[Dookoo]

The wife was so very kind to let boys be boys and my friend, Ian (also on a Goldwing), and myself drove to Buttonwillow Raceway for a trackday. The Wings performed fantastic and my racetrack review of CT's is complete. Surprise, surprise.

 

[EFINREF]

Looks like a blast. Talledega Raceway has a similar event I want to attend next year.

 

[Dookoo]

Here's a little sampling with another camera angle I tried.

 

[Chopin]

The Wings performed fantastic and my racetrack review of CT's is complete. Surprise, surprise.

" Surprise, surprise " , you lived to tell about it ?

 

[LarryinSeattle]

I didn't see one motorcycle pass you with a MT on it..... in fact, I didn't see anything pass you. I saw you catch up with a group of riders, who probably had MT on their bikes.

Great video and a fine demonstration of the ability of the car tire to stand up to the "twisties."

Now on your next video, please tone it down a little and pull a trailer too....so the rest of us can see how we might benefit from a car tire.

By the way, have I mentioned on this site that I put a car tire on my bike about 11,000 miles ago?

 

[Dookoo]

The CT's worked great. My friend Ian as well as dozens of participants are believers now. At first the track proctors said no CT's on the track but I had asked them to have a control rider follow me and after a couple of lap their reservations were qualmed. I did 130 miles on the track as hard as I could. My lap times were about 1:25 slower than on my track bike. The CT hardly looked scuffed. I checked front and rear temps and they were 147/154 degrees f/r (36/34 psi). Now to see how long they last.

 

[Dookoo]

Looks like a blast. Talledega Raceway has a similar event I want to attend next year.

Nothing like being on a very famous raceway. I have to admit, the Goldwing is way out of its element on the track. When I was scraping hard parts on the warm up/siteing lap, I knew I was in trouble. I completely ground down the pegs and have to replace. I kept smelling burning rubber and realized the rubber on the pegs was melting as it was being scuffed off.

 

[maestro319]

But, boy, those big heavy bikes sure dip into those turns nicely!!

 

[LarryinSeattle]

The CT's worked great. My friend Ian as well as dozens of participants are believers now. At first the track proctors said no CT's on the track but I had asked them to have a control rider follow me and after a couple of lap their reservations were qualmed. I did 130 miles on the track as hard as I could. My lap times were about 1:25 slower than on my track bike. The CT hardly looked scuffed. I checked front and rear temps and they were 147/154 degrees f/r (36/34 psi). Now to see how long they last.

That is a great photo!

 

[EFINREF]

Nothing like being on a very famous raceway. I have to admit, the Goldwing is way out of its element on the track. When I was scraping hard parts on the warm up/siteing lap, I knew I was in trouble. I completely ground down the pegs and have to replace. I kept smelling burning rubber and realized the rubber on the pegs was melting as it was being scuffed off.

Wow!!! What kind of speeds were you able to get to. It looks like your hauling a$$...

 

[budoka]

Great post Dookoo. Not sure if I'd subject the Wing to that long a stint on a track, but I'd certainly be game for a bit of it. I'd love to have my RC out on one. Not to see how fast I could turn a lap, but to see what the bike is able to do on a closed course in stock form, without being fully race prepped. They certainly had you more taped up than some of the vids I've seen of street bikes on tracks. Some places just throw on a couple strips and shoot you out there... not going to prevent a lot of glass splintering that way in the event of a bin-up.

 

[Dookoo]

Wow!!! What kind of speeds were you able to get to. It looks like your hauling a$$...

She would get up to about 124 mph on the straight where my track bike would be around 178. It was good having two Wings to compare notes (one will full Traxxion), almost had 4 but the other men are neutered. The two other guys are actually the faster on the track. Biggest thing I learned is that my buddy, who shifts at around 4-5k rpm was accelerating just as fast when I'm revving near redline. Now I have to relearn to let the Wing stay in the fat part of her powerband without needless overreving. The brakes on the Wing are simply phenomenal for such a heavy bike. The ABS kicked in several times but were non-invasive, unlike like the BMW, which sounds and feels like your rotors just got warts.

 

[Dookoo]

Great post Dookoo. Not sure if I'd subject the Wing to that long a stint on a track, but I'd certainly be game for a bit of it. I'd love to have my RC out on one. Not to see how fast I could turn a lap, but to see what the bike is able to do on a closed course in stock form, without being fully race prepped. They certainly had you more taped up than some of the vids I've seen of street bikes on tracks. Some places just throw on a couple strips and shoot you out there... not going to prevent a lot of glass splintering that way in the event of a bin-up.

They even taped my pie-hole shut so that I would quit making fun of slow crotch rockets!

 

[EFINREF]

She would get up to about 124 mph on the straight where my track bike would be around 178. It was good having two Wings to compare notes (one will full Traxxion), almost had 4 but the other men are neutered. The two other guys are actually the faster on the track. Biggest thing I learned is that my buddy, who shifts at around 4-5k rpm was accelerating just as fast when I'm revving near redline. Now I have to relearn to let the Wing stay in the fat part of her powerband without needless overreving. The brakes on the Wing are simply phenomenal for such a heavy bike. The ABS kicked in several times but were non-invasive, unlike like the BMW, which sounds and feels like your rotors just got warts.

I know some wouldn't condone 124 on a wing.....but its nice to know you got it if you want it. Looked as smooth as 64...no vibration or wobble. You are a wild one Mr. DOOKOO

 

[Dookoo]

I know some wouldn't condone 124 on a wing.....but its nice to know you got it if you want it. Looked as smooth as 64...no vibration or wobble. You are a wild one Mr. DOOKOO

Glad you noticed. I get beat up on my other bikes at Buttonwillow because it is so rough. With the Wing, it was smooth as butter, even driving over the rumble strips. She's so stable, which is why I don't understand the amount of threads pertaining to such issues. And with brakes like that, whew, it was cake. One to two finger braking all day long. The only issue I had to watch was too high an entry speed cause then metal was fly'n everywhere!

 

[budoka]

I was watching the fork action during your video, the front wheel was pretty active all the time. I've got my RC dialed in pretty sweet for my size and weight, but that's on our roads around here, track surfaces are seldom the same as streets and roads due to the accelleration and decelleration forces at work. What do you run for a track bike?

 

[Cantankerous]

Looks like you had a great time. And to think I've a friend who says the GoldWings don't handle well!

 

[Chopin]

Why do I suddenly feel even more confident with my CT ? Experience answers speculations.

 

[Dookoo]

To address Budoka and Chopin: My track bike is a 2008 GSXR1000 (Ohlins suspension, full Sato titamium exhaust, Sato rearsets, dyno tuned to run on race fuel, BST carbon wheels, etc). And thanks to forum members who have tried CT's before me (mainly Chopin and Larry), I was inspired to aggressively find fault with the CT via repeated 'torture testing'. For me, there is no better testbed than the racetrack (100 degrees ambient temperature). Bench racing, speculation, and hyperbole thrown to the wayside. And now, beyond any doubt in my mind, the CT has proven to be a viable and safe option for those who are willing to consider it. The tire did not spin or de-bead off the rim, blow up, delaminate, handle weird, not reach operating temperature, or run on the sidewall (I chalked the tire to make sure). You know what they say, "Seeing is Believing" and I have that peace of mind knowing that this tire can handle anything I can throw at it. By the way, the E3 front tires performed great. They even gummed up and began to roll off in little balls as any good track tire should. I now have over 2000 miles of 'abuse' only on the CT's and they still look new. Well I'll be!

 

[WingnutGordo]

i would love to do this at bristol