Penguin Report

[Tricky Mike]

Maaaaan, It's pretty easy to see why you guys get hooked.
I had a blast. It's a real class act over there at Penguin. Every instructor was super cool... wish I could remember all their names.

So, I was on the KTM... first day out on a supermoto and I really expected to be the slow guy. Now while I am IN NO WAY a fast guy (as was aptly demonstrated by many guys and a few girls) I was really surprised by some of the closing speeds I encountered. There were a bunch of times I'd be pretty far behind someone through 3 and 4... watch them get on the gas hard and disappear just to come up over the hill and find them basically parked on the other side. Every body's lines were pretty smooth, though so no big deal... just not at all what I expected. There was a lot of "slow in the turns, hammer on the straights" riding. I found it pretty tough to stay on the line and keep a quick pace and I was perhaps more polite than I could have been about passing. I didn't have the motor to just blast by on the straights and the last thing I wanted to do was take someone out. I just need more time on the track to figure it all out. Overall the day was awesome.

Saw some very interesting stuff, though:
1. Jeff Wood railing a supermoto through 1, 1A, 2. Awesome.

2. Japanese guy on a Goldwing.... two beverage holders and all :whoa. The guy seemed nice enough... he stuck it out, but ditched the wing on the first lap... came back out on an SV. Not sure what he was thinking, but aaaaanyway...

3. Indian dude (dots not feather) on his race bike trying to do a stoppie... in the pits... with a blazer and "slacks" on. Huh?

4. I saw my front wheel disappear in 3. Still not sure what I did wrong. I got a good drive out of 2 and came in pretty hot, but had gotten all of my braking done by the 2nd to last cone... tipped her over at the turn-in, started towards the apex and down I go. I rashed the knuckles of my right glove pretty good, so I was obviously still on the bars when I tucked it... I never saw it coming. I was pretty far left before the turn in and it was kinda bumpy over there. Maybe upset the bike just enough. I dunno. No damage to the bike... just pick it up and go.

5. Saw a guy wad it up pretty good in six. It was really strange, cuz he was going pretty slow. I didn't have time to get by him before turn in, so I settled in on his rear wheel... he turns in towards the apex at what looked like the right time and for some unknown reason just started to drift. I thought he may have been letting me by, so I grabbed a little gas, looked up the hill and started to move up inside and there he goes off towards the edge of the track. Looked like he just fixated... Saw him crash in my peripheral vision just before I lost sight of him. Hope he's OK. Just strange that I remember feeling nervous that we were gonna get rear-ended when he started to drift, cuz we were really just coasting through.

6. Saw some guy crash his rental and break his brake lever... an instructor came over (Mike Martire?) and gave him his bike to ride back to the pits while he rode the front-brake-less bike. Well, the guy apparently didn't understand the deal and went tearing off for a couple laps on the instructor's bike. They had to flag him down... Pretty funny, actually.

Man, what a fun day. I felt really good into 1, 1A 1nd 2. I need to drive wider out of 5 and six, though and just generally get more comfortable and assertive passing. I decided to skip the rookie race today. I could use some time to digest a little and it seemed like it was gonna be pretty crowded. I'm just gonna shoot for Oct. instead.
Man, that was a good time.

[xxdcmast]

Get ready to empty the wallet, checking account, 401k, and run up the credit cards because its in you now. Theres no way out from here.

[oreo_n2]

sounds awesome.

good job!

You will continually be amazed at what you can do with your KTM as you keep getting more comfortable blasting around on the track!

[bostongixxer]

Mike...I was watching you motor down the straight...passing some folks along the way. You kept a good pace...your strength on the ktm is in the turns. You really looked like you knew what you were doing, even if you couldn't keep up with Jeff Wood. It was great to hang with you and Joel.

All in all, it was a great day, but for the rain at the end which pretty much shut things down early, but for a random one or two bikes. When the announcer advises people that the track is good for sight seeing only, then its time to take a break (no rain tires). Like Mike, I'm hooked...probably hit the rookie race at the next session. With Labor Day weekend and a wife not too pleased at the prospect of watching the kids through today, the better course was to pack it in last night. Hope the weather changed for everyone today.

Mike...I'll give you a call. Maybe we can get out for a ride at some point this weekend.

[Crash Dummy Denno]

trick,

did i talk to you while we were waiting on hot pit to go out?

i was on the yellow r6

[DucDave]

6. Saw some guy crash his rental and break his brake lever... an instructor came over (Mike Martire?) and gave him his bike to ride back to the pits while he rode the front-brake-less bike. Well, the guy apparently didn't understand the deal and went tearing off for a couple laps on the instructor's bike. They had to flag him down... Pretty funny, actually.

[Tricky Mike]

trick,

did i talk to you while we were waiting on hot pit to go out?

i was on the yellow r6

Yeah, shit... didn't know that was you. Sorry again about that exhaust... It's an equal opportunity offender, for what it's worth

[Tricky Mike]

It was great to hang with you and Joel.

Yeah man, Had a blast with you guys. You two passed me on the way into the bowl and I stuck on your wheel until the straight. That MV is pretty quick. You guys were looking good.

[Crash Dummy Denno]

Yeah, shit... didn't know that was you. Sorry again about that exhaust... It's an equal opportunity offender, for what it's worth

no worries about the exhaust! LOL - i was actually getting queezy it was so strong...

nice to meet yah

[Awesome]

Glad you had a good time. Sounds like we'll be seeing you up there on the regular. I was wondering if I'd see you friday night but I'm sure you were busy and overwhelmed with everything.

[Tricky Mike]

Glad you had a good time. Sounds like we'll be seeing you up there on the regular. I was wondering if I'd see you friday night but I'm sure you were busy and overwhelmed with everything.

Yeah, I was bummed I missed you guys. I didn't expect the last classroom session to go so long. I was stuck in the media room until almost 7:30 (with a nice dehydration headache). I went hunting for you and KB in Gagage 6, but didn't see any signs. The infield had pretty much turned into a sea of RV's by then and I just didn't have it in me.

I may try to hit one of the Tony's in the meantime, but the plan is to be up for the rookie race in Oct either way. I could use another day on the track, though. There are quite a few spots that need some work. Man, I can't stop thinking about it. I've been siding the house all weekend and I keep walking past the KTM in the shop. I think the little bitch heckling me.

[RyanNicholson]

6. Saw some guy crash his rental and break his brake lever... an instructor came over (Mike Martire?) and gave him his bike to ride back to the pits while he rode the front-brake-less bike. Well, the guy apparently didn't understand the deal and went tearing off for a couple laps on the instructor's bike. They had to flag him down... Pretty funny, actually.

HAHAHA nah the instructor was scott james (aka "growler")...hes a buddy of mine, we laughed about that ALL weekend....can't blame the guy though, his R6 is pretty sweet lol

growler is an AWESOME guy, i've learned a ton from him.

[Awesome]

There are just a couple spots left for the two day trackday sept 18/19th, give him a call if you want to get in on that. Two full days of tracktime does wonders.

[TTD]

There are just a couple spots left for the two day trackday sept 18/19th, give him a call if you want to get in on that. Two full days of tracktime does wonders.

Correction... one spot available for BOTH days... but about 10 or so for the first day.

If interested, just sign up from my website. If you're using Paypal, I know instantly. If you're mailing a payment, email me to let me know if you're taking the two day spot, so I can update the website.

Thanks, and welcome to the addiction.

[Crash Dummy Denno]

any reason they didnt do anything with launches or the starting grid?

and is this something we can practice in a parking lot or something? or should i just try to beat every minivan off the line at red lights?

[bostongixxer]

I may try to hit one of the Tony's in the meantime, but the plan is to be up for the rookie race in Oct either way. I could use another day on the track, though. There are quite a few spots that need some work. Man, I can't stop thinking about it. I've been siding the house all weekend and I keep walking past the KTM in the shop. I think the little bitch heckling me.

If I can clear my schedule, I'm going to try and hit the 9/18 session...although I think there is a session on 10/2. Maybe we can coordinate something. I'm also shooting for the Oct. rookie race. Hope you got your siding done...that might have been the gixxer leering at you. As it turns out, Manny couldn't make it yesterday, so I rode solo. Next time we'll work something out.

[Kurlon]

HAHAHA nah the instructor was scott james (aka "growler")...

Wait, Growler is an instructor for Penguin? He owns an Aprilla SVX right? (If so that's the right Growler.)

[Tricky Mike]

I think I can clear my schedule... just need to scrape the loot together to sign up for Tony's, buy a new pair of gloves, etc... I'm gonna try to make it work, though.

[Crash Dummy Denno]

any reason they didnt do anything with launches or the starting grid?

and is this something we can practice in a parking lot or something? or should i just try to beat every minivan off the line at red lights?

????

[Puppet]

They go over the starting grid procedures and some info on how to start in the meeting after class on Friday evening.

I've practiced a little in parking lots, but it was mostly to make sure the bike was responding the way it should. You can also practice on hot pit during practice sessions. The best advice i got starting out was to rev up about 1/3 to 1/2 way and let the clutch out easy like a "quick" red light start. Modulate the clutch (don't dump it) and keep the throttle steady until everything engages and won't end up on your head. That should get you off smooth enough the first couple times until you get a feel for it

[Tricky Mike]

????

Did you really want to grid up between the girl in our follow the leader session and joenewguy on a 1000CC I4?

[Crash Dummy Denno]

They go over the starting grid procedures and some info on how to start in the meeting after class on Friday evening.

I've practiced a little in parking lots, but it was mostly to make sure the bike was responding the way it should. You can also practice on hot pit during practice sessions. The best advice i got starting out was to rev up about 1/3 to 1/2 way and let the clutch out easy like a "quick" red light start. Modulate the clutch (don't dump it) and keep the throttle steady until everything engages and won't end up on your head. That should get you off smooth enough the first couple times until you get a feel for it

kewl - thanks

BTW -nice meeting you Puppet, good luck on your tard!

Did you really want to grid up between the girl in our follow the leader session and joenewguy on a 1000CC I4?

god they sucked - you know she thought she was so cute and fast she was neither

[TTD]

Yeah, that's pretty much my method for starts.

I would go about 6000 RPM's and get the clutch to be just before engaging.

When the flag dropped, I would basically twist the throttle all the way and only use the clutch to modulate stuff. The goal was one continuous feed of the clutch with a one inch wheelie until the shift.

If it bogged or the front wheel came too high... just pull the clutch back in a bit... do NOT chop the throttle.

I compare this to using the back brake when entering corners. I don't use it because my brain can't handle the extra task, without taking away something from my front brake modulation. By just concentrating on my front brake, I can get it closer to the max more often.

On starts, if you just worry about the clutch (and just keep the throttle pinned), you might be able to better keep it in the sweet spot?

[Crash Dummy Denno]

Yeah, that's pretty much my method for starts.

I would go about 6000 RPM's and get the clutch to be just before engaging.

When the flag dropped, I would basically twist the throttle all the way and only use the clutch to modulate stuff. The goal was one continuous feed of the clutch with a one inch wheelie until the shift.

If it bogged or the front wheel came too high... just pull the clutch back in a bit... do NOT chop the throttle.

I compare this to using the back brake when entering corners. I don't use it because my brain can't handle the extra task, without taking away something from my front brake modulation. By just concentrating on my front brake, I can get it closer to the max more often.

On starts, if you just worry about the clutch (and just keep the throttle pinned), you might be able to better keep it in the sweet spot?

thanks! sounds good and sounds like ill need some practice

[Tricky Mike]

she thought she was so cute and fast she was neither

Couldn't have summed it up better myself. I asked our instructor a question about turn 6 at one point... did you notice her butt in and answer it for him... then ask "wait... what turn?"