Famoso TNT - Saturday - February 15th 2014

[jhwalker]

You were a legend at all the tracks..... lol

??? of course that is not true, but I enjoyed time at the tracks. Especially road race tracks. Drag strips were more about the people, and the shenanigans involved in waiting around for long periods of time for a very brief period of fun.

I never have appreciated the supposed joys of road racing, although canyon carving on the street is fun at times. Interesting that there appears to be a philosophical schism between drag racers and road racers, even if they tolerate the others. I actually got bored within a few laps at the Streets of Willow since the only challenge that I could see was a marginal decrease in lap times, until one approached the limits of their skills and/or machine. And, there were fairly long waits between runs on the tracks as all the groups cycled through. On top of that, the rules on passing and on track behavior actually precluded getting to run hard for very long at all. At least at the drag strip, I am free to drive to my maximum. If there is a slow Prius out there, it will be in the other lane, not holding me, and a long line up, for 3/4 of a lap on the Streets, and, yes, this happened the day I went to the Streets. It also seems that at the hobby level, drag racing is more of a common man's sport in terms of costs, and road racing seems to cater to the more affluent crowd, as it is clear that road racing costs more as a rule. In any case, I do not see too many road racers, and their machines, drag racing, nor do I see too many drag racers, and their machines, road racing. Carlos, of course, is an exception, but, as we have noted already, Terminators are natural switch hitters when it come to handling multiple disciplines.

But, posting at 2:46 am? Partying again, we see.

you tracked 1 time or 2? There is a lot of low budget road racing available, and my memory is that cost was part of your reason for skipping the Famoso drags...

[Tetge]

Cost certainly figured into my decision on the Famoso drags, but, the most important factor was the forecast DA. Us time runners want a new PB every time we hit a track. This serves both as a motivation and excuse. And, the weather would not cooperate. If the forecast had been super good, I would have been there.

However, I can get a fix of real drag racing at 5 PM today, my time, when ESPN squeezes 7-9 minutes max (are the bikes running?) of racing action into a three hour show from the Phoenix Nationals Final. But, at least it is easier to watch delayed on TV than in person as oil downs and stuff can be edited out. Still, there is way too much cult of personality filler for my tastes, but, as with the Olympics, if you want to see it, you have to accept the format.

I will now wait for Willow Springs to resume before I do any drag racing. WIllow is sort of relaxing, since a 1/4 time runner like me can't take it seriously. It just gives me a chance to put the pedal to the metal and do 100+ without fear of a really bad ticket. And, it is inexpensive and no harder on the drivetrain than a full on start from a full stop on the street.

[mikedbike2002]

Gee there are still a few people that are still alive here!! I am in the 4th week of my law suit over my crash 29 months ago. Lawyers said no riding or FaceBook till trial is over. About 2 more weeks to go!!

[Tetge]

Gee there are still a few people that are still alive here!! I am in the 4th week of my law suit over my crash 29 months ago. Lawyers said no riding or FaceBook till trial is over. About 2 more weeks to go!!

So, the lawyers don't trust you? You don't even have a fast motorcycle as it is only a little, DR-Z. It is not as if you have some big sports bike and are some youngster. But, at least I know what happened to you. I actually started my DR-Z yesterday and let it run and get good and hot. But, I didn't ride it. I need to change the oil and filter, but, the Yosh exhaust is in the way making it a real PITA to remove the bottom drain plug and, especially, to put it back. And, it would be an even bigger PITA to pull the exhaust. So, it sits with tires that are almost worn out. But, the good weather is coming, so, I keep thinking that I will bite the bullet and do the oil change so it will be ready for a ride or two before I will need to replace both the front and rear tires. This too bothers me since my good old reliable Honda dealer went out of business and I am not sure who to trust to do tire changes and balancing. It also is another PITA to jack the bike up because of the Yosh exhaust which hangs down beneath the bike and covers all the jack points. Maybe it is time for a nice cruiser?

[jhwalker]

I notice that a lot of Harley riders look a bit like you...

[Tetge]

I notice that a lot of Harley riders look a bit like you...

I said, a nice cruiser, not a Harley. I may be sinking and I may have lost my edge, but, I have not sunk that far.

[MrCaliKrome]

In any case, I do not see too many road racers, and their machines, drag racing, nor do I see too many drag racers, and their machines, road racing. Carlos, of course, is an exception, but, as we have noted already, Terminators are natural switch hitters when it come to handling multiple disciplines.

I agree. It has always been rare for me to take out any machine I have owned and run it outside it's designated "optimal performance box" for a few reasons:

1) it's tedious to switch setups, especially if you've taken time to try and perfect one for a designated purpose
2) one dedicated setup is pricey enough, adding in mods for a different style of racing on the same machine is even more Dinero
3) when I want to road race, the machine I use is an optimal platform which likely is not optimal for drag racing and vice versa

I enjoy all kinds of motorsports, 2 wheels, 4 wheels, on road, off road and I've found it difficult to "have my cake and eat it too" in terms of getting multiple purposes out of various machines.

[jhwalker]

In any case, I do not see too many road racers, and their machines, drag racing, nor do I see too many drag racers, and their machines, road racing. Carlos, of course, is an exception, but, as we have noted already, Terminators are natural switch hitters when it come to handling multiple disciplines.

I agree. It has always been rare for me to take out any machine I have owned and run it outside it's designated "optimal performance box" for a few reasons:

1) it's tedious to switch setups, especially if you've taken time to try and perfect one for a designated purpose
2) one dedicated setup is pricey enough, adding in mods for a different style of racing on the same machine is even more Dinero
3) when I want to road race, the machine I use is an optimal platform which likely is not optimal for drag racing and vice versa

I enjoy all kinds of motorsports, 2 wheels, 4 wheels, on road, off road and I've found it difficult to "have my cake and eat it too" in terms of getting multiple purposes out of various machines.

In any case, I do not see too many road racers, and their machines, drag racing, nor do I see too many drag racers, and their machines, road racing. Carlos, of course, is an exception, but, as we have noted already, Terminators are natural switch hitters when it come to handling multiple disciplines.

The Terminator is better than most at switch-hitting, but I ended up running a Radical SR3 with a custom engine which was pretty optomized for the road race track. The problem was, where to go from there? It was better than I was, but a lot of fun to drive fast. And I was over 60 at the time...

What is your optomized toy?

I agree. It has always been rare for me to take out any machine I have owned and run it outside it's designated "optimal performance box" for a few reasons:

1) it's tedious to switch setups, especially if you've taken time to try and perfect one for a designated purpose
2) one dedicated setup is pricey enough, adding in mods for a different style of racing on the same machine is even more Dinero
3) when I want to road race, the machine I use is an optimal platform which likely is not optimal for drag racing and vice versa

I enjoy all kinds of motorsports, 2 wheels, 4 wheels, on road, off road and I've found it difficult to "have my cake and eat it too" in terms of getting multiple purposes out of various machines.

[jhwalker]

In any case, I do not see too many road racers, and their machines, drag racing, nor do I see too many drag racers, and their machines, road racing. Carlos, of course, is an exception, but, as we have noted already, Terminators are natural switch hitters when it come to handling multiple disciplines.

I agree. It has always been rare for me to take out any machine I have owned and run it outside it's designated "optimal performance box" for a few reasons:

1) it's tedious to switch setups, especially if you've taken time to try and perfect one for a designated purpose
2) one dedicated setup is pricey enough, adding in mods for a different style of racing on the same machine is even more Dinero
3) when I want to road race, the machine I use is an optimal platform which likely is not optimal for drag racing and vice versa

I enjoy all kinds of motorsports, 2 wheels, 4 wheels, on road, off road and I've found it difficult to "have my cake and eat it too" in terms of getting multiple purposes out of various machines.

In any case, I do not see too many road racers, and their machines, drag racing, nor do I see too many drag racers, and their machines, road racing. Carlos, of course, is an exception, but, as we have noted already, Terminators are natural switch hitters when it come to handling multiple disciplines.

The Terminator is better than most at switch-hitting, but I ended up running a Radical SR3 with a custom engine which was pretty optomized for the road race track. The problem was, where to go from there? It was better than I was, but a lot of fun to drive fast. And I was over 60 at the time...

What is your optomized track toy?

[Tetge]

...........but I ended up running a Radical SR3 with a custom engine which was pretty optomized for the road race track......

You forgot to mention your shifter kart. I'd post a typical picture of you driving but I have never been able to gain control of the copy write of said picture, and, as we all know, Brakelate is a true gentleman, and will not post it. But, there are some who allege that a shifter kart, sitting inches off the pavement with the driver sort of laid out and really low as well, can be fairly entertaining on the average kart track, such as Adams.