AHH YESH. WHAT A WEEKEND.
FORILDO.... probably the most humbling weekend of my life.
Or maybe I should just say that I realized how much of this sport is in your head.
I've never had so much fun while being so frustrated in my life.
My rebuild came down to the wire, and I just got it done in time. In fact, the first and only test ride I took was about an hour before we left for Florida. And it was at that time that I realized I had severe headshake at 115mph+.... also noticed my exhaust was rubbin on the swingarm. No time to fix it, so I figured I'd straighten it out at the track. I knew we would be getting there mid day Saturday... and we werent riding until Sunday so I figured I'd be fine.
Turns out the Dunlop slicks were just too big for my bike with the stock (non adjustable) shock. So we went ahead and pulled off that 195/70 rear and swapped out my tires with 208's. Also adjusted my forks so they were even... the MF'ing left fork was about 2mm higher than the right. Much better... now the headshake is gone and I've got plenty of clearance for the rear. Couldn't mount the new lower fairing though because it was rubbing on the front wheel when the forks were compressed. So I just rode without the lower this weekend.
On to the riding.....
Weather was looking good for Sunday, but I was a nervous wreck. This was my first time back on since my wreck at Summit Point and I had to rush to get the bike fixed in time. I literally had the last of the parts delivered the day before we left. So, needless to say I wasn't completely in the game and my nerves were rolling.
I was very tense on the bike for most of the day. I caught myself a few times goin through T1 and my arms were locked solid on the bars. It made me feel like I was on the edge and I constantly felt like the front tire was gonna give out on me at any second. But I knew I was nowhere near the edge... my knee wasn't on the ground, and I was nowhere close to maximum lean angle.
This went on for most of the day. I was afraid to push myself. Usually on the track, I'm always pushing for that little extra. I go out on the track to learn and get faster. So cruisin around on the track is not usually what I'm doin. But this time... that's all I could do. I was afraid of pushing myself. I felt that if I had made the slightest mistake, my tires or suspension wouldn't save me.
So for most of the day, I was just tryin to figure out the lines. I was so tense that I was inconsistent and couldn't figure out the track. The whole back section with switchbacks was kickin my ass. I felt like I was takin them at different speeds and lines all day.
As the sessions went on, I settled down and become somewhat consistent. But it was still frustrating to say the least. Even with all that, I was havin fun. Obviously my goal is to be as consistent, smooth, and fast as possible. But even if I'm out there struggling, it's still fun.
And of course, you can't beat hangin out with your buddies at the track. I think we had 26 people from .com represent down there.
Big thanks to everyone that was helpin out with the bike down to the last second.
And also thanks to P-Luva for shootin some good footage of my sloppy riding.
Which brings me to the video. This is a few laps with P-Luva stalking me, before finally stabbing me. And I'm glad he did... cuz 2 laps later I ran off in T2. Went into it too hot, and went offroading at about 115mph. Got on the brakes real easy.... then locked up the rear.... rear end started skippin out, and I though I was done. But somehow... miraculously... the rear end came around and she stayed up on two. Big thanks to JC for that one.
http://www.doritoracing.com/Videos/Jennings1-21-07.wmv
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