May 16th at Streets of Willow

[Mr9146]

Going racing.

Up until now I've done track days on the bike at Laguna Seca (2Xs), Buttonwillow (hated the track) and Fontana (loved it but missed the elevation changes).

I had never driven any of the above tracks in anger before I went there on the bike ... although I did do a few hot laps as a passenger at Laguna Seca which helped with knowing the line(s) and braking zones.

Tomorrow will be the first time I'll be riding a track that I've driven before, so not having to learn my way around should allow me to focus more on body position and braking instead of figuring out which way to go. Obviously there will be differences in the racing line, but I'm not flying blind this time.

This should be F-U-N!!

[Flieger]

May the Spirit of Rossi (or rather, Stoner when he is not eating dairy products) be with you.

Have fun out there and post some photos of you dragging knee around the apex.

Most importantly, make sure you "win".

[Flieger]

So, how much more fun was it to turn fast laps around a known track? You must have been carving a smooth line around those fast curves and been flicking the bike over like a pro around tighter twisty turns.

[mrbeverlyhills]

I guess the Duc is out of the bag........

[Mr9146]

Well, Max, I have to say it's nice knowing which way to go, but it didn't make circulating the Streets any easier.

It was a VERY interesting day ... here're some photos.

PS: The guy whose bike burst into flames was PERFECTLY UNHURT ... I wasn't able to get the other photos from the crash, but they show him kneeling next to his smoldering motorcycle and then walking away in disgust.

[Flieger]

Was that an early 2000s Yamaha R6?

I have only seen that one other time and it was on the Snake. This was the result. (There is still patch of bumpy, burned-down pavement).