Art of the Ninja

[Phenix_Rider]

Few months back, I signed onto a local board. Met up with a small group of guys toward bedford. Plan was to ride over there, then hit some of their best twisties. To put it nicely, all did not go as planned.


Before:


The turn:

The aftermath:









Tear down:





The gear:

[Phenix_Rider]

The SCRAP:







Back in action:

[Phenix_Rider]

Worthless, goddamn, motherfucking bastard, son of a whore, parts bin piece of shit computer!!!!!! I had a review of all the bikes I rode today, and Fucking Firefox crashed on me!!!!!

Suffice it to say, dead camera because I went to the AMA Flat Track race yesterday. Ridiculous numbers of harley whores, and naked squids of all types.

B-King: FUN engine. Heavy clutch, best Zook gearbox all day. Still hard to get neutral, and stalled the damn thing trying to get the kickstand down from between the peg and shifter. Capable of near-light speed with incredible torque and really, really smooth. Used three gears and hit 75 mph without going over 6k. Wheelie and stoppie monster, but ultimately too wide in the middle. Someone needs to steal the engine and mount it longitudinally like Motocyzyz. Rear brake is much better than the SV. Gauges also. They look odd standing still, but riding, they're effective- you learn to ignore all the lcd crap behind the tach needle, and the digital speedo is surprisingly clear. Speed is highly deceptive, even without a fairing.

Spyder: Same size as a Ford Focus. No way to miss potholes with three track vehicle. Give me a front brake damnit!! Another fun engine, slick gearbox and nice clutch. Handles decent once you get used to leaning before you turn to counteract, otherwise the weight transfer from throwing your body out results in major wiggle. Almost feels like it should have a steering wheel. Clutch lever engages too far out from the bar.

SV650SF: Track Machine. Not a daily rider like my Ninja. Engine is rattley, clutch is heavy, trans is unpredictable- mostly because of the long shifter travel and odd positioning, suspension is vague, and hand levers are non-adjustable. Most of that could be fixed easily, but that's more money and time. Clipons below the triple feel more aggressive than the GSXR. Tank is too wide on top, and too narrow on bottom. Good torque, but seems to rev out too quickly. More engine braking than the Ninja. Only free movement is front to rear on the seat- I didn't feel like I could turn/slide around the tank. My lower back was hurting after 30 minutes. Tach is easy enough to see without looking away from the road for too long, but the speedo is a bitch to see. Throttle on/off transition is rough/twitchy, so I found myself riding around town at 5-6k so it was open more. Front brake is good, but rear feels like shit because it doesn't feel like anything is happening.

DRZ400SM: Thumper. Doesn't belong on the same streets as the B-K or SV even. Sixth gear and 75 mph sounds like it's going to grenade. Really have to throttle it, and beat the piss out of the engine. Couldn't find the pegs after putting a foot down, or the shifter without looking down. Damned uncomfortable seat. Could be fun on extremely tight roads where you can wind it out and fling it around. I need a fucking tach! Long suspension travel means lots of brake dive. Unpredictable trans gave me a couple false neutrals. Stand is easy to get down.

Ninja 650R: MINE! This bike feels absolutely perfect now. Reach to the bars (SM aftermarkets) is good, peg to seat relation is good, and the passenger pegs double as highway pegs and a perfectly placed helmet holder. Engine begs to play. Smooth throughout the rev range. Sounds like sex above 6k. Trans snicks into gear nicely. Kawi positive neutral finder FTW! Smooth throttle transition except for first gear. Analog gauges right below line of sight in the helmet shield area mean I don't have to move my head- just my eyeballs. Clutch pull is consistent, and engages fairly early. Clutch springs are a little light- I can feel the engine spin up slightly as the clutch slips for less than a tenth of a second. Sidestand locater is behind the peg, not in front- so much easier to use. Rear brake pedal feels like it's working. Think I need new front pads though- lever travel is getting long before heavy braking. Front suspension is stiff.

[Phenix_Rider]

I (motor) marshalled an MS charity (bi)cycle ride this weekend. 150 mile ride, with another 80 on each end for me to get to the start/finish. About 10 motorcycles the first day, and anywhere from 8-15 at points during the second day. (Started with lots, but the old fogies from some local group ditched halfway through) The marshalls leapfrogged and directed traffic. An average of three intersections per marshal, for 2-4 hours at a time. Raised over $300,000.

500 bicyclists registered, 495 showed up. Route was 75 miles each way from Hollidaysburg to State College, PA. Average temp well into the 80s and lower 90s. Some good size hills, and lots of nice curvy back roads. Would have been a blast to ride minus the bicycles, cows, and deer. Took nearly 9 hours for everyone to finish. Had some good food after day one, and had a few drinks with a couple other marshalls. Guinness and Black+Tan are GOOD

The trip home was fun. Not five miles after I left the endpoint the wind picked up. Blowing branches and shit around, pelting me with leaves and sand. The rain started shortly after, and I stopped under 220/99 before I ever got out of Hollidaysburg to swap to my clear shield and close all my vents. From there to Somerset was solid hard rain. Tons of bikes out still- even a trike that stopped under the same overpass I did. Of course, I was the only one foolish enough to do my normal slab speed in the wet. I'm going 80 indicated most of the way (72-ish actual), figure the cages are doing around 65, and the other bikes are at 55-60.

Couple stretches had standing water in the wheel ruts. Started hydroplaning the front. That's the most disgusting, alien feeling on a motorcycle. Like somehow the front end is on Mars. Nothing to be done except slooooowly let off the gas and hold it straight. Had to ride down the center of the lane in the high spot to clear the water. Turns out the Pilot Roads are almost better in the wet than the dry.

As for the cyclists- they're out of their spandex loving minds. Good people, but no way would you catch me riding beside 18 wheelers on something that can't get out of the way wearing next to nothing. Leapfrogging through them was fun, and the lean angle some of those guys carried was ridiculous. Especially on tires no wider than my thumb. There were some very nice looking ladies out there too Next time, we need to round some up to take out for drinks. Hmmm- do they drink? Lots of fitness nuts don't...

That JR meshie looked a whole lot cooler than my leather, so I may have to get one. Just means it'll rain next time. Leather isn't bad above 30mph, but I spent way too much time in first gear doing 15mph over the weekend.

[Phenix_Rider]

Went to Carlisle Bike Show (2008) today. Rode an FZ6, R6, and R1. To spoil the ending, the R6 is my favorite.

The FZ6 is kinda pathetic. That's compared to the Rs and even my 650R. The exhaust note is just wimpy, the suspension is soft, and the bars are wonky. Nothing falls to hand for me, and they make it turn in ridiculously easy. Out on the road, I twist the throttle and the RPMs jump, but there's no corresponding increase in speed or thrust. Everything works, but it's not torquey, there's no top end hit as far as I saw, and the peg/seat/ bar relationship reminds me of the KLR more than anything else. I'm sure it does plenty of things right, but the fun factor just isn't there for me. I know someone that owns one- and his son ones one- he occasionally rides. Seems to like it.


The R1 is a beast. Not the insane, "blast-off" torque of the B-King though. More refined, but it still wants to chew up everything else on the road. Ergoes are semi relaxed for such a compact bike. Clutch action is predictable and gear changes are smooth. This thing is capable of speeds far beyond my ability. One of the SCPMC guys rides one on the street and summed it up perfectly: "At 4-,5-,6- thousand, it's pretty docile. At 7-,8-,9-, 10- thousand, things start to happen very fast." Even in second/third gear, 9 thousand is cutting reaction time short.


The R6 is awesome! I've heard you have to keep it in the very top of the RPM range, and that you just can't do that on the street. I don't believe it. No, it doesn't like riding under 6k- in fact, it loves to be reved way out, but it's tons of fun to wind it up. Pegs/seat/bars aren't too bad. I could get used to humping the tank for short periods. One thing I can't stand is the kink it put in my neck! We didn't hit any really good turns, and never got much above 50mph, but this thing handles like a rolling scalpel. Of all the bikes I've ridden, I could see having this one as a dedicated canyon carver/track machine. I wish I could have taken it back 30 on the way home.


Even saying that about the R6, I love my 650R. Good handling, power perfect for the street, no kink in the neck, and I like the looks and color better than anything on the Rs. Everything works right and it just plain pushes my buttons :cool

The rest of my pics for the weekend are here .