Triumphrat

WANG · 03-12-2006

I had my first trackday of the season yesterday, on VIR's south course.

This was the first real test of the Traxxion cartridge kit that I installed a while back. In a nutshell, they were f-cucking phenomenal! (this would be the part where I insert a stack of those witty little emoticons) They pretty much do everything that you would expect them to do, and they do it well. The specific setup was described in a previous thread: fork thread

Last year, I had encountered some pretty significant brake fade with the OEM pads toward the end of each session. Fade like bleed the brake between sessions fade. Not cool. After reading the good things that the fast Fred Willink had to say about the DP pads, I checked them out. Good stuff. There was a point that had me braking from around 7K in top gear down to second gear, pretty rugged use. (the forks were kick-ass, did i mention that?) They offered better bite and allowed me to be stay confident in them throughout the duration of the session. The single disc still gets overtaxed, hauling down a near 500 pound bike from triple digits, but the DP pads help quite a bit. I'm a big fan of fresh Valvoline synpower brake fluid, too.

I ended up low-siding on the exit of "the fishhook", turn 7 on this map: track map. Too much throttle, not enough traction. I had been pinning the throttle in the same spot in the preceding session, with not so much as a wiggle from the bike, but that time the ass end just stepped waaaay out, waaaay fast and I fell off. I've determined a few things that contributed to this, in addition to the obvious operator error :wink: but they would sound like excuses if I posted them, so I won't

I was thinking as I slid off the track on my ass, "this isn't so bad, I'll probably get to finish the day" when !KAPOW! the guy behind me, bedazzled by the spectacle of my dismount, ran me over. I was actually off the track when he hit me, so it was a classic example of target fixation and the bad things that can result. Now THAT sucked, and hurt, too. The bike made out pretty fair, I'll just need to fix or replace the right clip-on and free the throttle tube up. I like to think of it as "patina" rather than "damage" :-D That and a new set of tires, should make me ready for a 9 April assault on the Jefferson course at Summit Point!

kwajazz · 03-12-2006

Wang, you didn't elaborate on your own condition, but I truly hope that you've come out of this unscathed. Getting t-boned by a bike while "unarmed" ain't pretty. I've witnessed it from the safe side of the fence. It sounds like you're okay if you're more worried about attending the next track day than finding a good orthopedic surgeon.

Are you using sliders on the Thrux? And did they save some damage from occurring to the cases, tank, pegs etc.???

Best regards, and btw, I recommend Advil.

Kjazz.

WANG · 03-12-2006

Yeah, I'm fine, just a little lumped up. :hammer: Thanks for your concern. The Pro racers are some tough SOB's to do what they do, aren't they?

I wear an AGV Mission jacket zipped to AGV sport universal trousers with AGV Sebring boots, Teknic Violator Pro gloves, and Arai Astral-X helmet. Barnacle Bill repaired and reinforced the trousers from a previous dismount and they held up very well. Those gloves are awesome, and I guess that Arai will do an inspection on the helmet to see if it is still good for the cost of shipping only.

I don't have any sliders on the bike, currently. In hindsight, it looks like some of those LSL sliders would have prevented the case cover from getting scuffed up. Some sliders for the end of the clip-ons would be a good idea, too. I'm thinking that some aftermarket clip-ons are in order. I dont know if I like the concept of the Axljak sliders that are available, have you looked at those?

Advil rocks!

Tarmac · 03-12-2006

Glad to hear your ok.

Try these clip ons.

wood craft

Did you have a back protector on?

CYNCRZR · 03-12-2006

Wang -

Glad to hear nuthin more than a few lumps... sorry ta hear about the "Pantina" to that pretty Thrux. So when you've had time to think on it abit, share you're after-action conclusion 'bout the loss of traction. Maybe you'll save someone from making the same mistake... like me!

WANG · 03-12-2006

I wasn't wearing a back protector, and wish that I had been. I just had the crappy little foam armor in the jacket. I looked long and hard at a swank Knox back protector at the International Motorsickle Show, and passed it up. You can consider me "in the market" for one. :hammer:

Isn't racer Eric Wood the guy behind Woodcraft products? I'm going to try to straighten the stock clip-on as it is a fairly stout piece of aluminum, but I'm cynical about how much success I'll have with that. If that fails, the Woodcraft bits look like they will do nicely

.

To iterate the original topic: the Traxxion forks and DP pads are bitchin!

[ This message was edited by: WANG on 2006-03-12 21:58 ]

Tarmac · 03-13-2006

I certainly recommend a back protector. ANY back protector. I think I paid $55 for mine from 1-888-Fastlap about 10 years ago. But anything is better then nothing.

Im not certain who is behind Woocraft, but I know this. You can replace a bent bar for $15, and the entire clip-on without droping the fork in the triple clamp. Thats a BIG plus when your between heats and trying to repair crash damage in 15 minutes.

Frame sliders, any frame sliders will help.

Looking back on it, so much of racing (or track days) was being prepared for crashing. Hey, crashing happens. Bringing spare brake levers, handle bars, foot pegs, sub-frames, body work, and even fuel tanks became second nature.

I will say that just reading your crash account brings up the Thruxtons #1 flaw. Tyres. You can't get good rubber in those tiny sizes. The tubes certainly don't help. I dunno, I allmost think that if your gonna make a track day/race bike out of a Thruxton it's worth it to get some bigger rims that will let you run modern sized tubless tyres.

vikingdrvr · 03-13-2006

Quote:

On 2006-03-13 00:27, Tarmac wrote:
I will say that just reading your crash account brings up the Thruxtons #1 flaw. Tyres. You can't get good rubber in those tiny sizes.

I couldn't agree more! The stock tires suck and don't belong on the track.

WANG · 03-13-2006

Quote:

On 2006-03-13 00:27, Tarmac wrote:
I certainly recommend a back protector. ANY back protector.

I will say that just reading your crash account brings up the Thruxtons #1 flaw. Tyres. You can't get good rubber in those tiny sizes.

I, too now strongly recomend a back protector!

The tire situation IS unfortunate. However, the fault of crashing lies squarely on me. I had gotten complacent about feeling for traction, focusing more on braking+steering+reference points, and even on race tires that kind of complacency would enable me to crash in the same fashion, but at a higher rate of speed. At least that's how I see it. The stock tires, while sucking for track duty, still offer enough grip to get your knee down when they are properly inflated and warmed up.

The Thrux, for me, is just serving interim duty as a track/streetbike until I can buy an SV and then it will be street only. Most of the modifications have been made to just make the bike a more competent and safe platform for developing my track skills. I like to share the experience that I'm getting with fellow Thruxton owners in hopes that they might benefit from it in some way.

Thanks for the thoughts, observations, and advice, guys! :-D

CYNCRZR · 03-13-2006

If y'all want stick... Pirelli Sport Demons. I really like 'em. Great feel, plenty of stick and they go about 4,000 rear 5,000 front.. and they're cheaper than the METZ!

Back Protector is on my list along with real riding pants!