Post by Blazing MX on Jan 22, 2006 22:40:55 GMT -6
I encourage everyone to attend the 1st meeting of 2006. It will be at Poppa Rollo’s on Valley Mills Dr. Tuesday January 31 at 7pm.
This will be my first meeting as president of the Waco Eagles Motorcycle Club and I am looking forward to the opportunity ahead. I'd like to take this time to thank Glenn McNamara for all his hard work, dedication, and accomplishments, during his tenure as president. I welcome his continued support as the new vice president. Glenn and Petra will not be at the meeting this month due to a much-deserved vacation.
During the early months of 2005, the club body voted to purchase some new equipment, specifically a tractor. Though no exact timeline was announced, I believe the time to act is now. The last major track construction project we underwent cost the club more than it would have cost to outright purchase the equipment we would need to have done the job ourselves. As of now we are back in the same boat. The MX track is in desperate need of major repair and we are currently receiving a bid to get it done. Keep in mind that the money we will spend on this project will be possibly as much as a substantial down payment on a new tractor, however we may not have a clear cut choice but to go ahead with it due to the condition of the track.
I have been researching the different types of equipment that would best suit our needs over the long haul at WEMC. It is my opinion that a compact track loader would prove the most beneficial to the club. I arranged a demo this past Saturday at the track with RDO on a John Deere CT322. What better way to see if a piece of equipment will meet our needs than to put it to the test? The ground was even more than its usual hard pack, due to the lack of rain. In fact, at a depth of 10 feet the ground was bone dry and rock hard but the CT322 knifed through with considerable ease. If anyone has noticed the rather large pile of dirt behind the turn at the S turn leading to the straight away on the mx track, that took about 30 minutes to accomplish. (I stopped there to avoid affecting the existing track layout) Another area was where several stutter bumps had formed. The dry dirt, which had been watered, raced on and then severely baked and packed was no problem to take care of, simply lay the bucket flat and drive forward. The bucket knifed through smoothly.
The controversy will surely be between the purchase of a machine like this, verses a tractor. True a tractor will be easier to pull a shredder and box blade and initial cost will be less, however the old tractor we have will do that now. A tractor will also not squeeze into tight places such as berms like a compact track-loader will. The rubber tracks will provide much more stability on an inclined surface and can shape and pack turns without tearing them up.
Bottom line. The initial investment will be more for a compact loader than it will be for a tractor. Parts cost more for a loader than they do a tractor however service intervals between the two are not that much different and a new piece of equipment should provide several years of service to the club before any major upkeep will have to be performed. I suggest that the club purchase a compact loader now to modify and maintain the track and save the old tractor for scraping and mowing. Our treasurer suggests that we could have a CT322 paid of in 2 or 3 years, if not sooner, without any financial burden on the club. After that the club could replace some of the other equipment. The club profits from revenue off the races so we must continuously maintain the mx tracks. Members join the WEMC to ride the tracks, let us give the members what they pay for.
Side note: We must look toward the future. What may have been tried in the past certainly doesn't take into consideration that we currently have more than twice the number of members than we've ever had and race turn out is almost twice what it was a little more than a year ago. Maintenance is going to continue to be a bigger issue than it ever has and we have to be proactive in our approach.
Join me at the meeting and let’s get the ball rolling in a forward direction. See ya Tuesday, January 31. 7pm Poppa Rollo’s.
This will be my first meeting as president of the Waco Eagles Motorcycle Club and I am looking forward to the opportunity ahead. I'd like to take this time to thank Glenn McNamara for all his hard work, dedication, and accomplishments, during his tenure as president. I welcome his continued support as the new vice president. Glenn and Petra will not be at the meeting this month due to a much-deserved vacation.
During the early months of 2005, the club body voted to purchase some new equipment, specifically a tractor. Though no exact timeline was announced, I believe the time to act is now. The last major track construction project we underwent cost the club more than it would have cost to outright purchase the equipment we would need to have done the job ourselves. As of now we are back in the same boat. The MX track is in desperate need of major repair and we are currently receiving a bid to get it done. Keep in mind that the money we will spend on this project will be possibly as much as a substantial down payment on a new tractor, however we may not have a clear cut choice but to go ahead with it due to the condition of the track.
I have been researching the different types of equipment that would best suit our needs over the long haul at WEMC. It is my opinion that a compact track loader would prove the most beneficial to the club. I arranged a demo this past Saturday at the track with RDO on a John Deere CT322. What better way to see if a piece of equipment will meet our needs than to put it to the test? The ground was even more than its usual hard pack, due to the lack of rain. In fact, at a depth of 10 feet the ground was bone dry and rock hard but the CT322 knifed through with considerable ease. If anyone has noticed the rather large pile of dirt behind the turn at the S turn leading to the straight away on the mx track, that took about 30 minutes to accomplish. (I stopped there to avoid affecting the existing track layout) Another area was where several stutter bumps had formed. The dry dirt, which had been watered, raced on and then severely baked and packed was no problem to take care of, simply lay the bucket flat and drive forward. The bucket knifed through smoothly.
The controversy will surely be between the purchase of a machine like this, verses a tractor. True a tractor will be easier to pull a shredder and box blade and initial cost will be less, however the old tractor we have will do that now. A tractor will also not squeeze into tight places such as berms like a compact track-loader will. The rubber tracks will provide much more stability on an inclined surface and can shape and pack turns without tearing them up.
Bottom line. The initial investment will be more for a compact loader than it will be for a tractor. Parts cost more for a loader than they do a tractor however service intervals between the two are not that much different and a new piece of equipment should provide several years of service to the club before any major upkeep will have to be performed. I suggest that the club purchase a compact loader now to modify and maintain the track and save the old tractor for scraping and mowing. Our treasurer suggests that we could have a CT322 paid of in 2 or 3 years, if not sooner, without any financial burden on the club. After that the club could replace some of the other equipment. The club profits from revenue off the races so we must continuously maintain the mx tracks. Members join the WEMC to ride the tracks, let us give the members what they pay for.
Side note: We must look toward the future. What may have been tried in the past certainly doesn't take into consideration that we currently have more than twice the number of members than we've ever had and race turn out is almost twice what it was a little more than a year ago. Maintenance is going to continue to be a bigger issue than it ever has and we have to be proactive in our approach.
Join me at the meeting and let’s get the ball rolling in a forward direction. See ya Tuesday, January 31. 7pm Poppa Rollo’s.
