AFM 2016 Round 1, Buttonwillow

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Miles decided to switch classes for the 2016 AFM season. The structure of his old 650 Production class was changing considerably with the addition of 700cc twins to the class and the removal of the 450 “disabled cylinder” production bikes. A 450 disabled cylinder motorcycle is a 600cc four-cylinder bike with one cylinder disabled to make the effective displacement 450cc. Miles had enjoyed racing with the 450s in 2015 and decided he would like to ride one in 2016 if possible. The idea of having a modern race chassis with power output similar to the SV650 sounded like just the ticket. Miles was on the lookout and found the perfect candidate in late January: a salvage 2012 Yamaha R6 with absolutely no bodywork, but otherwise in pretty good shape. It was time to get to work!

Round 1 in Buttonwillow was upon him before he knew it. It took major effort and a lot of late nights to get the bike ready, but he was able to pull it off with some help. Big thanks go out to Woodcraft/Armour Bodies/Hindle Exhaust, Catalyst Reaction Suspension Tuning and Fastline Performance. He wouldn’t have made it without their support!

Miles was excited but a little apprehensive going into the weekend—he was only going to have a handful of practices before racing a new, untested bike. Even so, all ended up well—he came up to speed quickly and the bike was running strong. One of the biggest adjustments was learning to ride with good brakes—the stock R6 components were a major improvement over the stock SV brakes, and Miles was braking earlier than he needed to all weekend!

After a good, but short day of practice, Miles was race 1 on Sunday for 450 Production. Even though he was on a new bike, everything felt familiar as he gridded up and waited for the green flag to fly. Miles got a good start and pushed hard, trying to remember to keep the motor screaming—the RPM band was much higher on the high-revving R6 motor. In the end he was able to finish in the top ten and get within 2 seconds of his best lap time at Buttonwillow. His next race came up quick, and Miles was able to improve slightly in the 450 Superbike race, knocking a tenth off his earlier lap time and finishing in ninth. Formula IV was his last race of the day, and with almost 30 bikes on the grid, also the biggest. It was a fun race with quite a few position changes, and Miles finished with another top ten position. All-in-all it was a great weekend, and Miles is loving the new 450!