Two Wheels Zero Excuses

[GSW10]

This is one of my open-class bikes.

When it was first released in the 90's, it was the fastest production bike in the world, ever. Period. I didn't gravitate to the Kawasaki 'howitzer' right away, mostly still a Honda guy at that point. I found a good deal on one later however, and adopted it. Mine was a later production model, from the 2000s, unmolested and professionally treated. I was impressed not only with the power and performance of the machine, but in the competence it had in all ranges -I could lean it through hairpin curves under 30, or travel over a buck-fifty and feel very stable (well, the bike, not me, obviously). Today, I believe it still holds the record for fastest carbureted production motorcycle ever.

Currently, it wears a Yoshimura exhaust, K&N filter, and has properly jetted carbs. Fully-polished frame, rims, and a small host of other upgrades such as LED lighting and braided SS hydraulic-lines have been added.
It is a pleasure to ride, handles very well, and MPG in the 50's is not uncommon. I have handlebar risers waiting to be installed before I take a long trip with it. Since I severely altered the gear-ratios in my other open-class bike for highway use (60% decrease in engine RPMs -and torque- at any given road-speed), this is now my primary bike for just cruising around.

 

[Racer88]

That's a beautiful machine!

 

[GSW10]

That's a beautiful machine!

Thank you. I should have said it is a pleasure to ride even responsibly, at sub light-speed... It isn't just about the acceleration. It is actually a very comfortable, well-rounded bike. Just capable of 0-60 in 2.8 seconds...

 

[Michele]

Very sleek looks like it goes fast…real fast. Beautiful

 

[GSW10]

Thank you. Yes, faster than I should ever need it to be. I would like to think I am mature enough to be beyond the 'ego' trip, but it is still smugifying to pull up to a light and know nothing there can touch it.

 

[ADulay]

Let's ride!

 

[USApat]

Ninjas are no joke, and that is a beautiful example. I've been fortunate to be around (and in) some pretty fast vehicles over the years and a buddy had one back in the day and would let me take it for a spin whenever I had the hankering. Most of the ride can typically be above 120+ in a matter of seconds on almost any stretch of road ranging from open desert to your grandmas retirement home village. So, I made the decision that I probably shouldn't buy one of these and left it at that. Plenty of other occasions arrived for me to scoot around some neat places at speed in a collection of machinery.

@GSW10 I didn't know you were a speed junky. You should take that thing on a proper race track with leathers. There are track days all over the USA that typically range about $250 for the weekend in entry fees. Plus your tires, fuel and brakes depending on how hard your run. Controlled environments somewhat for liability reasons, but it will truly give you an idea what the thing will do over multiple laps. And, will certainly test your levels of concentration.

Be aware, that the track is a lot more addicting than a public road and you may have to trim back on how much you spend on your gun hobby as a result of your new found addiction. In fact, it will pale to what you spend on ammo and guns. Guns and ammo would be considered a cocktail and appetizer compared to what you spend for the main course at a race track. Particularly if you end up doing the same deeds in a car. $00.02

Sweet ride. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Warhammer]

Let's give this thread some new life! Post pics of your 2-wheeled stress relief machines!

My new-to-me Ducati Diavel Carbon:

 

[Bobster]

I just want every biker to know that paint such as lane markers, when applied to roadways, can be very slick, especially when wet rained upon! There are hundreds of asshole municipalities painting over ENTIRE roadways to placate a very small number of lunatics. Consider the DANGER they have now put many motorcyclists and bicyclists in. This is a LEGITIMATE complaint you can bring to the city council meeting and ask to see their liability insurance paperwork...

 

[clm2112]

Be aware, that the track is a lot more addicting than a public road and you may have to trim back on how much you spend on your gun hobby as a result of your new found addiction. In fact, it will pale to what you spend on ammo and guns. Guns and ammo would be considered a cocktail and appetizer compared to what you spend for the main course at a race track. Particularly if you end up doing the same deeds in a car. $00.02

Yeah, tracks are a great learning playground. You become a better, more competent, rider pretty damn quick when you get see where the limits really are.

My first race bike: 1989 Honda CBR600 in AMA-CCS middleweight supersport class configuration. (1993 or 1994 on the grid at Daytona...I'm the guy in the middle who looks like the stay-puff marshmellow man)

 

[Warhammer]

A couple of pics from one of my last ADV camping trips in Texas Hill Country before I moved to the Carolinas.

 

[USApat]

Let's give this thread some new life! Post pics of your 2-wheeled stress relief machines!

My new-to-me Ducati Diavel Carbon:

@Warhammer We were a family that biked. My great grandmother drove one of these to church every Sunday to pray and was never late .
My great grandfather rode on the back and weekdays they rolled newspapers and delivered them to the neighbors until he threw out his arm.

 

[Warhammer]

I finished up some basic maintenance, a few small repairs and added a few farkels. She's looking and running great!

 

[One Ping Only]

Let's give this thread some new life! Post pics of your 2-wheeled stress relief machines!

My new-to-me Ducati Diavel Carbon:

View attachment 20134

View attachment 20135

The Diavel is one of my favorite motorcycles. Aspiring to one here for yours truly. Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Warhammer]

The Diavel is one of my favorite motorcycles. Aspiring to one here for yours truly. Thanks for sharing!!

I just got my Diavel, after a few months of careful shopping. I was originally thinking of a V-Max, but then remember how horrible they are at turning. Then I started reading about the Diavel and I fell in love with it! I found that a lot of used Ducatis go up for sale at just under 15k miles, so the previous owner can avoid paying for the 15K Desmo service, which can cost $1500-2000. Also, many of the Ducs for sale over 15K miles can't provide documentation to prove the Desmo service was done. I see it as you have 3 choices:

1. $$$$$ Find a low milage, barely used Duc, and continue the maintenance scheduel
2. $$$$ Go for a well documented used Duc, higher mileage with the Desmo done or lower with the Desmo approaching
3. $$ Carefully inspect a higher milage, less/no documentation model and be prepared to do some maintenance and assume the Desmo was not done

After about a 2 month search, I ended up finding my 2012 with 22K miles on it and negotiated the price to $4500. It needed new tires, a new shift position sensor and the PO had lost the electronic key. Everything else has been either basic maintenance (oil & filter, air filter, spark plugs, coolant, etc...) or farkeling (carbon fiber bits, bar ends, etc...). Overall, I feel like I got a better than average deal on the bike.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I'm bikeless now. My long lost loves:

BSA 650 Lightning (2 but years apart)
Norton Commando
Triumph Bonneville
Suzuki GS350
Suzuki GS750
Suzuki GS1100
Kawasaki Ninja ZX

I got a reckless driving ticket on the GS1100 in Maryland. I was doing 120 mph on I83 just south of the PA line. The cop could have impounded the bike and arrested me but didnt. As the trooper handed me the ticket he told me to pay it right away because I might not live to see my court date. He did not say Meow have a nice day.

 

[BeerHunter]

Loved my GS1100, which I eventually sold when I no longer lived where I could easily access the open road and could no longer really enjoy riding it in relative safety.
It seemed as if many of the locals in my new state of residence at the time were trying to kill me with their [inattentive] cager driving habits!

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Loved my GS1100, which I eventually sold when I no longer lived where I could easily access the open road and could no longer really enjoy riding it in relative safety.
It seemed as if many of the locals in my new state of residence at the time were trying to kill me with their [inattentive] cager driving habits!

That stretch of I-83 is very rural. There was nobody on the road. The GS1100 had more to give at 120 mph. Loved that bike. I sold it for the same reason as you.

The GS750 I bought used and it had a funky king/queen seat and tall sissy bar. I got rid of that noise and put a stock seat on it. It was OK, but I thought it was sluggish and heavy handling so I sold it to buy the 1100.

The GS350 was my first Suzuki and I had a lot of fun with it. A taxi driver ran me over in Baltimore City. I smashed the taxi windshield with my head (full face helmet, thankfully) and broke my arm when I hit the street but was otherwise unhurt. The bike was totaled.

The Ninja was a definitive crotch rocket. Uncomfortable riding position that was really intended for a track. It made no sense as a road bike but it was fast as Hell.

 

[Warhammer]

Happy Independence Day!

I went out for a little ride at 6:30, before the day got too hot to enjoy. Nobody to speak of on the roads. I just meandered around the area north of Charlotte. I'm still amazed at the beauty up here compared to central Texas!

I rode for a bout 2 hours. I would have stayed out longer, but the bolt that holds on my rear brake pedal backed out and the lever almost fell off! So, back to the garage and online to look up what parts I need to order. Still, it was a nice enjoyable morning!

 

[USApat]

Happy Independence Day!

I went out for a little ride at 6:30, before the day got too hot to enjoy. Nobody to speak of on the roads. I just meandered around the area north of Charlotte. I'm still amazed at the beauty up here compared to central Texas!

I rode for a bout 2 hours. I would have stayed out longer, but the bolt that holds on my rear brake pedal backed out and the lever almost fell off! So, back to the garage and online to look up what parts I need to order. Still, it was a nice enjoyable morning!

Just north of you in Mooresvile are a lot of racing shops. If you have a performance car, take a trip to or call G-Loc Brakes on Performance Road. Great pads for a road course with all sorts of compounds from track day cars to full endurance racing. They can make any pads from a mold. Not sure if they do motorcycle stuff though. Drop me a PM is you need a contact there.

And, just wait until the Fall in that area because it's beautiful. Take a jaunt up to the Danville area and visit VIR. I'm certain they have a track day available for bikes. They certainly do for cars. You will not regret it. VIR is arguably the best looking road course in North America and the long course is superb, particularly the fast 4-5th gear esses and Souh Bend. In the fall the old pine trees are golden in hue and rise about 100 feet in the air surrounding the course. You can't see the track when you arrive due to the dense trees. There's just a guard house with an American flag. You drive through a forest of pines and it pops you out onto a bridge crossing over the track. It is very much like arriving to the old version of the Hockenheim track in the German forest. It is very much like a European road course and was built way back in the 50s and was later renovated to what it is today, which is simply beautiful! I've enclosed a documentary of the track showing some of the early cars back in the day along with the modern stuff in the opening scenes of the video.

I almost moved in that area near Lake Hico area just to be near the road course there, but where I lived a high profile road course was built so I didn't make the split. For many years I would race three weekends back to back at VIR and Road Atlanta. Two weekends at VIR with a 13 hour endurance race and many sprint races and then down to Road Atlanta for endurance races and sprints there. In three weekends I logged more miles than most due on their log cards during their entire season. I think it was more than 20-25 hours of direct track time total and it was my 3-week annual vacation. I met many friends. You will find the race community is very friendly there. Not pompous like a lot of regions in the country. It is also quite active and has a lot of licensed racers and packed weekends with full grids.

I should try and find some photos on my computer I have here. I remember shooting some of the track as the fog was rolling in at 6am as I was arriving at the track one morning. It was very cool and perfect for racing with nights just above freezing in the fall in October.

The late Paul Newman used to state, "If there's a heaven on earth, it's VIR."
He wasn't lying.

Many of you probably don't know but Paul Newman was an avid road racer himself both behind the wheel in the old Datsun/Nissan cars and co-owners of two teams. He was partnered and co-owners with Newman Wachs Racing and then later with Rahal Letterman Racing.

And if there ever was a place for Rush's Red Barchetta song, VIR is the place with their old red barn archetecture and rolling road course through the trees. They even have a prancing horse sculpture as you enter the main paddock grounds. I actually did an in-car race video from one of my events to Red Barchetta, because the place is so historic.

Some great old footage at the beginning of this documentary:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbtOBX_hHu4

And the old VIR History website. If you dig deep through the links, you will find many old photos (this is a very old website).

VIR History - Virginia International Raceway History

www.virhistory.com