D-Mac
Distance Rider
Went for a ride to Hell, Michigan to meet some guys from the Sport-touring forum today. I do have a few crappy pics and I'll post them as soon as I find the cord for my camera (posting this thread now will motivate me to look for it!)
The ride there was through some of the best twisties I've ridden. After some dinner with a great bunch of guys (all LD riders), four of us rode together back to Jackson, Michigan though more twisties. A local guy led the group.
So here's where it got interesting. We were riding west into a setting sun so it was tough to see at times, but nothing too crazy. I decided to ride at the back so I can keep some space in front of me. Spirited riding through curves isn't something I have a chance to do regularly and I knew I was outclassed compared with the guys I'm riding with (they've also ridden together a lot). I just told them to go ahead and not worry about slowing down for me. For me this was the first chance I've had to really ride hard on the bike. I figured having experienced riders to chase would help me line up the turns better and keep me from riding into a speed trap. I promised myself to stay within my limits, but I also wanted to push myself a bit too.
I'm about the farthest thing from a squid you can get. ATGATT, my bike is set up for touring. I've had 0 track experience (someday) and I'm prone to wearing out tires only in the center. So we hit the road and WHAM. These guys take off like rockets. In front of me was a Triumph Thruxton (sex on wheels IMO - 900cc parallel twin, stock) and in front of him were two Triumph Sprint 1050s (FULLY dressed and modded). I focused on the ride - immediately feeling a rush that you can only get on a motorcycle screaming hard through 2nd gear.
Some observations....
-these guys were smoooooth. They almost never hit their brakes, looked way ahead through the turns, and trusted their bikes to an extent I never have before. I found myself falling behind BADLY on the turns for the first 15 miles. The guy on the lead Sprint and the guy on the Thruxton was really leaning over and it was cool to watch. One guy hit some gravel once and I thought he'd lose it, but he managed to keep it up.
-Rowing throug the gears, I could easily make up the distance on the Thruxton on the straights, but that was about it. I also found myself braking hard before turns (too hard). I know that rolling on through the turn is better for stability, but I guess I'm just not experienced enough to know how much speed I can carry into the turns. I think the fact that I hammered the throttle to close the gap each time meant that I was going hotter into the turns than the other bikes. Brakes on the FZ6 are brilliant though!
-Another observation. I've always enjoyed the power that comes on at 7K, but at around 9K the FZ6 is absolutely INSANE! Passing power is not an issue. I definitely had to shift a lot to keep the bike in the powerband, but it sure was fun!
-I found myself doing better when I started focusing on smooth shifts. Everything seemed to start falling into place after that. Focusing on keeping a loose grip on the handlebars seemed to help too. I found myself getting tunnel-vision as the ride went on - I've never been so focused on my riding before. I kept forgetting to breathe.
When we finally hit the interstate we stopped for a few minutes. I was relieved to hear that the other guys had found the ride challenging too. Maybe there's hope for me yet! It'll be a LONG, LONG time before my riding skills meet the ability of our bikes. Before I got my FZ6 I rode a cruiser and always rode with other cruisers. It was enjoyable, but certainly NOTHING like the kind of ride you can have with an FZ6.
The ride there was through some of the best twisties I've ridden. After some dinner with a great bunch of guys (all LD riders), four of us rode together back to Jackson, Michigan though more twisties. A local guy led the group.
So here's where it got interesting. We were riding west into a setting sun so it was tough to see at times, but nothing too crazy. I decided to ride at the back so I can keep some space in front of me. Spirited riding through curves isn't something I have a chance to do regularly and I knew I was outclassed compared with the guys I'm riding with (they've also ridden together a lot). I just told them to go ahead and not worry about slowing down for me. For me this was the first chance I've had to really ride hard on the bike. I figured having experienced riders to chase would help me line up the turns better and keep me from riding into a speed trap. I promised myself to stay within my limits, but I also wanted to push myself a bit too.
I'm about the farthest thing from a squid you can get. ATGATT, my bike is set up for touring. I've had 0 track experience (someday) and I'm prone to wearing out tires only in the center. So we hit the road and WHAM. These guys take off like rockets. In front of me was a Triumph Thruxton (sex on wheels IMO - 900cc parallel twin, stock) and in front of him were two Triumph Sprint 1050s (FULLY dressed and modded). I focused on the ride - immediately feeling a rush that you can only get on a motorcycle screaming hard through 2nd gear.
Some observations....
-these guys were smoooooth. They almost never hit their brakes, looked way ahead through the turns, and trusted their bikes to an extent I never have before. I found myself falling behind BADLY on the turns for the first 15 miles. The guy on the lead Sprint and the guy on the Thruxton was really leaning over and it was cool to watch. One guy hit some gravel once and I thought he'd lose it, but he managed to keep it up.
-Rowing throug the gears, I could easily make up the distance on the Thruxton on the straights, but that was about it. I also found myself braking hard before turns (too hard). I know that rolling on through the turn is better for stability, but I guess I'm just not experienced enough to know how much speed I can carry into the turns. I think the fact that I hammered the throttle to close the gap each time meant that I was going hotter into the turns than the other bikes. Brakes on the FZ6 are brilliant though!
-Another observation. I've always enjoyed the power that comes on at 7K, but at around 9K the FZ6 is absolutely INSANE! Passing power is not an issue. I definitely had to shift a lot to keep the bike in the powerband, but it sure was fun!
-I found myself doing better when I started focusing on smooth shifts. Everything seemed to start falling into place after that. Focusing on keeping a loose grip on the handlebars seemed to help too. I found myself getting tunnel-vision as the ride went on - I've never been so focused on my riding before. I kept forgetting to breathe.
When we finally hit the interstate we stopped for a few minutes. I was relieved to hear that the other guys had found the ride challenging too. Maybe there's hope for me yet! It'll be a LONG, LONG time before my riding skills meet the ability of our bikes. Before I got my FZ6 I rode a cruiser and always rode with other cruisers. It was enjoyable, but certainly NOTHING like the kind of ride you can have with an FZ6.
