YellowDuck Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Hi all - just found this site and registered yesterday. I am 43 and have been riding since I was 18, but recently (about 1 year ago) discovered track riding. I have since converted my bike (2006 Ducati Sport Classic) to track only and don't ride on the street at all anymore. Kind of a late start with the track riding I guess, but as I like to say, it's never too late for a happy childhood! I always felt a bit bored / guilty riding on the street, knowing that there was no way to legally and responsibly approach either the bike's limits or my own, and when I did push it a little I would feel this sort of guilty ache in my stomach. Plus, riding in Ontario is *expensive* - about $1000 per year for insurance on a bike like mine. With the amount of time I had available for street riding, it was costing me about $50 per ride just for insurance. Taking 5 or 6 complete days off per year to go the the track fits in much better with my life, and is 100x more fun. My home track is Toronto Motorsports Park, but I have also ridden at Mosport and hope to hit the other Ontario tracks eventually (Shannonville, Grand Bend, Calabogie). I haven't read the TOTW books (sorry...probably should do that!) but am keen on picking up some tips and decreasing my lap times. I find it very challenging and enjoyable and have made good progress, but I am still at the slower end of the intermediate group. I am currently trying to find a good riding coach to help me a little. I have picked a fair bit of knowledge about suspension, both from reading Trevitt's book and from modifying / tuning my own bike. Photo attached. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warregl Posted June 6, 2012 Report Share Posted June 6, 2012 Welcome to the forum Duck! I was a late starter on the track scene as well (41) but you are dead on, it's never to late to have a happy childhood (plus now I can actually afford to do it right). I would recommend you start with Twist II and if you want an easy and informative introduction to CSS, pick up a copy of the Twist II DVD. It is very informative and gives you some great insight to the teachings of the Guru, Mr. Code. And if you have the opportunity, you should seriously consider attending the school. If you are looking for coaching you wont find any better. Please don't be bashful, the forum loves new members and there is a ton of good information and some great people here. Best, Carey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugget Posted June 7, 2012 Report Share Posted June 7, 2012 Hi YellowDuck, welcome to the forum and glad to see you out there posting! It's interesting that you have identified one need as a good riding coach. I would say that CSS has the best riding coaches in the world. When I took Level 1, after the coaches had all introduced themselves and left to finish preparing, we were asked if we recognized any of them. No one did. But then an interesting point was made - we didn't recognize them because they're not professional racers. But they are professional coaches. I'll vouch for that - after one day at CSS I showed more improvement in my riding than numerous road and track based training combined. That's no exaggeration! I can definitely recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mblaster Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Welcome to the forums! I ride a 900ss. Ducs are tons of fun. Cya around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prnc81 Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Welcome from a fellow newb - nice looking Duc! I ride a CBR1KRR which is an absolute blast. I've ridden the Duc Streetfighter and 1098 - didn't have any complaints about either, but the 1098 was definitely my favorite between the two. Unfortunately, that's the extent of my experience with Ducati but I do have a buddy that has a 748 that I may have to take for a spin sometime in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowDuck Posted June 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Welcome from a fellow newb - nice looking Duc! I ride a CBR1KRR which is an absolute blast. I've ridden the Duc Streetfighter and 1098 - didn't have any complaints about either, but the 1098 was definitely my favorite between the two. Unfortunately, that's the extent of my experience with Ducati but I do have a buddy that has a 748 that I may have to take for a spin sometime in the near future. Hi! I actually lived in Athens GA from 1998 to 2003, so I know your area pretty well. I got spoiled by the North GA mountains - in fact the complete lack of such interesting roads here in SW Ontario is one of the reasons I have given up street riding altogether. I once crashed north of Suches. Early morning ride, came up over the mountain onto the North side and on the first steep downhill found myself instantly on the ground. Had no idea what caused it until I tried to stand up - the road was like a skating rink! True black ice - completely invisible. Poor 2000 750SSie - it was practically new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prnc81 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I am familiar with the area! I hate it that you went down up there - that sucks! There are some great roads in the area! I try to get up there once a month or so when the weathers nice - but I don't get up there (at least on my bike) during cold weather. The one exception was riding up to Greenville, SC via N GA mountains to go to the Int'l Motorcycle show - I think it was the 1st year they moved it from Atlanta. At any rate it was 16 degrees when I left my house that morning - that was the 1st and last time I've ridden when it was that cold! I had a similar experience with black ice that caused me to acquire some scuffs on my leather jacket - and a new fairing panel on my old '95 VFR750... it was an expensive lesson to learn! See you around the forum YellowDuck! Let me know if you get back down to the area and we'll hook up for a ride over Blood Mtn and Wolfpen Gap Rd. Prince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.