Cloudy sky track time and sticking out in a crowd.

Have you ever showed up to a party that you were casually invited to only to find out that it might not be your thing? Maybe you felt like it was supposed to be a black tie event party, but when you arrived, you found out it wasn't? I had a bit of that experience this past weekend before I took the CRF450R to the kart track. I still had a good time at said party and saw some really good stuff. Next time, I'll be prepared and come with more time and cash. Extra time would have let me enjoy the scene more. Extra cash would have had me walking away with some cool trinkets and maybe even a bike. Have a read at this week's post about how I spent the last weekend of my winter break.

I took this shot to show the sizable crowd and the grey skies. The weather for the week was nice up until the weekend when it turned cloudy. The difference between cloudy and clear is worth about 10 degrees of warmth. The party I mentioned in my opener was the Biltwell annual parking lot sale. It is something they do every year where people can see the warehouse and have some other fun as well. This makes the parking lot and grounds of Biltwell a pretty happening place for the day. Parking was tight, crowds were plentiful and there was some cool things things to see. Dressed in my dad-bod best "going to the track" set of clothes, I was decidedly under dressed for the occasion. I needed a bit more flannel and black leather. The parking lot was packed full of bikes, mostly club style Harley Dynas, but there were a few other brands in the mix. There was music, beer, coffee and a very small swap meet. I was pleasantly surprised.

This was something that made me want to bring a fatter wallet. I'm not sure how old it was, but it looked like it was from the post World War II era. It is a wind up motorcycle racer in the older speedway/boardtrack style of racer. The front wheel is turned left, as it should to get the best racing action. The seller wanted $40 for the toy and I could visualize the perfect spot for it on my motorcycle shrine in my office. Unfortunately I only had $40 in my pocket and that was reserved for my track time. Adult priorities getting in the way once again. There was another booth that had an older Triumph something-or-nother that would've made an excellent vintage flat tracker. Too bad I didn't have $2500 lying around. It was complete bike that ran, WITH a title. Missed opportunities abounded.

These two beauties were parked in front of the sales entrance to Biltwell. On the left is the "Frijole". It is a Sportster off-road bike that was run down in Mexico, maybe even during the Baja 1000. I saw some videos about this on YouTube. In person it was a beast. It looks like a handful and I don't even want to think about picking it up in the soft, sandy sections of that race course. On the right is an older Harley Flat Head, hand shift, hardtail, flat track racer. I know a guy that runs a hand shift Indian Scout from the 30's in the local SCFTA Flat Track races. It takes a good rider to be able to run one of these out on the track. I want to give a vintage bike like this a try one of these days. It sure did look like fun!

Out at the track I had to take my time during my warm up laps. On my first couple of laps for every session I could feel the tires slowly coming into grip as they got warmer. I wanted to practice riding my bike in supermoto configuration more like a sport bike with my knees down. Despite my efforts, I just couldn't get comfortable leaning off to the inside with my knees out. The seat shape, handle bar width, the peg locations are all optimized for flat track. Trying to get my body to the inside of the bike felt wobbly and unstable. Instead I decided to adopt a more hybrid sumpermoto/flat track style that fits the ergonomics of the bike better. This is only the third time since October that I've been on the bike. I was stiff and gangly out during my first couple of sessions. The flat track style was better for my tires and the weather. The race tires weren't happy getting out onto the cold pavement without tire warmers. I felt a few traction slips in my warm up laps. All of them were very minor and easy enough to predict. I only have two track days at the kart track with slicks. I am new to their specific requirements, but I think I could grow to love them. They warm up predictably and the traction is unbelievable when they are warm. I took lots of notes from my last two track days so I could start predicting their behavior in a variety of track conditions. 

It was another good day on the track, but I am starting to get a twitch in my eyes and a shake in my hands thinking about getting back to the dirt oval. I have watched a few races on YouTube while I was on winter break. I miss the dirt. I almost changed out the CRF back to flat track trim, but I decided to get some parts to make it easier to do. I have another brake disc on order for the rear wheel. I need to get an extra sprocket and I'll be set. That way it is as simple as removing and replacing the wheels and checking the chain tension. A true dual purpose machine! I'll let you know how that goes.

Alright friends, I have a bunch of 'life' to take care of so I will talk a you later. Ride safe and have fun!

Blue