Here is the other main villain in my Elka trip. John is the guy on the phone if you are calling Elka about motorcycle shocks. A former semi-pro hockey player who seems little worse for the wear (the many knocks to the head seem to have little lasting effect). These guys certainly know their business. I also met the owner Martin who is enthusiastic and positive about life. One thing that I'll say about everyone I met over the too brief visit/learning session is that they are all knowledgeable proffessionals who engage in the sports they are making products for. If you are talking to someone about quad shocks they probably used to race one. Elka supports many series in Canada including a 125 cup for Honda CBR 125's. This could be the basis for a 250 Ninja Cup in the US.

The Elka trip (1)

Here is Sam, engineer hard at work at Elka Suspensions in Montreal Quebec. This guy knows the internal working of suspension and can draw you a picture that is easily understood. Definitely the guy who filled in many of the blanks that existed in my head about the black magic of suspension inner workings. The shocks are the prototypes of the shocks that I will soon be selling. I have ridden the sh*t out of the shocks and think they work great, a huge improvement in control over the stocker.

Texas World Speedway Ridesmart

Here are the bikes at Texas World Speedway at College Station at a Ridesmart event. In truth the bikes are more fun at a smaller tracks. This superspeedway was built for speed. It is much safer now that turn 8 has had the too close wall removed. Don't forget to visit the Dixie Chicken.

Race Results through Early April

This is how we roll with 5 bikes in the bus, There is actually a JR 50 hidden behind the center bike. The bus is slow and loud and has yet to give any signs of future trouble.
To catch up, the bikes have been successfully ridden to many trophies so far. Miles Thorton and C.J. rented at Talledega. Miles came in second in his race (sorry Miles, I can't remember which race that was.) C. J. has been very successful on RMN rentals with 3 firsts and a second on the 250 and 3 firsts at the CCS spring opener on my ZX10 R. I also won one; the ASRA Superstock. Thanks Walt Scheaffer at Michelin who supplied the rain tires, giving me a 1:47 sec win over the second place winner, which rocked the highbanks. Keith Hertell also has co-piloted a 250 to a top three overall finish at a CMRA Oak Hill mini endurance and a solo win at Eagles Canyon. I have a renter for Nashville which is the weekend of April 20th so I'll be there for sure. The new world order is that without a pre-renter I cannot guarantee that I will be there. With 1 pre-renter I may bring 2 bikes only on the trailer to save a bit of gas money and time. Sorry for any inconvenience but the economic realities of a no renter day have quickly become apparent.

drz pitbike racing as training

I like to train on a pitbike with whoever I can get to come over. This is H and I ripping on the "short track" both left and right followed by the "Moto GP" section. The latter is where they scoop out the Bayou in the back allowing us more room to ride on. It can get pretty scetchy out here but injuries are rare. Kevin

bus 1

This is a shot of the bikes when we came back from the Kankakee Il. to an Ohio River Vally shops which have asked to remain anonymous The trip began late December in Gulfport with the boarding of a flight to Chicago (Midway). I then took the subway to the Greyhound bus station to travel to Kankakee at Midwest Transport where I hung with Jerome and removed the many seats which make this hauler a large storeroom on wheels. It is a 71 passenger Thomas bodied International which is the largest non flat nosed bus that you can get. It is a 5 speed manual, hydraulic brake model (no special licence required) diesel which I hope to eventually run on Bio Fuel (I know that all fuels are bio fuels but hopefully one that does not depend of outside fuel sources) perhaps a byproduct of the local sugar market in the future? We now are running the bike in a staggered longways location and get over 9mpg's, it only goes 62 but it goes 450 miles on a tank of fuel. I highly recommend this type of transport to anyone looking for an economical race hauler. I use a converted ladder and will eventually put up a video of the load up procedure. If you want to go to a race or trackday and save fuel you can usually meet me at my house or I'll pick you up on the way. Currently accommodations in the bus are a bit spartan but I will improve it in the future. Some future shots will just be before and afters with definitions pages. Now on with the adventure...

One of the Race Ninja 250's for Rent

Shot this photo while loading up to go to Texas Speedway today (April 3, 2009) then on to No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La for the trackday there on Sunday.

Our bikes currently have M-4 exhausts and Woodcraft rearsets and clip-ons. I'm sure there are other modifications that I'm missing as this is Jill writing this blog.

Kevin will be traveling to Canada this week to work with the folks at Elka suspension in developing their suspension system for the Ninja 250.

The bikes should be painted within the next month!