2nd October

Just a quick note in the light of day - I was tired yesterday and didn't have time to drop a note - what a great day it was at Donington Park. I've sold the RS570 - life changes, young children, contract jobs and the like mean I cannot devote anymore time to the project - I needed some thing easy, fast, good looking, and a challenge. So I've a Sherco 250 trials bike and a ZX10R for my fun. Both require minimal looking after, and give the grin factor. Yesterday was the first day on the ZX10R :o)

Weather is always a problem in the UK (summer or winter it makes not a difference, the heavens can open at anytime). In October the percentage chance of rain is high, but the morning dawned bright and clear. The temperature even seemed to be most unseasonably high. Perfect even!

Having opted for a hotel room - I was relatively bright eyed and bushy-tailed, but still a tad hung over after a bit of a monumental weekend on the Raz! Once at Donington, the nerves started to grow. With nearly a year since I've been out on a bike in anger, and with a slightly damp track, I was wondering on the sanity of taking the ZX10R out for the first time. I need not have worried.

But before I head off on a tirade about the bike, I just want to say what a thoroughly brilliant day I had.... watching the mass of activity around the garage as plugs were changed, people were checking float heights, tyres were changed, etc etc ... I have to say I was pleased to be just there to ride - I've had many years of playing with bikes trackside - for once it was nice to have nothing to do - except chill and get ready for briefing and the first session.

As the briefing began (and seemed to go on for ever), I was keen as mustard ... eventually we were allowed to head back and get ready for the sessions - the mass of activity carried on around me as I got leathers on. Why do I always forget to take my cloves out from my helmet - gawd that can smell musty! Once earplugs were in I entered that cocoon of quiet. People seemed to just move around me, and I sat astride the bike, engine warm - oh was I so ready.

So to cut to the chase - the bike is a peach ... quick steering, ultimately larey if you get a bit brutal with the controls, but smooth things out, caress the brakes and the steering and make the bike work for you and you'll be rewarded with something akin to pure motorcycling. The bikes is absolutely mental - catapulting you from corner to corner - but get it right and you sit relatively calmly above with everything happening at your whim. She may be a bug ugly looker, but gawd she makes all the right moves (though remember, she's a bit of a hussy and happy to bite I reckon if you don't treat her well).

Even during the first session I relaxed into it ... the bike is that easy to ride ... anyone can ride a ZX10 fast - very few I expect will use it's full potential - myself included.

With a bike that easy to turn at speed you can just lay it on its side - through the craner complex into the old hairpin is poetry in motion. The old GSXR750SRAD was hard work through there - not the ZX. If only we'd had a ZX10 during the endurance series last year. Oh... and driving up through Schwantz I invariably found myself arriving at McLeans with a fair lick of speed. More than I'm used to, but the front is as good as the SRAD's and you can just scrub speed off - very 600 like.

The bike just oozes quality, and left me more emotionally than physically drained - you really do need to give over a fair amount of effort to concentration, becoming very aware of the reduced margins on missing braking points in particular. Ooo brakes ... ahem yes ... never have I ever performed an involuntary stoppy at 70/80mph. The brakes are that strong - I'm still trying to decide whether perhaps the weight bias is forward, or indeed the brakes are that strong, or I need to move weight back during braking... either way, it's an amusing sensation! Ah yes, lets not forget the acceleration - lets face it, that's what we want ... well being a self-confessed wheelie numpty, I rather enjoyed the 1st to second gear power induced front wheel floating. Often finding myself floating a wheel all the way to the top of the hill out of the Foggy chicane - lovely mate! This on TT gearing also ... gawd help anything in the way of a raging ZX10 on short circuit gearing - my gawd!

Did I make the right decision selling the RS ... fark no - having both bikes would have been brilliant - but having a wife and a ZX10R makes up for the loss of the RS. Roll on the next trackday ... [checks calendar] ... Mmmm Snetterton in a weeks time possibly - ooo there's Lodge at Oulton Park - Jeesh Hawthorn at Brands Hatch ... the mountain at Cadwell ... so many corners/tracks to enjoy!