8
First - Number change for NEMRR, as noted prior I let my OG 771 lapse and another racer picked it up, and is flying as a motard expert. Last year I was allowed to run a couple events as 771x so I didn't have to alter my hooligan plates, but that wasn't going to fly this year if trying to do the whole season so... 77 was available, I had expert points last year which meant I qualified... I'm now 77 for NEMRR.
Second - I'm still on an odd bike, but in an unusual twist it's one that was:
A - Sold in the US via normal channels
B - Made recently
C - Is actively being raced*
A 2024 Yamaha MT-09, purchased new for the job, put 300mi on it on the street last fall before the temp plate ran out, then gave it a SS race build, safety bits, suspension front and rear, exhaust, air filter, tune and stripping off as much unneeded street stuff as possible.
TLDR - A complete build with some questions on suspension setup (Combo of no one listing race suspension bits plus MotoA's rules being vague on restrictions that have since been made 'optional') plus a lot more motor than I've tried to actually hustle on, literally no idea what to expect. 1st practice was basically an adrenaline wave, the bike rode great, was faster than I'm used to, and I survived. By the end of the day I had come down from that and was starting to try and actually assess all my riding faults. I need to improve my body position, rearsets also wouldn't hurt as even in the high position I was dragging at times, motor has gobs of torque but I can improve drive by coming through corners higher in the revs, yada yada - Less brake**, more throttle is literally what it boils down to. I'm slow, but I can sometimes tag onto other MW/HW bikes for a bit to see where they're better, something I wasn't really doing on the Buell. This bike is WAY lighter both in sheer weight and effort to throw around on track. The only question marks - ABS appeared to be kicking in on the braking bumps into 3, and I needed some pointers from Paul on rear brake use under throttle to keep the front planted over the hill in 5.
Saturday racing was wet, proper all day wet but not cold, so rain tires, flip the bike to Rain and shit myself again for two practices. GTO got me enough seat time in race conditions that I started to get comfy, 5th out of 7th including a soft start. 6 lap break after for race 4 to complete then right back out for Formula 40 Unlimited. Went out tired but more comfy on the bike in the wet, still a bit soft off the line but got the motor lit after and went into 1 in 3rd, held on for two laps before the weekend's constant nerves eating at me drained me, fell back to 5th, last in class but finished upright and happy.
Sunday sucked, forecast couldn't make up it's mind, I should have stayed with my initial hunch of it drying by race 9, but instead I mounted slicks, then remounted rains (I need a second set of wheels) and then decided fuck it, I'm done doing this dance, even if it's dry I'm going out on rains to get points in hopes that it would rain. It didn't, I did two laps and between the rear not being happy out of corners and CRAZY wind gusts on the back half of the track I pitted in as I wasn't going to improve my perf out there. 7th out of 9 in HW SB to start the season.
The bike is stupid fun, I'm having a ball on it, it's not the best fit for the classes we have but... there are enough of us making bad choices that we should have a dedicated Streetfighter class going forward! This is no longer a temp tool to make one more MotoA attempt, I'm locked in on racing it going forward. I'm slow, but I can see where I'm lacking while in traffic, and can hang / fight when I get things right, the bike is not the limiter right now.
*In MotoAmerica and France
** 'Less' is relative, I need to shorten my brake windows and apply MORE lever during them, there is MUCH more stopping power on hand, use it.
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