More flat track, a preview of things to come.

Good evening readers. Not much went on last weekend. I didn't really get out on my FZ1. The Ninja was sitting in the shop in preparation for some post track day maintenance. I didn't even get to any of the local shops. I tried to take the Yamaha out and work on my slow speed maneuvering, but found my spot in use by others. So with that in mind, this weeks offering will be a few more pics from my day with Eric Bostrom. Naturally I don't look half as cool as I felt out there in the dirt, but they are still educational. They also represent a change of direction for the one-man, My Motorbike Obsessions Race Team. Take a look and enjoy.

The confines of the track we used was tight and twisty. Eric designed the course to best use the space he had and to challenge the riders at easy going speeds. The course was less of a traditional flat track and more of a TT course. A TT course has at least one right turn and a jump. Back in the hey day of 1970's flat track, TT's were common. TT's are back for the 2018 American Flat Track schedule with quite a few more than TT races than last year's season which was a good year for the race series.

The key to riding flat track bike well was smooth operation of the controls. Too much throttle at the wrong time and you're going down. Brake at the wrong place and you're going down. The number of both left and right hand turns had us working the controls in quick succession. At first it was difficult to be smooth. After a few laps it got much easier. Leaning the bike and working the throttle to control the bikes speed and chassis attitude were all things I'm used to working on at the rack. I had to get used to being on the outside of the bike when going through the turn instead of being on the inside of the bike in a knee down posture.

Upper body position is important as well. I had to work to try and keep my upper body upright with my elbows up. I got a good core work out as well as a hip flexor work out like you wouldn't believe. Keeping my lower body loose so that it moved with the bike came a little easier as I have been working on that with the race Ninja. I had to consciously remind myself to stay light on the grips. It took one session out on the course to pound that home as I was getting arm pump after only a few laps. Once I got some input from Eric, I was able to settle in and work on the main point of the particular lesson without having to correct myself too much. At least until the end of the day when fatigue started to set in.

All of these body position lessons were to lock in the braking technique which was the main learning point of the day. Confidence in braking by being able to hold the throttle open as long as possible and then go hard, but smooth, on the brakes to slow you down to turning speed was the main point I came away with. It will help me in all aspects of my motorbiking from track to street to dirt. It is a shame I wasn't able to get on the Yamaha and try these out on the road. It is amazing how much power was in the KLX 140's brakes. Even the tiny little disc we had was able to haul my big butt down quickly and easily.

Here is the happy bunch of flat trackers along with Eric's dad just before one of the later parts of the day. Eric's dad was showing us how to scoot around the track at a really quick clip. He was also our track preparer. I was eager to get out on the track, so I already had my helmet on for this picture. This was after a break where Eric's dad watered down the track to tamp out the dust. I was tasked with getting the track to come in and experienced few very big slides on the freshly watered track. Some of the mud was like ice and it had me drifting both the front and back wheels at times.

It really was a great day and I'm glad that Eric took the time to take pictures to show us what we were doing. I enjoyed this event so much that I have been watching nothing but flat track videos on YouTube since that day. This weekend coming up will have me doing something that takes my racing down a different path. Stay tuned for more exciting news as soon as I get something definitive to share. As always, ride safe friends!

Blue