Need endurance race advice. 4-hour race at Sears Point

WetShrub · 09-17-2004, 2:37 PM

Eeeek and I and one other non-.org'r are going to be doing the AFM 4 hour endurance race at Infineon/Sears Point October 2nd. We are all novices and haven't done an endurance race before...well I have done a 2 hour on my YSR50 but it's not really the same thing. Anyone have any advice that has experience with it?

-We are going to run some hard compound Michellin slicks cuz I guess they have good wear.
-Have lots of pit help. One for rear stand, one for gas, one for chain lube, one for pit board/timing.
-30-40 minute rotations as Infineon is a very intense/demanding course. Don't want to over extend ourselves.
-Have fun.
-Anything special we should have or do that would help?

We aren't out to win because we are too slow but any advice to make the process smoother would be much appreciated.

Edit: We will be riding a CBR600rr if that helps

-Shrub

abtech · 09-17-2004, 2:48 PM

Does AFM allow full power Pit Ins? If so, that is something you may want to practice. Another aspect is changeovers. Even with lots of help, these can become a cluster f@@k if everyone doesn't have a specific area of responsibility. If you are using a quick fill can, make certain the person who is running it has experience and practice using it before the event. Even in a 4 hour, I would start with a fresh set of brake pads that are bedded in that day with another (pre-bedded) set waiting in the wings. Make certain everyone on the pit crew has a set of hi-temp work gloves stuffed in their back pocket before they go over the wall, as I have seen several 3rd degree burns from screwing with front brakes with bare fingers.

Have a seperate ice chest going that is half full of water and half full of ice. Throw a couple of medium sized towels in it right before the race and use these freezing wet towels over your head when you come in from a 40 minute run. Gator Aid by the gallon should be available as well as some local anesthetic cream for blisters/burns etc along with a full tilt first kit and 2 bottles of Motrin.

Please use a serious oil or the next time the bike is started after the endurance race, you might be listening to the sound of a spun rod bearing.

If I think of anything else, I'll get back to you . . .

Heavy-Dee · 09-17-2004, 3:08 PM

spare footpegs (inside joke)

HD

Zippy · 09-17-2004, 3:18 PM

abtech,

Would it be a good idea to use that Second Skin Liquid Bandage to help protect from blisters? Have you tried that stuff? Any good here?

abtech · 09-17-2004, 3:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zippy

abtech,

Would it be a good idea to use that Second Skin Liquid Bandage to help protect from blisters? Have you tried that stuff? Any good here?

Yep, I've used it under another name and it works fine. I wouldn't want to experiment with anything on raceday however. Try it before an event so you don't get any surprises.

WetShrub · 09-17-2004, 3:56 PM

Thanks Abtech! I was hoping you would post in this thread. Valuable information as usual!

WetShrub · 09-17-2004, 6:12 PM

Abtech,

What do you mean by "serious" oil? The owner of the bike was going to put in Redline Synthetic. Do you mean heavy weight oil? Light weight oil? Expensive synthetic? What would you recommend?

Trackho · 09-17-2004, 6:55 PM

Make sure the 600RRs rear preload can be adjusted for all riders, I remember Gary J had a major pita adjusting a Penske shock last year, Ohlins would be better w/hydraulic preload

WetShrub · 09-17-2004, 7:00 PM

All of us are within 5 lbs of each other. Owner is 175, eeek is 175 and I am 170.....nice!

Also, I have a track day planned on the bike a week from now with Keigwins and then Eeeek will be taking it the friday before the race to get his time in on it.

09-17-2004, 7:21 PM

Sounds like a blast! Good luck

abtech · 09-17-2004, 7:45 PM

Red Line is serious oil. The short list would be Motul 300v, Red Line, Amsoil or Silkolene. Anything else is a crapshoot. And before I get all the Mobil 1 and Hondaline people protesting, ask yourselves: would you guarantee that the oil you recommend would wisthstand 4 hours of bouncing off the rev limiter under excruciating conditions? If you use Motul 300v, I would (and have). Use the recommended weight.

eeeeek · 09-19-2004, 9:21 PM

175? Married life hasn't been that good to me yet! I weigh in at 165, so we should still be good with the suspension settings. Sear's smooooth pavement will helo keep us feeling good, too.

Good advice in here. I think we'll do best if we can just have one rider go out for 240 minutes, though

phozed · 09-20-2004, 9:02 AM

we put a cheapie stopwatch on the bike and would reset it with each rider - I don't know about others but after a few laps I had no idea how long I'd been out there and unless you have a good pitboard setup (imo) it's hard to tell.

abtech · 09-20-2004, 9:14 AM

Another thought now that I have had time to think:

Find some flourescent pink or orange tape and put a small piece on your number plate or windscreen and another on the rear of the tailsection. It makes it much easier to spot from hotpit lane when a cluster of bikes go by. Work out a simple rider hand signal to let your crew know if he needs to come in unexpectedly. There is nothing worse than wailing into hotpit lane only to find everyone watching the race from somewhere else and no one to help out (I have seen this several times during WERA 6 and 8 hour events).

Another interesting trick I have used in the past is to run with medium compound tires, but run about 2 pounds extra cold pressure. They run cooler this way, but are still stickier than full hards. I have run three 8 hour races on both 600s and 750s, each on a set of mediums, so it can be done . . .

Make certain you have the usual spares, as a simple lowside can end your day for lack of a brake lever.

Chrome Dome · 09-21-2004, 1:24 AM

Interesting info...

Sounds like a blast

Good luck!

oldgoat · 09-22-2004, 5:59 PM

Good Luck.

blondyfluffbutt · 09-23-2004, 9:27 AM

I've done a couple endurance races as a novice with the CRA. GREAT fun. A few thoughts:

Unless you're some fast guy trying to earn points, ride like you're at a track day. Spending that much time at sprint pace will lead to trouble. The focus should be to finish the race on the bike you started with. Simply by not crashing you can beat half the grid. Most of the rest you can outsmart with good planning.

That said, have zip ties, safety wire, handlebars, hand and foot levers, and foot pegs close at hand. When I had my idiot moment at the BIR endurance race a couple weeks ago, we had the bike back on the track in about 45 minutes. I had to borrow leathers to finish the race; if my helmet had taken a hit I would have been done. Conisder backup protective gear.

Planning is key. Decide exactly what order you're going to ride, how long, and when you're going to refuel. Write it down in a spreadsheet or something and calculate your laps using you and your co-riders' average lap times. You can always change on the fly, but it's good to have everything thought out beforehand. If you go in without a solid plan you'll always feel rushed and bewildered.

I've never ridden Infineon, but I can tell you 1/2 hour at endurance pace is exhausting. I advise you to NOT plan to ride more than 30-40 mintues at a time, max. (Like I said, you can always adjust your plan, especially as riders get fatigued or exacerbate old injuries.)

You'll need at least five people helping in the pits. One with a radio at the wall for timing and signaling, one with a radio in the pit to relay information from the wall, one to use the fuel can/filler, one to hold the fire extinquisher and paper towels, and one to hold the bike (as the rider comes in, someone grabs the handlebars from the front so the wobbly-legged rider can get off.) Have the person with the radio in the pit have a gascap key to speed up the refueling process. To keep your pit crew happy, have tons of food and soft drinks and let them rotate positions.

Have a serious talk about signals beforehand. How does a rider know to come in? How does a rider know how long he's been out there? How does a rider tell someone he needs to come in early? Stay out longer? You'll need a big and easily recognizable sign of some sort so the rider can identify his pit crew (and pit) when he's in the heat of battle. In the pits, you absolutely NEVER want to be surprised by a rider coming in. The 2:00 minutes (or more) it equates to costs you laps!

There's so much more, but half the fun is learning it for yourself. If anyone's interested, I can post up a (LONG) version of the story of the BIR endurance race (Sept 12, 2004). You can see last year's at www.teampoop.org under "Pat."

The BFB34

abtech · 09-23-2004, 10:03 AM

errr Blondyfluffbutt (???) Welcome to .ORG

Good advice all around.

WetShrub · 10-04-2004, 10:51 AM

Well, we did okay and were the only yellow plate (Novice) that I have ever seen with a single digit number!

BARF thread. We are Formula Pathetic.

abtech · 10-04-2004, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WetShrub

Well, we did okay and were the only yellow plate (Novice) that I have ever seen with a single digit number!

BARF thread. We are Formula Pathetic.

Only 11 laps down on the overall winner? Not bad at all

WetShrub · 10-04-2004, 11:27 AM

Yeah, on a basically stock bike with an all novice team. I thought we did okay. It was SO much fun. I'll have to do a write up and post some pics that we took.

My favorite moment:

With 2 laps to go our pitboard guy drew a huge middle finger on the pit board as the team leader came around. He was laughing in his helmet and so were half of the other pits when they saw that.

TGZ13 · 10-04-2004, 11:29 AM

Quote:

With 2 laps to go our pitboard guy drew a huge middle finger on the pit board as the team leader came around. He was laughing in his helmet and so were half of the other pits when they saw that.

Now thats funny

Chrome Dome · 10-04-2004, 2:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WetShrub

My favorite moment:

With 2 laps to go our pitboard guy drew a huge middle finger on the pit board as the team leader came around. He was laughing in his helmet and so were half of the other pits when they saw that.

That's hillarious! I was LMAO this morning when I read that...

maxib · 10-04-2004, 4:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abtech

errr Blondyfluffbutt (???) Welcome to .ORG

Apologies for late response, but I've spent the last week in SF on business. Just catching up now.

HiYa Pat

abtech I know, the moniker is a bit different, but I know BlondyFB, and he's a great guy! I'm the one who invited him to check us out and I'm glad he came over. Despite the name, he truly fits the Fireblades.org philosophy and has a lot of good things to share.

Also, he's married or so I've been told, so don't let the name give you the willies!

Blondy is a prime candidate to get to go to Grattan IV too, so let's all give a warm welcome so I can share trailer space with someone!!!

BTW, I'm on one crutch only now! WhoHoo!!! All I gotta do is change out the water/waterwetter to coolant now. Got to 32F this am.
end of

eeeeek · 10-04-2004, 5:33 PM

GREAT fun on the 600RR. In the back of my head, I kept thinking "this isn't my bike" and knocked the pace back a little. Looting at the timing sheet, I was running 51's and 52's while Kevin was runnin 47's and Shrub was running 48's and 49's. I had ZERO issues with the bike itself, just trying to pace myself and keep the bike on two wheels.

The next day's races were very different, almost a walk in the park at only 8 laps a piece. I can't shut up about finally dipping first into 48's on my SV, and then into 47's.

WetShrub · 10-04-2004, 5:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eeeeek

The next day's races were very different, almost a walk in the park at only 8 laps a piece. I can't shut up about finally dipping first into 48's on my SV, and then into 47's.