2008 Race Program, March Summary
Consistency is what I have been lacking. Actually, consistent SPEED is what I have been lacking. Last September I had a great weekend. 1:27s every race. However, the set-up I had was non-supportable due to rear wheel location, chain lengths, etc. so I made some adjustments. In October, everything went wrong, I could barely break 1:32. It was windy, and the bike was absolutely unstable in the crosswind and at top speed. I could not stay on the gas in 7 or on the main straight. So in November I put on a new front triple clamp with 27mm offset. This was supposed to give me more stability, and it helped, but the bike still had the wiggles sometimes. Since then it has been a struggle. I can't seem to do anything other than a 1:30 to 1:31. The bike just feels unstable at speed. So, just to see what would happen, after my lousy March results, I figured I had nothing to loose by fooling around some more with setup. For the March 17th Fastrack day, I dropped the front two lines (10mm). It seemed to really help in 7 and on the main straight. But, it was also a pretty nice day wind wise. Nevertheless, with a more sit-up riding position, pushing the bike down, and the change in front height, the bike seemed to turn better and what was even more awesome was how nice it went through turn 8. About half way through the day my tires were done and I had to get new ones or quit. Dunlop was not there, so I went back to Michelin and tried their new 190 rear slick with the standard front slick. To my surprise, this made the bike REALLY feel a lot better. In a pretty heavy traffic situation I was doing 1:30's really easily. So, now I am going to have to give the Michelin guys another shot. Maybe the slicks will have more traction than the DOTs did.