Phil the Motorcyclenut’s Weblog

Am up doing some training in Bridgeport, CA. and was able to take a nice ride on the 108 (off the 395) up and over the Sonora Pass along with 2 riding buddies. Nice time of the year for this beautiful area. I understand this road is not always passable in the winter. My Tiger is still performing flawlessly, even at this altitude. Plenty of curves, hardly any traffic, and stunning scenery. It took a lot to stop and take obligatory pics, just wanted to keep riding!

Another fine day at the track. Rode with Mick, who was riding his Honda 450 he converted to Supermoto over 6 years ago and never had a chance to ride it on a track until today. He did very very well!

Just keeping in practice. Had a blast with Wally and Hai and a few others.

1st RACESMX.COM race at Qualcomm for 2012 will be March 18th.

Made my annual Saturday after Thanksgiving track day at Auto Club Speedway yesterday. It was formally known as California Speedway. The AMA circuit was modified slightly to slow down riders at turns #10 and #11. It used to be a fairly straight shot if you hit it right, but now it is a distinct chicane. It makes lap times about 4 seconds slower than before.

I took my “new” ’08 Triumph Speed Triple and one of the 1st things I did was get my suspension set by Randy at InHouse Suspension. The first couple of sessions was plagued with fairly gusty winds and lots of dust on the track. By the 3rd session, the winds started to die down and the track was getting warm. It got up to around 80 degrees (which is above normal for an October day in SOCAL), but I ain’t complaining!

Turn #16

The Speed Triple performed flawlessly! Only had the bike about 10 days, so I took it very easy in the beginning, especially with the wind and dusty conditions. As time went on, I was able to wick it up a bit and have some fun. The brakes are superb! Even with the short wheelbase, I could brake with so much confidence. Braking late is what I like to do, and is often hampered by riders who brake earlier. I was riding in Fastrackriders.com Level 1, which is the slowest group of the 3 levels, so there were quite a few riders who were 10-20 seconds slower than the rest. I’d rather work through slow traffic than to be one of the slower ones in a faster group.

140mph with no wind protection- what a BLAST! (and tired arms)

Riding with no wind protection, other than my helmet, is a total rush. (Remember, about a year ago, I rode my Triumph Bonneville 3126 miles in 4 days with no wind shield). I guess it is the old school biker in me.  I will post a video (camera mounted on my helmet) soon of some laps at this track on the Speedy.

In the garage, waiting for the next session

More pictures can be viewed at

http://motorcyclenut.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Auto-Club-Speedway-11-26-11

and

http://motorcyclenut.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/ACSW-11-26-11

It was a great day of riding and getting a better feel for the Speed Triple. It is an awesome bike that handles so well. The acceleration, braking, the wind pressure against my body at speed, and the beautiful sound of that 3 cylinder engine made my day!

Last Supermoto race of the year for SMX Racing fans in San Diego. Here’s some pics:

http://motorcyclenut.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Apex-SuperMoto-Nov-13-2011/

Yesterday, I went on an early morning ride up Palomar Mountain with my buddy Wally. He rode his KTM 990 Dakar and I rode my trusty Suzuki DR650.  The road we took up is the Nate Harrison Grade. It was so much fun and after reaching the top, had such a great view all around. Afterwards we rode down to Lake Henshaw and then on to Santa Ysabel for breakfast. Only took a couple shots: One with the 2 bikes, and one of Wally by his KTM.

DR650 and Dakar 990

Wally and his KTM top of Palomar

http://motorcyclenut.smugmug.com/Other/Qualcom-SMX-8-14-11

These were taken by Rick Clemson, a professional track photographer:

http://motorcyclenut.smugmug.com/Other/DR650-only-pics-from-Apex-RC

This is one of my favorites out of this shoot:

Ahead of Wally at Apex

http://motorcyclenut.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Apex-Race-7-17-11/