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After years of hopes and dreams and hours working on the F2.5, I finally managed to get out and do a few track days. I've been working on my Masters and have had virtually -0- miles of riding over the last 3 years or something. Couple that with living in an apartment with no garage or parking in an area that I wouldn't keep a bike, and you end up with the only motorcycle thing I've been still doing is watching motorcycle races, when I had the time. With life timing things perfectly, I quit my job, 100% finished my masters, and got a divorce, all on the same day, giving me a week to get the bike in enough order to do a double track day at Mid-Ohio (8/22-23) and a single day at Grattan (9/24). Got the bike running well enough. Brand new float and a brand new spark plug were bad, giving me all my headaches. But in the long run I went from dealing with this... To this Engine still didn't seem 100%, but close enough! Loaded up the trailer at 5am, ready to head down to Mid Ohio. And the end result...HOOKED! It's probably the fact that I've been away from riding and motorcycling for so long that it's like being reunited with your best friend of 20 years. But it might be that it's super fun. I got super lucky, and ran into a group of Croatians from Toronto, who let me stay in their garage and hang out with them as we swap stories and make fun of each other. The garage was good as it was raining on and off the first day. Don't have any video and no photos have been posted (no photographer at Mid Ohio, but one at Grattan which will be uploaded later), but I'll give the write up and comparison between the tracks at the end. But Mid-Ohio was a blast. First few sessions in Novice were pretty slow as I was both learning the track and learning the bike. Going into the track day, I was worried that the rear height was too high and too firm. But after getting time on the bike, and adjusting lever positions to something comfortable, everything started to fall in place. End of the day I was running much better lap times and feeling super comfortable with the bike and the track. I ended up missing day 2 morning session after finding that the 2-year old valve stems on BOTH wheels were completely cracked (but not dry), and spent the morning trying to find replacements and tools. Thanks to Mark Junge for helping out with the stem swapping and Seb for sending me the torque values I needed. First session was a bit slow, but after that I was flying. Didn't have time for evaluation to get bumped up to Intermediate, but 100% ok with that, as I was having a ball anyways. Next day was at Grattan. I was supposed to go with a friend of mine who was in Milwaukee, but he registered too late and didn't get a spot. So off I went alone. Left a wedding at 10:30 and 5 hours later was at the track. Not the best thing to do, but I felt good in the morning. Also, if your trailer light decides to give you issues, make sure you have a backup plan It was a bit of a struggle getting the canopy up, but when it's going to be in the 90's, sort of necessary. I joined one of the slower groups (in the Novice group) first, learning from Mid Ohio that it's easier to learn the track at a slow pace and then have at it. Turned out to be a mistake. The group I was in was incredibly slow. Turned out that it was someone's first track day, and with very little seat time on the bike at boot. I asked the coach if I could bump up if the speed doesn't pick up by the third session. There wasn't enough room in any of the faster groups. But while lined up on the 'grid' for session 3, one of the other coaches pulled me over and said that he would evaluate me solo to see about moving into another group next session. So I took up the offer. Immediately running 30 seconds a lap faster. That's how much slower my group was going. Starting to feel great, starting to go at a good pace for me to learn the super technical track at. Ran 4 laps at a pretty comfortable and consistent pace. Then I lost the rear end in a slower corner and skidded down the track. I was pretty pissed. But hammered the chinese rearset back into shape and was ready to go out again for the session after lunch. No other damage. Just to get back at that bad luck, I ended up shaving another 6 seconds off my previous best time to get even. Wandered around to look at other peoples bikes. A TON of 675s out there. Almost seemed like the bike of choice, despite the internet saying the R6 is the best and 675s are unreliable. Mid-ohio was the same. But I also saw this guy and the man running it. An original Katana race bike, completely stock and showing all the signs of age. It was cool to chat with him about the bike and bikes in general. He's going to run it in one of the vintage classes next year. All in all a great time at both places. But Mid Ohio and Grattan are two very different places. Comparison of the Schools Mid Ohio seemed to run a smaller group of students, with the same number of coaches. They kept intermediate and beginner structured the entire time. So you ran all day with your group. They were really good about shuffling people around and actively did it if they felt it was the better thing to do. They suggested I move down, and I did, got better, and moved back up. They were definitely trying to keep each group with people at the same pace. It kept the groups together, and made it easier for one group to pass another. Lunch was provided, which was really nice, and they took the time to go around and see how everyone was doing and what they needed help with. The coaches really did a great job going around and talking with everyone. They were also pretty good with setting up evaluations for people to move between groups (up and down). They had extra coaches on pit lane to go and pick a lagging rider up for the rest of the session if needed. Grattan was run by Sportbike Track time. They were looser with the organization. They had noticeably more people at the track event. The intermediate group was a free-for-all, with only the morning half of the Novice in groups. Afternoon was pretty much free for all for Novice group. I wasn't a big fan of that, as I was definitely spending time either stuck behind someone that I couldn't pass on the straight, or going down the straight wondering if there's one more bike that's going to try and sneak by me before turn 1. They had an extra coach or two ready to go out if needed, but only if they needed to pull someone off the track for a talk. Grattan had a much larger area and a less professional layout. Not bad just different. The tracks were pretty different as well. Mid Ohio is definitely a smoother and faster track. I got on with Mid Ohio much better. I was able to learn the track faster, and start working on braking points and turn in points sooner. There were only a few bumpy spots that were really more of a nuisance than a hazard. And I never had a thought about the grip at the track. Grattan was definitely more technical. There are a ton of blind turns, and a good handful of spots to watch out for and avoid. Turn 3 was like riding a wooden rollercoaster if you didn't get it just right, but was rewarding when you did. It was still a fun track, but required a lot more physical and mental effort to ride. I don't think I ever really figured out any of my braking points anywhere. Maybe another day. I would NOT recommend Grattan for a first track day for anyone though. I used an app called TrackAddict to record lap times at Grattan. Didn't do anything at Mid-Ohio. I was pretty happy with the app. I didn't care about having super accurate times, just something to give me an idea on how I was doing. I started recording the session, put it in a pocket, and the GPS knew when I crossed the start line and recorded the laps. Didn't matter if it was an 8 minute out lap. Worked great, and having it in my jacket meant I couldn't look at it until after the session, so I could just focus on my riding. I started with the slow group running a 2:36, and ended the last session at 1:50 with traffic. Pretty happy with that, and I knew I could easily slice a bunch more time off once I learned the braking distances.

..as in beer. MotoGP.com has started advertising the end of the season as free with registration. Not sure if you get to watch previous races or not, but if you want to see the last couple of races, something to look into.

SuperbikePlanet just posted this video focussing on Kevin Schwantz's early career, but it also shows his battles with Honda VFR750 team-mates Wayne Rainey and Fred Merkel. http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2016/Aug/160815jusc.htm

First race of the year is this weekend ! Got to remember to renew my subscription when I get home.

Just throwing this out here for anyone interested... I've been drawing/painting since I was a kid and started drawing people's bikes lately. I had a guy on VFRD ask me to do a custom photo for him and shipped it out from Cincinnati to Minneapolis. He (Maxswell) was pretty happy and I got paid, so everybody wins. Shoot me a message and your favorite photo of your bikes and we can probably work something out!

Some sad news, Luis Salom dies in crash. http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2016/06/03/remembering-luis-salom/202681

The Rapid Bike Racing Kit is now in production and available for all VFR800 VTEC models. Confirmation of 5th and 8th gen use will be made later on. The Rapid Bike Racing features self mapping through the factory O2 sensors. It has full ignition advancing control, Advanced 18 way adjustable Quick shifter control, Engine braking adjustment and RPM limiter extension of 1000 RPMs if requested. http://rapidbike.us/t/categories/honda

So... In Arkansas last weekend there were a few of us talking about doing a track day to build skill, hang out and just generally go fast. Someone mentioned Heartland Park Topeka as a good destination for this. http://www.hpt.com/ I've done some checking around on their website. Looks like their last Bike Day of the year is this weekend, too short of notice to really get a group together for this. But, I'm curious if anyone would care to join up in the Spring. Personally, I REALLY want some time on a track. I need the chance to really work on my technique in an area where I don't have trees and oncoming traffic as the priority in my mind. I think having the opportunity to truly focus on what I'm doing, get some feedback from my fellow riders and take some time to fiddle with suspension settings and "rub shoulders" with people who do this kind of thing would serve me well. So, anyone interested? Cost seems to be about 180/day for bike days, it's generally a Sat/Sun thing. Obviously, that's going to fluctuate next season and I'll be looking to find firm pricing between now and then. Perhaps if we have enough interest, we might get a group rate or something. I figure HPT is close enough for people in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Illinois and maybe some of you from further out to make it a destination for a weekend. Thoughts?