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AMA Pro Superbike
WHITE: Old Guy Rides Young(’s) Bike
SPEED's Greg White tests a factory Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike.
Blake Young and Greg White aboard Yoshimura Suzuki Superbikes (Photo: Brian J Nelson)
Sometimes in life an opportunity comes along that is just too good to pass up. And as luck would have it, one such opportunity just happened to present itself while I was attending a test for the Michael Jordan Motorsports Team at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway in Desert Center, CA.
Team Yoshimura Suzuki arrived on the second day of the MJM test with riders Blake Young and Chris Clark. At the time I was on track with MJM boys Roger Hayden and Ben Bostrom, riding a very stock (we're talking complete with blinkers and headlight stock) STAR Motorcycle School Suzuki GSX-R1000 and capturing video.
I shot down pit lane to say my hellos to the Yosh riders and crew. Included in that group was team manager Peter Doyle. For those of you who don't know, Doyle won a slew of AMA Superbike titles while serving as Mat Mladin's crew chief and nearly bagged championship number eight with Blake Young at the controls a year ago. It's no exaggeration to say that Mr. Doyle is the man for the Yosh team at the racetrack.
Photo Gallery: Greg White's Yosh Superbike Test
So of course I joked with Pete about giving me a shot on their Superbike. He said, "If you can do a 1:54.9 or better on the stock bike you can ride it."
So off I went onto the 2.7-mile road course, fully motivated to hit that mark. However, despite my best efforts, I didn't get the job done… 1:55.4 was my best time on the stock bike. During my final run down pit lane I saw the Yosh guys loading up, so that opportunity was officially missed. Bummer.
But then Pete said, "Hey Greg, call me Friday. We're back out here next week and maybe you can ride it then.”
One call later and it was a done deal. Dunlop was even sending two sets of slick tires including the new 'Made in America' rear for me to try.
After spending Monday and Tuesday of that week instructing at Chuckwalla with STAR School it was back to the desert on Thursday for the test.
The plan: Quite simple actually -- go out and do a few laps, come back in and talk about what I just did.
The machine: Blake Young’s #79 2011 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike wrapped in the 2012 bodywork.
The goal: Do not crash! Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich was slated to have a go on it the following day and I was not to mess that up. So yeah, no pressure…
Team Yoshimura Suzuki arrived on the second day of the MJM test with riders Blake Young and Chris Clark. At the time I was on track with MJM boys Roger Hayden and Ben Bostrom, riding a very stock (we're talking complete with blinkers and headlight stock) STAR Motorcycle School Suzuki GSX-R1000 and capturing video.
I shot down pit lane to say my hellos to the Yosh riders and crew. Included in that group was team manager Peter Doyle. For those of you who don't know, Doyle won a slew of AMA Superbike titles while serving as Mat Mladin's crew chief and nearly bagged championship number eight with Blake Young at the controls a year ago. It's no exaggeration to say that Mr. Doyle is the man for the Yosh team at the racetrack.
Photo Gallery: Greg White's Yosh Superbike Test
So of course I joked with Pete about giving me a shot on their Superbike. He said, "If you can do a 1:54.9 or better on the stock bike you can ride it."
So off I went onto the 2.7-mile road course, fully motivated to hit that mark. However, despite my best efforts, I didn't get the job done… 1:55.4 was my best time on the stock bike. During my final run down pit lane I saw the Yosh guys loading up, so that opportunity was officially missed. Bummer.
But then Pete said, "Hey Greg, call me Friday. We're back out here next week and maybe you can ride it then.”
One call later and it was a done deal. Dunlop was even sending two sets of slick tires including the new 'Made in America' rear for me to try.
After spending Monday and Tuesday of that week instructing at Chuckwalla with STAR School it was back to the desert on Thursday for the test.
The plan: Quite simple actually -- go out and do a few laps, come back in and talk about what I just did.
The machine: Blake Young’s #79 2011 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike wrapped in the 2012 bodywork.
The goal: Do not crash! Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich was slated to have a go on it the following day and I was not to mess that up. So yeah, no pressure…
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