And the 2006 MotoGP World Campion is....

[Husky23]

Nicky Hayden....USA

A lot of drama in an otherwise boring race. Consistency pays. Hayden & Rossi touched just off the starting grid. That was as close as Rossi got to Hayden all race.

Pedrosa stepped up and did the right thing for his team. He rode a hard race, but when Nicky caught him, Pedrosa waved him by and gave Nicky a good, clean line to make the pass.

Rossi. What can you say? He had a nasty start and then tucked the front and crashed out a few laps later. He got back out there and rode hard, but there just wasn't enough race left to make up enough positions. Bad luck. But he was a class act about it. He congratulated Nicky and complimented him without reservation in the post race interviews.

Nicky Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP World Champion. He rode a smart race and ended this roller coaster season on top. Congrats to Nicky! I'm thrilled to see him take home the championship. It couldn't have been earned by a nicer guy. I hope he continues to do well in years to come.

Troy Bayliss. WTF got into him?!? "Well I won the World Superbike title. Season's over so why not moonlight for the Ducati factory MotoGP team for a race? Oh, and while I'm at it. Let's get in front early and hold that lead position all the way to the end. Sounds like a fun weekend." I wonder if Ducati might be considering running a three bike team next year to make room for Bayliss?

[FightingFalcon]

I haven't seen the race yet but I heard about it. Such an anti-climactic ending for Rossi to crash like that. I really would have liked to see the two of them go at it the entire time. Had Rossi not crashed....who knows what would have happened.

That still shouldn't take anything away from Hayden though. Already I hear people claiming that his victory isn't genuine because Rossi crashed. BS....Hayden is clearly a top-notch rider and deserves the win. After all, crashing is a legitimate part of MotoGP as we saw in the last race with Pedrosa and Hayden.

I'm looking forward to next year...I'm definitely getting the MotoGP.com pass so that I can watch all of the races.

There was talk of moving Bayliss up to MotoGP but I also heard that Ducati is withdrawing from MotoGP, which they claim is unfair towards their style bikes. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

As for my own personal 636...the saga continues. I have no idea when I'll have it back Husky so I'll stop throwing dates at you.

[Husky23]

Yes, it was abit anti-climatic. I was looking forward to a really good scrap between Hayden and Rossi.

But hey, Hayden got taken out and gave Rossi the points last race...Rossi takes himself out and give Hayden the points this race.

That's racing.

Sorry bout your 636 saga.

[FightingFalcon]

I'm back on two wheels Husky! AND in DC!

Riding in DC was interesting....especially during rush-hour. Thankfully from now on I'll be riding to ROTC early in the morning so I don't have to deal with that anymore.

I'm probably gonna be around this weekend but it looks like it's gonna be cold. Would you rather meet up next weekend? Looks like it'll be in the 60s next Saturday.

Man....long rides really take a lot out of you. Took me about 5 1/2 hours from door to door cause of traffic on the Turnpike. I had to get down to DC ASAP so I couldn't really take my time when I stopped. Stopped twice for gas and that was it.

Now my entire body is sore. Towards the end my leg was killing me. I had to keep standing up on my pegs lol.

Then I finally got to DC and a few blocks from my garage when some guy decides to cut me off. Up on the sidewalk I go for 200 feet until I got back on the road. That was interesting.....

[Husky23]

Glad you got you're ride again...and yes this weekend is supposed to be abit chilly. Last weekend was great though.

I'm sure long rides on your machine can be painful...I took a ride up to Eatontown, NJ last summer on my Z1000 with cardboard for a seat and my ass was tender for 3 days.

Be safe in that town.

[FightingFalcon]

OK so I'll tentatively plan on next Saturday then. Weather channel is now showing Scat Showers for Saturday but its 8 days away so that can always change. 65 degrees tho so that will be nice.

I don't have enuf miles to change my oil yet (im at 3K and wanna hit 4K before switching to fully synthetic) but I'd still like to meet and do the Skylive Drive route if you're around.

[Husky23]

I had a good time James ...glad we could share the ride.

I especially liked carving up that pack of 3 (especially that Yamaha R6) up the side of the mountain...I needed to get that out, but overall a nice modest ride.

[FightingFalcon]

We should have taken pictures....I was too busy enjoying the twisties to stop and take pictures tho . Next time we'll at least have to take one of our bikes together.

Yea even tho I couldn't carve up the corners as much as I would have liked, I hit 100+ on the way back enuf to satisfy my wrists

O yea....when you were behind me on the mountain, what did you think of my position/style? When we were behind that truck I obviously took it slow but what about the rest?

I know I definitely have trouble with decreasing radius downward sloping curves. I can deal with one or the other but together they are interesting....

[Husky23]

fightingfalcon said:

O yea....when you were behind me on the mountain, what did you think of my position/style? When we were behind that truck I obviously took it slow but what about the rest?

Well, that's what I was hoping for...to get a view of how you negotiated some of those corners. But that truck and trailer blew the last downhill run and that's the time I was using to check you out.

If I may though...just a general impression (and feel free to tell me to F@#k off)...but I see some timidness and apprehension in both slow manuevering and through the twisties (and I'm not saying it is not justified...hell you've spent the same amount for the bike in recent repairs) and even with 2K+ miles under your ass it's still pretty novice. That's what today was about..repeatative cornering, bulding that "feel" and confidence again...in your machine, your tires and most importantly...you.

I would recommend you find a school parking lot (with good pavement) and reherse low speed manuevering (I did some just yesterday).

Also, you've got very decent rubber...sure, it's not race and it's not best sport street skin either...but, it IS well up to your ability FF. We got them warm on the ride to the mountain so they were plenty sticky. Remember I'm running BT020's as well. So;

-If you set your corner entry speed (even a little slow is fine...and recommended).
-If you LOOK through your intended line (for hazards, debrise, irregular pavement, potholes...bla bla bla)
-If you continue to LOOK through the turn (always scanning well ahead..for; need line adjustment due to; decreasing radius, off camber or any of a number of surprises) You have TIME to adjust.
-If your bike's suspension is not upset and unbalanced.

Then smoothly and steadily push that bar and lean her in. Your tires will hold. Then once the bike settles into that angle and your all comfy...roll on more throttle smoothly and lean her more to hold the line.

There were some great 270 degree turns there today to set yourself up for some wonderful practice.

I know I definitely have trouble with decreasing radius downward sloping curves. I can deal with one or the other but together they are interesting....

Indeed thay are.

BTW...did the lowering of pressures seem to do anything for you?

[FightingFalcon]

Haha no offense taken. Two months ago I would have been going 70mph with half my body off the bike and a knee on the ground. I realize now that it wasn't skill but rather luck that kept me going. I don't "enjoy" the twisties as much as I did before but then again I can't live without my bike. After going 2 months without it, I never want to be without it again. So yea, I'm definitely nervous about crashing it again. Not so much because of physical injury (that honestly does not cross my mind at all) but rather because of the money and effort of getting my bike fixed again.

Tomorrow I might practice in our parking lot. Has a lot of open spots during the weekend but also has some really tight low-speed corners. But first I gotta put my frame sliders on

Eh....the BTs. I'm not a big fan. Everyone raves about the PPs and Qualifiers and how much stickier they are than the BTs. I get decent feedback from my BTs but the second time I crashed there was literally no warning.

I can handle non-blind corners pretty well. I sometimes have an issue setting it up but I usually don't have issues when I can see the whole turn. It's those blinds tho (no matter how little is blind) that freak me out. I've had a car come into my side of the lane one too many times to push my luck again.

I think the lowering of pressure helped. I didn't have a single issue of sliding or anything all day. I'm definitely glad we checked that. 42 PSI is insane....that's such a small contact patch for twisties.

[Husky23]

fightingfalcon said:

Haha no offense taken.

Great...because it's given with the best of intentions.

I can handle non-blind corners pretty well. I sometimes have an issue setting it up but I usually don't have issues when I can see the whole turn. It's those blinds tho (no matter how little is blind) that freak me out. I've had a car come into my side of the lane one too many times to push my luck again.

I pulled (and modified slightly for the street) this graphic from Kieth Code's book "The soft science of road racing motorcycles"



It basically boils down to slower and later entries. Novice riders are especially prone to entering corners way too early (not that others don't do it either...including myself). And even though this book is intended for the track...slightly later entries have some very useful applications for the street:

1. You will enter slower...yes there will be a more abrupt initial cornering but you get the bike upright sooner.

2. It allows you to see further through the turn before commiting (less blind).

3. Driving to the exit provides substantial safety margin (in road room, awareness and control) for those surprises, like:

a. Oops, this is a decreasing radius turn.
b. Oops, this is becomes an off camber turn.
c. Whats that? A dead deer in the road?
d. Whew... I'm sure glad I got some room cause that oncoming truck is cutting the yellow line.

OK...enough of that.

[FightingFalcon]

Haha thanks for the diagram. I've had Twist of the Wrist 2 on my comp for about a month now. Since its gettin kinda cold outside, I figure I should probably sit down and finally read it...

There are a couple others out there that I'm thinking of picking up as well. I've got nothing to do this winter break so I'll hopefully finish a few of those in time for the spring.

[101ABN]

Husky,

Don't forget,

"Oh SHIT! A State Trooper!!!"


;D

[Husky23]

admin said:

Husky,

Don't forget,

"Oh SHIT! A State Trooper!!!"

;D

So true...and a State trooper has the distinct ability to ruin a good line through a corner

Oh ya, don't know if FF shared but we got pulled over by a cop after being trailed for a few miles. the normal run through the grill; driver license, registration, state inspection crap...just to hold us up some and....

No tickets, no fouls...I think he wanted to let us know "they" know we were headed to play in the twisties...

...didn't see a cop lurking in there the whole time though and if there was they left all the bikes alone to safely carve it ;D

[Husky23]

Stumbled upon this sport rider artcle this morning FF...seems to affirm I'm not all too far off base regarding slower corner entries and entering a little deeper before turning:

www.sportrider.com/ride/146_9306_motorcycle_pacing/

some exerpts:

But let's get one thing perfectly clear: the street is not the racetrack. Using it as such will shorten your riding career and keep you from discovering the Pace. The Pace is far from street racing-and a lot more fun.

The Pace ignores outright speed and can be as much fun on a Ninja 250 as on a ZX-11, emphasizing rider skill over right-wrist bravado. A fool can twist the grip, but a fool has no idea how to stop or turn. Learning to stop will save your life; learning to turn will enrich it. What feels better than banking a motorcycle into a corner?

Different corners require different techniques, but as you begin to think about lines, late entrances and late apexes, turning your bike at the exact moment and reaching the precise lean angle will require firm, forceful inputs at the handlebars. If you take less time to turn your motorcycle, you can use that time to brake more effectively or run deeper into the corner, affording yourself more time to judge the corner and a better look at any hidden surprises. It's important to look as far into the corner as possible and remember the adage, "You go where you look."

The number-one survival skill, after mastering emergency braking, is setting your corner-entrance speed early, or as Kenny Roberts says, "Slow in, fast out." ...Setting entrance speed early will allow you to adjust your speed and cornering line, giving you every opportunity to handle the surprise.

Setting your entrance speed early and looking into the corner allows you to determine what type of corner you're facing. Does the radius decrease? Is the turn off-camber? Is there an embankment that may have contributed some dirt to the corner?

If you use a majority of the front tire's traction for braking and then ask it to provide maximum cornering traction as well, a typical low-side crash will result. Also consider that your motorcycle won't steer as well with the fork fully compressed under braking. If you're constantly fighting the motorcycle while turning, it may be because you're braking too far into the corner. All these problems can be eliminated by setting your entrance speed early, an important component of running at the Pace.