Hi All,
Last weekend was the first round of the AM District 37 Big Six grand prix series in Taft california. For those unfamiliar with Taft, it is small town that was built up around the local oil fields. And that's where "Honolulu" race way is, on part of an old oil field.
Things didn't start out too well, I was getting ready to unload my bike and noticed a nice puddle of oil under my right fork leg. I looked at the left leg and it was leaking too, but, not quite as bad. I was pretty bummed as I had spent allot of time cleaning my bike up after the Jack Rabbits race a month earlier. It was quite a surprise b/c I really checked everything out on my bike prior to the race, and the forks were not even hinting at leaking at home. Anyway, I pulled the fork guards off and took a small piece of a sticker and slid it up into the fork seal and pulled it all the way around letting oil drool out as I was doing it to carry away the dirt I had dislogged. And at the end of the race both forks were dry. Although I did take them in this week for new seals and wipers. The guy who rebuilt my forks said there was quite a bit of crude up inside the forks. I'm glad that I raced the Jack Rabbits, but, I don't know that I would be putting my bike through that kind of abuse on a regular basis.
The course was prepped good, and the ground was moist enough to prevent it getting too dusty for the races. The start was a live engine left hand on your helmet affair, when the green flag waved, well, you get the picture. I got a mediocore start, which got worse at the first turn as I was on the inside and things got bunched up and it seemed like everybody went around on the outside. A couple of turns later the fortunes reversed as this time I was on the outside when a couple of guys fell over in a corner causing a traffic jam. I must have passed 25 guys in the space of 50'.
The course had many drop off's, a short twisty uphill asphalt section that I got up to 63mph according to my computer, and even a couple of tight twisty ravines. All in all it was about 7.5 miles in length. My riding buddy of 20+ years passed me on the first lap and I didn't have anything for him. But, later in the race he started having a bit motor problems with his trusty XR650 and I caught back up to him. We diced back and forth the next few miles until we got the scoring chute, where he pulled over and let me go. He ended up finishing not far behind me. We had a great time, and it reminded us both of a good dice we had at a race at De Anza cycle park back in the early 80's.
The weather was great for racing, in the mid 60's. And the sky was clear. My buddy and I loaded up and headed for home, then off to Anaheim stadium for the supercross races. We had great seats at the races, on the field level and 18 rows back. I have never been too much of a Carmichael fan, but, he IS the man. He was so much faster than everyone else. Sort of like when Jeremy was in his prime, it was pretty much a race for second.
I am off to the Four Aces Hare & Hound race this sunday. Then the next time I ride will be at the Force Ride. Looking forward to meeting you all there.
Last weekend was the first round of the AM District 37 Big Six grand prix series in Taft california. For those unfamiliar with Taft, it is small town that was built up around the local oil fields. And that's where "Honolulu" race way is, on part of an old oil field.
Things didn't start out too well, I was getting ready to unload my bike and noticed a nice puddle of oil under my right fork leg. I looked at the left leg and it was leaking too, but, not quite as bad. I was pretty bummed as I had spent allot of time cleaning my bike up after the Jack Rabbits race a month earlier. It was quite a surprise b/c I really checked everything out on my bike prior to the race, and the forks were not even hinting at leaking at home. Anyway, I pulled the fork guards off and took a small piece of a sticker and slid it up into the fork seal and pulled it all the way around letting oil drool out as I was doing it to carry away the dirt I had dislogged. And at the end of the race both forks were dry. Although I did take them in this week for new seals and wipers. The guy who rebuilt my forks said there was quite a bit of crude up inside the forks. I'm glad that I raced the Jack Rabbits, but, I don't know that I would be putting my bike through that kind of abuse on a regular basis.
The course was prepped good, and the ground was moist enough to prevent it getting too dusty for the races. The start was a live engine left hand on your helmet affair, when the green flag waved, well, you get the picture. I got a mediocore start, which got worse at the first turn as I was on the inside and things got bunched up and it seemed like everybody went around on the outside. A couple of turns later the fortunes reversed as this time I was on the outside when a couple of guys fell over in a corner causing a traffic jam. I must have passed 25 guys in the space of 50'.
The course had many drop off's, a short twisty uphill asphalt section that I got up to 63mph according to my computer, and even a couple of tight twisty ravines. All in all it was about 7.5 miles in length. My riding buddy of 20+ years passed me on the first lap and I didn't have anything for him. But, later in the race he started having a bit motor problems with his trusty XR650 and I caught back up to him. We diced back and forth the next few miles until we got the scoring chute, where he pulled over and let me go. He ended up finishing not far behind me. We had a great time, and it reminded us both of a good dice we had at a race at De Anza cycle park back in the early 80's.
The weather was great for racing, in the mid 60's. And the sky was clear. My buddy and I loaded up and headed for home, then off to Anaheim stadium for the supercross races. We had great seats at the races, on the field level and 18 rows back. I have never been too much of a Carmichael fan, but, he IS the man. He was so much faster than everyone else. Sort of like when Jeremy was in his prime, it was pretty much a race for second.
I am off to the Four Aces Hare & Hound race this sunday. Then the next time I ride will be at the Force Ride. Looking forward to meeting you all there.
