Replying to your post honda39...

Congrats on being able to get that R6. You must be doing something right to have the chance to race at such a young age, keep it up! The best advice I feel I can give you is be very "conistant". On and off the track. Doing what it takes in a race to run up front obviously takes some hard work, or just work at all. So apply that same attitude off the track. Consistancy will get you noticed buddy!

Comprehension and problem solving is key to consolidating time. Alot of that can be learned in school. I know I sound like some old fart giving redundant advice, but you asked, and I am telling you. There is just great training in how to problem solve and that same training you get in math class may not be the exact same equation, but trains you on how to solve a problem that may come up later while at the track. May be geometry of the bike or suspension problems that require you to have that valuable training you forced yourself to do a year or two earlier while in you desk at school. Alot of my success starts before I even put my helmet on. Understanding how tires work and knowing how suspension reacts to inputs is key to running up front. Hopefully you can ride a BMW around the track one day, it will open up your eyes and knowledge of how and why bikes work the way they do. Great training/race bike!

Ride smart, know your limits, and gradually try new things, do not rush into them. Maybe in the future we can get a chance to ride together at the track and I look forward to helping you.

Cheers,

N8!

Hiya, listen, for those that have left comments here, I TRUELY apreciate them. I have not been able to reply on here for a long time now due to some thing with the password. I can psot but not reply with a commet on my own Blog, lol. I have read all of them and due to that I get many emails because alot of people know that. So no ones ignoring anyone here, lol.

Never ridden better and the lap times prove it, due to the amzing amount of support from everyone!

N8!

Hey gang, had an opportunity to race at Infineon Raceway in the beautiful Napa Valley of Ca. this past weekend. Being a new track and 26 laps total around there (found out this morning), I was okay with what I knew in practice, but now it's time to find places to pass. For those that have seen how other regional pro series work, they grid amateurs with amateurs and experts with experts, even in a 2 wave start.... not here. Grid sizes are always determined by the size of the track, for saftey reasons of course. Not here. Race one was 750 Production. 2 waves and 72 RIDERS!!!!!!!!!! SEVENTY TWO! 5 to 7 second gap between waves. I was gridded 69th at the back of the second wave. lol In the 8 lap sprint I finshed 12th overall. lol, was just crazy passing 4 bikes at a time inthe corners, when the lead of the 4 was already commited, knee down, but enough off line to muscle our jugs between him and the curbing.... so 57 bikes in 8 laps was a real eye opener and I am very happy for the support and the show we could put on.

Open twins, gridded 32nd and finished 6th, got rather greedy trying to reel in 5th just ahead, but it was not in the cards as Brian even admitted the bike I was on just needed a stiffer spring, 44's was all we could muster with the settings. The bike had good brakes and good power. The electric shifter stuff that has plagued the team all season here, they are great when they work, but when they dont.... you see up close what the tripples really look like and how clear the windshield really is, as you bounce your chest n' helmet off of them.

Last race was 750 Superbike. gridded 59th as I recall and finshed 13th. The tiress were cooked (same for all 3 races). As I learned the track better, the tires were pushed harder, and the blowing through the stroke of the rear shock was more prevalent due to running wide with more tire spin. Best thing was just sharpening my decision making skills on passing by starting so far back. T1 and T2 at the start of these races were litterally cattle runs, no daylight except for what you made.

Regardless, the bike worked well, and Brian and I had a great dialogue. Fly home tomorrow, cant wait to ride again!

N8!

It's so friggin hot down here and this past weekend in AL. at Barbers Motorsports Park it was 103 degrees! lol Asphalt hit 141 degrees and tires were getting slick from overheating. Regardless, BMW fans/family came from all over and it made my job alot easier actually. There was just a really good feeling instead of a bad one, fromthe accident there 3 months ago. Beng knocked out instantly during that accident was the best thing. I didnt remember a second of it and I just rode the track the way I always did in practice, then went faster as the weekend went on.

Another track record we set in the ASRA Pro Thunderbike class. VIR was a good feeling considering the way I felt physically, setting that record, but Barbers was also acheived through the support and enthusiasm of our BMW riders! As soon as you even stepped into the sun it would feel like a light burn, it was hot, beyond humid, and still we had the best fan base there. No manufacturer could ask for a better owners base, in my opinion.
So the weekend ended up with 2 wins, 2 seconds, and a very, very fun 4th place fromthe back of the field in the 600 Grand Prix race. Just a great battle in funny to watch the body language of these 600 riders after getting in their heads when showing them a wheel on a "WHAT"..... "A BMW!" lol

I look very forward to getting out west this weekend and basically learning a new track, hanging out with BMW riders, and regaining my endurance and strength. It is still real though as much as I try to ignore it, the pain, but it keeps you working!

TTYL, N8!

No racing in Germany this weekend coming up. My grandfather is not doing so well and my Grandmother has never seen me even ride, so they asked to go to Barbers in Alabama for the ASRA races this weekend. I informed BMW AG that their offer to come back and race at Oschersleben was just awesome, but explained my situation. They said I made the right choice as there will be many more times to ride the bike over there.

I did mention though that there was another great candidate I team with if needed! SO, I practiced at Barbers weekend before this past one and at a trackday with a bit of traffic was able to go .5 faster than I have ever gone there during a race.
The nature of the track is a very tough one though for our wheelbase. So I am just going to do my best to get a better set up in the bike and get it to turn. Your only full throttle about 20% of the track and during the "G" out (compression going up the face of a hill) you ry and tame the tire spin with more rebound to get the traction down and tire to grip when you hit the crest of the hill and the back end unloads.

We are going to try a better brake set up also. The back of my pads boiled literally at Road America causing to much brake fade, lol. I still run everything stock right through the lower triple to the calipers. Stock pegs, handle bars, yadda yadda.... the bike is just alot of fun!Hope to see youse at Barbers?!N8!

Howdy all. I didnt thinkyou could get a cold in the summer... go figure!? Last weekend I had a great time at Barbers Motorsports Park practicing for a couple of days and riding with fellow BMW riders. With a stock R1200S BMW motorcycle I took about 10 people for rides around the race track and that was alot of fun. It was fun to see their reaction when the got off of the bike and to hear how much they didnt think a BMW could do what we did.
Passengers ranged from 100lbs. to 240lbs. and it was a learning curve for myself too!

I have opted to stay at home and not race in Germany on the new R1200S based platform I tested months ago in Le Mans, France. I made this semi tough decision due to my grandparents wanting to come see me race at Barbers the same weekend as the World Endurance round in Germany (Oschersleben). My grandfather is not doing to well and my grandmother has never seen me ride, so thats what I am going to do. There is also a very big support base between the AL., GA, and TN BMW riders. Whatever I can do to support bmwxplor.com I will.

Barbers is the toughest track I have raced on with a BMW. The nature of the course is alot like Sachsenring in East Germany. Your only full throttle about 20% of each lap and always leaned over it seems. Alot of trailbraking and many blind corners. Really I think what is the toughest aspect is the T5 and T6 area. Hairpin or bus stop corners just do not suit our wheelbase, but we find ways to counter that the best we can. We have been able to win numerous races there last yaer, but the competition has stepped it up and the classes I am running are bit tougher than last season.

This race will be next weekend and I hope to see as many of youse as possible and just share in the great diretion BMW is going in!

Cheers,

N8!