nooksack

Brrring-dddd-ding-ding

Oh how I love the sound of two-strokes in the morning...

Moto season approaches

As usual this time of year, I'm eagerly anticipating the start of moto racing related activities. In the course of consuming every nugget of news that appears at SuperbikePlanet, I ran across some photos of Rossi's new helmet paint scheme. He's got some sort of laundry detergent theme going there. I don't really understand it either, but it's pretty hilarious.

I'm doing my part to start the season by signing up for a Keigwin's track day at.......wait for it.........Laguna Seca! I am so excited. I'll be able to ride the track just a few months prior to the return of MotoGP to the US, and see first-hand all the improvements that have been made to the facility. Wooo! As CJ pointed put to me, I'll be able to give an informed commentary on the track and the technique of the riders. <cough> We'll see.

Lap timer

Steph got me a cool new toy today. She had asked me a while back if there is anything I might want for Xmas, and I said, "Why yes, a lap timer would be cool". So she got me one, and we went and picked it up today because we're impatient people. Here's a little picture for you:

The cool thing about it, as you can see, is that it's integrated into the switch housing on the handlebar, Cool, huh? The idea is that you just trip this little trigger when you pass a predetermined point on the track, and it records your elapsed time. Great for track days.

What's that? You can't really see it very well there? Well Ok, here's a better picture:

Here you can see of the extra features that come with this lap timer. You can see that it's manufactured by Aprilia. Steph, bless her heart, decided to spring for the super deluxe model. One of the main features features of this lap timer is the built-in Tuono R. Most lap timers are just that, a timer. You just stand there and hit the switch, and check the time, but you're not really lapping anything. You're just standing there. This lap timer comes with an engine, and wheels, and gas, and stuff like that. So you can actually do laps around the track....and then time them. Hence the name: lap timer.

You know, you still can't really see it very well in that pic. Here, try this one:

Fantastic is it not? I do love her so.

Long Way Round

Without a doubt the best motorcycle related show on television right now is Ewan McGregor's Long Way Round. It's the story of Ewan and his buddy Charley's motorcycle adventure trip from London to New York, via Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, etc, etc. They do a pretty good job of capturing the anxiety, uncertainty, and sensawunda that such a trip inevitably invokes. I have the first couple of episodes saved on the Tivo, but I really hope they release this on DVD. Highly recommended.

In related news, an updated collector's edition DVD of Faster, the MotoGP documentary narrated by Ewan McGregor, has been released. You should pick up one of those too.

Winter Surprise

A freak winter storm snuck up on the Bay Area this weekend. I didn't expect it to rain hard until at least November 5th when the Motorcycle Show is in town. I'm still running the Metzeler Tourances that carried 5000+ miles through Alaska, and I had been putting off getting new tires until winter arrived. Well, it's here. The Tourances were good tires, nice and grippy, but this time I'm going to try a set of Michelin Anakees. The folks on the V-Strom forum say it's a good rain tire. We'll see. If my Mom is reading this, I can gaurantee you she is freaking out at the thought of me riding a motorcycle in the rain. Hi Mom!

Edwards to Yamaha for 2005

SuperbikePlanet just posted another bombshell. My favorite racer, Colin Edwards II, will be riding a Yamaha next year as the teammate of Valentino Rossi (aka God). Colin hasn't quite proven himself in MotoGP yet. He's gone from nearly the worst bike on the grid (Aprilia), to the best bike (Honda) where he was better, but inconsistent. Now he will be going to a decent bike managed by what is surely the best team. Rossi has already proven that he didn't need to be on a Honda to win. He will almost certainly clinch the championship this weekend. It will be interesting to see how much of that Rossi/Burgess magic rubs off on the Texas Tornado.

Reno Pics

When I got home this evening, I was quite happy to find a CD from track day photographer Darron Spohn in my mailbox. So, I posted a few pics that I shot from my track day in Reno, including some of my favorites from Darron.

Trackday Hangover

This weekend we were once again in Fernley Nevada with Keigwin's crew at the delightfully simple high speed track that I last visited in May this year. I have some pics that I will post later, just as soon as I remember where I put the camera.

This session, being the maiden track outing for the SV's new GSXR front end, was devoted to suspension setup. After the first few morning laps, it was clear that some adjustment was necessary. A few more patches of mild washboard bumps had formed in the track since my last go around, and the front and rear suspension were in mild disagreement on how to handle them. The debate was largely settled by dialing in a bit more compression and rebound damping on both ends. But honestly, I didn't take any notes on my settings, often changed more than one thing at once, and didn't even bother to properly set the initial sag. Clearly I was just messing around, but I was having a good time doing it.

There weren't many people there this time, perhaps fewer than thirty signed up, so there was plenty of room on the track. Around two in the afternoon they decided to do away with the separate sessions, and just opened the track for everyone at once. Notable bikes included a Marlboro Ducati race replica, and a nice yellow TL1000. I noticed Lance had made some significant modifications to his ZX10R, including carbon fiber wheels, steel braided brake lines with trick non-banjo "superbike" fittings, adjustable rear-sets, and suspension work by LE.

I'll write some more when I find those pictures, but on the whole it was another great track day.

Big moto racing news

SuperbikePlanet has posted a couple of big moto racing news bombshells. The bigger of the two bombs is that Yamaha has agreed to fund the track improvements needed to bring MotoGP to Laguna Seca next year. How to fund the track changes has been the big question mark hanging over the USGP since it was announced. Now Yamaha has stepped up to foot the bill. woOt! I'm so ecstatic I want to run out and buy a Yamaha right now just to show my gratitude. Let me tell you, I'm such a giver.
The other big news item is that Ducati is bringing Laconi, the current WSBK points leader, over to the US to ride in the final round of the AMA SuperBike championship in Virginia alongside Eric Bostrom and Lorenzo Lanzi. Ducati just hasn't been thrilled with how the season has been going in the US this year, so it looks like they are pulling a big last round hurrah, just because they can. Very cool.

SV feature complete

This weekend I managed to get the SV back into riding form. I took it for a test ride today, and oh my, it's quite different. The word flickstick comes to mind. You flick it, and it sticks. It's fun! Turn in feels much faster, but not unstable overall. The new tires, Metzler Rennsports, would have given the bike a very different feel if no other change were made. In combination with the alien technology of the gixxer front end, well, I'm going to have to relearn how to ride this bike. I'll have a perfect opportunity in two weeks, when I have another track day at Reno-Fernley.