A little racing update...

Clay · 05-24-2010, 11:01 AM

I don't post a lot here but thought I'd post a little blurb for those few that follow my boy. We've gone back to minis this year as the 125 and WERA pretty much broke my wallet! I'm racing again now with Caleb on the mini, he's on a newly built 85 on 12's and I took his old 85 on 17's. We're just having fun and enjoying ourselves not taking anything too seriously, while paying off some debt. So, maybe in a few years we'll go back to WERA on an SV or something once Caleb is old enough. He still hasn't fully come to grips with the bike on 12's yet, but he made a massive jump forward a week ago at Palmetto (Elgin, SC). This is pretty much the worst track on our schedule, but it's still fun and very challenging to your suspension tuning skills!

I still haven't seen our times from the races, but so far my best on the weekend was a 31.3 and Caleb's a 32.9. Once he gets the hang of braking a little deeper and taking those slow corners quickly, he'll be unstoppable. The way he leaves me on the gas is unreal. Even Carlo G (arguably the fastest mini rider in the US) doesn't leave me down a straight on his 150 like Caleb does. I finally managed to get our cam working on the bike and followed Caleb for a few laps later in the day on Saturday. You'll see how he demolishes me on the back section. He lets me pass so he can follow and I put in a few hot laps. You'll see the only place I'm really faster is the 2 slow turns. Using the GPX Pro we swapped using it and overlayed our fastest laps. He would loose a small bit in some sections, but by far most of it was just those 2 corners. In turns 1, 3, 4 and 6 our speed was almost identical at apex. His acceleration difference down the back straight was just plain laughable. At one point he'd be carrying 12mph more than I would!

Up next in one month is BTK in Decatur, AL. Caleb likes this track so I hope he does well and keeps his progress moving. It's got a little bit of everything with elevation changes, slow and fast corners along with 2 straights. I hope Caleb can manage to close the gap to me even more. I plan on working on his front end geometry a little more to see if it helps him in those slow turns.

Here's the link to our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcdvW_k5-XE

And a few pics:

Dave · 05-24-2010, 11:14 AM

Gotta love the scream of a smoke. Nice vid!

Kaneman · 05-27-2010, 06:54 PM

Wow!! He's getting so fast man!!!

CONGRATS!!!

azoomm · 05-24-2010, 11:15 AM

Awesome!!!

We love write ups like this. Please post more.

shmike · 05-24-2010, 11:20 AM

Awesome!

I'm glad to hear that you are able to get and race too!

karl_1052 · 05-25-2010, 06:29 PM

Cool stuff, and an awesome video.

How old is Caleb now?

Clay · 05-26-2010, 02:55 PM

He's 11. Bday is in November.

racedoll · 05-26-2010, 09:05 PM

Very nice. WERA kills everyone's pocket I think.

Dave · 05-27-2010, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racedoll

Very nice. WERA kills everyone's pocket I think.

Kinda hope I go to afghanistan so it can kill mine

Clay · 05-28-2010, 07:12 AM

He's actually slowed down a little from last year. He's taken some time adjusting to 12's. He's coming along though and made some massive progress that weekend. Once he gets the slow turns down and refines a few things he'll be crazy fast. I can't even begin to touch his acceleration.

05-24-2010, 11:01 AM	#1
Clay I know nothing... Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 134	A little racing update... I don't post a lot here but thought I'd post a little blurb for those few that follow my boy. We've gone back to minis this year as the 125 and WERA pretty much broke my wallet! I'm racing again now with Caleb on the mini, he's on a newly built 85 on 12's and I took his old 85 on 17's. We're just having fun and enjoying ourselves not taking anything too seriously, while paying off some debt. So, maybe in a few years we'll go back to WERA on an SV or something once Caleb is old enough. He still hasn't fully come to grips with the bike on 12's yet, but he made a massive jump forward a week ago at Palmetto (Elgin, SC). This is pretty much the worst track on our schedule, but it's still fun and very challenging to your suspension tuning skills! I still haven't seen our times from the races, but so far my best on the weekend was a 31.3 and Caleb's a 32.9. Once he gets the hang of braking a little deeper and taking those slow corners quickly, he'll be unstoppable. The way he leaves me on the gas is unreal. Even Carlo G (arguably the fastest mini rider in the US) doesn't leave me down a straight on his 150 like Caleb does. I finally managed to get our cam working on the bike and followed Caleb for a few laps later in the day on Saturday. You'll see how he demolishes me on the back section. He lets me pass so he can follow and I put in a few hot laps. You'll see the only place I'm really faster is the 2 slow turns. Using the GPX Pro we swapped using it and overlayed our fastest laps. He would loose a small bit in some sections, but by far most of it was just those 2 corners. In turns 1, 3, 4 and 6 our speed was almost identical at apex. His acceleration difference down the back straight was just plain laughable. At one point he'd be carrying 12mph more than I would! Up next in one month is BTK in Decatur, AL. Caleb likes this track so I hope he does well and keeps his progress moving. It's got a little bit of everything with elevation changes, slow and fast corners along with 2 straights. I hope Caleb can manage to close the gap to me even more. I plan on working on his front end geometry a little more to see if it helps him in those slow turns. Here's the link to our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcdvW_k5-XE And a few pics:

05-27-2010, 06:54 PM	#3
Kaneman AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Odessa, TX Moto: 2000 Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird Posts: 4,931	Wow!! He's getting so fast man!!! CONGRATS!!! __________________ 1982 Honda XR80 - blown motor, 1993 Kawasaki ZX6D - sold, 2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200S - sold, 1984 Honda Magna - sold, 2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200R - blown motor, 2007 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom - totalled, 2003 Yamaha FZ1 - sold, 1994 Honda Magna - sold, 2001 Honda CBR600F4i - sold, 1998 Suzuki DR350 - stolen, 1989 Honda Super Magna - sold, 2007 Yamaha Stratoliner, 2000 Honda CBR 1100XX Blackbird

05-24-2010, 11:20 AM	#5
shmike Follower Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5,549	Awesome! I'm glad to hear that you are able to get and race too! __________________ Racing For Smiles

05-25-2010, 06:29 PM	#6
karl_1052 sergeant hatred Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ottawa Moto: The bus Posts: 2,723	Cool stuff, and an awesome video. How old is Caleb now? __________________ My wife was afraid of the dark...then she saw me naked and now she's afraid of the light.

05-24-2010, 11:14 AM	#2
Dave Chaotic Neutral Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cherry Hill NJ Moto: GV1200 Madura, Hawk gt Posts: 13,992	Gotta love the scream of a smoke. Nice vid!

05-24-2010, 11:15 AM	#4
azoomm moderator chick Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Hill Country TX Moto: Pasta Rockets Posts: 8,917	Awesome!!! We love write ups like this. Please post more.

05-26-2010, 02:55 PM	#7
Clay I know nothing... Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 134	He's 11. Bday is in November.

05-26-2010, 09:05 PM	#8
racedoll AMA Supersport Join Date: Nov 2008 Moto: '04 Kawasaki ZX6RR Posts: 3,392	Very nice. WERA kills everyone's pocket I think.

05-28-2010, 07:12 AM	#10
Clay I know nothing... Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 134	He's actually slowed down a little from last year. He's taken some time adjusting to 12's. He's coming along though and made some massive progress that weekend. Once he gets the slow turns down and refines a few things he'll be crazy fast. I can't even begin to touch his acceleration.