The OTB old testament

[PiZdETS]

Ya'll Be Careful Out There.....
Well, the holiday has barely started, and there are already two reports of downed riders on the news locally.

I make it a habit of NOT riding on holiday weekends because of the combination of too much traffic, too much sun, too many folks that start drinking early and too many tired, frazzled people on the road...I've had too many close calls and near misses on these weekends.

That being said, I know that many of you have been looking forward to this weekend and are out there or on your way to doing some weekend holiday riding and backroad strafing. I know this will fall on deaf ears (or closed eyes), but BE CAREFUL OUT THERE FOR THE "OTHER GUY".....I don't want to read any depressing posts on Monday or Tuesday about another member eating it 'acuse they didn't leave themselves an out, or ended up a hood ornament.

I still snow ski with a bunch of other olde fartes, even though my knees have had more work on them than a lot of your bikes; it never failed on the first outing of the season that we'd all try to make up for a long period of downtime with cramming in as many runs as we could that first weekend....and also that one of us would end up on a stretcher being dragged down the mountain to the first aid station on that last day because a couple of us didn't know when to quit....and it was always when we said, "just ONE more run", when we were worn out, tired and a little frazzled, but were having too much fun to stop....and the "fun" turned into a trip the the ER.

We've got all summer...Easy Does It out there: we've got all season. Hopefully, we'll all still be out there when the first flakes of snow start swirling at the end of the season.

I don't want to lose any of you.

Leigh
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Why Johnny Can't Get It Up.
I read constantly here about "My 110 Hp GuzziZixxer 600 won't wheelie, does it need $2000 worth of engine mods or do I NEED to get a 180hp 1000?".

The reason your bike won't wheelie is the same reason it doesn't handle right: Rider weight is 25-40% of the WHOLE VEHICLE WEIGHT. Riders act like their weight doesn't matter. IT DOES!

If you want your bike to do what you want it to, from carving turns to flappin' that front wheel in the air: GET YOUR AZZ OFF THE SEAT!!!!

Read Twist of the wrist I and II, go take a track day and some instruction, go practice tight stuff in a parking lot.....ANYTHING to help you realize that there is more to riding than squeezing levers and twisting the throttle. Read about weight placement, weighting the pegs (inside or outside, when to and when not to); experiment with weighting placement during hard braking in an empty parking lot, and note how the bike handles when you slide forward on the tank (stoppies) and what happens when you slide backward towards the rear.

Go find your favorite set of turns and experiment at moderate speeds with hanging a cheek off, or rotating around the gas tank, and note the different effects.

Practice "slow racing"; going as slow as you can in a parking lot without putting your feet down; practice balancing at stop signs; see how long you can come to a stop WITHOUT putting your feet down (Body placement is critical for this). Practice pulling your feet up BEFORE you let out the clutch instead of dangling one or both of them through the intersection (a dangerous practice).

All of these exercises will make you a better rider, and get you that much closer to making you and the machine a working unit.

Practice, Practice.

[PiZdETS]

What Are YOU?
I have been watching the responses to Gmans "What is A Biker" thread with great interest. Seems we have some disconnect between members of our own community (Sportbikes, Cruisers, Harley riders, Tourers, ect). So then, I guess it should be NO surprise that another aspect of being a "biker" hasn't even beed mentioned: our relationship with THEM; those @#*&&^%$ cagers!

We constantly harp on what a bunch of dumb, stupid, dangerous group anybody on 4 or more wheels are....but we never hear (or mebbe don't want to talk about ) the other two sides of the equation : our own "Bad Acts" which give rise to the sensational news stories when a manaic biker kills himself and/or others; and the frequent (in MY experience) "Good Samaritans" not on two wheels.

I'll talk about my own experiences with the second phenomena, and save the Bad Acts for last.

I have been fortunate to have been allowed to ride for many years now over most of this great country, as well as a goodlly portion of Canada (you Canucs have some of the most beautiful country in the world, as well as some of the most bleak, and I have been treated to some of the finest hospitality by your great people). As such, I've had occasion to to experience my share of flat tires, elecrical gremlins, mechanical ills and poor planning (empty gas tanks and closed gas stations). I have been offered aid IN EQUAL MEASURE by folks driving everthing from bicycles to eighteen wheelers; by everone from doctors to strippers, and everthing in between, all of them complete strangers.

As a result, I've made it a practice to stop for all manner of vehicles that appear in distress. A while ago one morning I was travelling through a busy but remote section of western Maryland and saw an older, scruffy looking minivan pulled off the side of the road; kids and adults sitting dejectedly on the side of the road. I pulled off in front of them, dismounted AND REMOVED MY HELMET BEFORE I APPROACHED. (I could see the concern and fear in the eyes of these folks at being accosted in the middle of nowhere by a BIKER).

I asked them if they were OK, and the lady started crying; they had been broken down since 10 oclock THE NIGHT BEFORE, and no one would stop! They had given up, and spent the night huddled in the minivan, no food, no water and no cell phone service (the mountains up there have a lot of no service spots for miles). The kids were crying and the parents were beside themselves.

Fifteen minutes with the cheesy pliers from my tool kit, a knife and some spare fuel line, and I had bypassed the plugged fuel filter and they were happily on their way.

I have changed flat tires for anyone who looked like they needed it, and dropped gas off to the stranded. In doing these things, I believe I can accomplish two things: a. remove some of the stigma associated with bikes and bikers in the non riding community, and b. build a little positive karma for the day when I REALLY need some help out in the middle of nowhere. I really do believe we reap what we sow.

As for the "Bad Acts" issue; ie that which leaves a bad impression of the non-riding community: I try to limit my own exhuberance to less and non-populated areas ( I love the sound of that v-twin through that "Competition Only" MotoCorse pipe, but those folks next to the road may not appreciate the Bimota at full song at 6am on a Saturday morning) and I try to bring up these issues on boards whenever I can, and to talk with other bikers who maybe haven't thought of the long-term consequenses of anti-social behavior on their beloved sport.

State and municiple governments across this country are contemplating or enacting restrictive motorcycle specific legislation or outright bans on PUBLIC ROADS AND STREETS, as well as some private communities building anti-motorcycle covenents into bylaws. We can trace this trend directly back to the bad behavior, (real or imagined) of our own members.

While joining the AMA is good, and being politically aware and active are also good, I believe that the best way to counter these trends is for me to remember that my actions ARE BEING WATCHED AND JUDGED by the public.

How I ride and what I do are going to directly affect the public's perception of who and what we are!




What kind of Ambassador will you be, today?



Just something to think about.
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On Riding, Dying, and Freedom
On Riding, Dying, and Freedom

I read the rather sad series of posts regarding mgs251's apparent demise.
http://www.twowheelforum.com/showthread.php?t=17491

I don't mean to sound callous, but reading his posts from the beginning, it's not much of a surprise. I've attended more than one biker funeral that never should have happened.

As the riding season begins, we get more and more posts and questions from new(er) riders about stunting, top speed runs, which bike is faster, how great my friends are at 10 'oclock wheelies at 120 on the freeway, running from the cops; and the complaints on this and other forums about helmet and gear nazi's (of which I am one, proudly) always "puttin' us down". and "prejudging us", along with the usual complaints about older or more experienced riders being hypocrits.

I don't know about the hypocracy part, but I will share with those that wish to listen about how I survived my early ignorance, and how I try to pass along what I've learned.

First off, there is nothing wrong with ignorance; when we're new to this game, everything is a mystery. The language and terms are different, and much of riding is counter-intuitive; we need to learn new behaviors, and unlearn others. That being said, there is a difference between the ignorance of "newness" and the WILLFUL ignorance of being pig-headed or (self) destructive. Those of you that fall in the latter two catagories; may you live long enough to out grow those traits.

When I first started riding, there was no MSF course, Harry Hurt hadn't yet published his landmark findings on the causes of motorcycle accidents and injuries, and what little "knowledge" that was available out there in the form of Lore was mostly WRONG. The hanging off style of riding was just being developed by the likes of Paul Smart, Giacomo Augustini and Kenny Roberts, and complex dynamics of motorcycle handling and chassis and tire dynamics were just beginning to be explored. Common myth required that if the average motorcyclist is confronted by an object he could not avoid, his best course of action was to "lay her down"....as if somehow losing all control of the situation...no braking, no steering...was going to mysteriously give a better outcome.....

The term "counter steering" had not yet been expressed, and concepts like target fixation, chassis static sag, gyroscopic precession and trail braking had hardly been discussed. Helmet use was sporadic, and padded, armoured leathers were for the rich......knee sliders were composed of wads of folded-over duct tap, taped to the knees of those expensive leathers. (Truth!)

What does all this have to do with the topic at hand? Well, we now know that fullface helmets and good gear save skin, injury and often lives. We also know that lack of training and poor riding habits are the direct cause of single vehicle motorcycle accidents, and that, regardless of who is at 'fault" in motorcycle /car accidents, over 70% of the riders simply froze up and never attempted any avoidance in those accidents. And while excessive speed is not the direct cause of many motorcycle accidents, it is the precipitator of the "Fatality" part of the equation. Today with the huge body of motorcycle specific research, especially with the internet, and boards like these, there is simply no excuse to REMAIN ignorant very long.

So, yes, we older riders did a lot of what I now consider "stupid" moves. But blame a lot of it on ignorance of newness and lack of real knowledge. To those of you that chose to ignore the facts today; because facts they are, and calling them otherwise doesn't change 'em. That's just plain willfulness and wishful thinking.

...and that will get you killed....or worse.

[PiZdETS]

Bike Running Cr@ppy?
Let me guess: You put your bike away in (pick one : Novermber, December, January) and it was running fine. You (did, did not) put Stabil or somesuch in the gastank, and on your first ride of the season, it's runny poorly, spitting back, feels like the plugs are fouling, hard starting....any of these sound familiar?

Outside of flat batteries from not having a battery tender or taking the battery out during the off season; the poor running bike is the most common complaint on the first ride(s) of the year.

Go drain your tank. I use a kerosene siphon because I can prime it by hand (rather than getting a mouthful of 89 Octane) and it's made clear, so I can see what's coming out of the tank (like water, insect parts, dirt, rust, ect.)

Now, go put some FRESH GAS (not the crap from the lawn mower that you bought last July), preferably some Chevron (with Techron) (Gas Man? Any others?) and go run it for a while. You may need to put a tankful or two of fresh gas through it before it runs right. Gas stabilizers work OK for preventing the gas from turning to laquer, but they won't do much for all that condensation at the bottom of your tank.

For munged up carbs, I use a few ounces of Yamaha carb cleaner in the first couple of tankfuls; it will remove laquer in mildly sticky carbs. You may need to drain the grunge out of your floatbowls, and maybe do a carb rebuild if you don't stabilize your gas during storage.

Yamaha also makes a great FI cleaner for non-carb systems.

Remember; do the preventitive stuff in the fall so you don't have to be mucking about with this stuff in the spring when you could be riding.....and always do the cheap/easy basics before you go tearing into the major rebuilds... unless you like wasting money and riding time.
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Jumble
Normally, I post about just one topic, so this one is going to be a little out of the ordinary for me, in that it is about a lot of stuff, some of which may seem unrelated, to the sane mind.

First off: Got to do A BUNCH of riding this weekend; WHOOHOO. I met up with Marko on Saturday; we hooked up in Gettysburg and road the South Mountain area looking for a string of interesting roads for a group ride. As he posted; we found the Good , the Bad and the Ugly. Some of my old favorites were covered in tar/chip, some stuff I hadn't been on before was real nice, and one section of formally nice road was so washboarded we stood on the pegs for a couple miles with the bikes bucking below us like motocrossers on the whoops..............

Secondly: I got to ride with a TWF'er!!! I enjoyed riding with Marko...he's smooth, fast and competent, and likes the same type of tight stuff I do. He has a nice easy style without a lot of gymnastics but still moves along at a good pace. Thanks Marko...that was fun!

Thirdly: Got to put some miles on the GSXR600, both Saturday, and then about another 300 miles on Sunday up in the Clearfield, Pa area. Let me say this for all you new folks worried about "outgrowing" a modern 600 sportbike in a year or so:

If you do "outgrow" your R6, Gixxer6, 636 Ninja or 600RR in the next year or so, you are a far, far better rider than I will ever be; perhaps you should hurry out and get your "Expert" AMA license and go get sponsors.

I know, you can't keep up with your buddies R1's when they roll 160 down the interstate. I guess if pure top speed is all you care about then you are right. But how many of us live at Bonneville, or only ride to and from the dragstip?

You are can spend years on the twisting backroads trying to extract the full potential of these modern middleweights. They are just that good. The difference in the quarter mile between the middleweights and the litre bikes is less than half a second and 5-8 mph terminal velocity; yet the difference between the nimble 600's and the litre bikes on the backroads is another world. Light weight, quick turn-in, and managable power delivery are the hallmarks of the 600 class.

Real world, the roads we drive on day to day are not billard table smooth with perfect traction; just the opposite, they have varying surfaces, sand, critters, bumps, ripples, traffic, pedestrians, ect. This weekend, if I had been on any of the modern "big" bikes I've had, I'd have spent more time trying to keep the bike from getting out of shape than actually enjoying riding.

If you look at laptimes of Supersport bikes vs Superbike on all but the fast (Daytona, ect) courses, you will find the top riders times within a second or so. The reason is, what the middleweights give up on top end, they take back in overall handling and cornerspeed.

And you need to be able to ride to extract it. Riding is more than plopping your butt in the saddle and twisting the throttle.

JMHO

[PiZdETS]

Tire Pressure
Check it all the time!!!

If you last checked/filled your tires on a hot day, and now you are riding in the 40's and the bike is acting squirrely, chances are the temperature differential is going to cause your tires to be way low on pressure.

http://www.twowheelforum.com/showthr...383#post338383

Check your pressures often! Especially during large temp swings. Also, tires filled when temps are in the thirties and forties can be overfilled when temps hit the seventies or eighties.

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Do You Know CPR?
Twenty-five years ago, I worked for a foodservice company that required all it's employees know the Heimlich Manuver, and CPR. We all had to take a couple hour course and get certified. Six months later, we had a patron that had too much to drink during a steak dinner start to choke....I walked over behind him, did the HM, the piece of steak popped out, (about a third of a 10oz Sirloin...yech....) and he went back to drinking and scarfing like nothing had happened....and I've never given the training another thought.

This morning, I had a lot to do, and had to stop for fuel at a big gas plaza/convienience store near the airport. As I was coming out the door with my coffee, I noticed a commotion a couple of pumps down from me. Two women were yelling at someone in a pickup truck. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but one of them was slapping the drivers side window, and the other was standing in the pickup bed slapping at the rear window and yelling. At first, I thought it was a "domestic dispute" or perhaps someone had cut somebody else off and it had carried over to the gas station.

As I got closer, I noticed that both women wore the uniform of the business there (Royal Farm Stores) and they were yelling at the man to "Wake up, sir, wake up!!" over and over. I walked over to the truck and saw a man slumped backward over the center console, head back and eyes rolled up into the back of his head, whites showing. The side window was open a crack, so I forced my arm hard down into the window, and my fingers were able to pluck the door latch open,(both doors were locked).

My hand reached for his neck, and without thinking, I pressed lightly but firmly for a pulse. His complexion was grey, there was no discirnable pulse, and I put my ear next to his mouth....no breath. There was a lady standing next to me talking to the 911 dispatcher, relaying my observations. By now there was a sizable crowd forming around the truck.

I popped the guy's seatbelt, and started to drag him out of the truck. I was amazed at how limp an unconscious person is. I was afraid of hurting his neck, he was so limp and everything at odd angles. He was almost as big as me, and I was having trouble getting him untangled, and there was some guy standing gawking, so I yelled, "You, give me a hand!" He turned around and walked away!!!! MF!!!! I started cussing at him!!!!

Did I tell you that the whole time this all is happening, the little voice in the back of my head is yelling at me, "DUDE!! JUST WALK AWAY!! LET SOMEBODY ELSE DEAL WITH IT....YOU DON"T WANT TO END UP PLAYING LIP-LOCK WITH THIS GUY!!!!"

Some little housewife about 105 soaking wet stepped in and kept me from dropping the guy, thank God. We got him on the ground without smacking his head on the pavement, and she took off her coat and we stuck it under his neck to tip his head back and open the airway. Eyes were still rolled up, no pulse, no breath.

I got my courage up, and stuck my finger into his mouth, to see if something got lodged in his throat...nothing. I pushed on his chest, and was rewarded with a little wheezy gasp; but the nothing. I started compressions, and the same lady said, "I know CPR, I'll do compressions, if you'll do the breathing".

Did I mention he was a scruffy lookin' dude with a none too clean beard?

I shift over as she starts counting compressions; at thirty, she stops, I pinch his nose, take a deep breath (as much to screw my courage up as for his benefit) and brreeeatthhe.

Just like they told us; he IMMEDIATELY "pinks" up. I finish the three breaths, she starts in on compressions and we start all over again. We get through about six cycles, and we can hear sirens getting louder by the second. At one point, I look down and see that the pupil of his eyes have rolled back down, but he's still out. Next thing I know, a guy in a blue uniform is pushing us out of the way, "It's ok now, he has a pulse". They slap and oxygen mask on him, pop him on a backboard, and in what seems like seconds, they're gone with him, sirens blaring.

I look at the lady, she sticks out her hand, we shake hands and both say "Thanks", and go on our separate ways.

I started shaking about ten minutes later.

That training was one hour over 25 years ago, and it stuck. Amazing.


PS. I went back into the store, bought a bottle of mouthwash, and gave myself a good rinse or two.

[PiZdETS]

Is it just me.......
..Or does anybody else feel this way?

After weeks of snow, ice, freezing wind and sleet, days without power due to downed power lines; slush and ice, and then cold grey windy crappy sandy, salty roads....we had two days of HEAVY rain....enough to wash most of the crap off of the roads.....

...Friday and Saturday went up to 65 here in 'Balimer....and I snuck out of work early, bopped on home, shucked off the work clothes, snugged into my leathers (time for another diet), sprinted out to the garage and rolled my little tri-color wonder out into the glorious sunlight.

Fuel tap ON, ignition ON, rotate the throttle three times fast to activate the accelerator pumps, hit the starter button....and HEAVEN. The motor comes to life with that lumpy, snarly, rumbly-bumbly cadence reserved for performance V-Twins....shakin' and smooth at the same time.

Do a walk-around while she's warmin' up, check the chain, tire pressures, check to make certain the brakes are still attached...check all zippers, helmet on, gloves on and throw the leg over, snap up the sidestand, and...eeaase on down into the saddle while my hands fall to their places on the grips.

Just like sayin', "Hi" to an old friend.

Clutch in, snick it down into first, give a couple of slight blips...a little gas clutch out more gas clutchout more gas and.....ahhhhhhhhhh....that invisible hand in the back, launching you down the road as only a torquemonster motor on a superlight bike can do....

.....and all the daily living, the worries, the deadlines, the gotta do's just fall away like so much chaff in the wind; the feel of the bike and the road fill my senses and free me from the "surly bonds of earth"....and I'm right with the world again.....


Or is it just me?

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Sport-Touring
As I write this, the outside temp is hovering around 7 F, the wind is blowing at about 20 knots, and I haven't had power at home (no well, no heat, no septic, ect.) since Tuesday night. I'm writing this on my laptop, and I'll shoot it off at work when I'm done. Right now, I'm busy feeding the better part of a half-cord of well-aged oak and cherry into the maws of my fireplace; it's one of those hybrid fireplace/woodstove units, and it keeps the house around 68-70 as long as I keep it well fed with dry hardwood. The power company says I can expect restoration of electrical service sometime this evening or tommorrow. Bummer.

So what better way to be transported out of the bleakness of frozen creeks, blustery winds and salty, sanded icy roads, then to sit down by oil-lamplight with some area and regional maps, and start planning the First Spring Ride.

If any of you have read any of my previous posts, you'll know that I loooove to ride; can't get enough of two-wheeled travel as a matter of fact....and I prefer to do it scrunched up on whatever sporty piece of mechanical marvel happens to be ensconced in my garage. Two and three day weekend trips are the norm for me, with miles travelled in the 600-1000 range. Four or five hundred mile days are not out of the question. The little Bimota has proven as cramp-free as any sportbike I've ridden, even with my 50+year old surgically altered knees, so I'll expect it'll suffice as good as anything as an all-day mount.

That being said, riding sportsbike long distances over multiple days creates some challanges and forces some compromises that I wouldn't have if I were riding a bagger or even a well-equipped sport-touring bike, like a Concours, an ST or an FJR, with their plusher seats, more compliant suspensions, ample room and baggage. But, I also get to skip the high weights, wallowing suspenders, limited groundclearance and slower acceleration of the bigger bikes.

There is little more painful and boring than droning on down the superslab hour after hour on a stiffly suspended sportsbike, weight on wrists and a tiny contact patch on that tiny, thinly upholstered seat, as the forks meant to transmit the subtleties of road feel at the limits of adhesion now transmit every little bump and juddering square-edged superslab seam up through my sore and tired arms, wrists and elbows. I have ridden on stretches of frost-heaved freeway that were so bad, that fifteen minutes of rythmic slamming into the turned-up edges of the slabs had my guts hurting so bad that I had to pull off and find and alternate route.

And this, my friends, is the key to having a successful (read: fun) tour on a sportsbike; PLANNING.

Depending on what part of the country you live; you may have the kind of roads we all adore right out at the end of your driveway, or six hours away in the mountains. For me, it's somewhere in the middle. Decent roads without the urban traffic require that I ride at least an hour. Getting to some of my buddies in Penn or WV may require 4-6 hrs of inconvienient travel. So, some planning is required, if I'm not going to arrived burnt out on slabtravel and eighteenwheelers.

First, a couple of truths, gained through hard-won experience:

A. IT ALWAYS takes longer than I thought.

B. If I have to leave work at a precise time on Friday in order to hook up 6 hrs later with my buddies; a work emergency ALWAYS HAPPENS, delaying my departure by at least 2 hours.

C. If I have been delayed 2 hrs by that work emergency, and my buddies will be waiting for me, there is ALWAYS CONSTRUCTION OR A MAJOR ROAD CLOSING ACCIDENT ON MY ROUTE....ALWAYS

D. If none of the above happen, that marginal battery or marginal tire or sporadic carb glitch I've been "meaning to" replace or work on will chose NOW to put me on the side of the road....miles from nowhere.......in the dark.....with a dead cell battery.

E. Whatever piece of gear I've left at home in the interest of saving space; THAT is the gear I will need most. I once left my rainsuit out of my tankbag so I could stuff more "everday" clothing in; we were in the middle of a weeks long drought, the weatherman predicted more of the same for many more days....hot, humid and no rain. I got a hundred miles down the road, and that nasty jet stream took a dive down from Canada without consulting Accuweather......temps in the 50's and it poured for days......................

I plan my trips carefully now, giving myself ample time to adapt and take an altenate route(S) so i don't arrive stessed or beat-up. I have a standard "pack" in my tank bag and backpack that I take always. No exceptions.

I plan my routes so that, whenever possible, I stay off of the superslab. Sometimes, due to destination or time constraints, I have no choice; but when I can, which is usually, I keep to the secondaries. I enjoy the ride more, and I get to meet and talk to people, which , for me, is the whole point of the trip, anyway.

See ya out there.

OTB

[PiZdETS]

DB4 Mods
Before buying this little beast I had done enough research to know that most Bimotas needed some initial "tuning"; they often came with "issues". The Db4's in particular had some low-speed, small throttle opening roughness and the stock Mikunis were noted for not keeping synch. In addition, the stock "shotgun" exhaust was a major cork in knocking a large chunk of top end off the all-but-stock 904 Ducati mill. I had ordered some flatslide Keihins, as well as a Moto Corse full titainum system which not only increases drivabilty, but has the added benefit of knocking off almost 30 lbs of weight (over 20 lbs saved on the exhaust, plus the airbox, evap canister, and a couple other bits go bye-bye. I also chucked the heavy cast folding footpegs and saved a few more ounces with some billet items.) The old rubber hydraulic lines went in the can, replaced by stainless braided.

The new flatslides have no choke or enrichner circuit, so starting is accomplished by turning on the fuel petcock (yep), waiting a few seconds, and then cranking a few turns on the throttle to actuate the accelerator pumps. Turn the key and the motor fires right off, hot or cold.

The Corse system is mellow on the bottom and midrange, and, as the motor is still in break-in, I don't know how the top end will sound, but if a couple of half-throttle short bursts are any indication, it should howl. It's raspy, but the tone doesn't have the hard edge that my old ST2 with the Duc carbon cans had...that thing could be downright embarrassing in town. This has more of a mellow Harley chuff on light throttle.

The clutch feel is "relatively" light (for a Duc motor, Bimota changed the piston ratio on their master cylinder)) but has the characteristic "jangle" when disengaged. Shifting is very smooth, and requires barely a touch, a welcome change from the stiff shifter on the Ducati.

First gear is VERY tall, requiring a bit of throttle to get things moving, but once the tach is over three grand things get busy IN A HURRY; although, with 9 or 10 year old tires, the amount of playing around I was willing to do was minimal, putting this thing on its side with less than 50 miles on the clock was to be avoided. Stock, the 904 mill makes horsepower in the mid 80's...the carb and exhaust changes are worth about 8-10 hp...not much by todays hyperbike standards, but then, not many hyperbikes weigh-in in dirtbike range, either. The end result is a reasonable amount of horsepower in a very light package. The big bonus is the torque...gobs and gobs of it from right off the bottom.

Suspension is on the very firm side; the owners manual doesn't even address the 5 way adjustable forks or the 4 way shocks...Paoli supplies a separate manual for the forks and addresses service and rebuilding, but doesn't even mention the adjustments, so I'm going to have to do some research once I'm through break-in and put some decent tires on it.

Brakes are Brembos...and they stop right NOW. Its the same system used on my old 150lb heavier ST2, so there is more than enough power to stand it on its nose with two fingers....and on the other end is this teeeny 'lil 8 inch disk and two-pot setup, with just enough oomph to settle the suspension going into a turn, but very little slowing capability at all.

So, what we have is a small, light 900cc bike, with a wheelbase 1.5 in shorter than an R-6, double the torque, and weighing in twenty lbs less than an RD350 Yamaha....even with the hard tires, exiting ANY turn with more than 1/4 throttle nets you a little headshake as the front tire first patters over the road and then loses contact entirely as the front heads skyward. Interesting. Looks like a steering damper is in order......ohh and look, under the left fairing shroud is a bracket already in place for an Ohlins unit.

The bike flicks into a turn with no effort; steering is neutral and solid, not nervous feeling like you'd expect such a teeny bike to feel. Even on some of the choppy pavement up in wester Md, hitting bumps mid-turn never unsettled the bike. Very confidence inspiring even with the dicey tires.

A little more work with some good tires, maybe some titainiam or carbon bits, and maybe send the seat out to Sargent this winter for some real padding and I'll be there.

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It's the seller, silly.......
Motorcycles, riding habits and service, and what to expect from that used bike.

The fact of the matter is, is that odo milage is about the least reliable indicator of a bikes INTERNAL condition. Face it, according to latest industry figures, the AVERAGE motorcyclist rides less than 2000 miles per year. At that rate, most bikes should outlast their owners!

How many videos do we see on here with guys (and girls) clamping on the front brake while they hammer the throttle at redline smoking the tire in a big blue cloud? How many post vids of them and their buddies with the front tire in the air and the oil in the back of the sump while the motor screams at 10 grand? ....and then slam the front back down, and segue into a series of suspension-bottoming stoppies?

How many of your buddies start their bikes up and then zing the tach up to 10 grand to impress everybody with the sound of their new pipe, all while the oil is still cold?

How many of your buddies have NEVER cracked open the owner's manual to check what the service intervals should be, or what weight oil or what tire pressures should be used? Or even how to check the oil level!

I buy (and ride and resell) an average of three used motorcycles per year. I physically inspect and look at 20-30 bikes to get the two or three I'm interested in, after culling through literally hundreds and hundreds of newspaper and internet classifieds to arrive at the few I even want to look at.

And after all that, the number one indicator about what kind of reliable service I can expect from a given motorcycle, barring a design or manufacturing problem, is going to be the attitudes of seller.

I must admit that I fib a lot during the "interview"; I usually tell the seller that I'm kinda new to this game, and so I ask a lot of questions, like what kind of power does it have, why is the middle of the tire flattened with no tread, but the sides are like new; how much does a tuneup cost, and can I do it myself, and THEN I SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO WHAT THE SELLER TELLS ME.

If he tells me about the fantastic power and the 4th gear wheelies he's done for hundreds of yards, and how that dent up on the tank is when he rammed the family jewels on it during the HUGE stoppie he did,; well, I say "thanks for your time" and move on.

If he can't show me the sight glass and the oil fill and doesn't know the last time the plugs were changed, I say "see ya".

By the same token, if he opens up his garage and it's well stocked with tools and stuff, and he tells me that he's still got a 1/2 case of Golden Spectro Synthetic that goes with the bike, and he's just put a new filter in it, and apologises that the brake fluid is a little dark, but that he 's got a fresh can of DOT 4 that he want's to flush the system with before I pick it up; well, he and I will do some talkin'.

Over the last few years, I've bought, ridden and sold a lot of bikes, and I ride with a number of the guys I sold bikes to; a lot of them are up there in milage now ( for those of you still skeptical about longevity of THE NEW Brit bikes; I sold my best friend my used 955i Daytona last year with 5k on the clock.....he now has 40,000 + miles on it with nothing but standard service like oil, plugs, tires and a chain or two) and all of them still run GREAT.

Want to know how long that bike will last?

Look first to the seller, and then look in the mirror.

[PiZdETS]

Cold Ambient Air.....
....means longer warmups, colder tires, roadtemps and falling on yer arse if you are not careful.

I grew up riding in Minnesota, where riding conditions can vary by the hour....leave for work in the morning and watch out for black ice under bridges, come home in the afternoon in the seventies. If you've done any trackriding at all, you've also noticed (I hope) that 15 minutes worth of warmup laps can have a huge difference in available traction.

Todays sticky tires are especially compounded to operate best in a fairly narrow temperature range. Go outside of that temp range and traction can fall off drasticly. Riding at a spirited pace on cold tires on a cold road and what would normally be a little "twitch" during warm weather can become a lurid slide or a crash.

And just because it warmed up in the afternoon, doen't mean the road is much warmer....stop on the shoulder in the shade on a day that starts out in the thirties, and put your hand on the road surface. Now do it in the afternoon, in the shade. Even though the air temp may be 30-40 degrees warmer, the road temp will be in the forties. Something to think about before pitching it into that blind curve like you would in the summer.

Think while you ride.

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After The Fall...
There seem to be a lot of threads on here lately from folks who have either crashed, know somebody who has crashed, or come upon a recent crash. While I have sympathy for anybody who has gone down or been involved in a multi-vehicle accident, my response is always the same; what happened, how can another such incident be avoided, and what did you learn?

If my approach sounds a little cold, well, sorry; but if you screw up and don't LEARN anything, sympathy won't get you anything but killed.

My EXPERIENCE has shown me that ANYTIME I wreck......IT"S MY FAULT.

YEP! Me. The Rider. My Fault. YEP. Even if (or ESPECIALLY IF) the other guy did something stupid. MY JOB IS TO KEEP ME SAFE!!!

And therefore, if I do go down or get into an accident, or witness another accident; my job is to put aside the emotions and analyze WHAT WENT WRONG and what I can do as a rider to avoid doing it AGAIN, because the only guy lookin' out for me out there is ME.

My screwups have come in a couple basic catagories:

> The Doin' Somethin' Stupid Screwup. Like drinking and riding....or riding without gear....or doing a showoff move...in traffic. You know what I mean.

>The I Didn't Know How Screwup. Like braking in turns....target fixation.....locking up the rear brake.....dropping an unfamiliar bike. Those that could be taken care of with a little training and/or a little practice that I didn't do because I was in a hurry or too lazy.

>The I Had No Business Being There Screwup. Like riding at 2 am on a Friday or Saturday nite after the bars just closed....or just about any holiday weekend nite....or during or just after dusk on back roads in deer country

>The I Have The Right-Of-Way Screwup. Oh really? You gonna dent his car with your face to MAKE A POINT? (Sort of a subset of the Doin' Something Stupid Screwup)

>The Riding-Over-My-Head Screwup. See #2 above.

There are a few more generalizations I could make, but you get the idea.

In order for me to survive out there, I need to throw away the blame of others and accept the fact that the worlds' roads are full of lousy drivers, stupid, ignorant drivers, sand in corners, decreasing radius blind turns, nails in tires, cell phones, Buicks, deer, dogs; ad nuaseum and accept the fact that, as a rider, navigating all these hazards is my lot in life that I volunteered for!

Now, what do I do about it?

Not; Who do I blame?

OTB