is Honda (and Japan in general) punishing us?

Daboo said:
It would be interesting to see if you could keep up with Yellow Wolf through Deals Gap. ;)

Chris
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Yellow Wolf rode TOTD 5 or 6 days a week for months the spring and summer of 2006. It was his business filming riders and packaging a video for $. A sport bike rider that did the same could utilize it’s greater lean angle, better suspension, acceleration and braking to smoke the fastest Goldwing rider that was limited by its engine, suspension, chassis and braking.

In this case it was the rider and not the machine only because he knew that road in the greatest detail.
 
dduelin said:
Yellow Wolf rode TOTD 5 or 6 days a week for months the spring and summer of 2006.

In this case it was the rider and not the machine only because he knew that road in the greatest detail.
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Reminds me of trying (and failing) to keep up with Pat on two certain roads at OH-STOC this summer.

He rides them several days a week, I had never been on them, and my GPS fell off the windshield.
 
He makes [at least] what I think is the valid point that motorcycle dollars are discretionary dollars; if you've anything to weigh in with in the first place, make the most of it. Good [albeit five year old] article but not much has gotten better judging by where everything's at.
 
diferg said:
This shortage of Sport Tourers is our own fault! We raised our children and their children with electronics. They do not feel the desire (as we did) to explore obscure roads through distant mountain ranges on a motorcycle. It's our fault!
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'The 'mark of Satan' is the cell phone'. Heard that one just recently.
 
I really have to say I have observed very few Sport bike riders that have used the whole tire, I haven't seen many sport tourers use the whole tire, Haven't seen many of anybody's bike use the whole tire, including mine. I have seen a lot of aggressive bikes purchased and begin a slow migration to the back of the garage after riding a lot during the first summer. Weather sport, cruiser touring or dual.
I have found that most people think my ZRX is high mileage with 37000 on it when I put it up for sale, decided to keep it anyway.
I wonder how many riders that are on each style continue riding them and get a bunch of miles added up? Anybody?
 
Buy one in Belgium for export and ship it home from Rotterdam when you are done riding it in Europe. You could even buy it early in the year, stash it at the Motofeirme in southern Ireland while you fly home from Dublin which is a cheap flight from the USA. Go back in a month or two to Ireland, ride it again and leave it in Rotterdam for the shipping to the USA. I still have the 1972 Honda CB500-4 I bought in Belgium in 1972. Unfortunately, the 1971 Norton Commando I bought in London in 1971 disappeared one night in Florence, Italy, but the insurance settlement was great.
 
motornut said:
I really have to say I have observed very few Sport bike riders that have used the whole tire, I haven't seen many sport tourers use the whole tire, Haven't seen many of anybody's bike use the whole tire, including mine.
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hang out at any of the California mountain road gathering places and you'll see the full spectrum of tire wear patterns. I'm more familiar with the LA/SD locations, but I'm sure its true at Alice's Restaurant and others up north. Not sure where riders would congregate in western Washington, maybe US2 to Leavenworth? Since you guys don't have 12-month riding weather up there perhaps there's less of that culture up north, IDK.
 
dwalby said:
hang out at any of the California mountain road gathering places and you'll see the full spectrum of tire wear patterns. I'm more familiar with the LA/SD locations, but I'm sure its true at Alice's Restaurant and others up north. Not sure where riders would congregate in western Washington, maybe US2 to Leavenworth? Since you guys don't have 12-month riding weather up there perhaps there's less of that culture up north, IDK.
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You are more than likely correct in your assessment, not being around sport bike clubs makes things dicey. I just generally look at chicken stripes to see what they look like.
I was behind a Ducati at a light and I think the stripes went beyond the tread, it impressed me
 
Uncle Phil said:
Just remember - Yellow Wolf's "Goldwing" is a pretty well modified one ... ;)
And he is intimately familiar with every turn at the Gap.
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My point was it isn't so much the bike as the rider. The "pilot in the box". ;) Yellow Wolf was a legend.

I've followed some extremely fast guys on ST1300s. I had one rider who was following me and used to do track days, go off the road. Two actually, but only one was on an ST. :) There's only one rider on an ST that I've found was far faster than I was, @The Dan. On a double-darksided bike, if I remember the terminology. :D It didn't take long to realize he was out of my league, and to just drop back to something more comfortable.

I rode with a Microsoft Engineer once. He was on a Ducati. I was on a Suzuki Burgman 400. He caught up with me probably 5 or 6 times on that ride. What?!?!?! you say! Well, he couldn't take the pressure on his wrists, so he'd ride with us a bit, pass us eventually, take a break somewhere ...and then catch us again. :D It's the rider, not the bike.

In my mind though, it really isn't about how fast I can go. It's more about how much I enjoy the ride. I can be fast by one person's standards, and slow by someone else's...but that doesn't matter. Only...did I enjoy it enough to come back again.

Chris
 
It often comes down to what level of risk you're comfortable with. You could be a much faster rider than the guy railing around blind corners and just don't want to play that game anymore. The fastest motorcycle riders in the world probably don't even have a streetbike.

I have wear to the edges of both tires on the ST1100, but about 1/2" chicken strips on my Blackbird tires. Go figure. Both bikes ridden the same. I think the profile of the tire makes a difference. If I got to the edge of the Pilot Roads on the 'Bird I think I'd lowside the bike.

What I value the most and what I always need to improve on is how smooth I am. Riders who are smooth look like they're riding effortlessly.
 
Daboo said:
My point was it isn't so much the bike as the rider. The "pilot in the box". ;) Yellow Wolf was a legend.

Chris
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That is part of the equation - but having the right 'tool' for the job also makes a difference.
Take the same rider on the same road and have him run it on an Electra Glide, Gxers, ST, scooter, etc, ;)
For instance, it doesn't take long to figure out that some of the major 'cornering' issue with cruisers is ground clearance and physical positioning on the bike.
They are a different tool for a different job.
And knowing the road ahead of you makes a major difference - as simple as knowing the curve coming up is a decreasing radius ... :biggrin:
 
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