Race two is in the bag. This was an airport track, using runways & service roads, different track surfaces, some cracks, some rough spots. I felt the back end break loose a few times and never felt completely comfortable. Sorry no pictures, my little pit pal claims she doesn't want to watch me through a camera lens, so for now you'll have to take my word for it.
The bike ran well, strong, six speed shifted well.
In the second practise session the front washed and I crashed in the hairpin. Not a big deal, I never let go of it and was back up and away with only some minor rash. The heat race for my class went well, qualifying in P2 first row. I got a good start in the final and eventually finished third.
This race weekend I felt the bike was much better so I bumped up into another class with several GPZ550's, RD's, a couple TZ250's to name a few. I qualified well again to start the final in P3 and was running third with a nice RD400 on my tail. He worked past me and although I was faster in places, I struggled to stay with him, a good rider. Ended up in fourth.
All in all it was a fun weekend. It was great not to have to fiddle with the bike full time. The next racetrack is fast with a long straight, my bike should be well suited. It's got good legs!
I'll have to step up as well.
After the last race I noticed the aluminum bellypan cracked along welds in two places from vibration and being mounted solidly. Here's a pic of the solution and it seems to work. I added some foam between the pan & the frame so it stays put but is allowed to wiggle independantly. The delrin material on the drive chain guide also seems to be a good solution.
There are a couple issues to resolve. One is the folding footpegs. It's a bit distracting getting setup for a corner as they seem to fold back when I shift weight to hang off for a corner. I prefer a folding peg but if I can't get a stiff enough spring, I'll mount them solid. Second problem is the 400F tank is too short. To compensate I made a long seat. Under hard acceleration I slide rear to the bum stop, then forward under hard braking. It's hard on the arms & I'm forever compensating during braking to be in the right spot to corner. I quess all I need is an alloy tank