Friday, June 24, 2011

AFM Round 4 - It seemed like a good idea

Round 4 of the 2011 AFM season was going to be tough for me. Once again my bike made it's way to KC at BRG for some more tuning. KC and I had tested a set of Leo Vince headers in an attempt to find some more power, and KC had a plan to build a custom muffler to go on that set of headers and we'd be set. So the bike was yet again in KC's capable hands, and the plan was he'd trailer it up to the track for me. That seemed like a good idea. The problem was I had a work project that same weekend and I couldn't bail out on it. The plan was I'd load up all my race gear into my truck on Satruday, get home from work around 10pm, take a disco nap, and head out to Thunderhill Sunday morning around 4am. That seemed like a good idea too.

Well like the "The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew," What seemed like a good idea would quickly turn into the harsh reality of "what was I thinking" First off the weather at the track was looking suspicious and KC didn't want to spend $200 in fuel trailer my bike up there if we were going to get rained out. That left me with the idea that early Friday morning I'd go out to KC's shop, grab said race bike, take it to the job site, and then Saturday morning load it all up as planned. Yes, That's a god idea. Well Thursday night with my grand scheme laid out in front of me I made the decision to call the whole thing off. The work project was the wrap party for Pixar's Cars 2 movie, and we had a very short install time, and a fairly complex show. I've always told myself racing is just a hobby and sometimes life gets in the way. I chose to stay committed to my long time clients at E2k, and ensure that the show was as flawless as could be. In the end we did an amazing show with some pretty damn good lighting. Erin, E2k's choreographer, put together an awesome routine that was martial arts / hip-hop themed, along with some huge washes of red light, and some stark shafts of white cutting through it we had a pretty rad dance number. Unfortunately due to Pixar's strict photo policies (for good reason) I have nothing I can show you, but it did look cool.                  

Oh and the race got rained out. I feel sorry to my racing friends that made the trek only to sit around in the cold and wet. However it means I lost no points and will be starting from the second row at my favorite track next round at Sears Point (Infineon Raceway) Hopefully with my head down some good results will follow.

As a side note I went out to T-hill last weekend for a trackday test session. Several friends from the SFMC   were in attendance and it was a lot of fun. I hadn't been to T-hill since last October when I crashed big time so I was way out of form. It took me half the day to get a feel for the track, and it wasn't until my last session that I started to really feel fast. I can now say for sure if I'd shown up on Sunday morning race weekend and had 1 practice session I would have gotten my ass handed to me. Sometimes the world works in strange ways.

Here are some photos from the trackday.


Tipping it into Turn 11

One of my favorite Turn 14

Need a haircut or more hair?

Showing some speed in Turn 1

Getting low in Turn 2

Cary, Tegan, John, Me, four SFMC
John Sweeney returning to form after a long hiatus from the track















Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
KC at BRG
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Michelin and Alex of AFMotorsports
Julio from Tommy's
Paul Fine of Fine Design

Spotlight: Michelin Tires

In the coming months I'm going to be doing some more posts. In an effort to write more often I'll be posting what I'm calling "Sponsor Spotlights" These are going to be stories about the people that are helping me in the passion of motorcycle racing. Sponsors come in many types. Whether they offer financial support, a discount on products and services, or just their time, they are all a huge part of where I am today. These are in no particular order.  Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions about these vendors please feel free to contact them directly, or leave a comment with your contact info and I'll get back to you. -mickey


In 2011 I made the switch from Dunlop tires to Michelin. The main reason for the switch was that long time Dunlop Supplier Sport Tire Services was no long going to be representing brand D. Terry at STS was on of my first sponsors way back in 2005. He agreed to give myself, and then racing partner Eric a deal mostly based on our relationship to fellow SFMC member Jim Hoogerhyde. Terry and Jim went way back. It wasn't a big discount, but it was something. Over the years I got to know Terry, and really liked the guy so really I didn't have any loyalty to Dunlop, I had it to Terry. 

  Back at the start of 2010 Alex Florea of AFMotorsports had tempted me with some Michelin tires. He'd offered me a set to try out. "Just try them, if you don't like them give 'em back" Like the candy man, the first hit is free.I was afraid of giving up practice time to try out new tires so I never took him up on the offer, but it stuck in my mind. I'd known Alex mostly by reputation. He was a passionate member of the AFM community always speaking his mind, and swimming upstream with his ideas, but never afraid to go it alone. I didn't always agree with his views, but I had tremendous respect for someone willing to stand up for what they believed in. So when it was time to shop for new tires Alex was the first person I contacted. I had other options, and I'm sure I could have worked a deal with somebody, but Alex replied to my email almost immediately, and said I could be one of his sponsored riders, and sent me pricing breakdowns. You could say I've been a Michelin man ever since (I'd just better not end up looking like one)

  Since it took me so long to get my act together at the beginning of the 2011 racing season I didn't have any time to test tires prior to the first race weekend. At that time I had made the mental choice to not do anything any different. I'd just go ride, new tire be damned, and see what happened. Well the first weekend came and went without incident, and I discovered something amazing. Alex helped point this out to me. Tires are round and black. Go ride. I don't know why but I had built up in my head that something was going to be really different.

  I've now had lots of laps, a few hard races, and some experience. What I've learned about Michelin tires is that I really like them. It took working with both Dave (of Catalyst Reaction), and Alex to get the tires to wear better. At Buttonwillow I had bad tearing, as well as at the first Sears round. We made some big changes to the bike and that helped get the rear tire in much better shape. I find the that the Michelin's have a more pronounced feel. Not everyone would say that based on how their bike is set up, but to me I can "feel" the Michelin's better. They really talk to me. No not like voices in my head but I can feel in the handle bars what the tire needs. On my bike it comes in chatter and vibration. When I'm asking too much of the tire, whether it be too much lean angle, too fast (rarely), or too much throttle I'll get a vibration. What's great is the vibration will start small, and grow as the problem gets worse. So far I haven't crashed, but I contribute that to me reacting to the communicating the tire is doing. Push the front too hard in the Carousel at Sears Pt? Stand the bike up a little to reduce vibration, or add gas to reduce weight on the front tire. Rear tire starting to vibrate out of 7? Stay on the gas, and increase lean angle. So far it's been a great experience. I'm only just now developing the skill to understand what's happening down there.

After Race 2 at Round 3 my rear tire was starting to tear again. That's not a bad thing. I have a new motor that is making more power, and I' m pushing harder trying to find more speed. Tearing the tire is a sign that we're moving in the right direction: Faster. Now I need to work more with Dave and team to get the tearing to stop again. Find a setup that works, go faster, then the setup doesn't work anymore.



Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
KC at BRG
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Michelin and Alex of AFMotorsports
Julio from Tommy's
Paul Fine of Fine Design