Todd#43

I dont have to ask you - I've been there. My 05 600 was way squirley down the front straight at Summit. Didnt happen till it got up to speed. Come to find out those 190 Dunlop slicks had a little "growing" problem that actually took away enough trail to make the bike way shakey... We adjusted for it, and never had another problem there. Funny how good tires and bad geometry makes for a bad day

Dude....basics first... The bike is too hard to turn in. If I get on the gas, the bike wants to run wide. When I'm on the brakes it feels like the front is sliding. That O-ring I put on my inner fork tube is all the way against the fork leg lower. The bike shakes like a hound dog trying to shit a peach pit going down the back straight. What the bike is doing is pretty basic. You need to be able to relay that kind of information to someone whos helping you with the set up. Base Line your suspension and geometry for whatever tires you want to run. Until you have a frame of reference to work from, you're gonna keep beating your head against the trailer wall.

You know, I read and re-read your post, and the only thing you said about her was that she was the daughter of immigrants, she wrote a book, and she's an investigative reporter. You didnt say anything about her "credentials", and you couldn't even remember the name of the book she wrote. I did nothing to "discredit" her. I stated that I didn't know who she was, and the "credentials" you listed (daughter of immigrants, investigative reporter) didn't really make her any more qualified to write on the subject than my Aunt Grace, who WAS a daughter of immigrants, but wasn't an "investigative reporter". So, you called me dumb, then called me a dumbass, and somehow that doesn't "dumb down" the conversation. To be honest, I'm not surprised that you feel I'm the one dumbing dumbing down the conversation. Let me know when you've got something intelligent to say, then I'll respond.

I'm not familiar with CarrMoto, but if they know bike geometry and set up, I'm sure it will be money well spent. There are other alternatives out there when it comes to the chassis. PM me if you want to know more about it. Good luck with your run at the AMA!

You're right, suspension components from the factory are far better than they used to be. The geometry isnt too bad either. It sounds like Chris has changed just about EVERYTHING on the bike that could be changed and now he doesnt know where anything is. I was skeptical too about the geometry being important - until I did it. I got faster, was more comfortable, and tire wear was improved. Maybe you'd be faster too, if you tried it?

Wow.... Lets stoop to name calling when someone disagrees with you. The intelligence level of this forum has dropped considerably. I guess I'm stupid because I've never heard of some reporter that used to work for the New York Times. I guess I'm stupid because I didn't realize that being the daughter of immigrants makes someone an "unbiased" source. While I'm guessing, care to clue me in on "facts" that I missed? I'd hate to disappoint you, but I'm probably too stupid to give you a link to the 17% Carry on...

I dunno...tires dont grip if the suspension isn't right. The bike doesn't turn if the suspension and geometry aren't right. I think a good rider can probably ride through any of the problems and still turn quick laps. I've never seen Chris ride, and I have no idea what his skill level is. By the tone of his posts though, it really seems like he's completely lost about why his bike does what it does, and how to change it. If he's really tied to the 'stones, he should run them - but he should take the time and spend the money to set the bike up to run them. When his skill level exceeds the tires, then change.

I dunno...you could have "the best" tires in the world, but if your bike isn't set up right (suspension & geometry) you cant do shit. I've seen people turn quick laps on shagged tires at the end of an endurance race - because the bike was set up right. I agree that the right tire is a BIG part of the package, but I think you've got to have the rest in line too - to be comfortable and turn quick laps.

What about it needs to be "tightened'? If you feel it needs to be fixed, there must be something about it that you dont like. Care to expand on that topic? Actually, the percentage of "illegal aliens" in US prisons is far less than that - around 17%. About 1/3 of the Federal Prison population are aliens, but not all of them are here "illegally". I've never heard of Michelle Malkin, but is she uniquely qualified to write about immigration because she's the daughter of immigrants? By the way, just because she's an "investigative reporter" doesn't make her writing more believable - reporters are supposed to "investigate" their stories. Geraldo Rivera fancies himself an "investigative reporter" too. Wonder if he's still looking for Capone's stash???

Immigrants have always committed more crimes than "seasoned citizens"? WTF does THAT mean? Last time I checked, our prisons are full of people born and raised here. The Gangs of New York...another great Hollywood reference. Yeah...everything in that movie was soooo true . Is there a limit to the number of movies you can refer to in a thread? Our immigration policy as it stands really isnt too bad. They need to start ENFORCING it, and sending the illegal aliens back to where they came from.

Chris - you need to start with a base-line set up. Base line the suspension front and rear and the bike's geometry. If you don't know where you're at to start with, any changes you make are guess work and will most likely get you further off the mark at the worst, or frustrated at best. Once you have a base setup, work with the guy that measured the bike and set the geometry. Tell him what the bike is or isn't doing. You know, won't finish a corner...twitchy on entry...etc. They can then tell you what you need to change. Keep going the way you're going, and a dislocated finger will be the least of your worries.

If you're really serious about racing, you should be really serious about what you have underneath you. In my opinion, too many people dont really care. There are also plenty of people that think its all bullshit. Look at any type of professional racing (cars or bikes) and they all put a premium on set up. Shock dynos, chassis measurement, etc. Believe me, if it didnt matter or give them an advantage they wouldnt spend the money on it. My question is this...why would you spend large money to have the best suspension, brakes, and wheels you could afford, and not spend a dime to make sure they're set up the way they need to be?

There are no "good" roads up here. Head south, and east about 90 minutes.

I'll agree that there is no "magic number" that works for everyone. However, those "magic numbers" give you a starting point, and a frame of reference for every adjustment you make. If you don't know where you're starting, how do you know where to go? There are two ways to do it: Listen to your buddy that runs 6mm of static sag in the rear, the other guy that dropped his forks 2.0mm into the top tree, the dude that pitted next to you that's raised the rear 12.0mm, and that internet post on gixxer.com that said "you have to use the 2.5mm offset swing arm pivots". Ride the bike, and make adjustments to everything you can, every time you pit, and HOPE that you get something that works. Take your bike to a shop that specializes in chassis set up and geometry. Have them measure your bike and set it up to a set of known set of values. Ride the bike, and make small changes, one at a time based on the feedback you're getting while you're on the track.I've tried both, and for my money I'll pick #2 every time. It may cost more (about the price of a power commander and a custom map), but the time it takes to get a good set up underneath you is much shorter, plus you'll learn a lot more about how your bike works in the process.

I think you can set a bike up for whatever tires you want to run. Is the Bridgestone the best tire for that bike? I dunno, I do know that a lot of guys seem to like them on the smaller bikes. That being said, different tires may offer better grip, different profiles, etc. I know I started on Michelins and when I went to MPH I made the switch to Dunlops. To me, the difference was dramatic. Turn in was much more linear where the Michelins made the bike feel like it was "falling" into the corner. We had tons and tons of setup data and a relationship with Dunlop, so it was better for me. I also felt more comfortable on the Dunlops, and that made a big difference as well. Without a doubt the chassis set up (suspension and geometry) is the most critical element of turning fast, consistent, comfortable laps. If you haven't taken the time to understand it or figure it out you're really missing out. No doubt about it.

6mm doesnt seem like enough. A lot of it is a "personal" thing, but I prefer a little "softer" setting - especially at tracks like Nelson. If the front is bottoming out I can typically change that with a click or two of compression. I like the rear a little softer as well. It just feels better to me. If you have the swingarm offsets in or out it doesnt really make a difference, especially if you dont know where your geometry is to start with. Once you have a base line, you can change elements based on what the bike is or isnt doing. If you dont know where it is, you really dont know what raising the rear will do to your rake and trail, etc. Make sense? A lot of people think geometry and suspension set up are bullshit, but I know different from my own experience. I dropped 12 seconds in one season at Nelson (high 20's to mid teens) just by learning more about how the chassis and suspension work. Magnesium rims wont do that for ya.

We always ran 38-42mm of rider sag up front, and 10mm of static sag on the rear. It really seemed to be a pretty good base line set up to work from. I can't recall ever changing the sag to get things more comfortable. Typically it was a compression or rebound adjustment to get the timing right. Geometry is another story. Maybe you should get the bike measured and set up with a base line set up to start with. Rake, trail, swingarm slope are all related - mucking about with one will change the others. Also, your 1000 has adjustable SA pivots so you have a shit load of options. All of that can just confuse you if you're not starting out from a "known" set of numbers.

RRW Editor/Owner, John Ulrich, is VERY aggressive when it comes to pursuing copyright infringement. I tend to agree with him. Running a website and publishing a magazine is expensive. I'd hate to have someone stealing my shit regardless of how much it cost. Just my two cents.... Oh yeah...Spies deserves a chance in GP. He's certainly got the potential to do well.

Ok, so a non profit organization calls them "political refugees" too. If thats what you want to call them, call them that - it doesnt change the fact that they didn't come here because we went to their country. They came here because its better here than it is in Somalia. I'd like to see some statistics that back up your claim of a higher per capita crime rate among Somalis vs. native born US citizens. I did a little digging, but couldn't come up with any. Uninsured Somali drivers must be a bigger problem in Columbus than it is up here in Cleveland - we haven't heard anything about it.

I thought I'd made my point. I guess I'll have to say it one more time: The actions of the US in a humanitarian relief mission didn't cause the Somali's to come to Columbus. People from all over the world come here all the time because this is still the best deal going. Did you see it that time? I could really care less about 40,000 Somali's in Columbus. Apparently in your mind, the actions of a handful of those people mean all 40,000 are a bunch of white collar criminals. Be happy they're not rapists and axe murders. I didn't say that people dont come here to escape "problems" in their own country. Call them political refugees, immigrants whatever you want. They've been doing that for years...the French, Irish, Italians at the turn of the century came to escape poverty and make a better life for themselves and their families. Oddly enough, that happened wayyyyyyy before either of the World Wars. Remember the Mariel Boat Lift of 1980? Thousands of Cubans fled Fidel's playground as "political refugees" and we never fired a shot. A bunch of Hatians came over around that time too, but I don't remember reading anything in the paper about an invasion of Haiti at that time. If the 100's of Somali's that live around the corner from you are causing you some type of discomfort, maybe you should move? Its a big country - I hear Wisconsin is nice this time of year.

That's a good thing - my guess is you wouldn't understand it anyway.

Nope, I don't think it has anything to do with it, and I really don't need to "read up" on Dearborn Michigan. I've been there, and have seen it first hand. I don't think one thing has anything to do with the other. We haven't invaded Mexico since when - the 1800's? I suppose all the Mexicans coming into the country are still coming because of that? Maybe all the Vietnamese that moved to the Atlanta area in the late 80's and early 90's were refugees from the Vietnam War? I didn't see a big influx of Eastern Europeans after the Bosnia Conflict - did you? Typically, one family from a country ends up in a certain area and the next thing you know theres two, three, ten, twenty. Thats why you have all the Poles in Chicago and all the fags in San Francisco We as a country have pretty liberal immigration policies, obviously. Personally, I think we need to take a look at that. We need to tighten things up a bit so these people dont continue to drain our resources. Sorry man, but its still a stretch to think that the fraud that happened recently was somehow related to the events of 13 or 14 years ago. If you're that worried about the problem (welfare fraud) look a little closer to home. I've seen plenty of "families" in the grocery store, dressed better than me an my kids, buying all the "good stuff" plus beer, wine and cigs, 10 year olds talking on their own cell phones, all while "mom" pays for the bread and milk with a grub stub and gives the cashier a visa card for the rest. That, my friend is bullshit. I'm pretty sure that if you can afford cell phones for your 10 year old, beer, wine and smokes, you certainly don't need to be sucking the government tit for your bread, milk and cereal. Until they change the system - maybe make it temporary - you'll always have this problem. I'm guessing the "other" fraud costs us taxpayers way more than a million or two every three years.

Yup, there was a movie called Blackhawk Down...everyone knows what comes out of Hollywood is true, right? There WAS a civil "war" that happened in Somalia, but it wasn't going on when we initially went there on the aid mission. People were starving, and the bleeding heart liberals in this country wanted to feed them. That's what we did. Once it was "up and running" (done and paid for by the USA) the UN decided that they were better suited to operate this "humanitarian mission", so we turned it all over to them. When the Somali "War Lords" saw the opportunity to take all the stuff the UN was passing out, things got sticky. THAT is when the "war" started. Although the US had the largest number of people on the ground, it wasn't a US Mission - it was the UN. We didn't go to Somalia to bail anyone out of any war. You wanna blame somebody for "Blackhawk Down"? Call the UN. I think its really a stretch to connect those events to the fact that some Somali immigrants got caught cheating the government. They more than likely would have come here regardless - just like they come from everywhere else. They'll all bitch about this country when they're in their homeland, but the first place they all want to come is here. Why do you think that is? You know, its been a hell of a long time since we invaded Mexico, or anywhere else in Latin America, but they keep coming here by the dozens. I'd be more worried about that as opposed to the welfare fraud.

Keep a couple of things in mind here.... The US went to Somalia on a humanitarian relief mission that was more or less over within a year. It was the "multi-national" UN task force that got us bogged down over there. We didn't go over there to "get in the middle" of someone else's war. It was your tax dollars at work when it took a bloated state government all of that time to uncover the fraud. If we didn't give so much away in "welfare", there wouldn't be as much opportunity for fraud.Carry on.....

Dude...still have the ipod? I know someone that wants it if you do. Lemme know...