Impressive. How long in real time to do all that? Must admit I didn't see much of the bike - but the cat's nice!!
Around 3.5 hours... But as you can see I spent quite a long time around the side fairings... had 1 screw in each side that *would not* come out...
Quite an eventful day at the track... Spent the previous day with a massive headache... Unable to sleep properly, woke up at 2 am with my head "bursting". Took some more painkillers. Woke up at 7am to leave for the track, head seamed ok. Hop on the bike for the first laps, immediately headache returns. At the end of the second session I felt I was going to throw up inside the helmet. Considered parking for the rest of the day. Laps were going horribly, doing lots of mistakes, almost crashing twice due to going into 1st gear instead of going to 2nd, my mind was not there.. Since we had an intermission of almost 3 hours due to the European Harley Davidson club parade, went to the circuit's Medical Center. Blood pressure through the roof (for my age the maximum value should be 140, I had 175). Got some pills to drop the blood pressure and for the headache. In the mean time I noticed my left crash protector was loose. Thread in the engine mount is trashed, no crash protector on the left side for a while. Started 3rd session still feeling like shit. Left knee pad flew off exiting the first turn. Saw it in the middle of the track for a couple of laps. When the session ended, talked with a marshal, it was picked up and later it was returned to me. From the 4th session onward I felt better, started to be more consistent, lap times started to go down, and ended up doing my best time in the end of the 6th session, with a time of 1.59.123. Due to a bad crash in the Advanced group, track was closed for quite a while, and 7th session was severely reduced, only made 2 laps. 8th and last session, was the one I enjoyed more. Started behind a small group of 5/6 riders. My confidence was at it's peak, I was sure I was going to break the 1.58 barrier. Managed to pass all the riders and literally half a lap after I pass the last of them, my rear fairing mounts broke. Felt my ass sliding "away" from the bike... Emergency brake, up to the gravel already at a reduced speed. Luckily it was at the end of the day, not at the beginning. Went to the organization's pit box to change the tires back to my road tires... And then I've noticed my exhaust tip also flew off... 2 of the screws flew of, and the carbon tip broke in the screw holes.... Talked with the organization, and they allowed me to go on the track in my car to do a lap to see if I could find the tip... Incredibly I did found it, in the gravel, exiting the last turn. Can't believe my luck. It needs repairs, but... beats having to buy a new one. More photos as soon as I get them, in the mean time.... here's a video of my fastest lap:
Nice lap. Shame about the bits and pieces. Hope you get it all sorted soon. Always loved Estoril. I don't think it's used much now for major races, is it?
Almost done... Going to ride without side fairings for now. Next week I'll take her to the shop to remake the crash protector thread. Side fairings will go afterwards
Trackday didn't went down as planned. Midway through heat 4 (of 8) bike started to fail when accelerating hard sometimes... Parked the bike and now I'll try to sort out the problem. Symptom:
Finally put it back together since my Estoril crash. New goodies, such as Carbon Protector to the frame and swingarm (f$#"&n pain in the ass to drill all the holes and get a good fitment): Also changed the grips to a pair of Renthals, installed carbon covers to the mirrors, and also new Rizoma bar ends. Replaced the clutch lever since it was all scratched from the gravel trap. Now the only thing that indicates that the bike was in the gravel is the kick stand, still with a few scratches. Need to get it powder coated in the future. "Funny" story Look what I found when I went to start to assemble the bike again:
If it wasn't for covid, this should have happened a year ago... But yeah, finally reached the 100.000kms milestone today
Congrats on the 100k milestone.......great mileage from a sportsbike that hasn't been spared from the looks of things
Heya man, what process did you use to paint your clock surround? Did you separate the clear plastic from the edge or just mask it off? I've never liked the silver around the edge, so wanna go for a black. I think something pretty reflective though because I think it's designed to reflect the backlights around the edges to make it stand out more.. or perhaps that's just incidental?
Short answer: Separated it. Long answer: When I painted my bike after my first crash, asked the painter to paint that trim too. The trim is glued to the rest of the assembly. With patience and gentle moves you can break the glue and remove the trim without damaging it. After it was painted it was set in place with thin dual sided tape.
Finally got back on the track after my last year's crash. Bike now has 100.518kms, running flawlessly, after all the issues I had last trackdays (clogged fuel filter and loose battery terminal causing the bike to cut off under hard acceleration). Unfortunately track was wet in the morning, and with slicks I decided it was not worth to risk a crash. In the afternoon track was dry, so I was able to ride. Brought home a plastic trophy, but more importantly, the bike in one piece!
