[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Handle: GSXR RACER MIKE

Age: 36

Year bought first street bike: 1990

Type of bikes owned (in order): 1986 Ninja 900R > 1991 ZX-11 > 1993 Honda F2 > 1996 GSXR 750 > 1999 GSXR 600 > 2002 GSXR 750

Other recreational vehicle experience (alot of each): 3 & 4 wheeled ATV's, Stand-up and sit-down style Jetski's, Snowmobiles

Certifications/Classes Etc: Motorcycle street license 1990-current, Learning Curves new racer licensing school 1995, CCS Licensed Amateur regional roadracer 1996-1997, CCS Licensed Expert regional roadracer 1998-current, Vision Sports Racer University advanced racers school 2005

General Experience: Started riding a slow automatic 3-wheeler in late grade school and progressed up to fast 3 & 4 wheelers with clutches very quickly, I still ocasionally ride 4-wheelers currently. At 20 years old, without any previous motorcycle experience of any type, I bought my '86 900R sportbike used. After a year I bought my ZX-11 new and rode that on the street till I sold it in the late 90's. I took the new racer licensing school on my '93 F2 at the end of '95, started Amateur road racing in '96 on a brand new '96 GSXR 750, and became an Expert going into the '98 season. My 1st year as an Expert I started the season by finishing top 5 at my 1st event and was in the Top 10 constantly from that point on with my best finishes being 2nd places, but admittedly I have never won a race! I have only raced GSXR's over my 10 years of racing, hence my screen name. I have only dropped a bike once on the street (only scraped 1 fairing - not an accident in my opinion) at a very slow speed due to a bad set of variables all coming together at once, this was in '99 in my 10th year of riding on the street. I have crashed 4 times while racing, 3 times were due to being forced off the track by other riders, and once because I was using a front tire that was well beyond needing replacement. My only injuries (other than bumps and bruises) have been a lightly sprained wrist and ankle and I partially tore my shoulder when I crashed because of the bad tire. I have been driving cars/trucks on the street for 20 years and have NEVER had an accident, even though I log alot of miles every year. I stopped riding my own motorcycles on the street when I sold my ZX-11 in the late 90's, any riding on the street since then has been very rare and generally on my brothers '98 900RR or to put some miles on a brand new race bike before racing, but usually less than 100 miles. In 2005 I had the opportunity to work on the M4 Suzuki AMA Pro roadracing team as a wrench during the Daytona event, this was a great experience and involved alot of work for the entire week. Most recently I have been interested in mentoring people looking to get on the track themselves, especially if they look to race.