wharfy
3rd March 2009, 13:55
Three Days Man !!!
I guess that only means anything if your old enough to remember Woodstock (the music festival not the Bourbon)
I was a spectator at the Sound of Thunder at Ruapuna last year and thought it was a pretty cool looking event but never dreamed I would be a participant.
This year however Katie and I made the trip down in my new 1989 Toyota HiAce Van to pick up my new 2008 model Triumph Daytona 675 RACE BIKE. It had been purchased new in Nov 2007 and after only about 4000 km the unfortunate owner “failed to negotiate” one of the many corners on one passes to the West Coast. Glen Hayward from Street and Sport took on the project of turning the (mostly cosmetic damage) “wreck” into a race bike. It has had my name on it since Wanganui and was only just finished in time for SOT. So new the fairings are still unpainted. :soon:
I met Glen at the track on the Friday and he took the new bike for a few laps to ensure that it was all OK. After a few minor suspension tweaks he was happy to swap it for a wad of cash and it was MINE !!! He was also good enough to show me some lines around Ruapuna (which he knows VERY well) and give me a few tips. It is VERY different to the Hornet.
Friday was a fine day and I had great fun getting to know the new bike and trying to get to know Ruapuna (a VERY cool track I think). I did quite a few slow laps on Friday and LOVE the new bike. The weather forecast for Saturday was not good so Glen suggested we take the bike back to his shop and change the slicks it came with for a set on slightly used Conti Race attacks I had brought down with me so that if the track was damp I would be able to ride. If it was going to be WET then I had decided I would just park it.
Saturday morning was overcast but not wet, YAY I had entered in clubmans as I figured (correctly) that a new bike/new track combination would be a STEEP learning curve and I needed to take it easy. I got a few laps practice on cold tyres and was excited and nervous as I went out for the clubmans race (on WARM tyres thanks to the use of Glens generator) we ran with the lightweight class so there where loads of bikes on the track it was very cool and I only had one moment at the kink (pothole ? The same corner TonyB came to grief on ) where I had to take to the grass.
I discovered that they didn't even time the clubmans class so I had no clue how I had gone, except that I had been having a ball the new bike was AWSOME.
It pissed down rain and Saturday afternoon but Sunday was FINE and soon became a scorcher. I decided that coming all the way from Wellington for two races was a bit of a waste of Kiwibanks money and so scrapped together all the cash Katie and I had for hotdogs and coffee and upgraded to “Best of British” and “Formula 1” that got me into 5 races. I won't bore you with blow by blow accounts but suffice to say I was the slowest 675 rider there but probably the happiest and almost certainly the most knackered at the end of the day.
There is nothing quite like having a competitive bike to make you realize your own place in the Cosmos. In the Best of British and F1, by the time I crossed the finish line all the other 675's where back in their pits with the tyre warmers on, so I have plenty of scope for improvement. :)
Thanks to Glen from Street & Sport for building an AWSOME bike and to Shaun Harris for hooking me up with him. :Punk:
I guess that only means anything if your old enough to remember Woodstock (the music festival not the Bourbon)
I was a spectator at the Sound of Thunder at Ruapuna last year and thought it was a pretty cool looking event but never dreamed I would be a participant.
This year however Katie and I made the trip down in my new 1989 Toyota HiAce Van to pick up my new 2008 model Triumph Daytona 675 RACE BIKE. It had been purchased new in Nov 2007 and after only about 4000 km the unfortunate owner “failed to negotiate” one of the many corners on one passes to the West Coast. Glen Hayward from Street and Sport took on the project of turning the (mostly cosmetic damage) “wreck” into a race bike. It has had my name on it since Wanganui and was only just finished in time for SOT. So new the fairings are still unpainted. :soon:
I met Glen at the track on the Friday and he took the new bike for a few laps to ensure that it was all OK. After a few minor suspension tweaks he was happy to swap it for a wad of cash and it was MINE !!! He was also good enough to show me some lines around Ruapuna (which he knows VERY well) and give me a few tips. It is VERY different to the Hornet.
Friday was a fine day and I had great fun getting to know the new bike and trying to get to know Ruapuna (a VERY cool track I think). I did quite a few slow laps on Friday and LOVE the new bike. The weather forecast for Saturday was not good so Glen suggested we take the bike back to his shop and change the slicks it came with for a set on slightly used Conti Race attacks I had brought down with me so that if the track was damp I would be able to ride. If it was going to be WET then I had decided I would just park it.
Saturday morning was overcast but not wet, YAY I had entered in clubmans as I figured (correctly) that a new bike/new track combination would be a STEEP learning curve and I needed to take it easy. I got a few laps practice on cold tyres and was excited and nervous as I went out for the clubmans race (on WARM tyres thanks to the use of Glens generator) we ran with the lightweight class so there where loads of bikes on the track it was very cool and I only had one moment at the kink (pothole ? The same corner TonyB came to grief on ) where I had to take to the grass.
I discovered that they didn't even time the clubmans class so I had no clue how I had gone, except that I had been having a ball the new bike was AWSOME.
It pissed down rain and Saturday afternoon but Sunday was FINE and soon became a scorcher. I decided that coming all the way from Wellington for two races was a bit of a waste of Kiwibanks money and so scrapped together all the cash Katie and I had for hotdogs and coffee and upgraded to “Best of British” and “Formula 1” that got me into 5 races. I won't bore you with blow by blow accounts but suffice to say I was the slowest 675 rider there but probably the happiest and almost certainly the most knackered at the end of the day.
There is nothing quite like having a competitive bike to make you realize your own place in the Cosmos. In the Best of British and F1, by the time I crossed the finish line all the other 675's where back in their pits with the tyre warmers on, so I have plenty of scope for improvement. :)
Thanks to Glen from Street & Sport for building an AWSOME bike and to Shaun Harris for hooking me up with him. :Punk: