Report necessary!!! Where is it?
Alright, here we go...
I'm just going to get this out of the way right now...ya know the old saying about don't bring anything new (new paint job, new helmet, new bike, etc.) to the track because its going to get messed up? Well, its true. I lowsided in turn five during the third session of the day. Luckily, turn 5 is one of the slowest corners at Barbers. The 1125R crashes really well, damage was minimal and I was able to keep going. Two factors came into play during my lowside: 1) a very slightly damp track surface 2) cold tires. 3/4 of the way around the first lap, my instructor gave me the go ahead to pass him and go at my own pace. I pushed a little too hard on the second lap. I had no warning from the tires whatsoever. I felt my left knee hit the pavement mid-corner and before I could think, "Hey cool, I got a knee down!" I was sliding across the tarmac.
Okay, back to the beginning. My first trackday back in June started out in heavy rain. Things got a little better for this second attempt...it was merely drizzling. But for three sessions, we dealt with a track surface that was slightly damp but looked mostly dry. By lunch time, the sun was out, the track was dry and I had already gotten the 'newness' off of my 1125R. Since that was out of the way, I was free to press on and become one with the Buell during the afternoon.
One of the things that frustrated me with the SV was the fact that the standard riding position on the SV made it difficult for me to put my body in the position the instructors were teaching. With the Buell, things fell much more naturally into place. I still have a long way to go to having the ideal body position, but it was just easier to hang off, have my hands on the grips in the right way, and lay my outside arm on the tank, etc. During the first session after lunch, I was able to get a knee down in left and right-hand corners (without the rest of the bike or my body following). The Buell felt really stable in the corners which helped me to feel more confident about what I was doing. I'm sure, at the pace I was riding, the Buell was barely breaking a sweat, but it felt like progress to me.
Overall, I left the track feeling better about my skills, and confident and comfortable on my new bike.
As for the new bike...a couple if traits I would like to improve: the tach needle vibrates at certain rpms, the thing spits fuell out of the tank vent like crazy, and the rear brake offers no feel and no power. Once I started to throw out the anchor a little more aggressively, the front brake got much, much better. It really is a powerful set-up but I don't know how it compares to other modern sport bike brakes in feel or power. I didn't bother with the rear brake on the track, but it is seriously weak during street use.
Handling of the 1125 was phenomenal. It required just a hint of effort during turn in or quick direction changes but remained stable through out the corner. Power was more than adequate. While I did let the motor rev throughout the RPM range, I never asked for "all she's got", as my experience level is not there yet. It pulled plenty hard, stopped well, and turned when I asked it to. I did get some small amounts of head shake over the rises at turn four and after turn 5 but nothing scary.
The suspension seemed to work pretty well for me. I took some time after getting the bike to adjust everything according to the owner's manual as Buell provides a handy chart for suspsension settings according to weight. The only problem is that Buell apparently doesn't expect anybody under 170lbs to be riding the bike. So I set the preload at slightly less then what the book says and did the same for rebound and compression settings. I added 1/2 turn more compression at the front part way through the day and that seemed to help with some of the pogo feel I was getting while going down the straights. But overall, I think the suspension is in the ballpark. I'd love to have the suspsension guy at the track set-up my bike for me, but $80 for <30 minutes of work seems steep.
I believe this bike is exactly what I was looking for. It is lightweight, handles really well, and is quite comfortable. The fact that it has more power than my meager mind can comprehend is just icing on the cake.
Sorry for the lack of pictures...they are on my other computer. I'll get some posted up soon.
