In some ways 06 sucked for me, and in others it was a break out year.
I struggled mightily in my first few races trying to shift into 6th gear. Even a new rebuilt FOG tranny didn't solve the problem.
So after I benched my "A" engine I put in a total stocker, and started making some improvements. Namely going fast in high speed corners. I actually dragged hard parts in Thunderhill's Turn 8 which is 6th gear at about 9k rpm. (I can't imagine doing that on a 1000cc bike)
I had put a new front end on at the start of 06, and it had made some serious improvements in some areas specifically braking.
So new for 07?
I want to get that front end rebuilt with all the race internal parts. I put racetech springs in, but now it will get a gold valve kit, and all new bushings etc. The Fox shock on the rear has never been rebuilt while I've had the bike, and who knows how long it has been on the bike at all so that's going into the shop as well. I'm lucky. Living here in the Bay Area give me access to some incredible resources; Factory Pro, Motion Pro, Aftershocks, Lindeman Engineering, are all within a 1/2 hour of San Francisco.
My "A" engine is going to a shop. I've been taking this thing apart and putting it back together for 3 years now, and there's still less than 10 hours on the polished balanced crank from the first time I had it built. Everytime I get it working right I add something new to it, and feck it all up again. So I'm taking it to KC of BRG racing. Perhaps some people know them on this board. They make some trick bits for EX500's http://www.brgracing.com/ex500List.html.
I crashed 2 times in 2006 because I was in a hurry and didn't spend any time warming up my tires in the hot pits. So I dashed off onto the track on cold tires and stacked it on the warm up lap.
LAME
At the end of this year I purchased a set of tires warmers from Power Stands (http://www.powerstands.com/acb/showprod.cfm?&DID=31&ObjectGroup_ID=11&CatID=1), and I'll get a new generator after x-mas. Not crashing on the warm up lap is going to be worth every penny I pay for these items.
Now I know one could say it's easy not to crash on the out lap. You just have to pay attention, and get you tires warmed up early. Yeah I said that after the first time. It's warmers from now on.
I picked up a new sponsor at the end of 06, and for all of 07
http://www.hunterflatbars.com/
We'll see how these things really work.
They are intended for the touring market really, but the manufacturer wants to see what results come from racing with them to perhaps market them to sportbike riders. Now isn't that what racing is all about?
Anyone else?
I struggled mightily in my first few races trying to shift into 6th gear. Even a new rebuilt FOG tranny didn't solve the problem.
So after I benched my "A" engine I put in a total stocker, and started making some improvements. Namely going fast in high speed corners. I actually dragged hard parts in Thunderhill's Turn 8 which is 6th gear at about 9k rpm. (I can't imagine doing that on a 1000cc bike)
I had put a new front end on at the start of 06, and it had made some serious improvements in some areas specifically braking.
So new for 07?
I want to get that front end rebuilt with all the race internal parts. I put racetech springs in, but now it will get a gold valve kit, and all new bushings etc. The Fox shock on the rear has never been rebuilt while I've had the bike, and who knows how long it has been on the bike at all so that's going into the shop as well. I'm lucky. Living here in the Bay Area give me access to some incredible resources; Factory Pro, Motion Pro, Aftershocks, Lindeman Engineering, are all within a 1/2 hour of San Francisco.
My "A" engine is going to a shop. I've been taking this thing apart and putting it back together for 3 years now, and there's still less than 10 hours on the polished balanced crank from the first time I had it built. Everytime I get it working right I add something new to it, and feck it all up again. So I'm taking it to KC of BRG racing. Perhaps some people know them on this board. They make some trick bits for EX500's http://www.brgracing.com/ex500List.html.
I crashed 2 times in 2006 because I was in a hurry and didn't spend any time warming up my tires in the hot pits. So I dashed off onto the track on cold tires and stacked it on the warm up lap.
LAME
At the end of this year I purchased a set of tires warmers from Power Stands (http://www.powerstands.com/acb/showprod.cfm?&DID=31&ObjectGroup_ID=11&CatID=1), and I'll get a new generator after x-mas. Not crashing on the warm up lap is going to be worth every penny I pay for these items.
Now I know one could say it's easy not to crash on the out lap. You just have to pay attention, and get you tires warmed up early. Yeah I said that after the first time. It's warmers from now on.
I picked up a new sponsor at the end of 06, and for all of 07
http://www.hunterflatbars.com/
We'll see how these things really work.
They are intended for the touring market really, but the manufacturer wants to see what results come from racing with them to perhaps market them to sportbike riders. Now isn't that what racing is all about?
Anyone else?
