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Feb. 23 & 24 2007 - American Supercamp

pacifisticuffs

pacifisticuffs

Bow chicky wow wow \m/
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Location
San Jo, CA
Moto(s)
'13 MTS1200
Name
TIMMEH!
Here are some pics from American Supercamp this past weekend. There was a large contingent of BARFers attending and it was an awesome time. We learned tons and had a ridiculous amount of fun doing it.

I've got about 50-some pics up on my flickr page (day 1, day 2), but here are a few of 'em.

Here's what things looked like before we got started.

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They have horse shows here, so mixed among the dirt was a lot of uhm, well, horse shit. Falling in the mud is fun and all, but I suppose if there was ever incentive not to, this could be it.

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The class offered XR80s, XR100s and XR150s. Most of the peeps rode the 100s and some of the smaller folks hopped on the 80s, while we lanky types preferred the 150s.

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Our first track was a small, simple oval. Throughout the entire class, the object was to 1) Drive into the corner; 2) Late brake and reduce speed (don't coast!); 3) Make the turn; 4) Haul ass in a straight line out of it.

Usually when you think of street riding, you try to carry some corner speed. But the object here was to come to literally a near-stop and make the turn as quickly as possible to create another straight and reduce the amount of time you have the bike leaned.

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Instructors hung out at turns throughout the track and often carried sticks. They'd poke you as you came through, telling you get your elbows up, get your ass on the outside of the seat, get your head up or get your shoulders back and slouch.

Here, Vinny Tedesco is giving Wickerman an earful.

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The instructors here are great. They're goofballs, that's for sure, but they know their stuff and they work with students closely.

Here, I think it's Scooter the instructor taking Masameet around the track. I've no idea how they managed to stay balanced on that tiny little 100, but the instructors used this method a few times throughout the class.

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This was one of the weirdest drills we did: one hand on the gas cap. It's to emphasize the outside elbow up or inside arm straight forms we're supposed to be riding with. It really took a few laps to get comfortable with it, but you eventually start riding like you normally would.

Here's Bap, followed by fawndog and craig.

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Mud drills! This part was awesome! We got some instruction for a few minutes while the instructors hosed down the track. It didn't seem like much, but man, that thin layer of mud turned it into a slick mess. Just a tiny goose of the throttle resulted in your ass sliding all over the place. It was a really useful drill though, learning how to control the bike through an awkward slide like that.

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Here's Wickerman getting schooled by Danny. The instructors were constantly watching each of your laps and yapping at you from the center or sidelines. Their guidance was always a big help.

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Of course when the mud comes out, that means you fall a lot. This guy, Thomas I think his name was, wore his street leathers the first day. After the mud he was a mess! Day 2, he was wearing dirt gear like the rest of us :teeth.

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To close out day 1, here's fawndog giving Bap what for!

Actually, what you don't see is fawndog starting to lose it a few frames before this. He managed to stay on his feet and out of the mud, but like a good soldier, took out the mod as he came around the corner.

FU Bap! :laughing

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On day 2, we started a larger track, giving us more room to speed into the corners.

Here's Budman in the blue following an instructor's lines around the track.

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r6diva rode her 80 the whole class and looked pretty damn good by the end of it. Unfortunately, I don't have a shot of her and Masameet's spectacular crash at the end where r6diva launched off masa's rear wheel and then planted herself in the hay bails. :laughing I can't decide if that or Valgar's horizontal bike stacking was the best crash.

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We started to get faster and faster throughout the day. Here's Budman, getting chased by Wickerman and fawndog.

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You know what you get here that you might not get in other schools?

DONUT DRILLS!

Keep your ass on the seat way on top of the outside the bike, keep your left foot planted, lock the handlebars to the left, lean waaaaay the hell over and open the throttle just enough to break the rear loose.

The result? Bap on his ass :laughing

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This ham saw me snapping photos and decided to give me half the barf salute.

I thought doing the donuts was pretty damn hard. I managed to do it a few times, but I gassed it far too heavily and couldn't maintain the spin. The key is smooth throttle input (and not being a giant doofus who doesn't fit on a 100 :))

fawndog's here making it look easy with one hand.

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Our final track layout was awesome. It had a few tight spots where there was a lot of vying for the inside of the turns, and then a couple of great long straights leading into some sweepers. This was the first time I was able to change out of second gear. Downshifting was great. As you get into the corner and click it down to 2nd, the ass-end starts kicking out all over the place :laughing.

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