Taupo Track Day (10 things I learned today)

**madbikeboy** · 29th October 2007, 21:24

10 things I learned at Kiwibiker's Taupo Track Day:

1. Vespers are cool. They provide comedic relief, and just like court jesters they should be actively encouraged to bike events just for the giggle factor.

2. Pulling wheelstands between Vespa's is a no no. We know this because Frosty told us "not to fucking do it because it's a lack of respect".

3. Frosty didn't say anything about passing between Vespas at 200 plus KPH. It wasn't disrespect, it was comedy. And they were about 10 feet apart. Doing about 70 kph. Okay, maybe 75 kph. Those little buggers are brave and they can LEAN

4. Kiwi motorcycling has the best looking (coolest, and most down to earth) spokesperson. Despite her diminutive proportions, she was able to hustle her R6 around the track in good pace, looking like a better groomed and more understandable Valentino Rossi on the track. It's a hard road to finding the perfect woman (sigh).

5. It's not a lack of respect. It was contempt.

)

6. Tires don't last long at Taupo. I'm thinking that the road surface must be extra rough or something. For some inexplicable reason, my rear dissolved over the space of a day? Aliens? Labour Policy? My ascerbic wit? Note to prospective GSXRthou owners, don't expect more than 2-3000 k's. Or one track day and a couple of momentary and accidental loses of traction (hey, chicks dig burnouts). Nothing worth having is ever cheap. Except this one chick I used to know, she was a westie and cheap, and she had this thing for... Oh, wrong forum.

7. My mates use skill. I use horsepower. God bless checkbook racing and Yoshimura.

8. Swallow your ego, ride in the SLOW group. No one wants to be in the slow group, it's less fashionable than leprosy, smart teenagers, or honest politicians. But, and I'll share this secret with you - the slow group has perhaps 10 riders. Which provides loads of space to expirement with lines, pace, the gentle balance between throttle, lean angle, and tire life (ahem). Or you can hang with the fast boys and divide the racetrack into smaller portions than a treaty settlement (and a similar amount of contraversy).

9. Company cars can tow more weight and drag than your own car. Use a small trailer, furniture trailers have the aerodynamic properties of a parachute. I found that this causes the car to run out of gas. VERY quickly. And literally, I coasted into the servo at maramarua... Thank fuck for checkbook racing, Yoshimura, and company fuelcards.

10. Frosty and his merry and slightly sarcastic (in a humorous way) helpers are fucking fantastic. Thanks mate, and good on you. www.bikestore.co.nz isn't it. Whens the next one? Thanks also to ZXRIDER, U1AGO, and Phil for a good night out (next time, don't touch the girls, sick of you all getting us kicked out). In case your wives read this - I'm kidding!

) Ride safe and watch out for cages and women of low moral fibre (your mum was right on that one, but for the wrong reasons).

MadBikeBoy,
laughing like a loon, passing on the inside, outside, rythmn starting to flow, riding safe, riding smooth.

**Mikkel** · 30th October 2007, 08:35

Wish I'd been there!

**skidMark** · 30th October 2007, 12:14

yeah i enjoyed passing ya...cheers.

**madbikeboy** · 30th October 2007, 13:36

I let you past, you're a fucking liability on the track - 10 mm of play in your swingarm, got failed - what was it? - 3 times on scrutineering.

**bert_is_evil** · 30th October 2007, 14:01

Originally Posted by madbikeboy

I let you past, you're a fucking liability on the track - 10 mm of play in your swingarm, got failed - what was it? - 3 times on scrutineering.

And after posting a whole thread two weeks before the day talking about how much time he'd spent preparing his bike

**aff-man** · 30th October 2007, 16:02

Originally Posted by madbikeboy

1. Vespers are cool. They provide comedic relief, and just like court jesters they should be actively encouraged to bike events just for the giggle factor.

8. Swallow your ego, ride in the SLOW group. No one wants to be in the slow group, it's less fashionable than leprosy, smart teenagers, or honest politicians. But, and I'll share this secret with you - the slow group has perhaps 10 riders. Which provides loads of space to expirement with lines, pace, the gentle balance between throttle, lean angle, and tire life (ahem). Or you can hang with the fast boys and divide the racetrack into smaller portions than a treaty settlement (and a similar amount of contraversy).
.

Hahahaha yeh vespa's were awesome to watch, tucking in behind the screen on the front/ back straights?

Crowded?? The fast group only had about 12-15 bikes and less after lunch. Was pretty empty track. As for tyre life, check your suspension. The more work it does the less your tyres have to do and so they last a bit longer.

gixxer thou vs vespa... hilarious

**Mountlocal1** · 30th October 2007, 17:10

Originally Posted by skidMark

yeah i enjoyed passing ya...cheers.

"I let you past, you're a fucking liability on the track - 10 mm of play in your swingarm, got failed - what was it? - 3 times on scrutineering."

I do believe you just got served.....

**sprag** · 30th October 2007, 17:31

ah you got to love vespa's

**enigma51** · 30th October 2007, 17:41

Originally Posted by aff-man

Hahahaha yeh vespa's were awesome to watch, tucking in behind the screen on the front/ back straights?

Crowded?? The fast group only had about 12-15 bikes and less after lunch. Was pretty empty track. As for tyre life, check your suspension. The more work it does the less your tyres have to do and so they last a bit longer.

gixxer thou vs vespa... hilarious

Yeah a must say the fast group was better less people to lap you

**skidMark** · 30th October 2007, 17:50

Originally Posted by madbikeboy

I let you past, you're a fucking liability on the track - 10 mm of play in your swingarm, got failed - what was it? - 3 times on scrutineering.

No need to get abusive....

i checked everybolt prior to leaving auckland...then bike went straight on a trailer.....

sat parked on a trialer overnight...

the bolt was finger tight and almost whole way off thread...my only explanation for this is somebody fucked with it....

so did it up and bought it back in....then they failed it again....because the muffler bolt was a bit long and they were concerned it may catch on the brake line....

and at same time said i needed to mount the brakeline in more places to the mudguard....

so we used proper safety wire, and i trimmed down the bolt...

they were not major issues....

i still just dont understand why somebody would fuck with a swingarm bolt though, why would somebody stoop so low.

oh um by the way......i was simply taking the piss. my bad.

SM.

**Riff Raff** · 30th October 2007, 17:54

Originally Posted by madbikeboy

Kiwi motorcycling has the best looking (coolest, and most down to earth) spokesperson. Despite her diminutive proportions, she was able to hustle her R6 around the track in good pace, looking like a better groomed and more understandable Valentino Rossi on the track. It's a hard road to finding the perfect woman (sigh).

Oi sunshine, she's mine!

**Chrislost** · 30th October 2007, 17:57

perhaps you just missed it?
cos if your that sure you did it right then you should be seing the police about an attempted murder.

**skidMark** · 30th October 2007, 18:01

Originally Posted by Chrislost

perhaps you just missed it?
cos if your that sure you did it right then you should be seing the police about an attempted murder.

no i had that bike to a bare frame and checked every bolt end to end i remember doing up that bolt specfically....

wel it's not like i could ever find out who it was so no point...i'm just pissed off.

**surfchick** · 30th October 2007, 18:04

madbike boy-
i think i have mad video footage reorded from the back and front of my bike of me passing you

ba ha and then you passing me back ba ha

... I'm working on digitising it and hopefully get some clips up on utube later in the week. also got footage from the bike of madduck - 5- corners and a few others ...