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Pepsi Drinker

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  • Have you attended a California Superbike School school?
    yes, Spring of 2013 and then way back in the mid 80's.

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    Frozen north
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    All things motorcycles, woodworking, fishing, canoeing, waterskiing, downhill skiiing

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  1. I prefer to not leave the stickers on simply because I don't feel I can accurately balance the tire plus I really don't like the stickiness and rock collection for the first few laps But for scuff in, I ride around a 5 mile loop for the streetbike where I increase lean with each subsequent turn and can reach to within about 1/2" of the edge of the rear and 1" of the edge of the front at sub 50 speeds. On the track, I use the first few turns just like I would with cold tires- increasing speed and lean as I go and often within the first lap or so it is all go.
  2. Yes measurements are correct. The suspension felt tons better than before (compared to the entirely stock set up)but possibly it is too plush now? (when leaving the compression and rebound damper settings the same as previous which was nearly dead center of total available) The zip tie would end up about 5mm from the fork bottom now (+3mm zip tie width-so really using about all but 8mm of available travel under hardest braking)This was after a couple sessions of fidgitting with stuff, in the end it was left at 1 3/4 turn out from full on the compression damping and 1 1/2 turns out from full on the rebound damping with 2 more rounds of spring preload wound in. This did not feel harsch it actually felt soft for the bulk of use except when hitting the ripple bumps under hard braking, then it seemed to jolt the bike substantially. Oil level was set at 130mm (service manual spec) As it was in oe form there would be about 40mm of the suspension unused under the same conditions The rear of the bike is still on an oe shock with the spring collar spun to the top to get any rider sag, so that is still on the hit list too, but for now the front was seemingly far more important than the rear, although I think he is quite quickly realizing he needs plenty more addressed.
  3. Kind of inline with your talk about the top out spring and the preload~ I recently helped install springs in a 2009 CBR1000RR and ordered new fork springs while replacing seals and oil and lower bushings. According to the online calculators it was calling for me to get .90kg/mm springs replacing the oe (approx. 1.02kg/mm progressive springs that had tons of built in preload ~ something like 60mm) However no mention to how much preload to cut the new spacer to. No mention of how much the top out spring will actually compress So it was really a big guessing game on cutting a spacer and installing for me. I ended up first cutting what measured to be 20mm built in preload, but once actually installed it felt super soft and I could actually pull up on the cap and fairly easily have zero preload on the new springs. So I assume the top out spring compressed quite easily and perhaps it even compressed 15mm? before I one handed pulled on the cap and showed zero preload~ I am not even sure how one would measure the true "as installed" preload on these new springs seeing that the top out spring is hidden and also cannot be measured as to how much it is compressing I did end up cutting new spacers that would appear to have 35mm preload- knowing it really didn't, but not knowing what it really did have Perhaps this is too many problems all mixed together as one? Maybe the spring rate is actually wrong?- how does one really know what is the correct spring rate? Maybe the built in preload is wrong?- how does one figure this out, besides trial and error? Maybe it is some combination of both? As set up above, after doing some preload cap adjustments it ended up with something like 23mm free sag and only 25mm rider sag I assume~ and could easily be incorrect~ but the springs are too stiff with not enough preload? (140lb rider with all the gear on) Shouldn't the numbers be more like? 15-20mm free sag and 25-30mm rider sag
  4. I consulted the magic 8 ball and this is what it said. lol On warmers? Because it looks like it. Why do I think that? Because of the cupping on the forward sides of the tread are sheared off. Common with q2's and I see it in my own q3's. I feel a rebound adjustment in your future. Not on warmers. 32 psi front 30 psi rear fresh off the trailer. Tire temps coming into the pits is a little deceptive but they typically were in the 135-143 range by the time I got stopped and could check, so I suspect running they were atleast 5 degrees more? But I did hustle to check when I checked. front tire was always less by about 3-6 degrees than the rear and air pressures would climb to 36f/35r fresh off the track checking as quickly as possible too. These are Q3's I had softened the rebound dampening by 2 clicks, 18 out of the 33 available on a Penske 8987. Because I was thinking the same thing, but it seemed to get worse so went back two clicks the other way to 14 out and it didn't feel as good so ended back at the 16 and just rode it. The shock has about 1000 miles of track use on it now.
  5. Made a 3000 mile round trip to VIR last spring for CSS, although that was the exception not the rule. I am fortunate to have a local track only 3 miles from my house, but Blackhawk Farms and Road America are both about 5 hour drives. BIR is about 3.5 hours That is about it for me unless it is something really special for more than a single day But when I raced, distance didn't even figure in to the equation until there were multiple choices for the weekend.
  6. Not from me, both the boots have faired really well and neither have seemed to wear more than the other About the only real complaint I have on the A* the tab at the top of the zipper to hold it up in place to the velcro- it doesn't stick real well so the zipper sometimes rides down an inch or so...I may need to just find a better piece of the one side of velcro? The A* are warmer than the Sidi's, I really only notice that on the hottest days and in the cold mornings of early spring/late fall, but there is a difference
  7. Way back when, you know when FZR600's were the king of the class. Don't mind me reaching around to pat myself on the back, just a little. In a 5 hour endurance race at BIR, our most feared competitor broke a throttle cable about 2 hours in, national points standings wise we were trailing them by a little. They routinely finished just ahead of us but the racing and points were always close. They limped that thing into the pits and frantically ran around looking for something, I saw the flurry and headed on down the 3 or 4 pit boxes to see what was going on and it seemed nobody really knew exactly the problem. I did a little investigating and immediately saw the frayed pull cable broken up by the grip, ran back to the truck, grabbed a spare set of carbs with cables and throttle all attached and went to town on changing the works They only lost 4 laps and were back on track, and I don't know if it was those awesome carbs or the adrenaline that surely was raging but they were mowing down victims right and left beating us every lap by a few seconds and by the time the race ended we finished 2nd and they finished top 10, I want to say 6th, but I don't really remember. My karma must have been good because when the season ended we took the national title and they finished second just a single point behind. I got alot of grief for doing that because we could have handily walked off with the points lead by a big margin if they couldn't have finished or would have taken several more laps to get going again
  8. I have 2 year old SMX-Plus A* and Sidi Vortice that are a little over 3 years old I switch between the boots regularly but generally for walking around they both equally squeek and aren't super comfortable but aren't terrible either- so in that regard I feel it is a wash If I had to choose one pair over the other I would probably choose the A* simply based on most my riding is on the street and they are slightly quicker for on and off If I was more track oriented I would certainly just wear the Sidi, they are my first grab for every trackday I do, they simply seem to protect better. Although thankfully I have not had the bad fortunate to test either of them in that manner Just one last note, My Sidi's I had to go with a 44, my A* I had to go with a 43, the sidi's seem to grasp my foot and ankle slightly better as well, regardless how tight I crunch the draw string on the A* for the inner bootie
  9. I have always just used brake fluid on the seals and pistons during install, has never failed me and assembly has always been easy. So I don't feel one needs the grease but having never used it maybe it is better?
  10. Just to further update the experience, plus some more good news from Dunlop Dunlop announced they are doing the $40 rebate program again from June 1 through July 30, so keep that in mind for some future purchases. But took a brand new set of Q3's down to MAM 3 weeks ago for 2 consecutive days of track. Riding A group logged 435 miles and the rear tire was pretty well all used up, it could have been run longer but you could barely even see any of the minimal tread on the outside 30-35% on either side of the tire. the nice thing was performance didn't fall off, sure the tire looked suspect and one would have it in their mind traction would be down, but lap times didn't fall off and there was no more slips/slides or wheel spin exiting corners than at any other time of the weekend, which was very very minimal.Tire pressures were set at 32/32 as per Dunlop tech line when cold and I didn't bother to ever look at them again Just to put it into some perspective, S20, BT003RS, Racetechs, Race attacks and Power pures all lasted less miles than this riding the same. Off to Road America in 2 weeks where I do expect tire longevity will be better, longer straights and not as abrasive
  11. I attend any trackday and attended CSS a few times for the learning to ride better, smoother and ultimately faster. I understand the risks and being a former racer and as a young ego driven competitive uneducated rider once upon a time I have crashed my fair share and hope to not experience that any more, so I try to judge how much risk and then exercise enough restraint to keep the risk as low as possible while still pushing myself as much as I feel comfortable with and enough to learn further. When I first starting racing I went out with the intention to win every race. If I wasn't winning I wasn't having fun. I actually would feel I let myself down and the next time would push harder disregarding many of the risks and too often the warning signs that I was approaching crash status. Eventually I found a happy medium, where I could push and go fast and win a few races and yet not be riding so hard that the risk was so high that crashes were nearly unavoidable. Attending CSS in the mid 80's really helped with this and while I got significantly faster afterwards I also got significantly safer and more in control. Sure I still desired to win every race but by then I had realized that was not going to happen ever, so I was more content to win when I could and place as well as possible when I could not. As far as street riding; well in my teens and maybe even early twenties I had friends who we always felt the need to one up each other, if one person could take a corner or cloverleaf at 65, the next one of us had to go 66 or 67. When we headed out to the desolate isolated hill country roads that are barely a lane and a half wide and you don't see another human for hours and we let the bikes rip, well it was always like a race and no doubt we often came home when we perhaps should not have. Seeing two riding buddies die on a stretch of road we knew well after they encountered a pick up truck head on really changed how I street road, for the better. Since then, I have never treated the road as a racetrack or proving ground although certainly we can still go a bit "fast" by some peoples standard now I (and most who I am willing to ride with) certainly exercise the art of controlling the bike and precision line selection as our means to show the other riders just how well we can ride. We all know the risks and all of us accept that or we probably would have given up riding. Each of us has had an off or hit a deer or just were dumb and made the wrong correction and crashed atleast once in the past say 10 years or so, so we have all had our reminders of the risk vs reward of how and where we ride, and I think as each of us age. Most of whom I ride with are my age or older, so 50-65, and nearly all are former racers with many still riding trackdays. But each of us rides on the street with the main goal to be safe and come home unscathed whilst having as much enjoyment as we can, since as we get older those crashes hurt more and last longer. Being the most skilled rider you can be is the only way to truly accomplish these goals, IMO. Well I suppose you could eliminate all risk and just give up riding and essentially give up your life as there is risk in everything one does everyday. Once you are 6' under there is little risk of anything I suppose. Some risks are just easier to ignore/deal with than others for some people. I suppose that is why there will always be skeptics of why we ride, how we ride. People who always feel motorcycles are too dangerous etc... Motorcycles for me are part of my life and have been for decades and I certainly plan on them being with me as a big part of my life for a couple more decades. They actually do define who I am and where I have been, without them I would not be who I am today. So the risk while real is certainly not going to scare me off from riding, street or track. As far as the thrill factor, sure that is also real and always present too but it isn't why I ride even if sometimes I really do enjoy a great deal when I pass one of my buddies or leave them behind through a tight technical stretch of asphalt. As stroker phrased it, once upon a time I bordered on glutony, now I just want is a piece or two and I'm good with that.
  12. That link covers Vegas and Willows, but what about the other tracks on the calender? I filled out the app anyways, and the 6 days, yes one of them is full with a stand by already, in a row at Willows looks appealling in itself, but it is still a 2000 mile one way hike to get there. I would much prefer something closer.
  13. I have owned a few RV's with rooftop a/c and they were quiet outside the rv but the fan inside is quite noisy, but one can sleep through it easily and even carry on a conversation. I would be looking for the lowest profile unti you can get if you already have dropped fuel economy in half. I have seen, but unfortunately don't have any pictures of enclosed trailers that they pop a window unit into them. So no extra aero drag, plus the benefit of a window, but you do need to carry the unit around with you in the trailer, but your stand alone seems to be the same issue of having to haul a unit inside the trailer. Those small window units are far quieter too, and for that small of a space would be more than adequate with the doors closed even in the hottest of days
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