Chasing down the Penigale with the FJR

[gixxerjasen]

Dang, first video is now showing as private.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Hahaha, route advice. I like how he routed you right out of his state!

Looks like one of the good ones though.

 

[Johnny_dk]

same here, first video is now showing as private. ???

 

[dcarver]

I like this guy.

Some of the stupidest **** I ever did is what I remember the best in my old age.

...Like 100 dollar *minimum* bets I could start, from kickstand down, to 3rd gear wheelie, no feet touching ground, on a TT500 Yamaha.

.....Like riding in the desert at full, uhh, shall we say 'tilt' on a full moon night?

(ok, then again, broken back, femur, achilles, ribs, ankle, kidney)

The first video is tame compared to the second - and if you old guys could stay up past 20:30 you would have seen it!

:****:

Hugs n' Kisses

 

[gixxerjasen]

Who you callin old? At 20:30 I was busy getting my 4 year old ready for bed.

 

[dcarver]

Who you callin old? At 20:30 I was busy getting my 4 year old ready for bed.

Ok, as long he's wearing yammie pj's!

 

[Chiefblueman]

I saw the second vid. Can I be a young guy now? Please?

 

[gixxerjasen]

Who you callin old? At 20:30 I was busy getting my 4 year old ready for bed.

Ok, as long he's wearing yammie pj's!

Do you know where I can get some?

Right now it's all Spiderman and Disney characters. He has a few moto t-shirts though.

 

[Clovis]

First video should be fixed now. I meant to change to unlisted (which just requires a link to view) but changed it to private instead. Hopefully that fixes it.

I have a ton of GoPro videos but I rarely convert them to video... but now I have video proof that "dad was once fast"

FWIW, the GoPro adds a lot of speed to the videos. In reality you can see much further ahead then you can on the video. I have no problem passing on the double yellow as long as it's safe -- meaning I can see far enough ahead to get around the car and I'm not passing in blind corners. For example when the Penigale I'm chasing passes the mini van but I would have to pass it just before a corner. I stayed behind until it was safe to pass.

I remember that part well. I was only behind the van for several seconds and sped up to a blistering pace but it still took me what seemed like forever to catch her again and it was only because she got stuck behind another car

 

[Clovis]

On another note, I've solved a mystery.

I run Pilot Road 2s. I have to swap out both tires once per month (3000 miles) during the season. I couldn't figure out why I only get 3000 miles out of a set when other FJR pilots get 10,000 from the same tires. Now I know why, mystery solved.

My wife and I are building our new house. The new house will have a 3 car garage (finally! The one thing I've always wanted) which means no more "garage origami" to get two cars and 2 bikes to fit into a 2 car garage. I'll have a spot all to myself for the bike which means... Tire changing equipment?

Having my buddy do them for $50 or the local shop close to my office at $100 a pop adds up real fast when it's once a month.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Yea, 3000 of your miles != 3000 of my miles. And that makes me sad.

 

[SacramentoMike]

So I don't know if you expected such a load of criticism when you posted, Clovis, but at least you're taking it well.

And really, we should all be open to "constructive" comments when they come in. Just maybe people have something to say that could help us.

In that spirit, I've got to say, I almost always cringe when I'm watching other folks' ride videos. I know the rider sees better and is in better control when you're on the bike than it seems like when you watch a video, so the speed wasn't much of a concern for me, or the passing on the DY either. We can do much more than the folks in cars that those lines are painted to advise. And it reminds me, saying that, that when I was over in the Alps last year on the big group tour a few of us here took, with some amazingly extreme roads and turns, you don't see all that painted line "stuff." Over there they figure the drivers and riders can decide for themselves when it's going to be ok to pass and when it's not. I like that approach.

BUT . . . the thing the camera doesn't exaggerate and what makes me pucker is when the rider, or the rider in front of the camera operator, hugs that center line on a blind left turn like we saw so much in these videos. Damn, somebody's gonna come wide around one of those corners, sooner or later, and . . . well, hope you're not there at the same time. You shouldn't be on the line until you can see all the way through the turn. It's not a race track where you're trying to shorten your turns. It's a freaking two-way road. Hope you look into it, and good luck.

 

[Clovis]

So I don't know if you expected such a load of criticism when you posted, Clovis, but at least you're taking it well.

And really, we should all be open to "constructive" comments when they come in. Just maybe people have something to say that could help us.
In that spirit, I've got to say, I almost always cringe when I'm watching other folks' ride videos. I know the rider sees better and is in better control when you're on the bike than it seems like when you watch a video, so the speed wasn't much of a concern for me, or the passing on the DY either. We can do much more than the folks in cars that those lines are painted to advise. And it reminds me, saying that, that when I was over in the Alps last year on the big group tour a few of us here took, with some amazingly extreme roads and turns, you don't see all that painted line "stuff." Over there they figure the drivers and riders can decide for themselves when it's going to be ok to pass and when it's not. I like that approach.

BUT . . . the thing the camera doesn't exaggerate and what makes me pucker is when the rider, or the rider in front of the camera operator, hugs that center line on a blind left turn like we saw so much in these videos. Damn, somebody's gonna come wide around one of those corners, sooner or later, and . . . well, hope you're not there at the same time. You shouldn't be on the line until you can see all the way through the turn. It's not a race track where you're trying to shorten your turns. It's a freaking two-way road. Hope you look into it, and good luck.

Thanks Mike.

You're absolutely correct on all points, especially hugging the yellow line. I've had quite a few occurances where an oncoming vehicle, usually a truck or large SUV is coming at me and over their line. The worst is when it's a semi truck but luckfully those are rare on the roads I ride. CDOT Dump trucks however are much more common.

There's another video I saw awhile back of a guy riding perfectly in his line when another sport bike in the oncoming lane low slides right across the double yellow into the oncoming lane. I believe it was out of California on the Moholland Drive.

 

[phroenips]

Having my buddy do them for $50 or the local shop close to my office at $100 a pop adds up real fast when it's once a month.

If you take the wheels off yourself, Rocky Mountain Cycle Plaza spoons new rubber on for ~$25/tire. At that price, I can't justify a No-Mar, even with two bikes/riders in this household.

 

[Clovis]

That's good to know. I bought my first two bikes from RMCP. I had Apex put on a set of tires because it was short notice and I can walk to my office from there.

I called Russle today and they're already running 2 months out for saddle builds They're saying around May 6th with a 2 week build time. Which sucks because I have a 1600 mile devil spine trip planned for the 18th. Oh well, guess no russle seat for the wifey

 

[gixxerjasen]

Hrm, I also wonder if you got off with no tickets thanks to having a Colorado license plate in front of a Colorado police officer. Say, swap those plates with my Texas plates (Colorado hates Texas) and I wonder if you would get off so easy.

 

[dcarver]

There once was a fellow named Toecutter who frequented this forum.

His motto was 'Ride Right to Stay Alive'.

I adopted his mantra, with the thought I'd rather hit a boulder on the right than an opposing car, and, have to say, one time already it was a damn fine philosophy to live by...

...and have to say I didn't see anything in the vid's I haven't or won't do..

so ride on Clovis, just keep yer noggin in the game or lose your life.

(so what else is new, eh?)

 

[Clovis]

Hrm, I also wonder if you got off with no tickets thanks to having a Colorado license plate in front of a Colorado police officer. Say, swap those plates with my Texas plates (Colorado hates Texas) and I wonder if you would get off so easy.

You're talking about the Devil's spine video right where the cop pulls me over and then gives us route advice? That was in New Mexico. That area is right on the border between Arizona and New Mexico and the road crosses over the state line a few times so I wasn't quite sure which state we were in. It was shortly after Alpine, AZ.

I'll be honest, I was worried I was about to get another ticket. But when he said "Let's have a group meeting" and kind of laughed I felt a lot more at ease.

I had picked up a big one in Colorado the day before from a CO state trooper. Highway 24, middle of no where, I was cruising along at 99. The trooper asked "What if there was a cow in the middle of the road? Sometimes they get out". (This was Park County... known better as South Park, CO. The fictional town is way bigger then the real South Park).

I paused before looking around, no cows to be seen and said "It's just you and I out here sir, no cows".

"Well, what if there was a rock in the middle of the road?"

Okay... How big is the hypothetical rock? Pebble? Is it bigger then a bread box? Is it car sized?

That's when he gave me the ticket.

After that trip I ditched the VIZ Alert radar system (similar to the H.A.R.D. set up) since it never worked and went with a screamer and bright LEDs that flash on my mirrors. Gets my attention all the time and also warns people directly behind me. 10,000+ bike miles later and zero tickets since then.

Back in November I was wrapping up a 500 mile day ride and cruising along Highway 24 at my normal cruising speed when the detector started going off. I didn't see the trooper for over a quarter mile. He was hiding in a ditch with just the top half of his car showing. No way I would have seen him without the escort 9500XI (might as well get the best!). That would have been a 12 pointer...

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Hope ya don't end up in jail driving like that. I can't imagine what those poor citizens felt when they got passed by several screaming motorcycles on a double yellow line. It's happened to me more than once while riding to work in the cage. Scared the snot outa me one time: they came up on me so fast I wasn't expecting it.
Ride safe my young friend. We'd like to keep you around for awhile.

Gary

darksider #44

No offense but I didn't see anything "unsafe" in how they were riding Gar.

Were they riding fast? Yes they were, but they passed safely in plenty of time and didn't endanger anyone IMOP.

 

[someguy]

Sweet ride...