Komodo Sport News

Check out Komodo Gear’s May 2010 Motorcycle News Letter

Mitch McGinnis

Mitch is a veteran racer who has been on “hiatus” for many years and is now back in the game racing an ’08 Honda CBR1000rr on the new Michelin, Power One, motorcycle racing tires.  Mitch is racing as a Novice this year, but is leading in the points in the Formula 40 class.  This is not an average class, it is actually a very competitive class as many of the riders are similar to Mitch in that they used to race and are now, “back in the game”.

Mitch hails from Oklahoma and runs a successful business as a commercial painter.  Mitch understands the dedication and discipline required to win and much of his success in racing is a reflection of Mitch, himself.  What’s also great to know about Mitch is that he brings his family with him to the racetrack including his son, Sean, and his girlfriend, Beverly.  They are always there to support Mitch and take time out to visit with the other riders and their families.  This is a big part of the culture at the CMRA (www.cmraracing.com) where you will meet many families who are dedicated to the sport and the success of the club.

Mitch is racing in the full “racing package” offered by Komodo.  His racing leathers are the highly acclaimed K-FX race suit and his racing gloves are the K-FX model,  as well.  Mitch also wears the highly proven FX racing boot and even our CE rated back protector and Motorcycle Undersuit to assist in riding comfort and safety.  All of these racing products work together as a system that allows Mitch to stay focused and be successful on the race track.  Mitch knows that racing success requires the best products and technology including your riding gear because your safety as a rider can not be compromised if you want to win.

Komodo Gear wants to take this opportunity to introduce Mitch to our followers so you can actually see real riders racing their hearts out.  It’s a great way to get an “inside feel” for club racing and how Komodo Gear integrates into the success of the riders and their racing careers.  We want to thank Mitch and his family for believing in Komodo and giving us the opportunity to support him in his “comeback” to the top!

CONTEST – WIN A FREE T-SHIRT!

(rules: to win, you must post your “beginnings” on this blog along with a pic).

BEGINNINGS…
 
 Most of the time, it all begins when you’re a kid. This is how it happened to me.
 
 When I was around 7 years old, my dad brought home an off-road mini bike. I didn’t know exactly what it was until he explained it to me; but I had seen them before at the hardware store. These mini bikes weren’t anything like today’s mini bikes. This was the late 1970’s, and these little mini bikes were the “hot item” of the time for young boys. It was a real piece of American ingenuity; it used a Briggs and Stratton lawn mower engine (say 3 or 5 hp), small and wide fat tires, no suspension; no adjustment anywhere and just a rear brake. It was primitive, stiff, bouncy, a real hard tail that included lousy brakes. Looking back, it had no business being off-road.
 
 Who knows who made it, but it had a big sticker on the side of it labeled, “Cheetah”. The seat was a cheap vinyl plastic covered in cheetah stripes. It was cool for the day and pretty quick. That scooter would easily reach up to 30mph and had no clutch; you just twisted the throttle and it went forward. When you have no suspension, a poor rear brake and small, fat tires as hard as wood, it made for a lively ride to say the least. (pic above is not actual bike, but very close; picture is courtesy of Google pics).
 
 I loved it. It was mine and I was smitten. Every day after school, I’d saddle up and ride it in the alley behind our house. It was a “starter kit” motorcycle for kids. However, there were thousands of kids like me across the nation being groomed on these homemade mini bikes. My sisters and I would take turns riding it in the alley and we all enjoyed it; I think I just enjoyed it more.
 
 We didn’t wear much protective gear (motorcycle apparel) back in the 70’s; just a helmet. Oh yeah, the helmet was a ¾ helmet by Bell and had a “bubble” shield. The rest of the gear was your favorite t-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots or sneakers. That was it. Life in the 70’s was wild, young and free. Good days.
 
 Needless to say, it was all about the experience and the impression it left upon me. As I grew older, I had other and newer off-road bikes such as XR-80’s CR’s and bigger XR’s, but still retained the stunning retro ‘70’s helmet and SWAG from that era (social wear and gear for you newb’s). It wasn’t until middle school to high school that I graduated to permanent cowboy boots, a nylon Yamaha jersey and Hi Point off-road gloves. I was almost “looking the role” and I just couldn’t get enough. Most teens have posters up on their walls of women from Sports Illustrated or the NBA. I had pictures and posters of Danny Chandler, Chuck Sun, Brad Lackey and Bob Hannah on my walls. I once saw Bob “Hurricane” Hannah race at the Houston Astrodome in the late ‘70’s (’78 I believe). From that point on, the scar was real and deep. No bikini clad women or rock-n-roll posters anywhere, just die hard motocross riders (these were my hero’s) at every corner of my room with a stack of Motocross Action magazines on the shelf. Funny thing is that I knew I would never become a motocross star or even race motocross. However, I knew in my gut that motorbikes were my identity. I rode them, understood them and dreamed about them. As I grew older, I also took a great interest in the road bikes, the GS; CB’s; FZ’s and early Ninja’s. When I went to college, I finally got my taste of a 1983 Suzuki GS750E, but that’s another story for another post. If there was a diagnosis for, “bike lust”, I had it bad. I know it was bad, because I was still a junkie for off-road bikes, too.
 
 If you’ve got fond memories like these, share them! For me, it all started with a poorly built mini bike and the dreams of a young boy; who now is grown up with kids of his own and a garage full of vintage and modern bikes from different decades – never let go of your memories and keep your child hood dreams alive!
 
 **Komodo Gear will choose the best blog post (one winner per week) from each week and the lucky winner will receive a free Komodo Gear t-shirt; we’ll ship to your door anywhere in the Continental United States at no cost. See pic of t-shirt here: https://www.komodogear.com/store/home.php?cat=14 **
 
 So dig out those old pics and post ‘em up with your best “BEGINNINGS” story while the contest is on!

For Immediate Release: O’Shea Squalls partners with Komodo Gear for 2010 Sponsorship. O’Shea Squalls, winner of the PMRA 2003 Rider of the Year! award and the Dave Howell/Dlorah Lee Memorial Award, is proud to announce Komodo Gear as a main sponsor for the upcoming 2010 PMRA race season.  Komodo Gear, a manufacturer of quality riding and race gear, will play an important role in O’Shea Squall’s race program.   

O’Shea Squalls, shares how the sponsorship agreement came together,  “I met Wayne Wilder of Komodo at the track and realized we both have the same goals, promoting safety and performance in drag racing.  This past weekend I actually tested the new OUTLAW at Dallas Raceway; I had a mechanical and hit the wall at around 130 mph without injury!”  

Komodo will sponsor O’Shea Squall’s for the remainder of the 2009 and upcoming 2010 season.  A representative from Komodo will be trackside to answer any questions regarding the Komodo product line that will be displayed at the PMRA races. Komodo Gear —– Komodo would like to thank O’Shea Squalls for the opportunity to partner with him for the remainder of the 2009 season.  According to Wayne Wilder, Vice President of Sales, “Komodo and O’Shea Squalls share the same goal;  to promote safety with performance in drag racing with the introduction of the new OUTLAW 2 piece drag race suit.”   

For 2010, O’Shea Squalls will be campaigning at the PMRA Outlaw Pro Street class aboard a nitrous fed Suzuki GSX-R in the PMRA OUTLAW class.   

For further Komodo information, please logon to www.komodogear.com

WFO!!! Komodo secures 2nd in class (A Superstock) in the CMRA Big Bike Endurance 2008.

The last race of the season was at one of the fastest tracks, Texas World Speedway. It’s a large track at 2.9 miles and has some very fast sections. It’s a track that welcomes a big bike and encourages the rider to go for it. Being the last race of the season, WFO!!! Komodo knew it was going to be an aggressive race; other teams would be fighting for overall standings and pride.  Otter was first in the leg for this 6 hour event and managed to get a great start.  Going into turn 1 Otter was clearly in the top 5, a great beginning for a long race. Otter managed to keep WFO!!! Komodo in the top 5 for the first hour. He was running a very quick pace (1:49), which is a couple of seconds faster than the last time he rode at Texas World.  In the first hour Otter was being challenged on the back straight by a couple of very fast expert riders making for some tense moments as they were elbow to elbow before diving into turn 1 at over 140 mph.  This is not the turn to fight for position as a crash here would definitely create carnage and major injury.  Back in the pits we were carefully watching Otter’s times and knew tire life would be a real concern at that pace.  Texas World is a fast, flowing track and it is hit and miss on tire wear.  When Otter completed his first hour and came back into the pit the left side of the rear tire was clearly stressed; we’d probably make it to hour three if we slowed our pace down. Otter said, “It’s fast out there! I knew I was going faster than usual, but the top teams are hauling ass today and I got into a battle with one of them for several laps.”  Strategy plays a role in these long races and tire life has be taken under consideration if you want to last the entire race.  Wayne knew he’d have to run conservative times and in hour two rode the bike at a more sedate pace averaging 1:55 – it was after all a 6 hour race with two riders.  WFO!!! Komodo had second place well cemented and were several hundred points ahead of third place.  At this pace, Wayne could ride comfortably and with confidence while keeping WFO!!! Komodo in the top 10 overall for the last race.Thirty minutes into the second hour of the race Wayne was in the carousel and while exiting the corner grabbed a handful of gas and in the process low-sided the GSXR 1000 on the ride side doing about 70 mph.  The GSXR 1000 slid off the track tumbling over a couple of times with Wayne following it and cart wheeling head over heels.  It made for a great crash, but when Wayne stopped and picked the bike up it was clear the damage had been done.  The rear brake lever was obliterated and the clip on’s were nicely bent at an awkward angle.  Thankfully, the bike started and Wayne was able to ride it back to the pits, but clearly, the race was over for WFO!!! Komodo.According to Wayne the bike was running very fast and turning in very quickly; faster than usual.  He thinks the colder temperature had an impact on the bike that day as the temperature was in the 70’s that morning.  Wayne admitted the crash was due to operator error as he typically is not a crasher.  “The bike felt great!  It was pulling hard and turning in quicker than usual.  My confidence was high and I just got on the gas earlier and in the process lost the front end”.  Thankfully, it happened in the carousel because if you’re going to crash at Texas World, that is probably the safest corner to do it.WFO!!! Komodo secured 2nd in A Superstock for the Big Bike Endurance at CMRA.  Since they missed the Hallett race completely due to an injury, they ended up 11th overall.  Finishing in the top 10 was always the goal and easily within reach, but to make it to the top 10 you must finish every race.For the 2009 season, WFO!!! Komodo has already secured its rider lineup, which will consist of Ottis “Otter” Lance, Wayne Wilder and Danny Kelsey.  The chemistry amongst all three is very good and with the addition of Danny to the team, the racer DNA is now complete and promises to bring excitement every race and success for next season.

http://www.2wf.com/content/view/2006/45/

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G12l-pwRAdg