Art of the Ninja

[Phenix_Rider]

As the ancient samurai were warrior artists, so is this rider. As the ninja were stealthy, honing their skills till the opportunity arose, so is this modern Ninja. All three are clad in the proper gear for their mission, and take pride in their abilities, and love their freedom. So begins the tale of the 2008 riding season.

[Phenix_Rider]

This is the route from my trip last weekend, the 5th and 6th of April. First up was a trip up 219, 160, 30, and 26 to State College. The a short hop to Belefonte for a Karate Tournament. Then back into State College for pizza at Champs and crashing at a hotel for the night. Quick, someone find me a busted harrier! I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express! Next morning, down 26 to 305 to 655 to 322 back through state college. Up to Benner, then out 550 to Warrior's Mark and back. Putter around campus on my way back to karate. The down the slab of 99, 22, and 219 on the way home that night.

[Phenix_Rider]

Friday, April 4th, 2008.
Ride to work. At work, bored all day. Ride home. Eat dinner, wait for things to cool off. Check tire pressure, oil level, coolant level. Begin hunting for light riding gloves, tail bag, workout clothes, handwraps, long underwear, etc. Get on the computer and while searching a suitably roundabout route to State College. Crash about 12am.

Saturday April 5th, 2008.
Beginning 8:30-ish am.

Wake up later than expected because no way was I using an alarm on the weekend. Continue hunt for things I want to take. Find map pocket. Begin packing tail bag. Double check weather forecast: Cloudy, with a chance of morning showers. Blech! Hot Shower! Put on long underwear and Mod pants and long sleeve shirt. Finish packing tailbag. Pretty full, since i don't feel like wearing a backpack. Lay out riding jacket, helmet, winter gloves, neck gaiter, and spare shield carrier on couch. Eat breakfast. Put on riding jacket, pull bike off stands and out of the garage to warm up. Mount tailbag and map pocket. Put on neck gaiter, helmet, and winter gloves, then realize I don't have a wallet or cell phone Remove said winter gloves, helmet, and neck gaiter. Run inside house and upstairs for the wallet and phone. Regear, double check that tailbag won't move. FINALLY LEAVE HOUSE!

Beginning 10:30-ish am.
Freaking brrr! Sure is foggy out. Away from the house, across the fun bit of 219 nice and slow since I'm loaded down and the tires are cold. Across 30 to Bedford/Everett. Yawn. Up 26 after I reach Everett. Traffic isn't bad so far. On the watch for gravel and tractor clods all the way up 26. Some pretty scenery up this way, but not overly technical road. Couple tighter turns, and some nice views across Raystown lake. Up through Huntingdon, through McAlevy's Fort. Hit State College, and it's past time to be at the tournament. Good thing I'm not competing.

Beginning 1 pm
Into Bellefonte, and end up on 144 north out of town. Turn around and hunt for the high school where the tournament is being held. Don't see anyone I know until one new black belt walks straight up the stairs at me. Meet up with the rest of the group. Ended up holding for the breaking competition One guy does a spinning hook kick into my fistful of boards and sends shrapnel flying over my shoulder into the crowd. Sweet! Another guy breaks a board on a string Yellow Belt from my school wins his division! Way to go! New Black Belt gets second in hers!! While another guy disqualifies himself for using "excessive force"- we all knew someone had to. Our school has somewhat of a reputation...

About 6pm
Ride back into State College. Hit up Champs for food with the winners. Turns out I'm the fifth wheel sitting with two couples. Damnit! Still cool, till talk turns to my girl...ex. Still a sticky subject. I got there late, so I order about 5 minutes before everyone else gets their food. Fucking worthless waitress waits forever to check on us but finally brings the other food, and my question about my pizza is greeted with: "Iunno, I put it in. We're busy." Second request when she finally checks again after 15 minutes got the same answer. I FINALLY! get my pizza and proceed to dump the first slice on the table. While I'm eating, someone happens to ask "How are you going to carry that?" Well shit! I was just thinking about eating and now realize the pizza is gigantic! Welp, that's why I brought bungy cords. Waitress brings the checks, and I say "Hell yes I want change!" No tip for you! Yes, tip no.

Go outside and start working on a means of strapping the pizze down, and realize my spare shield is still in the bar and it's now dark out. Run in, get that, swap shields. Remove tailbag, pull straps out, place pizza under bag, tighten straps. Danger! Engineer at work! Go to the first hotel I see- Motel 6, real nice looking one: no rooms available. Across the street to a non-chain place: only smoking rooms, but one might be ok. Nope- it's upstairs, behind a divider with no window on the parking lot. Not going to work for me. Down the road to another local place: only smoking rooms and an Indian guy at the desk. Back up the road to the expensive hotels. Eeny, meeny, meiny.. HIE, Courtyard, Marriot, etc... All over $100 a night. HIE it is, and yes they do have a AAA benefit and non smoking room on the ground floor. We have a winner! Good God, it's been a long ass day!

Must be getting close to that character limit by now...

Sunday April 6th, 2008
Wake up, shower, eat pizza for breakfast. Checkout, fuel up, and go for a nice ride on all the back roads I never knew existed. Pizza for lunch at a Harley dealer that has free food. Didn't know there were Amish up here? Back to campus to work out, both couples are there and one or two other people. Get a good workout for the first time in months. Grab a shower in the locker room- something I never did when I could walk to my dorm. Head out of town with a stop at a gas station and the liquor store. No good beer at home, so I'll pick up a six pack of Rogue Dead Guy. Good luck fitting that in the tail bag, but I did! I may not be a frat boy, but Iim an engineer damnit!

I think I win the award for most crap in a single tail bag: Clean pants, clean t-shirt, workout pants, workout shirt, winter gloves, wallet, cell phone charger, hoody, socks, underwear, maps, dvd, cd case, neck gaiter, and newspaper. Highway tested that load up to 100mph on the slab on the way home. By the end of that slab shit, I would have gladly taken the long way home. Never realized how tiring constant 80 mph winds coupled with a loaded tailbag shoving you forward could be.

This accounts for approximately 500 of the 1060 miles on my bike this season. The rest has been short trips around home and to the mall.

[Phenix_Rider]

Few months back, I signed onto a local board. Met up with a small group of guys toward bedford. Plan was to ride over there, then hit some of their best twisties. To put it nicely, all did not go as planned.


Before:


The turn:

The aftermath:









Tear down:





The gear:

[Phenix_Rider]

The SCRAP:







Back in action:

[Phenix_Rider]

Worthless, goddamn, motherfucking bastard, son of a whore, parts bin piece of shit computer!!!!!! I had a review of all the bikes I rode today, and Fucking Firefox crashed on me!!!!!

Suffice it to say, dead camera because I went to the AMA Flat Track race yesterday. Ridiculous numbers of harley whores, and naked squids of all types.

B-King: FUN engine. Heavy clutch, best Zook gearbox all day. Still hard to get neutral, and stalled the damn thing trying to get the kickstand down from between the peg and shifter. Capable of near-light speed with incredible torque and really, really smooth. Used three gears and hit 75 mph without going over 6k. Wheelie and stoppie monster, but ultimately too wide in the middle. Someone needs to steal the engine and mount it longitudinally like Motocyzyz. Rear brake is much better than the SV. Gauges also. They look odd standing still, but riding, they're effective- you learn to ignore all the lcd crap behind the tach needle, and the digital speedo is surprisingly clear. Speed is highly deceptive, even without a fairing.

Spyder: Same size as a Ford Focus. No way to miss potholes with three track vehicle. Give me a front brake damnit!! Another fun engine, slick gearbox and nice clutch. Handles decent once you get used to leaning before you turn to counteract, otherwise the weight transfer from throwing your body out results in major wiggle. Almost feels like it should have a steering wheel. Clutch lever engages too far out from the bar.

SV650SF: Track Machine. Not a daily rider like my Ninja. Engine is rattley, clutch is heavy, trans is unpredictable- mostly because of the long shifter travel and odd positioning, suspension is vague, and hand levers are non-adjustable. Most of that could be fixed easily, but that's more money and time. Clipons below the triple feel more aggressive than the GSXR. Tank is too wide on top, and too narrow on bottom. Good torque, but seems to rev out too quickly. More engine braking than the Ninja. Only free movement is front to rear on the seat- I didn't feel like I could turn/slide around the tank. My lower back was hurting after 30 minutes. Tach is easy enough to see without looking away from the road for too long, but the speedo is a bitch to see. Throttle on/off transition is rough/twitchy, so I found myself riding around town at 5-6k so it was open more. Front brake is good, but rear feels like shit because it doesn't feel like anything is happening.

DRZ400SM: Thumper. Doesn't belong on the same streets as the B-K or SV even. Sixth gear and 75 mph sounds like it's going to grenade. Really have to throttle it, and beat the piss out of the engine. Couldn't find the pegs after putting a foot down, or the shifter without looking down. Damned uncomfortable seat. Could be fun on extremely tight roads where you can wind it out and fling it around. I need a fucking tach! Long suspension travel means lots of brake dive. Unpredictable trans gave me a couple false neutrals. Stand is easy to get down.

Ninja 650R: MINE! This bike feels absolutely perfect now. Reach to the bars (SM aftermarkets) is good, peg to seat relation is good, and the passenger pegs double as highway pegs and a perfectly placed helmet holder. Engine begs to play. Smooth throughout the rev range. Sounds like sex above 6k. Trans snicks into gear nicely. Kawi positive neutral finder FTW! Smooth throttle transition except for first gear. Analog gauges right below line of sight in the helmet shield area mean I don't have to move my head- just my eyeballs. Clutch pull is consistent, and engages fairly early. Clutch springs are a little light- I can feel the engine spin up slightly as the clutch slips for less than a tenth of a second. Sidestand locater is behind the peg, not in front- so much easier to use. Rear brake pedal feels like it's working. Think I need new front pads though- lever travel is getting long before heavy braking. Front suspension is stiff.

[Phenix_Rider]

I (motor) marshalled an MS charity (bi)cycle ride this weekend. 150 mile ride, with another 80 on each end for me to get to the start/finish. About 10 motorcycles the first day, and anywhere from 8-15 at points during the second day. (Started with lots, but the old fogies from some local group ditched halfway through) The marshalls leapfrogged and directed traffic. An average of three intersections per marshal, for 2-4 hours at a time. Raised over $300,000.

500 bicyclists registered, 495 showed up. Route was 75 miles each way from Hollidaysburg to State College, PA. Average temp well into the 80s and lower 90s. Some good size hills, and lots of nice curvy back roads. Would have been a blast to ride minus the bicycles, cows, and deer. Took nearly 9 hours for everyone to finish. Had some good food after day one, and had a few drinks with a couple other marshalls. Guinness and Black+Tan are GOOD

The trip home was fun. Not five miles after I left the endpoint the wind picked up. Blowing branches and shit around, pelting me with leaves and sand. The rain started shortly after, and I stopped under 220/99 before I ever got out of Hollidaysburg to swap to my clear shield and close all my vents. From there to Somerset was solid hard rain. Tons of bikes out still- even a trike that stopped under the same overpass I did. Of course, I was the only one foolish enough to do my normal slab speed in the wet. I'm going 80 indicated most of the way (72-ish actual), figure the cages are doing around 65, and the other bikes are at 55-60.

Couple stretches had standing water in the wheel ruts. Started hydroplaning the front. That's the most disgusting, alien feeling on a motorcycle. Like somehow the front end is on Mars. Nothing to be done except slooooowly let off the gas and hold it straight. Had to ride down the center of the lane in the high spot to clear the water. Turns out the Pilot Roads are almost better in the wet than the dry.

As for the cyclists- they're out of their spandex loving minds. Good people, but no way would you catch me riding beside 18 wheelers on something that can't get out of the way wearing next to nothing. Leapfrogging through them was fun, and the lean angle some of those guys carried was ridiculous. Especially on tires no wider than my thumb. There were some very nice looking ladies out there too Next time, we need to round some up to take out for drinks. Hmmm- do they drink? Lots of fitness nuts don't...

That JR meshie looked a whole lot cooler than my leather, so I may have to get one. Just means it'll rain next time. Leather isn't bad above 30mph, but I spent way too much time in first gear doing 15mph over the weekend.

[Phenix_Rider]

Went to Carlisle Bike Show (2008) today. Rode an FZ6, R6, and R1. To spoil the ending, the R6 is my favorite.

The FZ6 is kinda pathetic. That's compared to the Rs and even my 650R. The exhaust note is just wimpy, the suspension is soft, and the bars are wonky. Nothing falls to hand for me, and they make it turn in ridiculously easy. Out on the road, I twist the throttle and the RPMs jump, but there's no corresponding increase in speed or thrust. Everything works, but it's not torquey, there's no top end hit as far as I saw, and the peg/seat/ bar relationship reminds me of the KLR more than anything else. I'm sure it does plenty of things right, but the fun factor just isn't there for me. I know someone that owns one- and his son ones one- he occasionally rides. Seems to like it.


The R1 is a beast. Not the insane, "blast-off" torque of the B-King though. More refined, but it still wants to chew up everything else on the road. Ergoes are semi relaxed for such a compact bike. Clutch action is predictable and gear changes are smooth. This thing is capable of speeds far beyond my ability. One of the SCPMC guys rides one on the street and summed it up perfectly: "At 4-,5-,6- thousand, it's pretty docile. At 7-,8-,9-, 10- thousand, things start to happen very fast." Even in second/third gear, 9 thousand is cutting reaction time short.


The R6 is awesome! I've heard you have to keep it in the very top of the RPM range, and that you just can't do that on the street. I don't believe it. No, it doesn't like riding under 6k- in fact, it loves to be reved way out, but it's tons of fun to wind it up. Pegs/seat/bars aren't too bad. I could get used to humping the tank for short periods. One thing I can't stand is the kink it put in my neck! We didn't hit any really good turns, and never got much above 50mph, but this thing handles like a rolling scalpel. Of all the bikes I've ridden, I could see having this one as a dedicated canyon carver/track machine. I wish I could have taken it back 30 on the way home.


Even saying that about the R6, I love my 650R. Good handling, power perfect for the street, no kink in the neck, and I like the looks and color better than anything on the Rs. Everything works right and it just plain pushes my buttons :cool

The rest of my pics for the weekend are here .

[Phenix_Rider]

Just got back from Carlisle AGAIN. Truck show as a vendor this time. Some interesting trucks, and a whole lot of semis. First a trip southwest to Deep Creek Lake for a company picnic, then a long run- 200ish miles- east and north to Carlisle. Short sections of I-68 and I-81 connecting MDs 495, 135, and something else, and PAs 522, 30, 74, 614, 34, and 11. Then back 11, 34, 30, 31, 160, and 219. My ass is worn the hell out.

400+ miles this weekend. Pilot Roads are going to last till Tuesday, but that's it. Pirelli Diablo Stradas will go on next. Saw shitloads of bikes out- mainly cruisers/tourers of course. Seven/Eight total sportbikes. Five on the way up- three of them wearing what I consider an acceptable level of protection- which is about 10x higher than the percentage of other riders wearing more than just a helmet. One was riding a white Bus and I think I saw him on the way back. Amazingly, he was wearing what looked like stylish two-piece leathers. Got caught behind a herd of cruisers for a couple miles- fuckers were well under the speed limit. Next I came up on a couple harley badasses that could actually ride One was obviously a newer rider -not a complete newb- with the other guy showing him the ropes.

Saw a stunted Honda 600RR (I think) in orange tiger stripes- rashed all up with "race railz" and some nasty scarring on the tail- parked at the show with no rider in sight. Saw some yellow thing with custom paint, and a brand new '08 GSXR600 with chrome wheels, chrome screen, and chrome sprocket with nubs on both tires- no gear at all on this rider, just shorts and unlaced sneakers.

[Phenix_Rider]

This is from another board, so if you don' get the references, TOUGH! NO WAY IN HELL am I retyping that! Photobucket link is incoming. I'll post a pic of my fugly tail as soon as they upload.

Okay- everyone saw the tailsection thread, but you didn't see was all the ordering weeks before hand, the Dzus fasteners that didn't arrive with the bodywork, the surgery that kept me off the bike for nearly three weeks, the unloading of truck parts from the trailer, and reloading of bike, the fouled up trailer wiring on my truck, and the 2am trannie line repair. I ended u pwith one day's commute and a 50 mile reacquainting ride before I had to tear down and fit race glass. 2.5 hours of sleep, and I overslept .5 hours. Rush to pack gear- making damn sure to get everything, then a 2 hour drive to the track.

I did make it to the track though, and that was 90% of the battle. Got there late, registered just before the riders' meeting, teched right after. Minor issues in tech- throttle sticking because of the tie downs- simple fix; slid the throttle grip toward center. Rainwater in the bellypan- simple fix; mopped it out with rags. Misaligned Dzus fastener- simple fix; just yanked the culprit and had 2/3 on the right lower. Not enough chain slack- easy fix; adjusted more slack in beyond the street spec. Todd didn't say anything about no numbers, but I markered them on the tail. In the process of adjusting the chain though, my tired brain forgot to lock down the adjuster nuts- during the course of the day I lost one adjuster plate. (Different setup than an SS- my axle doesn't hold the adjuster on)

My first session (second of the day) was fucking terrifying. Coming out of corners at elevated street pace and getting blown away- getting passed on both sides. NOT COOL. Bastards. Whatever- long as they don't hit me, I don't give a damn. Like Madski said, I took an off-road tour first time into the Carousel. Too fast, wrogn body position so I couldn't get the lean angle. Decided before hand I'll crawl before I crash, so I took it into the grass upright, rode it out, and went back on the track- never had another excursion. After this one, I talk to Lenny, and he shows me "the dance." Subsequent sessions result in extremely sore right calf- but not left. WTF is up with 8 rights and 3 lefts?

My third session (I think- too tired to keep count) I got to work with a CR. He had me follow him around 3-4 laps, then pointed me ahead to see if I could maintain a line without his reference. I was a little vague, but seeing someone else for more than one corner helped immensely. Slowly picked up speed with each lap and each session, started hitting more apexes, kinda getting a handle on 6 and 7- big triumph there. That blind rise into 7 is a lot of fun once you figure out how to hit the apex. 1, 2, 3 I'm okay on- still completely suck at 4, 5, and the Carousel. I love the feeling after each corner clicks, and then hitting the apex every lap after that is incredible!

Biggest comment I got after fixing my feet was "Use more throttle." I'm just not used to wrapping it on the street. I see too much livestock and stupid human tricks out there. Looking at my pics in the BSImage trailer, I noticed I was stiff as hell. Hulking out on the bars. I felt it on the track- way too much tension. But now I have a reference for what it does to my position on the bike. I just couldn't relax out there- too much stress all at once. I know what it feels like on the street to really relax on bike, and I've felt that gascap right under my armpit, ass way over the side- just wasn't happening yesterday. I'll work on it, and I'm sure my pace will pick up as I relax.

I sat out the next to last session of the day. I could just feel fatigue setting in, my eyes were dropping, and I couldn't concentrate. Got back out for the last session. Had to wait for the crash in 7 to be cleared up, and the marshall said we might not get to run B- chance that the ambulance would have to leave. After probably 20-30 minutes waiting in the hot pit, we got the go-ahead for a full session. I gridded behind the chick on the 600RR, and chatted with her while we waited. We were running the same line, and I could hold her in the corners, but she just walked away with that extra 30+ horsepower. Funny thing is, when I worked with the CR earlier, she was behind me, but never passed. I wouldn't mind riding with her more often. Only other guy near my pace would brake far too early, and crawl through the corners- but I followed him in my first or second session before I had a clue. The whole last session, I was just trying too hard. Ran my fastest on the back straight, but everything was wrong. Eyes kept hitting barley one cone ahead, and I couldn't keep them farther up.

In the end. I survived, and apart from the left side chain adjuster, the bike survived. So it was a good day. I stuck around for a while sunday. Watched a lot of good riding- B didn't look that fast, but those guys sure made me feel slow. Watched the A guys through the Carousel makin' it look like nothing. There was much peer pressure to run the second day. I woke up and felt fine- until I got to the riders' meeting. Squatted down and immediately felt pain in both legs- but mostly the right. Between a fatigued mental state and being in pain in a crouch, I would have crashed. The lunchtime trip around a track map and watching the A line through the Carousel should help a lot next time.

So maybe I'm not addicted, but I will be back! :rockwoot