Gettin' the bike ready for the track

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  • pdxfj
    pdxfj Posts: 376
    edited May 2011
    People ask how can I wear a full face helmet and full gear in warmer weather. My answer is always the same and quite simple...

    "Sweat washes off, road rash does not."

    Usually the end of the conversation. Epically with Harley riders.
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  • GaryZ06
    GaryZ06 Posts: 317
    edited May 2011
    pdxfj wrote: »
    People ask how can I wear a full face helmet and full gear in warmer weather. My answer is always the same and quite simple...

    "Sweat washes off, road rash does not."

    Usually the end of the conversation. Epically with Harley riders.

    I have seen a bike rider fly over his handlebars and smash his face on the ground....The Einstein was not wearing his helmet.....it wasn't pretty.
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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    edited May 2011
    Great fun,love those Pilot Road 2's...I just put on a new PR3 on the rear and waiting for the front to show up.

    Wish I lived closer to a good track,I envy you!
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited May 2011
    Mike Reeter wrote: »
    Great fun,love those Pilot Road 2's...I just put on a new PR3 on the rear and waiting for the front to show up.

    Wish I lived closer to a good track,I envy you!

    Yea. I love the PR2's for the street, but they don't cut it on the track. I could feel the back tire sliding out an inch or two in certain turns...not a great feeling.

    I live very close to the track...less than 10 minutes actually:biggrin:


    There's another track about an 1.5-2 hours away, another about 3 hours away, and another about 4 hours away...lol

    I've got options...haha.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    edited May 2011
    exalted512 wrote: »
    Yea. I love the PR2's for the street, but they don't cut it on the track. I could feel the back tire sliding out an inch or two in certain turns...not a great feeling.
    -Cody

    Well that's not a good feeling at all,I like the milage I get out of the PR's I pulled 10K out of my last pair...mine stick like glue on the roads that I usually ride,but they are NOT a track by no means.

    I'm sure that a busy day at the track leaves a LOTA rubber layin' down to makes conditions a little tricky at times.

    Have fun
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited May 2011
    I've had mine for a few thousand miles and a track day and they're barely worn. For commuting and the occasional spirited ride, I love them. I'll be putting them back on after the track day is done.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited May 2011
    Score!!!!!
    trackplastic.jpg

    Starting the tear down tomorrow :D
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited May 2011
    No action pictures yet...they usually take a few days to get posted :(

    Here's what she looked like coming back from the track though...still in one piece!
    IMG_20110530_174926.jpg
    IMG_20110530_174921.jpg

    Next track day is June 18th. Can't wait!
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    Action pics are up!
    I'm getting better....slowly:
    IMG_11574.jpg
    IMG_11182.jpg
    IMG_11610.jpg
    P5310635.jpg

    I'm about to repaint it...since I suck at photoshop, I did the next best thing...painters tape! This is what I want it to look like...but I'm willing to bet that my tape job will look better than my paint job...haha. I'm just going to rattle can it. Any tips are always welcome!
    IMG_20110601_214005.jpg
    IMG_20110601_213956.jpg
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,809
    edited June 2011
    Prep, prep and more prep. 90% of the quality of the paint job happens before the first coat is ever applied. Make sure it's smooth and sanded properly. Clean it thoroughly when you're done sanding. Blow the dust off with an air compressor or even a feather duster. Tack cloth and then acetone on a CLEAN cloth, preferably something that won't leave lint.

    Primer the whole thing first. Even if it's gel-coated. Nice, even coats, paint past the edges and then let go of the button. Don't let go or start in the middle of the panel, spray paint can leave big splotches that will show up later on.

    Get one of these:

    bon-128.jpg

    http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=6129&BASE#

    Provides better control and less fatiguing to use.

    Start with the lightest colors first. If blue is the base, paint the whole thing blue. Then tape off your graphics.

    Let the paint FULLY dry before moving on to the next color.

    Don't paint in that Texas sun. It'll soften the paint and liable to pull it up with the masking tape.

    Don't skimp on your materials. Cheap stuff renders **** paint jobs.

    Take your time too. Test your technique on a sheet of cardboard first to get a feel of how the paint is going to work.

    Rattle can paint jobs can look spectacular if you put the effort in to it that it needs. The paint itself is only a small part of the bigger picture. the quality of your paint job is dependent upon the quality of your prep work. Use the best paint and poor prep work and it'll still look like garbage.
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,809
    edited June 2011
    Oh, wear gloves. not to protect your hands, to protect your work. The oil from your skin and other dirt and grime can cause the paint layers to not bond and eventually lift. Especially in the hot sun on a racetrack.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    Appreciate the tips! I've seen those spray can things before, but forgot about them. I'll definitely pick one up.

    It's already primer-ed and ready to paint (other than sanding/cleaning), but I might go over it some more with another can of primer depending on what it looks like after sanding.

    I've spray painted boxes and stuff before and they all came out really good...people actually didn't believe that it was rattle-canned, but i took the time to wet sand it and everything else. No orange peel at all, topped with rattle-can clear, wet-sanded and buffed. I might do a LIGHT wet sand on this, but nothing major, its track plastics on a bike that's eventually going to see pavement I'm sure (although, I hope it never does...).

    My main concerns were the stripes and 'hockey sticks' I guess you could call it over the numbers. Just want to make sure they're as straight as possible. I'm thinking once the blue is fully done and cured, put thin painters tape on it to outline it (thin to reduce possible wrinkles in the tape), then just go over that with thicker stuff right outside that edge to prevent over spray. Or maybe just buy sticker pin stripes, but I think I'd rather have it painted.

    I just hope it looks as good as it does in my head...haha.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,809
    edited June 2011
    Use as little tape on the paint as possible. Use paper to prevent overspray. Tape edges are seams that can bleed. Minimize your seams and you minimize your "oopsies". What I do is I'll use a thing strip to cover the lines. If it's a rounded line, the thinner, the better. But 1 inch wide will work. Then take some paper and overlap the edge of that paint. Then tape the paper to the tape with wider tape. That minimizes the tape to paint contact and less of a chance of pulling it.

    I also just realized that you have stickers on the primer for the number. If you're pulling that up, degrease that primer and get all the gunk from the stickers off. Then sand it and reprimer it. Then sand it again to blend it in with the rest of the primer. Otherwise, you'll end up with a faint "512" in the paint.

    As far as straight stripes, a straight edge and a tape measure can help out there. Take some refernce points and measure you distances from edges and center lines. Doesn't have to be exact but get as close as you can. The human eye is tuned to symmetry and even being slightly off can be glaring.
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    So you're saying put 1" tape down to get the line, then put the thicker painters tape with newspaper taped to the 1" correct?

    Those stickers are actually ducttape...and the duct tape is on top of painter's tape :) So no sticker or duct tape is touching the primer anywhere, just painters tape...but I plan on giving it a thorough cleaning anyway as I'm sure even painter's tape leaves some sort of residue in this heat.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited June 2011
    Wow, you're good with painter's tape!! hah
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,809
    edited June 2011
    exalted512 wrote: »
    So you're saying put 1" tape down to get the line, then put the thicker painters tape with newspaper taped to the 1" correct?

    Yes. I usually use 2" to tape the paper to the 1" and use about an inch and a half of the 2" tape to stick to the paper then the other half inch goes on the 1" tape. Leaving that much overlap keeps the edge of the paper from ripping near where you are painting when sticking the paper to the bike. No rips, less chance of bleeding and overspray.
    exalted512 wrote: »
    Those stickers are actually ducttape...and the duct tape is on top of painter's tape :) So no sticker or duct tape is touching the primer anywhere, just painters tape...but I plan on giving it a thorough cleaning anyway as I'm sure even painter's tape leaves some sort of residue in this heat.
    -Cody

    Ugh. Duct tape. Yeah, you're going to have to clean it. The duct tape glue softens and can ooze in the heat. It also collects dirt like a flower girl's dress on wedding day. The painter's tape will likely save the rest of the paint but when you take it off, you'll likely have the "512" outlined in sticky dirt.

    In the future, if you're going to put tape on the paint for numbering or lettering, before you apply it, stick it to your jeans first. We used to do this when we were securing computer equipment on ships for underways. It doesn't stop the tape from sticking but the extra fuzz makes it easier to remove in the future when you have to take it off.

    Also, when you get it painted, if you want to keep race track dirt off the bottom of the fairing, or at least make it easier to remove, take a can of PAM or similar vegetable oil based cooking spray with you. Spray down the bottom of the fairing. We used that trick with the drag cars. During burnouts, hot rubber balls get stuck to the paint and when they cool they are extremely difficult to get off. Coat the paint with cooking oil first and the rubber and grime will not necessarily slide off but it requires a hell of alot less effort to remove it. Some people used silicone but silicone can dry and crack the paint thereby negating the protective efforts putting the silicone on was meant to do in the first place. The vegetable oil will leave a greasy film but any automotive car wash soap will have degreasers in it strong enough to remove it.
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    Jstas wrote: »
    Yes. I usually use 2" to tape the paper to the 1" and use about an inch and a half of the 2" tape to stick to the paper then the other half inch goes on the 1" tape. Leaving that much overlap keeps the edge of the paper from ripping near where you are painting when sticking the paper to the bike. No rips, less chance of bleeding and overspray.



    Ugh. Duct tape. Yeah, you're going to have to clean it. The duct tape glue softens and can ooze in the heat. It also collects dirt like a flower girl's dress on wedding day. The painter's tape will likely save the rest of the paint but when you take it off, you'll likely have the "512" outlined in sticky dirt.

    In the future, if you're going to put tape on the paint for numbering or lettering, before you apply it, stick it to your jeans first. We used to do this when we were securing computer equipment on ships for underways. It doesn't stop the tape from sticking but the extra fuzz makes it easier to remove in the future when you have to take it off.

    Also, when you get it painted, if you want to keep race track dirt off the bottom of the fairing, or at least make it easier to remove, take a can of PAM or similar vegetable oil based cooking spray with you. Spray down the bottom of the fairing. We used that trick with the drag cars. During burnouts, hot rubber balls get stuck to the paint and when they cool they are extremely difficult to get off. Coat the paint with cooking oil first and the rubber and grime will not necessarily slide off but it requires a hell of alot less effort to remove it. Some people used silicone but silicone can dry and crack the paint thereby negating the protective efforts putting the silicone on was meant to do in the first place. The vegetable oil will leave a greasy film but any automotive car wash soap will have degreasers in it strong enough to remove it.

    Thanks for the confirmation. The duct tape isnt actually on the primer itself. I put wax paper down, then painters tape, then duct tape over that. Printed out the numbers on computer paper then cut it out with a razor blade. I know duct tape leaves a nasty residue, so I made certain that it wasnt on the primer.

    Never thought about the pam. We used to put it on our luggage racks before long trips to get the bugs off, never considered it for this application though...sweet idea.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    audiobliss wrote: »
    Wow, you're good with painter's tape!! hah

    I have great painter's tape skills to compliment my superb nunchuck, bowhunting, and computer hacking skills.

    Girls love me.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • Sherardp
    Sherardp Posts: 8,038
    edited June 2011
    Looking good out there bro. More lean though, scoot your butt over more and put that knee down man. Your so close. Keep it up.
    Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!

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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    Sherardp wrote: »
    Looking good out there bro. More lean though, scoot your butt over more and put that knee down man. Your so close. Keep it up.

    Thanks. My body position is textbook...textbook noob body position that is...haha.

    I'm getting better and I know what I need to work on, so thats good.

    Here's a couple of vid's I shot with an $8 camera off ebay...not too shabby.
    <iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZWrsAYAOwSI&quot; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    <iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NE9JFxQjUYA&quot; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

    link to ebay camera:
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190494740574&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_3274wt_1202

    I've heard there's a better version out there for the same price though. I think this one is a 'version 8' and the better is the 'version 3'....but I could have those swapped.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • Sherardp
    Sherardp Posts: 8,038
    edited June 2011
    Nice vids man, but wow that track looks beat to hell. Are those patch jobs I'm seeing? I'd be scared of the bumps out there. Have fun though bro. Wish I was out there getting some with you guys though. It definitely gets the blood flowing, then a nice wheelie out of the curves to the straight shot.

    Edit: Could be skid marks, hard to make out.
    Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!

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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    Sherardp wrote: »
    Nice vids man, but wow that track looks beat to hell. Are those patch jobs I'm seeing? I'd be scared of the bumps out there. Have fun though bro. Wish I was out there getting some with you guys though. It definitely gets the blood flowing, then a nice wheelie out of the curves to the straight shot.

    Edit: Could be skid marks, hard to make out.

    Yup...those are all patch jobs. This is one of the few 'super speedways' still being used...its old, and it shows.

    The patch jobs are actually incredibly grippy. The bumps arent that bad as you learn where they are. The only ones I really dont like are in the beginning of turn 7. Its right on the race line where I'm braking...so I usually just take that straight easy and brake before the bumps. Turn 7 is at the 1:10 mark in the first video. But the enbankment is so big you can haul **** through that corner. I kept getting caught up behind people and I'm not terribly comfortable with passing, part because I'm not that good, the other part is the other riders in level 1 aren't that good...so their lines arent always consistent and are way more prone to run offs...and if I'm on the outside (you have to in corners in this level) and they stand it up...I have to stand it up too. So I usually try to wait until the apex of the corner and pass on the inside coming out, which isn't frowned upon.

    Turn 10, the horseshoe at 1:40 has a pretty big bump on the inside line that I'm not comfortable with (actually where my road's would slip the last time i was there) AND there's a crack there which I guess expanded in the heat and the sealer actually cracked, so I take that corner wide because of those 2 things. The better guys have no problems with the bump but some were going wide during passing and having issues with the crack...so I just stay away from both...haha. You can see the crack at around 1:44-1:45

    They have a nice 'wheelie hill' coming out of turn 3. You can see is at the 0:33 second mark in the first video, where the black pavement is. If you go closer to the left and on the gas hard, its easy to 12 o'clock the bike.

    It's a really fast, wide track...I like it a lot. The front straight I'm hitting 148ish and I'm slow. Some of the level 3 guys on liter bikes are going quite a bit faster than that.

    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • gelinas
    gelinas Posts: 226
    edited June 2011
    Looks like a lot of high adreniline fun. Makes me miss my 636
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    gelinas wrote: »
    Looks like a lot of high adreniline fun. Makes me miss my 636

    It is! 3rd track day was yesterday. I love this s@#t. I was still running in the beginner class, but by the end of the day, the sessions were so small that they combined beginner and intermediate. Intermediate had already been out (and I didnt know they were combining them until after) and so the first lap I was taking easy (my friend had just high-sided the last time I was out and I was waiting for my tires to warm up) and got passed for the first time the whole day besides my friend (who's definitely faster than me) on that first lap. By the time I hit the straight into turn 1 again, I was up to my normal pace and by the end of the session I had gained a little ground on the intermediate riders. My next track day is on july 2/3...but I think I'm going to stay with the beginner group. I have great body position when I really think about it, but it's not as 'second-nature' as I'd like it to be. There's still a couple of corners I'm not completely comfortable with...and another that I've been doing good on in the past that I'm not taking wide for some reason. Once I get those issues fixed, I think I'll be ready to move up.

    Here's a few pics...I'll have a video up probably next weekend.
    Thumbs up for the camera! (I was behind a bunch of slow people:frown: )
    twsthumbsup.png
    twspm2pg3-1.png
    twspm1pg5-1.png
    twsam4pg4-1.png
    twsam3pg2.png
    twspm2pg3.png
    twspm1pg5.png
    twsam4pg4.png

    Almost got the chicken strips wore off:

    IMG_20110619_131447.jpg

    Managed to drag my toe...which I'm not completely sure wasn't just body foot position rather than crazy lean angle...but I do have the stock rear sets.

    IMG_20110619_131525.jpg
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,274
    edited June 2011
    Vids and pics are cool...vids are like video games

    Where u racing post up addy...may venture out

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  • Sherardp
    Sherardp Posts: 8,038
    edited June 2011
    Sidi boots are the best. I have a blue pair like yours. Keep riding hard bro. Looks like your loving the sport, which is awesome. I would say take the challenge bro and step up with the big boys if you can. Nothing like being pushed to ride harder, it's actually how I learned out there. Take your time, if you get uncomfy then you know to slow it down a tad.
    Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!

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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    I'm going to stick with the beginner group for at least one more day. I hate when people move into the intermediate group but dont even know the fundamentals. I've got the race line down (even if I dont always follow it exactly...lol), but my body position still needs work. Although this organization has less people, so it would be easier to move up with this one.

    I'll see what the instructors have to say next time I'm out there. I wish they wouldn't allow people to move up unless they were told to move up by an instructor. When I do corner working, there's a lot of guys in the intermediate group that are fast, but are unpredictable and unstable...basically, an accident waiting to happen because they dont know the fundamentals of riding and/or the track.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited June 2011
    video!

    ~6:44 is where I drag my toe. You can see me get scared and stand the bike up slightly...lol. I've got really comfortable passing people in turn 1. It's one of my favorite turns because there's a lot of track and it's a really high speed turn...you'll see it a few times in this video, but its the one around the 5 minute mark.

    <iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yWC9OigPKHQ&quot; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • Sherardp
    Sherardp Posts: 8,038
    edited June 2011
    Video is cool. Go intermediate bro. These guys look like first timers out there.
    Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!

    Home Theater Pics in the Showcase :cool:

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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited July 2011
    I think I'm going to stay beginner for one more track day. There's a couple turns I want to take a little slower so I can get my lines correct, then pick up the pace later in the day when I get them perfected. I might see about moving up to intermediate later in the day.

    I was supposed to have 2 track days this weekend, but Sunday got cancelled for some reason. My plan was beginner on Sat, intermediate on Sun...but that plan's a bust. So I'll see how quickly I can get those 2 turns down and maybe move up during the day.

    Can't wait for tomorrow!
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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