Sunday morning - I wake up bright and early, thankfully it looks like the sun intends to peek out. I've got a long day ahead of me, but one that I'm rather excited for - for starters, it's our monthly Curve Unit ride, so I get to see my sisters. Secondly, I'll be picking up my new-to-me but it-has-plenty-of-experience track bike, the final plunge for me on this path vs horses.
This didn't just happen on a whim. Along with selling off my horse trailer and other horse stuff, I had been reluctant to let my saddle go - I love my saddle, and it fit me great. Thing is, I was busy hanging onto something that I was only using on other people's horses (when I could just be using their tack) and even at that was hardly ever using myself. With no new horse in my foreseeable future, it was a little silly. Add in the fact that a simple low-side at the track on my street bike could cost me an awful lot of money, besides putting a big problem on getting to work the next day.
I broke down and made the decision to sell my saddle. This didn't leave me with a ton of money, but something to work with at least. Unfortunately, it seems like everyone thinks their bikes are worth gold right now - I'm seeing bikes that are the same model as my street bike being advertised for what I got my bike for - almost 3 years ago!!! I don't know if the economy is turning around that much, or if people are simply broke, but you can't tell me that those bikes are worth the same now as they were 3 years ago.
This is a bit of a downer, but I've been watching the classifieds, especially on my local motorcycle forum, BARF (bayarearidersforum). Most bikes are going for a lot, but I find one little gem buried in the posts - an older R6, it's been crashed but has all the parts there to fix it, just needs a little time and TLC. Only real "fix" needed is for a leaky fork seal, but that's not an uncommon thing. It's rashed, the body work needs some work, got a few things to check out and be sure they're okay, but it runs, no leaks, and it's ready to go for the track. Best part, the price is something I can manage, and this bike would be a LOT friendlier than my '05 ZX10R would ever think about being. I can manage a little time easier than I can manage spending more money, so I go check it out. Starts right up, sounds like a happy bike, and with a little love she'll be good to go again.
So I make the decision to snag this little gem up and have something to really get me a much better start on the track and towards racing. Something I'm far less likely to get into trouble with, allows me to still have a bike to get to work on Monday with, and she's all set up for when I manage to make that first race.
A big huge thank you to the awesome BARFER who didn't bump his thread allowing me the time to snag her up. He definitely had some memories tied in with the bike, and I think was a little sad to see her go - but I'm glad he did since she'll be a huge stepping stone for me in pursuing this crazy-ass dream of mine.
It's been a long time - heck, I don't know if there's ever been a time - since I've been this dedicated to a singular purpose. Most of my life I've been too unwilling to give up other things I loved to follow any one passion. It's a new experience for me, but I think that also points to just how much I love motorcycles, am loving the track, and looking forward to taking it another step.
I've got just under 2 weeks to get the little R6 together, and assuming I can get my friend to help me out with a couple quick body work things, she'll be seeing some track time on the 30th this month up at Thunderhill Raceway.
This didn't just happen on a whim. Along with selling off my horse trailer and other horse stuff, I had been reluctant to let my saddle go - I love my saddle, and it fit me great. Thing is, I was busy hanging onto something that I was only using on other people's horses (when I could just be using their tack) and even at that was hardly ever using myself. With no new horse in my foreseeable future, it was a little silly. Add in the fact that a simple low-side at the track on my street bike could cost me an awful lot of money, besides putting a big problem on getting to work the next day.
I broke down and made the decision to sell my saddle. This didn't leave me with a ton of money, but something to work with at least. Unfortunately, it seems like everyone thinks their bikes are worth gold right now - I'm seeing bikes that are the same model as my street bike being advertised for what I got my bike for - almost 3 years ago!!! I don't know if the economy is turning around that much, or if people are simply broke, but you can't tell me that those bikes are worth the same now as they were 3 years ago.
This is a bit of a downer, but I've been watching the classifieds, especially on my local motorcycle forum, BARF (bayarearidersforum). Most bikes are going for a lot, but I find one little gem buried in the posts - an older R6, it's been crashed but has all the parts there to fix it, just needs a little time and TLC. Only real "fix" needed is for a leaky fork seal, but that's not an uncommon thing. It's rashed, the body work needs some work, got a few things to check out and be sure they're okay, but it runs, no leaks, and it's ready to go for the track. Best part, the price is something I can manage, and this bike would be a LOT friendlier than my '05 ZX10R would ever think about being. I can manage a little time easier than I can manage spending more money, so I go check it out. Starts right up, sounds like a happy bike, and with a little love she'll be good to go again.
So I make the decision to snag this little gem up and have something to really get me a much better start on the track and towards racing. Something I'm far less likely to get into trouble with, allows me to still have a bike to get to work on Monday with, and she's all set up for when I manage to make that first race.
A big huge thank you to the awesome BARFER who didn't bump his thread allowing me the time to snag her up. He definitely had some memories tied in with the bike, and I think was a little sad to see her go - but I'm glad he did since she'll be a huge stepping stone for me in pursuing this crazy-ass dream of mine.
It's been a long time - heck, I don't know if there's ever been a time - since I've been this dedicated to a singular purpose. Most of my life I've been too unwilling to give up other things I loved to follow any one passion. It's a new experience for me, but I think that also points to just how much I love motorcycles, am loving the track, and looking forward to taking it another step.
I've got just under 2 weeks to get the little R6 together, and assuming I can get my friend to help me out with a couple quick body work things, she'll be seeing some track time on the 30th this month up at Thunderhill Raceway.
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