To boldy go where no man has gone before...*NewPics*

[Billy Golightly]

I will be leaving the house here in just a few minutes to head to the flat track races. Gates open at 4:00, practice at 5, racing begins at 7:00pm. I'm nervous as hell to the point I got the jitters but thats normal for me I will be the only trike racing amongst a group of 35-40 quads, and I don't have any nerf bars. Probably not the smartest thing Iv'e ever decided to do but no guts no glory eh? Say a prayer for me and maybe I'll be back tonight with a report of "Quad Slaughter"

[ATC-Eric]

Good luck man, sounds exciting!

[250r'en +TCB]

Give 'em hell!!! And you don't need nerf bars if your way out in front!!!! Just try not to lap the pack and you'll be fine!!!!

good Luck man!!!

[TravEX]

Good luck! Snap some pics!

[TimSr]

Nerf bars? What are those?

Good luck, Billy. I wish you could get a group of Floridians to go with you. Its a lot more fun with some more even competition. I know how you feel. Its hard to get out there with a bunch of quads, and be the only trike rider, but Ive found that the other (quad) riders will treat you with great respect, regardless of where you place. Best of luck, and remember that showing up is what earns total respect. Where you happen to place is just incidental. I hope you have a blast!

[Derrick Adams]

Good luck Billy! I'll be thinking of you tonight. You'll have a great time i'm sure.

[SYKO]

hey billy is that JAsper? good luck man!!! when I get another R I will do up a flat tracker to join you with!

[IrvSLedman]

Hey man, good luck and be safe, and show them quads what a good ole 3 wheeler can do.

[gotballs 250r 82]

Where in florida i will come im in port saint lucie fla.

[jason 32]

good luck man

[maggiesboy]

give'em hell! Good luck!

[Billy Golightly]

Well guys I made it back in one piece, no casualties on either me or the trike I did 2 practice runs of 8 laps, 2 heats, and a LCQ (last chance qualifier). The 250R ran great except for it being real rich on the idle and probably pilot jet, but once I made a lap and got it cleaned it out it ran flawlessly. Imagine 40 laps, 10 miles totaly wide open the entire time. I don't think I have another machine anywheres that would have took the abuse I dished out to that thing tonight.

The track was the tackiest thing I've ever been on in my entire life. I'm pretty sure worse then aphalt. Getting the rear end broke loose to slide even with the 16inch burris rear tires was a helluva chore. You could do it though but man it was hard. The quad guys definetly had the advtange of being able to rail into the corners without dragging their asses on the ground and scrunching themselves up on the inside peg like I did. You can only get so low on the machine heh. They were able to just go wide open coming up to the curve, jam the rear brakes to break the rear loose, and then drop a gear and go wide open to sling shot through the corner. They were running huge tires compared to mine too. They looked like 20's that were atleast 11 maybe 12 inches wide. HUGE footprint, plenty of hookup.

I raced Intermediate class, on the advice that the intermediate guys are better riders and would have a less chance of tangling since they know to give each other space and room. I got last place both heats and the main, but I wasn't ever lapped they did get close a couple times though...I was expecting better of myself but for the first time out on a new trike I have very little seat time on and a surface I'm totally unfamiliar with I think I did fairly well. I was very nervous going into the first turn with quads surrounding me, and I always let off a little bit more then I could have just to keep some distance. With time I'm sure I'll be able to improve myself on that. Provided I had some more seat time I think I could have probably atleast kept up with the pack. Passing the quads is going to be a chore and a half, not saying its impossible but it will definetly take some work.

I did enjoy several comments from a number of different people about it, all of them good. Couple guys standing next to the fence in teh staging area, holler at me "Hey! Man, you are CRAZY for riding that thing out there!" I nodded my helmet and gave him a thumbs up. Another guy in a different heat staging next to us, after he realises I'm the only trike out of probably 50 quads "Man you got the biggest set of balls out here to go out there" I laughed and said thanks. There were a couple of others too but the comments were just fun even though I didn't really place that well the general reception was real good...Hopefully with some more fine tuning and practice I can atleast stay up with the quad riders and maybe in time pick one or two off here and there. I have some video and I think some pictures my mom took, not much to look at since I usually got passed early but I'll try and get it encoded and uploaded here tomorrow some time.

Overall I had an awesome awesome time, and only wish that they would race at this place more often. The track the league mainly races at will not allow three-wheelers...Theres suppose to be another race in Valdosta, GA sometime in November, which will allow trikes to come race there. So I'm definetly up for that when it comes around. Maybe I can recruit a few other people too

[Derrick Adams]

Shoot Billy, I never even thought to tell you some of the tricks we figured out last time out. Here's a couple of suggestions to try that you may have already figured out.

First, I try to stay out of the quads groove. They run real low and get that area of the track hot and smooth real fast. I ran just above their groove in the center of the track, where all the loose dirt and rock just start to kick up. If you go too high on our track it actually gets real rough and bogs you down. The center is the sweet spot.

Second thing we found out, is any quad flat track tire is just too much traction on a trike. The lawnmower tires work well, and the old tri-tracks do too. All the other smooth tires have such a soft compound it makes it very difficult to pitch. I run the 6 ply Turf Savers in 18x9.5x8 with 10lb of air. ($25 each at the local tractor supply)

Another tip is to square off the corners. This is what the top quad rider at our track told me to do and it works great to shave off lap time. (Just don't tell Jason about it cause that's how I catch him in the corners lol) To do this, I follow my center line down the straight but shoot the corner high at the entrance, then dive hard at the apex for the inside corner coming out of the turn. This manuver usually puts me 3-5 bike lengths closer to the guy in front of me after the turn and sits me on the inside line (shortest line) to the next turn.

I found the hardest thing about flat track racing is being in tune with your machine and being willing to commit into turns. I've been riding 3 wheelers for many years so i'm real comfortable sliding sideways at speed, but it takes a certain amount of finese to work the throttle in a broad slide to go where you want. I'm sure you know what I mean Billy. For me starting my slide in 4th gear wide open, in the center of the track, puts me pitching around the turn and drifting within inches of the haybails by the time I make it out the other side. You have to know in your gut you'll make it, becuase if you lift you'll crash. If you drift out too far, you'll crash. Know what I mean?

Glad you had fun and finished safely. Experiment with gearing and tires and you'll be mixing it up in no time.

Oh, one other thing I did just to save on the engine was run it a touch rich. Screaming wide open like that for that long has got to be rough on stuff. I just threw on my air box lid last time.

[triker111]

great going man !!! i give you props just for showin up out there. next time maybe some of us guys from florida can show up. for some moral support! let us know when your goin back. cheers.

[Mosh]

Flat track i have never tried.I have watched it and it looks like a ton of fun.That is cool you got out there Billy,and the price of admission is always worth the looks and comments you get from the fans for riding a trike.Was there a infield small jump section to the track?Or was it just a complete circle track?We used to have track 10 miles south of here for dirt cars in Orrville Ohio.They used to run the pro quads,Farr,Rath,etc.I used to go watch those guys.But for some reason,They quit running the events.I would like to see If they would consider holding one atv event per year.