wife asked me to keep a diary

[Red01]

FWIW - I have Michelin Pilot Road 2's on my B12 and they work GREAT in the rain.  The new PR3's are supposed to be even better.  Will probably give them a shot when the OE 'Stones on my C14 wear out.

[H2RICK]

Woody, you are a caution !!! 
Great blog you've got going here.
It's quite interesting to read about your adventures because I've always had a bike of one sort or another for the last 50 years and so have never been "away" from bikes as such....
well, except for the 5 month winters we have each year here in the Great White North.
I look forward to reading about more of your adventures.....but be careful out there, buddy.

[gamewood]

Thanks H2Rick for reading my crap.  And always to all here, I recognize I dont have the experience so chime in.

Last couple of days have been rought  for me, and I was starting to wonder if I was taking it out on the bike.  I am glad to be alive, though my body isnt quite sure what to with itself.

So to help with the curve issues I have started an agressive campaign.  basically, instead of lean then add throttle...I pick a throttle angle and just lean till the radius of the curve is right.  I'd call it agressive riding if I wasnt the one hanging on.  It just seems the little motor (the engine in the vette is 6x larger and is built for torque from 1000 up) cant ever seem to get a happy smooth throttle.  So at least for now I decided to  set throttle first, then corner.  at least until I can better match the two.

The other thing is to skip gears.  I actually drive my stick shift the same way.  on the bike 1 to 3rd.  In my car 1st to fourth.  What is whacky of course is the close ratio of the bandit's five gears.  I can skip the 4th gear as well and go to 5th.  My ear has a very hard time telling the rpms difference from the gear changes.

Which leads me to another point.  At 39 years old I was asked to take a hearing test to support  a project.  well my right ear failed pretty harshly.  I had a slight head cold, but I rode the bike in that day.  Since it was important for me to pass the hearing test I retook it.  skipping the bike ride and adding anti-allergy meds as well.  Well I passed, but it taught me that my hearing is a little more supsectable than I original thought.  I wear a full face helmet, but will add ear plugs here shortly..

still no wheelies as of yet and I am gratful for that.

luv all

[H2RICK]

I recognize I dont have the experience so chime in.

You might be sorry you said that, Woody. 


Well it seems you're on the way to figuring out basic cornering.....
pick your speed, get all necessary braking and shifting done BEFORE you enter the corner, get yourself set in the saddle where you want to be, keep your speed constant......and then ride through the corner. You can, if you wish, accelerate out at the end of the corner but keep in mind that the bike will want to run wide on the corner any time you accelerate.
Avoid braking in a corner if you possibly can because the bike will want to stand up out of its lean when you apply the brakes. If you apply too much brake you will highside. This, as we say in the biz, is a bad thing.

The NEXT thing to learn is countersteering...if you're not already aware of such a technique.

As to the short shifting thing (going from first to third, etc), I would NOT recommend lugging your engine by doing this. Keep in mind you are NOT riding some low revving V twin agricultural style motor when you're on a Bandit. These Bandit motors love to be kept in the 4000 to 8000 RPM range. That's where they work the best.....even though YOU might think they sound overstressed. These engines will run all day and all night at 5000RPM with no worries at all. So, don't be afraid to wind the tach around to the higher numbers. Just make sure you keep the oil up to the FULL mark in the sightglass. These engines will NOT thank you to run them low on oil. You're not dealing with a 350 Chevy here. LOL

[gamewood]

H2Rick, funny you should say that...

Well another weekend is drawn closed.  100 miles round trip to see a movie have a dinner and followed by a 160 mile round trip for church/gas/shopping/church/coffee/lunch

for those into numbers; I put 37,000 miles on the 14 mpg jeep before I bought the bike.  I am now at 1350 miles/60 days...$275 bucks saved on gas alone.

This weekend's rides showed me that I am more comfortable and cross wind capable. Thought the report said 11 mph wind speed i promise that the gusts were 30-40 mph.  I actually kept the speed above 65 mph despite the crosswinds.  though dense fog slowed me when i went over the mountains.

Of course I kept looking for sixth...my other car has a sixth, why not my bike.  Dare I say too comfortable? I found myself letting the bike be and there it was 5k...90 mph...too fast...i cant afford another speeding ticket...especially in broke california. Then there was 8K at 4th gear...uh y'all can figure out the math on that one.  So
in short, it seems that my comfort seems to be easying up on speed thus I need to addmore over sight to the whole "what your speed"?

Sadly I have only one week to to ride the bike before departing on a business trip cross country.  Wish I had the $600 bucks to shipp the bike.

[gamewood]

PS When I shift from 1 to 3 I am already at 5K rpm...so the being that the bike is close ration (feels really really short) my rpms drop to about 3K.  I am starting to let it accelerate more in the lower gear first, before shifting.  probably not a technique I'll stick with

[Red01]

I just now read your sig file...
"oh yeah a 48 state 1200s green GSF"

48 state?  I know Cali has their own version, but what other state uses some other version than the rest of the country? 
All this time I thought I had a 49 state version. 

[gamewood]

Yeah you caught me!

I just now read your sig file...
"oh yeah a 48 state 1200s green GSF"

48 state?  I know Cali has their own version, but what other state uses some other version than the rest of the country? 
All this time I thought I had a 49 state version. 

[gamewood]

Finally a perfect turn!

3rd gear - 1850 rpm...steady - nice and easy - 22-25 MPH ... steady - No brake needed - No lurching

[gamewood]

well another perfect turn....10 bad ones.  I am starting to think that entry speed, gear, lean angle, and throttle matter but are different from every curb.

BTW I stopped the gunning technique before the curve, and I've gone back throttle as you go around the corner.  Had to get over the fear and learn how the bike responds.

Also 3rd day riddin' luckily the ridin pants I bought were really rain pants...who knew.

Finally, got my pre-deployment schedule.  training starts 1 Jul...Afghanistan by Xmas!  Yea!

[gamewood]

Well today it happened lost control of the bike...

Granted it was a bad habit I was developing.  The roads are so bad here that is seems like they paved over wagon trails.  It is very hard at times to keep the bike in the grove; when it is the grove that bounces your bike.

I was coming to a stop light and with the road being so torn up I was using the center part of the lane because it was a smoother surface.  Well that last ten feet was all oil and tranny fluid.  It became very clear that I was not going to be able to come to  stop before the cross walk...so I made a decision to make my stop longer.  The bike just didnt want to stop...So with the front end going left and ring AND the back end going right and left...

...I skidded to a stop.

God helped me that day, may he help you to

[Sven]

Well today it happened lost control of the bike...I skidded to a stop.

Over the years, I've found that my handling of motorcycle "instinct thinking" has grown and I react to unexpected circumstances (or miscalculations of road/traffic conditions) less to "conscious thinking"...that is, my body just seems to do what needs to be done to get the bike back under control before my brain has time to think about it.

This happened a couple times (a couple weeks ago) when I was coming back through Death Valley after about five hundred miles of riding so far that day. I wanted to take the Wildrose Canyon "back door" into DV, a rather challenging and poorly-maintained road. My brain was tired, and a couple times I really tried to ride the bike off the road, but by body kept correcting my brain's bad decisions and everything went fine.

All this is to say, even the most cautious rider will find himself in situations he didn't expect, and learning to recalculate your actions quickly to the point you don't even know you're doing it...that's a good thing!  Kepp sharing your stories, I really enjoy them.

[gamewood]

I should add a couple more salient points. 
1) of my 1800 miles thus far, only 150 or so have be in cities with more than one/two stop light(s)...new situation=trouble is possible
2) I was prepared to either make the "light" or do a combat stop...didnt give myself enough correction margin for risk
3) I am glad I check the brakes before hand...nothing wrong, but a good piece of mind

[gamewood]

Well this marks the first long over night trip for the bike...two weeks near the west coast beach.  The first week I rented a car to get my stuff down there.  The first saturday I switched it out for the 1200s.

basically 180 miles from house to the hotel, with a stop for church in the middle.  I notice how nice it was to have the zeroG windshield and no back pack tiring me out on the ride.  Did notice that like driving my jeep that the sun makes me very very tired.  Got Coffee and decided that I SHOULD use the built in visor in my helmet...dumb ass I am.

So for the week I didnt oil or wash the bike. just drove it, cruise it, and did the PCH to LA on it.  I also had the first instance of lifting the front wheel from the ground...not a wheelie, but the uncomfortable position where the handle bars became useless.  Apparently, the bike is in tune...at that altitude and barometric pressure.

Well I'mn back on Mars, and wash the bike, and oiled the chain.  I am approaching 2600 miles, so an oil change is due.  I also did the snorkel removal mod and discovered an air filter that resembled concrete rather than a pourus paper filter.  Online ordering here I come!

Wife comes the visit me shortly, but I'll be in the jeep as there is no place for bags (she travels like we have a 40' trailer).  Probably take her to the places I went to in Oxnard, CA

[gamewood]

Well did the big trio.  spark plugs, Air filter with cut lid, and oil change.  Though my first ride was very eventful as it refuses to turn past 4K.  hits it and then surges hard between 2 and 3K.  hopefully my reformed bike nieghbor can help diagnose. 

A need to re-jet couldnt cause this much problem...could it?