Moto-Brian

It's mot a brand specific thing. However, asking what oil is best always nets results that when asking 10 people, you'll get 10 different answers. I have used the following with GREAT results: -Elf full synthetic. I don't believe it is around here in the States anymore. -Maxima Ultra Synthetic. Maxima is some of the best oil we've ever used. -Repsol 4T Synthetic (orange lettering). Repsol never does any ads for why their oil is good - they promote tee shirts and toys, I guess. But, we've pulled motors apart and the results are good. No issues. I wouldn't say they look better than the Maxima or Elf stuff we've used, but they haven't looked worse. -I'm thinking about trying the Motul 300 race synthetic this year. I have heard good things and it isn't much more than the Repsol. Thing is, not a lot of shops carry it...

Race track or track days - every other event. Oil is cheap. Road riding, I tell everyone that I'd change the oil every 2-3K miles. Again, cheap insurance. I also change the filter everytime I change oil. When I store the bike for winter, I usually have oil that is failry clean and OK. In the spring, I drop the oil and filter as oil can become acidic in nature and is something I never test, but again, cheap enough to replace. That way, out of the box, it is fresh and ready to go.

Depending on how long it was under water, you'll have more to worry about than bearings inthe wheels. -Swing arm pivot bolt is probably dry as a bone and corroded - they never lube them anyways... -Caliper pins and such - they get corroded normally as most people never inspect or clean them. Water damage will advance this and can cause issues. -Axles. Same as the swingarm pivot. Proabably dry as a bone and corroded possibly. -Chain obviously - you should be able to see this and tell. If rebuilt, he probably replaced it... -I think the water in the brake lines is something I would check and bleed the system completely just in case. -Areas like rearset brake and shift levers - take apart and lube. Basically, everything with a moving aspect to it should be looked at. Take these guys who ride trail on their dual sports or off road bikes. If they do not maintain them, they always squeek and creek when you roll them around. That's because everything is dry and nothing is lubed. I'd ask the guy straight up to provide receipts for the bearings in the wheels and such. He will then tell you if he replaced them or not. If he didn't, I'd look at them VERY close and possibly change them for the sake of peace oif mind. If it was deep enough and sat long enough under water, it got water in the motor. You'll tell on an oil change. Run it for a little while to get to temp and you'll tell quickly as if it looks REMOTELY milky, it still has water in it. As far as electrical, when we prep a race bike, we use that Di-electric (sp?) grease on all the connections. That helps repell the water obviously. However, you could go and inspect each connection (will take some time) and see how they are. You could simply squirt a little in there for peace of mind. The water won't really effect the bike running if it hasn't happened already. Corrosion is what you need to concern yourself with...

sold!

Again, they might make an impression, but there are no V-Twin sportbikes out there. Ducati is it and now with the RC8, but really, nothing. State 8 was actually one of the top Aprilia dealers and seeing that the guys from Star Boyz actually worked many stints at the shop, I'd say that the Aprilia sold due to salesman and the need of that particularly small demographic looking for a bike of that stature. Usually, any sportbike Twin that is even close is hitting that $13K plus range. I'd say price, dependability and overall performance hinders a bike like that than anything. If Ducati had the 1198 coming at $11K and was shown to be as maintenance friendly as any in-line Japanese bike, I'd say they would sell more...

I'd say Corser was as fast on an in-line as he was on a twin. How can you say he NEVER was faster on an in-line but faster on a twin? Pulling shit out of one's ass is trying to move the topic to suit your perspective. Maybe he didn't win as much on the Yamie, but you also need to make sure all things were similar. How about Biaggi? He's another good example. Can ride anything fast. How about Rossi and riding MotoGP bikes vs. World Endurance bikes? How about reverse analogy in your perspective. Haga sucks at twins because his ride with Ducati was terrible but he goes like stink on an in-line. He must be an in-line guy. Wait... Where did he finish compared to Corser? Get it now? Good riders will go well on whatever bike they are on. Unless the bike is a pile and they try something new like Biaggi and the Aprilia. If the Aprilia mechanically fails more often than not, it has nothing to do with the bike... It's rider, man. Rider.

NE Ohio doesn't dictate how or what OEMs sell... Your perception is an opinion. Demographics are certainly different in different areas, but generalizing just because you see a lot in your area isn't fair.

Oh, and 133? They were less at the ground... A 600 could keep up rather well with them. That's not good...

Actually, it is more due to the way the bikes were made. In-lines were lighter and more powerful. They tried to race the TLRs and RC51s and yet, they were old technology rather quickly. It has nothing to do with stunters and such. Racing on Sunday sells units on Monday still holds true. The technology and the fact that these bikes have to go on two year cycles or die is something that killed them. I can provide you with enough examples of good V-Twins of that time. Ducati had a killer machine back then... Good friend of mine was the first racer to score a win on the TLR, too. It just wasn't a bike that could be made to go fast and they couldn't shave enough weight for it to compete against the other machines in it's class...

Where is this place? Dealer isn't that cheap!

I forgot I have the kid today - school's out for teacher conferences and such. No dice. Maybe next week, though!

Yeah, check out Ron Ayers at www.ronayers.com and look up that year and model and you'll see the price at retail. Plus, you'll have the OEM part number, can call the shop and tell them to order that part and know it is right.

Just go to a shop and spend $14 on the year like Chris stated (I'm not 100% on what year is right for your year, but I think Chris is dead on) and you'll get a new throttle tube with grip. Otherwise, you'll probably spend the same and have to pay shipping on top... No issue with cables - it is a plug and play sort of deal. Take your throttle tube off and replace. Ride. I'd do an 1/8th turn on a 750 in that year... Maybe get one of each and see what you like.

Huh? 4/16th (1/4) is stock. closed|----|open Smaller distance of pull is 3/16th. closed|---|open Smaller yet is 2/16th (1/8th). closed|--|open Where are you confused?

Retail is like $14 with the grip included. Slap it on and go.

Not sure why you are confused with the 1/4 turn throttle? 1/4 is usually stock for most bikes. Only a few come stock with 1/8th or 3/16th turn... Sorter throw for street? Probably a waste. But, it does help if you have bigger hands and have to reposition every time you twist the throttle...

Was going to email you, but will post here. I will email you my info and feel free to get ahold of me with any other questions... Here goes: 1) Have the bike prepped for track use: -Tape ALL lenses. That means side reflectors, too. Try and remove all those things as they are a pain in the butt anyways, but if you can't, tape. -Unplug the headlight and tail light. Reason for the headlight is that it will make a gooey mess of the tape adhesive. The tail is so there is no light whatsoever seen when you brake. If it shows ANY light, you will be sent back to tape it until we can't see it. It is a simple plug you can pull under the passenger seat. -In Novice group, we do not require removing the anti-freeze. There are good reasons for this, but IF you can, that would be stellar. I'd appreciate it. NOT required and can be a pain in the ass so, no worries if not. IF you do Intermediate or Advanced, it needs removed and you can use a supported additive. I suggest Maxima Kool-Aide or Water Wetter. There are others, but they suck and are hard to clean up. I use what is approved for racing... -Tape the wheel weights. Again, not required for Novice, but doing it saves you any issues. If they are the clip on style, they still need taped. Use Duct tape - NOT painter's tape. -Check tire pressures. Typically, a good rule of thumb is 30/30. It's a good place to start with street compound tires. Race tires are lower and depend on the brand/model. -Check all your oil retaining places like the drain plug, oil fill, and filter. Too often guys change oil and forget to tighten these due to being in a rush. That's bad and will end your day and could result in a fine. No safety wire is mandated except for Advanced. If no safety wire, you can use a silicone to dab on the bolt and oil fill cap to secure it. -Go over the bike. Check things like frame sliders, swingarm spools, rearsets, levers, etc. for being loose. -MAKE SURE YOUR CHAIN ISN'T TOO TIGHT. If I had a dollar for every rider who had their chain banjo string tight, I could retire from working. The track will have your suspension working over time and the rear wheel travels a ton. Loosen it up a bit vs. tightening it. I use three fingers on top of the swing arm about 1/2 way from the axle to the counter shaft as a rule. 2) Make sure you as a rider are ready: -Helmet is DOT/Snell -Leathers can be 2 piece or 1 piece (preferred). You can use textile based suits or jacket/pant combos that zip together in Novice. Wouldn't recommend them in the other groups. -Boots need to cover your ankles. We do get work boots a lot, but suggest road race style or similar street style boots for your safety. -Gauntlet style gloves. Need to cover the wrist and over the jacket or suit. We allow short cuff leather gloves, too... -Hydrate. Drink at least a gallon of water the day before and drink loads of it the day of. If you are peeing clear, you're good. Keep good fluids like water or even a bit of Pedialyte. Do not drink energy drinks or sugar filled sodas, etc. They rob you of hydration and hurt more than help. 3) Misc. items for at the track: -Gas. You usually burn 2 gallons per session at times depending on how you run and at what pace. If you get 10 gallons, you are usually good to go. -Tools. Bring tools. At least the essentials. -Chairs. You need to sit and relax. -Food. We get a free lunch (unless an LED event), but you need more than that to keep your energy level up. 4) Luxury items: -Tire warmers - ONLY if you have race compound tires. -Canopy. -generator for the warmers in case you don't have a power outlet. There are a pile of other items, but this should get you started. Others can chime in on what they bring and other ideas as to what they try and bring. I usually have enough tools to tear a bike down 100%, have all the needed things like a fan, canopy, generator, warmers, spare rims, tires, fuel jugs, blah, blah, blah. Usually what we would ever bring when racing. That's a little overkill, but we never usually "need" anything...

Dude, I'm not a stunter at all and really can't seem to get into it, but man, you have some serious skills on that thing. It looks like you have pretty much standard Supermoto gearing and that says even more. From what I understand from the guys I help out, they run REALLY large rear sprockets to allow the bike to lug and with very little throttle input. The smaller the rear sprocket, the tougher it is to control. I hear the revs are up, but still... Kudos and cool vid.

The worse part of it is that I come across as a know it all to a lot of people. With over 18 years of riding and 14 of that racing motorcycles and working in the industry, I have a bunch a worthless knowledge. But, being right over you makes it all well worth it. You around for lunch tomorrow? We ought to see what poor boy Drew is doing...

Yeah, stock CRF and TTRs are going for $500-$600 and they are usually older. With the upgrades, he could put it back to stock and sell the aftermarket parts and probably only have $400 in it...

1/4 is what you have stock on the bike now. It's what they come with from the factory. 1/8th is R6. 3/16th is R1 and what you want...

Well thought out here and the idea that every rider should posses. Accidents are just like he stated - accidents. However, accidents are mistakes. I get a PM from Purdy telling me I am wrong and that it isn't like I stated that it is usually rider error. Mistakes, errors, fuck ups - whatever you want to call them, they are due to rider error. I always try and evaluate crashes I have had to learn from them. I also try and evaluate other people's crashes in an effort to see what went wrong. Sometimes it is mechanical - I've crashed due to that. It sometimes is also something like another rider takes you out and you couldn't do a thing - had that happen, too. However, each of those examples has a human element that involved an error. My mechanic puts in the wrong spacer in the front end and the bike tucks the front because of his error. The rider who takes me out makes a poor judgement call and bowling balls me and him to the ground. He made an error that took out two people. If a deer runs out in front of you, a sink hole opens up under you, a tree is struck by lightning and it falls on you as you pass by, well then that's uncontrollable. That's a small % of things that occur... Safe riding out there to all. I wish everyone to be watched over favorably...

Anyone?

Best advice here today. If you are wanting to put something foreign in your throttle tube and fuck with the cables and such in a manner like this, let the riders around you know so they all ride behind you in case shit jams in there....

R1 throttle tube (05-06 for sure as memory serves) is better on a 1000 vs. the 1/8th turn of the R6... Just some 411... The R1 is more between 1/4 turn (OEM) and the 18th turn of the R6...1/8th on a 1000 is retarded quick.