Off to the Machine Shop, machine shop!

Let's see, this project started back on April 23rd. So, that would mean if I do my math correctly we've been at this now for 4 months. In that period of time we've managed to test;

- three different kinds of fork cartridges (Ohlins, Traxxion Dynamics, and X Dot)
- two differnt shock absorbers (Ohlins, and Bitubo)
- three different types of exhaust (Akrapovic, Devil, and Yoshimura)
- Stock and flashed ECUs
- Stock, driven, and alpha clipons
- Stock, PVM, and BST wheels
- Stock, SBS, and Vesrah Brake pads
- Stock, BMW, and Attack Rearsets
- Stock and Attack Triple Clamps
- Stock vs. HT Moto Seats
- Three different Lee's Cycle engine configurations

during our racing endeavors at 6 different tracks;

- Buttonwillow Raceways Park *
- Miller Motorsports Park
- Streets of Willow *
- Infineon Raceway
- Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
- Willow Spring International Raceway

We've managed to take ownership of 2 lap records (*), and win 6 out of 9 races.

The bike has been thrown down the road three times, had the frame cracked once, destroyed one set of carbon fiber wheels, and taught us that SBS brake pads might not be the best option!

The team has invested a lot of resources, traveled thousands of miles, hundreds of hours into the development of the BMW S1000RR. We're always zeroing in on the best combination of parts from aftermarket vendors, BMW, and in house. That's right in house!


Currently we have another batch of prototype parts at the machine shop in order to further improve on the parts we've made already. These include but are not limited to an adjustable shock linkage with a new progression ratio, new swing arm pivots, and ... Believe me we're always turning the screws here to see how we can make this package lighter, faster, and more comfortable for the rider.

If you're reading as a current S1000RR owner, then congratulations. You own the best sportbike on the planet! Not only has it blown the doors off everything else bone stock, but this Superbike has taken a seasoned AMA Pro rider around every track he's been to thus far faster than he's ever gone before!

Keep checking back for more results and updates, were looking forward to it and hope you are too!

Wanna Go Racing? Tight Budget? Got A Dual Sport Bike?

Hey Everyone and welcome to another fabulous post to the San Diego BMW Motorcycles blog! Today I'm going to highlite this past Sunday's events held in the Qualcomm stadium parking lot.


First a little background:

A close friend of San Diego BMW Motorcycles, Cesar Gannod, owns and runs Fastkeys (www.fastkeys.com) a key, locksmith and engraving service right around the corner on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. We use Cesar exclusively for his key cutting services on our exceptionally tricky BMW ignition and luggage keys and locks. Cesar it turns out is an avid Supermoto (or supermotard) enthusiast with friends throughout the motorcycle industry in San Diego and beyond. Cesar rides a Suzuki DRZ400SM that he's tricked out with all the right toys. We mentioned to him that we were building a G450X into a proper supermoto bike for our race team and track days. Needless to say his interest was peaked and he's kept steady tabs on the project's progress. The bike is near completion completion but a few suspension and brake components still needed some tweaking so the G450 was out of the picture for Sunday.

Enter the greatest dual sport bike man has ever created! That's right kids, I still had a Bridgestone Trailwing 21 inch front tire and a Bridgestone BT45 Spitfire 18 inch rear mounted on the mighty G650X Challenge from our Buttonwillow track day last month. Saturday night I loaded the SDBMWMC pop-up, some water and my leathers in the shop truck. Sunday morning 0800 I met Cesar in the "pits" set up at Qualcomm stadium.

The races are organized by the San Diego Karting Association (SDKA). The kart guys have been using the stadium parking lot one Sunday a month for the last five years since El Cajon speedway was closed. The SDKA invited in the supermoto bikes 2 months ago as a trial run to curb some of the massive costs associated with using the Qualcomm parking lot and insuring their racing. These karts I'm talking about are NOT the typical go karts you see at family fun centers across the country. They are purpose built racing karts with zippy little 2 stroke engines rocketing the drivers around the 1.1 mile course in just over a minute! That's about a 60MPH average speed. There are small children that pilot the 50cc machines, medium children that pilot what looked like 80cc machines, and large kids (in their 30's, 40's and 50's) that shred around the track in 100 and 125cc machines. The racing is pretty spec'd meaning the karts are all VERY similarly built which provides for some really tight racing action. Between the races competing drivers scurry about the pits offering tools, parts and a helping hand to their competitors! It's a real sportsman type environment which also keeps the "intimidating" feeling for newcomers like myself to a minimum. After signing up for the street legal class and a quick riders meeting where to explain ho things would run we retreated to the shade of the pop-up. Local photographers, kart drivers, bike riders, spectators, children and passers by all circulated through the pits and stopped to say hello.

At 0930 the street legal bikes got to take our first of three 5 minute practice sessions. We all pushed out bikes to the staging area and once the grid boss waved us onto the track it was legal speeding for everyone! The track is marked by chalk and cones which takes a little getting used to at first. Once I figured out how to leave the cones in my peripheral vision so they'd sort of melt into an orange line at speed I was fine. But on the initial 2 laps it must have looked like I was practicing the slalom out there. Something like this:
Left turn, Right turn, Tight left turn, CONE! Sweeping right tu...CONE! Straightaway, left turn, CONE, oops...hit that one...oops...almost hit that other rider...CONE!
But after 2 laps the course markers began to make sense and I was cruising around very comfortably on the parking lot tarmac.


We got another two practice sessions over the course of the morning followed by a break for lunch. The first heat race was at 12:50. Each rider pulled a number out of a hat and this was your starting position for the qualifier. Your finishing position in the 10 lap qualifier determined your starting position for the 15 lap main event. My number put me exactly middle of the pack on the start. Cesar was lucky enough to draw the absolute last spot on the grid...jokes were made.

The starter held the flag up in the air, waited a second, then dropped his arms and we were off. I got a great launch (ok, most of the field was riding bikes 450cc's or less) and was 3rd going into the first turn. As we shot down the front straightaway Pete, Cesar and I lead the pack in that order. Over the next 6 of 10 laps Pete gapped us a bit while Cesar and I traded positions countless times. The G650 was quicker getting out of the turns and down each of the 2 straightaways but Cesar is BRAVE on the brakes! He was able to grab the binders later in essentially all over the hard braking zones. This, from my vantage point, was awesome to watch. These more skilled supermoto riders go into the turns as fast as possible then at the last second sit up, drop the bike 2 gears, dump the clutch and SLIDE the bike crossed up into the turn. So you can imagine as I'm setting up for a direction change Cesar comes flying past on the inside, handlebars at near full lock the wrong direction, smoke and dust trail coming up off his rear tire. It took some mental doing to not target fixate on his "controlled crash" of sorts every time we rounded a corner. This cat and mouse routine last till about lap 8. I settled in behind Cesar on his DRZ and as we rounded an off camber chicane at the far end of the track I saw a bit of smoke further up the track out of the corner of my eye. A second later Pete was in view laying on the ground having low sided his DRZ. "Hey! I'm in second place!" my brain shouted inside my helmet. Out of another chicane and across the start finish line on the fastest straight on the track. I tucked in behind my locksmith friend as we rocketed south. Again I sit up before Cesar and begin hauling the BMW down from 80MPH. This time though he started his deceleration just a little too late and after sliding, locking up and sliding again he overcooked the left hander and missed the turn threading the needle between 2 cones as he exited the track. I'm in first place now! Cesar meanwhile saw the track was clear over his shoulder and re-entered but with only a lap to go there was not time to pass me again. The might G650 and I had won the 10 lap qualifier!

In the cool down zone there were congratulations and fist bumping going all around and I was phyched. We walked our bikes back to the pits were Pete was checking out a couple new scratches on his DRZ. We took a minutes to make fun of him throwing away what would have been a sure.victory. We took a few more minutes to make fun of the new scratches on his bike. Then a few more minutes still to re-make fun of throwing away the victory.

So at this point it's 2:30pm and our main event (which I and the mighty G650 have pole position for) is not until 5:15pm. It's Sunday and I've been at the stadium since 0800. Hmmmm, there were a few things I wanted to do today. Well, I live 4 miles away in North Park SO:
I traded out my leathers and boots for shorts and flip flops, hopped in the truck and headed home. In the two hours the kart guys were finishing their qualifiers I did a load of laundry, gave my hound dog a bath:

Stopped at the grocery store to pick up steaks for dinner and headed back to Qualcomm. You can't do THAT from Willow Springs!

Once back I put my leathers back on and about 20 minutes later it was time for our main event. I lined up on pole as the others fell in at their respective starting positions. Once again the starting official raised his flag then threw his arms downward sending us drag racing to the first turn. The G650 motor once again pulled me to the first turn in first place but as I exited turn one both Cesar and Pete shot past on the inside. This was shaping up a lot like the qualifier. I settled in behind those two hoping for a repeat of my earlier fortune as it was evident there was no way I was going to be able to play the late breaking game with them. Unfortunately, lady luck was busy elsewhere this race. Pete and Cesar battled back and forth for the first 10 laps or so while steadily pulling away from me. On lap 12 Cesar over cooked a turn which allowed Pete to check out. Then, on the last lap, just as I was putting the final touches on my podium speech from inside my helmet Ross from San Diego House of Motorcycles came out of nowhere and blew past me on the inside of turn 5! I tried frantically for the rest of the lap to get back around but no dice. I think he was sand bagging the earlier moto's!

So, all in all, I had an absolute blast. 75 bucks very well spend. We got a ton of track time, I made new friends and people were pretty impressed with the mighty G650. Huge kudos to the SDKA for bringing us moto guys on board and taking every opportunity to make sure we were happy with the way things were running. SDKA really catered to the supermoto riders and were outstanding hosts the entire day. I'm 100% in for next month. Also huge thanks to Jon Litchfield for taking all these great pictures:
http://www.wix.com/DirtyhuckerPhoto/Litchfield_Shutter_Works
Facebook/dirtyhuckerphoto






and Matt Finley, matt@amusingscribe.com, www.amusingscribe.com:


-Thanks for reading,
Sean DeAngelis

Toye takes F1, Orr grabs four!

Willow Spring Motorcycle Club (WSMC): Race Report


Friday morning Gary and Jason arrived at Willow Springs for a Motoyard trackday to setup Gary’s S1000RR with his new Bitubo shock that he had ran so well with up at Infineon a few weeks prior. Throughout the day they were able to try quite a few variations in geometry, spring rate, and damping. The progress would really show the next morning when he and teammate Jeremy Toye took to the track in the first practice session.

Gary’s personal best at Willow from last month was a 1:23.3 lap time. In the first session on Saturday morning Toye pulled him to a 22.7! With the bike working well and his riding hitting a new level over the past couple months he was really looking forwards to this weekend’s racing!

Setup for the number 57 machine began at the shop in the beginning of the week. Modifications were made to the S1000RR chassis based on Jeremy and Jody’s experience. After the first session with Toye getting warmed up and getting a feel for the track on the BMW the team got right down to business. One of the nice parts about having a rider at his home track is that they know exactly what they’re looking for. So with some additional changes to increase feel and tone down the progressive nature of the rear suspension Toye was ready for an F1 simulation in the Solo race that afternoon.

Gary was on the grid looking to take the championship in the Solo GTO class and Jeremy wanted to put the BMW through its paces in a race simulation that would allow the team to dial in the chassis more for the next day’s race. It was a good thing too because the direction they had tried proved not to be the best choice. Once the tires got hot they lost the critical edge grip required for long turns 2 and 8. It was back to the drawing board that night for the SD BMW team, but at least the were able to enjoy the fact that Orr (just a new racer last September) had wrapped up his first championship with a win!

On Sunday morning it was time to see if the decisions made the night before were going to pay off on Toye’s machine. With the same tire from the Solo race Toye lapped in the low 21’s and high 20’s in the first session. After a short debrief and a new set of rubber Toye headed back on track to join the club of a few elite roadracers who have been around Willow Springs in under 1:20 on a motorcycle. When Jeremy fired off a 1:19.949 everyone took notice! The other riders competing in F1 knew they were fighting for second, and it proved to be the case!

When the race got underway Toye knew what he had to do. With the temperature being 101 degrees and (oddly enough) there being very little wind the tarmac was scorching. Today’s race was going to be an act of tire conservation, which Toye performed beautifully. He took the holeshot from 5th place on the grid and put his head down to open a gap as quickly as possible. Rattling off a couple laps in the high 20’s and low 21’s like he had done earlier in practice gave him about a three second gap which he was able to manage for the rest of the race and take home the win!

Not to be out done teammate Orr went on a bit of a winning streak himself. Having the BMW superbike at his disposal he was able to take the win in Open Superbike and Formula 40 Heavyweight. Aboard his R1200S he also won the Twins class race earlier as well. That would all be well and good to have thee wins in your pocket for just Sunday, but the fact that Gary did it while on triple duty is all the more worth mentioning! Gary the marathon man was on track for three races in a row (Open Mod Prod, Formula 40, and Middleweight Twins), not bad when you’re in leathers wrestling a superbike around in 100-degree heat! Perhaps he was preparing for his 10 n’ 10 rally coming up at the end of this month in which he plans to collect as many points as he can across the US while traveling 10,000 miles in 10 days!

All things considered it was another great weekend for the SD BMW Racing team and the S1000RR, but on a side note it will be interesting to see how Jeremy rides without a cracked rib! You see, while training at Perris the front end of his dirt bike shoveled down in a rut throwing him over the top of the bike and cracking a rib on his left side!
Being the professional that he is Jeremy still managed to make it to Willow and ride at a level that many will only dream of. Here’s looking forward to next month and the final round of the CA State Championship!

Anothe Take on Last Weekend's Action!!

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=41473

It was an awesome race!!

We're all looking forward to next weekend at Jeremy's home track (Big Willow)

Toye takes massive lead in C.S.C Formula Class, while Orr sets SD BMW record for the most passes in a race weekend!!

Race Report: Infineon Raceway (AFM/CSC)


- Friday

After six hours (much less than the 7 hours if Gary were driving) we had made the trek from Escondido to Santa Cruz to pick up the trailer, which had been stored after the races in Laguna the week prior. Happy to be there in such good time it wasn’t such a hard hit to realized that the keys for said trailer were still sitting on the board at the shop in San Diego… Thanks to the fact that Jeremy and Jody’s flight didn’t leave till until later that afternoon and Jason’s phenomenal drive time we were able to simply place a phone call and have the keys brought up that afternoon/evening.
Back on the road again we headed north to Sonoma where this weekends American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM) and California State Championship (CSC) would be taking place at Infineon Raceway. On the way we were treated to the opportunity to drive right through the heart of San Francisco with the Sprinter Van and trailer thanks to a “flawless” GPS unit! If nothing else it gave Gary and Jason the opportunity to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge and do a bunch of free advertising.
Later the team met up in the paddock and set up shop for tomorrows on track activities. Jeremy, Jason, and Gary got the foundation out of the way while Jody started getting Jeremy’s bike back to the setting we found a few weeks prior at our test. Once the SD BMW paddock palace had been completed it was time for a few tweaks on Gary’s bike to make it more Sonoma ready (as opposed to the Willow setup that was currently on it), and a few good eats at Pasta Pomodoro (highly recommended if you’re in the Novato area).

- Saturday

On Jeremy’s side of the pit we still had the same problems from Laguna rearing their ugly head with breaking stability, while Gary was fighting grip issues and nervousness from the front end. With very limited track time here this weekend there could be no guess and check. All decisions to each bike and to be done in a conscientious manner because there could be no session wasted. Many of Gary’s issues were helped with the install of a new Bitubo rear shock (one like what Jeremy has been testing for the past few weekends). He was able to find more rear grip and calm down the front end of the motorcycle at the same time. In short the change was so good that it cut his laptime by two seconds per lap! For the number 57 the story was a little different. The 3 J’s (Jason, Jeremy, and Jody) managed to work forward troughout the day, but the revelation wouldn’t come until Sunday morning. Before that however, we would get to witness a dead last to second place charge put on by Gary Orr in the Formula 40 Heavyweight race that afternoon.
Now, it’s no secret that the number 517 isn’t a natural born drag racer. His starts are miss and miss (as opposed to hit and miss), and one-thing readers must know about the AFM grids is that they are the largest you’ll find on the West Coast. Gary’s support race on Saturday afternoon had no less that 38 entrants. So one would guess that in order to make a good showing in the race from 32nd on the grid Gary would need to make a spectacular start. Needless to say it was spectacular, just not in the good way… After being dead last going into the first corner Gary was given a shot at redemption due to the red flag that came out after just a lap or two.
So there he was, sitting back on the eighth row with another shot at the start he’d been dreaming about for the twenty minutes between the red flag and the restart. Unnfortunately it would be like déjà vu all over again and the number 517 was 38th in turn one, again! However what happened throughout the next eight laps could be described as awe inspiring. Everyone in the stands and even the track announcer took notice of the power of the S1000RR underneath Gary as he seemingly willed his way by his competitors on the throttle, and then owned them in the heavy braking zones at Infineon Raceway. Gary came home in second place turning a best lap of 1:42.3 (very respectable for a Sears Point veteran, let alone newbiee).
That evening left us with plenty of time and light to get the bikes sorted for the next morning and a brisk jog through the hills between turns one and eleven. We met at Fresh Choice for dinner, to go over the days activities, and set up a game plan for Sunday.
- Sunday

It was a cool and foggy start to the day, which riders will tell you equal slippery conditions, but we were still happy to find that our decision the night before to modify the chassis components were not in vain. Despite the conditions Jeremy verified that we were working in the right direction. We used the Open GP in the morning to test one other variation on the setup and then locked in on our setup for the premier race that afternoon, Formula Pacific.
Jeremy was going to be starting from the 13th position on the grid and he knew that if he didn’t want the leaders to get away he was going to have to make a stellar start, he did! After making up four spots before turn two number 57 was on its way forward. By the time the lead group came thundering past the start/finish Jeremy was in it, 4th position! After dropping Jeff Tigert the final three Doug Stanton, Michael Ernest, and Toye would be left to fight it out amongst themselves for their spots on the podium. From the stands it was clear to see that the set-up Jason and Jody sent Jeremy out with was very capable on the breaks, but was lacking a bit in the mid corner portion. Despite that short coming Jeremy used the rock solid breaking characteristics and the 200+ hp acceleration of the S1000RR to stick it to the Infineon veterans he was racing against.


On the last lap Jeremy had positioned himself perfectly out of seven for a late breaking maneuver into turn nine. For the vantage point in on the pit wall you could see the riders all crest the hill with their front wheels blasting through the air as they wheelied towards the last series of turns. Jeremy made the move and positioned himself just to the inside of Stanton before the right/left chicane, but there is a reason experience counts for so much! Knowing that Jeremy would attack the first apex to try and make the pass Stanton simply held his position next to Toye around the outside, which set him up perfectly for the left coming out of the chicane! Stanton would go on to take the win, while Jeremy would take second and more importantly a massive point lead in the C.S.C. Formula class standing. It was an intense race for all that watched, and Jeremy said he had a blast (he sure did, setting the fastest lap of the race at a 1:38.79)!


Later that after noon was another shot at Gary to redeem himself in the “starts” department. With a brand new clutch, and multiple practice starts on AFM’s pre-race grid everyone was hoping he’d blast off of the seventh row right to the front and stick it to the leaders. It wasn’t to be. He went into the first turn last again, but to the cheer of the crowd he amassed another charge towards the front. The exact number hasn’t been calculated, but it would be safe to say that more that 50 riders saw the number 517 come past and disappear on track during the races on Saturday and Sunday. It is believed that Gary secretly wanted to do as much advertising for San Diego BMW Motorcycles and the S1000RR as possible, so he was intentionally starting from the back. That way he could show more people the capabilities of the new BMW superbike!
One the race was done it was time to load everything back in the trailer and make our way back to San Diego (after three days of activity, racing, and sun this is no easy task). The driving was split between Gary and Jason so Gary could finish adding all of his way points to MapSource for his “10 and 10” rally coming up in September. Before that make sure to come out and see us at WSMC on the 15th where Gary will take his first wack at the premier event and Jeremy will be returning to his throne with the S1000RR BMW Superbike!

Back to front for Orr and Toye at Infineon Raceway!

Despite having to start from 30th or worse on the massive AFM grids at the hard to pass Infineon raceway both of the riders from SD BMW ended their weekends towards the pointy end of the field. More details and photos to follow in the full race report tomorrow, but for now be content in the fact that Toye went the fastest in Formula Pacifc, and Gary passed over 50 bikes between his three races!