I ran my Husky 450 which did OK. To be honest, I had jet lag (flew in from Europe the day before) and recovering form a cold, so my stamina just wasn't there. Still, the track was very nice, all of the turns flowed really good. No stop and go turns like Pocono East, in fact, i don't think I hit 3rd. gear at all (6-speed tranny). This might actually be a disadvantage to motards, for I've found that type of track to be to our advantage.
I ran the advanced group which probably wasn't the best idea. I don't do well adapting to new tracks, so the passing has a bit harsh. Still, i held my own and did OK. No one complained about being in their way, so that's good :-0
The only real issue I had with the motard was the only straight (pit in/ pit out). It comes off this 180 degree bowl turn with 10 degrees of banking. Everyone is powering out of the bowl to get top speed on the straight, which is uphill. This is where i couldn't get a good drive vs. the liter bikes which would blow right by me as I maxed out at 100 in 6th gear. Rest of the track i could have held my own if i was in better shape. Everyone was in 'learning mode' so once people get comfortable, the difference may be even more.
I would think a bigger motard (550+), gearing for top speed, and bigger balls would do OK. I had none of those on Monday :headscrat
IN terms of run off, I didn't see any real issues that had me concerned, vs. places like Pocono East or Summit Jefferson which are far more dangerous. One area that did get my attention was the bridge crossing. I comes at the end of a straight that's really not straight, but a swooping turn exit. At race pace, I could see a few bikes mixing it up then heading for the bridge support. There's tires there, but overall, the track should have been straight for this to be truly safe. I do wish they used kitty liter in some of the run off areas, don't know why that's not popular in the US.
Overall, the elevation changes are awesome. There's three turns that are blind crests, but they all lead to a straight section, so you can floor it over the hill. Turn one you actually get air on the front tire, cause it dips down so hard. Surface is extremely grippy/ shredded the right side of the tires on the big bikes.
I'm going to try and making back down next week with my Triumph which should be a bit better suited for the high speed turns. I'll bring the husky too, but with some taller gears and give it a shot.
Can't wait for the cart track to allow motards. That's looks to be the bomb! Can't say it's better than Beaver, but the potential is there. Much wider, and tons of configuration options.
