MRA Round 6 – HPR North Course – Racing Recap – ZX7R Longest Ride So Far

The north course at High Plains Raceway (HPR) cuts all of the slow corners out of the track, making for fast, quick laps. I started the weekend with the Friday afternoon track day to get used to the course configuration, which I’ve only run once before during a Superstreet event last year before I got my race license.

Practice

My focus was on turn 4s and what I call “the nines” AKA turn 9a and 9b. The rest of the track after turn 10 stays pretty much the same, but 4s is tighter than normal turn 4, and it’s a lot faster than turn 8, so I’m shooting through the nines faster than I would normally be going on the full course configuration.

I noticed the asphalt feels different through 4s than anywhere else on the track. It felt smoother on my knee pucks. Whether this translates to more or less grip I’m not sure, but it seemed like “less” to me. Then there’s just a lot to do through turn 9b and braking for turn 10. I found I could get on the gas out of 4s and hold it open through 9a, but it was tricky timing when to brake for turn 10.

I worked out that if I got on the brakes softly around the apex of 9b, I could get on them hard as I stood the bike up before trailing off for turn 10. I never quite got 100% comfortable with how to brake from 9b and enter 10, so that’s something I’m going to have to figure out next year.

Finishing Positions, Fast Laps

My first Saturday race, the Lightweight GP class, saw 20 racers take the start, and I finished the race in 6th place. I’m sitting in 4th place in the championship standings going into the last round for this class. My fastest lap was a 1:25.555.

Jose crashed out in turn 4s trying to pass me during Saturday’s second race, Lightweight 2X (AKA double length sprint class). Seth went down during the same lap at Turn 10 when I was coming out of turn 4s having just watched Jose go off the track out of the corner of my eye. Their crashes left me in 3rd place, another podium finish! My fastest lap was a 1:25.253. Jose has just one more point than I do going into the last round. I’m 4th in the points; he’s 3rd. All I have to do is finish in front of him at the last round, and I’ll finish the season 3rd in the points for this class.

I finished 4th in SuperTwinsGTU on Sunday, putting up a fastest lap of 1:25.968. I usually try to run my fastest lap of the weekend during this race, but it wasn’t meant to be at Round 6. I’m currently 6th in the points for this class.

Round 7 Plans and Goals

The plan for Saturday is to do the best I can in Lightweight GP and hopefully hold my 4th place position in the points. I want to finish in front of Jose in Lightweight 2X and move into 3rd place in the points to close the year out.

If conditions are right, I’m going to do everything I can to run a 2:02.XXX lap during SuperTwinsGTU on Sunday. I don’t really care where I finish in the points in that class.

My big goals for this season were to show up at every round, no mechanical DNFs, to keep the bike upright (no crashing! no injuries!), to finish top 5 in the points in at least 1 class, and to run a 2:02.XXX lap on the full course configuration. The 2:02.XXX may prove elusive, but we’ll see what happens later this month. I crashed out at PPIR on cold tires this year, but I learned my lesson, and a single crash during a racer’s novice year is somewhat expected, par for the course. I was pissed at the time, but now I can laugh about it, and I feel lucky I didn’t hurt myself. As for mechanical DNFs, I’ve gotten lucky with 2 water pump failures that happened during practice sessions that I had plenty of time to repair between races.

I’ll have a year end recap with how all of this shakes out after Round 7 goes down. Wish me luck!!

Longest Ride So Far on My ZX7R

It’s funny how a ride can start with the intention of not being out for very long and then turn into an all day affair. That’s how my Labor Day went. I ended up riding 212 miles from Colorado Springs to Woodland Park, then up through Deckers to Highway 285 and back home by way of C470, Santa Fe, Castle Rock, and I25.

The bike is just phenomenal, and I don’t think I’m giving up any enjoyment by riding an older sport bike. There’s a lot of talk about how the ZX7R isn’t very comfortable “for more than about 50 miles at a time,” and I think that’s hogwash for anyone who is flexible and in reasonably good shape. The suspension works well at a spirited street riding pace, which is as far as I’m willing to push it on the street. On a race track it would probably get a bit plush and wallowy if pushed really hard, but it’s not a race bike, so who cares? Some of my route took me up pretty high in altitude, and I could feel the reduced power going to the rear wheel, but the bike carbureted well and didn’t do anything unexpected. The tires on the bike, a new Michelin Pilot Power 2CT on the front and an older 190/55-17 Pilot Power on the rear, have worked well everywhere I’ve used them, at Pueblo Motorsports park for a track day and for street riding.

After putting some miles on the bike, I have come up with a few things to do that will improve it but only incrementally. The pegs are a little too far forward for my liking, and something needs to be done about the front brakes. They’re not miserable, but they could be better.

The plan to upgrade the brakes is to install stainless lines, EBC HH pads, and maybe a Brembo master cylinder. If that doesn’t get them where I want them to be, I will consider replacing the 6-piston calipers with 4-piston jobs from another bike. I’ll have to buy a set of Woodcraft rearsets before they start going out of stock everywhere, which is something to watch out for with aftermarket parts for older bikes. I’ll install a matching Pilot Power 2CT on the rear after I cook the tire that’s on it.

I kind of hate how it has a Yosh pipe on it. In a perfect world it would have a period-correct Muzzy full system on it, or even just a Muzzy slip on if they ever made such a thing, second choice would be a full system by Arrow. These parts aren’t available anymore, they rarely crop up for sale, and when they do they’re not cheap. The bike is nearly perfect the way it is, but I still have my eye open for certain parts if I can find them at a good price.

My Approach to Street Riding

I like to think my approach keeps me alive as much as anything else. I’m not a big “ATGATT” guy at all. I’m guilty of riding around the neighborhood in shorts and floppy shoes with sunglasses on. Any ride where I’ll be going faster than about 60, a helmet is nice to keep the wind from blowing my face around my skull. Gloves are nice to keep my hands from cracking. Proper boots keep me from tearing up my nice shoes on the pegs. There’s nothing squidlier than having your top blow up over your torso on the highway, so I have a leather jacket mostly to keep my clothes in place. Notice how practical these concerns are. I’ve mentioned safety gear without mentioning how it’s going to keep my skin and bones attached to my body if I go down.

My approach to safety has more to do with time and place than any kind of gear I put on my body. When am I riding? Where am I riding? What is my intention for riding? What am I doing? What am I wearing to be safe? isn’t a concern; it’s what am I wearing to be comfortable?

I think this is an important and often overlooked aspect of motorcycle safety. “Proper gear” is not a talisman that magically protects us from the stupidity of ourselves and others.

I could be riding naked and still be safe. I ride mostly on Sundays and Mondays, when there’s not as much traffic on the roads. I have a route in mind before I take off on roads I know won’t be heavily trafficked, that I’m familiar with, so there’s no surprises. My sole intention is to enjoy myself. It’s not to get to work on time. If I have somewhere to be at a certain time, I’m driving a car there. It’s not to push the bike or to try to find out what it’s capable of. The street is not the place for that. If I want to explore the performance limits of the motorcycle, I’ll take it to a race track. I’m going to ride so far within my own personal performance envelope that if I do crash, it’s not going to be because I was going too damn fast or doing something stupid.

I want to take myself out of the risk equation entirely, so I can focus on the major risks of riding on the street, which are the other drivers around me, most of whom aren’t going to be paying any attention to what they’re doing let alone to what I’m doing. Head on a swivel, pretend I’m invisible, and assume everyone else is going to do the dumbest possible thing at the dumbest possible time. Always have an escape route, somewhere to go when someone does the dumbest thing at the dumbest time. I do not simply jump on a bike to go for a ride without first considering the when, where, and why of it. If you’re asking yourself about how to stay safe on the street, I think you need to think just as much about your mentality and your approach to motorcycles as you do the gear you put on your body. It really is that important!

I’m looking forward to putting a lot more street miles on the ZX7R this fall, after racing season ends. Until next time, keep the shiny side up, and if you need your scooter or motorcycle repaired or maintained you know what to do!