vw151

I got a refund. Just gonna do Mid-OH april 25th and 26th. Maybe I'll see you guys there. I'll wait till later this season to do bluegrass.

Or buy them to run on a track as they were designed.

I was scheduled for that Oh well... guess I'll do some more mid-OH. Could be worse.

Been working more on the race bike. Suspension is at Indy. Sanded the body work. I am considering going with white primer rather than black. Switched the monster to GP shift so I can consistently shift the bikes. So far I like it.

Vstrom would be a great bike for someone tall. I'm 6'3" and have a ducati monster and a GSXR750. The monster is a little small but I love it too much. The GSXR or any of the sport bikes for that matter seem to stretch you out a little more but neither are tall per say. The V-strom and most other enduro-tourers are pretty tall and would work great if your height is the main concern. Ducati Multistrada and many of the BMWs are other good tall options. I have a buddy that has a V-strom 1000. I think it's a great all around bike, good at being sporty and for touring.

Big groups do add up to more crashes I agree. Especially this early in the season when the roads are covered in sand and gravel and everyone is working out the cobwebs of winter remembering what it feels like to lean the bike over. I too was out this weekend on 180 and 374. Those roads were not good. 56 was decent though. As someone else said 78 is fantastic and usually clean as it's more heavily traveled. I didn't get that far out though. Always like visiting big muskies shovel out there. If you decide to head out I'd just advise to ride slow and stay out of the middle of the lane as the road conditions are not really sport bike friendly. Still fun to get out though.

Get a monster. Once you go ducati you won't go back. That sweet sweet desmo sound. If it has to be an SV though. well.... get the 1000

Thanks Gixxie. I'm just trying to source a front with rotors now. Seems that at the lowest they can go for $100 and at most around $250 unless you want a really clean one or chrome or something. I'm trying to get a straight wheel with rotors and bearings for around $150. but I could do $200. I'm just not pressed for time. Don't care how it looks but would prefer black. I just got a white rear, and as you know I have a white front and a black rear so if I find a black front. You guessed it. I'll have 2 matching sets of wheels. It really doesn't matter though. Keep me posted if you find anything.

This guy sounds like a great guy to know. Honestly I feel the same way about Matt. He rebuilt my Monster forks and resprung the rear shock and also dyno tuned my bike with a rapid bike module. I've been very pleased with his work in the past and he has done a ton of work on my other friends bikes as well. Mostly ducatis so lots of work on ohlins stuff in particular. He's actually pretty well known for his suspension work. He is very knoledgeable and friendly and will answer any questions I have. If nothing else I know him and just now heard of rueben. I'm sure both places will be a good place to go. Ask yota he knows matt pretty well and knows the quality of his work. Matt is also a track addict so he knows what works on the track, not just street. Who is better? WHo knows but it sounds like this Rueben guy is pretty good as well. It is also a little known secret that matt also has a GSX-R750 he just doesn't talk about it since he owns a ducati dealer. I appreciate all of the information though. this forum is a wealth of knoledge.

I love my Sidi Vertigo Airs. They are one of the most comfortable shoes I've owned and have very good crash protection.

Thanks for the info. I may check him out. I've already mailed my rear shock to matt though.

Yah, Mike is a good guy. He didn't bring rains nor did he want to run in the rain, mostly due to the fact that his bike is worth more than the other 3 bikes and the trailer we came in combined. He ran second half of the day on Sunday and was really starting to get the track by the time we were going home. At one point he said he passed the guy on the desmosedici LOL I can't wait to go back there with a sorted suspension and dry pavement.

don't know fastduc. Mike AKA five0 on desmohio was there with us on his 1098s. If that is him then yes. There were tons of 1098s. I saw 3 1098R. I am sending the rear shock and forks to Matt Carr at Ducati Indy formerly from section 8. He has done the work on my monster and has the tools to do ohlins stuff and penke so I figured might as well get it all done there. He is a super nice guy also. The wrecked 600 seemed to come out ok. The main fairing is pretty much trashed, but the frame and forks and other vital parts seemed fine. I think it will need new controls, new clip ons, new rear set, new frame sliders and of course some new body work. Tail seemed repairable though. We are hoping it will be relatively cheap to repair since it's a 1997 GSXR 600.

Those tires are sweet. I'm looking for a cheap second set of wheels so I can just have them with me and mounted at all times. We actually bought people's track days cheap since we had proper tires. Its amazing how those things grip in the wet. They were a lot of fun.

Found a rear. Anyone got a front with rotors that is straight. I don't care what it looks like cosmetically. Just needs to be straight, preferably with rotors and bearings.

Yah I suppose there were other brands of motorcycle and a Ferrari if I recall. I actually rode a friend's Cagiva (still has a ducati motor) due to my S2R being in the shop (typical ducati) I also remember hanging out with him the day before at one of those Lodge bar bike nights. Either way the situation is eerily similar.

We had a similar situation on the ducati site last spring. I think it was May. Bill Culp had someone pull in front of him. There were about 40 ducatis at his funeral. It was a sad time, this is a very unfortunate reality of motorcycling.

This is very sad news. Honestly, God or not, him speeding or the driver not looking. We all see people pull out in front of us occasionally and it pisses us off but I'm sure quite a few of us are guilty of going too fast as well, god knows most of these bikes can go from 0 to double the speed limit in about a blink of the eye. What happened here won't be figured out in this thread. The fact is, it doesn't matter and it's very sad that he's gone whether it was driver negligence or rider stupidity or a bad case of motorcycle narcolepsy..... honestly who knows. I think someone said it earlier, stop arguing and just tell your loved one's that you love them because this could happen to any of us. There is no reason to perpetuate the negativity of this situation. If we are looking for some good to come out of this then spread the word.... drivers watch out for motorcycles and riders don't ride like idiots on the street.... don't drink and drive or ride etc etc. End of story. I don't know if I ever met Kenny but I was at the dyno day last year for a bit. My sympathies go out to his friends and family. This is a very sad way to go

It wasn't till yesterday when I got back on my ducati to go to work that I realized just how fast that 750 is. My ducati is not slow by any means but it isn't even in the same ballpark as that GSXR. Here ya go Gixxie. Here is one of me getting after it a little Got the rear shock off last night, getting it re-valved and a new spring. also getting the broken forks fixed and it should be good to go. Everything else I need for it would be a luxury at this point, like an extra set of wheels for rain tires and maybe a paint job. Meh, screw the paint, I'm just gonna wreck it eventually anyway. Check these pics out of my buddy ray wrecking a 1997 GSX-R 600. The track photographer just put up pics from Barber. Don't worry we bought them so me sudo pirating them is kinda ok I guess for now. If you all are familiar with Barber (it was my first time there) He wrecked making the right hand turn entering the back straight. Ran out of tire, not hung off the bike far enough. I think he had that lesson firmly cemented into his brain after this. Here we we are later that day taking a look at the turn from the hill before we headed home.

Gixxie. No worries. I'm not trashing you. I was pretty pissed the night we figured out the forks were messed up. This is just my first time buying a bike that has been so "loved" I really think it's important that people realize that this sort of stuff could be messed up when buying a race bike. I understand that you rode it in this condition but I think this is a good chance to share with everyone how important it is to look over the bike. It really opened my eyes. Safety is important. No less. Got back from Barber last night. The bike held together, actually ran it on Rain tires for about 5 sessions and got 3 or 4 sessions in on drys. Me and a buddy bought some people's sessions Saturday at lunch since it was raining and they weren't going out. Got them for $50 and then just ran on rain tires. That was a fun experience. Ran the rains first part of the day Sunday as well. Nothing like power wheelies in the wet coming out of a turn. It was an eerie experience. In the dry it was interesting too because there were weepers on the track. Little spots where it just stayed wet all day even though the rest of the track was dry. That made for some interesting experiences feeling the rear end or both tires slide and re grip the track in pretty consistent spots around the track. The bike is fast, faster than anything I've ridden at the track. This coupled with the suspension not being set up completely right for me yet made for some light steering under power, or sometimes just plain old power Wheeling, which is fun but not so confidence inspiring when trying go fast. I actually power wheelied out of a turn on rain tires in the wet. No drama but I decided to put the power on a little later after that just till I get the bike set up. I think my fat ass was making it squat under power pretty good. I knew already I'd need a new spring on the rear shock. I'm 6'3" tall and 240lbs. It was one of those experiences where you're like, hell yah!!! that was cool but your also like, I better not do that too much or I might pitch it off the track. Either way. I'm happy overall with the bike. For the parts that are on it and what it is, it was a good price and it's a lot of bike. At my skill level it will have plenty there for me all season. The faster I get the more this bike will dish out. It's got about 40 more hp than the bikes I'm used to and it is very light and nimble. Exactly what I've always heard about the 750s. Anyway. That's that. I'll probably put up a new thread with the pictures from the trip sometimes today or tonight. here are a few for now though. getting used to the rains. I never found the limits on those. Surreal riding around that fast on a completely soaked track. They say you can drag a knee with those tires. My balls weren't that big. This was an especially slow downhill right hand hair pin. I swear I was faster in some of the other turns

I hear ya. I am just trying avoid any flaming. Not saying you are trashing him. I think the story speaks for itself anyway. I agree though. I'd have thought he might have known about some of the problems.

Take it easy on him. I'm not looking to trash him. I'm sure he was just careless. Not that that is a good thing. The real point is that others should be aware that this can easily happen to them and how important it is to go through these things. I thought it was important before but having gone through this has really hit home on that point. Riding bikes and going to track days or even WERA racing is for fun, no sense in someone getting hurt because of something like this. If I'm gonna crash I want it to be because of my bad move on the track not because my chain came off and locked up the rear wheel unexpectedly at some ballistic speed on some race track. That is just not fun. I'm not afraid to take risks, I think most sport bike riders share that trait but going out on bunk machinery is just dumb.

Thanks man. Finally got it ready to go last night. It was totally ready for the track save for: stripped oil drain plug hole. missing crank case engine mount bolt sticking brake caliper pistons due to someone painting the calipers and getting paint on the pistons. loose front sprocket (loose enough to destroy the speedo pick up bolt) and stripped preload adjustment on the left fork. Not saying this bike was not a good deal for the money but it might have been just a tad unsafe in it's original configuration as apposed to "just needs tires and it's ready to go on the track." Sorry I'm a little peaved. We had the bike all together last night, were getting ready to set the sag and everything and realized that the forks were fubar. Lucky for me Robert has several gixxers so we swapped front ends with one that is totally set up for my weight and I'm gonna send the F-ed up forkes up to JD Horde to be rebuilt. I don't know what I'd do with out Robert, I mean, 2 days before we leave and he has a set up front end to swap for me. He's the man. To whoever is reading this. Learn this lesson from me. Always go through used bikes you buy. Even if the previous owner tells you it's ready to go on the track as is. He may be wrong. He's probably not maliciously trying to send you out on a bike that might get you killed but he may be a careless person who doesn't care what the bike is like when it leaves his house. Not bashing anyone.... just sayin. The amount of stripped/missing bolts on this bike was pretty alarming when the bike was advertised as ready to ride on the track. Maybe these things didn't bother the previous owner and he felt it was "safe enough" to ride. To me, Engine mount bolts, sprockets, oil drain plugs and forks in particular are very important. Maybe I just value my personal health a little more than some others. I'm just lucky that I have enough knowledgeable people around to help me walk through these checks. Without them I fear I could have been hurt. Anyway..... good news is. The bike is ready and we are loading the trailer for barber tonight and heading out in the morning. I'm sure I'll get a few more pictures up before I go.

I'm looking for cheap, beat up but straight wheels for a 2003 GSXR 750. I just want something to mount rain tires on. Keep me posted. Looks like rears are cheap on ebay fronts are not. Sound about right?

I'd go rabbits. Everyone has skulls these days.