Kryptonite dealer an honorary pit crew member during the 8 Hours at Daytona

by Nicole Roesch, Team Kryptonite



Back in February Kryptonite, in coordination with Team Kryptonite member Nicole Roesch and Team RightsforBikers.com offered a raffle during the Indy Dealer Show for one lucky winner to become a part of the SunTrust MOTO-ST team during the annual 8 Hours at Daytona.

The 8-hour long race that took place Saturday, October 18th is a true test of endurance, both for the riders and the crew. The team competed in two separate classes: the SST class and GST class. Managing two teams and coordination of pit stops can be challenging. Thanks to Charles Schurman of Sportland 2 in Wisconsin the team had a flawless day along pit road. Charles was an integral part of the team in charge of calling in the riders with the pit sign.

Over the course of 8 hours, just about anything can happen. The #2 bike suffered some mechanical problems but the #69 Ducati PS1000LE (the bike that was on display at the Kryptonite booth at Indy) ran great. Riders John Linder, Garrett Rick and Jason Edmonds were consistent, earning a very respectable 4th place overall in the race!

Usually the blog I get to write is about the on track experience but this time I sat on the sidelines (baby due November 5th!) and got to watch the team in action. I miss the action and riding but it is still a honor to be able to celebrate in Victory Lane at the historic world center of racing.

We hope Charles had a great time and we look forward to offering this experience to more Krpyptonite dealers and customers!

Oh What A Night...

The Women's Riding Essentials at Perewitz Cycle Fab last night was nothing less than fantastic! We had a great group of women ranging from veteran riders to completely new riders. Some have a motorcycle, some are on their 3 or 4th motorcycle, one just bought her first and a couple more are looking to purchase their first.

Not only did Nicole and Jody share their experiences and wisdom, but the camaraderie of the women was indescribable. They listened to each other, shared their experiences and formed new friendships that, I believe, will become new riding partners. I truly feel lucky to have shared in the evening.

So, Nicole, are you going to be kick starting Jody's Panhead?

Nicole fascinated us all by sharing her experiences of racing on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway.

Both ladies talked about being safe on the motorcycle and wearing the proper gear - helmets, gloves, jackets etc. They both want to be as protected as they can be when riding. Bright colors, like Jody's Icon jacket, are recommended so others on the road can see you.

It was a beautiful evening so we conducted the evening outside at the picnic tables. Susan and Jody put out a spread that would have fed an army! We ate and talked about motorcycles for hours on a lovely, relaxing June evening. How much better does it get than that?

Well.....it did....

At the end of the evening, Jody gave us a tour of the "inner sanctum" of Perewitz Cycle Fab. We got to see Jeff's new bike being built, Jody's Buell, some of the other projects they have going on (that shall remain secret!) and then....Jody showed us her newest creation. She's building a custom bike from the ground up. It should be completed by Sturgis. Here's a sneak peek just for the ladies.

We got to see it from all angles and hear all the plans she has for it, but we'll leave you with just the, unfinished, front view. I'll leave out the details about what's unfinished on the front. You'll just have to stay tuned over on the Plog (Perewitz blog) to see the finished masterpiece. Or, head to Sturgis to see it for yourself!

All in all, it was a fantastic evening!

Thank you to everyone at Perewitz Cycle Fab who helped to make this a great night - it was mostly Jody, Susan, Jaren and De...but, if truth be told the guys pitched in on the set up a little bit. Thank you all!

And thanks to the ladies who attended. It was great to meet you all! Safe riding!

8 Incredibly Fun Hours at Daytona

by Nicole Hoffman

We raced the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series finale this weekend – 8 hours of racing around Daytona International Speedway’s 3.56 mile road course on an SV650 with 3 riders (doing 2 or 3 stints each) and only one rear tire change. Endurance racing is so much fun to compete in. I have so much time to get my personal best lap times, while being a part of a big team with 8 other riders and a full pit crew.

We as riders are so dependant upon our crew to get everything together and do flawless pit stops. It truly is teamwork in every sense of the word. We made a stop about every 23 laps or so to re-fuel (and make rider changes). We think we could have gone the whole way on one set of tires, but didn’t want to take that chance.

I wasn’t sure how much I would be racing in the 8-hour event going into it. My team mates Bob Fisher and Chuck Ivey are able to put down more laps than me but with Chuck getting hurt in the second hour, it was left to me, Bob and team owner CJ Czaia. Well, I ended up racing more in one weekend than I have all year! I think I did about 75+ laps all weekend between practice, the 42-lap ASRA Team Challenge (we finished 2nd and I rode all but 10 laps!!) and the 8 Hours at Daytona. I didn’t get back to my fastest times I have done there, but I was happy about how much I raced.

This weekend was a huge accomplishment for me. Even though Mark, Steven and I won this event last year, I really feel like I tackled a huge, new obstacle in a way. After shingles (yep, just got over having shingles!) and not racing since VIR in April, I wasn’t sure what kind of shape I would be in…but I felt better than ever! Oh, and I got to race CJ’s Ducati PS1000LE – what a great bike (this is what we rode in Team Challenge).

Since it was Biketoberfest in Daytona we did a couple of great Kryptonite promotions. We gave away some locks at the Ocean Deck on Wednesday night and then had a show bike at Destination Daytona on Thursday night. I also made an appearance on a local radio station, WHOG 95.7FM. I have been on the Frank and Tracy show for a few years now. They were making appearances all over Daytona Beach this past weekend and were armed with some Kryptonite product! We also appeared in the autograph session before the race, and in a local newspaper article (I am at the bottom).

All-in-all a great and incredibly fun weekend! It was just great to be back on a bike again. I missed it the last few months. I always felt at home at the race track and this weekend just reinforced it even more. I have to thank everyone who supported us this year to help us finish 4th in the ST class of the 2007 SunTrust MOTO-ST Series championship, especially the folks at Kryptonite!

I am ready to do it again next year….as a matter of fact, I am signing off to get my work done for sponsorship for 2008.