July 16th, 2017, 06:02 PM | #1 |
The Violet Vixen
Name: Yakaru
Location: Issaquah, WA & Las Vegas, NV
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): Perigee (250), Hotaru (250), Saturn (300), Pearl (300), Zero (S1000RR), Chibi (Z125), Xellos ('18 HP4R) Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Jun '16
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Momaru and Saturn have a spill
So after spending the week at California Superbike (At The Ridge specifically), Momaru and I decided to spend Saturday at Pacific. I've only been once and Paul never has -- since we're heading to Austin in a few weeks we thought we'd take the time to refine our 'learning a track' skills.
We signed up for a "Get to Know Your Bike" day in the 100 (Relaxed) group. Despite the rules saying our group only allowed outside passes in turns and a 10 foot bubble at all times we were both having a lot of close passes, inside passes, etc. We were generally trailing one another, giving enough room between us so faster riders could pass safely one at a time. In session 3 a rider passes me and his lines immediately made me nervous and I backed down on the throttle a bit. Then I see him going for a very risky pass on Momaru and you can even hear me roll off the throttle before the impact occurs. Momaru went for a tumble to the left and Saturn to the right. He's okay, but needs a new helmet and gloves plus some suit repairs. Saturn's right side is pretty torn up but probably about as good as could be hoped for after an incident like this. We should've read the warning signs earlier in the day about the rules flouting and just checked out, but sometimes that's only obvious in hindsight.
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"most folks racing this bike get it in a competitive state of being with much less invested than you've already put in Saturn." - Alex |
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July 16th, 2017, 06:25 PM | #2 |
ninjette.org dude
Name: 1 guess :-)
Location: SF Bay Area
Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much.
Blog Entries: 7
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Hmm.... First, I'm sorry about your bike, and glad that Paul's OK. I see your point of view on the rules violations, but I don't see your point of view about giving faster riders room. In much of the video, it looks to me that you and Paul are using the entire track, from turn in point to apex and back out to exit, at a relatively slow speed. It makes it challenging on a windy track like that to ever find a passing point, given those rules of "never come close" and "never come inside".
This doesn't vindicate the other rider, he's responsible for making a safe pass in all conditions no matter what other riders are doing. He made a poor call, likely out of lack of skill combined with a lack of patience. But I can see how it happened, and given the same circumstances, would potentially happen again. If you're not at pace with whatever the other riders are doing on the track, whether in the slowest group or the fastest, it becomes even more necessary to be careful and courteous for the faster (and slower) riders. Don't apex the corner at a slow speed if you don't need to, especially if you hear another bike coming up fast. Don't run the bike all the way out to the edge of the track if you don't need to at that speed. If that track org is really a free-for-all and bike speeds and rider skills are all over the place, then I get the concern, and would likely spend my track dollars elsewhere.
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July 16th, 2017, 06:39 PM | #3 | |
The Violet Vixen
Name: Yakaru
Location: Issaquah, WA & Las Vegas, NV
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): Perigee (250), Hotaru (250), Saturn (300), Pearl (300), Zero (S1000RR), Chibi (Z125), Xellos ('18 HP4R) Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Jun '16
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Quote:
Our speed was not high but it may be misleading in the video (classic 'fisheye lens' effect) -- Paul was definitely wringing out the Ninjette when he could and we /were/ in the beginner/relaxed group. In video not posted, the two of us are frequently coming up on the rear of other bikes and waiting for our opportunity to pass, I'd say we were definitely 'in line' with the group's speed. We're also only posting on the backside -- there are a number of 'easy pass' straights and turns (e.g. 8 or 2) that he could've waited for (in the case of 8, for just a few seconds).
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"most folks racing this bike get it in a competitive state of being with much less invested than you've already put in Saturn." - Alex |
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July 16th, 2017, 06:49 PM | #4 |
The Violet Vixen
Name: Yakaru
Location: Issaquah, WA & Las Vegas, NV
Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): Perigee (250), Hotaru (250), Saturn (300), Pearl (300), Zero (S1000RR), Chibi (Z125), Xellos ('18 HP4R) Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Jun '16
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Not to belabor the point but as a case in point Paul was 'hanging back' in our first clip of turn 7 (with the 3 riders in front of us) and waiting/looking for an opportunity to pass them.
The 'slowest' was probably when I was leading, since I was having to guess what the ninjette could keep up with on a much faster bike.
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"most folks racing this bike get it in a competitive state of being with much less invested than you've already put in Saturn." - Alex |
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July 16th, 2017, 09:32 PM | #5 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: al
Location: NorCal
Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): ex300, gave up looking for a 250 Posts: 435
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If they allow that kind of passing, that reflects poorly on the track day organizer.
You should ask the rider if he's happy with his trophy. *sarcastic* |
2 out of 2 members found this post helpful. |
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