Ridesmart won't let me self tech so I'm taking my ball and going home

He offered some there

It is obvious the guy is a complete tool (probably could have used himself to tighten it right there). To accuse someone and not even be willing to name the offense, ass. I have never heard of Ridesafe but think I would ride with them just BECAUSE this moron hates them and won't be there (though it true tool style he is probably more threat than follow through)

 

I applaud the tech inspectors for their stand. In fact, my only issue is with the club owner; i think he was TOO nice to this guy. That kind of disregard for safety rules and attitude towards the inspectors should be a reason for kicking him out, not making friends. I don't want to share a track (or risk my life) with anyone who has blatant disregard for the safety of their own bike. That whole "well this is the way I run it" excuse says a lot about what they're dealing with.

Overall, I understand that this is a business, and reputation is everything. Just would rather have club organizers or tech inspectors be a dick over a nice guy. As long as being a dick is for the benefit of safety and a smooth running event.

Yea, this is a fine line, but overall i've seen most track day clubs get way too lenient on rules and behavior on and off the track. Time to toughen up and smack some sense into folks, it's the only way we listen :tut:


By the way, can't you use the old "pull the chain off the sprocket" test to see if it's too loose? Like when you pull the chain back away from the rear wheel, there shouldn't be any significant gap between the chain and sprocket?

 

Not to stir the pot or anything, but are the techs school cretified on all bikes if any. and if not is there an SOP for issues that arise? I ask because i hear alot about chain tightness. I KNOW MY bike, do they, by that i mean, i have the manual and KNOW what is recommended for it. They cant be expected to know ALLL bikes. However, when i asked for an explaination, they could not offer one. I have no issues with being safe or them doing there job, but if they want something to be fixxex they should know whats wrong. I know you guys are going to say the track is different than the street (i agree) and you can't always use manual specs, but if they are requesting a change they should be able to give specs on what they want (even if in general). There should be some type of SOP, Just saying





stir, Stir, STIR

 

Answer below......

 

Tech can be handled without being a dick as can 99.9% of all situations.

BTW, that's chain WEAR not tension you mentioned above.

 

Like I said in my earlier post, the main issue was that the chain was touching the body work on the bottom. I don't think the issue was whether or not it would jump the sprockets or anything.

I guess the tech could have said you need to tighten that a bit or trim your fairing off...

Also, FWIW, me and the other guy that run the school with Dave (owner of RideSmart) had a meeting yesterday and it turns out, as a sort of peace offering, we told him next time we come to Barber, he would be more than welcome to join us at half-price. The guy still declined. :wow:

Ok dude, whatever.

 

Yup. Thanks Jason. Definitely had more light shed on this.

Some said that Dave was too lenient, and I agree with them. However, he is the owner of the school, and Jason + I try to keep on top of these sorts of things for him. Personally speaking, if I was in very similar situation, and the owner enticed me to stay to finish the day, plus give me half off on the next event we hold at Barber, I would jump on it instantly.
The OP seems to have been too affected by the events of the morning to be capable of riding safely. So it is a good thing he decided not to join, as his riding may have affected someone else's day as well.
An additional piece of info we found out was that the rider did not attend the Saturday riding, in contrast to what Jason and I originally thought. This explains why no one stated their opinion about his chain on Saturday tech. Apparently he decided not to come on Saturday due to rain in the AM. All the rain went away by 11:30am, making that day a good one as well. Actually, many people said that the raid was what made them enjoy the track much more, since the wet conditions forced them to slow down and learn the track for a couple of hours before turning up the heat.

For any of you who do not know Dave, I have not met another person who would go above and beyond as much as this guy does for his customers. Just to make sure the event went smooth and without any glitches, after everyone already paid their $360 for both days, he went out and spent another 4-5K to make sure every detail of operation gets proper attention. He did not pass on the cost to the riders.
On top of that, we made commemorative shirts for everyone who rode, included in the price as well.
His motto is that he feels obligated to take whatever he makes from track days and spread it amongst the customers. Sometimes, when we plan for events, we advise him not to book some dates/venues so close to each other, and he tells us that even if he loses on an event, it will be good for all the customers.
Last year we had about 40 events or so in Texas. Between beginning of February and end of November, that makes it 4 events per month on average. Talk about being busy.

To show our cards a bit, we really enjoyed the event, and we received outstanding feedback from Barber staff and owners. We are inclined to think that we may be doing something at Barber again in 2011. What do you say Jason, at least one? Two? We do not know yet, but we should have something more concrete ironed out in the next couple of months. We first have to get through the 2 day at ECR, then the TWS September events, etc. Still have at least 10 events to do this season. Busy but enjoyable.
Anyone on here who is in position to come to
ECR - Slidell, TX
MSRC - Cresson, TX
TWS - College Station, TX
MSRH - Angleton, TX

will be very welcome to join us. I am sure we can whip up some kind of 'WERA poster welcome package'. Thank you for the time you took to read and understand this thread. Gotta love the title change too... . Whoever made it - we like your sense of humor.
Any questions, you can touch bases with me or Jason at [email protected], or go to our web site to get the contacts info - www.ridesmart.info

Take care and ride safe - RideSmart

 

Good question but most sportbikes have similar travel thus similar slack is needed (not exact). Of course if tool was riding a 'tard.

 

Whom ever decides to come the lone star state to ride with us, please bring the barbers track surface with you thanx in advance. Lol

 

Yeah, Barber does have a much better surface than anything out here

 

generally true but, if it's ROTFL, well...

i check mine by seeing if i can touch the swingarm by lifting the chain using one finger. if it just barely taps the bottom, i consider it good. more than just touching and i think it's getting on the loose side. if i can slap the swingarm, it's way too loose and definitely in need of attention.
on the other hand, if i can't touch the swingarm, i feel it's too tight.
most of the oem specs seem too tight, to me.

 

I made the title change. Partly tongue in cheek, but also because RideSmart was being slammed in the post title alone, and those who didn't take the time to read the thread would have walked away with the wrong impression of the org. IMHO. Seems to me they whent above and beyond in attempting to rectify the situation and appease the customer even though they were correct in the call they made at tech. For those of us who have ran track days we all have come into contact with folks like this. It's unfortunately part of the business. I'm not sure I would have been nearly as nice or ammendable if I were in Dave's shoes. The problem children usually rear their ugly heads during tech or registration. They paint a bullseye on themselves and the staff ends up keeping an eye on them for the remainder of the day. Sometimes taking valuable time away from riders who deserve it more. My gut says if this guy did stay and ride that the chain issue would have only been the tip of the iceburg. Next up would have been "I'm passing everyone out there in my class you need to bump me now and if you don't you're are putting everyone else on the track with me in danger."

 

OK....May be time for a little humor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7iUKaPlBl8&feature=player_embedded

 

Opps I meant not going back this weekend!!!

 

Dude, I was tempted to post this on page one, but opted not to.. As soon as I read it, that video was what I thought of..

 

Same here !

Thought it was OK to post now cause it's kinda lightened up a bit

 

LMMFAO i dont even have to open the vid to KNOW what it is hahahahahahaha we were just comparing him to that yesterday, classic

 

That's a way to measure stretch.

I've been told my chain is to loose at a trackday tech. I just said "Oh thanks, I'll take care of that" Then ran it how it was, because you want a chain looser than stock specs. That whats the guys from traxxion told me when I attended a seminar they put on a couple years ago.

 

Priceless!

 

I don't think they'll flag for to a chain that looser than stock. It's more about loose to the point of jumping the sprocket, or hitting the bodywork/swingarm.

If anything, I would think most tech inspectors see chains that are too tight.