Track Report: Summit Point Jefferson, 7/1

[Ginger]

No Particular Destination
Summit Point Jefferson 7/1: A Day on Motorcycling's (re)Tard Bike

This report isn't going to be session by session, blow by blow, or even a recap of the moments the bars went limp and I thought I was going to visit the weeds (although there were a couple). Rather, it's, sort of, a story, and sort of an accounting of what it's like to ride motorcycling's red headed step child on track.

Numbers don't fare well for the little Suzuki supermoto. 40 horsepower, 1 cylinder, 1 front rotor, eleventy billion inches of suspension travel... about the only thing it's spec sheet has going is the hundred or so pounds the anorexic two wheeler flaunts under pretty much anything else on grid. But that's the thing with some bikes - the sum of their parts is much greater than the numbers might lead you to believe... and let me tell you, when your braking starts when the sportbike next to you is just finishing it makes you feel good.

RJ and I both ran the circuit on the first. We ran it clockwise - me on the supermoto, RJ on his pretty Honda 600. I had done about 100 miles on the circuit in July 2006 on my Honda 600, RJ hadn't ridden it at all before... thinking that 40 horsepower might make the track look different than 100 I registered in the novice group with RJ.

Oops.

They call the back section of Jefferson the bus stop. They call it this because it's so tight that everybody bunches, lines up, and slowly puts through... then everybody circulates the track together and they congratulates each other on how good they look. As great as passing 30 riders in one lap can make you feel it can get boring right quick. I got bumped up to intermediate and immediately was able to start stringing together good laps [RJ was also bumped up once he got the lay of the land]. One of the corner workers told me he had me running 1:07's... until I blew up.

I didn't really expect the little thumper mill to make it through the day. I didn't expect it to blow up before lunch, though, either. Let the clutch out bending in to T3 and I had nothing. I thought I heard a pop and figured that was the end of my day. Having never blown up a motor before I didn't think it entirely too odd that I had no electrics. "Maybe I'll give up this stupid hobby" and "I spent way too much fucking money on this event" ran through my head as I sat in the dirt waiting for the end of the session and the crash truck. I started taking things apart back in the pit. Angrily.

RJ thinks I get grouchy easily. He also thinks it's funny. I imagine it was... but you'd be mad, too, if you blew up your motorbike.

With the gas tank on the ground and plastics on 3 of the 4 sides of the tent RJ suggests that no electrics meant my main fuse probably blew. I pulled it out and threw it at him because he was right. I put the spare in and blew it about 10 feet down the pit later. Damn. I took RJ's spare fuse, concluded that the turn signal wires I had cut (because I couldn't locate and molex connectors) were the culprit. I taped them up and blew his fuse as soon as the next session was over. I plugged in a spare fuse I bought from the Summit Store and then some wires started smoking. "Finally," I thought, "something I can find the source of!" Then I found the molex connectors for the turn signals.

Bingo. No problems the rest of the day.

But man, let me tell you, riding a supermoto on track is weird. Long, sweeping turns don't really agree with the bike, but it's a gem everywhere else (oh, ok, except whenever the track is straight). Without much more weight over the front wheel than whatever I could get up there with my shoulders the front end up liked to try and fold up. Turn in gave me the distinct impression that I was riding on a Tempur-Pedic pillow. I finally decided that the motorbike was exempt from my control inputs and would turn when it was good and ready. But the braking... oh, the braking. You've never felt so much like Valentino Rossi. I don't I need to tell anybody how much of a difference 100 pounds makes under the binders.

All in all, it was a fun day. I seem to recall having more fun the last time I rode the track. I'm not sure whether that's because it's hard not to get bored of 1 mile circuit, or if it's because it doesn't seem as cool as it used to. I guess I'll figure that out on the 15th when I do Shenandoah with RJ...

Pics to come. Also, RJ's contribution.

[.RJ]

Also, RJ's contribution.

That track sucks. I lost count of the number of front end slides I had with the bike - one of them I saved with my knee down as the bike shifted about 10 feet from apex to mid track. I'm still not sure what happened, other than the front end washed away, I just kept my head up and on on the gas waiting for it to come back so I could stand it up and get out of there.

I'm blaming the track because I had my head up my ass most of the day, really. I've had some recent neck issues that werent contributing, but more or less I felt like I should've ridden better. I was fast and consistent enough to get bumped up (the only riders passing me were the instructors once I got a feel for the track layout). Once I moved up to the next group it was fairly late in the day, and I was getting tired but I stuck in there pretty well - no more traffic trains either. I'm going to try to do another day there in the fall and see if I can sort out the track (and my riding on it) better.

Its small and looks fairly simple but it really took me half the day to get a hang of it and start stringing good laps together. Its slow and bumpy, and I'm really not surprised ginger and I were running about the same lap times - the track really suits the retard bikes well.

I'm going to keep coming up with more excuses, until the next track day as well so that I can feel better about it

Track map for reference - we ran it clockwise.

[Ginger]

We ran clockwise.

[Mike]

did you run clockwise?



so how were you riding, andrew? supermoto style or regular?

[BLINGMW]

correction, they were running clockwise.


I actually like hearing that the thumper kept up with the group ok, that's pretty cool.

[Ginger]

Foot out, motard style! I'd like to fit the bigger carb (39 as opposed to the 36) from the off road model because it's supposed to feed in a ton more power, which is what the thing really needs on the straights.

I tried riding the hairpin knee out to get weight on the front wheel. Some people can make it work but I still can't pull it off. I was able to lever my body over the front which seemed to help a little, too. I'll post up pics as soon as they're up (big ones to come later in the week, too).

[Mike]

correction, they were running clockwise.

o rly?

[BLINGMW]

[CaptainHenreh]

Which direction were you guys running?

[stevegula]

That track sucks.

Ashame you had to spend money to discover that. :-(

atleast y'all made it out of there uninjured.

[Ginger]

That track sucks.

Ashame you had to spend money to discover that. :-(

atleast y'all made it out of there uninjured.

FWIW - I consider it a great track to work on personal improvement. The fact that you see everything once a minute really helps you identify problems and gives you lots of chances to try out ways to solve them. I'd got at least 170 laps on that circuit now and it really taught me a lot about the supermoto, despite the fact that I had done 100 there prior. I'm not new rider, either. I'll probably go back, too. Having a reference point never hurt anybody.

[.RJ]

Ashame you had to spend money to discover that. :-(

Well, much like shenandoah its a technical track that rewards good riding. I really dont hate it, and I'll be back later this year.

Some pics for the weekend - I'm buying ginger a "camera use for dummies" for christmas.

[Ginger]

Were they all awful? I'm admittedly bad at cameras... I wish I were better, though. I hope at least some turned out OK for you.

[Mike]

i don't see that rear end sliding...