Posts by jbranson
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Yeah...Hiroshi has about $14k into his including all the HRC stuff.
A year or so ago I'm helping him sort out a carb problem on the 50R and I joke..."Hey you should have brought an HRC wrench with you". He replies in all seriousness " I tried but they were all busy with the factory race bikes"...jeez, must be nice.
JohnnyB
A year or so ago I'm helping him sort out a carb problem on the 50R and I joke..."Hey you should have brought an HRC wrench with you". He replies in all seriousness " I tried but they were all busy with the factory race bikes"...jeez, must be nice.
JohnnyB
Hehe... I'm thinking the new guys have no idea how hardcore we are 
Most of us are still winding down from our last race.
And most of us are snooty assholes that only talk to each other. That way we don't sound nearly as stupid as we might otherwise.
JohnnyB
PS. Here's some shots of Hiroshi's 50R...back about five years ago.
http://www.jrbranson.com/HondaRacer/honda/00-june-nhis.htm
Edited by - jbranson on Oct 18 2005 08:22:22 AM
Most of us are still winding down from our last race.
And most of us are snooty assholes that only talk to each other. That way we don't sound nearly as stupid as we might otherwise.
JohnnyB
PS. Here's some shots of Hiroshi's 50R...back about five years ago.
http://www.jrbranson.com/HondaRacer/honda/00-june-nhis.htm
Edited by - jbranson on Oct 18 2005 08:22:22 AM
The majority of the "verbal" types here are accomplished bike builders and vintage racers. A lot spend the majority of their disposable income and time building and racing bikes, traveling to races all over the Northeast. A bunch of us all race in the same clubs, USCRA, AHRMA, WERA and know each other well from years of racing together.
Caferacer.net is just a small fraction of their participation in the world of motorcycles. Numerous guys with several race bikes and pretty much their entire life outside of work wrapped up in racing. Some of the guys like Aaron, John D., Unga, Chris M., Zack are very skilled, very fast riders. And a bunch of others are seriously dedicated racers on their way to becoming fast. Some are incrediably fast like Zack...who can manage 1:17's around Loudon on an RS125.
It's an amazing collection of bike building and racing talent here, you might not be able to tell amid all the silliness. A lot of us know each other on a personal level and we tend to converse as if we were at the track together. From carrying the back wheel into turn three to building carbon fiber parts, to designing and selling engine components, there is someone here that can, and has done it.
They may seem stupid...but it's just a disguise.
JohnnyB
Caferacer.net is just a small fraction of their participation in the world of motorcycles. Numerous guys with several race bikes and pretty much their entire life outside of work wrapped up in racing. Some of the guys like Aaron, John D., Unga, Chris M., Zack are very skilled, very fast riders. And a bunch of others are seriously dedicated racers on their way to becoming fast. Some are incrediably fast like Zack...who can manage 1:17's around Loudon on an RS125.
It's an amazing collection of bike building and racing talent here, you might not be able to tell amid all the silliness. A lot of us know each other on a personal level and we tend to converse as if we were at the track together. From carrying the back wheel into turn three to building carbon fiber parts, to designing and selling engine components, there is someone here that can, and has done it.
They may seem stupid...but it's just a disguise.
JohnnyB
Hey...most of them race more than me, have more bikes than me and are faster than me.
We've got guys like ex-pro racer Frank C., who is also owns a CNC machine company, is a tremendous designer and used to work for Yetman building frames...and sometimes he's even fast too.
I even force my wife to race.
http://www.jrbranson.com/HondaRacer/honda/2003_race_1.htm
You are in our area.... we'd love to have you racing with us. Club info here: http://www.race-uscra.com/
JohnnyB
We've got guys like ex-pro racer Frank C., who is also owns a CNC machine company, is a tremendous designer and used to work for Yetman building frames...and sometimes he's even fast too.
I even force my wife to race.
http://www.jrbranson.com/HondaRacer/honda/2003_race_1.htm
You are in our area.... we'd love to have you racing with us. Club info here: http://www.race-uscra.com/
JohnnyB
I'm 6'4" and a slim 195 lbs... I race 200cc bikes in 200gp. There are a few guys your size out there. But yeah...you'd be better off on a 350cc four stroke and above. I doubt you'd be a roadblock...there are always people slower.
You might want to look into one of the "Formula" Classes...I think they allow bikes up to about 1988, disk brake of course, larger displacement. You've probably got some contacts so a cheap bike of that era might not be hard to find for you. And many of them make suitable HP bone stock, so you could just strip it, do the basics and go racing. Numerous guys in those classes are in the 200+ lb category so while you'll be at some weight disadvantage it won't be extreme. In a lot of cases good riding can make up for a lot of weight.
The majority of our members are out there hoping to have fun and run middle of the pack, many just want to have fun period. I've had to face the fact that with my weight on a small bike I'll never out run some guys, but it's fun racing with the ones you can stay with.
Sounds like you have the resource and knowledge to prep a race bike pretty quick and without a lot of money. Your biggest $ would probably be race tires.
In general well find a place for you no matter what you bring...as long as it's not like a 1990+ sport bike. Even if you had to run "out of class" to get the feel of things. Meaning you could race but couldn't be counted in the results because the bike didn't fit into the class.
If you come up with an idea for a bike let us know. Someone here has probably raced one or tried to race one and might know some tricks to ease the path.
Believe me....you'll love it. It's very low pressure, bunch of good guys, we do race...but's it's gentleman's racing. Even coming in last is a ton of fun, just finishing a race is an accomplishment in the eyes of most people.
JohnnyB
You might want to look into one of the "Formula" Classes...I think they allow bikes up to about 1988, disk brake of course, larger displacement. You've probably got some contacts so a cheap bike of that era might not be hard to find for you. And many of them make suitable HP bone stock, so you could just strip it, do the basics and go racing. Numerous guys in those classes are in the 200+ lb category so while you'll be at some weight disadvantage it won't be extreme. In a lot of cases good riding can make up for a lot of weight.
The majority of our members are out there hoping to have fun and run middle of the pack, many just want to have fun period. I've had to face the fact that with my weight on a small bike I'll never out run some guys, but it's fun racing with the ones you can stay with.
Sounds like you have the resource and knowledge to prep a race bike pretty quick and without a lot of money. Your biggest $ would probably be race tires.
In general well find a place for you no matter what you bring...as long as it's not like a 1990+ sport bike. Even if you had to run "out of class" to get the feel of things. Meaning you could race but couldn't be counted in the results because the bike didn't fit into the class.
If you come up with an idea for a bike let us know. Someone here has probably raced one or tried to race one and might know some tricks to ease the path.
Believe me....you'll love it. It's very low pressure, bunch of good guys, we do race...but's it's gentleman's racing. Even coming in last is a ton of fun, just finishing a race is an accomplishment in the eyes of most people.
JohnnyB
I would probably go with the GT380. I know almost nothing about them except they are a two stroke, and while they are probably not slow, they probably aren't smokin fast either.... on par with an RD350 maybe? Would probably be a good bike to get your feet wet with. And you have two of them...always a big plus when you go racing. And it doesn't sound like you are REAL attached to them.
You could be on the track next year. You would run it in Period III middleweight Supervintage. Hey, the first couple of years just finishing races is the big challenge...by then you'll have a handle on if you want to go faster, slower or just do what your doin.
The GT would probably make a reasonably dependable middle of the pack race bike. Hey...wouldn't it be fun to build a race bike? Once it's built you will eventually race it
JohnnyB
You could be on the track next year. You would run it in Period III middleweight Supervintage. Hey, the first couple of years just finishing races is the big challenge...by then you'll have a handle on if you want to go faster, slower or just do what your doin.
The GT would probably make a reasonably dependable middle of the pack race bike. Hey...wouldn't it be fun to build a race bike? Once it's built you will eventually race it
JohnnyB
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