Reflecting on Canyons

on 9/16/07 there was another fatality (possibly 2) on ACH. In a mundane corner, on a beautiful sunny SoCal day, a horrible accident took another person's life on the crest. My favorite road, my 2-wheeled home, the place where not-too-long-ago i fell in love with the sport of motorcycle riding is also the place where so many venture and fail to return from. Even if the mellow fluid sweepers of the Crest seem harmless or kind, this road bites back--and more often than it should, it bites those who don't deserve the blood and agony.

It's a fact of life that as a rider, the casualty reports will pile up every summer. You have to learn to adjust to the idea that you or your friends might not make it home from your next ride. You get used to the stories of young riders w/ no experience or gear making love to canyon walls, or the stories of riders with 15+ years of experience making a mistake and paying for it. It's a fact of life, like someone here said, riders die, and sometimes you can't do anything to change it.

So often we respond with resolutions to be more careful, or to take it to the track, or deny that our personal behaviors can lead to tragic accidents..."Yeah, i put a knee down on the street, but I'm in control" I've said stuff like that plenty of times. I've seen guys whose opinions and skills i respect say it. I've clearly differentiated my actions from those of the lowsiding masses, as if i'm not 1 pebble away from joining them. And no amount of contrition after the fact will bring a leg back, or an ankle back, or god forbid, another rider back.

It's almost cliche that the local MC community responds to a bad weekend in the local canyon by promising to be better riders. I do think it helps, but at the same time there are so many people who aren't included in the dialogue who end up wadded up against k-rails. and whether or not we become better riders, nothing is going to change the fact that all it takes is 1 tiny rock, 1 unsuspecting cage, or 1 rider coming the other way 3' over the DY to make any resolutions you made a week ago completely moot.

I don't want to give up street riding. I think that there's something to be said about spending saturday morning on the crest with some friends--but i do think we all need to question the way in which we traverse these roads. Get your thrill from the trees, the clean air, the company, and the sunshine--not the speed. Many of us always say that the street is not a race track, but how many of us actually ride that way?

We are in a precarious position. between the insurance companies, the local highway patrol, the general public/politicians, and each other--the next few years could be a crucial moment in the history of motorcycles. and while i believe that people should be free to make their own choices (and mistakes), it's a sad reality that what I do is a reflection on a fellow sportbikers as much as it is a reflection of myself. The same applies to all of us, and since we were given the task to protect the sport in a sensitive time, ask yourself what you're doing for your fellow riders, at the bike night, on the freeway, in the canyons. Whether they come with HP limits, tiered licensing (good idea imo), banning sportbikes altogether, and whether the AMA can stop it are all somewhat irrelevant...

If we don't police ourselves, don't expect the government to do it with the understanding of the important but subtle nuances that define our sport. And if we don't police ourselves, we have little right to complain when we find ourselves persecuted by grandstanding politicians who don't give a rat's ass about whether you're a geared up, responsible rider or not.

Track Report 9/8-9/9 Spring Mountain, Pahrump NV

Looking at a map, Pahrump seems like it's pretty damn far away from LA. Looking at the directions and the unfamiliar roads and freeways, it seems even further. Finally, thinking about Friday Vegas traffic makes it seem like you'll never get there, so you might as well stay home and wash your bike.

But it's closer than you think. 240 miles, which isn't all that far. beautiful, empty, desert highways with nary a soul traversing them and a bright starscape you often forget about when you're under the orange glow of los angeles, and finally a delayed departure time (11:30 pm) means that pahrump is actually less than 3 hrs away, when you put the cruise control at 85.

Made it to the hotel room (Pahrump Nugget) and laid down on the floor and went to sleep. I shared a room w/ 4 other guys and got there last, which means i get the floor. I froze my ass off and woke up at 6:30am, we got ready and made our way to the track. The best thing about a pahrump weekend is that a) you don't feel bad about spending money on a hotel room because you're far from home and can't day trip it, and the rooms are cheap and b) the track is 5 minutes away from your hotel and c) they have a casino just downstairs.

We got to the track and hunkered down, setting up pop-ups, bike stands, generators, misters, fans, and chairs and got ready for a full day at the track. I have never ridden pahrump before, so i was in C-group (which is for beginners) along with a few other guys in the group who were sandbagging.

Pahrump is a 2.2 mile track (which is pretty long) that is a decent mix of fast and technical. Turns 3, 5, 7, 9, and 10 are tough technical corners that require precision and lots of shifter work to properly negotiate. But what makes Pahrump a fun track for me is the great sweepers: turns 1, 2 and 4 are straight out of the pages of AFH. Puck destroying, long, graceful sweepers with great pavement--it's easy to build a rhythm all the way up to turn 9.

So in light of my last post, about reaching the Zen promised land of trackday riding, i didn't achieve it on the first day. Learning the track, battling poor body position, fighting a sore back and left wrist, and a stubborn bike left me distracted and tired. I eventually learned pretty good lines, but by the time i was ready to use them, it was the end of the day and i was ready to collapse.

The second day started off with more of the same. Lots of hesitation, not smooth riding, struggling with body position. But in turn 1, midcorner of my 2nd session of the day, i realized that i was still crossed up, and that i wasn't getting my butt off the seat enough. a 2" shift made all the difference in the world, and i started to get faster and faster. I ground down my pucks (Spidi pucks are made out of butter) so i had to flip them at least 3 times. I started keeping pace with faster friends, and started exploring body position that wasn't so brutal.

Long story short, I felt like i was picking up where i left off when i left my first trackday, and got back on track. I also tried to reach motorcycle zen with mixed results--it's kind of hard to do when you back is killing you and it's hot as fuck, but hey no one said it was gonna be easy.

Mechanically, the bike finally needs new tires, i need to look into a more compliant back protector, i need new gloves, and maybe need to re-gear the bike. The newest toy (penske) performed great, and after 1 trip to the suspension truck the bike felt great all day.

Unsane. Time really does fly.

Looking at this blog is frightening. I haven't posted in a good 2 months, which also means i haven't done any riding in a long time (save the HT trackday at BW). Tonight I'm leaving for Pahrump, where i'll spend the weekend in Sunny Western Nevada with Everyone's Favorite "Socal" Racetrack (TM).

Nevermind that it's not even in SoCal, Pahrump is supposed to take all of the elements that make Buttonwillow great, and take it to the next level. Nice new pavement, wide track with tons of space, and a good mix of high-speed and technical. I'm excited because i'll get to ride a track 2 days in a row for the first time, and i get to monkey around in nevada and play some craps when i'm not sweating in my power ranger outfit.

HT-West Trackday 8/5/2007
I actually have Video for this event, just sitting on my computer, and it's pretty interesting stuff. It shows me getting passed all day, which is pretty standard. I haven't edited it yet, so it needs to be shortened so that there isn't 5 minutes of footage of me sitting in grid.

I took some new things away from that day though--first, i'm not as confident as i ought to be on track. Running BW CCW for the first time, it's expected to feel a little weirded out, (Esp dealing with star mazda, no lost hills, and a REALLY long back straight for the first time in a new direction) but it took me a lot of sessions to get comfy with the track. Even when i had packed it in, i still felt "scared" if you will, of braking from 145 mph (indicated, so more like 135) to make a really gentle left handed sweeper, though i had progressively made the turn faster and faster with each lap. I still have issues with turn 2 (in a CW direction) in both directions, and well, i was slow.

I thought and thought about it, and i wondered if my lowside at BW contributes...Well, considering how consequence free it was, i don't think so. I wondered if i was distracted on the bike or simply just not 100% there, and i realized that i had forgot my earplugs. It's hard to imagine that something so simple would have a big effect on one's riding, and maybe it doesn't, but it's hard to get your thoughts straight when you're doing triple digits at 13000 rpm on a race bike with a full exhaust--it's louder than hell.

Furthermore, i woke up late that morning and was in a rush to get to the track. Whenever i do this, i always end up riding/driving like shit the whole day, and no matter how much you try to relax, the feeling of being rushed never quite leaves you, until it's too late.

And through meditation and heavy motorcycle forum posting, i've come to the conclusion that i'm riding my best when i'm completely relaxed. Focused, but relaxed. Getting in touch with that graceful, effortless, talented (ha ha) side that simply knows what to do and what measure to do it with. In these moments, time slows down, the world becomes eerily quiet (such that i can hear my own breathing over the din of a screaming inline-4), and i simply ride.

So tomorrow, i'm trying to get back to that place. Let's hope the new penske triple, new(er) supercorsas, and proper diet and fluids get me there.

general update

I've been incredibly lazy about updating this blog. My apologies to the few of you who notice. But to be honest, I haven't been doing that much riding as of late.

7/4/07, ACH: I expected the holiday traffic and LEO presence to be worse than it actually was, but i took advantage of a day off to hit the crest. The weather was surprisingly pleasant, and the road was in good shape. Met up with the SCS guys and the SBN guys in a strange combination of the two SoCal MC forums who have a lot of crossover, but don't generally ride together. I met a girl at newcs who had a 06 Brutale 910R and though she wasn't bad looking, that bike made her look hot. She gave me the run-down on the Brut (which i'm considering as my next bike) and told me that it's a finicky but fast bike. Quirky throttle, suspect electrical design, but an absolute monster. Sounds like exactly my kind of bike, though electrical work tends to be the weakest link in my mechanical repertoire.

The Track Bike - I ordered a 2-way Elka rear shock for the F4i, in a group buy i found at triumph675.net. It was a great price, and alot of people are singing Elka's praises, so I decided that spending more money on a bike that i won't be able to sell for more than 2500 bucks was a sound decision. The one worry i had was that they'd ship me a 675 shock with track/race springs and valving (which wouldn't work at all. i wouldn't mind an Elka to replace the OEM rear on the 675, since it's grossly overworked by the spring, but at a milder valving than what i'd want on the F4i) in spite of my noting that the shock was for a F4i. Fast forward 3 weeks, when i get a call from Vlad @ motoworld.com, who hosted the group buy, saying that they messed up and sent me a 675 shock w/ race valving. But, to be fair, he called me the second he found out, and swore that he and Elka would do whatever i wanted to make it right. I decided that maybe spending the money on the nice new bike (675) made more financial sense, and being promised a good price on another Elka if i so desired, i could get one for the f4i at a later date. All-in-all i'm pleased so far with the customer service. Hopefully i can get this thing dialed in and enjoy the fruits of credit card debt without a single regret.

I've also attempted to put on some woodcraft clip-ons on the f4i to get the riding position more aggressive. the problem with the f4i is that the stock clip ons mount above the triple tree. this means that you're pretty upright and it's not ideal for track riding. mounting the woodcrafts below the triple tree make for better riding position, but runs into some major clearance issues with the master cylinder and the gauge cluster and fairing stay. It'll take some creativity to get it to work, but i'm sure i'll figure out a way.

Lastly, i planned on painting the track bike a scorched orange w/ black accents, but i think i'm gonna keep it white. I am, however, painting the wheels duplicolor universal gold, the color of champions.

Honda-Tech West Trackday, 8/5/07: I made a post on h-t about a trackday, and we decided on 8/5 at BW (running Counter clockwise) w/Zoom-Zoom trackdays. about 8 people expressed interest, and only 2 have signed up (including myself). But that's ok. I don't need other people at the track per se, I just need to not ride like a wooden statue. If anyone's interested in signing up for this day, go to http://zoomzoomtrackdays.com/ti/zoomzoom/index.html and sign up for the 8/5 event. I'm riding intermediate. There are also coupon codes to lighten the financial load, yamaha owners use code "yamaha" for a $25 discount.

Ruff-Ryderz Parade: took place this past weekend, and i have to say it's a pretty amazing thing to accomplish--as a group of motorcycle riders, to piss off people badly enough that even fellow riders want to mow you down as you block traffic on the 215 freeway so you can do wheelies. Imagine how pissed off the general populace, who already hates sportbikes, was. Thanks for making it easier for all of us to navigate the freeways and streets. assholes.

SOWS: 6/15/07

My 2nd trackday at Streets of Willow Springs was last week. I headed up with a couple of friends w/ the f4i, freshly kitted out with some new parts. I've always liked SOWS in a car, much more than big willow anyway, so i was excited to give it a go on the bike. I'm pretty familiar with the track, or at least the layout, but as you'll read, on a bike there's much more to it than that.

I was riding in the intermediate group, which was a tad ambitious, since this was my first session at Streets, but i figured that i wouldn't be holding too many people up. I picked up the line from other riders in the group, but experienced issues with the pavement surface. It's pretty rough out there, and with my current suspension setup, hard to get good drive coming out of certain corners. Plenty of pucker moments with losing traction with the rear end, and issues at corner exit with some very ill-placed bumps and disturbances. I struggled to find a comfortable rhythm all day--too slow through some corners, too fast for traffic in others--and battled posture issues and Literbike Syndrome all day.

Guys on 1000's were parking it in corners in intermediate, and making it hard to get any consistency throughout laps. Setting up passes at track exit along the outside, i'd catch them at the apex on an outside line, but get blown away by the straight line speed of the liters. Unwilling to fully commit to my passes, unsure and untrusting of people's ability to hold a line and leave the door open, i found myself stuck behind a lot of liter bikes. it's frustrating.

Reality check

A friend of mine went down on the crest this morning. I wasn't there, and details are as of yet unknown, but he's in stable condition and out of surgery. Considering the rumors, it's luck that he's alive and not in worse shape. I'll update as i get more info, but my prayers and best wishes go out to him and his family.

It also brings into focus that anything can happen on a public road, and especially a road like the crest. It serves as a reminder that even when you are riding responsibly and in control, terrible things can happen. I beseech everyone to be safe out there, especially as peak riding season ramps up. It's not enough to keep me off the bike, but also a reminder that the sport is dangerous and fate is fickle.

Central Sierras 5/19 and 5/20/07

I spent the past weekend in the Sequoia's with 10 companions from SCS on an extended group ride. The Central Sierras is home to some of the state's best roads, even if you've never experienced them yourself, just a quick look on google maps blows the imagination away. Twisties like that are hard to come by, and guys get excited about roads that are 1/5th the length and a lot more crowded and a lot more dangerous (aka Palomar or Malibu).


The 10 of us found our way to Three Rivers, CA, which is a small town on the shores of Lake Kaweah and minutes away from Sequoia National Park. Hwy 198 runs from the 99 through the park to CA 180, which links to Kings Canyon and Fresno. It's a pretty busy area, as people from all over come to visit the majestic redwoods and experience the natural spectacle of the Sierra Nevadas. On a touring bike it's a beautiful way to experience perfect May weather, scenery, and lots of other tourists. On a balls-to-the-wall sportbike, the scenery is a consolation for the 5mph traffic crawl (just enough to keep you from going crazy), but once you get through the park (which i advise that you skip altogether, due to the traffic and the fact that a federal speeding ticket is not a good thing), it opens up into some beautiful riding. Whizzing through the trees at a modest 80 mph is a pleasant blur of green. Pictured above is our "welcome to the park" lecture by Park Rangers, who probably knew we might be up to no good...

Once through the park and onto the 180, we took a detour to Lake Hume, and eventually found our way to CA 245. CA 245 is the most twisted, technical, challenging road i have ever seen. It runs from CA 180 (elevation 5000 ft) to CA 216 (el. 1000-ish), so you have elevation changes, 4 distinct sets of scenery (High Altitude Forest, to low grasslands), 31 miles of twisties, and nary a cage from one side to the other. In the middle of the road, there's the "Mountain House Saloon" that has some of the best cole slaw around, and a place to kick up your boots and watch a MotoGP race, if you're so inclined.

The road requires that you work your ass off getting the bike back and forth, in the upper section, your butt barely gets settled on the seat, as you toss your body around getting the bike to whip around the continuous switchbacks, tight hairpins, and banked, linked turns. It's some of the most intense riding around, and it doesn't stop unlike pally or little T. It's tough to carry more than 40 mph, but the road is relatively clean, and doesn't have any weird offcamber turns or excessive potholes. I found myself struggling with some of the really tight hairpins, as it was difficult for me to carry much entry speed without knowing what lay in wait for me midcorner, but getting a knee down is almost a foregone conclusion--right before you have to flip it around to the other knee to make the next turn. This road is not for novice riders, and is not for the faint of heart.

Getting to 245 takes about 20 minutes from Three Rivers, and 3.5 hours from LA. Hotels in the area are plentiful, but it bears emphasizing that having gas cans is necessary for bikes without a lot of range. Also having a support truck was essential to enjoying the day--in case a bike goes down or if you want to bring tools or extra visors or snacks with you on your trip.

This road should be a destination for every rider on the West Coast, but bear in mind that it's isolated, but not completely uninhabited. I'm sure the locals wouldn't be thrilled about 50 sportbikes buzzing through their neighborhood at high speeds and putting them in danger--that doesn't mean you can't have fun, but as always respect nature and the inhabitants of your favorite twisties, and don't wear out your welcome.

Trackday 5/11/07

Today was my first track day on a bike at buttonwillow.



I spent all of last week getting the f4i ready for the track. fixed a bunch of little things that needed fixing (throttle cable was broken, painted the tank, got the track plastics on, etc) and doing maintenance. I mounted some supercorsa take offs with a lot of meat on them (but possibly heat cycled to death, as suggested by the guy at cycle gear, whom i don't completely believe, but whatever).



The weather today was a warm low-80 degree day in the central valley, and we left at 4:30am to get to the track at around 7. met up with a bunch of people from the local sportbike board and got situated. I ran w/ dial it in, which is a good group to run with. I was signed up for the new rider class, which i thought might be a waste of time and not a real class, but i was wrong. dial it in's new rider school is definitely worth the money, as it involves real instruction on track and in the classroom, and it definitely helped me get faster throughout the day.

the first session was a parade lap of sorts w/ my instructor, as i was shown a conservative line around the track. BW is a challenging track; in a car i never really got comfy w/ turns 2 and 3 (off-ramp and cotton corners), and the same applied on a bike. The difference though, was that i was very comfortable with the rest of the track which never really happened in a car (going over lost hills in a car is much scarier than it is on a bike, at least at my speeds), and especially liked the bus stop-riverside-lost hills complex (as it caters to my ACH-inspired love of sweepers), as well as the sweeper that replaced star mazda in today's config. It was really easy for me to pick out good reference points and maintain a good rhythm throughout the day through turns 4-11.

the F4i was hauling today. by the second and third sessions i was wringing out the throttle through the straights, and she was pulling like an ox. the suspension needed some tuning, as the rough spots on the track tended to disrupt the chassis more than it should have. my body position needed a little tweaking, as my instructor was telling me that i was doing the "only hanging off w/ your butt/shoulder twist" even though i was conciously trying not to do that.

I put a knee down for the first time in turn 10 in session 3, and continued to feel better about my riding. the next classroom session helped me finally figure out where to start when it comes to braking, shifting, setting up for the turn, and body position. I put it all together in session 4 and really started riding w/ confidence and good speed. I still had rhythm issues through #2 and 3, but everywhere else on the track i felt faster and faster. However, as i leaned the bike over more, i realize that i was starting to drag my pegs more and more. The f4i needs some new rearsets for improved ground clearance, b/c even with my knee out there (w/ good body pos) the pegs seemed like they'd touch down right about at the same time as my knee.

This is unfortunately what finally took me down in turn 3 towards the end of session 4. Going through the last L of turn 3 i caught my peg, hit some of the bumps, washed out the front, and lowsided at about 40-50 mph (not sure). A really leisurely slide into the dirt, and i popped up right away to get off the track. They red flagged the track, and when i picked up the bike to load it into the truck, i saw the carnage: destroyed right clip on, really badly dented tank, and destroyed R fairing. Gas/oil? leak, and possibly more since i haven't conducted an autopsy yet. The bike was laid down on the left side, but flipped onto its right side as it slid into the rumblestrips, which did alot more damage than the initial slide. My lid was lightly scraped (as i didn't really hit my head at all), and my left glove torn. the suit held up wonderfully, as did my Setup boots (for all those wondering about the crashworthiness of $129 boots, they held up fine, though this wasn't the most
dramatic get off).



I got to paddock and unloaded the bike, and changed into my shorts and got in for the last classroom session. talked to my instructor afterwards and we brainstormed about what happened and how i can prevent it. So in the end, though i crashed i think i learned something from it (without paying the price in blood). and came home in good spirits, itching for the next chance i get to get on track. i'm thankful it wasn't the 675 out there, and that the f4i now has some new graphics that are appropriate to a track bike =)

for all of those put off by the cost and time to prepare for a track day, forget all of that. once you go you'll wonder why you didn't do this earlier.

observation

I didn't make this past weekend's ride, so no new post regarding actually riding the crest, but i did post up at the shell in the truck to see if could catch the guys as they came back down.

I didn't, but i did see at least 4 or 5 different groups of riders make their way up the crest. In jeans. and tank tops. sometimes with a pillion, in similarly undergeared attire. While i wouldn't be surprised if it was huntington beach, i can't imagine why ANYONE would go to the crest (or any other canyon) w/o at least a jacket and some jeans. It's bad enough when us leathered guys crash up there, but when the squids go down, i'm sure it's much much uglier.

also, it appears that the 405 is the official freeway of squids. driving around the westside on saturday, i saw a bunch of guys wearing nothing but a stupid icon armor vest or a t-shirt+back protector. honestly, when you go down with such things, the parts that they actually covers aren't the parts you have to worry about. what good is a unrashed torso when your arms are gone? think, people, think.

OT: the trackbike

The trackbike is now ready. well, mostly ready. Finally got all the pieces together, and though it's a ramshackle collection of bolts from the magic bucket, zip ties, and various other "homemade" solutions, it runs, from far away it's kind of pretty.

I probably should have gotten the forks done, b/c i doubt the fork oil has ever been changed, but i'll take care of that before the next trackday, along with a 520 conversion and some new sprockets.

Riding it down colima (very briefly) and cracking open the throttle exposes another problem though. The steering gets pretty light at WOT, and a steering damper's going to be a high priority. hopefully, it doesn't tankslap my ass on friday, but we'll see.

I'm not a big sticker fan, but i'm also not a fan of all the blemishes on the paint job, so the stickers are there to distract people from noticing the drips, swirls, or fingerprints that inevitably surface when you rattlecan plastics.

i'm very excited about this coming friday. just need to figure out how to tie the thing down and we'll be good to go!