Mary#17

When my husband and I raced, we named our team "Team Worm" as in Wasting Our Retirement Money.

Unfortunately, we racked up a lot of debt. We quit racing in 2005 and we still have some debt related to the racing days so be careful. I don't regret it.......most days.

Look, dude... There is starting to get a bunch of crazy info in here. Take this for whatever you wish, but here's my opinion...

The 180 is going to feel faster due to the width of the tire. The 55 profile vs the 50 as YSR mentioned is why it will feel different from the stock 190/50 vs what you have now. Will feel faster actually. BUT, if you had a 180 on there (Common tire size), the 190 will feel slower. Benefit of the 190 is a larger tire patch at lean. That's really it. More weight on rotational mass and slower turn in are the negatives. More grip at full lean while allowing for higher corner speed.

All that and this shit with sag and everything is great if you are track riding... Here's my tips for you and your bike. I have a few hours of seat time and maybe some miles on this particular machine both at race and street level.

The bike is NOT a current generation chassis like we see in 2005 and newer type bikes. The way to speed the handling up is to raise the rear and lower the front. BUT, be careful doing so. You've already raised the rear slightly. Also, if you want the bike to feel great, yes, sag is important. However, sag is pointless if the springs are not correct. All these people with race suspension and riding the street are throwing cash out the window as it is pointless. You can do great things on stock suspension if you set it up well to YOU and to YOUR riding style.

Here's a few things to consider doing:

1) Get the forks and shock refreshed. I promise you the oil is pure shit in there. New oil is essential on any bike at times. This is an older bike and the oil probably looks pretty bad... Fresh oil, proper oil height, etc will make a difference. 35 Motorsports. Tell him I sent you. He gives members a discount.

2) Springs. This race shit and mentality is for the birds unless you do track days. BUT, the bike is probably oversprung for you at 135lbs. If you don't do springs, yes, sag is important but unless you constantly chase it (Again, a race mentality), once is going to be fine, but sag will change as you ride. It can be beneficial, but the oil breaks down, etc and will change sag. And, nobody is telling you where to set it and so, really... Just have someone help you set the compression and rebound, try it and see where it is and feels for you. Set the sag to where it will work well and forget it. Knobs clickers even in racing are weird folks. I was never one of them and just rode the bike. Reuben isn't a guy like that either. Adjustments and notes? Yes. Turning knobs every session and multiple laps? For the birds...

3) get a chassis geometry that suits YOU. Again, if it doesn't feel like it turns in as quick as the 180 did? Go back to a 180. The stock tire should have been a 190/50 from what I remember. The 190/55 is what I would stick with. The front is probably a 120/65 also. Throw that in the trash and get a 120/70 front.

3) Tires are different from brand to brand. Not much though. The profiles can be different. It is usually a diameter issue more than profile. Anyone that says the tire feels slower isn't adjusting the chassis to that tire. Change chassis? Get better results. Slap any ol' tire on and hope it works with the same settings you had with a different brand? Yes, will feel possibly different. Hell, may feel better!!

In the end, you need to refresh the oil and suspension. Easy and cheap. Then, have Reuben talk to you on setting it up. Springs are like $100 retail. Just get them refreshed and work from there, dude. You'll get so much information from so many different people and many armchair types that your skull will cave in.

PM me and we can work on getting you set up and even help set the suspension...

Cheers.

So you're basically telling him to set the bike up for himself? Doesn't seem too different that what other people have said.

Yeah I hear you. I keep going back and forth on if we need them or not. The Ducs have horrible fuel range so we are stopping every 90 miles or so anyway but at least a couple times a trip, I wish I could talk. If I knew they worked well, it would help in the decision for sure.

Mary

Tire profiles in general vary greatly. I switched from Pirelli Corsas to Dunlop Q2s and they are very different. The Pirelli's turned in really easy but felt a little twitchy. The Q2s have a heavier front end feel but are very planted in the turns. So a very old flat tire to a new tire could really change the feel of the bike for sure.

Mary

Hello,

I saw another similar post but didn't want to thread jack. What are your experiences and reviews of rider to rider communicators (bike to bike)? I don't care about music or ability to make calls. My husband and I had a system a while back that used some Motorola two way radios connected to a push to talk button that connected to a headset in the helmet. They worked fine under 45 mph but were almost useless above that due to wind noise. Now this was a long time ago and I'm sure there have been great improvements but I don't want to buy a junkie system again that doesn't work. Thanks in advance for any comments!

Mary

Actually, you are right. He needs to readjust the geometry up front then adjust the sag. He can always adjust his triples to raise the front as well to compensate for the back if this change is too extreme.

Stock suspension can work for a lot of riders, it all depends on weight and riding style. I just sent my forks out to GMD to change the valving and bought an Ohlins TTX shock for my bike as well. Spring is on order right now but I'm 125 lbs so the bike was way too stiff for me.

But on my first bike, I was happy that the suspension was tired because it lowered the bike for me and it made me more comfortable as I'm short as well (5 ft 2).

So his suspension could be fine. Ok but that's another topic altogether.

Mary

Have you ever adjusted the sag on the bike to your weight and such? It's always a good idea to readjust when you make changes that affect height - like upping a tire size - or other suspension changes. Many street riders don't do it and think it's only for the track but it can do a world of good even on a stock bike used only on the street.

Mary

Welcome!

Hello and welcome. For sure, take the MSF and practice in a large empty parking lot for a while before you hit the road. Gear. Get some.

Have fun!

Mary

Hello!

Hello!

LOL. BMW's have issues as well.

I loved my Audi and I hated my Audi. But I have to say I loved it more. I miss this car more than any that I've owned.

Welcome! I grew up in Westlake.

Mary

Hello All,

I'm new here but I'm big into trip planning and finding the right roads to ride. Along the way, I've found a couple of websites that I find really useful. Forgive me if this is old news and you already know about them.

I like this one a lot.

http://www.motorcycleroads.us/index.html

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/Routes/Ohio_111.html

Trip Planners

I've used the Harley trip planner before and I like it. I just came across the Honda one and haven't tried that yet.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Ride_Planner/Ride_Planner.jsp?locale=en_US

http://tripplanner.honda.com/?CID=Trip_Planner+Reprise+Bing+Motorcycle+Motorcycle$Routes

Mary

Thanks for the greetings! Yes, North Ridgeville is still pretty small so it's funny how many people have commented that they think they know where I live. It's a nice city.

Mary

another west-sider, fantastic!

When was the last time you raced with Fasttrax? I've been shooting pisc for Fasttrax / Motoseries for the last 5 years.

2004 or 2005. Can't remember which now. It was a blast. My husband started with Fasttrax in 1996 and then I started racing later - maybe 2000? Tires were killing us and then gas later on. We used to travel all around. Putnam, VIR, Road A, Jennings etc...

Then my husband started racing a RS250 towards the end and it was Kurtis Roberts old bike (and Disalvo's) and it was just a nightmare to tune. I used to buy Disalvo's take offs from his 125 as he usually only did one cycle on them before he took them off. That was nice.

What kind of turnout are they getting now for the events? Who is running it now? I kind of remember hearing the Bob's son was going to run it after Bob passed away but I was already out of the scene at that time.

Mary

DirtDee675

Thanks! I was actually considering a 675 before I got this. Very nice bike. I was able to ride one a while back and really enjoyed it.

Mary

And, my RS125. Don't have this anymore but I loved it.

Hello all,

My name is Mary. I live on the Westside of Cleveland amongst all the straight roads and cornfields. I have been riding for over 15 years and currently ride a Ducati 1098.

I learned to ride on a KZ305 and pretty much outgrew that in about 6 weeks. Bought a Hurricane 600, fixed it up to almost pristine and road that for a couple years and then bought CBR600F3. Then I got a F4i. Yes, I did like my Hondas!

For a while, I also raced with WERA and FASTRAXX. Had 2 Honda RS125’s. 2 stroke race only bikes that were just a blast. My heart breaks to think that these bikes will soon be a thing of the past.

I also was an avid dirt rider as well. Favorite bike was a YZ80.

I now have 2 kids, a 5 year old girl and 21 month old son, so my riding time is pretty limited and hence, the street bike is my only vice right now but as soon as my son is old enough to ride (daughter isn’t really interested yet) we’ll be getting dirt bikes again.

My husband also rides and he has a Ducati Monster S4RS. We have really gotten into doing overnight trips down south where we typically log about 700 miles in two days (no highways usually, just back roads).

Because of this, I’m very interested in trip/route planning so I’ll be spending my time in that forum for sure.

Anyway, Hello!

Mary