A Perfect Endo to a Perfect Day – Watch more free videos

I am still working on compressing video. Until then, I will go over the weekend. The Gixxer’s wiring harness was finally repaired after sitting at Motorsport of Albuquerque for almost 4 weeks. It had become frayed somehow and shorted out. When it shorted out, it the high amount of current burned up a few of the connectors.

After picking up the bike from the shop, we went to Cycle Gear and picked up a mountable video camera called the Hero by GoPro Camera. It came with a few different mounting options:

• 2 - curved bases
• 2 - flat bases
• 1 – bicycle helmet mount
• 1 – head mount
• 1 – single axis tilt attachment
• 1 – two axis tilt attachment

The bases came with strong 3M double-sided tape. We mounted a curved base to the nose of Hollifield’s ’04 CBR600RR. Then, we used the same fasteners from my VStrom handlebar project to mount a flat base to the Gixxer. We did a few tests and had a big problem with the camera. It recorded our first run around the block just fine. Then, it wouldn’t record anything. It would stay on for a second then turn off. After a bit of deduction, we figured out it was the batteries. We figured the batteries that came with it were trashed, so we just put new ones in and moved on our way. I’ll come back to the video camera in a bit.

Did I mention that Hollifield got to ride his new toy for the first time? We sold his ’93 CBR600F2 and found a smoking deal on an ’04 CBR600RR on Craig’s List. It was previously owned by a former SMRI racer, and is a fantastic bike! I have not ridden it on the track yet, but Hollifield loved it. I even had a hard time keeping up with him during the morning sessions! I was not 100% comfortable with my riding. Thus, I took it slow. When the sun came out after a gloomy morning, I felt much better. I’m not sure if the cloudiness/moisture around the track psyched me, but I think it did.

We started in Group 3 (Novice) to warm up our tires as we barely got there in time to get on the track for the first round of sessions. Then, we rode Group 3 one more time before we realized that we were too fast for it. So, we bumped ourselves up to Group 2 (Intermediate). That was a much better pace for us. We got the camera out for this session, and tried it out. It appeared work perfectly for the entire session. Then, we broke for lunch.

We decided to go home (I live 20 minutes from the track) and get Hollifield’s laptop for viewing videos in between sessions. As expected, the video recorded fine. However, when we checked the battery strength, they were dead after one use! After lunch, we put new batteries in and recorded that session. The good news was that I picked up my pace and was able to keep up with Hollifield. Then, we tried the camera the session after that without exchanging the batteries and it died! The camera is destroying batteries…

Upon arrival to the track, we saw another guy with the same camera and he said his batteries last all day. We were obviously not experiencing the same results. We were able to capture two full sessions that I will have posted into this article soon. I will be returning to Cycle Gear for an exchange and hoping that it was just a fluke. The camera’s quality is really great; especially for the low price of ~$170. I will test it out the next time Tamara and I ride the VStrom.

All in all, it was a great day at the track. No hitches, no problems, nothing! I think my tires are just about done for though. They were started to slip a bit in turns…

Share/Save

My Dad, Hollifield and I had another set of successful track days this past March and May. We started at Arroyo Seco on March 8. My Dad and I were down there and taking turns on the GSXR750. The track was running counter-clockwise. I enjoy both directions, but seem to find better lines going counter-clockwise. I guess it is because I have ridden that direction more often.

Sandia was on May 4. The track was running clockwise which meant that the poor little CBR F2 was going to have trouble in the front straight. The carbs need to be re-jetted, but we have not had a chance to try to work on them. I had my GSXR750 out there for the first time since Dave (the previous owner) last raced it out there.

The day went well though. Both of us have not been out there since 2006, so we started in the beginner class. Near the end of the day, after no meatball flags to send us up to intermediate, we were asked to do so. Intermediate was a much better place for us anyways. Our track friends were all there and they were riding expert. Neither of us was comfortable enough to move up to expert. We did not get any photos that day.

The next weekend we took two days at Arroyo Seco. This involved both directions. We went counter-clockwise the first day, and clockwise the second. The drive down there also proved interesting with a stop at a gas station outside of Truth or Consequences…

Both days went very well until my GSXR’s charging system went out for some reason. It was halfway through the day, and I did not want to take the bike apart to have to put it together again! I did get to take the F2 around a few times though, and that was a good time! It’s a fun bike even though it has top-end problems. It was not a race weekend. This meant the track was an open all-day session (come and go as you please). We were good about pacing ourselves though. The only downside to this was that there were only 8 to 10 bikes there. It is nice to have the track to yourself, but having traffic to negotiate or at least some faster riders to learn from can be much more fun.

Share/Save