Lets Ride

Time to vote - 2007 MBI awards

2007-02-21T07:32:00.000-08:00

The MBI 2007 Riders Choice Awards for the motorcycle industry are now open for voting. They celebrate the best and worst of the motorcycle industry and are the only awards that are decided on by the riding public. The voting will remain open until March 12.

Go to www.mbiweb.org and make your choices

A Riders Dream was the category that I suggested.

The MBI 2007 Riders Choice Awards

2007-01-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

The MBI 2007 Riders Choice Awards for the motorcycle industry are now open for nominations. They celebrate the best and worst of the motorcycle industry/

You have until Jan 31st to get those nominations in!

Motorcycle Bloggers International is an association of international motorcycle bloggers and news websites, with currently 80+ members. Last year, was the first Riders Choice awards, nominated and voted on by MBI members. This year nominations and voting is open to the general public. Nominations will be open until Feb 1.

One of my category suggestions made it in, I'll tell which one when nominations are closed.

So go here www.mbiweb.org and nominate

White Christmas ride

2006-12-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

Today was such a beautiful day, my husband Jim and I decided to go for a ride. Since it was so nice out we went up Angeles Crest Highway. This is my favorite local road, a freshly paved slice of twisty nirvana running across the crest of the San Gabriel mountains. Its the first time I've had my bike out since I tossed it down the track at Buttonwillow earlier this month.

Imagine my surprise to see snow on the side of the road!!! especially since I've been up there when it was colder. Yes, I know those of you in a colder climate are laughing at my pathetic piles of snow but hey it is Southern California. We finished out the ride sitting in the sun on the patio at Starbucks with a Frappuccino people watching on Hollywood Blvd. For Christmas, it seemed like there were a shocking amount of people out, Alot of families bringing the kids to see snow.

All in all a beautiful day

Look, its a white Christmas...yes thats snow under the sign

Snowballs!

Uh-oh Jim is throwing snowballs too

Bike is fixed

Nice road

We got a new camera for Christmas which is one of the reasons for so many pictures.

Choosing a Track School

2006-11-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

I'm at the point in my track riding that I really want to do a real school. I've done the novice school with Track Xperience which was really amazing for not a lot of money. I really like the atmosphere and the 2 group format. I've done a few open track days but I'm no track whiz by any stretch of the imagination. Since unfortunately I'm not independently wealthy. I'm going to need to plan ahead for this. The way I see it,I have 3 viable choices....

Jason Pridmore's STAR school
This one is 275-360 depending on the track. I believe it is more track focused than his father's school. I don't really have too much other information about the school. I do think Jason Pridmore is a good guy, not sure if that's enough to go to his school.

Reg Pridmore's CLASS
This one is 275-395 depending on the track and I've been told this is far more street focused than other schools. I've been told that since I have track time already, I would gain the least from this class. But then again I spend far more time on the street than I do on the track so I don't think a street focused school is a waste.

Keith Code's California Superbike School
This one is more expensive 370-420 depending on the track or 620 if I want to do it on one of their Kawasakis. This is the one I've heard the most about, mainly good but some bad. The bad seems to come from how you take to the teaching methods and maybe a little bit how well you deal with Scientology. I've been told that this school tries to break things down into small pieces. One of the really appealing things is that there are different levels, you can come back and take a higher level. It is however more expensive than the others.

I've left out Freddie Spencer and Kevin Schwantz's schools because they are sadly out of the budget at the moment. If money, time and location weren't an issue I'd do Kevin Schwantz's school in an instant.

I've been doing research on which to choose and why and any comparisons between the three. I've been finding a lot of I did this school and its great but not too many direct comparisons

Also, I'm not sure about riding my bike or their bikes. I'm not concerned about taking my Monster 620 on the track, I've done it before so that's not the issue. Since I'm on the Monster I feel that I have to modify the positioning a bit both because of the bike and my own physical limitations. Also, the Monster has notoriously poor ground clearance, I've scraped both my pegs and the kickstand. Its also, to put it kindly, not the fastest bike in the paddock. I've been passed as if I'm standing still down the front straight at Willow Springs all while I was WFO in top gear.

I'm going to have to decide if its worth the extra money to ride their bike and learn the "proper" way and then modify to my bike on my own or take my bike and work it out as I go under the guidance of the instructors. Pluses and minuses on both sides.

So any opinions?

Femmoto 06 review

2006-11-06T20:54:00.000-08:00

Blogger seems to have eaten this post when I posted the track school blog. So I'm fighting back and reposting it.

I spent a weekend in early October riding around the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with over 300 like-minded women. This was AWESOME!!!! Femmoto 06 took place October 7th and 8th in Las Vegas, Nevada. I simply cannot say enough good things about the event or the people involved. I really applaud Bonnie Strawser from Sportbike Tracktime for organizing such an excellent event. The organization was great and the people were fantastic. This is the second year I’ve gone and I will defiantly be back next year.

Big thanks to the manufactures: Kawasaki, Buell, Kymco, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Ducati for bringing out the bikes. Extra special thanks going to Pat Clark Motorsports in Las Vegas and Southern California Ducati in Brea, CA since the dealers provided the Ducatis not the manufacturer. Ducati’s demo fleet was on the way to Texas for another event. Also, Hein Gericke’s G-Line, Icon, Ducati and Scorpion had gear and product displays there. I saw quite a few women hitting the track in G-line leathers. In the few years that I have been riding, women’s gear has come a long way. The visibility of female riders at events like Femmoto has helped that happen.

I registered on Friday evening; this is where you try to get the bikes that you want to ride. You only have 5 slots so it is a balance between what you want to ride and what’s available. It reminds me of trying to schedule college classes. I signed up for the Kawasaki 650R, Buell XB12 SCG, Aprilia Tuono, Ducati S2R 1000 and the Ducati 999. WEEEEEE...I would have loved to get a ride on the Monster S4Rs but that booked up super fast. I never made it on to any inline fours this year but I’m happy with the bikes that I did get.

I spent the full day on Saturday riding the track. A first this year was an all female staff, which was cool. I was hoping for the chance to work with Angie Loy the Webmaster for Motorcyclist and Sport Rider but we never seemed to be on the same track at the same time. I did have the opportunity to follow a few instructors around the track; Alice Sexton in particular was a huge help. I did my last session on the 650R and was totally lost because it was a new track for me that day and most of the women riding it had been on there all day. Also the track is really flat and I realized how much I depend on elevation changes to see the whole track. She really helped me get around the track much better, I was taking a weird line around one of the turns which set me up poorly for the next few.

The biggest personal revelation for me at Femmoto was passing. I use the fact that I am slow rider on a slow bike as a crutch. Since my bike is slower than many and I have a reputation as the slowest rider in my group, no one expects me to be fast. That expectation then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have actually slowed down at open track days because someone was in front of me and for whatever reason I didn’t feel up, the desire to, or capable of passing. There was such wide discrepancy in skill, comfort level and speed in my Femmoto sessions that I found myself in the very novel position of not being the slowest rider on the track. For the first time ever, I needed to pass and I couldn’t blame my not passing on being the slow rider on a slow bike. I had to judge that yes, I can get through that corner faster than the rider in front of me. This is a huge step forward for me, I’m going to have to work on that more at my next open track day.

Now on to the bike reviews….

Buell XB12

Holy vibrations! I rode this bike last year and surprise; it’s still the same, tiny and really vibey. I picked this one first because I wanted something that I was a little familiar with. I want to like it; on paper this bike is really appealing to me, a big V-twin in a compact sporty package. What’s not to like? Well it shakes and shimmies so much I though my fillings were going to come out. I also had a tendency to bounce it off the rev limiter. I’m not looking for a high revving super sport but my car revs higher than the Buell. I also think its expensive for what it is and this is coming from someone that owns a Ducati. It seems like a much better street bike than a track bike.

Ducati 999

The 999 was hands down the best bike I've ever ridden. It is a way better bike than I am a rider. It felt like a true thoroughbred, gobs of power are just there, everywhere, and at all times. It seemed absolutely surgically implanted on the track and went exactly were I was looking. My Monster has extremely low ground clearance and it was amazing to ride something that effortlessly leaned over so much. I broke new lean angle territory in that session but came nowhere near what the bike is capable of. I found it fairly comfortable but my idea of what is comfortable has been changing after some track time. The ergos are still more extreme than I would want to deal with on a regular basis. I didn’t like the looks of the 999 when it first came out but it has grown on me, I can’t wait to see the new 1098 though. I really wanted to try the Monster S4Rs but it actually booked up before the 999. I think the ergonomics of the Monster would suit me better than the Superbike.

Ducati S2R 1000

This is quite possibly my next bike. I’ve been riding a 620 Monster for the past 2 years and after 16,000 miles I still love it. I have yet to ride anything that is as physically comfortable, the bike just works for me. It’s a do everything bike; I’ve done long trips, weekend canyon carving, urban commuting and track days with it. It slots perfectly between a true sportbike and an upright standard. As an added bonus, I think the bike is gorgeous. It however is not a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination. Also, my suspension is very basic, especially for my size. I’ve also reached a limit on how far I can push it on the track since I’ve been scraping both the pegs and the kickstand. The S2R has everything that I love about my bike and fixes all of the problems. It has an awesome motor, great suspension, a little more ground clearance and that signature Ducati dry clutch rattle. The motor is great, it has a big fat super usable powerband that makes it a joy to ride at any pace.

Aprilia Tuono

I loved this bike, but it’s really tall for me. I can handle riding it; even stopping on the street wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Where problems come in would be parking and moving it around. Uneven pavement and gravel lots would be a nightmare; also trying to wedge it out of my parking space at home would be a challenge. If the bike were a little lower, it would be a serious contender for next bike status. Although I think it would negatively affect the status of my license! The bike just screams out for hooligan behavior. While I think the Ducati is beautiful, I think the Tuono looks simply evil. The red ram air induction looks like a bloody mouth, like the bike has just been out pillaging the countryside.

Kawasaki Ninja 650R

While I loved some of the other bikes, I merely liked the Kawasaki 650R. I think it makes a good basic all round bike. It would excel as an entry-level bike or a basic commuter, but not my first choice as a track weapon. It will always be compared to the Suzuki SV 650, if sport performance is the goal, I would choose the SV. My husband uses a first generation SV as his daily ride, and I have spent time on it. For my style of riding, I think the SV works better for me. The Kawasaki’s front suspension felt vague when being pushed in turns and that was pretty unsettling. Of course, the suspension problems were probably highlighted by the fact that everything else that I rode had top end suspension. I would also drop the bars a bit, I prefer bars to clip ons but that was too upright for me. If it came down to it, I would choose the SV but it may not be a fair comparison, ours has upgraded suspension, lower bars and rearsets. It would be a harder choice comparing stock to stock. If you are looking for a fun all round inexpensive bike it’s a pretty good choice

I took the opportunity to do the Kawasaki dirt school on Sunday. That was a freaking blast! But I’ll get to that in another post.

I highly recommend going to Femmoto to any woman that rides. It is by far the least intimidating way to get on a track. Even if you are already an accomplished track day veteran there is still a lot to be gained from this event. The overall experience is incredibly empowering. Where else will you be able to hang out with 300 other women all in love with motorcycles?

Next years Femmoto will be back in Las Vegas on October 6th and 7th. Start planning the trip now!

[femmoto] [women riders]

2006 Moto GP World Champion

2006-10-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

For the first time in fourteen years the Moto GP World Championship
came down to the final race of the season.

Congratulations Nicky Hayden
2006 Moto GP World Champion

Nicky has been consistent all year, pretty much always on the podium
and taking the win in both Laguna Seca and Assen. He had been leading the championship race all season and only lost the lead to Valentino Rossi when he was taken out by his teammate Dani Pedrosa in Portugal. Final standings came down to the final race where Nicky knew he had to go "All In".

Celebrate the well deserved Championship now!

I can't wait to see what next year brings. First race of the 2007 season will be in Qatar on March 10 2007. Be sure to watch the new Moto GP 800cc era debut.

[Moto GP]

Recovering from Roadrash

2006-10-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Last year or so there were pictures of a girl on all of the MC boards that I read. Brittany Morrow was a passenger and fell off the back of the bike wearing no gear. She wound up with a horrible case of road rash. It got a lot of attention at the time, pretty girl now horribly scarred. There was a whole series of pictures and her story of the accident floating around the web. She got a lot of flack for the mistakes she made. I'm glad to say she is a survivor and seems to have become a strong woman who has learned some painful lessons. Learn from her story.

One year after her accident, www.speedfreakinc.com brings an update on her story.

Extreme Roadrash: Brittany Morrow's story

An excerpt...

It's hard to look in the mirror and think that my scars are already an entire year old. Touching my stomach and rib cage, I can't imagine looking this way and feeling this pain for the rest of my life. I still feel as if at any moment I will wake up from this terrible dream and be comfortable in my own skin once again. Knowing that it's real, that there is nothing I can do to change it, I am reminded of my mistakes every minute of everyday. I am also reminded how lucky I am to be alive as I close my eyes and remember why I still feel pain after an entire year of healing. Imagining that if I hadnot survived the accident,Wouldn't have anything to touch at all, I smile when my fingers run over a thick layer of scar tissue in place of my once soft skin. I know my life has a purpose, and I strive everyday to live up to the task that has been placed at my feet.

Warning some of the pictures are quite graphic. I think its a worthwhile read, its a very powerful personal account of horrible injuries and the recovery process.

I'm glad she seems to have made a great recovery and learned a lot from a life-changing experience.

Pavement hurts, wear gear.

[women riders]

Ready for Femmoto 06

2006-09-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

www.femmoto.com

For many women, the initial outing on the track can be incredibly intimidating. If it's at all possible, I would recommend looking into Femmoto. It's a two-day women's demo event in Las Vegas Nevada. This year's event is October 7th and 8th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

What makes this so great is that several manufacturers bring their demo fleets for the women to ride. You have no worries about transporting your bike to the track and Las Vegas is easy to get to from just about anywhere in the country. You can do either one or both days and this year they are also offering a dirt bike school and a supermoto school. They also have a banquet on Saturday night with a fashion show featuring women’s motorcycle gear.

I went last year and had a fantastic time, it was my first time on the track. I'm glad that my first track day was in this environment and not an open track day. I had a chance to try out a bunch of bikes and ride with some fantastic women. I'm already booked for Saturday Oct 7th. This years manufacturers are: Ducati, Kawasaki, Buell, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Kymco. Where else will you get the opportunity to run a 999 around the track without buying one?

http://www.femmoto.com/

[femmoto]
[women riders]

Superbikes! and the All Girl Ride

2006-09-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

Just last week, the Speed TV show Superbikes! did a whole episode on women riders. I'm not a big fan of the show but this time I watched partly because, hey I'm a woman so I'm interested but also because they filmed the recent all girl ride I was on.

First thing, their coverage of the ride was decent. I liked that they showed us riding without a lot of craziness, no stand up wheelies on the freeway. Pretty much everyone was geared up, quite a few in full leathers. I was on screen for all of 1.5 seconds. I thought I did a better job of avoiding the cameras but I rode past them. If you see it, I'm on my Ducati behind the girl on the Repsol bike riding past the camera car.

Now I'm moving on to my big problem with the show.

I'm generally pretty laid back about what is shown on TV but the stunting on the street did bug me. I've seen wheelies on the street and on TV before and it tends not to faze me, I may think the rider is an idiot but I don't generally have them single handedly destroying the integrity of motorcycling. Like it or not stunting is here to stay as part of the motorcycling world. Stunting can and has been shown in a fairly responsible manner. Put it in a lot or a closed course. Super Streetbike, a magazine that covers the scene makes a point of only featuring sanctioned events and closed courses.

A big part of the show was on stunting, that in and of itself isn't a major issue for me. One segment featured Jessica Maine a professional stunter. I'm not saying the girl isn't talented because she is. The segment focused on her attempting a spreader wheelie, a trick that she hadn't performed since she broke her back in an earlier attempt. I can appreciate the skill and determination to succeed, that said pulling a wheelie through a stop sign is beyond stupid. She did start in a parking lot but then moved onto the street. She went on to pull a few wheelies straight through a stop sign in a residential area. No, it wasn't closed off; there were other cars in some of the establishing shots. That is what I take issue with.

Jessica Prokup, the Editor of Roadbike Magazine was featured through out the show. She is a big promoter of women in motorcycling and was at last years Femmoto. It came as no surprise that she functioned as a special correspondent in this episode. What I did find surprising was seeing Jessica Prokup in the stunting portion of the show cheering Jessica Maine the stunter on as she pulled a spreader wheelie straight through a controlled intersection. I guess I expected more from the editor of a fairly conservative national magazine. Having her say directly into the camera "she is an inspiration to women" was a complete crock. Sorry Jessica, I don't see too much that's inspirational there. Lisa, the leader of the all girl ride is far more inspirational. Creating and leading a charity ride for women in memory of a fallen friend is something to aspire too.

In some ways, it's a be careful what you wish for situation. I'm happy that there are more women riding and that they are being shown as a growing market. On the other hand, with the increasing visibility comes the opportunity for increasing stupidity. Two steps forward and one step back.

[women riders]

5th Annual All-Girl Ride 2006 - SoCal

2006-08-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

The 5th Annual Kelley Maylor All-Girl Ride 2006 is coming up. I've gone in the past and I'm planning on going this time as well. I've had fun and won good prizes and gotten some great discounts. The ride itself is generally pretty relaxed, the fast girls make their way to the front and the rest spread out. Its really nice to see so many women on sport bikes in one place.

Saturday August 26th, meeting in Pasadena at 8 and doing Big T, 9 mile and ACH. Then stopping at Newcombs for prizes.

Taken from the website: http://www.turn2sportbikes.com/AllGirlRide.html

WHEN: Saturday August 26th

MEETING SPOT: Mobil Gas station - 210 Frwy and Lake Ave in Pasadena. On the north side of the Frwy (Corner of E. Maple and Lake.) See map Here

MEETING TIME: 8:00 AM Sharp! We will be departing at no later than 8:30 AM. Please try to come earlier. Registration opens at 7:30AM and closes at 8:15AM. After 8:15, you can participate in the ride but will risk exclusion from the raffle

RIDE ROUTE: 210, exit Sunland, Big 'T" , 9 mile , ACH, stop at Newcombs for prizes

Please join us for a memorial charity ride to honor a fallen rider. This is the one chance a year to meet other women riders that share the passion of riding. Weather you’re a racer or just got your license, come out to support a good cause.

Each year we hold a raffle. Each woman rider will receive a ticket. Additional tickets can be purchased at the ride. All money raised this year, will be donated to BREAST CANCER RESEARCH. Remember this is a great cause. The woman rider that donates the most to breast cancer research will win a prize.

Questions: allgirlride@yahoo.com

Each woman rider will receive a free raffle ticket for prizes. Other tickets will be sold at the event.

[women riders]

Ride to Work Day July 19, 2006

2006-07-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Its that time again....

I just want to remind everyone that this Wednesday is Ride to Work Day. Are you riding?

The following is the press release from www.ridetowork.org

This year's fifteenth annual motorcycle and scooter commuting demonstration will increase the number of riders on the road, according to Ride to Work, a non-profit advocacy organization. "Riding to work on this day shows the positive value of motorcycles and scooters for transportation. For many people, riding is an economical, efficient and socially responsible form of mobility that saves energy, helps the environment and provides a broad range of other public benefits," states Andy Goldfine, the event organizer. Motorcycle and scooter enthusiasts and rider organizations worldwide encourage their members to ride to work on this day.

According to the United States Census Bureau and the Department of Transportation, over eighty million cars and light trucks are used for daily commuting on American roads, and about 200,000 motorcycles and scooters are a regular part of this mix. On Ride to Work Day, the practical side of riding becomes more visible as a larger number of America's 8,000,000 cycles are ridden to work.

Ride to Work Day helps demonstrate how these vehicles make parking easier and help traffic flow better. Studies have shown that across equal distances commuting motorcyclists reach their destinations in less time than those using automobiles, that motorcycles and scooters consume less resources per mile than automobiles, and that they take up less space on roads. Motorcycle and scooter riders seek improved employer recognition and support for this form of transportation, and more public and government awareness of the positive value of riding.

MSF Experienced rider course

2006-06-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had an opportunity to take the Experienced Rider Course. This seems to be a yearly event in southern California where the California Motorcyclist Safety Program puts on what they call Free Ride. It's a week of free ERC classes in Verizon Amphitheatre parking lot.

I'm of the theory that any training is a good thing and I'm glad that I went. The only thing that I had a really hard time with was the dreaded box. I remember when I took the basic course to get my license; I didn't really have too much trouble with the U-turns. On my own bike though...oh lord that was tough. I'm happy that I didn't drop my bike unfortunately some others weren't so lucky. Here's the thing, in the grand scheme of life I'm not so sure that my ability to do a super tight U-turn without putting my feet down will save my life. I do think that practicing braking and swerving are hugely important and are things that every rider should do on a regular basis. The course is a great opportunity to practice in front of trained instructors and check on those basic building block skills that keep you safe on the streets.

One of the best drills that they do is where you ride toward the instructor and they signal for you to either swerve left, swerve right or quick stop. Of any of the drills, this one most closely simulates real life riding where you don't know what's coming. I like it better than some of the other drills because if I know what's coming like braking at a certain point, I'm already anticipating the action and getting ready to brake before I hit the mark.

Anything that I can do to increase my skills on the street is beneficial. So the opportunity to take this course free of charge is great. The next time this comes up I would strongly recommend grabbing the chance.

Ducati Desmosedici RR

2006-06-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

Ducati has gone and done it.

They have created a street legal version of their blindingly fast Moto GP bike. Unveiled at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello the bike promptly sold out its North America quota in less than 5 hours. It will have its American debut during the US GP at Laguna Seca.

The name Desmosedici comes from Desmo for the Desmodromic valves and sedici which means 16 in Italian, as in 16 titanium valves. The 989cc L-four will be putting out over 200 horsepower and come complete with a three year warranty. The entire package is draped in full Ducati Red carbon fiber bodywork. The bike is without a doubt a stunner.

Insane on the roads? Definitely.

Object of desire for countless enthusiasts? Certainly.

Do I want one?

OH HELL YES

[Ducati]

City Riding

2006-05-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

There are certain things that are well-established elements of the motorcycling mythos...

Freedom, the open road, wind in your face, the lure of the canyons, Easy Rider and the Wild Ones. I rarely if ever hear of anyone extolling the joys of an urban environment. I come across all sorts of riders that think riding in the city is just too dangerous or something to be avoided at all costs.

I'm coming out here and now to say I really enjoy riding in the city. I love cities in general, their energy and vibrancy. Riding a motorcycle through a city is a great way to stay connected with the city itself. It may not be my absolute favorite kind of riding but its pretty far up on my personal list.

This isn't a relaxing ride, certainly different from a sedate cruise down country lanes. It's a high adrenaline thrill ride. I love being able to slice through traffic, it's like Frogger but without a restart button. Running through the gears while accelerating away from a light and leaving the traffic behind is one of motorcycling's simple pleasures.

Being on a bike lets you connect with what's around you; I can smell the Thai barbecue as I ride by, I can hear the ranchero music from the truck next to me. For me being on a bike is one of the best ways to feel the heartbeat of the city. A car shuts you away from so much, you are merely traveling through rather than a part of it. Insulated from the ever-changing swirl of cultures, colors, sounds and smells.

Get out and ride, join the carnival.

The Doctor, the Tornado and the Kentucky Kid

2006-05-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

Mark Neale has a new movie coming....

If you don't know the name, he is the director of Faster which in my opinion is one of the best motorcycle movies out there. If you haven't seen it go and watch, its great. The new movie is called; The Doctor, the Tornado and the Kentucky Kid

This one focuses on last years Laguna Seca GP. Just what I need to get amped up for this year.

dtkmovie site

Life...Liberty...and the Pursuit of Maximum Speed

Glendora Mountain Road / Glendora Ridge Road

2006-05-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend I finally got back out in the canyons for a real ride. Between the weather, visitors and trips, it's been far too long. It was a great ride and I always enjoy seeing people and hanging out. Lunch at Mount Baldy Lodge was fun. I love Glendora Ridge Road (GRR) but I never seem to get a good rhythm on Glendora Mountain Road (GMR). The ride also highlighted some of my personal shortcomings as a rider. I have spent a significant portion of my riding miles on the same road. It's when I come out of that comfort zone that I realize how much I depend on knowing the road and running sweeping curves.

The majority of my canyon miles have been on the Angeles Crest Highway, which is a fairly fast and sweeping road. It has also been under heavy speed enforcement since I started riding there. I choose to ride that road at a legal pace and the vast majority of the time I'm capable of going though it faster than I choose to. It doesn't really matter how fast I think I can take the curves because I know I am capable than going faster than the speed limit. In some ways its confidence inspiring to know that my speed is limited by the law and not my ability.

The problem comes when I'm on significantly tighter and unfamiliar roads. This was the first time this year and probably only the third time total that I have been on GMR. It is one of those roads that I have never gotten a good flow on. One of the great cliches of motorcycling is "ride your own ride" That's all well and good but how do you know what your ride is? I generally know how fast I can go in wide sweeping turns but I tend to find myself at loss with the technical stuff and slow waaaaay down because I'm just not sure just how fast I should be going. The problem is that on some roads and some corners I still just don't know what my ride is yet.

I know that is one of those things that come with experience. In order to get past it I need to spend more time on more technical roads. I really do need to open up my riding horizons. I'm doing myself a disservice by not varying my motorcycle road diet. So I'm planning in the future to spend a little more time in Malibu, taking my medicine with GMR so I get the treat of GRR.

It's never a bad thing to look for things to improve.

Glendora Ridge Road

New Chain Install

2006-04-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

***This isn't my write up, its my husbands.***

One of the negatives with a chain drive bike is maintenance and at some point the chain will wear out. The poor chain on the SV had reached the end of its adjustability and it was past time to change it. It got noticeably worse while waiting for all the part to be delivered.

I Started with an RK X ring chain from the SV board, added a set of Renthal ultra light sprockets and a rivet tool/chain breaker borrowed from friends. I stayed with the stock gearing because it seems to be a good compromise.

First, here is the sagging worn out chain.

First order of business is to loosen the front sprocket nut. I used a 32mm socket and a 2 foot breaker bar on the nut. I wedged a piece of wood through the wheel and the swingarm to stop the wheel from moving while I loosened it. You can't count on leaving the bike in gear because the motor will turn over.

Now its time to remove the old chain. Used my borrowed chain breaking tool which now has a new press pin on the way since the original snapped — sorry guys. Once the chain is off, the rear wheel and old sprocket come off.

Naked

Here is the old sprocket

New sprocket installed

Now its time to put everything back together. First the rear wheel, then the front sprocket go on. Next, the new chain needs to be cut to size. Make sure to count the links and measure against the old chain, you do not want to cut it too short. This is where a Dremel would have really useful. The Dermel would have helped to cut the old chain off and resize the new chain. The breaker that I was using broke trying to push the pins through the chain. If I had the Dremel, I could have ground off the pins of the chain and pryed the side plate off.

Thread the chain around the sprockets and connect the two ends with the rivet link. Tighten the front sprocket nut and make sure the washer is bent over the flat of the nut to keep it from backing out. Adjust the chain, and tighten the rear wheel back up

New chain and sprocket

This took me most of the afternoon, I think the next one will go smoother. After a quick test ride the bike is noticeably smoother.

Sorry the pictures are a little fuzzy.

Helmet Envy

2006-04-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Right now I have helmet envy, it seems like everyone is getting a new helmet and I'm jealous. I did just get a KBC from work but that doesn't count because it's not something I would ever have picked out. Nor is it particularly cool.

I want a cool helmet!

Here are the helmets that are currently striking my fancy that I probably won't get.

First up is the Ti-Tech in the special limited edition White Zoo.

I think it's cool because it looks like nothing else on the market. It's a refreshing change from the tribal and flames styling that is so prevalent right now. The problem with it is that AGV is a hard helmet to come by to try on. I tried a lower end one on and it was pure torture. I've heard that one of the things that AGV did was try and make them more wearable for more people. I can't take that chance on a more that $680 helmet. They also had a less than stellar review on WebBikeWorld.

Suomy Spec 1R in the new white or maybe the black.

I love this helmet! It has glitter!

I can't make up my mind which color I like better though. I really like that they have the BSI Euro standard. Hands down Suomy has the best graphics by far. I need to try it on for real, tried it on in Laguna last year but I wasn't shopping seriously. They do run a bit smaller than other brands. I've read really great reviews of this helmet. It has a reputation for being noisy but I'll take venting over a quiet helmet any day.

Shoei X-11 Byrne

I like the X-11s, from store try ons, its one of the best fitting helmets for me. Goes to show that different models do fit differently because the RF 1000 does not fit me at all. I love the look of this; the only problem is that it totally clashes with my bike. Call me shallow but I can't do it. Another thing is I'm not a Shakey Byrne fan, I can't ever see myself buying a helmet of a rider I don't like.

The other Shoei X11 that I really like is the Kagayama in silver. Nice looking design, goes with my bike and I like Yukio Kagayama, he is a madman.

Of course I could just change my mind tomorrow.
I do think its funny that every helmet I put up is on the flashy side and I ride in a flat black helmet.

7 secrets of Brilliant Cornering

2006-02-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

I grabbed the image from beginner bikes, I liked the way it is laid out. I'm pretty sure I've seen it before but I can't remember from where.

1---Relax

2---Read the Road

3---Practice

4---Trust your Tires

5---An Escape Route

6---Kneedown is Optional

7---Don't Crash

click the image for a readable view

Femmoto 2005

2006-02-12T21:05:00.000-08:00

I'm cheating with this one since it is something that I posted on the board and on myspace but I figured its a good entry anyway.

Femmoto was an amazing experience. This was an all female demo track day in Las Vegas.

Friday night was registration. We got five sessions on different bikes. So the first order of business was to pick bikes. Kawasaki, Buell, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Kymco were there. It reminded me a of registering for college classes, a lot of back and forth trying to make the schedule fit. Kawasaki was out in force, they even had the new Ninja 650 to drool over, no demo rides on that though. After registration I went to dinner with a bunch of girls from another forum which was cool. I will say that this was the earliest I've ever been to bed in Vegas.

Saturday morning---the main event. Also the earliest I've ever been up in Vegas

First session---Kawasaki Ninja ZX 6R 636

I look remarkably calm. Well thats misleading...

I don't need no coffee I'm on a 636 to start and trust me, that'll wake you up. It seems like I had the same idea as most of the other riders in Novice 1 and all of the milder bikes that I planned to start on were already taken. So I decide to start my day on the Ninja 636. This bike is not the worlds best fit for me and starting out was a bit of a challenge, who needs to touch the ground anyway? So I'm rolling though the pits and whoops, I can't find the pegs...Oh there they are...Who the hell put them up there?

Do you remember trying to do a handstand as a kid? Head down, hands and feet on the floor and butt in the air just about to kick off the floor with your feet. Well, that's kind of the same position the 636 put me in. On the track this bike is amazing; turn your head and the bike just falls in effortlessly. I did feel like the bike was snickering at all of us, this group was excruciatingly slow to start and it took a few circuits for riders to start passing. I'm just thrilled I wasn't the slowest, I actually passed other riders! I can see why people love this bike but it's not one that I would be able to live with on the streets.

Second session---Aprilia Tuono

This is one of my favorite bikes, it was the first one that I signed up for. Starting out was much better this time, I'm getting the hang of starting out on a bike that is way too tall for me. The bike sounds and feels amazing and is so much fun to ride. This track (there were 2) has much more of a straight so the pace of this session seemed to go much faster. Unfortunately, someone low-sided this session. She was fine and came back to the pits on the back of one of the staffer's bikes.

Yeah I know I need to look up.

Third Session---Buell Lightning XB12S

Buell names their demo bikes so meet Pat, my bike for this session

I really like the fit of this bike, its tiny and with the low seat it was the only bike that I could easily touch ground on. But...oh lord does it vibrate and I never could find the kickstand. I thought that was just me but I talked to a bunch of girls that had the same complaint. This session was kind of weird because it got red flagged. Someone went down on a Blast and they went to get her in the ambulance because she felt dizzy. Since they had the ambulance out they red flagged the session. It was hard to get back into the groove when they sent us back out so I never really got a good feel for the Buell. I think that my group was the only one with crashes.

Fourth session---Kawasaki Z1000
I loved this bike! it was my favorite. Smooth with power everywhere. I want one!
Everything was effortless with this bike. It was comfortable, I could basically touch ground and it had soooo much power. There is one available this year in flat candy plasma blue that I could happily live with

I was getting the hang of things by the time we got to this session.

I bailed on the final session, I was wiped out by the time I got off the Z1000 so I never got a chance to ride the scooter. I picked that as my last because I figured I would keep the simplest for last, but I just couldn't do it. Now I'm disapointed that I didn't get to go out on the scooter but it was for the best I can't wait to do a real track day.

Las Vegas was HOT especially in leathers.

Huge Kudos to Sportbike Track Time for an amazingly well run event.

Can't wait until this years event!

My first bike

2006-02-03T23:42:00.000-08:00

My fist bike was a 1988 Kawasaki EX500. It was a great starter bike. I spent a ton of time researching and looking for the perfect bike. I was looking for an EX 500/250 or a GS 500. I didn't really care which one, I was just looking for a cheap basic bike. It was summer so high quality, low price small bikes were hard to find. I finally found this bike on ebay.

It was one of those bikes that sat for years, it was 16 years old with only 2100 miles on it. The man that was selling it put alot of work into getting it road worthy again for his son. The son was going to use it to commute to school, then he got caught in the rain and that plan changed. So we were able to get a bike with minimal milage that had already been dealer serviced to fix the carbs and the wiring.

Not only was it a great starter bike, its a great city bike as well. Its narrow, peppy, and has great parts availability. After I got the Ducati, my husband commuted on it for awhile. I think we put a total of 10k mikes on it. They also hold killer resale value. It was sold, cash in hand within 24 hours of being listed on craigslist for $250 less than what we paid. A full year 10k miles, assorted drops all for the low low price of $250---what a bargin

Hopefully its still out there teaching another new rider how to ride...

check 1....check 2

2006-01-31T10:13:00.000-08:00

This is just a test of the blogging system.....
Stay tuned for updates....

To keep it on topic, here is my bike.