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Buell Inside Pass at Homestead

Posted by Kenn Stamp
Tuesday, 01 April 2008
Page 2 of 3 After heading over to the truck and getting signed up for a bike for the first session (Buell starts their rides AFTER the first session but being a journalist I got to ride DURING the first session...hehe..) I walked back to my bike and started suiting up. I decided to ride intermediate class that day as I had never been to Homestead-Miami Speedway and am cautious by nature when trying something new. Almost went beginner but my pride wouldn't handle it this time. I jumped on the XB12Ss and took off to see the best way to get around the track. The first laps are led by "yellow shirts"; basically track marshalls/control riders that ride every session to ensure that the rules are being followed and everyone is in their proper class. If you are riding at a much faster pace than the others in your class they will bump you up to the next class. Conversely, they will also bump you down a class if you are trailing an anchor behind you. One thing I learned pretty quickly on that XB12Ss was that I needed to slide off the bike more in turns as I was dragging the footpeg feelers pretty consistently. The first time I dragged one it startled me as the XB12Ss's have 42 degree lean angles (soft touchdown) built into them and that is pretty far over. I did learn that I am not comfortable with upright streetfighter ergos while on the track. I didn't feel as off kilter on this bike as I did on the Tuono at Jennings (see: Jennings Track Day for ref.) but I still felt a little weird. While riding around on that XB12Ss I encountered the Ducati 888 that you see in the picture. The guy riding it was riding semi-fast but not as fast as I felt I could go. Needless to say the chase was on. Every corner we came to I would reel him in, but with the rule of passing on the outside only, with 6ft of space between riders, I couldn't get a good line to get around him in a curve. Exiting every curve I would be right there behind him but the XB12Ss just didn't have to power to pass him on the straights. He never really pulled away from me but I couldn't get around him either. This of course frustrated me to no end, and I couldn't wait till I got on an 1125R. One very noticeable, and welcome, thing about the XB12Ss was the longer wheelbase cuts down immensely on the bike's desire to stand-up under trail-braking. Since my riding style involves trail-braking that desire to stand-up is one of the few things I heartily dislike about the short wheelbase XB chassis and I was glad to see the longer wheelbase take care of the issue. While waiting for the second session to go out let's talk about the track for a minute. Homestead-Miami Speedway is an oval track with an infield; think Daytona (but a smaller oval) and you'll get the idea. The back straight and the front straight are banked at a slight angle as are the ends of the track (which we did not ride on). Turns 1 and 14 take you off and put you on the front straight while turns 9 and 10 put you on and take you off the back straight. There are a total of 14 turns in 2.21 miles with 4 straights that are almost equal length to each other; the front and back straight and 2 straights on the road course itself. Some of the turns had concrete patches right through their apexes that made life interesting but overall the track was in great shape. For some odd reason I felt much more comfortable on this track than I did at Jennings or at Laguna Seca, even though the track has walls with no protection on them sitting right off the track. The only reason I can think of is that there are plenty of markers to use that make picking-out your desired line and braking point a piece of cake. During session two I was scheduled to ride the 1125R and was really looking forward to it. I decided to ride with the Buell "tour group" for awhile as I wanted to see how they actually worked out on the track. All the Buell lead (and chase) riders wear bright fluorescent yellow vests so that the group of Buell demo riders know who's who during the session. We all gathered for a riders' meeting which is mandatory before Buell will let you out on the track, which is smart. Basically the rules came down to this: 1) Follow all the track rules and don't ride like an idiot 2) Never pass a yellow vest unless they tell you to. We all jumped on our bikes and headed out. Since I wasn't planning on staying with the group the entire session, but didn't want to disturb the group dynamics when I peeled off, I rode in the back. This would make my "disappearance" from the group when I went sneaking down the hot-pit lane less obtrusive. The session started with the leaders taking the bikes out in a fairly organized manner that quickly got less organized out on the track. Luckily it seemed that the Buell guys knew where everybody was as I quickly lost the "group". Seems that there are an abundance of Buell lead riders every session as not everyone rides at the same pace and the original "group" gets broken apart rather quickly. I was very pleased to discover that the Buell lead riders set a good pace for those behind them. The pace isn't going to set your hair on fire but was fast enough to really have fun and explore how well the Buells handled. This was the area that most concerned me about the Buell Inside Pass day; I was afraid it was going to be a glorified "street demo" type ride. That fear turned out to be unfounded which really makes what Buell is doing here even more exciting and interesting. To my knowledge there isn't another motorcycle manufacturer that is willing to loan someone a bike to go ride around the track to see how they like it; well unless you are a moto-journalist of course, but that doesn't count. I was able to speak with a few of the people who rode the 1125R during the second session and the responses were indicative of what I'd been hearing/reading other places. One guy even stood there and told me that the bike was "OK" but seemed to "handle heavier than my 600cc race bike"?!?! Really?! I did have some people tell me that they really liked the bike and understood what Buell was trying to do with it. It was never intended to be a Ducati 1098 fighter, and you'll never get a liter class bike, especially a V-twin, to handle as nimbly as a race prepped 600 (although Honda has apparently gotten close). Oh well. Apparently some people "get" the bike as it has been flying off dealership floors just about everywhere. << Start < Prev 1 2 3 Next > End >>

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