Greeting NESBIANS - First Timer Looking for Guidance.

[Ducati Pete]

beac83;248145 wrote: Pete,

I'll be at Beaver Run July 21-22, so if you come out then, be sure to come by and say hi.

Come on out and play!

Hello Craig,

Thanks for the encouragement. I was hoping to make Beave but I don't think it will be realistic as I'm trying to buy too much and make bike preps happen too quickly. I was also trying to get a few friends to do it with me but I think they are too chicken..... LOL And I tell them that too.

I feel Summit will be my best hope and I venture to guess a better track to cut my teeth on......... oppps, I probably shouldn't put it that way!!!

Will keep a look out for you wherever I go.

Thanks Again,
Pete

 

[Ducati Pete]

HondaGalToo;248147 wrote: Cool Duc, Pete! Refresh my memory, which powerplant was in the ST2? Was it a 2 valve air cooled?

I used to have a 1995 900 SS SP. Only bike I sold that I really miss....
Had an '06 Sport Classic, too. Loved the look, but it was an absolute rack to ride, so I sold it as well.

Hi Judy,

The Sport Classic looks like a horrible bike to ride.... now I know for sure. The ST2 is the same engine as your 900SS but bored out to a 944 and has liquid cooling and a heavy flywheel.......... okay, so it's a lot different than the 900. In reality though, they simply added a little piston diameter and water plus a few other minors to the 900SS. The bottom end and valve train are all the same.

Unfortunately, I have little to compare the Duc to. Pretty hard to say it runs like an XR400 or a Husqvarna 390CR, or my neighbors Harley. All I know is that is suits me and my way of riding well. It's not abrupt (heavy Sport Touring Flywheel), rolls powerfully on the throttle and stands up the front end in lower gears but only when you consciencely ask it to.

I have thought from the very beginning this was the perfect beginner track bike. In comparison to the few road bikes I've ridden, I call my Duc a dirt bike for the pavement. I most certainly wouldn't put it under someone learning to ride a bike for the first time but it's pretty tame for sure. I can slide the ass end out in dirt like a off road machine, make it stop on a dime, turn in fast (at least to me) and my conversion shaved it's wet weight to something like 420 lbs, would have to look at my notes.

There will be a lot of folks who say its too plush for hard riding, as a Sport Touring bike would be. BUT, you have to remember, this bike is set up to carry two hard bags filled and two adults. I believe its GVWR is around 1100 pounds? I can cinch the suspension down to ride like a rock but obviously don't. It will need tuning for the track as I have it set for road cruising now.

See you soon???? Summit looks to be my best hope. I think my loser Vintage bike friends are backing out on me. Will know for sure soon. I was really hoping they would come along as it makes it that much more fun. Oh well, I'll new friends and have a great time.

Be Well, Be Safe
Pete

 

[Ducati Pete]

JerryC;248212 wrote: Welcome, I'm 54 and loving every minute!

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for the note. How do like riding the Buell on the track........... obviously, that's a dumb question. You like it a lot. I feel my Ducati is very similar to the Buell. Naked, tall in the saddle, etc in comparison to crotch rockets. I would venture to say that you bike and mine would be competitive. See my photos earlier in this post.

Pete

 

[Ducati Pete]

Mikey75702;248221 wrote: If you can't get with anyone on here before the event to setup a mentor, you can always just go and speak to whoever you pit next to. I have yet to find a non-helpful member of the Nesba FAMILY.

Thanks Meatball..... I keep hearing this over and over. I venture to guess it will be the easiest and simplest thing to do. Stop in, say hi and lets go ride.

See you there,
Pete

 

[HondaGalToo]

Pete, sounds like that bike is fine to learn to ride on the track. I used to use my 900SS on the track. Well, not quite an equal comparison, but I used it for sport touring, too.

Summit Main is a bigger track than BeaveRun, and that's the track we'll be on Aug 5/6. There's another circuit at Summit called Jefferson that is small and said to be good for beginners. I haven't ridden it, however. No worries, plenty of folks have ridden Summit Main for their first trackday, it'll be good!! See you there!

 

[vinny337]

Pete,
Is that you in the avatar? you look nervous...lol No worries you are in good hands. Welcome to the NESBA family!

 

[Bubba Zanetti]

HondaGalToo;248160 wrote: Oh, absolutely! Didn't mean to imply otherwise, only to point out that not everything under 500ccs are banned, just those singles! LOL.

Just giving you a hard time

BZ

 

[betarace]

Pete. If you do summit let me know, I am 20 min away and can show you the ropes. Jefferson was my first track on a VFR.

 

[Ducati Pete]

HondaGalToo;248035 wrote: I'm afraid I can't answer that positively. What year are the bikes, and how big are the engines? The only thing currently disallowed on all but the small tracks are single cylinder supermoto bikes (basically dirt or dual-purpose converted over to street tires) that are under 500cc. They just don't obtain the top speeds of regular bikes. There's been a ton of debate on that, as bikes like the TZ125 two stroke are allowed, as are other lower horsepower bikes. But I digress...

My personal feeling is that if they are mechanically sound with no leaks, nothing rattling off them, and have twin or 4 cylinder engines, I would think they'd be ok. I mean, there's vintage racing and stuff But I can't give you the answer.

The place to get the definitive answer is to email info@nesba.com

Additionally, you could look up the two mid-atlantic directors on here....screennames of Kubricky and Dave561. If they don't accept PMs, they may have an email address in their signatures.

Hey Judy,

Just a quick follow up to let you know Chris Kubricky and Todd Gerbsch gave us the thumbs up on the vintage iron. Each asked for a little extra safetying on slick fluid ports........... very reasonable and realistic. Now I have to get my buds to fully commit to actually doing this. Will keep you posted.

Thanks for the guidance,
Pete

 

[Ducati Pete]

HondaGalToo;248249 wrote: Pete, sounds like that bike is fine to learn to ride on the track. I used to use my 900SS on the track. Well, not quite an equal comparison, but I used it for sport touring, too.

Summit Main is a bigger track than BeaveRun, and that's the track we'll be on Aug 5/6. There's another circuit at Summit called Jefferson that is small and said to be good for beginners. I haven't ridden it, however. No worries, plenty of folks have ridden Summit Main for their first trackday, it'll be good!! See you there!

I get your gist regarding Summit Main and watched a few videos of B Group Main riders. It is obviously a very tall track as one rider was topping out near 160 on the front straight. After that I watched Summit Jefferson vids and found it a LOT more to my liking with B Group pace rarely running over 100. I personally think it is THE TD initiation track for me. BUT, Jefferson isn't being run for another 5 or 6 weeks. I will positively pass on Summit Main as I think it will be a poor introduction for me (and my friends if they come along). BeaveRun seems to set right between Jefferson and Main. If I can somehow get all my STUFF (bike, gear, me) in order, I'll do Beave next weekend but I doubt I can get this to happen as my suit won't be here until Thursday/Friday. Otherwise, I'm am waiting until the end of August for Jefferson. I'm your classic "I'm going real slow until I know what's happening" kind of guy and Jefferson will allow me to do this in comfort.

Thanks again for the input.
Pete

 

[Ducati Pete]

vinny337;248266 wrote: Pete,
Is that you in the avatar? you look nervous...lol No worries you are in good hands. Welcome to the NESBA family!

HAHA Vinny..... if only I were that good looking!!! LOL Actually, it's the Toecutter from the movie Mad Max. I have an evil looking Ducati which I have nicknamed Mad Max.... hence the Avatar.

Thanks for the note and encouragement.
Pete

 

[Ducati Pete]

betarace;248284 wrote: Pete. If you do summit let me know, I am 20 min away and can show you the ropes. Jefferson was my first track on a VFR.

Hi Beta,

I THANK YOU for having the willingness to show me around Summit. I just wrote Judy back explaining my feelings about riding Summit Main as my first TD. I don't thin it is a good idea as it's a very fast track in comparison to others, notably BeaveRun and Summit Jefferson. I'm very tempted to simply wait for Summit Jefferson in late August...... but I really want to ride NOW. SO, maybe Beave this upcoming weekend if I can get my s**t together in time.

THANKS again. Will keep you posted of a Summit visit.
Pete

 

[HondaGalToo]

There are alao BeaveRun dates Aug 11 and 12. Just an fyi.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[betarace]

Ducati Pete;248362 wrote: Hi Beta,

I THANK YOU for having the willingness to show me around Summit. I just wrote Judy back explaining my feelings about riding Summit Main as my first TD. I don't thin it is a good idea as it's a very fast track in comparison to others, notably BeaveRun and Summit Jefferson. I'm very tempted to simply wait for Summit Jefferson in late August...... but I really want to ride NOW. SO, maybe Beave this upcoming weekend if I can get my s**t together in time.

THANKS again. Will keep you posted of a Summit visit.
Pete

Just pm or email me. Steve(at)Zielenski(dot)org

 

[Ducati Pete]

denbsteph;247950 wrote: TRACK CRACK........ TRACK CRACK....... TRACK CRACK........... TRACK CRACK................ TRACK CRACK............. TRACK CRACK at 49 is not old, I'm 49 and this is my first full year of TRACK CRACK............. TRACK CRACK.................

Welcome to the addiction. TRACK CRACK............ TRACK CRACK............ TRACK CRACK...........TTTRRRRRAAAACCCCKKKKK CCCCRRRAAACCCCCKKK.

Hey Denbsteph,

I had to laugh when I first read your post above after introducing myself. Well, in the last month, I've been toking off the Track Crack Pipe pretty hard. Went out bought a track bike and have been wrenching on it for the last two weeks. New parts, used parts, fluids, tools, etc.... Plus, I've bought alllllll sorts of stuff that's needed for the track, and then some. I'm signed up for Summit this upcoming weekend and Da Beave over Labor day. I started cleaning the change out of the furniture and feeding my dog cheap food........... just in order to pay for the next track day. LOLOL TRACK CRACK for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See Ya'll Soon,
Pete

 

[Ducati Pete]

betarace;248375 wrote: Just pm or email me. Steve(at)Zielenski(dot)org

Hey Steve,

Heading to Summit this upcoming Sat/Sun to do Jefferson. Hope you are coming and or can swing in to say high.

See you there?
Pete

 

[betarace]

I will try to come up sat am. I am in the middle of restoring a fellow NESBA members track bike who is fighting cancer and it's taking a lot of my spare cycles.

 

[Ducati Pete]

betarace;251549 wrote: I will try to come up sat am. I am in the middle of restoring a fellow NESBA members track bike who is fighting cancer and it's taking a lot of my spare cycles.

Kudos to you Steve. Hope to see you there but if not.............. there will be many others.

Be Well,
Pete

 

[rk97]

I wouldn't worry too much about doing a "fast" or "slow" track for your first day.

Frankly, the straights become a good opportunity to rest, and the bike only goes as fast as you make it... Main has the potential for 150mph+ top speeds, but not if you leave the bike in 4th gear.

The only advantage I can think of with doing a smaller track is you get more laps in, and thus more chances to work on each corner. Regardless, you'll have fun.

 

[betarace]

Ducati Pete;251562 wrote: Kudos to you Steve. Hope to see you there but if not.............. there will be many others.

Be Well,
Pete

What will you be riding. Will come up on the monster