Motorcycle Riders

[abnormaltoy]

  Then there's the fat 2nd gear scratch I got while still turning as I entered the road that morning. 

That brings to mind a picture of Fast Freddie comin' up on the rear wheel while exiting a turn.

[Duffil]

  I can attest to that!  On the rare ocassion my friends and I ride our bikes around town we're frequently reminded of this.  They'z called squids   

I think that's me

I did miss a shift right in front of a truck yesterday - an all too common occurance on a lot of hondas - so I'm sure he thinks I'm a squid. 

don't feel bad.  I just stalled a damn TT500 in front of a car at a stop sign the other day.

[kneedownnate]

That brings to mind a picture of Fast Freddie comin' up on the rear wheel while exiting a turn.

That dude can still ride!  He has a track school and takes people out on the back of his vfr800 and still drags his knees in the corners, just to show them what can be done.  A guy on a motorbike board has a pic of a dude crossing it up coming out of a corner, smoke boiling off the rear tire, leaning on his knee and has his inside hand off the bar.

don't feel bad.  I just stalled a damn TT500 in front of a car at a stop sign the other day.

bwahahahahahahahaha       just kidding    I've stalled probably 2 times before.  The missed shifts just piss me off because my bike's loud enough that it's insanely obvious to anybody within a mile    I really need to invest in a shift kit for both f4i's, but the good ones are close to $100 I think 

My old f2 would miss shifts when down shifting coming off the straight stretch on the track.  That's probably the closest I've been to scared on the track because the higher rpm helps to hold the bike down in the corner, and when it'd do that at around 100mph in the corner it'd make the bike drift wide very suddenly and you'd be fighting pretty hard to hold it on the pavement.  I miss doing track days 

[NorCalToy]

why no more track days nate?

[Hammerhead]

Freddie Spencer was one of my heroes.

don't feel bad.  I just stalled a damn TT500 in front of a car at a stop sign the other day.

TT500s rock!!!  Except when you are trying to kick start them in a hurry while embarassed. 

Or when you just picked yourself up off the ground and have to start it after it layed upside down in a wash while you were catching your breath.

I have a dozen TT500s.  Been riding them for about 20 years...  still love 'em...  My street legal flattracker is my favorite followed closely by my fully modified desert bike...

[Duffil]

so check this out and tell me if I did the right thing here. 

I was riding today...went to Modesto (about 20miles), and on the way back I get this asshat right on my rear tire in a camry.  I tried flashing the brake light at him a few times...nothing.  OK...I allowed extra space in front of me as per the DMV handbook.  I rode at 35MPH...(speed limit in this spot is 45)nothing...wouldn't pass me even.  I tried rolling on the throttle, grabbing a gear and getting space in between us...he comes flying up my ass again.  Now I'm getting pissed, so I am making 5sec stops at signs, and doing 35 again.(this is on a straight 2lane road, in the country about a 5 mile straight with maybe 10 stops) finally, coming up to the last stop sign, asshat passes me, and then makes a left into town.

so my question: what would you guys have done/what more could I have done short of riding over his damn car? this was on the TT again.

[KDXSR5]

When people do that kind of crap to me, I just pull off to the side of the road and let them by. I would much rather have them in front of me than behind me.

[Duffil]

When people do that kind of crap to me, I just pull off to the side of the road and let them by. I would much rather have them in front of me than behind me.

I'd already done that once for some beezy in a minivan.

[KDXSR5]

And since my bike has no blinkers, they really like it when I do my hand signal for right turn using my middle finger.

[NorCalToy]

And since my bike has no blinkers, they really like it when I do my hand signal for right turn using my middle finger.

thats quality!

[kneedownnate]

why no more track days nate?

I just haven't done one in a long time, so long I'll be rusty for sure!

Rex, the last ass who did that was driving a newer maxima and about crapped himself.  Why?  I kept tapping my brakes and motioning for him to back off, and when he didn't I locked up the rear tire.  This was getting on the freeway and he was seriously maybe a car length off my ass.  I didn't mean to lock it up, just meant to tap it, but a little tire smoke got him in the other lane RIGHT NOW and he had the most confused look on his face.  I think that's one of the few times I've given the one finger salute, along with my heavy tapping of my head implying "think!", and he very much deserved it 

I'm pretty quiet and shy in person usually, but when on the bike I realized I need to be very vocal, beit verbally when it can be heard or physical otherwise.  I believe the hand book even says to put your hand down and back flat to tell him to back off.  I'll sometimes point back and them, turning around if I can pull it off, and motion very obviously for them to back off.  That or point at them, then point to the next lane.  People are dumb, they don't get the most obvious gestures, but one hand gesture always seems to get the point across    I've said this before, but when people pull out in front of me or nearly run into me I'm very big on tapping my visor hard with two fingers, pointing at the driver then pointing ahead, then shaking my head in disgust.  I don't think you could possibly misinterpret that 

[KDXSR5]

Sometimes if I have nothing to do and I am just out riding around and someone does something that pisses me off, I will let them past me then follow them for maybe half an hour. It freaks them out pretty good, because I am on a two stroke dirtbike wearing carhartt winter coveralls (if I am riding in 40 degrees or below) and I am loud and look pretty scary with a dirtbike helmet, the afore mentioned dirty/ripped coveralls, and my long hair coming out the back of the helmet blowing everywhere.

Longest I have follow someone is when I was on the interstate going into a construction zone, and he whipped his stupid little car around me and slammed on his brakes in front of me going 15 miles below the construction zone speed limit. I followed him when he got off at his exit and stayed a at the most 5 cars back from him for about 2 hours. Then I was running out of gas and he was just driving around in circles. I am pretty sure he understood that he pissed me off.

[te51levin]

I kept tapping my brakes and motioning for him to back off, and when he didn't I locked up the rear tire. 

  BTDT a couple of times.  A little howl and tire smoke gets their attention REAL quick - though, as dumb as some people are, they still have no idea why that just happened.

Nate, I may be picking up a project bike soon.  It's cheap and it's nasty.  I'm sure there is nothing you will like about it!

[Duffil]

  BTDT a couple of times.  A little howl and tire smoke gets their attention REAL quick - though, as dumb as some people are, they still have no idea why that just happened.

Nate, I may be picking up a project bike soon.  It's cheap and it's nasty.  I'm sure there is nothing you will like about it!

[kneedownnate]

Werd, bring on the pics!  I thought I was getting a couple qa/z50s from a coworker the other day, but they turned out to be rusty old cheap taiwanese knock offs.  Oh well, off to shorts they go!

[te51levin]

No pics until I bring it home    Let's just say you wouldn't be caught dead on it.  It's a liter's worth of bad taste from the "we're still trying" era. 

[kneedownnate]

Well I know you haven't latched onto a cbx, what'd you do, get a kz1000?

[kneedownnate]

I found this on barf and it's very tempting, but I doubt it'd be around after I could sell the f4i.  It's a 94 aprillia rs125 that was imported to the us in 95.  It's been bored to 154cc, so technically it's highway legal.  I just think it'd be a nice change for a little while!

[NorCalToy]

you gonna sell one of your f4i's? what do they look like?

[Duffil]

I found this on barf and it's very tempting, but I doubt it'd be around after I could sell the f4i.  It's a 94 aprillia rs125 that was imported to the us in 95.  It's been bored to 154cc, so technically it's highway legal.  I just think it'd be a nice change for a little while!

I'd like to see you explain that to Barney Fife.

[kneedownnate]

Easy, I'll just get stickers from a 154 polini and stick just the 154 on the side 

you gonna sell one of your f4i's? what do they look like?

Ass    actually that's not true.......  I've seen a lot of nice asses  :biking:

I think this is the most recent pic and is a few pages back maybe.  The right fairing is white.  I have better fairings for both sides but haven't ever finished prepping them for paint.  I haven't finished prepping an upper, my other tank or my new tail section either.  The track bike is just a rolling chassis and yellow tank now, nothing special.  I need to install the clutch cover, fill it with oil again, charge the battery and    see if it'll start.  After that I'll finish track prepping it, though I doubt I'll ever use it on the track at the pace I'm going!

[BigMike]

Nate: I want to ask for your opinion/experience on this..

My bike runs 110/70-17 front and 130/70-17 rear tires.

Here is my question: In your experience and skill, if you can hold an fairly long and wide corner at 50 MPH with that above tires, how much faster (or how much more would you trust) could you take the same corner if you had a 150 wide rear tire?

Have you ridden much bikes with tiny rear tires such as mine?

The reason why I ask is because I feel that my skill has increased a lot over the years and that I have really become very familiar with it's handling, and on my morning commute, I take a freeway onramp 270-degree corner at 50 MPH on the inside lane and about 55-60 on the outside lane. About a month ago, some guy on a much larger dualsport? bike (at least a 750) followed me while lane splitting at a red light. Light went green, and he wanted to play a bit, so I took the ol' 500 up to redline and matched his speed. Now we were quickly approaching this particular onramp, I on the outside lane and him on the inside lane, and I downshifted once and got on the brakes just a bit to find my comfortable entrance speed, and that guy never let up! He entered the onramp doing a good 65 and maintained that speed -- on the inside lane -- the whole way though. I entered around 45 and slowly increased to 55 by the exit.

It was cold in the morning, I generally don't trust the road as much with cold tires and asphalt. But that guy was CRAZY. He was leaning WWWAAAAAAAAYYY more than I. And even, I skoot my whole body and butt wwaaayy to the inside of the bike while cornering (I don't want to highside?) and this guy was just sitting totally upright in total control.

So I am just wondering if it is his much wider tires, they have a much larger radius and that must make a night and day difference in cornering confidence!

Let me know Thanks mandingo
BigMike

[kneedownnate]

Here is my question: In your experience and skill, if you can hold an fairly long and wide corner at 50 MPH with that above tires, how much faster (or how much more would you trust) could you take the same corner if you had a 150 wide rear tire?

Simple answer, SLOWER!  Your wheel is designed to run X size tire, and by going to a wider tire you're taking your preferred round profile and squaring it off.  You'll end up with a fairly flat tire that'll fight you to roll into the corner, then drop in instantly when you break over the squared edge.  My old cbr was supposed to have a 160 rear, which stuck quite well at the track even with street tires, but the po stuck on a 170.  I fought that thing and learned to ride with the 170, then when I got a good set of tires I nearly fell over because it rolled into the corners crazy easy. 

There's a local racer who held the 600cc lap record at t-hill at about 20 seconds a lap faster than me    Before meeting him we had two bikes pass us on a ride and flat out smoke us.  The first was a beat down, clapped out early 90s suzuki katana, the other a yamaha wr450.  We later found out who they were, and found out the katana was running front 120/70-17 track take offs both front and rear! 

Point is, your contact patch is small but reasonably sufficient.  Tire profile and tread compound will make all the difference 

Also, your front matches that of some smaller race bikes, so sticky fronts are easily found online or even on ebay.  Your rear is a slightly odd size, but I wouldn't be surprised if somebody made a sticky tire that size.  Match tires too, meaning don't run a dunlop in front and pirelli in the rear.  You'll see some racers and track riders running a metzeler in front and pirelli in back, or vice-versa, but they're nearly the same tires with different tread patterns.

That guy went faster for 2 reasons:  experience and confidence!  And moving off the bike is good when you're pushing the bike, but if you do it wrong it's counterproductive.  My friend rides the same, never moves his ass on the seat, and even on his vfr he'd flat smoke all the young guys on rides who thought they were big !  He now rides an rc51 and I haven't ridden with him in ages, but I've been begging him to hit the track with me for years. 

If you ever get a chance to tag along with somebody even to watch at a track day, do it!!  I'm painfully shy and often get seriously tense in social situations, but the first track day I went to with a friend I was all over the pits talking to everybody I could, soaking up all I could.  I ran into a guy who was an instructor too and just tried to soak up everything he told me.  It helped a lot when I got to ride a track day, but few things will help you realize how fast you really can go until you get passed in a corner! 

I'd come in at what I thought was a good pace and my friend would just blow around me on the outside, so I'd try and pick it up and try to keep him in sight for as long as possible.  Each time I'd do that I'd gain a little more speed and confidence, and before I realized it I was passing people in corners and having a blast!  One of my absolute favorite things is to come out of the last corner and see somebody up ahead just going into the first corner, then see how long it'd take me to catch and pass them.  It's not a race, but there's a sense of accomplishment in passing more than being passed, but do a track day with one of the bigger organizations and anybody who thinks they're fast is quickly humbled by the racers.  Those guys will pass you coming into a corner and you'll be lucky to see them for one or two more before they've pulled a monstrous gap on you 

[BigMike]

Thanks for the info Nate!

I believe you misunderstood me however, or I was not clear enough.

Basically, I want to know, if I did get the Hawk which has a 150 rear tire (on a properly wider rim than mine), ignoring the other things about the Hawk compared to my GS such as different rake angle, shorter wheel base, better front forks, etc, ignoring the geometrical advantages, if you could compare just the tires, do you think I would feel like 20% more confident with the wider tire or like night-and-day 200% more confident?

I have never participated in a race on a closed track, but I have done a lot of autocrossing in the MR2 and I know exactly what you are saying about asking around and learning from the veterans. I thought I was pretty hot stuff too, I had well in excess of 200 HP and TQ and my buddy still had the stock non-SC engine in his MR2, lucky if he had 100 HP, plus I had much better tires and my car was a good 200 lbs lighter..... and on the same track, he would consistently kill me by a good 5-8 secs every time. I am not a bad driver, I just didn't have the experience of being on such a small & tight track. I learned really quick how it's all about average speed rather than "dude! I was the only one out here who could hit 3rd gear on that straight away!" Yeah, but then what are you gonna do entering a super tight corner at 70 MPH with cones to the inside of it's exit? lol

My friend always goes to Laguna Seca to watch the road cars race there. He keeps inviting me, but I don't know, it just seems like that part of my past is totally put aside now. I am too busy either getting my truck ready or actually wheeling somewhere.

Anyways, so yeah, that is interesting that the one fast bike you saw only had 120s front and rear. It's all about experience and confidence with the machine.

[te51levin]

Well I know you haven't latched onto a cbx, what'd you do, get a kz1000?

Nothing yet, but it's not a KZ.  It's big, it's air-cooled, it's Jap-o-nese, and it's dead comical ugly in stock form.  Not sure yet whether I want to try turbocharging it or not.

[kneedownnate]

It's all about experience and confidence with the machine.

  While a wider tire on the appropriate sized wheel technically has a larger and better contact patch, there's nothing to say that in itself will allow you to go faster any more than it simply being a placebo effect!

[NorCalToy]

anybody seen the new yamaha VMAX? 1679cc's!

http://www.starmotorcycles.com/star/msite/micro_v1.aspx

[kneedownnate]

Vmaxes have always been kinda cool, but they're pretty much only made for one thing:  go fast in a straight line!

[NorCalToy]

that thing is huge though...

[kneedownnate]

Saw this on a vfr site.  Pretty sure it's another rc45 like in the 2nd pic.