JWM #173 Round 1, 2015. New team, yellow plates, freezing temps, oh my!

[jwm2k3]

Started LRRS in 2014, round 6. This past weekend was my 3rd round of racing. After round 6 Brenda emailed me and said I was bumped to AM. With a lump in my throat and butterflies in my stomach I emailed back and requested to stay Novice for round 7. She allowed it, thankfully.

So 2015 here we are and I'm flying the yellow plates! Nervous and excited!

Also joined up with BT1R the last Sunday of racing In 2014. These guys are cool! We all spent some time together in the offseason, despite some living in New Hampshire, some in Connecticut and some in Massachusetts. Great guys, fun times! Thanks boys, glad to be part of the team!!

Did a bit of upgrades/improvements/tweaks to the Ducati 848 in the offseason, including a bitchin $30 rattlecan paint job! Some suspension tweaks, an ecu tune so the throttle will actually function linearly instead of light switch on and off. I also added a quickshifter and had hoped that would be awesomesauce....more on that fiasco in a moment.

Arrived Thursday night all jacked up for Round 1. Setup everything in Center 2 garage with the BT1R team and decided to get some sleep.
Friday practice went very smooth and the bike worked excellently! Loved the quickshifter! No clue on laptimes but the bike felt great, suspension changes kept me from bottoming out the forks like I was last year.

Saturday GTU:
Boy am I glad they shortened this race to 20 minutes due to the cold...matter of fact I didn't last the full 20....with about 3 minutes left I felt like giving up. My quads were smoked...started the race from row 16 I believe, not a clue where I finished. The only thing I really remember about this race is...HOLY SHIT THE EXPERTS ARE FAST. Thanks to Scotty Greenwood for making me shit my leathers in T8 as I was going in reverse...or so it seemed. The 848 started to get false neutrals upon downshifting. Hmmm, is it the quickshifter? Hope not. It's happening a lot....and its seriously messing me up. I disable it and prepare for my 2nd race of the day.

MW Gran Prix:
So as a new amateur with no points I start 22nd on the grid. As the race goes on the false neutrals continue to plague me. Each time it happens, it's on a downshift....mostly into turn 3 and 11. Quite disconcerting as I have to find a gear, so I decide to up shift each time so as not to grenade the gearbox...not good for bike stability, nor laptimes. I manage to finish 10th with a best lap of 1:24.xx which quite honestly I'm happy with! A good race despite gearbox issues and the freezing temps!

Sunday MW SuperSport:
This race started out pretty good. I had a great launch and passed a bunch of guys in T1 and continued to pick off bikes for the next few laps...false neutrals and all. It's getting really bad. Not sure what lap it was on but going into T3 not only do I get another false neutral, the shift lever gets stuck all the way down and I cannot move it with my foot...while in between gears (standard shift pattern) so I come to a complete stop at the tire wall in T3 and everyone passes me...I'm dead last by a mile. I actually get off the bike, still running, hold the clutch with my right hand and bend down and yank the shift lever up with my left hand just to get anything. It goes into first...so I remount and continue on. Amazingly I manage to catch and pass someone and finished the race and did not come in dead last. All the while still dealing with false neutrals. For the remainder of this race I only shift up on the main straight and downshift going into T1 to preserve the gearbox. Upon pitting in, the guy tells me to goto registration with my rented transponder. It's dead and they did not get any laps from me...like I wasn't out there...

Sunday Formula 40:
I cancel and do not participate in this race due to the bike. Bummer, this was the race I really wanted to do....

So overall, I did have a good weekend. Good times, good people. Dispite the gearbox issues, dead transponder, freezing temps, 1st race with yellow plates, new team and being rusty from the winter I'll be back for Round 2

Thanks to all who helped, made me smile or laugh and congratulations to all those who did well!!!! See you in 2 weeks!!!

[cdovego]

I've had a similiar issue with an older ('07) S4Rs, there was an adjustment out of whack inside the gearbox. I wish I could offer more useful advice, hopefully gets you started.

I'm the guy who was talking to you about your paint job in the tech line.

[Kurlon]

Shifter return spring setup is adjustable on Ducs, I don't recall the magic to make sure it's in the right spot though.

[nhbubba]

I just want to say I cannot fathom doing the races you did this weekend. You are the man.
I watched MWGP from the stands in T6. You looked good.
Duc still sounds amazing, forked gearbox or not.

[jwm2k3]

The guy behind me going into 11 when the false neutral decided to jump into 2nd gear without me trying to, and my rear stepping way way out probably shit his pants and wondered how I didn't end up on my face, he either thinks I'm the man too or an idiot who can't ride.....lol

Bike is already at the mechanic and my newly ordered transponder is on its way....rest assured, I'll be ready for Round 2.

[theducman]

Great job this weekend buddy. You looked really good out there. So happy to have you as a teammate, I still owe you a beer btw. See you in a few weeks.