Lapping Day 2016

Well true to Colorado's unusual springtime weather, we got snowed out of Round 1 and Round 2 is just a couple of weeks away.  Roger wanted some time on the bike so he headed out yesterday for Lapping Day down at Pueblo Motorsports Park.  Unfortunately I had a full day of work plus prepping for a 6,000 mile / 11 State road trip that starts next week so I wasn't able to attend.

What could possibly go wrong with a day at the track without your pit crew?  I thought Roger was going to take the small enclosed trailer since it's just a day trip rather than an overnight trip.  Nope.

So it's the maiden voyage of the trailer with the new truck - what can go wrong?  How about the trailer riding a bit high in the front?  We figured even with a full tank of fuel for the pump station and a full tank of water it would still be riding high in the front.  Looks like we have a little adjustment work to do with the trailer hitch to drop the front end down a bit and get the trailer to ride a bit more level.

We won't mention that the power cables that go from the generators to the trailer were left at home so there wasn't any power for the trailer - no fridge, no TV, no radio and no awning for shade!

And then there is the logistics of riding on the track then coming back to the pit and trying to get the bike up on the stands yourself.  Once you've mastered that everything else should be good - right?

Except for the brand new tire warmer doing a complete melt down and almost going up in flames!

Then there is the issue of the backup camera on the trailer not working.  It worked last month when we connected the new truck to the trailer but it didn't work on the way down and only started working once Roger called me on his way home to figure out what went wrong with it.

While these were only minor inconveniences the biggest annoyance came from a rather large rattle snake that was sunning himself on the track.  When you get that big you move when you are good and ready!

Unfortunately I'm going to miss Round 2 as I am off to Phoenix, AZ, Syracuse, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Chicago, IL, Milwaukee, WI, Green Bay, WI, Chicago, IL and then back to Phoenix before I fly home again.  Long story but the Reader's Digest version is that my folks don't fly so I'll be driving them to a niece's graduation in Syracuse, a visit with an aunt in Philadelphia, an nephew's graduation in Milwaukee, and then visit family in Chicago (my old home town).  I would rather be at the track but family comes first!

I'll leave you with a picture from last year.  It was our first outing with the new toy hauler and Mother Nature thought she would help us break it in with a downpour and hail, which broke the vent covers on the roof.  Here's a picture of me between waves on the roof trying to patch the covers with duct tape before it rains again:

Until next time.....

See ya' at the track!

Pops

News Flash...

We interrupt the racing season to bring you this colossal snow storm!  Ok - a bit dramatic but that's what it feels like in Colorado right now.

Because of last weekend's snow storm we missed out on track day at the High Plains Raceway in Deer Trail for road racing and Saturday night practice for dirt track at the IMI Sports Complex in Dacono.  Not cool when opening weekend for road racing is about 10 days away.  We need track time - not just to get on the bike and see how the off-season modifications went but to also make sure the pit gets set up and the pre-season bugs get worked out.

I think we can get over the learning curve on the road racing pretty quickly given the fact that we've done that before.  The dirt track is new for us and I'd like to see us get in as much track time as we can before we start getting serious about it.

Oh well - the nice thing is that the sun is out and the snow is melting.  With any luck the track will dry out and we'll be racing soon!

See ya' at the track!

Pops

Adding More Races This Summer!

Sometimes a racer has to race.  It doesn't matter if it's at the chow line, for a spot in line at the movies, or at the track.  The need to race is buried deep into our souls.  If you don't race then chances are you don't get it.

Last weekend we prepped the truck and trailer for racing.  We made sure the new truck could hook up to the toyhauler and that the trailer systems (lights / camera / etc.) all worked.  Everything performed flawlessly.  We also figured out with the new truck we could probably haul a little more water and fuel than we have been - and a pit bike and possibly a second race bike.

Roger has another enclosed trailer on his property (6' x 12' or so) so we looked at what it would take to get that up and road ready for small trips.  As we were inspecting it Roger said he wanted to try dirt track racing and this would be the perfect trailer for that.

Admittedly I don't know much about dirt track racing but as we got to talking it seemed like Roger had done his research and wanted to give this a try.  We have what we need to race - motocross gear / racing leathers and we would use the 2014 KTM EXC350 as a race bike.

So long story short, this weekend we'll prep the smaller trailer and next weekend (April 18th) we'll be at the IMI Motorsports Complex in Dacono, Colorado for prepped-track practice.  If you are out that way please look us up!

If things go well next weekend we will be racing dirt track as part of the Colorado Flat Track season and motorcycle on-track roadracing with the Motorcycle Roadracing Association.

See ya' at the track!

Pops

Friends of Geezer Gears Racing

If you race you know that when the racing is done for the day the racing rivalries go away.  At night the racers gather around the pits to share stories and fix bikes (ok and to drink a little beer too!).  It's during these times that friendships develop that continue to grow well away from the track.

We've gotten to know a few racers that way.  As a new item for the blog this year we'll feature one of our co-racers with pictures and interviews and race videos.

Today we'll give props to Santiago Shirtz.  Santiago has been around racing since the age of 5.  His dad was a road racer too so racing runs in the family!  If you are a fan of Colorado motorcycle road racing and have been to the races then you have seen #999 on the Ducati ST2.


He put together a racing video for Roger that we're featuring here:

Here's the link to the video on YouTube

Next time you see him at the track make sure you mention you saw his movie on the Geezer Gears Blog!


See ya' at the track!

Pops

A Lifetime of Bikes

So the other day I asked Roger how many bikes he has owned.  He started rattling off a list of bikes but and had to go back a couple of times to fill in the gaps.  Needless to say it was quite an impressive list.

Roger loves his motorcycles.  When he was prepping for evacuation due to the Hayman Fire, the first things he brought over to my garage were his guitars and his motorcycles!

Let's take a trip down memory lane - let me know if you had the same bikes!

a 1960's Harley-Davidson Hummer 125:

1972 Honda Z50:

1973 Honda CL70:

1973 Honda CB500:

1975 Honda XL125:

1978 Yamaha XS750:

1982 Honda V45:

1984 Honda XR250:

1986 Honda Aspencade:

1986 BMW K1200R:

1986 Suzuki GSXR 1100:

1987 Honda XR250:

1987 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883:

1991 Suzuki RMX250:

1991 Honda XR600:

1998 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883:

2001 Honda XR650R:

2004 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra:

2004 Buell XB1200S:

2004 Suzuki SV650S:

2008 Yamaha Zuma 50cc:

2008 Harley-Davidson Street Glide:

2010 BMW 1200GS:

2014 KTM EXC350:

2014 Kawasaki Ninja 300:

If you notice there are a lot of Honda's on that list.  We are currently racing the Suzuki SV650S but if you are a Honda dealer, a Yamaha dealer, or Buell dealer and want to make us an offer to switch to your brand just let us know.  Likewise, if you are a Suzuki dealer and want to sponsor us to keep us on the Suzuki just let us know!


See ya' at the track!

Pops

Meet The Team - Back Again!

Ok so we've covered Roger's enduro racing days but I can assure you that he wasn't always so serious.  He loves to travel on his various bikes and he's taken trips to Illinois, Sturgis, Canada, Oregon, and even Alaska on his motorcycles.

First the 'old school' picture from 1997 just to embarrass him a bit.  He's on his 1986 GSXR that he drag raced at the drag strip at PMI in Pueblo in the late 90's:

On a fun ride up to Cripple Creek:

A day trip up to Rocky Mountain National park:

A trip to Hyder Alaska in 2010:

On his way to Banff, Alberta, Canada in 2010:

And of course Sturgis (2013):

Stay tuned for more.  The next segment will feature Roger's drag racing days!

See ya' at the track!

Pops

Geezer Gears Racing - Meet The Team!

As we start getting ready for the 2016 racing season I thought I would pass along some pictures and stories of Roger, our team rider.  We thought we would call this segment "Meet The Team".....

Roger moved to Colorado in the late 1980's from western Illinois (the Quad Cities area).  He had pretty much grown up around bikes and the need for more thrills led him to Enduro racing.

Roger raced at the Limon Enduro, up in Steamboat Springs, over in Chadron, Nebraska and down at PMI in Pueblo in the early 1990's.

During this time he primarily  rode a 1991 Suzuki RMX 250.  He managed to win a few trophies along the way too!

Stay tuned for more updates to our "Meet The Team" feature!


See ya' at the track!

Pops