Motogiro & Verharen Hoon It Up! 9-13-13

[Verharen]

It was a gorgeous day in San Diego County. Friday the 13th. Not scary at all! Motogiro and I took a little ride today without much of a plan to start with except to have fun. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

• Met in Ramona at the gas station by the Mexican Restaurant
• Rode the back way from Wynola to Banner Grade for a quick down up
• Sunrise Hwy (S1), then old Hwy 80, then Cuyamaca (Hwy 79), then lunch in Julian
• Where to next? Palomar Mtn up South Grade, down East

Hopefully there will be a short vid up in a few days. I almost got a free GoPro, but we found the guy who had lost it and gave it back. Even though he hadn't realized it was missing yet. Karma :thumbup:

Wish you had all been there with us. Oh, and phrase of the day from me: "Have you noticed how F***ing AWESOME my bike is???!!" (Sometimes "awesome" was replaced by "sexy" - because it just is).

 

[Jblk9695]

Wish I could have joined ya but it was my day to babysit the furry grandkids

And Cliff I love the glasses, think you should wear them when coming up beside a CHP and see if they are noticed:BLAA:

Jerry

 

[motojoe122]

Great pics! Judging from that last pic, it looks windy or did Jen grow horns:BLAA:

 

[Nelly]

Great pictures, I am so jealous of that weather:spank:
Looking forward to the video as for the go-pro, you gota love Karma.

Nelly:thumbup:

 

[Lefty]

Thanks Jen for sharing your day with us. It always puts a smile on my mug when I see a picture of Cliff (and You).. :BLAA:

 

[Motogiro]

To finish the ride report is a little video I posted up on YouTube. Didn't have to worry about musical copy write infringement, The music is all from the Suzuki Symphony

I would like to apologize to Verharen because the camera is on my bike and we hardly get to hear the new exhaust on Black Betty.

We had a beautiful day to be outside playing in the twisties!

Verharen's riding skills have improved dramatically. I think it's the combination of the company she keeps, added experience and the inspiration she has now that her suspension has been adjusted properly. The turn-in on Black Betty is a breeze now where she was previously fighting a little with the front. The new exhaust sounds so goood!!!! :rockon:

As always I am very grateful for the friendship I share with all of my riding companions and so glad Verharen decided to hook up with us on that day.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3yaHGzbK3E]SoCal Hoons - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Verharen]

:BLAA: Awesome video Motogiro!! I think I have improved since last April. But I need to figure out why I have such hesitancy going into right hand corners. I slow way down so I am comfortable with my entry speed. You can tell how much I love the lefties (love you Lefty) and enjoy twisting the throttle when I see the end of those turns though.

Oh my gosh. I am so lucky to have been able to ride so much with you all this summer. You can tell that work is kicking my butt since I'm not on the forum as I was last month!! Yes, Vegasrider, I do work (remember when you asked?).

I had a particularly good time on that ride. All my favorite roads all in one day! Let's do it again soon!!

 

[Erci]

You guys are killing me with those roads!! They look SO good!! I probably wouldn't crave the track so much if I had roads like that within my reach. ( not really... still would... but I'd be a lot more satisfied with street riding too!! )

Great stuff as always!! :thumbup:

 

[Botch]

But I need to figure out why I have such hesitancy going into right hand corners. I slow way down so I am comfortable with my entry speed. You can tell how much I love the lefties (love you Lefty) and enjoy twisting the throttle when I see the end of those turns though.

This is interesting to me. I've never had a problem with sharp turns in either direction with Fizzer. However, since adopting Pig (an '09 BMW R1200 GS) I can't do a decent right-hand turn to save my life, wtf?? My knees go flying out, I have to drop my foot, it just scares me for no reason; left-hand turns, no problem.
I guess I just need to dedicate an afternoon in an empty parking lot and work through it; its just weird that it bothers me on this bigger bike, but is not an issue on the Fizzer.

 

[Motogiro]

This is interesting to me. I've never had a problem with sharp turns in either direction with Fizzer. However, since adopting Pig (an '09 BMW R1200 GS) I can't do a decent right-hand turn to save my life, wtf?? My knees go flying out, I have to drop my foot, it just scares me for no reason; left-hand turns, no problem.
I guess I just need to dedicate an afternoon in an empty parking lot and work through it; its just weird that it bothers me on this bigger bike, but is not an issue on the Fizzer.

I think it's a question of seeing through the right handers. Here we're riding in areas where the terrain often blocks you from seeing through. The instinct to slow down where you can't see through is natural. It's happened to me going up a mountain road and not being able to see through the right hander and sure enough there was a brilliant specimen of humanity trying to back his dead pickup backwards through the turn down the mountain. My instincts were good this time as I had slowed down.
We lost a lady rider this year who was a regular track rider with lots of road experience. She rounding a turn (a right hander) that had a dirt road exit/entree at an angle. I think the guy in the pickup was like 80 years old. She 'T' boned the pickup.

Many people develop great cornering skills but the fact is if you can't see through you must alter your speed to be safe. I think it's instinct and I trust that instinct.

I wonder if when on the Fizzer you felt more confident because you could maneuver more quickly to skirt a collision as compared to the larger bike?

Also a low side in a right hander can put you in the oncoming lane (opposite in UK and Oz etc) but so can standing the bike up as well. We've got a few nice see through right handers here to practice on. :BLAA:

 

[Erci]

I think it's a question of seeing through the right handers. Here we're riding in areas where the terrain often blocks you from seeing through. The instinct to slow down where you can't see through is natural. It's happened to me going up a mountain road and not being able to see through the right hander and sure enough there was a brilliant specimen of humanity trying to back his dead pickup backwards through the turn down the mountain. My instincts were good this time as I had slowed down.
We lost a lady rider this year who was a regular track rider with lots of road experience. She rounding a turn that had a dirt road exit/entree at an angle. I think the guy in the pickup was like 80 years old. She 'T' boned the pickup.

Many people develop great cornering skills but the fact is if you can't see through you must alter your speed to be safe. I think it's instinct and I trust that instinct.

I wonder if when on the Fizzer you felt more confident because you could maneuver more quickly to skirt a collision as compared to the larger bike?

Also a low side in a right hander can put you in the oncoming lane (opposite in UK and Oz etc) but so can standing the bike up as well. We've got a few nice see through right handers here to practice on. :BLAA:

All excellent points, Cliff!! This particular one: "Many people develop great cornering skills but the fact is if you can't see through you must alter your speed to be safe."

I still have the "Write an article on track riding vs street, RiderCoach perspective" on my To-Do list and the point you made is exactly what I plan to write about. You simply cannot fly through the turns on the street while keeping a good margin of safety, no matter how well you know the line (if you've ridden the same corner hundreds of times) and no matter how great your form and skills are.

 

[Humperdinkel]

Awesome pics guys , do me a favour & NEVER grow up Cliff you're a legend !!! :BLAA:

 

[Motogiro]

Awesome pics guys , do me a favour & NEVER grow up Cliff you're a legend !!! :BLAA:

Thank you Dan!

Is that why Lisa always yells at me, saying, "You're such an adolescent!" ??? :BLAA: Also adolescent is substituted for another A word....

 

[FinalImpact]

Follow me: we get complacent on the daily roads and can be more relaxed as we "know them" which often times is where mistakes are made. But to reduce the risk (while behaving like a kindergärtner at recess) I take it a bit slower clearing the route of hazards and "may" travel faster over the same route in the opposite direction that day.

I completely understand the error of my ways and that one day I shall be forced to pick the lessor of all evils, i.e. where to land The fact remains, if you ride in a manor that you're unable to stop in the distance you can see, you're placing your self at risk! ^^ As said up there!

I do it often but do it based upon the terrain, weather, traffic, likely hood of changes from all things. << That helped I bet! lol I guess its just a gut feeling that has served me well so far. Don't overdrive the conditions and if you do, don't panic upsetting the bike or you'll pay the price!