When I saw this in a little boutique store in San Luis Obispo, I knew I had earned it to be on my bike

So… how does a girl start racing a liter bike anyway?

For my non-motorcycling friends & readers, a 1000cc (liter) bike is rarely raced or ridden by women.  They make anywhere from 150-170 hp at the rear tire right off the show room floor.  While I’ve noticed more women riding these fabulous machines on the street, there are still very, very few who race them on the track.  The typical bike women race is either a 600cc machine (approx 100-115hp) or the quintessential good time bike, the Suzuki SV650 – a 650cc v-twin machine making approx 70hp.  The faster you ride on the track, the more physical it becomes to get the bike to turn.  The physics of the rotating wheel, and the sheer amount energy the machine carries.  At the time I started racing my liter bike, I was the only female in the state of Calif racing a liter bike, and one of about 5 women in the US.  I’m thrilled to say that there are now 4 women in Calif racing a liter bike (as of 2012)!!

In car terms, a liter bike would be like the top fuel dragster, while the 600 would be like a purpose built drag car, and the SV650 like a streetable drag car.  There’s kind of a certain aura to racing a liter bike.  Many people – mostly guys – have approached me and said… I can’t believe you race that thing… I couldn’t do it.  For many track day enthusiasts, and some club racers, they will straight up admit the liter bikes scare/intimidate them.  I was intimidated the first time I thew a leg over mine… That amount of horsepower at the rear wheel can get you into a heap of trouble in the blink of an eye.

These next few columns I’ll recap how I ended up racing a liter bike.  Never in my life had I ever thought I would own, let alone ride – let alone race a liter bike, yet here I am …. And riding better than I ever have before…

Having fun playing with motorcycles

One love… one Liter…

From the day I knew what an R1 was, I had longed to have one.  I loved my little R6 at the time, but the R1 was just the sexiest bike… *sigh* …. someday….

That someday came in May 2006 when I bought one… gorgeous Yamaha blue … brand spankin’ new…  Although I had been racing a 600 for the past four years, I was still nervous as hell upon throwing a leg over a liter bike.  “omg… what was I thinking?!  Can I even handle a liter bike?!  What if I highside?  What the hell am I doing?!?!”  And as I rode off… the throttle was butter smooth, the power delivery just made the bike move effortlessly… and I realized, “omg… this stallion is ahhhhh-mazing”  Oh yes, he is a stallion.  I grew up riding horses and competing in rodeos… and nothing made me feel like I was riding a stallion more than this R1.  Although I’ve never ridden a dressage horse, riding this R1 is what I imagine a dressage horse would feel like… incredibly smooth, fluid motion… moving so effortlessly underneath me…

A few months later (Nov ’06) I used my R1 at my very first Jason Pridmore’s STAR School (starmotorcycle.com) and fell in loooooove with him on the race track – and with STAR!  After doing some control riding with the Track Club, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to race this big bike.  It fit me so incredibly well, it just handled amazing… and the power….. oh lord the power….

I talked it out with some friends, and my hubby… all of whom discouraged me from racing it.  “get a newer 600… that bike is really big” they said…. Everything short of you can’t handle it.  I was shocked… especially coming from my significant other.  I knew what I felt while riding, and I knew I could ride it better than the 600.

Fast forward to 2008, and now no one can tell me NO.  I worked night after night, weekend after weekend in the section of my covered patio because my crappy house didn’t have a garage.  I had my bff roommate Ashley Payne helping me, and my Great Dane Duke keeping me company.  My goal was to get it done in time to ride it at the last track day of the year in mid December 2008 before racing it at Calif Speedway in Fontana at the WERA West opener the weekend after New Years 2009.

I invested all the money I got out of selling my 600 race bike into parts for the R1 – parts that were mandatory (like track body work because the belly pan must hold 3 quarts of liquid); parts that were ergonomic, like rear sets and clip ons, and parts that were essential to handling – suspension.

That trip to Buttonwillow on the cold December weekend was invaluable!  Dean Mizdal, a former pro racer, former STAR School instructor, and part owner of M Racing in Glendora (mracingperformance.com) happened to be there helping a friend.  I rolled up in my 1964 Ford (having lost the sweet race rig in the divorce) and had Dean check out my craftsmanship on building my race bike.  Every night for a month, I stripped the R1 to the frame/engine/forks and replaced the handle bars, rear sets, rear shock, chain and sprockets, drilled and safety wired, flushed the radiator, changed the oil, and fitted up body work.

In addition to Dean, Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction Suspension Tuning (feelthetrack.com) was there!  Dave has helped me since 2005 when he was still pretty new to California.  And one of the most notable meetings that weekend was Lenny Albin of RaceTech (now Lenny has his own company Superbike Chassis, LLC).  He put valving in my forks, and thus began one of my first official sponsorships.

January rolls around, and I now have sponsorship from Lenny Albin and M Racing!  Dean came out on that Saturday practice day to lend me a hand, and helped me change out my brake pads, and bleed them after I screwed up cleaning my calipers!

My goal for 2009 was to go at least as fast on my R1 as I did on my 600.  After morning practice, that goal was met.  I stayed in the 1:41-1:42 range, and giggled in awe at having a liter bike at the throttle stop and grabbing gears!!!  A LITER BIKE!!!! Never has that scene in Talladega Nights ever seemed soooo appropriate as that first day ripping my R1 around Calif Speedway (AutoClub Speedway now).  You know… that scene where he gets to drive a race car for the first time, and he comes over the radio…. Well, I didn’t have a chubby, but I sure as hell had goosebumps and a HUGE grin!

The first two weekends racing in January were incredibly physically demanding!  I was running the exact same best lap times from my 600 and I was five times as spent!!!  I couldn’t believe how physically demanding that bike is!  Dean explained to me that riding a liter bike, fast, is incredibly physically demanding.  They just carry so much energy!  They accelerate quicker, and thus you have more energy to slow down and make directional changes.  That energy is what makes the bike feel so much heavier in corners.  It’s not too much physically heavier than a 600, but it sure does carry about 400 times the energy!

August 2009, back to AutoClub Speedway, and now I’ve had a lot more seat time on my big boy, and my strength has improved – from riding it, and changing my fitness program.  Open (A) Superstock Novice in WERA West… I had a great start, and was hanging with the pack for the first time!  I passed one guy, and on the next lap passed another to take over third place!  Third Place!!!! My first podium!!!!!  I rode like hell to hold him off, but he and his ZX-10 engine got me at the finish line by 0.002 seconds.  After looking at the time sheets, I didn’t even care… I had just run a 1:36 – twice!!!!!!  A five second drop from my previous best of a 1:41.

2010… an Epic Year…

I came into 2010 with a season of racing my R1 under my belt, several STAR Schools, and the realization that I might actually get a podium.  M Racing refreshed my engine over the holidays, and did an absolutely spectacular job of building my engine – a completely stock rebuild – and giving my entire bike some TLC.

WERA West opener at AutoClub Speedway in Fontana.  My two younger brothers came out to watch the races.  I was now eligible for Women’s Superstock, as they allowed up to Open (A) Superstock legal bikes in the class!  Open (A) Superstock Novice was the first race of the day, and I took the holeshot and ran away with it to win by 5 seconds!!!  I couldn’t believe it!!!!  I was only hoping for my first podium, and my first race win is a holeshot and a flag to flag victory…. Un-frigging-believable!!!!

I also took the win in Women’s Superstock Novice, but A Superstock Novice was one for my personal history book…. I was so thrilled my little brothers were there to see it……….

Next column we’ll continue with the thrill of victory from 2010…