| Author |
Message |
    
M2nc
| | Posted on Sunday, March 05, 2006 - 08:37 pm: | 
|
As far as for rain, don't sweat it. My tent has steal super-structure and I have been on the North Carolina beach in a thunderstorm with it. It will keep you dry if it rains.
As far as for the weather, it seams the greatest chance for rain (30%) according to the forecast so far is here in North Carolina on the way out. The weather here and in Daytona is going to be great for traveling. In NC the lows will be in the fifties and the highs in Florida will be mid-eighties. That's better than last year when North Carolina's lows were in the thirties and it was raining. It's going to be great! |
1313
| | Posted on Monday, March 06, 2006 - 07:01 am: |
|
Ha! Bet ya didn't think I was capable of getting up this early, did ya?
Since it sounds like were 'booked' for dinner reservations already for Friday and Saturday nights, this information should be kept for future reference. When I worked Biketoberfest in 1999 another cohort from Buell and I ended up going to an excellent seafood restaurant in New Smyrna Beach, called JB's Fish Camp. I remember having a HUGE plate full of crabs (after running over a crab on the way there...) Menu Directions from the KOA in Deland show it's only about a half hour away.
No worries, as we didn't have time to take it in last year either. One of the next times I am in the area I will have to make time for it though.
1313 |
1313
| | Posted on Monday, March 13, 2006 - 11:40 pm: |
|
Psyche! Looks like I will finally get to posting my XBRR (and Daytona) pics tomorrow night. Hopefully I will be able to leave work earlier...
Come back soon and be amazed,
1313 |
1313
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 07:12 pm: |
|
Well, here goes. Not sure if I will overwhelm you with just pictures or if I will add text on top of it. So just sit back, relax, keep your hands and feet in the passenger compartment and enjoy the picture show...
Meeting up with Carlos (on his Uly this year) in Kinston, it really was O'dark:30.
And arriving in Daytona, well actually at Nick and Sammie's place in Deltona, in a different kind of O'dark:30 when I notice this familiar XB12R.
Some of the other cool Buell's at Nick and Sammie's on Friday:
Cool White XB9R with White wheels
Rasmonis's cool Valencia Orange air box cover looks pretty cool at night (with the flash)
Most of you know I am not a big fan of the styling of the XB Lightning's, but with a Firebolt nose I find the Lightning a lot more attractive. This yellow one was a prime example:
Cool jacket:
Cool banner hanging up at Nick and Sammie's - as if the front yard full of Buell's wasn't a good enough indication that you were in the RIGHT spot...
I didn't find out until SouthernMarine mentioned it, but Sammie has this AWESOME piece of artwork hanging above their front door:
End of the day on Friday, so it's off to the KOA.
1313 |
1313
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 07:30 pm: |
|
When we wake up Saturday I finally get a chance to see what our camping spot looks like.
I really have no idea what David is doing in the picture, but Carlos looks pretty taken aback by it, while Jim just seems to take it in stride...
After breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (about the only time I ever eat at a Cracker Barrel is in Daytona - last year Jeff was a hoot and our waittress was even more of a hoot), it was a short ride next door to the dog racing parking lot, which is right next to the Daytona International Speedway, for the Buell parking area.
There weren't that many tubers around, but one that was in attendance was LaFayette's S3.
It wasn't until I was sitting in the stands nearby LaFayette after a lap through the garages that I realized how opinionated he can be. But at least he has a sense of humor, as can be seen on the airbox cover of his S3:
Here, in all it's glory, is the rust inhibitor S2 #1313:
SouthernMarine's bike just looks damn fine after it's dye-job:
As we are walking towards the ticket booths we are all deciding what type of tickets to get. Most settle on the $30 General Admission Grandstand tickets, but 3 of us (who shall be shown later) opted for the $45 General Admission Grandstand and Infield tickets along with the $15 Nextel Fanzone wristband. Since I was there to see the XBRR I wanted to get as up close and personal with it as I could.
Next group will be from the track,
1313 |
1313
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 07:55 pm: |
|
After spending some time in the grandstands watching some of the practice laps; Rasmonis, M1combat and I decide to take a walk to the Nextel Fanzone to see what we can see. Just before we get to the tunnel to get into the Infield we notice someone else had the same idea.
Right next to the Jordan garage (don't know if there is any connection between the two) was this AWESOME bike - for being a Jap IL4 bike. Suzuki Engine with all the engine covers saying Magnessium on them.
I took more pictures of this bike than I have ever had of any single Jap bike. If Buell choppers were put together this cool-like I wonder how everyone would feel about them.
As we are walking towards the area that the Buell hot pits are at we meet a familiar face from the night before, Fusa21, and ask him if we can get close enough to any of the bikes to take some decent pictures. He said, all the bikes are in the garages - come this way. It's almost like Security either doesn't give a rip or because of the Buell Racing shirts he thinks we belong with Fusa21 and he pays us no mind as we walk right in the garage area and are welcomed by some familiar Yellow, Blue and Black bikes.
Rico's bike, #324:
Cockpit view with quick-fill and Attack Racing triples:
Yes, it's a Buell - see the Pegasus? Or, I guess this clears up what front sprocket Rico was using.
A shot from inside the garages. Some of the notables are Jeremy McWilliams, Erik Buell, Jon Bunne and Kemp Asbeck.
Pretty much the only faces I do not know are those who are not employed by Buell. It sure was nice that everyone who knows me took the time out and chat with me a little while I was there.
Here's a cool little pit bike at the Buell garage. Don't know if it is Buell's or one of the teams or if it is one of the Buell racer's there to help support Buell's efforts in the 200. From this angle it looks kinda mellow:
But from this angle you can see what is so cool about it (that's right, the S1 race flyscreen):
For a second there I was swearing I was seeing double:
More of McWilliams' bike later,
1313 |
1313
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 08:26 pm: |
|
A couple shots of the Crevier XBRR's (still thinking I'm seeing double...):
This shot tells me that they must let anyone into the garage area.
For those who don't get it, that is great. For those that do, yes I actually saw him (and got a pic), so they must let anyone in there.
Here's a group shot of (one of) McWilliams's XBRR with Erik and the Warr's Team (along with some Buell employees on the team). After 3 or 4 attempts, Erik finally removed the papers out of his shirt pocket to get this presentable pic:
Notables in this pic are (from Left to Right); Jon Bunne (front - Manager of Analysis & Test), Martin ? (front - Warr's Team Manager), Jeremy McWilliams (front - no extra info necessary), partially hidden by McWilliams is Kemp Asbeck (rear - R&D Technician), Next to McWilliams is Erik Buell (no further info is necessary), partially hidden by Erik is Tim Pryga (R&D Technician), and to the left of Erik Buell is Tom Anglim (R&D Technician). The other people in the pic are all part of the Warr's team.
McWilliams's bike all alone:
The other side of McWilliams's bike, with some clown sitting on the other side of it:
Oh, now I see who that clown is:
For some reason a few of the members of the Warr's team had to go for a little run in their rental car:
What was interesting was the 'ornament' that they had on the dash of the rental car:
Shown above by one of the team members, the normal positioning for the Barbie doll was considerably different...
As mentioned before 3 of us opted for the Nextel Fanzone wristbands. This photo was graciously taken by Kim Wegner (long time Buell employee, who I believe is currently Erik's assistant). Thanks Kim! Below from Left to Right are me, Rasmonis and M1combat.
Shortly after we decide to head out to check out the display RR at the demo trailer we see Willie G who's actually wearing a Buell Racing shirt. Everyone has a picture of the front of Willie G, but who has a picture of the back of Willie G (actually I couldn't get my camera on in time to get his pic from the front).
As we were walking towards the tunnel to make our way to the demo trailer I stumbled upon this pretty cool (for a Duc) Streetfighter:
Wicked headlights (I wonder how well they work though):
This is what the tunnel going out looks like:
Just imagine going through the tunnel after a long day at the races tired, dehydrated and loopy...
Next up some 'naked', i.e. no numbers, XBRR pics from out by the demo trailer,
1313 |
1313
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 08:38 pm: |
|
A 'naked' XBRR from all angles:
What a domineering front fairing...Just what I hope will be on my next Sport-Touring Buell...whether I have to put it there or not...
Just as before, yes it is a Buell - see the Pegasus?
Also out by the H-D demo trailers were these 2 H-D cop bikes chasing each other. Some pretty impressive lean for such big bikes. Either they really had a good feel for the bikes, or the floorboards were already scraped to the point that they didn't drag anymore.
Still, more to come,
1313 |
1313
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 - 09:09 pm: |
|
After going back to hang out in the grandstands to check out some more practice sessions and to check out the first half of the Formula Xtreme race,
the 3 of us decided to go back into the Nextel Fanzone again to see what was happening. On our way there we caught a glimpse of a pretty well crashed-up Yamaha.
Since all the Buell's were out of the race by the time we made it back into the garage area (thanks to a wave by Dan Hurda as he was leaving the area) we were able to find the XBRR that McWilliams used in the race outside the garages.
An old pal, Chuck, just happened to be carting the display XBRR from the demo trailer at the time, which allowed me to get this cool pic of the left side NACA duct.
Sporting the AMA Formula Xtreme sticker gives this bike it's pedigree.
Here's the front view of the domineering front fairing, only this time with numbers.
One more shot of McWilliams's pedigree bike:
That is until Rasmonis, M1combat and I see Martin (the Warr's Team Manager) offer to let a Japanese fan sit on the bike and take his picture. So, without hesitation the 3 of us say in unison 'He shouldn't have done that...' and we form a line to get our pictures taken on the XBRR.
M1combat commented that his picture was pretty good, and I saw Rasmonis's posted last night, so I guess I drew the short straw...Oh well, how many people have had their picture taken on the XBRR that did the best in the Daytona 200. From what we witnessed before the rear wheel was removed it was only 4 or 5 people.
With the somber mood in the garage area it was time to reflect back on thing that seemed a lot bigger than they did in the past:
After everything was winding down we thought we should head back to meet up with the others we rode there with. Luckily we were able to take the short cut and actually walked on the track. From this pic you can see some of the Finish Line.
While this pic is taken from the finish line showing how incredible the banking is in the straight sections of the track.
After getting back to Nick and Sammie's for Buell-B-Q Part 2 a well-known Buell salesman from Wisconsin practiced wheelying the Ulysses that Buell loaned him while he was in town. Believe me, it sure as hell ain't the first Buell demo bike to get wheelied by someone connected...
As cool as the yellow Lightning with Firebolt front nose from the night before was, black is more my style.
Erik kinda looks possessed in that pic, don't he?
To end my pictures here's Nick and Sammie's dog, Elwood, saying 'Hope to see you all again next year!'
In closing, I really think I got my $60 worth in all the cool pics and getting my picture taken on McWilliams E-ticket ride.
So how long until Daytona 2007?
What does everyone else have from our weekend Adventure?
1313 |
M2nc
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 15, 2006 - 09:30 pm: |
|
Just a few to add to the mix.
The Starting Grid
Here is C3 at the BBQ
Here we are breaking camp, while we watch David pull a Houdini with the tent and his gear into the his duffle bag.
|
Blake
| | Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 01:47 pm: |
|
Way cool. Thanks for taking time to share your pics and commentary. Was great finally meeting you. |
|
C3 (Carolina Corner Carvers) »
C3 Adventures »
2006 Adventures »
Daytona 2006
