Official Car Thread :: Vol 2 :: Now with More Bikes!

[MarkRyan]

I have a funny tendency to break things when I try to fix them. So I keep my mitts to the easy stuff.

My buddy low-sided my DR back in November and I'd been sitting on it for a long time but just recently got it back. Rode it out to breakfast with some homies this morning and very glad to have it back--the DR is such a rip-snorting hoot. Just perfect for bombing the imperfect streets of San Francisco. I'd really like to get another dual sport or supermoto, but something more modern. Yamaha's WR250X is pretty hot.

[stormy]

Today was the RX8 socal dyno day get together. I got my ignition upgraded with GMC Yukon coils. I also got a custom tune on the dyno with my Access Port. I dyno'd at 186 whp, the highest NA RX8 for the day. I'll need to see if that holds through tomorrow. I think I was 10hp higher than the next guy. Here's one of my dyno pulls. I shoot flames at the end.


Dyno sheet:

[Tones]

Nice! Any idea what the dips in the curve were caused by?

Also: I was out on the bike yesterday, but just felt a bit out of sync with it. At one point I was bombing down an isolated back road, and a dip on a straightaway caused a speed wobble at... painful speeds. That shit is scary. Beforehand, I went on a short group ride with 6 other people. One of the difficulties in these rides is finding people with a similar riding mentality. A lot of these guys were downright dumb on busy city streets. However, I know that a lot of people would say that I am downright dumb on isolated backroads, but I prefer to be Good Samaritan Rider when other people can see me.

[stormy]

The dips correspond to different sets of intake ports opening. You can see the last ones don't even open till 7400rpm.

[MarkRyan]

Beforehand, I went on a short group ride with 6 other people. One of the difficulties in these rides is finding people with a similar riding mentality. A lot of these guys were downright dumb on busy city streets. However, I know that a lot of people would say that I am downright dumb on isolated backroads, but I prefer to be Good Samaritan Rider when other people can see me.

Group rides are tricky, I'm not usually a fan, but I've got a handful of buddies I like to ride with 'cause no one's trying to go fast. We don't putt about, but we also don't pull illegal passes, bomb blind corners with abandon, or try to drag knees or otherwise impress anyone. I've been riding with them a bunch and the only time we had a problem was one buddy dumping my DR at 20 mph in the wet 'cause the road was slick as hell. He stood up and rode the bike home.

[Tones]

That's too bad. I still haven't let anyone ride my motorcycle yet. It just seems a lot more personal than a car (not that I let many people drive my car).

I'm conducting an inventory of maintenance that I need to do on the bike, and this is why motorcycling is deceptively expensive:
- Front and rear pads
- Adjust chain
- Rear tire w/in 1000 miles
- Change oil, coolant, brake fluid
- Check/adjust valves
- Buy frame sliders
- Wash the damn thing

This is in addition to what I've done since purchasing it:
- Change tire
- Replace broken mirrors
- Replace handlebar
- Replace clutch and brake lever
- Replace seat

These alterations are mostly due to wear (with the exception of the bar and mirrors, which is from dropping it). For those who aren't motorcycle owners, you really don't want anything to break so everything needs to be replaced ahead of failure. The combination of high-performance components and exposure to the elements means that everything wears out pretty quickly compared to a car. Thankfully motorcycles are significantly less complex than cars or else it would be a nightmare.

[MarkRyan]

Yeah I thought I'd save money riding a bike with the gas mileage but now I estimate that I break even. The gas mileage is great, roughly 50 mpg versus 25 in the car (...17 when I had the Goat) but new tires and valve checks every 7,000 miles adds up.

[Tones]

Thankfully the buy-in is a lot cheaper than a car, and the fun factor is way higher.

[Tones]

I had the day off today, so I decided to go on a motorcycle ride. I started off around noon, and took FL SR-27 South for a few hours. I passed through numerous small towns with names I don't remember, and took a detour down a country road somewhere past Haines City, FL. Well, the road said no outlet, and this is where it took me:

Click for full size


So, I got back on SR-27 going north, and I remembered that I have never been to Tampa. So, instead of heading back home, I took the exit off to I-4 West, which was a short 50 mile ride. By the time I park, It's around 6:00 PM. I ate fried chicken, walked around, drank a triple espresso, and then took off to ride around downtown. Here's just before I left:

Click for full size


By this point, it's about 7:30 and I'm getting tired. Unfortunately, there's still 140 miles separating me from home; all interstate riding. Riding around the city on I-275 is fun, but once I get on I-4 and I-75, I stay in sixth gear the whole way, averaging about 80 mph. I try not to look at the odometer too much.

I get home at 9:35, with 376.1 miles clocked for the day.

Click for full size


Just the thing to celebrate with a few whiskey gingers.

[MarkRyan]

Bike looks great dude! And the weather looks nice, how were the temps? Nearly 400 miles in a day is a long day on a bike. My high score is exactly 500 miles, from Bandon, Oregon to San Francisco along the coast. It was a long day but one of the most memorable I've had on the bike.