I’ll be at Buttonwillow Sept 3 & 4 with Let’s Ride Track Days. Suspension vendor on the 3rd. Riding on the 4th.

Paul’s RZ350 in for forks and shock work. Check out my new screen door and roof insulation. Yes, I have earned a bunch of number one plates.

Buttonwillow, Aug 11-13th, CRA, Garage 5. I have space in my garage if you want to share the cost.

Free Suspension Set Up by Lindemann Engineering.

This Saturday, July 29th @ Dainese Store Orange, 1645 Superior Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92627, Questions Answered, Suspension Adjusted, Stories Told.

4 to 7pm, Bike Nite

LA Moto Tires, tires & suspension work together, https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu8UKvuxhAm/

Anthony’s Leatherworks, So. Cal. Track Daz

Great food, Music and a Raffle for Dainese and AGV gear.

I exited Laguna’s T-11 too low in the RPM, while waiting, I watched a modern 1000 twin accelerate away, shrinking in size.  When the power hit, I was instantly traveling at the same speed as him.  Shifted to second and was instantly right behind him.  Third and I would have passed him but for the world rushing past so quickly I lost track of where exactly I was on the track and didn’t want to crest turn one in the dirt.

Bruce Lind’s 1975 TZ750 has an R6 front end, swingarm, brakes and wheels.  Because of this, it’s vastly more stable, more predictable and less risky to race than the original version.  But it maintains the you can’t move at all ergonomics of the it’s era.  The rider was part of the chassis, if he moved to hang off the chassis would be upset.  The result is that you move forward when the bike moves forward, there is no separate sensation no sliding back in the seat no physical manifestation of the extraordinary acceleration.  Only the rush of the scenery informs you of the speed, like a starship jumping into Warp. The same is true when slowing you are so low and so trapped in the seat that there is no force on your arms as you brake. Oh, and the sound is wicked.

Someone sent me this candid photo.  I’m describing what it feels like to ride that bike.  Note the look in my eyes and the smirk on my face.  I was genuinely concerned before the race; the cramped riding position is smaller than my 2000 TZ250.  Ergonomics was just a word in ‘75.   It’s difficult to ride but ridiculously satisfying.  You have to know precisely what you want to do and where you want to do it. Then you ask nicely but firmly for the bike to agree.

Bridgestone Rory, Warren Dunham, Bruce Lind, Me and Bruce’s ’75 TZ750 after Sunday’s race. Third in the Open class, 10th overall out of 21 from the last row of the grid, best lap of 1.49.863. Caught and passed a 500 Suter on the brakes into T-2. Less than 40 laps total. More than 10 seconds better than the best lap of the first ride on Friday afternoon.

It all came together today in the warm up. Riding this bike requires that you know exactly what you want to do and where you want to do it, and then you must ask the bike nicely.

Bruce and I are planning how to make the bike fit me better for next year.

Racing this bike is like bringing a cannon to a knife fight.

Once again, my starts make everyone else look like they don’t know what the green flag means. Hole-Shot and first! Best lap was another second faster, 1.42.966 on the last lap. Lap 5 backed that up with a 1.43.056. The TZ750 race is next.

Only one round of practice today so I rode the TZ. Best time in the first ride on Friday was 2.00.784, best time in todays practice was 1.54.030. I’m gridded last, row 9. I raced to 18th out of 23 with a best time of 1.52.052. We have shaved off over eight seconds so far and have done a bunch of wheelies. I’m a lot more comfortable with the bike now so we removed the extra seat foam for Sundays race.

I used the warm up lap of my SV race as practice, did a nice wheelie on the start from row three and got the hole shot into to T-1. 619 smoked me into T-2 and ran away. It was a fun race to 2nd.

Tomorrow we race some more!

We practiced on the SV650 and TZ750 today.

The TZ750 is crazy fast on the pipe. We are working on making the bike fit me and I’m learning the bike. On the SV I’m pined in 6th well past the crest of T-1 and braking late for T-2. On the TZ I’m near full throttle and near red line in 6th over the crest but backing off and braking much sooner for T-2. The TZ feels about 50 mph faster over the crest than the SV is.

The first ride on the TZ was a bit overwhelming. I’ve caught up with the bike now and tomorrow I’ll be ahead of it.

We race tomorrow.