Anyone ride motorcycles?

[bianchi10]

I am coming from a racetrack background. nothing professional by any means as I never raced just trackdays, but rode track only after seeing how dangerous it could be or I was becoming on the streets. (2006 gsxr 600..all race modified). I rode for 5 years and LOVED every second of it but it became to expensive to support my hobby. Plus my wife HATED everyday that I threw a leg over my bike. I was very selfish for 2 years and kept my own desires a priority till 5 months ago I realized how much I was spending along with how I was making my family feel. I decided to sell my bike with everything motorcycle related and told the wife I wanted to start cycling. Here I am 5 months later and though I miss the rush of 150mph on a race track, I couldn't be having more fun cycling. Ironic thing is now that I sold my bike and the wife was happy, she is now almost just as scared that I'm going to get hit by a car while cycling. Maybe next year I will have to sell the bicycle and start a book club

anyone else ride a bike with a motor in it?

 

[alienator]

I raced for 7 years and have been on motorcycles quite a bit longer than that. I am currently without one, though.

I used to work in a race shop, and I never understood why street riders put their street rides into race trim. I guess it was just the urge to be an organ donor for them. Frankly, I never enjoyed being around street squids.

Racing is a lot different than track days. As much as a track day is different than street riding, so is racing from a track day.

I only raced a 600 in endurance racing. I avoided like the plague on any other race days, as the 600cc/middleweight class was were all the street boys went to pretend to be heros. Of all the races on a weekend the 600/middleweight classes were the ones that deserved to be called crashfests.

No offense, but I doubt your 600 was going 180. What track(s) are you talking about?

I can only guess from gearing and revs how fast as I went as a racer. Never used a speedo on the track, and didn't know any racers that did. Mostly, I don't think anyone wanted to know how fast they were barreling toward a corner for which they were late braking. It's not like a speedo matters. What mattered was how far off the guy in front of you or behind you was and hitting the marks on your line.

I do miss racing, but my wife isn't willing to tolerate crash injuries anymore, and the injuries can take the fun out of the things. If she ever leaves, I'll start racing again.

 

[roadhouse]

have. growing up (pfft!) i had a yz 125, cx 125, cr 200 which was by far my favorite, husky 390, and a few mopeds and mini street bikes. in los angeles i picked up an antique and in mint condition 1971 honda cb 175 for $180 total, only needed a new battery after being stored for 19 years and with 3000 original miles. i got arrested, it got impounded. never saw that again.

fsr 750 and a magna 1100.

fastest bike i've ridden was a gsxr1100, i was at 180 too but in Alief and on public roads, not a track. . i was 16 years old and that was too much bike for me than.

biggest bike i've ridden was a harley bored 30 over originally with a 1300 cc i think it was.

i don't own one now but it's on the list. a harley kind of street bike, not a rice rocket fan myself, not that they aren't bad ass or anything.

 

[bianchi10]

I didn't even realize I typed 180...I meant 150( typo.) My 600 was geared up 2 down 1 so my top speed was taken down a bit. I have been to pacific in washington, the new course in Oregon "Oregon raceway Park", but mostly Portland international raceway.

I road on the streets for 2 years and couldn't take all the squidish idiots I was riding with, which could only mean I myself was a squid as well. Sold my street bike and rode strictly trackdays.

 

[roadhouse]

i've never been into motorcycle racing. i like the long cruises up and down the coastline in the middle of the night so you got me with all of that stuff, i'm clueless.

 

[bianchi10]

found a picture from this past season.........

 

[roadhouse]

ha!. my number is 7 as in Nov 7th is my b-day. scorpio, evil knows no ends!!!

sorry, my other half took over for a second again.. nice pic but with the tinted face, how can we tell that that is really you?

 

[alienator]

I didn't even realize I typed 180...I meant 150( typo.) My 600 was geared up 2 down 1 so my top speed was taken down a bit. I have been to pacific in washington, the new course in Oregon "Oregon raceway Park", but mostly Portland international raceway.

I road on the streets for 2 years and couldn't take all the squidish idiots I was riding with, which could only mean I myself was a squid as well. Sold my street bike and rode strictly trackdays.

PIR is supposed to be a nice track. Where is Pacific? How old is it?

I raced a variety of bikes: superstock Honda 600f2; superstock GSXR 750; Ducati 888; Suz TL1000R (Jezebel: she was a cold hearted b*tch); and my favorite, a Honda NT650GT Hawk, maybe the most fun motorcycle to race. The Hawk had the max done to it: homebuilt total loss wiring harness; HRC ignition box; RC30 rear wheel; 600f2 front end; custom high volume radiator; engine bored, ported, hot cams, all by Mike Velasco (Freddy Spencer's long time chief mechanic); Velasco racing pipe; Kiehin 39mm FCR flatslides with open trumpets (they make a sick sound when whacked open and your on the cam); crank lightened and balanced by Costa Mesa cranks; Sharkskinz plastic; RS250 tail w/ custom built seat frame; a single 320mm Brembo cast iron rotor up front, grabbed by a billet 4 piston ISR caliper (Sweden); a Brembo GP master cylinder with adjustable ratio; and Bridgestone slicks all the way around. There were a few other bobs and bits. While my Hawk after all the work was only a 666cc twin, I could pull and pass 600f2's on the mile long back stretch at Road Atlanta. Best of all, the Hawk had corner speed to burn. That's what was best about it, gobs of corner speed.

Here it is starting to tip into a corner at Road Atlanta:

 

[alienator]

found a picture from this past season.........

Nice pic. That were and is the best part of racing: the corners. It's easy to go fast in a straight line. I mean, all you do is twist the grip, get on the tank, and hang on. During races, the straights--the long ones anyway--were where I got to take a break and relax. At two tracks, the straights were long enough to be boring.

On a bicycle, while the raw speed isn't there, you can still tickle the same pink spots on fast, curvy descents and in a fast peloton.

 

[bianchi10]

thanks. PIR is a descent track. fairly short and gets boring after a full day. the front straight is nearly 1 mile long so it is....LONG. hit 6 corners and another straight down the back which was 1/2 a mile. there is only 9 corners so again it can get kind of boring. the track surface is unlike anything I have seen as it is new and like a tennis court giving CRAZY grip but hard on tires.

Pacific raceway is up in Kent washington. fun course but fairly dangerous with tons of trees, Boulders and walls you can really hurt yourself with.

ORP is brand new and still needs some work done in order for them to really draw in some riders.

 

[roadhouse]

looking back i messed up, the cr 125 and the honda xr 200, four stroke. not cx and cr.

 

[bianchi10]

here is one of my videos from this past season. my last trackday before selling my bike

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krt4C_cc-no"]YouTube- July 15th 09[/ame]

 

[hod65]

used to ride a trial bike and a susuzki 250cc yrs ago which was fine going in straight lines but was unpreddictable in corners but had many a trip particularly round the ring of kerry mountain range in southern ireland scenery amazing , i think the cycling is a different buzz because of the work out aspect of it and achievement of climbing a hill and the rush of the decent down allthough cycling needs patience sometimes to get where you want to go....any thoughts ?

 

[hod65]

here is one of my videos from this past season. my last trackday before selling my bike

YouTube- July 15th 09

have never riden on a track but that looks f...ing fantastic.....

 

[dannomyte]

I've had a GSXR1000 for about a year now. Great bike. First sport bike I've owned and I just love it! Also have a 750 Shadow cruiser. So little time and so many to ride...

 

[Sharkey]

Currently (and for the last 6 years) ride a Yamaha FJR1300. Just a couple hundred miles shy of 100,000 miles on the clock. 3 Iron Butt rides, the last one a couple of years ago covering 1518 miles in 23 hours and 46 minutes. Had several bikes over the years. I've done a couple of track days (good for quenching "The Need For Speed" in the right venue instead of on the street) on the FJR but never raced. Used to race cars many years ago at several tracks in the PNW. Kind of wished I'd chosen bikes to race back then. Portland was one of my favorites, though Pacific Raceway was my home track. That was back when it was called Seattle International Race way or SIR. Same funky backwards track. Just a different name.

I really enjoy being on two wheels. Powered by dinosours or burritos. Doesn't really matter to me as long as the rubber side stays down.

 

[ecarpet1]

Nice pic. That were and is the best part of racing: the corners. It's easy to go fast in a straight line. I mean, all you do is twist the grip, get on the tank, and hang on. During races, the straights--the long ones anyway--were where I got to take a break and relax. At two tracks, the straights were long enough to be boring.

On a bicycle, while the raw speed isn't there, you can still tickle the same pink spots on fast, curvy descents and in a fast peloton.

Nice dragging in that corner. It always amazes me the tires can hold leaned over with that kind of speed.