Comments (2)

By leo.flor, August 2, 2011 23:37

When I started this blog, one of my post ideas was to rent a Ferrari so that I could test drive it and write about it.   We are at pretty much the first anniversary of the inception of this blog and I already got to treat myself to a similar experience.

This past weekend, my wife and I visited Las Vegas for her cousin’s combo stag and his fiancee’s stagette.  On the guys email thread, my new friend Alan threw out this link as something to do http://www.exoticsracing.com.   Unbelievably, no one else took him up on this, however when I read it, I was IN.  Not only was I already planning to do this, but EVERYTHING I read on that site convinced me this was a good idea.  The simple math I did in my head told me that it was an incredible deal (see WAY below for more on this).  I told my wife I was going to do it and she said she was coming and left no room for discussion.  I told you earlier she was cool.

Because my wife wanted to try a Ferrari (she took out the Ferrari 430 F1), I decided I’d take out the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 so that we would try different types of super cars.   It doesn’t matter anyway because I’m going back there next time I’m in Vegas!

There isn’t anything else I’ve driven that can compare to the Gallardo.  It was amazingly responsive, great at cornering; perfectly balanced throughout the whole turn.  The brakes were easy to control even though they were very sensitive.  The acceleration was like a motorcycle, it felt like I could only push the gas pedal down 50% towards the floor.   I wish I got to take it on a longer straight-away to see if I could scare myself.

Since it doesn’t make sense to compare the car to anything else I’ve driven, I’d rather focus this post on how great the experience was.   Driving an exotic car was something I’d always wanted to do and these guys make it accessible to us mortals.  The people at Exotics Racing were incredible.  They make the experience safe, fun, educational and affordable; it was racing class where you got to drive an exotic car as the tutorial portion.   They are confident in their teaching methods and procedures in that they assume responsibility for potential damage to the cars (unless you’re a grossly negligent idiot).

Pluses:

• Amazingly hospitable staff.  I was half-expecting it to be a little pretentious like when you try to get near a Lamborghini or Ferrari at a car show but I was pleasantly surprised.
• The briefing by professional race car drivers was informative.  They explain the cars and the track to ensure you get the most out of your laps.  There are cones on the track that show you the apex of the turns and where to start braking for efficient cornering.
• You get to drive a freakin’ Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Audi R8…

Minuses:

• Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a bit of a hike from the strip so budget a few hours for the whole thing.  I pre-arranged a limo service with their partner, Presidential Limo Service, which cost about $100 round trip for up to 3 people.

Here’s a little video I put together of my experience.  The in-car part of the video is of my last lap.

This way of getting to drive a super car was MUCH better than what I was originally planning.   I looked it up in Toronto and you can rent a Ferrari or Lamborghini but it will cost over $1000.  And you have to pay for kilometres.  AND worst of all you will probably end up sitting in traffic looking like a poseur or getting yourself a ticket.   These cars were meant to be driven on a track, the whole program is genius.

When you book, they may ask you how you heard about them.  I would love if you told them it was my blog.  Maybe I can get comp’d a lap or two my next visit!  :P

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Below this, I just decided to work out what the experience cost me and compare it to the cost of actually owning an exotic car.  This article is already pretty long so you may or may not want to continue reading.
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Comments (1)

By leo.flor, September 7, 2010 10:12

I had the good fortune of finding a woman that shares my interest in snowboarding, motorcycles and most importantly NFL Football.  How I tricked, err I mean convinced this amazing person to marry me I’ll never know.  She’s very private so I won’t blog about her much, I’ll make this post an exception.  I’m quite proud of her earning her full M license.  Let’s face it women on motorcycles are hot!

Yes this rider is hot… but where’s her motorcycle jacket??  (not a photo of my wife)

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When we were looking for a motorcycle for her these were the major factors under consideration:

• seat height (she’s rather petite)
• something easy to handle and learn on
• wanted a sporty look

We settled on a used Honda CBR 125.  I had heard good things about it as a starter bike but I didn’t know it was such a work-horse, someone had put 10K on it in one year, so we got it for a pretty good deal (even the dealer was pretty amazed that someone had toured or done some serious commuting with the thing).

Pros:

• Really easy to handle (on and off the bike).  It’s light so you can get good practice at maneuvering a motorcycle around your garage or parking lots, etc. (so that you don’t drop your newer more awesome bike when you move up in your riding life).
• Great for getting around about the city (again because it’s so light and nimble).  You can park it pretty easily like a scooter only with the CBR you can get your “reps” with motorcycle riding skills (e.g. changing gears, clutch balance, etc.).

Cons:

• Because of the light weight and the lower cc’s, it doesn’t feel safe going on big highways (like the 401); I don’t feel like I have enough power travelling at speeds of 100km/h or higher.

In countries outside of North America, it’s more common for most riders to use lower cc motorcycles (probably because of gas prices).  The CBR 125 may be better suited for those countries, it’s a little bit of a limitation that you can’t get on 400 series highways and feel safe.  Still it’s a great starter bike for all the reasons mentioned above.  Better still if you live downtown or don’t have need to take the highway.

Comments (0)

By leo.flor, August 30, 2010 09:40

I got myself into motorcycles primarily to distract myself from the fact that I couldn’t snowboard.  I have since become quite fond of riding two wheeled vehicles.  I went from contemplating trying the motorcycle license course to owning my first motorcycle (a Kawasaki EX500, great bike for learning and riding around the city) within about 3 months.  Really I just wanted to learn a new skill and I ended up with a new obsession.

The motorcycle I currently own and ride is the Suzuki SV650S.  It makes a great bike for someone who lives in the city but it’s still big enough that you can really have fun on open roads and the track.  Here are a few things that went through my mind as I made my motorcycle buying decision:

Pros:

• Has a sporty look yet insurance premiums don’t kill you.  I think this is because of the V-Twin engine (typically found in cruisers like Harleys) rather than an inline-4 (typical of a supersport bike).
• The low-end torque makes up for having less horsepower than a supersport bike.  You can still take almost any cager (what motorcycle riders call car drivers) off the line.
• Good looking (I suppose this is rather subjective) and a great value as an all around bike.

Cons:

• The only issue with this bike is the stock suspension is a little soft.

I installed the fender eliminator kit, the chin spoiler, the sliders and the after-market shorty signal lights.  Still contemplating an upgrade to a sweet carbon fiber Yoshimura, Two Brothers or Scorpion exhaust but I don’t want my neighbours don’t hate me.  :$
All in all it’s a great bike and still practical (well as practical as owning a motorcycle in Canada can be anyway!).  This will probably be my bike until I go a different direction like get a touring bike or stop caring about how much it costs to insure a Yamaha R1!