Went for a ride yesterday, it's was great
Left from Mackers then when to the pub

[IMG]local://upfiles/2378/2FFD8556BE2C4EE59ED0A94A27CD26FF.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/2378/E185785A3BEA42E6B08879099F24ADA4.jpg[/IMG]

 

MarkR: Looks like you had a very good time. The weather seems fabulous, too.

Blue1000F: I'm looking forward to meeting you also. I'm impressed by how you rode at the highest speed possible the day after you bought your bike!
Hope we can all go for a ride together sometime this spring. Perhaps you are also coming to Hälla ring May 18? I'll try to be there.

R1000: It must be quite something to be the "underdog" and then to outrun a modern sportbike! :-) I have seen your riding skills and believe you can do it many times.
Btw: I've been studying maps ("hojkartan") for the area north of Köping and will probably try to enter some "routes" in my new gps. New toys are cool.

Now let's hope there's no more snow!

 

My season completely started in Sunday, when the snow was melted enough to ride and as it is melting more and more in every day the feeling gets better and better




[IMG]local://upfiles/14067/04C04A0682F04CFABD22D98D983874E9.jpg[/IMG]

 

Here is photo evidence from Sundays trip...We stopped at a small parking place along one of the countryside roads. I went of the bike and began to talk to CosmoBob and his friend. Suddenly there was a brutal crash sound and I looked over my shoulder to see what it was. To my surprise, it was MY bike on ground, taking a nap. Damn it, the ground surface had a slight downward slope and I didn't put the gear in when I left the bike on its sidestand. It must have begun to move ever so slowly, possible helped by a light gale, and then went rightto ground.

The damage was however limited; the paint on the left fairing was scraped on two hand size spots, and the clutch lever was bent to a half circle. The fuel tank, rear fairing etc. was all undamaged. I didn't give it attention at the time since the bike seemed to have survived quite well.

Yesterday evening I took a closer look andI could see no more damages than I saw at the ride. The large scrapings were possible to reduce some by polishing off raw edges, and the clutch lever was easy to bend back.

It may have felt real bad if the bike was new (it is a -97)or if it would not be as powerful that it is, and mechanically fine. The bike has taken a small step to be repainted in the future though, and I would like it to be black anyway. Corrective actions are never taken here during season, unless it affects the function.

Thanks for the friendly comment on riding skills CosmoBob. Even if you may not know it know, I can assure that you will drive about the same as me just after a few track days. You have the basic understanding and I saw you followed well. The event on Hälla on Maj 18 is well arranged. There are normally four groups to choose between. Entry level (custom bike etc. with very inexperienced riders), medium, fast and super fast levels. It is just to choose the level that feels right to be safe. It is MUCH better to choose a lower level than a level too high, and no one have to feel bad whatever level he/she chooses. I guess you will easily fit directly into the second level, but there is nothing wrong to start on the entry level to learn the track and get familiar with the bike. I normally choose the fast group, which give me a fair chance to overtake and have great fun without taking risks or be dangerous to others. I have been riding the super fast level to a few times, but these guys are so motivated to come first in and out of every cornerthat the risk for be included in a crash is a bit higher, and I will definitely come in thebottom half of that group. The arrangement is also not meant to break personal or track records, it is meant to provide riders with better skills and this can only be achieved if one rides a bit below maximum pace to focus on technique instead of maximum speed. It is even so that lap times goes down if one put oneself together and back of the throttle some instead of having to brake a lot and loose the optimal line or become stressed.



[IMG]local://upfiles/4562/32901D5AF27B4615994550902A8CD6C8.jpg[/IMG]

 

Bad luck, R1000, it could happen to any of us....but WHY NOW ?[:@][:@]

 

Thanks, Shadow1. The Bird is bythis known to be so strong that I could shave some dead weigth off,by removing not only the center stand, but also the side stand [&:]

 

Sorry to hear about the bike R1000....[&:]

Shure Cosmobob...i will definitely come and joinwith you and R1000 at Hella, just have to book it now so there's nothing planned that day. Is there a calendar where the dates are soone can make plans ?
Andif we talk aboutriding skills....then R1000 is a far better rider than me...so we are probably equal you and me "Cosmo".
The track riding is very good training and you will feel so much more confident in your riding after a few trackdays.
I have at my new work some new biker fellows that also are intrested to join at some trackday, they've always believed that there are only "racing pro's" at a trackday and for that reason they never went to one.

 

Thanks BLUE1000F, but this does not bother me, honestly. It is just to think about how badly hurt people can be in bike accidents, and still not complain, so this is really nothing. The bikes is also bought to be used, in wet and dry. Both your and CosmoBob's bikes are in a much nicer cosmetic condition than my Bird was before laid down. The preparations for a better apperance have already started though, just ordered a complete Chrome sticker kit for the Bird. The question is - will it be repainted satin or glossy black next winter? The black colour is known to be the fastest one and it will shrink the bike to some extent and make it look even more aggressive. It leans towards glossy black at the moment.

Hope you can manage to come on May 18 :-)

 

Hi R1000, i would go for the glossy.
Ican't see anything that could stop me from coming the 18th of May...[sm=signs007.gif]
(you haven'tseen a 4-1 exhaust or slip-onlaying around somewhere for a fair $)

 

Good you are coming !

You could save yourself a hughe amount of money if you modify the stock downpipes, i.e. remove the restrictive T-crosing, and put on a new or even used muffler from a modern litre-bike. Still, the stock system is not bad, both yours and CosmoBobs bikes runsVERY good and there is nothing wrong with having a silent bike. I bought a dB-killer recently to achieve this on the Bird, unfortuanley it killed the bike above 8 krpm so it can only be used for MOT events(SBP)