Moto America - NJMP - Sept 7-8 2019

That’s my take on it and with a lot of the shenanigans lately. Getting near the end of the year, everyone’s tired, beat up, budgets running thin, mishaps on and off the track, etc. All that stuff adds up to a giant ball of frustration and staying composed is difficult. There are more times than I can count at work where I gave myself a time out before I said something stupid, well I always say stupid stuff but something I’d regret. Staying professional all the time is not easy, but also part of the game with anything in life. I could never work in retail, I just frustrated enough dealing with people from all over the world daily let alone the general public. This is shaping up to be a good round at Barber so let’s just hope we have some good close racing and the flashy bus stays parked.

 

I always thought PJ as a bit of a hot head, but he’s been riding like anything but that. He stands a good chance of taking this thing out right, especially now that they have found a set up on that bike.

Yosh having a terrible weekend was probably the most eye opening for me though.

 

Yeah, watching Toni struggle like he did was very uncharacteristic

 

How so?

 

Thanks for including me, It was a great experience!!

You have an awesome family and friends, and also racing for a charity, Team Truman, is great stuff.

You've done what a lot of us dream of, and well showing some Kawi love is just a great icing on top

 

I’ll give a little insight into our program because I don’t think many people know how low key our effort is.

Franklin Armory gave us just enough money to get the season started but not enough to sustain a full race season. Andrew has been bank rolling everything through contingency money. He has a regular job and coaches on the side for supplemental income.

Our crew consists of me and two of our buddies that volunteer their time. Andrew’s dad helped out at the few rounds he could make it to. One of our crew members, Rick Gray, pays for his own travel, hotel and rental car. He even feeds us at times.

We are fortunate enough to have a close relationship with Graves and be apart of their AFM program. Everything we learn there becomes readily available to any Graves customers. From set up info to mapping, everything we get from Graves is the same stuff available to any customer..no special parts or electronics.

We have dialed in our set up and honestly haven’t even changed spring rates since Utah. We literally have been changing gearing and dialing in the bike each weekend with clickers and preload. Our 3 man crew busts their asses to make sure everything is properly maintained and prepared every weekend. We really spend more time on strategy than set up...Pitt is a good example, when we ran all of Q1 on a used rear and put a fresh one on in time for him to do one flying lap with no traffic and no chance for anyone to respond.

I’d say our program is very similar to some of the guys at the front. Wyman has a very similar deal with Steve Weir, Mesa has Thermosman, Yates has Vick, Cory has Rich, Babuska has Medly. All the top guys in this class have a top level crew chief/ tuner to support them. I believe the bikes at the front are all capable of winning and ultimately it comes down to the rider. Andrew stepped up his game this year. His training, his diet, his mental approach to the weekend, his speed. He’s riding hungry, trying to prove that he belongs on a competitive SBK. I can fluff myself and say I’m the reason he’s so good now, but the fact is he’s the real deal. I’ve just given him a bike that finishes races and allows him to do his job.

 

I was wondering how hard Andrew would push with tittle on the line. Way to put a rap on the season.

600 race one was a great race as well.

 

Great insight DDK732!!

 

I also think that, when there are just a couple of good rides out there, these guys know its all or nothing. 1st and 2nd could be the difference from racing next year to watching.

 

It was a great effort all way around Derek. 1st class. I just gotta pull for my homies

 

C’mon I’m a Florida guy too! Or have I been gone too long???

 

ok, shoulda clarified...gotta pull for my currenr east coast compadres, but we like or former racer pal from years back whos currently wrenchin for west coast opposition too. He's pretty cool.

 

Plus multiple other DB instances of behavior throughout his own AMA racing career. Irony to say the least.

 

Stole it or saved it to your favorites?

 

just noticed the emoticons i use when posting from my phone while riding in the woods didn't show up..
my earlier reply SHOULDA read as follows:
ok, I shoulda clarified...gotta pull for my current east coast compadres, but we like our former racer pal from years back who's currently wrenchin for the west coast opposition too. He's pretty cool.

 

Low key or not, you guys took home the number 1 plate with a round to go. The shoestring budget, close knit insight into the program speaks volumes to the talent involved with it.
Congratulations.

 

I’m not Cretu

 

I'm curious as to what Parrish thinks of the Yamaha vs. the SV. Bays rode a Yamaha at a club weekend and had a tough time of it, but they found that bike had something wrong with it. I don't know what triples or link the AP bikes are running.

If Parrish's bike was jumping out of gear or ratcheting 4th gear, that would make sense, as it's a known issue with the FZ trans and we're not allowed to use aftermarket gears, even if there were any available. For my part, I've found that making sure the shift linkage is perfect (90 degrees), the quick shifter is well set up (very long kill times), fresh oil changes, and a VERY POSITIVE 4th to 5th shift will minimize the problem. Going 5 sec a lap slower also seems to help.

I have not been able to get comfortable on my FZ despite having the best parts and a known winning setup (My geometry and hard parts, with exception of the engine, are the same as Kaleb's and Fisher's). This weekend the bike seemed harsher than ever. I'm running Ohlins 30mm carts set up by Thermosman and a Penske rear. I know the track is bumpy, bumpier than last year, but goddamn! It took me all weekend to match what I did last year on the second session on the SV. I'm not making excuses, there are plenty of people who have proven that the Yamaha is fast- I'm just not one of them. I just need to get comfortable with the stiff as hell, force-me-to-your-will type feeling, I guess. The SV felt to me like you could throw it on it's side and let go and it would just rail the corner. The Yamaha is just different.

Barney's bike was on a fresh engine, but they were having some issues with the rev limiter, sometimes it would kick in at 65oo RPM and some times it would let it rev, they were working on it all weekend. Then in the race something broke, they think another cracked piston.

Other inside info from the weekend:

I saw the whole water bottle throw close up. He was ushered away very quickly by CU before the situation could escalate. I didn't know the reason for it at the time, I was absorbed with my own shit. All I could think about was, "at least he hit him, that was like a 50' throw!"

Not sure who the gal in PJ's pits was, I saw her when they checked into the hotel ahead of me Friday, but I didn't "notice her" until I saw the video!

Garret got a CT scan but wasn't cleared to ride because of MA's concussion protocol. He's doing good, though, headed back to TX with Kaleb.

Yzasserina drinks white wine

Big Bird is not big or yellow? Not sure what I was expecting?

I got an official FIM doping test after Q2 on Sunday. I think they picked the only guy in the Twins paddock guaranteed to pass.

 

good stuff
doin Barber ?

 

From the research and people i speak with, not a single AP fz07 has the same triple, fork carts, rear links or shock.

No consistency at all