... and yet no pics.
Sorry! Just had one of those mornings: wake up, feel like riding, call a buddy, no plan, no camera, just fun.
So, I went out to Subway for a breakfast wrap [they do those you know] and met up with my friend on a 636. Just as we were leaving his town it started to sprinkle. Oh well, maybe another saturday morning of Nintendo at his place. Nope! Cleared right up and the temp was cool, slight south wind. I told him I needed to go check out a strip southwest of town for it's high speed run potential. Sure enough we found the spot: a good couple miles of flat strait smooth road, with no deer-hiding trees nearby, and just one fram house within ear shot. My busa loves the cooler air for some reason and likes to come upwards even in 2nd 3rd and sometimes forth.
So we did a couple passes after checking, timing and waiting meticulously for any nearby traffic. A couple of observations about HSR [high speed runs]:
- my new Pilot Sport HPX tires just ROCK above 160, felt very planted and stable. had them both at 38 PSI cold cuz I WAS planning on a twisties day
- a tail wind never hurts
- you can't really HEAR your motor with 180 mph wind noise, so look at the RPMs instead of speedo once it tops out. I was wearing earplugs also
- things go by really fast
- breaking is something to think about carefully before you start your run. in other words don't just sit bolt up right and go "I'm done". You need to EASE into sitting up and let the air brake you a little as well as front and rear brakes.
- G forces have a bizaar effect on the blood inside your head
- Arai helmets with little vents that stick up really suck for stability, drag and wind noise. I'm using a cheaper ventless helmet next time.
- The smallest little slow dip in a road becomes a MAJOR jump ramp when chasing God like that
After three runs I mentioned how cool it might be to be on the side of the road when 185 mph cycle passes you, and so my friend went down about 3/4 of the section and pulled off to watch. I came up the hill onto the flat and hammered down. He heard everything winding up and going thru the gears and SWOOSH! past I go. He that it was pretty cool to see that and definitely wants to video tape it next time. As we lined up for a forth run, a pickup truck went by with fireman plate and a radio. He slowed way down and gave us and evil eye so we bolted, not wanting to upset the neighborhood [where??] since we'll be back again with a car, video cams, and GPS next time.
The time I bothered to glance down at the speedo, I saw it pinned at the 185ish mark so that was a proud moment for me. My bike is entirely stock and I want to see what it can do AS-IS. So next time: GPS
My friend on his 636 hit an impressive 168 indicated. He's already pulled off his rear fender, adn next time he will remove his plate, rear blinkers and mirrors for the extra Areodynamics.
So we had a ball and were just riding around some turns and straits, when low and behold I passed a newish section of twistie black cutting into the middle of an empty field. WHOA!! Had to turn right around and check this out. Sure enough, right into the middle of this huge field there is this PERFECT Road Course track-like black top curving around!!!! Turns out, it will be a future housing development that hasn't yet even begun to lay foundations! Just brand new black top track out in the middle of nowhere. So we hit it. It is BEAUTIFUL! If I had taken pics, you'd SWEAR we were on a track. It probably goes a half mile with a couple of S's, some short straits and ends in a circle at the end, so you turn around and do it again the other way. Awesome. So we did that a few times, working on leans, and chasing each other MotoGP style.
What a beautiful day! NEXT time, there will be video and pics.
Hope you all had as much amazign Busa fun as I did today!!!!
So, I went out to Subway for a breakfast wrap [they do those you know] and met up with my friend on a 636. Just as we were leaving his town it started to sprinkle. Oh well, maybe another saturday morning of Nintendo at his place. Nope! Cleared right up and the temp was cool, slight south wind. I told him I needed to go check out a strip southwest of town for it's high speed run potential. Sure enough we found the spot: a good couple miles of flat strait smooth road, with no deer-hiding trees nearby, and just one fram house within ear shot. My busa loves the cooler air for some reason and likes to come upwards even in 2nd 3rd and sometimes forth.
- my new Pilot Sport HPX tires just ROCK above 160, felt very planted and stable. had them both at 38 PSI cold cuz I WAS planning on a twisties day
- a tail wind never hurts
- you can't really HEAR your motor with 180 mph wind noise, so look at the RPMs instead of speedo once it tops out. I was wearing earplugs also
- things go by really fast
- breaking is something to think about carefully before you start your run. in other words don't just sit bolt up right and go "I'm done". You need to EASE into sitting up and let the air brake you a little as well as front and rear brakes.
- G forces have a bizaar effect on the blood inside your head
- Arai helmets with little vents that stick up really suck for stability, drag and wind noise. I'm using a cheaper ventless helmet next time.
- The smallest little slow dip in a road becomes a MAJOR jump ramp when chasing God like that
After three runs I mentioned how cool it might be to be on the side of the road when 185 mph cycle passes you, and so my friend went down about 3/4 of the section and pulled off to watch. I came up the hill onto the flat and hammered down. He heard everything winding up and going thru the gears and SWOOSH! past I go. He that it was pretty cool to see that and definitely wants to video tape it next time. As we lined up for a forth run, a pickup truck went by with fireman plate and a radio. He slowed way down and gave us and evil eye so we bolted, not wanting to upset the neighborhood [where??] since we'll be back again with a car, video cams, and GPS next time.
The time I bothered to glance down at the speedo, I saw it pinned at the 185ish mark so that was a proud moment for me. My bike is entirely stock and I want to see what it can do AS-IS. So next time: GPS
So we had a ball and were just riding around some turns and straits, when low and behold I passed a newish section of twistie black cutting into the middle of an empty field. WHOA!! Had to turn right around and check this out. Sure enough, right into the middle of this huge field there is this PERFECT Road Course track-like black top curving around!!!! Turns out, it will be a future housing development that hasn't yet even begun to lay foundations! Just brand new black top track out in the middle of nowhere. So we hit it. It is BEAUTIFUL! If I had taken pics, you'd SWEAR we were on a track. It probably goes a half mile with a couple of S's, some short straits and ends in a circle at the end, so you turn around and do it again the other way. Awesome. So we did that a few times, working on leans, and chasing each other MotoGP style.
What a beautiful day! NEXT time, there will be video and pics.
Hope you all had as much amazign Busa fun as I did today!!!!
