Getting out of Racing

[Paul_E_D]

It definitely becomes a big part of you identity. That does make it hard to walk away. But I agree fully with you BSR6, it has a lifecycle and many stay too long. Walking away does free you up for so much more.

I am a bit stunned to find that in my return to racing, I found it even better than the first go around, and that it has become my livelihood as well as a hobby. If you do one thing long enough to get really good at it, it can actually pay you back. I can now say that I ride motos for a living. How cool is that?!

[butcher bergs]

Stopped racing because I had to adjust for an incoming small human and a house. Would have never stopped otherwise.

I was in the dirt well before motorcycles arrived in my life...2, 3 and 4 wheels. Had a bit of an ATV accident which busted up my leg pretty good. Once I was healed-ish, it became obvious that MX-style riding boots were excessively uncomfortable due to a pressure point at the location of the break.

I soon discovered road-style boots did not cause discomfort in any way so my interests shifted toward actually learning to ride a motorcycle, found some like-minded folks, read some books then put it all into practice.

My first trackday(s) we're at VIR and I had no idea that I had signed up for racing school (Cornerspeed) at the time.
One taste of that open track and that was it.

To this day I am unable to comfortably wear MX boots and so the dude abides.

[MUZ720]

Could not agree more with Pauls and BSR6 posts! It gets under your skin. Timing the walking away is the key.. and the hardest thing to do.

[xrocket21]

I was never a racer, just did track days. From the outside looking in...Considering the amount of time and money that goes into racing, it's more a way of life than a hobby. It's about more than just the racing itself. The experiences you gain, the people you meet, etc. are perhaps even bigger. I was an avid snowmobiler for over 10 years and I see some major similarities in that period of my life to my friends who race bikes. For that I feel I can somewhat relate.

I can also imagine that for many the choice to get out is a major life changing decision. Quitting snowmobiling allowed for a huge re-allocation of time and resources that completely changed my life. It was a phase that I'm glad happened, but I'm also grateful to be out of it. The strange part is there was a time where I couldn't imagine giving it up, but eventually I walked away and it felt good to do so. If I could do it all over again, I'd still spend those years snowmobiling, but I'd still walk away and feel just as good about it.

These kinds of hobbies (those which become a way of life and require huge amounts of time and money) have a beginning and an end and letting things go longer than they should is unhealthy. Maybe that's why it feels good to walk away when the time comes.

My guess is there are many who have had a similar experience with racing.

I had an experince like that with my Subaru... Hell, my av is still the ol girl.

Friends were subaru friends, raced the subaru on weekends, worked on the subaru during the week, went to subaru meets, wore subaru clothes, browsed nasioc during the day....

Definitely miss that time of my life...

[OreoGaborio]

browsed nasioc during the day....

Ever hear the legend of the yebokmj motor swap? He was a good buddy of mine. I helped him with that.

Cliff's notes:
His dad goes on a cruise,
Yebokmj and I take his dad's 2.5l and swap it with his 2.2l
Dad comes home
"Hey dad, I gave your car a tune-up, let me know how it runs."
"Oh yeah, it runs nice & smooth, thanks!"

*2 months later:
Dealership: "Hey uhhhhhhhhhhhh... Mr. Yebokmj?"

[xrocket21]

Ever hear the legend of the yebokmj motor swap? He was a good buddy of mine. I helped him with that.

Cliff's notes:
His dad goes on a cruise,
yebokmj and I take his dad's 2.5l and swap it with his 2.2
Dad comes home
"Hey dad, I gave your car a tune-up, let me know how it runs."
"Oh yeah, it runs nice & smooth, thanks!"

*2 months later:
Dealership: "Hey uhhhhhhhhhhhh... Mr. yebokmj?"

lol, no, I missed that!

I really need to sell the subaru parts in my basement... wtf, its been like 5 years since I sold it

[OreoGaborio]

Ohhhh yeah.... that was back in the early 00's I think.

The slightly longer story was that he had a VERY built '98 2.5RS in the blue/gold trim... COP... MAGNET... Lost his license... so he returned it to stock, sold it & got a BASE MODEL... WHITE... L... WAGON... as vanilla as vanilla gets. Then he threw all the after market goodies at that & made it a sick little sleeper, but he missed the torque of the 2.5 so we took the one out of his dad's Legacy

EDIT: ooh, here we go. This is his second L wagon. https://www.rs25.com/threads/my-little-red-wagon.90015/

But I digress...

[Gixxer]

I had an experince like that with my Subaru... Hell, my av is still the ol girl.

Friends were subaru friends, raced the subaru on weekends, worked on the subaru during the week, went to subaru meets, wore Monsterclothes, browsed nasioc during the day....

Definitely miss that time of my life...

Fify

[Gixxer]

Ohhhh yeah.... that was back in the early 00's I think.

The slightly longer story was that he had a VERY built '98 2.5RS in the blue/gold trim... COP... MAGNET... Lost his license... so he returned it to stock, sold it & got a BASE MODEL... L... WAGON... as vanilla as vanilla gets. Then he threw all the after market goodies at that & made it a sick little sleeper, but he missed the torque of the 2.5 so we took the one out of his dad's Legacy

EDIT: ooh, here we go. Think this is the one he built after the first wagon that we worked on a bit together. https://www.rs25.com/threads/my-little-red-wagon.90015/

But I digress...

IP&T Filtered Turbo Oil Supply Line Kit

Is that because that year LGT had too thin an oil line from the factory, or is that a common mod?

[xrocket21]

Fify

I was juuuuuust pre- monster logos and flat brimmed hats. Never had a shocker sticker on it either.

I did have the rally pigs on the mirrors for a bit!

Just logged into nasioc for the first time in years, place is a ghost town! NESIC forum has TWO posts.

So Sad.