Back in the Republic of Georgia and for sure I am still riding high from this past Monday's trackday! The opportunity to ride with our West Coast friends and BMW riders was something I could not pass up. About 7 months ago via email Ralf and I spoke of a BMW trackday in Southern California. Its was simple to me - you get the track Ralf, and you bet I will be there. After we hung out and spoke further at the IMS show in Long Beach, it was in stone for me.
So June 9th was the date and man, it came quickly. Logistics would be tough as to how to we would get a bike there. BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas made sure the R1200S they have for me to race would be available.
This whole event at Buttonwillow (Bumpywillow) Raceway was the work of one man, Ralf Wilkowski. With very quick commitments from BMW riders all over Ca., this event was shaping up. I flew out to Ca. and spent some time this past Saturday at Ralf's local dealer, San Diego BMW Motorcycles. Rack another one up, another dealer that "gets it!", meaning that they understand the value of relationships first and naturally the numbers will come. With San Diego BMW Motorcycles' involvement the day was even better.

This is a great time to share a really cool story. An R1200SGS rider from Norfolk, Va., named Jody was riding in WV at a trackday when I met him in 2007. We hit it off instantly besides the fact that he was on a BMW motorcycle. We kept in touch and hung out at Morton's BMW Motorcycles open house and then at the D.C. IMS show in Feb. That is where Jody informed me he would see me in two years. He is a career Navy Officer and being stationed in Japan. His wife and kids would be joining him there later this year. Well some divine intervention landed Jody and his ship, the USS George Washington, at the San Diego Naval base due to a fire while en route to Japan. Fortunately, none of his crew was badly injured. I found this out because he showed up at the San Diego dealership while I was there hanging out with their customers. It was really cool as he said he heard I was going to be there.
I told him that the trackday was Monday and he knew nothing about it. From there I just inquired to see if there was a motorcycle he could potentially ride on Monday. San Diego BMW Motorcycles was beyond generous and made sure he had a bike to ride and gear head-to-toe!!!!! Just awesome! Jody was speechless and still in disbelief. Later on Sat. I got the best tour of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier. Even more love and respect for our United States military personnel. Amazing ship and jobs everyone has to keep us safe!

Sunday rolled around and oh yeah, I sat next to a great couple on the flight out named Mike and Trisha. Mike is a Navy Medic (E-6) and after the 6 hour flight we found out we had alot in common. I ended up going to The Rock Church with them Sunday morning before we headed out for the track. Thank you guys for that awesome experience. Around 2 Ralf, Jody and I set out for the track. The drive through some mountains and then into this very flat valley was awesome. No wonder its so expensive to live there; the scenery is great. We checked in the hotel and then met up with some great PelicanParts.com members at the Willow Ranch BBQ joint for some grub. Many faces were put to the screennames and throughout dinner we all just had a great time. I sat next to Eron and, man!, the guy really knew his track stuff and it showed the next day on his BMW R1100S!

Finally Monday June 9th came and we were off for the track. Buttonwillow Raceway is a track in the middle of the valley and very flat. Some man made eleveation changes, but ultra-bumpy. It was the perfect training ground for the "real world" riding motorcyclist encounter off the track. Off camber, blind hill turns, and bumps were some of the fun we learned to tackle together. I had so much fun and was blown away by how much these riders really wanted to learn. I knew with the mix of BMW models there and my experience with Boxers and K bikes, we would have a great time. After chatting a bit with each rider and then riding together, we narrowed down what the riders wanted to work on individually. From there I used the San Diego BMW Motorcycles R1200S for two up rides (taking passengers) around the track. That was just an absolute blast!!! Then to see the riders go out and apply what they learned first hand was even better.

There is so much more I could say, but I dont wanna drag out one of the best days I have ever had on two wheels. I cannot wait for the next time!

Packing up this evening for the XPLOR Blue Ridge ride this weekend. This will be total fun and a chance to see and hear what people want to know about BMW motorcycles. From there, Richard "Mini" Cooper will be flying Monday to get ready for the following weekend's ASRA Natl. Pro weekend. Two Beemers again flying in formation and for sure Richard wants to reverse the outcome from Daytona in the ASRA Pro Thunderbike race. Friday we will be practicing (20th) and then we go racing Sat. and Sun. Dont miss the chance to see a very, very talented and fast racer at VIR.

Thank you everyone for you comments that are piling up in the email in reference to the posts here. I have tried to get the Blogger issue cleared up and get them on here, but it's hit or miss. Sometimes it goes through and sometimes it doesn't. So Jason, Kevin, Tarci, and others... apologies for not being able to publish them.

Ok, off to the range to train and blow through a couple hundred rounds. Will be at BMW MC of Atlanta tomorrow and then off to Va.!

Cheers,

N8!

The 3rd round of the National ASRA Pro Thunderbike series headed to Summit Point, WV.
Going into that round I knew the competition was hungry and for sure did not want a repeat of what happened 3 weeks previously. The BMW HP2Sport still has not changed from its showroom stock condition. I felt the need to keep stock and prove what it can do, as if a customer just bought it. The shocks have not been revalved and/or resprung, which is the most necessary upgrade for racing.
With a win in 750 Superbike (Heavyweight Superbike) that shocked all the spectators and riders alike at Summit Point, our BMW HP2Sport did it again! This time I was blown away by the lack of sportsmanship as I found out, almost the hard way, on the warm up lap. This past race weekend was the first time I have ever left the HP2Sport out under the canopy over night. I did not practice on it, as I knew what it was capable of from the day before. Due to limited budgets, I wanted to conserve tire wear and race fuel. On the warm-up lap, the machine about spit me off every time I pulled the trigger. Something was terribly wrong.
As I gridded up on the front straight to start the race, I hopped up and down on the seat and man, did it feel like crap (rear shock). I reached down for the compression adjuster and found that it was completely turned all the way out. That left me in total disbelief. No time to check the rebound. 2 board, 1 board, BAM nailed the holeshot into T1. With the lead now I had a dilemma - lead it and stay out front knowing I can't get the power down safely/efficiently, or just go for some good points and bring it home?! The latter quickly faded away, as I was livid! We ended up winnning the race Monday (Memorial Day) morning.
Backing it up a day to Sunday. The Morton's BMW crew and BMWBMW.org members who volunteered the time and effort to put us up front, had some work to do. Morton's BMW brought the R1200S that Mini Cooper rode at Daytona. The bike was the heaviest and dynoed good power, so that was my choice weapon for ASRA Pro Thunderbike's 4lbs. per HP ratio class. Qualifying was a game. It always is. No one wants to give the seemingly "old man's" BMW a tow down the straights for a good draft. That ever-precious draft at Summit can start a really good lap going. So, I put my head down and did what I could. Came up .3 seconds short of the pole and qualified 2nd. I was not happy at all with that because I went .8 seconds faster in practice that morning. Oh well, time to get ready for the CCS Thunderbike and 600 Supersport race.
The same players in the Natl. ASRA Pro Thnderbike were in the CCS Thunderbike so it was a big pregame warm up. Less than stellar launch, but was able to outbrake everyone into T1 due to my Telelever front suspension. I have never experienced the ability to go so deep on the brakes on another motorcycle. From there I ran 4 laps with .3 seconds of each other and was able to pull away for the win. This turned up the heat for the next day. The competition was now even more fired up.
The 600 Supersport race was awesome! We led the first 2 laps and then Robert Jensen, who I feel is the best privateer in the country, came past on the brakes to start lap 3. I put my head down and wanted to show that our BMW HP2Sport does not just run past good riders, but can hang with great ones! At the line we finished a strong 2nd, just over 1 second behind.
So back to Monday, Memorial Day... a day that I know personal friends of mine who are serving and everyone else who knows someone serving our country keeps in the thoughts all day. This day was going to be a great showdown. I had to forget about the mysteriously and drastically changed rear shock that found my compression and rebound adjusters backed all the way off. Hmmm... Just added more fuel and rode stronger. So now the ASRA Pro Thunderbike race is gridding up. The top 4 spots were only seperated by .4 seconds. Another crappy launch but repeat on the brakes into T1. With the lead going into T2 I was energized. I started to calm down and just hit my mark. With no draft and decent headwind down Summit's long straight, the pack was leap-frogging each other closer. Finally I had a front wheel shown to me. That made me think I needed to push a bit more there. The 10 lap race had a just an awesome lead change around 7 to 8 times. 3 laps to go and a Factory Buell racer and another rider who I know is ultra- talented, Dave Estok, ran down the the side of me into T1 but no worries, we both stayed up. It was pretty early in the brake markers so I was not expecting it. Dave ran wide and fortunately stayed up. What I did not know was the Morton's BMW R1200S I was racing still had the heated grips hooked up. I would later find out why I was swallowing my tongue and having trouble with my fading melting brain for the last 3 laps, as the high position was on! So here is where it gets interesting, especially for anyone who has EVER raced anything under the sun...
Last lap was a jugg-dragging fest. I have never ever dragged the cylinder heads for a whole lap, everywhere. Every corner, not due to going blistering fast, but due to brain melting. Literally, I was thinking, man it's only 80 degees and a great day for racing, not the 100+ we are used to at Barber. Last corner T10 is a fast 4th gear (for me) right-hander onto the front straight. As I drive off the corner, I see the checkered flag waving about 200 meters down the straight. NATURALLY what would any racer do knowing they are being drafted to the line?! This is where I found out the direction some racing is going.... I took a look over my left shoulder, while wide open on the gas, and I could see the 2nd place rider drafting me. He dips left, so NATURALLY as I look forward I dipped left, then right, and we crossed the finish line. I took the hard fought win in the Natl. ASRA Pro Thunderbike race.
Well you know, when I heard, "Nate Kern to the scoring tower", I didn't think much of it. Boy, did I think alot when I left, though. I was penalized 10 seconds onto my race time and dropped to third. I was accused of "blocking". I simply replied "I was just racing", the same way any other series and or race comes down to the last lap being drafted. In this series, regardless of the situation, last lap or not, you have to just hold your line and let the next rider draft by you. So all in all we still lead the natl. championship, but 9 valuable points were lost.