H my name is Micah, and I am currantly looking at buying my first track bike.
I have been riding my Gs500e on the street since august 03, and have finally decided that its just no fun dodging cars and gravel on the street to get my adrenalin fix.
So logicaly I guess that means I need to go to the track. I do have alot of track day experience in my Rx-7 so for the most part I do know how to get into the track days.
Is there anyone on here that races at PIR? Seeing as I dont have a track bike yet, I am looking at coming out and haging out and meeting some new people. So if anyone needs a pit lackie I am your man.
Thanks
Micah
PIR... Portland? Phoenix?
I don't think anyone does much at Phoenix, but they do stuff at the other tracks. Portland? OMRRA would be the way to go that way.
Do tell us more...
And what year RX7?
Hey, you've found a great place to find answers to any of your questions. Your going to love riding a bike on the track! ;D
Micah, welcome to the circus.....! :o ;)
Portland sorry.
My rx-7 is an 85. Good oll 12a. Have all the right auto-x/ track day mods .
Cool, early body style....
OMRRA
Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Assn.
P.O. Box 6388
Portland, OR 97228
(503) 221-1487
www.omrra.com
This might help too...
WMRRA
Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Assn.
P.O. Box 94323
Seattle, WA 98124-5623
(425) 338-4686
www.wmrra.com
They are not CCS affiliates, that I know of, so they are independent orgs. Might want to check them out and see what the pulse up there is like. Someone has to know something.
Awsome thanks for the info. I think this is gonna be an awsome summer.
My Fiance wasent to thrilled about me getting into auto racing, but for some damn reason she is totally jazzed about the motorcycle racing, and is saying she thinks it might be something she could get into.
Also does anyone have a good link to cheap leathers?? I have found 1 piece suits on www.newenough.com for around $400-$600, and around $200 for really nasty looking green leathers.
Is this basicly what I am going to need to invest or are there other options??
Well, without a cage like a car...
You get what you pay for. $400 to 600 for a GOOD set of used Vanson's would be decent. Most of the other manufactured stuff that isn't either made by a US company, few, or the couple of commonly available Japanses manufacturers can potentially be bought new for that kind of money. But what are you getting. I'm biased on this, but I've been around this longer than most guys too. Read that as I've been down more too. Staying healthy and working is important. A better set of leathers keeps me racin'.
Micah,
Good advice from Super Dave. Better to go with a used set of good leathers in good condition than a new set of cheaper lower quality leathers. What's the old saying.... "A cow gave his hide to save yours!" Biggest difference you'll see is in the quality/thickness of the material, the quality/durability of the stitching and the material used for the pads.
To find a good used set of leathers you can check the classified section here, the classified section at wera.com or on eBay.
Good Luck!
Rick
I suppose you guys are probobly very right about the quality of the leathers.
One reason I wasent to incrediebly worried about that is the bike that I hopefully will be racing.
I am hoping to purchase a GS500 race bike by this spring. The bike handels awsome, but is very short on top end speed (lucky for 120mph).
I do understand the fact that if and when I am going to wreck it will almost certainanly be in the corners.
I was thinking of something like this
http://www.newenough.com/teknic_2003_chicane_1pc_suit_page.htm
or this
http://www.newenough.com/joe_rocket_2003_highside_1pc_suit_page.htm
DO you guys think this sufficent??
I already have a snell approved Shoei helmet, Joe Rocket Hard Drave gloves, and hope to buy a pair of SIDI racing boots.
Also I highley doubt i will try and do anything more than track days for aty least this next season.
Micah
Hi Micah!
In middle school I had a good friend named Micah, was strange seeing it again (NOT a real common name) ;D
I bought my suit based on several factors, I would only buy a suit that...
was double stitched
had foam armor
had an articulated back protector
had "aero" hump on the back
I got an HJC suit new from newenough.com for $650.
If you get it, definitely get a real back protector. I also use a neck protector ($30 from simpson). Your boots & gloves sound good, if your helmet isn't more than a year or two old and you haven't dropped it, it's good too. It should be snell 2000...
QuoteHi Micah!
I bought my suit based on several factors, I would only buy a suit that...
had "aero" hump on the back
Ok, I don't understand this.
First, in aerodynamic testing that was done by a university for Buell motorcycles, the "aero" hump was found to be...not aero dynamic.
Second, if you landed on your back, the hump would allow your head to move back and hit the ground....like being hit in a car from behind and the seat's don't have head rests. Regardless, the helmet IS going to hit the ground, but it's designed to do that.
QuoteSecond, if you landed on your back, the hump would allow your head to move back and hit the ground
The aero hump just looks cool! ;D
I like the aero hump has it complements the hump on the back of my head/helmet. I feel if I landed on my back it would help prevent neck injury from keeping my head/helmet from being slammed higher than my back... Does that make sense? Before I got the suit I did a bunch of research and that seemed to be the benefit of the hump. I'm not really concerned with aerodynamics of it, just the safety.
QuoteI feel if I landed on my back it would help prevent neck injury from keeping my head/helmet from being slammed higher than my back... Does that make sense?
Hiya Don,
There's a good possiblilty that it's just me, but I'm lost on what you've written ???
I'm presuming you mean an initial contact (or somersaulting) on your back (versus rolling onto your back). Given this, how is it that a hump helps? :-/
I too have an HJC suit ;D. Have you noticed that it's hump is smaller than the humps on the professional racers' suits? Also, the back of my helmet can't touch the hump. So the hump doesn't serve as a whiplash backstop the way a car seat's headrest does.
H-man
QuoteI feel if I landed on my back it would help prevent neck injury from keeping my head/helmet from being slammed higher than my back... Does that make sense?
If it did that, when you were in a tuck, you could only look down. It would restrict your head movement.
What it could do...
You land on your back, and the hump, your head snaps back. Whiplash.
QuoteIf it did that, when you were in a tuck, you could only look down. It would restrict your head movement.
What it could do...
You land on your back, and the hump, your head snaps back. Whiplash.
Or worse... Broken neck!!
I started on an EX500. Don't think a GS500 can't seriously injure or kill you! :o A crash is a crash. I have had many cheap suits, and have many scars, aches and pains to prove it. Get Vansons. Vanson has never given me a 10 cent break on anything, so I say this purely from my experience as a big guy who's dug his share of divots!
One other thing. The Vanson back protector is garbage. Get something better and throw the Vanson one away.
QuoteI The Vanson back protector is garbage. Get something better and throw the Vanson one away.
Well, now that's an interesting one.
I've been ran over in mine. No injuries. I had seen the rivets come out of some, but Vanson will replace them. I've also used their back protector for thirteen years now.
It's really simple, but no one can document an injury that occured because the Vanson back protector was "garbage".
I voiced the concern that some have about the protector to Vanson directly in December at the Performance Racing Industry, and they admitted that they though about making changes because there were so many different designs out there, not because of any problems. Eric Wood voiced his opinion very loudly that it worked.
If anyone has the ability make changes they can. And if anyone actually has a road racer in mind in suits, it is Vanson...they come to the track at times to make free repairs to any Vanson leathers there. No one else makes that kind of commitment.
I agree with K3. The Vanson suit is well worth the money. I had a rather spectacular crash (at least that is what I was told - don't remember) witnessed by K3, wearing a Vanson suit. The only mark I had was where my helmet struck my collar bone.
QuoteI agree with K3. The Vanson suit is well worth the money. I had a rather spectacular crash (at least that is what I was told - don't remember) witnessed by K3, wearing a Vanson suit. The only mark I had was where my helmet struck my collar bone.
Uh... Yeah. What he said. Spectacular.
I've seen video of me sliding across the track with smoke POURING off my a$$. No holes in my tender pink skin. Thank you Vanson. I landed so hard on my knee that the edge of the armor "burst" the skin open where it dug in. (Fat is even uglier when you can actually look right at it...) No damage to the bones or joint. Thank you Vanson. At this point, I won't spend money to buy anything else. But I'll use someone else's back protector...
Over the years, I've been run over, hit walls, been on crash videos, etc. But I've always walked away. It has to be the Vansons.
Once I crashed at Daytona in the rain going on to the banking. I slid for a really, really, really long time on one side of my a$$. It got really, really hot and I though that for sure I had went through the leather given the reasonable discomfort that I had.
It didn't. But I had slid long enough that my read leathers now were black from heat, no asphalt, in a one foot by one foot area. Some of that heat did transfer to my butt, and I still have a two inch by two inch scar from the burn I recieved from the heat transfer. Would have shreaded another brand of leathers.