06/02/04 I was quite happy with my cosmetic mods - that is until I saw another R1 with very cool front turn signals. It didn't take long to find them on the web and today I installed my very own set of Greggs Customs LED lights. Not the cheapest but very nicely made and I think they look a whole lot better than any 'stick-out' indicators, even small ones. While I was ordering, also got a rear fender eliminator and a set of frame sliders. The latter being the kind of feature that is better to have and not need than to need and not have...

For comparison, this is what it looked like previously:

One minor annoyance with the new lights is that because they are LED the blinker, not seeing the load of a bulb, thinks a bulb is burnt out and operates at double the frequency. But it's not too bad and I'll probably get used to it quickly enough. Or if it starts bothering me I'll have to try and come up with a fix of some kind.

07/27/04 The third track day for the bike. It has been really hot recently, reaching 105F three days ago. So I was hoping it would cool down some, which it did - by about 15 degrees. The morning was actually pretty cool. I haven't ridden the bike since the last track day May 17, over two months ago. I really don't like riding on the street anymore - too many risks and you can't go fast enough to really have fun. That's why my bikes hardly get any mileage (at least one of the Ducatis will get exercised shortly, I'll update its page when the time comes). With all my cosmetic changes the R looks even leaner in trackday trim:

Due to being quite rusty I started out conservative but soon worked up to speed. Since the bike now has over 900 miles on it I'm no longer short-shifting and the resultant top speed on the front straight is a bit overwhelming. I saw a peak of 174 mph and I know the speedo is reasonably accurate having checked it against an automated radar sign. A new personal land speed record. This led to at least one tense moment where for whatever crazy reason I couldn't get my fingers on the brake! I finally managed it, way too late, got the back wheel off the ground and really messed up the downshifts going into turn 1. Wakeup call. For the second session, my friend David dropped by so I asked him to take some video. In that session I was having a spirited dice with a guy on a race-prepped previous generation R1 (I think he was on slicks but I'm not certain - the lack of headlights suggest he was). He had been trying to pass me for several laps, getting by a few times only to have me retake the lead a short time later. In the video you can see him getting really aggressive on turn 9 exit, almost hitting the wall. Eventually he did get by and pulled away, but not without a fight :) Of course I really messed up my helmetcam mount and so all the onboard video is tilted 15 degrees and points down - kinda pointless to post that. But I was able to use it for timing and it turns out most of my laps were in the 1:23 range, with a half-dozen 1:21 and three 1:20s thrown in. Best lap was 1:20:09. Damn, so close... Maybe next time.

As the afternoon temperatures soared toward the 90's I started feeling tired and dehydrated, despite drinking lots of water. My suit and everything under it was completely soaked in sweat. The choice was to push beyond the comfort zone, cruise at an easy pace or call it a day. I opted to just quit while I was ahead, after 110 miles on the track. Watching a guy go off turn 1 right in front of me helped the decision. Didn't want to end up like him - not worth it. So, packed up, rode home, threw the suit and the rest of the clothing in the washing machine and stood under the shower for half an hour. Whew. Nice day, overall. The bike now has 956 miles on it. I guess it's now officially broken-in :)

08/18/04 The fourth track day for the R, possibly the last one this year. There are a couple more events available in the next month or two but if I run them at all I might actually pull the 748 out of the livingroom just to exercise it. While I'm certainly getting more comfortable on the bike I actually went a little slower than my previous outing on it, with vast majority of the laps at consistent 1:22 and a single 1:21 flat. So I guess getting below 1:20 will have to wait till next year. It's rather interesting how once at a certain pace progress becomes very difficult. I've no doubt the bike can do it but for me if I maintain straightaway speed (now hitting 175 mph regularly) then I tend to over-brake for corners and if I keep the corner speed up I must back off on the straights to avoid overload. A matter of getting used to it I guess. The bike now has 1,050 miles on it.

On a fun note, I saw the photographer standing in the long left-hander so couldn't resist goofing around with hand-on-the-pavement a bit. The picture came out neat so I bought it (click on it for larger version):

I tried editing the video but it basically looks just like the stuff I've already posted, nothing too new.