Products that Kick Ass #1: Motul Moto Wash

     I hate cleaning.  But I like a clean bike.  Something to do with if you're not fast, at least you can look fast.  Or having some pride in the machine you race.  Anyway, I still hate to clean so anything that makes the job easier is very welcome and I've tried all sorts of products to varying degrees of sucess.
     I recently picked up a bottle of Motul Moto Wash the other day.  When I wash a bike, unless it really needs a super deep cleaning I like to just wet rag it and use the corresponding cleaner for whatever region of the bike I'm working on.  Brake clean on the brakes, chain degreaser on the chain and surrounding areas and some sort of general wash for the rest of the bike.  Which is where the Moto Wash comes into play and this stuff works great.  Out of all the cleaners I've used so far this one works the quickest on everything from general grim to dried bug juice to the rubber marks from tire marbles flung off the track.  As I said before I just like to load up a wet rag but the heavier areas I sprayed down and soaked for a minute before wiping.  I'm not too concerned with a spotless showroom cleaning, just what I call race clean.  This stuff did one better and left the bike with a nice shine to boot.
     One note, I'm not sponsored by Motul or any shops/suppliers of this product, I just thought it was pretty damn good so I thought I'd throw a review up.

Thunderhill Turn 8 AFM Rd7

Courtesy of Erich Stiegler.  Thanks for making me look way faster than I am.

AFM Round 7 September 10-11, 2011 – Lap times continue to drop.

   This round my main goal was to improve my lap times and hopefully get under the 2:00 mark.  I picked up a new set of harder compound Bridgestone R10s from Jeff Viets earlier in the week and installed a new set of Galfer Black brake pads and I was all set.  I knew the weather would be similar to round 6 on Saturday; blazing hot with cooler conditions on Sunday.

   First race of the weekend for me was Clubman Middle Weight where I started 16th.  I sort of blew the start but made it back up by the time I got to T1 and then moved up a few spots.  From there I put my head down and really focused on getting solid drives out of the corners.  I managed to post my best result to date in 6th place with a 2:00.9 lap time.

  Next race was the Formula 40 Middle Weight event were I started 12th in my class.  Got off to a decent start with a fun battle where I lost a position between T3-T4 only to gain it back with a block pass through the risky T5.  This was the first time my bike had become “invisible” to me and I could focus 100% on hitting my marks and driving out of corners as the R10s felt solid and grippy.  After a couple more passes I managed to find myself behind a couple riders h♦aving a good battle.  They were just fast enough for me to keep pace with them and I knew I could set the trailing rider up for a pass between T9-T10 if I got a good drive out of 8.  So lap 5 I set up the drive and stayed on his wheel right out of T9 and completed the pass going into T10.  That resulted in a 6th place finish, 1:59.9 lap time and a Top Novice Trophy.

  Sunday started with much cooler conditions.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the presence of mind to check in with Dave Moss to adjust settings.

   The 600 Production race went pretty well as I had a decent start from 29th on the grid and the bike was feeling OK.  As we hit T1 everyone around me felt the need to be at the apex at the same time which opened up the whole outside of the track for me to move up a few spots.  I spent the next few laps moving up until I found a couple riders having a little battle.  I found my way past one only to have the next rider run wide in T1 and low side into the dirt which left me to finish the race in 20th place.

   The final race of the weekend was 600 Superbike which was red flagged on the first lap due to a crash in T3.  On the restart I got and ok launch and made few solid passes but by half way through lap 2 I started to experience some front end problems with head chatter into 5 and wrestling the bike around the rest of the track.  I ended up giving up a couple spots for an 18th place finish but on the positive side I learned how to deal with an ill handling bike during a race...and to check in with Dave Moss when conditions change enough to warrant bike adjustments.

  In the end it turned out to be the best weekend of racing for me so far this season as I finished between 6-10 spots up from my start position in each race while dropping my best and average lap times even further.  Thanks to Jeff Viets, Greg O. and Michelle S. for all there help.

AFM Round 6 August 27-28 2011 - Those tire walls are softer than they look

   This round was my second weekend of road racing motorcycles, my first time racing at Thunderhill, 1 year since my first track day and just over 2 years since formally learning to ride a motorcycle.  My plan for this season is to just learn as much as I can about road racing with the goal of becoming competitive in 2012.  And to have fun.

    I picked up some new Bridgestone R10s from Jeff Viets with the harder compound rear since I knew we'd see track temps well into the 100s.  I also had Dave Moss help me get the suspension set up for better corner exits.

   Saturday started with the Clubman Middle Weight race where I lined up somewhere 1 or 2 rows off the back.  For somebody new like me these races are pretty much just a blur of excitement and keeping track of passes can get confusing.  Especially during the first lap shuffle.  Fortunately I've been getting pretty solid starts and this race was no different as I moved just behind the lead pack going into turn 2.  From there a couple mistakes and passes by faster riders had me somewhere mid-pack and I spent the rest of the race moving back up until I got a bit greedy and blew T14 giving up 2 spots for 16th place.  Best lap 2:03.925.

            Formula 40 was next up.  I lined up on the back row and my start was pretty good.  I managed to move up a few spots during the race but again a few mistakes killed my pace and I dropped back down a bit toward the end of the race giving up 2 spots in the final corner.  My best lap was 2:03.925 and a 10th place finish.  Scored my first AFM trophy with a Top Novice Award.

   Sunday I was feeling pretty good heading out for the warm up session but one lap in I caught a false neutral on acceleration exiting 13, low sided into the dirt and bounced off the tire walls.  Lucky for me my pit spot was nearby and with the help of Greg O., Paul J., Michelle S. and Jeff Viets. I put the bike back together and through tech just in time to roll out for my first race, 600 Superbike.  I purposely lined up on the back row since I was on cold tires and just wanted to get my confidence back.  I paced the pack on the start and really paid attention to the Bridgestone R10s which gave great feed back as they started to come up to temp.  My laps started at 2:13 and dropped down to 2:04 just past the midpoint of the race.  I managed to claw back a few spots as well for a 37th place finish.

            My confidence was back for the last event of my weekend, 600 Production.  I was grided on the back row and had a rather interesting start when the rider in front of me must have stalled.  Once I was past that close call the rest of my race was fairly straight forward picking up a handful of spots and having some fun battling with PJ for a 29th place finish.  I also managed to post my fastest lap at Thunderhill with a 02:02.8.

   Over the past year I've learned how important it is to read the tires and I'm realizing just how much harder I can push the R10s.  At the end of a full weekend of racing I was still able to push for my fastest lap times with confidence in 100+ degree weather and the tires clearly have more life left in them.  Next round I'll be pushing for sub 2:00 laps times...

Big thanks to Jeff Viets and Dave Moss (and their crew) for helping me along the learning curve and achieving positive gains every time out.