GMD Atlanta

Here is Kent at his GMD workshop in Atlanta. I have known him around the track for the grater part of a decade and highly recommend their services. The reason for this visit was a customers 636 which he had crashed and pushed the headstock back to about 6 inches, the wheel was mashes into the radiator and the wheel had to be removed to get the rad. out. Kent and his crew were able to pull it out and saved the guy about $1000 over buying a new frame. The other reason was to discuss the 250 set ups. Ask me about it and I'll be happy to tell you about our conversation. We put the strings on the bikes and have fixed a few alignment issues and will probably add some fork mods in the future. This was the last stop on a long trip, I got a lot done, went far and had a few good rides, see you out there!

Road A. after turn 5

I finally got there late after a number of obstacles prevented my normal early arrival. The changes that were made to the track are interesting and I think detract from the course. I used to ride here in the 90's when the gravity cavity was in place and the "improvements" had not happened. The area surrounding the track used to be forest and field now the developers have had there way stripping the area of much of its beauty. As I headed to my last stop on the trip I drove by a few signs on hwy 53 which expressed that they were not in favor of a new motorsports park near Dawsonville. Perhaps they are against the collateral damage to the view.

Road Atlanta

So after the paint job in Austin was done (Friday afternoon) I headed down to MSR Houston to check out a Texas Trackday and the track. It seems like it will be a good one for the 250's and I look forward to working with them soon. I went home on Saturday afternoon for a quick visit which included a much needed lawn mow and a pick up of a smashed 636 for a drop off at GMD Computrack Atlanta. In the interim I had a trackday at NPR on Sunday. I the guys had a great time and I rode to the point of exhaustion. No really, like heat exhaustion. I was drinking water all day but was unable to cool off in the afternoon. I spent the trip cramping and puking until we got into Alabama.

A beautiful job!

Here we are at the reveal. In 4 days we took the bus from school bus to cool bus. The roof is coated with Kool Seal (thanks Christian), the green is 2008 Kawasaki and the look is great. I'll be putting stickers from my partners and sponsors on the bus so the look will change a bit. The green paint is expensive, call it $200 a gallon but I have enough left for the bikes. I am planning another stop by JD's world for painting before the Hallett CMRA round. Thanks Man!!

NIght Painting

Due to the oppressive Austin summer heat we ended up painting at night. The added degree of difficulty did not affect JD much who laid down a great paint job. The temperatures during the day were around 107. We would work in the morning and then return in the afternoon to work till after morning rush hour. It was a tiring week but worth it!

Here are Jessie Davis and I shaking hands after agreeing to the reasonable terms of the bus painting proect. Notice we are smiling, little did we know what the work would entail, if we had we migh not have been smiling as broadly.

What a nice gift,

This couple have a nice connection. Alessandro actually brough his leathers and gear from Italy when he came to the U.S. 2 years ago for work. His girlfriend Lynette saw the ad and rented him a ride at Texas World Speedway. What a nice surprise. Notice the yellow color of the bus, this is the last time you will see it.

Pit Bulls and 250's

During the week before Oak Hill I took the time to drive up to get these PitBull trailer restraint systems. They have proven easy to install and use and have freed up about 8 feet of floor space. Here are 5 bike in the space that used to fit three. Look back in the blog photos and see the difference. They are a lifetime purchase and can be adapted to many different bikes with an inexpensive retrofit kit. Installation is the drilling of 4 holes and the tightening of 4 bolts. Due to the number of stands I use and the fact that I was drilling through a few frame pieces I also bought a drill doctor. This is an amazing drill bit sharpener which made money on the first project. During this trip I also stopped by Walt Schaefers place in Altoona Al. He donated a bunch of used rain tires to the cause which should be a blast if the summer heat ever ends.

Podium Shot

Another shot of Elites riers on the podium. The riders are ranging in weight from about 130lbs to much, much more. They were all able to adust to the compromise and rip for hours. Their lowest lap time was by the young man sitting on the bike; Brandon with a 1:38.9, Jim Learmonth stands watch on the left while Jessie Davis stares at his feet. Big man Chris Thomas completes the team and had a blast handling the 250.

Elite Trackdays

Here is a shot of the team that finished in second overall; Team Elite Trackdays. I met these guys during a trackday at Harris Hill Raceway in Kyle Texas. This is a nice track especially for the 250 due to its curves and relative lack of straightaway. Elite Trackdays can be reached at 225 971 1231 or moira@elitetrackdays.com. They used a different strategy than most and only put gas in every other stop. They found that the gas would go 2 hrs 15 minutes at Oak Hill. Thats a long time on a bike at Oak Hill for sure.

Eurtoast 3rd

This is the team that got third overall; Eurtoast. The 4 man team includes Zeb Harris (seated) with his dad as the crew. These guys proved that the stock pads, even when new will only last 6 hours. They completed the race using only the back brake and engine braking. There times only gained a second or two. Nice ride guys!

Sorry but it has been a busy month with a lot of days on the road. This shot is from the 8 hour CMRA Mini endurance race at Oak Hill Raceway in Henderson Texas. The bikes were all rented with one in Alabama and the remaining 5 entered in this race. One of the teams in this shot eventually overcame the vaporization of a new set of stock front brake pads to finish third overall after running first for most of the race. Can you guess which team?