Pepsi Drinker

Interesting, my normal style has me trailbraking til I start adding power sometime after getting to my set lean angle and has been this way since I started riding decades ago. But for fun I went out and ran an entire day at the track of trying hard to not trail brake at all. I will say I was unsuccessful in the never trailbraking department as it just didn't feel right to me and when I was upping the pace it was occassionally drawing my attention away from other things. My last stint 30 minute on the track I decided to revert back to my normal trailbraking style. I ran nearly 5 seconds a lap faster even though the sun had set and it was under the lights in temps in the upper 40's instead of a sunny mid 60's during the day. By no means was this scientific nor does it even prove anything other than I personally was more comfortable with my own style rather than an opposing style I was forcing upon myself.

I currently own a 2013 model AGVSport suit, Imola and like it very much. I have owned about 8 or 9 different suits over the years and they have been manufactured by atleast 5 different manufacturers. I would not buy a entry level suit again, but I do know riders that have them and like them. But as far as your question on Alpinestar or Dianese, I havent owned either in more than 20 years, so the only feedback I can give you about them is what I have seen/heard from others. Most everyone agrees buy the best suit you can afford and in the long run it will likely save you some money. But I have seen plenty of suits people have purchased for under $1000 that have held up well to multiple crashes, fit well (although some suit manufacturers suits fit some body types better than others) ventilate well, the trade off there is if they have lots of keprotec stretch panels and perforations they will be cold in the cool mornings and early/late season riding when it. Personally I think limiting yourself to two brands isn't the best way to approach buying a suit. Pick the features you "must have" and those you "like to have" then find the suits with those then compare prices or whatever other styling, name brand, criteria you have. Then perhaps do some price shopping, online and your local suppliers; choices and competition are good things.

I have ridden many bikes where the steering head bearings are worn and notchy. It makes riding the bike very difficult and steering inputs extremely unpredictable. Steering is nary impossible with any kind of precision. But to answer the OP's original question, it is damn near impossible to quick turn too quickly under good conditions, IMO. CSmith I too raced a 250 ninja for a long time and stock springs are way undersprung. Even if the suspension isn't moving through 50% of its travel with better springs and better damping anymore, by closing the throttle I bet you are still transferring more than 50% of the load to the front tire even if only using approx 20% of the suspension travel. It is the weight transfer not the suspension travel.

Back when grid sizes were only 30 riders or so it was a liitle easier to pass and less often, but when grid sizes got to be 80+ riders and several waves starting 10+ seconds apart, passing was much more prevelant and far more necessary to get a decent finish. I always found it easier and likely safer to pass as quickly as possible even if I had to force the issue a little. Whenever I have waited for a turn I knew I was far better at to initiate a pass etc...often someone else who may have been better in some other area would catch us and try passing before we got to that turn, which could slow me down enough or all of us down enough for the one I was going to pass to get further away or for even more people to join the party and slow all of us down fighting amongst ourselves to pass each other while the riders (leaders perhaps) slowly drove away as they were unmolested and able to ride their lines. So I take the position that if I am fast enough to catch them (or be within 5 bike lengths of them anywhere)then I need to get by ASAP since it is likely others are fast enough to catch them and me also. I often had bikes pass me on the straights and I would immediately take them back in the first turn we came to, either entering, going through or exiting even if it meant going around them or stuffing it up the inside and losing some drive out. Many times the lead rider would take a more defensive line right down the middle of the track making that pass around the outside easier-then I could ride away through the infield and perhaps they would catch me again or perhaps not. Most of the time they would catch me further and further down the straight til they couldn't catch me anymore, but they were not holding me up or fighting with me in the infield where it would cost me the most time, so I could work on realing in the next rider. Thus the reason of my first post, get as good of a start as possible and practice starting, a great start -depending on track, race length etc- can easily get you in the top 5 with only the fastest of the racers passing you with ease (relative) while a hohum or blown start will put you back in the middle of the pack fighting to just stay there/on the track. I am all for close racing and never even minded a little contact but it sure was alot easier to run unmolested. But go into racing for the purpose of having fun and enjoying it, if something more becomes of it, great if not you had fun and enjoyed it. I see a few people here locally who are talked about as to how great they are and what stars they will be, I have also watched them go to national events and not even qualify to start or start way in the back and finish there many seconds a lap off the winning pace... I know what a let down that can be when expectations are high/unrealistic. First races or even first weekends are not the place to suddenly go from never running more than 75-80% and having cushy 6' wide designated passing areas to running at 100% and passing within inches anywhere and everywhere, but expecting to go and run at your normal trackday pace may not be realistic either.

The last several posts are really pointing out the difference between street lazy and track crisp... Street riding at a conservative pace people get away with lots of riding errors without any real consequence. Sure you can get away with alot of things at more relaxed speeds, that doesn't make them ideal. It also will not help you when the pace is not so relaxed as you will have a "habit" of no doing it completely correct. Many of the local roads here are posted as adisory speeds 35-45 mph, now all day long we run about 70-75 even through these sweeping turns barely changing speed or throttle except when reaching road changes/stop signs. It certainly isn't ideal for quick turn or the pick up drill etc... but one can still exercise good throttle control and use good reference points etc... Of course those reference points are different for a more relaxed turn in than a crisp turn in as the time and distance it takes you to get to the desired lean/line is slower. There are also several 1 1/2 lane roads (barely 16' wide and no centerline) I frequent where often the turns are not marked at all, if they were they likely would be 15-25mph as the advisory speed. These roads off the gas quick flick and rolling on the gas through the turn are far more important, could you ride these successfully without praticing good skills- sure people do it all the time, right until they get caught out and can't recover. Many street riders go a lifetime without ever needing good skills to avoid a bad situation-dumb luck is really the skill they rely on, many have a lack of these essential skills bite them in the ass regularly or one time and it is over. Would you rather be well practiced and adept with good skills and never "need" them or need them someday and not have that to rely on, making an OSHIT moment a non issue. Deliberately praticing all the skills is essential IMO, and often to do that you need to attend a track.

^ I agree, they need to be able to not have to think about starting, stopping and steering. Basic functions need to be "automatic"

When I first started, 30+ years ago. I went with a few friends and my only goal when I went out for the first race was to beat both of them no matter what. I ended up winning the race by a pretty large margin. After that I thought I should win all the races all the time and when I didn't, I would push harder and started crashing, probably crashed a dozen times that first year to go with about a dozen wins. After having a winter to think about racing and actually gain some knowledge and set more realistic expectations and goals, plus better set up of a new bike and my body physically in better shape. Well the next year I won far more often and when I did not I wasn't so upset or so surprised. Mentally I thought more about enjoying the chase, the hunt, the pass, the stategy, the psychology of getting in others heads both on the track and in the pits. I enjoyed year 2 far more than year one even with having a few rivals who, well lets just say we didn't get along on or off the track. Sometime around year 5/6 I changed my goals and expectations and did it more wanting to improve on what I did, personally. Not necessarily in the standings but in terms of riding abilities and lap times and going to other venues to see how I compared to riders who were familar with a different track that I was not. It was then that I attended CSS for the first time and was amazed at how little I knew and how much faster I could go relatively easily. I found myself far more relaxed while running 5-6 seconds a lap faster. I never saw that kind of lap time improvement after any school again, but I did see a second or two after Schwantz and Spencer schools, so over 10 years of riding improvements and bike improvements in the same class (600SS) I went from running just about 2:02 a lap on a GPZ550 to under !:50 a lap on a CBR600f, and I sat right at 2:00 on a 250 ninja on that same track. My mental game and my physical game had both meshed and I managed almost 20 years racing without a crash while still winning and placing near the front in many races after I changed the "I have to win or why bother" to something more inline with "I want to do better than I did last time, ie...less mistakes, better more consistent lap times, better starts and cleaner more assertive passes" and while I didn't win any championships or get some big race team contract, I did enjoy those years of racing especially the not crashing anymore and not getting hurt part- not too mention the cost reduction by not having to replace so many broken parts and bikes. Mind you I am very competetive in everything I do and winning is always a goal for me, so it wasn't like I sat back sluffing, I pushed and I pushed hard and some of the no crashing was luck/circumstances and some of it was skill and maybe knowing when not to push as hard or stuff the bike into that tiny opening. Alot of it was recognizing when I was "on" and when I wasn't, and when attending new to me tracks- not trying to go out and follow some fast local right off the bat. I tried to go out and only worry about me and pick my lines, my speed, my braking points and throughout the practice sessions/races work up to or above some others racers speeds and then see what they were doing and where then try what appeared to work for them in some areas. Of course today you have youtube and you can view from the saftey of your computer chair many views of many tracks at varying speeds of different riders to get a little accustomed to what to expect and one should certainly take advantage of that resource. Mental attitude plays a huge role and there have always been some with less skill than fear that will routinely push too hard trying to show how good they are or they want to be, sometimes they get lucky sometimes they do not. There have been numerous times when some rider on a bike I prepared needed some mental push to make them more certain or more confident so they would ride better/faster. I remember taking a national champion to Daytona season finale in the early 90's and he was very much off the pace and complained endlessly about the bike being slow. It was almost futile to talk to him. I ended up putting on the leathers and taking the bike out to see what the problem was since he couldn't or wouldn't be of any help in the matter, I found the bike to be a rocket ship, faster than almost anything out there on the track with me. When I came in, he nearly pushed me off the bike, jumped on the bike and raced off running nearly 5 seconds quicker than he did just 15 minutes prior. When he came in and we got a chance to talk again he said he wasn't going to let some old washed mechanic go faster than him. I found out later I ran almost 4 seconds a lap faster than he had previously and when he saw that I was running faster than he was and was able to pull away from a drafting group of 3 bikes, mentally he must have decided the bike was really that fast. I am sure his ego had some to do with his new found speed. He ended up sitting on the pole and leading much of the race all by himself several seconds ahead before the gang of 7 drafties were able to run him down and pass him with a couple laps to go. He finished 7th or 8th in a race he had never broken the top 20 in and ran the fastest lap time of the race against riders he had never been able to ride/compete with before. So his mental barrier was overcome and allowed him to ride to his physical limitations was really how I felt at the time. So I guess I got very long winded and a little off topic.

Schwantz and Spencer, as far as world class riders and well known names. Been to them both, enjoyed them both. Not better, not worse- just different in what and how they taught, it has been a decade so they could teach differently now, when they teach. Been to STAR but was not riding, just there with a racer I have been working with. For what I saw and experienced it was pretty good, not as well run as CSS and certainly didn't seem like all the instructors knew as much, but it was worth the price of admission if for no other reason a day of riding on the track and hearing some other perspective. Certainly I think the consensus is that CSS is the world leader in motorcycle riding schools. Also been to other no name "schools" that are really more just free for all trackdays with very little teaching and even less riding as they simply have too many attendees and too many crashes. I am not a big fan, but it is a way for some/many to just go have fun and ride fast without worrying about road hazzards or public perception or law enforcement.

Practice your starts and get good at them. The closer to the lead guys you can be in the first couple turns the better. Endurance races aren't won in the first few corners or even laps, but they can be lost there, so if you have to give up position to stay on the bike that beats the alternative. But it is far easier to stay up front than to have to pass a bunch of people and run down the leaders. Pit stops every 20 minutes?

Well the problem with the 18" rear is this; Bridgestone was the last producer of any decent track quality rubber in that size and they stopped making it about 5 years ago. So while you can still find some very old "new" tires around for the rear of the bike at about $180 a pop, the supply is very limited and at some point your only choice will be to go with a 17" rear wheel swap or ride on inferior rubber. I already consider 5 year old rubber about the end of the tires useful life, most manufacturers state that the preservative/mold release they put on the tires is good for 5 years, so take it for what it is worth. I have seen several of these as race only bikes with the conversion and suspension upgrades and some other goodies go for under $1000. I would start with cleaning, inpsecting and servicing the wear out items.

Stock wheels? Are they true? Any idea on the service history of the steering head bearings-the swingarm bearings-the wheel bearings? Do the front forks have emulators in them or still just damper rod forks? What weight fork oil? (not all fork oils that say 5w or the same, same goes for all weights- pick a brand and stick with it for all changes) Any idea of fork oil level? Steering damper installed? Could it be the tire wear that is causing the problem, not the problem that caused the tire wear? Any hard crashes that could have the frame tweeked or swingarm-wheel alignment? I have 1990 FZR400 with ohlins front and rear and a steering damper that has no problems upto its max top speed. It has a 17" rear wheel conversion (86 GSXR750) and about 22,000 miles, 15w Maxima blue bottle fork oil, but I did strip it down to a bare frame and clean and make sure everything was straight and properly functioning, all new wheel, steering head and swingarm bearings were installed.

Mental Skills. Attendees should be required to have read the books, watched the videos and have a relatively good understanding of what to expect when attending. As far as riding skills, they should feel comfortable on the bike they are riding and have proficient enough skills to ride confidentately holding a line at whatever speed they chose to ride at. They also should be able to handle when the "fast" riders are lapping them every lap or two.

"get your ass off the seat" then they go to demonstrate with their entire ass damn near on the footpeg. While some side to side movement of your ass is needed at pace you definately don't need your ass off the seat IMO I was in the Ozarks recently and a couple of the local rabbits passed our group and they both had their asses damn near on the ground while their head was squarely over the center of the tank.....Where do they pick that up? They were so far twisted on the bike their outside leg pointed perpendicular to the bike while their inside leg almost parallel to it. So we, having some ego and all promptly picked up the pace about 15 mph ran them down and passed them for them to never be seen again. One nice thing about the trip, motorcycles outnumbered cars on the road by a large margin, but there were too many centerline crossers or riding right on it to get truly confident in any of the blind turns or the other riders on the road. We heard at the lunch stop from a guy on a 1982 Goldwing how "those damn crotch rockets run people off the road all the time" and he was talking to a group of riders on them damn crotch rockets. Apparently about 5 minutes into his rant he realized who he was talking to and quietly walked away murmoring something like "they don't care" to his counterpart who stodd silent through the ordeal. Cobie; you can't get 4000+ miles out of a sport tire is you go right out and ride it like you want, it requires those first couple hundred "easy" miles with little wear so the tire lasts longer...lol I still recommend to street riders to gradually work towards the edge for 50-100 miles depending on the roads they are on before riding like they want. On the racetrack I have left the pits with brand new rubber on and leaned right to the edge in the first turn, so I know the tire will grip but I would rather error on the side of caution when suggesting that to street riders of unknown skills.

A persons first bike needs to be the best *mechanically* running bike they ever own. They lack the skillset to tolerate crabby carburetion off idle or grabby disfunctional clutches, notchy steering head bearings or any other hazzards. The biggest thing in getting started riding is having the best equipment in the best running condition possible, then they can focus on riding and not how to overcome the bikes many shortcomings which can only take away from thier learning how to ride better. Ninja 300 with its slightly lower seat height than the 250 would make a good bike, albeit a bit spendy. A good running and well maintained Ninja 250 (2007 or older model) can be had relatively inexpensively and with clean carbs and proper adjustments they work very well. Plus they are narrow Same goes for bikes the likes of the old VTR250 or the current CBR250R Of course one could go to the GS500 or SV650 or even a GSF600, but they weigh more are much wider. There would be plenty of cruiser bikes to chose from and even numerous standards of one was into those type of bikes instead.

Steering- if you can't control the bikes direction it won't really matter how fast or slow you are going (except in a straight line) Throttle/brake control-if you can't control your speed, all the steering skills in the world won't "save" you (always...again you could simply go straight) Visual awareness- if you don't know where you are going, what is around you and anticipate actions-you may as well be looking at the ground 5' in front of the bike and try to ride it like that. Visual skills are highly underrated IMO

I like to run my suspension set up so I am using about 90%; front example is I like the feel of the set up when using up 100-105mm of the 115mm of available travel On the track I find this pretty easy to accomplish, however On the street if I set it up this way or leave it how the track settings are I often will bottom the front suspension on sharp edged bumps or broken pavement and that isn't good. As loss of traction is likely, not too mention the harm it does to the bike. So I Run my front so I am only using about 90mm most of the time on the street, and then when I hit those broken pavement sections or sharp edged bumps I am not bottoming out the front susension. I often times will see the ziptie within a couple mm of the lower triple after hitting those, but when usually riding it is more like 1/2" - 3/4" away from the lower triple. My sag settings typically are 32mm-35mm for street riding and down closer to 26-29mm for track riding, using only the spring preload adjuster to make those changes, I do add in a little bit of extra damping (rebound and compression) when I have more preload added. I video taped the rear suspension in action once on a street ride, I was using nearly all the travel from end to end and a couple times had even bottomed it out. I since went to the next stiffer rear spring but have not since video taped it. But I did notice that it feels better even though it has far less spring preload to achieve the same sag numbers. But I by no means am a suspension expert

Well someone who eats up 4-5 sets of tires each year, I don't imagine 3 sets is much risk or investment. Especially if he was saving $40 per set

Take it to a reputable dyno operator and get some c/o readings and see if jetting is an issue. You may be too lean but far too often those downloaded maps are far too rich in my experience. The best way to know and know with certainty is to get c/o readings. I had guhl reflash a 2012 ZX10R and the bike now runs about 6-8* hotter than it did prior to the reflash, which seems pretty common especially with ignition advance advanced.

Any regrets? I once asked Kevin Schwantz this question and while I can't quote an answer he gave for the next 20+ minutes he did name a few of his passes and the need to look over his shoulder ending in crashes. He also made mention of a couple times riding a bike he knew wasn't good enough for what he was doing but did it anyways.

Because it makes our boobs look bigger, of course. I doubt you'll find many complainers. Locally there seems to be the thought process to what a good rider is; "Go as fast as you can and if you aint crashing you aint learning" Atleast that is the mindset of many of the uneducated ego driven riders of many a sportbike who ride the same roads over and over again treating it as their own personal test track where they can "prove" how good they are (not). Well of course putting down a knee is high amongst their priorities of proving how good they are (not) as well. - For me what I consider a good street rider. Safety ! Regardless of the speed they ride. I know many good riders who typically only ride slightly over the speed limit even in the corners. Conversly I also know a few good riders who ride double + through the turns and are very good riders. Everyone has their own threshold of risk management and what they consider "safe" or acceptable risk vs reward, so judging someone by what parts they do or don't install on their bike or how fast they are willing to ride doesn't really prove anything about their true skill level. I have seen more than a few riders who appeared to be "good" riders get put into a situation where they were forced to react. A deer running out in front of them is most common, but another vehicle over the centerline around a blind turn, sand right at the apex, slow moving farm equipment blocking the whole road as you crest a hill etc... And how a rider handles these situations is far more telling than how they ride when there is no drama happening just droaning down the open road. So how much they practice skills, execute those skills and their ability to read and handle situations and their bike is far more telling of their true skill level IMO. It is more about education, practice and being proficient with those skills for me. The skills that will aid in your enjoyment and safety and may well one day save your life....not the skills like wheelies or stoppies- although they may have some value in bike control they certainly aren't a determining factor to proving your a "good" rider as many think. Those "just do" advocates who don't think you need to practice anything and just ride, I steer well clear of as usually I find they ride right up next to the edge of disaster hoping everything goes well instead of prepared if things go another way. Sadly the more times they go out and get away with disaster not kicking their ass the better they think they are.

Feedback from a few street people who have now worn through a set. A devoted Michelin PP2CT user tried out a set he had installed in early Aug. The price deal after the rebate made them nearly $60 cheaper than his PP2CT's-so he figured he would give them a try after much prodding. Anyways he has a ZX6r and ran just over 3950 on the rear and was just flush to the wear bars. He said he actually thought the tires felt better than his Michelins he so loved and the mileage was nearly identical. He thought they were more stable at further lean angles but he also didn't reach the edge of the rear tire but was close and was more than a thumbs width from the edge of the front tire. Another Michelin devotee saw the money savings and with some prodding decided to give them a go. R-6, he likes to run triple digits and doesn't corner much or very well, so he was nearly a full thumbs width away from the edge on the rear and way off the edge in the front. He is over 3500 miles and and has 2/32" tread depth left in the rear. He is more about the mileage since he likely isn't going fast enough in any corner to tell a grip difference , thus far he at the mileage he would manage out the Michelins he has been running. The front tire has a "squared" lip where he has only worn it so far, so that was a bit unnerving when I went out on his bike for my 6 miles loop. Definately takes more to lean past that edge then the sudden fall over. He , I feel, should be riding sport touring tires for the way he rides but he is stuck on the image thing and feels he needs "race tires" to go on a "race bike" even though it is a sport tire on a sport bike ridden exclusively on the street mostly in a straight line. Yet another Michelin devotee was persuaded (far more easily) to run these and he too has been impressed and stated, "these will be my next tire purchase, I love them". he rides an R6S. He has attended a couple trackdays at the local mini track and isn't all that fast- maybe 1:18-1:20 lap times, but he really brakes hard and late (to or past the apex often) then hammers the throttle on exit. So he is abusive on tires. At any rate he got just under 3600 miles on the rear and the right side was past the wear bars as was the center, so definately completely used up. The small track is predominately right turns and he also drags the brakes deeper on right turns than he does on lefts, both street and track, so his front tire takes alot of abuse on the right. He bought 3 more sets just before the Dunlop rebate deal ended, so I would say he really liked these tires. At any rate, there is some feedback from people who were definately biased against them that is pretty positive.

Reading the forum and reading the books/watching the videos is great and certainly helpful. But attending a CSS event is worlds more productive and quite a bit faster results as well. Erik I am glad you are progressing and happy with your level of accomplishment thus far. More riders (probably not those on this forum) should be more proactive with their riding skills development. I see riders all the time who stop "learning" once they feel they can turn, accelerate and brake "good enough". Of course everyones definition of "good enough" is a little different. I too have benefitted greatly from CSS and Kieths books and videos but not as much as actually attending the school more than a few times.

Well I burned through a rear finally, 4,231 miles in 26 days and the front is still useable for maybe another 1200-1500 miles. Although I think I should have been running another pound or two in it as it is slightly cupped. More annoying is that I can see some slight checking in the tread, saw the same thing on the Q2's after they got past 1/2 worn out. I ran into the same cupping issue with the Q2 when I ran it at 33 psi in the front, 34 psi and no cupping (on the Q2) So mileage was on par with the Q2, certainly no better. I got 4,520 out of the last set of Q2's I ran, riding basically the same on the same roads and the same time of year. Of course road conditions change, weather changes, speed changes etc...so too many variables to say scientifically one lasts longer than the other, but the difference in wear isn't much. Now that I have ridden on a set for thousands of miles and on the track I can answer some of my own questions; Tip in is great, way easier than the Q2 or PP etc...felt great on the road and the track. Profile is definately steeper. Very stable when leaned over and they almost beckon you to lean more...the grip seems to increase the further you lean. I have never dragged my pegs on the street before and I found myself going through numerous turns on familar roads about 10 mph faster than usual and the pegs touching occassionally and still getting nowhere near the edge of the front tire and barely to the edge of the rear. Going over the typical gravel piles, tar snakes, lone rocks and branches and those are only noticeable. Whereas the Q2 , PP, Power Pure, S20, BT003, M5, Conit Sport Attack all let you know and protest-some more than others. After a couple rides like that I slid the forks back up the 10mm that they were lowered and raised the rear ride height 12 mm more- no more touching hard parts after that. However nearly tippy toes now though too, so stop signs/lights are more challenging especially when it is windy. Took em to the track and ran 7 full 30 minute sessions without them fading, running 30f and 32r. They heated up to 34f and 36r. The Q2's after about 15 minutes would start to fall off and by 20 minutes were starting to slide, by 30 minutes they slid regularly but predictably, and I had worked pressures up to 32f and 35r looking for a cure on the Q2. The cure seemed to be to run slower, 1:17+ and they were great for the entire 30 minute sessions. I was running 1:10'1:12's on the tiny 1.1 mile *all* right turns local track- the "fast" group is typically 1:12-1:17 for most in the group. So 163 of those miles were at the track in 84*~76* weather at a very brisk pace. The S20 and BT003RS both worked better for me on the track than the Q2, but I think the Q3 is even better than either of those. I'll definately run these again and would give them the nod to others to run as well.

I raced for about 20 years although the last 10 was more for fun on just one bike-sure I still won on that bike (far less competetive class with few entries). What inspired me to try it out, friends and peer pressure. We used to go find more deserted back roads in WI hill country and some MN sweeperland roads as well and "practice" and there was/is even a business district here called OPUS that many back in the 80's would go "race" around. Anyways, got tired of tickets and traffic and several of us decided to go it a try, I won the very first race I was in and was hooked for about 10 years of adrenaline and winning. But as the expenses of entry fees and travels and being competetive and the desire to race at tracks further and further away took more and more time away from work and way more money than one could win or hope to get sponsors to pay for I dwindled it back to only 1 bike and 6 weekends a year at the two closest tracks until Barber opened then I just had to go there for a final race before calling it quits. In 2003 I gave up racing all together and sold off all but one of my street bikes and all the racebikes but that faithful 250 ninja I had raced for 17 years. Which I ended up parting with in Jan 2012 after a final stint back at Road America the previous fall. I still think about it from time to time and look at the lap times of the local club and know I would be competetive if I decided to go back, based on current times of winners and what I ran with less everything (power, traction, suspension, knowledge etc...) I just don't have the desire to go do it again although with the numerous trackdays I have done over the last several years and the CSS this past May the desire is growing. But at approaching 50, the reality of longer recovery times for everything is a reality I keep in mind. When I started racing, a 15 race weekend with camping etc cost under $100. $5 per race I think was the entry fee.I double dutied my street bike for the first 3 years before finally breaking down and buying a bike just for racing, then came a second race bike and then a 3rd so I could enter every single race available When I finished it would have run around $500, but I was only racing 2 or 3 races then and was spending about $150 for the races and camping. Now it costs $50 per race just to enter, plus an entry fee, camping fee etc, so the cost has increased far more than my income has. Those are just the fixed costs to enter and get in, add in the extra fuel expenses, higher costs of everything associated with racing(life really) and it keeps me quietly enjoying my weekend 400-500 rides on varying WI roads where I can ride for 12 hours and not spend more than $120 including breakfast and lunch (sure tire wear etc is a cummulative expense)... I can remember when I could ride my bike to Eastern TN, NC area and ride for 2-3 days and barely spend that much in gas for the entire trip. Well okay maybe my memory isn't that good, but I do know I have made the Eastern Mountain trip numerous times back in the 80's and early/mid 90's and left home with under $300 in my wallet and rode for 5 days and came home with money still in there.

Don't forget Dunlop is offering $40 rebate on a set of Q3's purchased until August 31st. That brings the price down significantly!