In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
wait you now have 3 bikes?
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
wait you now have 3 bikes?
mazdeuce - Seth said:Kid#3, my current partner in crime, has a new set of wheels.
Would you consider adopting a 33 yr old?
In reply to spacecadet :
Yes? I feel like numbers are a very fluid thing. I certainly have fewer bikes that cars.
In reply to thatsnowinnebago :
Depends, do you think you can ride one of the existing bikes or do I have to buy you one too? 
This is me following the RS125/85.
When I came off track with the XR100 last week I had 7 broken spokes. Apparently these bikes are known for breaking spokes anyway, and putting a full-ish size human on sticky-ish tires on the bike had them popping like bubble wrap.
A company called Buchanan Spokes makes a handy dandy spoke kit that lets you lace the wheel with much larger spokes. You do need to drill out the holes in the rim for bigger nipples, but other than that it's fairly straight forward.
I could have taken pictures of the process, but frankly there are a million youtube videos that do a better job than I could. I ordered a spoke torque wrench and got it done. It took time, but it wasn't terribly hard. A truing stand would have made it easier than truing things on the bike, but maybe next time. It's all back together and the wheel is at least as straight as it was before. I can't feel anything on the driveway but the real test will be back on track, we'll see. I do feel like a bit of a bad ass bike mechanic after re-lacing a wheel.
Gonna ruin the lawn. That's fine.
Seeing Ferdinand there makes me think you should build a flatbed bike hauler...
In reply to Norma66-Brent :
That has been discussed. I need to get through the small projects, to the medium ones, and then to Ferdinand. Also, Ferdinand is outside and it's hot.
Speaking of small projects. This runs now. Might need some tuning. The plan is to get it functioning well and move it down the road.
Ah crap. I might have to start another thread for this one.
It runs, but the frame has a sketchy past and no title. The other frame has a title and a very cool past full of happiness and adventure.
When I say runs, it involves, a wrong size battery that's kind of dead, jumper cables, a jump box, and a gas tank of a completely different bike that leaks more gas that I'm comfortable with. I hate being on fire so I stood waaaaaaay back.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
What the actual berkeley
You have gone from 1 to 4 bikes in a week..
That's awesome.. But holy crap dude..
In a line of great threads from Mazdeuce, this one shines. Real track stuff, fancy speed parts, motorcycles, bike “collecting”. Great stuff. I wish I could live like you. Party on. And keep it up. I expect at least two more bikes by September.
In reply to spacecadet :
I thought we already discussed the fact that numbers are an ephemeral thing that are hard to grasp when it comes to the total number of vehicles. Besides, all of the bikes in the garage take up one car worth of space. It's fine.
In reply to barefootskater :
The goal is actually to make the Stella run right and send it off to live happily with someone who will love it, and there are about 1.5 Ducatis that I'm going to turn into 1, so that's another half bike gone. I do kind of want a proper dirt bike again. Or maybe a bike to do rallymoto? So many options.
Please tell me we're going to get a mazdeuce guide to weird Desmo valve services.
Also, if you decide you need to lose the Ducati, you know where to find me...
Dude... I step away from the forum for a while after One Lap and you fall headfirst into bikes! The ease and simplicity (and cost) are so much more sustainable once you get past the initial investment of bike and equipment. I've done a similar jump - my arm is finally strong enough to do this nonsense again and decided to get weird this time so I'm putting together a BMW twin to start doing track days. It's certainly not going to be what my 1098 was, but on the other hand, it's certainly not going to be what my 1098 also was. This one starts every time without pleading, cursing, threatening, or ritual sacrifice.
It does knock the wind out of doing One Lap again, but to be honest the cost effectiveness of doing this on 2 wheels plus the way cheaper operating costs (providing you keep it upright) is way more doable for long term.
And the road trip aspect of trailering a light open trailer around the country to different tracks you've always wanted to try is a lot more sustainable too.
In reply to onrails :
Well, I've been staring down that cliff for a while. Finally had someone to push me. You know how it goes. The cost thing is...... important. I have two kids starting college 12 months from now and that will be the start of many many years of spending $$$$$ on education. Which I'm happy to do, but I can ride 2-3 times a week for less than a One Lap entry and do all of that riding while my wife is at work/kids are at school which preserves all of my family time. And bikes are fuuuuuuuun.
Lessons from today: The new rear wheel is pretty darn round. I like the Grom, but loooooove the XR. Found a bunch of speed on the XR, and the ground. My left hand corners are getting better and I'm dragging knee that direction now too. Of course my rights are also getting better and I have to tuck up a little in order to get the space to lean the bike over. Also, there are a LOT of differences between the carbed Monsters and the FI ones frame wise. Bare 750 motor in my garage waiiting on parts to put a 620 frame on it. Pretty fun.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
I've been following along, but haven't had much to contribute. This looks like a lot of fun per $$ spent.
I sent you an email at the ttwo address, but haven't heard back. Did you get it?
Thanks
Couple laps from today. Trying a new camera location. I'm getting faster.
“Hey everyone watch my butt sway from side to side”
Patrick said:“Hey everyone watch my butt sway from side to side”
Also, I totally think Seth needs a custom set of sequined bellbottom leathers.
Dissassembled, soaked and reassembled the carb and the Stella runs fantastically. Rode it around the yard for 15 minutes. It's pretty sweet. I need to finish reassembly, put in a new battery to confirm that the electric start still works, clean it, and put it up for sale. If any of you have ever wanted a 3 speed Vespa, let me know. This is the Indian made one, but the experience is the same without the Vespa tax.
Did some work on the Grom. Numberplate with yellow background on. New catch can built out of PVC like the XR100 one. Bought bike stands that float this little guy waaaaaay to high. The plan was to use them for woking on the Ducati but it would need lots more parts actualy assembled to use them.
Apparently we're going racing this weekend. Which is exciting. And terrifying. 
LOL...
XR100, the gateway drug.
Enjoy the slippery slope!
In reply to motoidiot :
The XR100 is still my favorite and is the bike I'll race in sprints on Sunday. The Grom was always meant to be the endurance bike, so we're using it for the 4 hour race on Saturday. Hopefully I'll have some good stories a few days.
Had my first not-good day at the track yesterday. The Grom just didn't feel right and I tipped it over twice. We're trying to figure out if I just suck or if there is something making it twichy. In the evening I brought the bike over to Derek to give it a once over and safety wiring for the weekend. The third rider on our team, Mike, was there. Super nice guy and I think we'll have a fun weekend.
We did have fun. Derek rode the XR100 and got an elbow down. We're starting to believe that the XR100 is the coolest bike ever. When we got there there were two guys tearing around on a 450 supermoto. We got to talking. The faster guy was Garret Gerloff, two time Moto America Supersport champ and current superbike rider for Yamaha, and the slightly slower guy was.....crap, I can't remmeber his name, but he BROKE HIS FEMUR three and a half weeks ago at Sonoma and is doing recovery on the supermoto. He was limping a bit, but you know, tearing it up with a non-healed leg. Super nice guys. They said they want to come autocrossing with us. Here is s short video of Derek getting passed by Garret.
Also, looked at the class structure and it appears that anyone over 39 is counted in the Dinosaur class. That's a "hey, wait a minute......" moment.
mazdeuce - Seth said:Had my first not-good day at the track yesterday. The Grom just didn't feel right and I tipped it over twice. We're trying to figure out if I just suck or if there is something making it twichy. In the evening I brought the bike over to Derek to give it a once over and safety wiring for the weekend. The third rider on our team, Mike, was there. Super nice guy and I think we'll have a fun weekend.
This may be the bike, but it may be your first skill plateau in the learning process. When I ran Stock 100 I got "stuck" several times and stopped progressing until something clicked and I started learning again- and eventually I plateaued so badly that I began to get crashy and ended up getting fed up with the process and sold the bike. I kind of regret that and wish I had pushed through it instead, but there was other racing to do.
We're starting to believe that the XR100 is the coolest bike ever.
They are really amazingly indestructible.
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
I think you're mostly right. Last week I had a HUGE jump forward on the XR, dropped 5-6 seconds a lap and could be generally awesome all of a sudden. I'm not there yet on the Grom so it felt like a huge step backwards. I think it will be good for me in the long run to hop on a bunch of different bikes and learn how to ride them all. I did almost all of my laps on the Grom yesterday but hopped on the XR for 5-6 laps at the very end and way knee down and confident by the third corner and was tearing it up (for me) by the second lap. Luckily I have the track right here and I can go do 1-200 laps a week and get the time it.
I have no delusions that I'll end up actually good at this and at some point I'll have to decide if I'm happy just being out there with friends (like autocross) or if I want to try and put energy to actually winning somewhere. I expect to be humbled this weekend.
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