Something to bring up at the next rider's meeting

[spyderchick]

Don's riding a Buell now, so technologically speaking....

Oh snap, that was low, even for you! 

[weggieman]

I would love to see a graduated licensing situation for the street. It would keep all those mid-lifers off the new Harleys and splattering themselves all over the highways coming home from bars. Yes, and keep the new squids off the litre bikes.

I for one have never found a real reason to own a litre bike. What, middleweights just don't go fast enough on city streets and highways?

I would like to see it at the races also...........but that would mean cutting profits for the race orgs. Right now they'll take anyone's money. I believe for the future of our sport and track days the organizers will have to start lookig at this.

I can't understand why the multi-time crasher at BHF was not pulled off the track and sent packing. Just because you pass the LCR school does not make you a racer and sometimes the person needs to be told that.

If safety control forwarded the info about this guys crashing habits to the race staff there's no reason for not pulling him off. He was a hazard to himself and everyone else out there.

[Gixxerblade]

My always laugh when my younger Marines come up to me and say " Staff Sergeant, I am getting to used to the power that my 600 makes and am wanting to get a 1000, what do you suggest? " Of course I tell them that I am scared to death of litre bikes and if they wanted I could take them for a two-up to show them what their 'weak' 600 can do.

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

Oh!  Here's a classic!  How about the guy who can actually ride his Literbike?  He passes you down the straight, walks away down every following straight, then tells you later how hard literbikes are to ride, and how he'd be much faster aboard the bike you're riding!

[Jeff]

Graduated licensing on the street would be a great idea.

Actually I would prefer a liter bike on the street over a 600.  You just put it in 3rd and forget it.  The 600 you have to keep shifting...  On the track is a different story.  I raced one once and it scared the hell out of me...

On the track, what I'd like to see would be some sort of system which would ensure skill and safety in advancing from am to ex, and the same sort in running liter bikes.  Play Tourist Trophy on PS2.  Get your expert license...  You go through drill after drill after drill and until you pass them all with given expectations, you do not advance.  Granted, that's a video game, but there's no reason why the same concept couldn't apply.

Hell, do it off of sustained/average lap times on given tracks.  I.e., a middleweight rider would need to show an average laptime of 1:16 at blackhawk farms to be allowed advancement to expert status.

Really though, that makes little/no difference when I think about it since many of the EX/AM races are combined and have a 15-20 second lap time differential...

[HAWK]

I don't think that the lap times are any indication of safety on the track, using lap times to control graduation to expert would groom the expert class for really close racing but wouldn't make it any safer. There are plenty of safe backmarkers and there are also plenty of dangerous leaders in expert. That also would not address the dangers in the amature class at all.

Years ago when I was involved with Midwestern Council you would take the equivilent of learning curves and then you ran 6 races with large X's on your car. If you were involved in any kind of incident your probation was extended to 9 races, any further incident and you came back to try again next year starting in the classroom. This system also used the feedback from the corner workers as they could easily spot the new riders and would give them an extra look.

[msbrit1]

Quit picking on "mid life" crisis themes.  I get it all the time and I'm sooooo bloody tired of hearing it.  I've been riding and screwing around on every type of bike under the sun since I was 13 years old.  I've always ridden for the love of it.  Now, just because I'm older people tell me I'm having a mid life crisis?  If I were having a mid life crisis I'd be riding a 24 yr old blonde with a firm @%& and great $&$# and an insatiable appetite for more than pizza.  That's a mid life crisis. 
Now back to you're regularly scheduled programming...


WTF??? Are you calling me a midlife crisis??  :P

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

No, young lady.  You would merely be the FOCUS of a midlife crisis....

[msbrit1]

Hey K3, I'm not even 24...

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

Which makes you the perfect age to be the focus of all us dirty old men in the midst of our midlife crisis....
HEL-LOOOO!!!!!!  God made young women specifically to drive old men crazy!

[msbrit1]

I'll tell you the same thing people tell me...
A 19 year old hot chick who loves bikes.  Who loves racing. Who wants to be a racer.  Who understands when I stay up til 3 am just to finish this one part.  Who understands that you can't ride on the back of the bike when it doesn't have a subframe.  Who rides Fiddys. Who understands that Ramen Noodles aren't that bad because Penske shocks and GSXR forks are really important.  Who can hang out at the track all day and throw tire warmers on and not complain about it.  And did I mention that shes's hot :)

[lilroy]

I'm going to throw my two cents in.

A few points. 

1  Not all track day riders show up on litre bikes.  I would guess based on what I have seen that roughly 40 percent are 1000's

2  If there are 100 riders at a track day and 40 litre bikes you may end up with about one or two a-holes.  These people would be dangerous on pedal bikes.  The litre bike doesn't make it any worse.

3  The GTO race was brought up.  First, was the guy doing the crashing for sure on a 1000.  I have been doing all of the BFR Unlimited races including the GTO on my R1 and most of the hinkey riding comes during the Unlimited GP.  (Throw in some money and everyone goes ape@#$%.)  Again it's not the bike that is dangerous, just the decision making of the rider.

4  Track days are providing a more proficient pool of racers for one simple reason.  Track time.

5  This probably isn't the place to "solve" problems but I would suggest the following.  In order to take a racing school and become a licensed racer CCS ought to require that the applicant have completed a minimum number of track days, 5 for instance.

6  To get more on topic, let's talk about the rider's meeting.  Here's an idea.  Have a seperate amatuer rider's meeting that is complete describing all of the flags in detail, track entry and exist procedures starting and griding procedures and so on.  Follow it up with a rider's meeting that is for all riders.

Well there's my two cents.