[FredSmoot23]

anyone want to ride tomorrow afternoon for a couple of hours?

Fred

 

[Gkwawer]

When and where?

 

[drew.bradshaw]

i will. shouldn't be all to chilly tomorrow afternoon im heading out on the bike now actually

 

[FredSmoot23]

sunday . . .

How about 1 p.m. chesterfield BP? Not far, curves, etc.

Fred

 

[drew.bradshaw]

How about 1 p.m. chesterfield BP? Not far, curves, etc.

Fred

sounds good

 

[Gkwawer]

99% chance of me making it.

Gary

 

[drew.bradshaw]

made it home safe. thanks fred for leading that quick little blast of a ride! i fell out of my groove a few times today but nothing that caused me to freeze up, just enough to reevaluate myself. once when i hit some gravel going under the bridge at MM off of T and also on the road behind six flags.

Carlos, you followed me pretty closely the entire ride, do you have suggestions or comments?

 

[k13ss4r]

Yes, a big thanks to Fred for the quick ride. It was a good time. As for you Drew, from my vantage point, it looked like you might've been following Rob maybe a bit close. I didn't see you get too upset when you hit the gravel, so that was good. I know I fixated on your tail lights a couple of times, rather than the curve ahead and as a result, went a tad wide. But nothing too upsetting, so...

 

[FredSmoot23]

ride today

Glad you two had a good ride today. I enjoy all kinds of roads and showing them to everyone is satisfying on several levels.
I find that keeping about two seconds or more between myself and the person ahead of me, allows me see the road and not get distracted by how the rider ahead is performing. I can focus on getting my entry speed set, have the motorcycle suspension settled, and be ready for the unseen and unexpected around the corner. By not watching the rider ahead, I can do my best to control my bike. If you fixate on the the guy in front of you, or his bike, and he decides to ride off the road, you would be right behind him, in the same tire track. Not good. Maybe it is selfish, but, you are in control of your bike and where it goes or doesn't go. Does that make any sense?
Ridng a motorcycle is very challenging, it takes a lot of concentration. Eternal vigilance or eternal rest, you get to choose.
Thanks for coming along.

Fred

 

[rlmenendez]

Thanks Fred! Great short ride. I have passed some of those roads we were on but never rode them.

Drew, I must say, you do get close at times. If I can't see you in my mirrors and have to look in my blind spot, means you are a little close.

 

[drew.bradshaw]

thanks for the responses guys. i'll back off, but before i know it im right on rob's ass again. (rob if this were prison you'd be asking for protection from the rival gangs) in retrospec, i'll look past rob at fred, or whomever's leading, and close in on the guy in front of me. i'll ride a tighter line and smoother line following, but following too closely is all bad. i need to work more on the concentration of the road in front of me, instead of the road in front of the guy in front of me so i don't cause any problems for myself or others. god forbid i make a mistake and take out myself and someone else due to carelessness. thanks for the info guys

so carlos, how did the SS feel on the twisties compared to the monster?

Rob, did you find the oil leak?

 

[k13ss4r]

Drew, its easy to "overrun" the guy in front of you, its hard to consciously stay back when you're riding well and you feel like you can take the curve faster, but that's where Fred's suggested 2 seconds or more comes in. As for the SS vs monster, the SS steers a little heavier/harder than the monster, I think that's mostly because of the monster's wide handle bars making it easier to flick back and forth vs the clip ons. Also, the SS tends to hold a line better once you set it, without too much upsetting it mid curve. The monster tends to get a little more skittish when upset in mid-curve, that's why I had a steering dampener installed, so I can adjust it to suit the road I'm riding on.

 

[Gkwawer]

Guys,

Great input.

Drew- while I was far enough back not to see what was happening. Regardless of with whom I am riding with, if I am in the back, I tend to hang back 3 to 4 seconds before the guy in front of me for a variety of reasons- whether it is a car, motorscooter, truck, or motorcycle. I do it so I have time to react if something bad happens in front of me. Time=distance=safety. Also, on curves, slow in fast out. Fast in, slow out. It may not be as fun, but these are roads, not race tracks.

I shall see you tomorrow.

Gary

 

[rlmenendez]

Good thing I smoke. Cigarettes are as good as money in prison. hahaha

I just used an entire can of engine degreaser to trace where it is comming from. I removed the oil presure switch. Cleaned the crap out of it and reinstalled. NO MORE OIL LEAK! Thanks Fred, You saved me a trip to Motorrad.