cOoTeR

Every couple of years I try to do a motorcycle vacation with a few friends. Most of the time it falls on me to plan the trip because most of my friends bought their bikes to look at and not ride. We normally do Durango Colorado area, Tail of the Dragon area, or Texas Hill Country area. For next year I'm thinking of doing the Idaho Grand Loop. I've never ridden in the area and was wondering if the roads are as nice as this page says they are, http://greatrideswest.com/?page_id=1252? Also I was wondering what time of year is best for riding in the area. It's about 2,550 miles of road starting in Salt Lake City. Pictures of the routes look pretty promising. We're thinking late June 2019 of anyone here is interested in joining us.

I can't wait until reputable exhaust systems start coming out for it. One of the cool things about ECU tuning on this bike is that the 3 power modes can all be set up differently. I think after I get an exhaust for it I might have them set one of the power modes up as a race gas mode.

I took my bike to get de-restricted and tuned. We used woolich tuning software. Baseline we did 3 runs and got 161hp, 163hp and 164hp with 84ft.lbs. on the 3rd run. The third run sent the bike into limp mode. We learned that it was because we didn't hook the ECU up and disable the front wheel speed sensor fault code. . The tuning shop had ordered a bench flashing harness so the ECU had to be removed from the bike to connect it to the computer. The diagnostic reset only works with the ECU in the bike. So we had to, 1. idle the bike for 30 sec or more, 2. take the bike out and ride it around at over 25mph for 5-10 min 3 shut it off and repeat 3 times. Riding the bike over 25mph for 5 minutes at a time is a lot harder than it sounds in Tucson. . Did I mention it was 99° at noon today? Finally got the fault codes cleared and back on the dyno and we were able to start the tuning. Took the throttle valve restrictions out and ran it. It gained 5hp and the A/F reading was spiking lean at 10k rpms . So the tuner kept adding fuel until it started losing power but the lean spike at 10k was still there. Here is where it really exceeded my comprehension level. He said it was running so rich the dynos A/F reader was seeing it as lean . He pulled fuel and it started making power. He got it up to 184hp 93 ft.lbs safely. Then we started talking about bumping the redline 500rpms. I told him I was pretty sure woolich had done it. We decided we trusted woolich. So we decided to send it and try 13,000rpms. I attached the video of the bikes first time revving to 13,000rpms. The bike made 209 hp 96ft.lbs. without changing the timing or fueling. The tuner reached out to Anthony (WR NA) who reached out to woolich to see how aggressive they were running the timing on the H2 SX SE they tuned. After confirming that they had successfully been more aggressive with the timing we decided to get a little more aggressive. The bike made 216hp and 99ft.lbs. We then did 4 back to back runs. Runs 1 and 2 were 216hp then run 3 was 206 run 4 was 203. Since the bike was pulling power as it got hotter we decided to back the timing down a little to be safer. My tune is a little on the aggressive side but the tuner and I both feel it is safe. My final setup resulted in 213hp and 97ft.lbs. after backing it down. So we added 49hp and 13ft.lbs. from a filter swap and tune. The tuner even took the time to help me dial in my suspension which was awesome. It is a totally different monster. I didn't really get a chance to push it because it was dark when I left. Night time along the 45 mile ride home means more drunks, animals and cops. But I did play with it as little. My first impressions of the bike when I first got it I thought the bike didn't really have the violent acceleration you'd expect. It was still fast but very refined and smooth. Now at lower rpms and throttle input the bike feels just as refined and smooth but it feels like there is less resistance working against it. Kind of like pushing a box across the ground vs pushing a box around that's sitting on a skateboard. But at full throttle holy cow it has some vicious acceleration. It's violent like the bike is trying to accelerate so fast the rider flys of the back. I love it! I did get a couple graphs, a base line vs final tune and the 216hp graph vs my old 174hp zx10r (air filter, 2/3rds exhaust, de-restricted, tuned) for comparison.

Mike and discount are great. In the past month I've bought a Shoei helmet with a transitions shield, 3 Ram Mounts and an air filter. They sold them to me at an unbeatable price. Thanks guys.

I thought about the multi corner ticket but I've been there every year except 1 and I've sat in almost every section (on Friday's I try to check out different seats). Turn 15 is by far my favorite section.

If you come through Arizona let me know. I ride the Devils Highway a couple times every year.

The racing was pretty good. Moto America race was awesome in the rain. The MotoGP race was a lot better in person than what they showed on TV. BEIN Sports missed quite a few passes and attempts to pass. After the race we rode from the track to my friends house in Artesia, NM. There were a ton of deer but luckily they didn't give us any issues. Monday morning I woke up and finished the 420 miles home. I got to ride across white sands missile range which was pretty cool. For the trip I was just shy of 2,200 miles and almost have 3,000 miles on the bike. The dealership was shocked when I brought the rear tire in and told them I already wore it out. Next up I'm installing a sprint air filter and getting the bike flashed+tuned. I'm hoping to get around 220rwhp when it's done. Then I need to start planning my next long trip because this one was a blast. I'm thinking of doing a Rocky Mountain ride, a Gulf Coast ride or a West coast ride for my next journey.

I traded my red 2012 ZX-10R in when I bought my H2 SX SE. I had some spare parts laying around in my garage so I went to take them to the dealership. (I moved to Arizona a few years ago for those that don't know me). When I got to the dealership the owner informed me that they had just shipped the bike out to a buyer in Ohio. So I'm interested to see if anyone here knows who bought my old bike.

I'm anxious to try the Michelin Road 5s. My H2 SX SE destroyed it's Bridgestone s21 rear tire. I ordered a second just to have a matching set but as soon as the front is done I'm going to try the road 5s.

As some of you know I moved to Arizona a few years ago but I've hung around here and checked in from time to time. I recently bought a H2 SX SE. It arrived later than expected so I didn't really get a lot of time to test it out before deciding to ride it to Austin for the MotoGP race this year. I picked it up the evening of March 30th and rode it home about 45 miles. Then I wasn't able to ride it until April 3rd because of my work schedule and I put 250 miles on it that day. I did an oil change on it and want able to ride again until April 7th. On the 7th I put about 460 some miles on it. I needed to get the first service done on it but the dealership would only let their head technician work on it so they couldn't get it in until the 18th. Due to work it sat until I took it in for the first service and dropped it off on the 17th. I picked it up the evening of the 18th and loaded the bags to prep for the long ride to MotoGP. I got up and left about 6 am on the 19th and rode 726 miles to Junction, TX. I met a friend from New Mexico there. The bike did great and I was able to make stops only when gas was needed and keep the time down to a minimum during the stops. It wasn't until about 600 miles in that I was wanting to get off of the bike. The 20th we woke up and did 400 ish miles around Texas Hill country before riding up to Austin to meet up with some friends that live 35 minutes from the track. We're staying with them. Today we rode to the track and back. It was raining pretty good on the way home after the awesome Moto America race. The bike did great in the rain. The only concern I have at this point is I'm at just shy of 2,000 miles and my rear tire is almost to the wear bars and I've got around another thousand miles before I'm home.

Hopefully you don't get Woodburied when it shows up. I know you won't just thought I'd throw it out there for old times sake.

I recently sold my 2012 ZX10-R and my 08 Concours 14. Yesterday I went to the dealer to put a deposit on a 2018 SX SE. I'm going to be financing a little for the bike so I need to wait until a little closer to the shipping date to officially order since the credit approval is only good for 30 days. But the dealer has a new 2016 H2 left over that they said they would sell me for the same cost as the SX SE. I'm hoping the new SX SE will be the perfect mashup of my former ZX10-R and C14 with comfort equal to the C14 and speed equal or better than my ZX10-R. Im leaning towards the SX SE because its newer, more tech such as the 2 direction Quick Shifter and cruise control. But I'm a little concerned with the power numbers Kawasaki has released. When the 2011 ZX10R came out the power numbers Kawasaki put out were around 200 hp and 83 ft lbs. When the bikes hit the streets they got restricted and needed a flash to reach those numbers. But even after being derestricted 170 hp was what most people were getting to the wheels which is understandable. My 10 with a Guhl Flash custom tune exhaust and filter made 175hp on pump gas in Tucson which was pretty respectable. Now fast forward to the release of the H2 and Kawasaki claimed 200 hp and 98 ft lbs. Pretty similar claimed numbers but real world testing had the stock unflashed H2's coming in at 192 hp and 93 ft lbs at the wheel. Even though the claimed number were similar the real world results were totally different and the H2 gains a lot more with basic mods. Now the SX SE is claiming to have a similar engine to the H2 but its tuned down to run more efficiently. They are claiming similar power numbers to the H2 even though its supposedly tuned down. Even though they say its tuned down the rating is still 197 hp and 101 ft lbs. So where are those numbers going to be when the bikes hit the real world? If its closer to the H2's real world numbers Ill be happy but if its closer to the zx10-r's real world numbers im afraid Ill be significantly disappointed especially since it will have the extra weight. If its going to be heavier and not as strong as my ZX10-R I'd rather buy the 2 year old H2. But if its going to have more power, comfort and tech I'd prefer to get the SX SE.

Awesome. Thanks guys. So the factory auxiliary port is not worth trying to use? I don't plan on using it while not riding.

I recently bought a sport touring concours 14. It has a factory cigarette lighter style plug in in the dash. I bought a RAM phone Mount and a RAM cup holder. I also bought a sena 20s that riders discount hooked me up with four a good deal. I'm waiting for the 20s to come in but it has the ability to charge while being used. So I'd like the use the cigarette lighter plug in to charge the phone and maybe the sena 20s while I'm using them to listen to music on long rides. My worry is having a charger cord that can come loose and start flapping around that close to the handlebars and front wheel. Not sure if I should use the coiled type cord or a straight one. What kind of setups have you guys had success with? The port on my bike is to the lower right of the tach on my bike.

I'm thinking about buying a sena 20s. Do you guys sell those?

It has a sergeant seat. I'm planning on getting a 2 Bros exhaust. The tires were brand new on it so I'm assuming the valves were good. I got both fobs with it. I love it so far, my only complaint is how the heat pools behind the windshield. I took it out on a local road I ride a lot today. I wasn't pushing the pace hard just riding at a relaxed spirited pace that I normally ride my zx10r at and I was going through corners at the same speed. Man that gas gets sucked down fast when riding it like a sport bike though.

Going to keep stock compression. The kits will bolt right up but require some cutting off the fairings and will hang out the side. I want a relatively stock look. I'm going to get a zx14 flange and have a custom header built. I have a friend who had a turbo on his for a long time that's going to guide me through the process. I'm basically going to copy his set up with a few improvements. Before I bought the bike we priced everything out that I'll need and building the kit myself will save me about $2,000 over the reputable zx14 kits. Going to keep it at 8psi with a good fuel system to make good safe power.

I picked up a new to me 08 kawasaki concours c14 abs last week. I had a shoulder injury at work that has kept me off of my supermoto and ZX10-R but I've been itching to ride. So I used that as an excuse to pick up a touring bike. I've wanted one of these for years and finally pulled the trigger. I haven't really had it out on any real curves yet but it feels really planted and smooth in the handling department. The power delivery is very smooth which makes it hard to judge speed. When accelerating it feels like in doing 80 then I look down and I'm pushing 115. I plan on throwing a turbo on it down the road and running 8psi. Hoping for around 200hp when it's done. But it's going to take me a while to source the parts for a custom turbo build and put it together. I'm going to take it out today without the top bag and hit some curves to see how sporty of a tourer it actually is.

A friend of mine bought an R1M back in December or January. He ended up getting some VIP thank you package from Yamaha. At the end of the day yesterday they got a tour of the paddock and got to meet Josh Hayes. He got pictures of Colin Edwards, Valentino Rossi and Wayne Rainey. They are doing things all weekend.

What did you decide on? I'm going to be in Turn 15 sec 17.

The phrase so epic its still around.

Him going to the place armed doesn't mean he was looking to kill someone. It's a possibility but it's more likely that he wanted to have it if he needed it for protection. I carry a gun almost everyday almost everywhere I go. Not because I want to kill someone but because I would prefer to prevent someone from killing me. With that being said I don't buy that the guy bought it from a friend and didn't know it was stolen. If that was the case why not wait for the police and straighten everything out? If I buy a bike without a title I do everything I can to check if it's stolen. I get all the information I can from the seller to identify them later if it doesn't have a title just incase it turns out to be stolen. I record make model and license plate of the vehicle they show up in or that are parked at the house if I meet them at home. That way I can forward the information to police if it comes back stolen after I buy it. That way my defense isn't I bought it from some guy off of the Internet. I'm not exactly buying the guy who shot thought his daughter was in danger of severe injury or death either. Especially if it was a youth size bike. But just because he had a gun doesn't automatically make him guilty. I think everyone who made bad decisions is going to or is paying for their choices. Trying to sell a stolen bike is a huge risk. Fighting when busted instead of just turning it over its a bigger risk. Shooting someone to protect someone is risky. If the guy who shot is found to be lying he's screwed as he should be. The police will be able to tell from the evidence.

Everyone is focused on the guy being shot "over a dirt bike". What if there is truth in the guy on the bike trying to hit the shooters daughter as the article mentioned?

From what I read about it looks like they give away a couple of free every year. The deadline to apply for a free one is coming up. So they are letting people/ organizations know.