So how did you like the bike????? Tell us about it!
Awesome pictures and I'm glad you guys got such good weather. I'm dying to get out on the track...it's been almost a year!
Looks like you were giving those pilot powers a workout. Nice. How did they treat you? I bet John was shredding his 002RSs as well.
Didn't get to watch the vid yet but I'm looking forward to it.
The bike... O.M.G the BIKE! Well first let me say that the timing from buying it to getting it ready could not have been tighter... it was basically finished and ready for the track the morning in the hour of pit time we had before the beginning of the sessions (I had my front tire mounted the wrong way so it had to be fixed, and I also had my suspension setup properly by a pro there)... so yeah, I cut it close!
Again, I would also like to THANK JOHN (Cali_Rider) for all his help and his great friendship... I am honored to know and ride with you!
So the bike.... well the day started rough for me, with a very tiring -physically and mentally- first session... I was not comfortable on the bike and everything was new to me: first time riding a supersport hard, first time riding this bike, first time on this track (only my 2nd trackday), so it took a lot of concentration... especially that I was in group B (thought I was going to be on the Buell when I signed up), so I had to be extra careful making sure to ride consistently, with predictable lines for others to pass me safely... so when I got to the pit after that first session of 6 or 7 laps, I was beat and a bit anxious about the rest of the day...
Well, it only took one session for me to start having fun... 2nd session went MUCH better and each session after that got sweeter and sweeter! I quickly got comfy with the bike's ergos, and everything fell into place naturally... the gixxer was definitely built for the track!
So the next step was to get to know the track and figure out the lines (a couple of them are quite tricky, turn 4 and 9)... By the afternoon, I my muscle memory had picked up the track and most of the lines that worked for me (except 4 and 9 which took me all day to figure out... kinda!), so I could start increasing the speed incrementally!
That's when the fun really starts, now you can play with the throttle a bit more, open earlier a bit earlier coming out of a turn or delay braking points coming in turns... the gixxer's engine is amazingly flexible across the rev range... from very low rpm to the 15.5 red line it will comply with your input no matter what gear you're in... of course you want to keep that needle as high as possible at all times, which I really struggled with throughout the day... I was definitely not optimizing the shifting mainly due to the fact that it took me a few sessions to also get used to going from the v-twin to the I4 again... I thought it would be easier to swap, but it really isn't (especially compounded by the fact that I never had any street time on this bike to get to know it a bit better).
Anyway, I
love the bike, and the feeling you get when you see that needle climb through the tach (for what seems like a never ending crescendo) while hearing that amazing high-pitch F1 sounding engine, is simply unexplainable!!! there is really no substitute for that and I hope to hear it OFTEN on the many track days to come :cheer:
The Pilot powers felt great all day and I really like their neutral feed-back and stability... they did slide on me a couple of times (coming out of 9 for the front straight and out of 2), but it was predictable and due to my average form... I will go with the 002's though next time since they're cheaper!
All in all, I couldn't be happier about my new toy... I love my gixxer
we got a few good ones though, so I am very thankful to her! 
Why was your car towed in the first place?
We'll see what happens come summer 
I think I'll stick to Streets of Willow...LOL
