Rainy Daze
On the way out of Ewa this Sunday morning the weather was ominous. Dark clouds populated the horizon in the direction we were heading and although it wasn’t raining, rain looked to be on the menu for the North Shore. Given my druthers from all the dust bowl events we’ve had this year any change would be welcome…
Upon arrival, sure enough the ground was wet but not so wet that it was “soupy” rather it was at that midway point between soup and chunky sticky cookie dough. Comparing the two, soupy track conditions splash the bike and get in throttle cables, grind down brake shoes and give goggle wearers a hard time. On the other hand chunky sticky cookie dough conditions weight the bike down, clog even the widest spaced mx tires and make for a generally unruly bike. The transformation from a light weight, sleek thoroughbred racing machine to a wandering and sliding lead weight tank takes about 3 seconds and about 100 feet of track.
How do you compensate for this? Well being from the east coast and riding tracks all around the mid-atlantic states you learn real fast. Go to the kitchen, grab that spray can of PAM, then grab some panty hose, a sponge, get your tear-offs and finally a screw driver.
At the track you take some tear offs and tape them to your visor to extend it so you can look through it while keeping your head down. Next you coat the underside of the fenders with PAM so the mud doesn’t stick then cut the panty hose and stretch sections over the fenders where you can to deflect mud, next cut the sponge and stuff it between your skid plate and the frame to block mud AND last you use the screw driver to increase the compression of your suspension to keep the bike from settling too far into it’s stroke from any mud weight.
So it was a chunky day and lets get on with the racing… The track designers used almost the same upper level patterns as the September race but with a twist. Instead of using the hump and small table tops the riders weaved between the humps and table tops in a chicane with a right hand outside line berm shooting them over to the right hander which brings everyone over the small tables at the finish line. The really good move though was the redirection of the bikes back across the upper section of the track along the spectator fence before dropping into the valley on the long right-hand down hill turn.
It was a seemingly easy way out of doing any new track engineering but it was just what the doctor ordered for close order racing. The battles that raged through the chicane and then blasted them across the track in front of the spectators went over really well. I think that anyone who stood at the fence line and watched the Experts blow by them really got a taste of speed up close and personal. They were hauling.
For anyone interested in seeing how to flat-track a turn I invite you to look at the images from any of the Experts. Of particular note is the body language and positioning of our top Expert riders. They stood up going into the turn, sat down while in it and stood up while exiting. Check out the low over the bar profile of Bronson as he flat-tracks the bike out of the turn.
The down pour during the Experts and 80’s moto was inevitable and most unfortunate as it caused some delays due to the 80’s frying clutches and getting stuck way down and out of sight. Soon though the trades pushed out the clouds and the track dried up and got tacky which allowed for more aggressive riding. The straight along the fence became the choice spot for spectators watching the bikes thunder by.
Once again there was a contingent of Neighbor Island riders and that made for some interesting challenges. The latest posting to YOU Tube has some Expert footage and an unusual twist with someone other than Bronson getting the hole shot. The real battle was Honda 39 and Yamaha 4m going at it. It was neck and neck till the end when the Honda edged the Yamaha off the track by going a little wide on the last right hand turn and forcing the Yamaha off the track over the small tables in front of the Finish Line. Great Race!
The smaller bikes, besides having a tough time in the mud were still finding the necessary lines to get around the track at good speeds. Some of the dual riders, those competing in the 50’s class and the 60’s class were disappointed in having to run the shortened upper track of the 50’s because of the mud but it was probably the right thing to do since a 60 would have been a perfect candidate for getting stuck somewhere way off in the valley.
The 80’s were brought back to the track before lunch to re-run their moto after it was halted ealier due to the rain and a few dead bikes that got towed out.
Upon arrival, sure enough the ground was wet but not so wet that it was “soupy” rather it was at that midway point between soup and chunky sticky cookie dough. Comparing the two, soupy track conditions splash the bike and get in throttle cables, grind down brake shoes and give goggle wearers a hard time. On the other hand chunky sticky cookie dough conditions weight the bike down, clog even the widest spaced mx tires and make for a generally unruly bike. The transformation from a light weight, sleek thoroughbred racing machine to a wandering and sliding lead weight tank takes about 3 seconds and about 100 feet of track.
How do you compensate for this? Well being from the east coast and riding tracks all around the mid-atlantic states you learn real fast. Go to the kitchen, grab that spray can of PAM, then grab some panty hose, a sponge, get your tear-offs and finally a screw driver.
At the track you take some tear offs and tape them to your visor to extend it so you can look through it while keeping your head down. Next you coat the underside of the fenders with PAM so the mud doesn’t stick then cut the panty hose and stretch sections over the fenders where you can to deflect mud, next cut the sponge and stuff it between your skid plate and the frame to block mud AND last you use the screw driver to increase the compression of your suspension to keep the bike from settling too far into it’s stroke from any mud weight.
So it was a chunky day and lets get on with the racing… The track designers used almost the same upper level patterns as the September race but with a twist. Instead of using the hump and small table tops the riders weaved between the humps and table tops in a chicane with a right hand outside line berm shooting them over to the right hander which brings everyone over the small tables at the finish line. The really good move though was the redirection of the bikes back across the upper section of the track along the spectator fence before dropping into the valley on the long right-hand down hill turn.
It was a seemingly easy way out of doing any new track engineering but it was just what the doctor ordered for close order racing. The battles that raged through the chicane and then blasted them across the track in front of the spectators went over really well. I think that anyone who stood at the fence line and watched the Experts blow by them really got a taste of speed up close and personal. They were hauling.
For anyone interested in seeing how to flat-track a turn I invite you to look at the images from any of the Experts. Of particular note is the body language and positioning of our top Expert riders. They stood up going into the turn, sat down while in it and stood up while exiting. Check out the low over the bar profile of Bronson as he flat-tracks the bike out of the turn.
The down pour during the Experts and 80’s moto was inevitable and most unfortunate as it caused some delays due to the 80’s frying clutches and getting stuck way down and out of sight. Soon though the trades pushed out the clouds and the track dried up and got tacky which allowed for more aggressive riding. The straight along the fence became the choice spot for spectators watching the bikes thunder by.
Once again there was a contingent of Neighbor Island riders and that made for some interesting challenges. The latest posting to YOU Tube has some Expert footage and an unusual twist with someone other than Bronson getting the hole shot. The real battle was Honda 39 and Yamaha 4m going at it. It was neck and neck till the end when the Honda edged the Yamaha off the track by going a little wide on the last right hand turn and forcing the Yamaha off the track over the small tables in front of the Finish Line. Great Race!
The smaller bikes, besides having a tough time in the mud were still finding the necessary lines to get around the track at good speeds. Some of the dual riders, those competing in the 50’s class and the 60’s class were disappointed in having to run the shortened upper track of the 50’s because of the mud but it was probably the right thing to do since a 60 would have been a perfect candidate for getting stuck somewhere way off in the valley.
The 80’s were brought back to the track before lunch to re-run their moto after it was halted ealier due to the rain and a few dead bikes that got towed out.
If you witnessed the Powder Puffs moto you got a glimpse of some warrior women as they banged bars and stuffed each other in the turns. The gate dropped on their moto and it was a knock down drag race to that right turn. They were going so fast that a lot of them had trouble slowing down and making the turn without going all the way to the berm, locking it up and then cutting back across. There’s a few girls that pull double duty by riding this class and one of the regular classes so this was by far the most aggressive of the powder races we’ve seen. I’m looking forward to watching them wick it up and getting in the mix with each other in November.
If you were looking for the Featured Rider report for October, well…it ain’t happening. The weather caused a change in the program but we’ll be lining up the featured rider for the next race…See you there….
-scott
If you were looking for the Featured Rider report for October, well…it ain’t happening. The weather caused a change in the program but we’ll be lining up the featured rider for the next race…See you there….
-scott
posted by Scott at
3:01 AM
0 Comments
mainland remember which way to advance or set back their clocks in preparation for daylight savings time. Of course we don't have to worry 'bout that but it's a fitting title for the September edition of the Race Reports beacuse in this fall season we are moving forward.
