WOW!What a day!  It had rained on me on the way down, so when I showed up at 10am, the track was wet.  They sent out two lots of cars (race cars and road cars) to help dry the track, but when it came time for bikes it was still wet.  I sat out the first bike session.  By 11:30, the track had dried a bit, so I headed out for a warm-up session as I hadn't been to Pookey since December.  Did a few 1:15's and a 1:13 and started to feel good.  The past track days at Taupo had paid off and there was some new asphalt in Castrol corner before the back straight - nice.  The next session was all mine.  I did four 1:10's and only got passed by two other bikes (maniacs, obviously... with sponsorships, turbo chargers and jet fuel).My previous bike was a Suzuki SV650, with a magic gearbox.  I swear it could read my mind, and by just thinking about the next gear it would engage with just the lightest of a flick.  Up, down, clutch or no, it never missed a shift.  I've tried everything with this K1200R.  Full clutch, no clutch, feather the clutch, light on the shifter, preload the shifter, tickle the shifter, with less than desireable results.  It's strange that a 6-speed gearbox could have 8 false neutrals!  I discovered the most reliable way to go up through the gears on that long back straight was to keep the throttle pinned to the stop (and I mean NEVER let off), preload the shifter, grab one finger of clutch just a little, and ram 'er home.  Over and over!  It worked like a charm!  Shifting down is much easier.  You're at 250kmh on the back straight.  Just a half a beat after the 200m marker hits your peripheral vision, you grab a BIG handful of brakes.  The rear wheel gets VERY light and dances around a bit.  Sit up and act like a sail.  We need 2nd gear for the hairpin. No clutch, blip the throttle for each gear, and kick it down hard like the bass drummer for "Another One Bites the Dust".  5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - gas - it - round - the corner...I learned quite a bit today about shifting gears on this bike (and knocked 6sec off my PB).  I know that many of you don't participate in track days, but I thought I'd share the experience with you with the hope that you might appreciate the intricasies of shaving seconds off lap times.  Shifting is only part of it.  I think I've got 4 more seconds in this bike.  Like Dean says, it's 6m long, and just doesn't corner like the rest of the race bikes.  I still have to carry more speed through the corners so the straights pay off, but that requires a bit more... um... bravery.  I'm also exploring the limits of these tyres.  Metzeler puts a little elephant at the very edge of the tread, and after Pukekohe today the right elephant is gone, but the left one is still laughing at me.  I think next time i'll have to get some tyres without elephants!Aside from all this ME stuff, it was fun to watch the cars go around the track today too.  The highlight was a 70's era Ford Falcon with a heavily massaged 351W doing 1:10's and a pro NZV8 doing 1:05's.  Great stuff!!I'm sure the Pauanui ride will be EQUALLY as exciting tomorrow, Alex!Dave