyway.
It was great to see the regulars like Dean, Ali, Shane & Racheal. A real plus was having Karl and Charlie making the trip. I saw you once on the line Roy but never saw the 14???
It was neat closing the track down & having the boys make the event with me, a lot of good memories. Todd Dross & I got to talk about the good & bad times, we've had both for sure.
I'm ready to move on to a nicer venue. After running Texas & Loring this year I got spoiled on how much more fun a smooth track without a curve is!!
Dan
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shiphteey
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Posts: 2529
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posted October 31, 2011 05:39 AM
Back from Maxton, last run before they closed the books for good as the track is no longer going to be available for us racers anymore.
For the first time since I can remember I arrived at the track well rested, and on a Friday which meant I actually got to have my bike get tech inspected....which was more of a breeze than normal because my street bike isn't quite the "hack job" my race 12 can be.
Took my time getting to Maxton Saturday Morning though because of the the rain....wasn't eager to sit in line in leathers in cold rain.
Long ass line, just shooting the shit with racers in line. Looking at the fuel gauge showed enough to run. I thought about adding some air into the tires (street pressure) and getting rid of the old gas but I said meh, in these conditions, honestly who cares? Ran 184 with lots of RPM left in 6th...revved out 5th and grabbed 6th without much progress or real forward momentum.
Comparing my speeds to others I had raced with in September showed I ran what was to be expected. Fellow 1000RR (honda) racer was still 4.5 mph slower than me. Fellow Kawasaki jockey Chad on the coby head lowered Zx14 was going about 10 mph faster than I was again. His bro with similar setup & BSTs went 195....their father Dan went 184 on Sat. GPS was within tenths.
End of Saturday the CBR and I found ourselves on the front rows of the starting line so we made SURE to get there early in the morning to keep our place in line. If you show up late....you snooze....you lose....go back to the back of the line!
Ran around the streets for a couple of minutes doing some roll-ons to burn off the remaining old gas. Syphoning gas is a PITA on the goofy stock 12R tank. I asked Zach and chad if they wanted to come out for a quick roll-on....they said they woulda but they were doing gearing changes....I'd have lost anyways but I figured I'd offer!
Talks of regearing the bikes for Sundays milder wind .... I kicked the idea around but figured I'd keep it taller for 2 reasons. #1, Saturday was not Sunday so the conditions were known to get better. And 2 if the conditions would get better than what was projected I'd be on the limiter with ease. Ok there was a 3rd reason....gearing changes are annoying.
Kicked back a couple of Coronas Saturday night at Roy's house, kicked around the idea of re-gearing again....but we figured with fresh fuel and less wind the bike should pick up a little.
On the starting line with a frost riddled zx12 I threw in a splash of fresh gas. Checked tire pressure....I left the front at street pressure because the track was nearly freezing and I prefered slightly more grip while going through shutdown.
Shortly after 8am the fog rolled off the track we get going. I remind the cbr rider to really control his breathing so as to not fog up. Of course taking one's OWN advice is a different story! On the starting line I roll out smoothly....I think 4th gear I started fogging up! Just tagged the limiter briefly but shifted and held my breath. Tucked in tight and went 188.999 mph. GPS was showing about that.
Hmmm.. No wind, very cold.....something doesn't seem right. A little disappointed but all things considered. Track was warming up so I bumped up pressures to track settings. Made a small change to the bike's setup, went back in line and waited...and waited....and waited. Back on the line for run number 2....rolled out harder front wheel dancing through the top of 1st....feeling more aggressive I felt the bike pulling stronger than the previous run. Unfortunately the winds picked up for me at the end around the 9/10ths mark....to the point where I glanced at the tach and saw RPMS drop 100-200 rpms! Went lower 188s!!!! GPS confirmed my suspicion with a 191 pass. I got ROBBED MAN!!!! But I figued no worries, get back in line and do it again. Now the CBR was running only 3 mph slower instead of the 4-5! The millholland family were picking up speed but they needed to regear after hitting the limiters on a couple of their 14s. Chad went 202 to his brothers limtier 197. Dan once again was fairly even with me and went 191 to my GPS 191 run (188 traps for me though).
"The Green Giant" (Entropy on the stroker Busa) threw down the gauntlet over 218 mph into a significant headwind ... on motor!!!!
Last run of the day, time is ticking but I'm in great spirits having FUN again and not stressing anything. Its my old heavy n/a stock motor streetbike and although its scratch and dent it is still in the mix and still earning respect among some of the newer bikes. Time is almost 2:00pm!!! SHIT!!!!! They are about to close the track but I make my last pass, head down....float 1st gear a little more....ran as flawlessly as I could nailing my shift points and trying to get a little more out of my tuck as needed....it paid off....I watched the RPMS stay where they should and went 191.4...GPS lagging behind with a 190.7.
Said goodbye to some fellow racers. Good times, I'll miss the track and yet at the same time, the track conditions were always so shitty that I'm almost tempted to say GOOD RIDDANCE! Vincent Hill and one of the Millhollands destroyed lower portions of their Kawasakis through the years from the track's poor surface (headers/fairings/etc)
Looking forward to Ohio in April....thanks again to everyone who helped make this project a success. Forgot the onboard camera at home unfortunately...charged up though, DOH!
A.
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Gemini Motorcycles
Topping out everything from Ninja 250s to nitrous ZX-14s.
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Rich
Expert Class
Just havin' fun!!
Posts: 300
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posted October 31, 2011 10:38 AM
WIsh I could have been there. Now I just hope I get home in time to make it to Ohio at least once next year.
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07 Green and Black, How fast is fast?
203 for now. Limited $$ = limited HP.
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oldkawboy
Needs a job
Posts: 2125
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posted October 31, 2011 11:50 AM
 Edited By: oldkawboy on 31 Oct 2011 19:51
My last pass ended with a 195.4mph and I was pretty pleased considering the bike jumped outta fifth gear and I had to re-find 5th then shift into 6th. It's never done that before but I'm thinking it hurt my speed a little.
Dan
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shiphteey
Needs a job
Posts: 2529
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posted October 31, 2011 12:21 PM
Edited By: shiphteey on 31 Oct 2011 20:22
Dan, thats right I remember your final run was a 195. I noticed you and your sons were smoother on the last run of the meet too because the tires kept braking loose on the harder launch. Zach in particular had a good combo of quick throttle hand and slipped the clutch just a teeny bit to prevent tire slip on his last run, looked good without overly nursing the clutch. Its hard to SNAP it out the gate at Maxton sometimes, especially with cold tires, a cold track and over 100 ft/lb of torque.
And 195 is moving for a .... um..... non-jockey sized rider n/a stock displacement!
A.
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Gemini Motorcycles
Topping out everything from Ninja 250s to nitrous ZX-14s.
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oldkawboy
Needs a job
Posts: 2125
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posted November 01, 2011 04:47 AM
quote:
And 195 is moving for a .... um..... non-jockey sized rider n/a stock displacement!
A.
Thanks Ali for the......um......compliment! ;-)
Dan
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entropy
Moderator
Posts: 8671
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posted November 01, 2011 05:08 AM
Ali,
nice recap, thanks for taking the time to tap it out.
Karl
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shiphteey
Needs a job
Posts: 2529
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posted November 01, 2011 07:29 AM
Word, you guys both did well.
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Gemini Motorcycles
Topping out everything from Ninja 250s to nitrous ZX-14s.
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entropy
Moderator
Posts: 8671
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posted November 01, 2011 11:15 AM
Ali, you said:
"and went 191.4...GPS lagging behind with a 190.7"
About same results i got:
ticket said 218.3, logged GPS said 217.7
(i like the higher number better  )
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shiphteey
Needs a job
Posts: 2529
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posted November 01, 2011 11:55 AM
I noticed on my first (slowest) run I was closer with GPS to the traps....about 2 or 3 tenths variance at 184 mph....rate of acceleration was a snoozefest in 6th with that crazy near 20 mph headwind.
A.
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Gemini Motorcycles
Topping out everything from Ninja 250s to nitrous ZX-14s.
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VincentHill
Needs a life
Posts: 6520
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posted November 15, 2011 02:52 PM
Edited By: VincentHill on 15 Nov 2011 22:54
I wrote a Nice long note and then all was lost because I had not signed in!!
Great write up and Ali, we are very happy that ALL that happened was the pipes and lower fairing!
I truly wanted to be there and see the last of the real people! I have been a little busy! My Brother was found dead on the 7th of July in Toledo but because the city has no money and uses retired and part time people they did not release him until the end of August so I buried him in late September (Actually put him in the ground myself and said a few words over him and covered him up over our Mom!) The went to a reunion of people I knew in COlumbus in the early 1960's got home early October. Have then busy on everything else! WOrking to stop working ASAP Hopefully in a year or so!
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Made History @ Daytona and still one fast old man!!
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