V11 Sport Rocks the Ozarks!

[Mike Stewart]

I found the limit of the coefficient of friction of the Bridgestone 014 tire which I have found to give no warning signs of when it has reached it's maximum grip. Learning lesson fully understood now. Moral of the story, use better rubber at the track.

 

Mike

 

 

Which excuse did you use for your last crash? 

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[big J]

So my buddy and his Kawasaki ZX10 and me and the V11 Sport, (stock and only 800 miles on her) hook up with 15 or so riders in the Missouri Ozarks on Sunday. Mostly the other guys were on Honda CBR1000's and Suzuki GSXR1000's.  Left south out of Potosi on route P to DD to 32 and on to Bixby for lunch!

Hung back to see just how the guys rode, having never ridden with them before. Well, after 2 or 3 miles of watching those guys ham fisted attempts at smooth cornering (breaking hard at corner enterance and full throttle accelleration at every straight) I started to pass them. Now, the V11 doesn't have much power compared to the Jap bikes. So what I find myself doing is avoiding the brakes on corner enterance, being smooth at apex and pass on the inside and outside with smooth accelleration. The V11 just rocked! Caught and passed 13 of 15 in the first 7 miles. Couldn't pass the really fast boys at the front, but kept right up with them all day. Until they all binned it on Hwy. C. Three down, no one hurt and they all rode home sans plastic! Oops!

The big Itallian twin really showed her stuff today. Easy turn in, mid corner stability, smooth accelleration, and good brakes when needed. She Rocks!

 

  YEAH!

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Bloody great fun,innit. I had a laugh with some knob on a Gixxer 750 some while back,on the straights he'd scream past me, but where the road got twisty,he was more erect than a politician in choirboy practice.Away I went again.Haw haw.

We met up at the pub and he's got all the brand new leathers,boots gloves,lid,handbag, the whole set. He's talking rear wheel steering and power slides and stuff and how fast these old Guzzis are in real life. Christ,I'm slower than treacle. I told him to just relax and have some fun. He'd been reading too many magazines I think.

Another time,me and a Fireblade came from Ayr to Stranraer(about 60 miles) and had great fun,going for it a wee bit on some great roads and having a blast.Got to the ferry and watched the sun going down and chewed the fat. That was a great run,one for the wee memory book.

[rocker59]

Well the max. speed I saw was 125 mph or so. My buddies ZX10 saw 168 mph on some stratghts. 

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Triple digits on Ozarks 2-lane roads ? Dude, that is 11/10ths in anyone's book. As is passing n00bs on the inside in turns on the street...

 

Glad you had a good time, but passing unknown riders on both sides and running triple digit speeds here in The Hills is some really high-risk behaviour in a high-risk sport.

 

I quit riding in groups because of those kinds of crashes and that kind of squiddly behaviour.

 

Anyone can twist a throttle and go fast down a straight section of road. Anyone...

 

Be careful out there...

 

[Guest geno929]

So here we go again with all the name calling! I'm not a "moron", actually I'm a 46 year old trauma nurse and I resent you giving me a moniker without ever riding with me or my mates!

I was not racing on the street. I was really just using about 70% of my comfort level, and I was on VERY familier roads. If I was racing I would be standing on the brakes at corner enterance and tipping her in and spinning her up at corner exit!

About using the inside to pass! Do you use the other lane just so you can pass on the outside! I'm not willing to do that. I never crossed the yellow line in any of my passes! I would be past the rider who was "ham fisted slamming on his brakes" before apex! And once again, getting around younger, less experienced riders allowed me to go "my pace" and not be involved in any mishaps. Have you ever been "braked checked" in a corner? Not fun!

And I was never able to pass or get near the "really fast guys at the front". They binned it not because of me or the Guzzi trying to catch up to them, but because they target fixxed and their abilities didn't match their pace! And BTW most of those guys do ride CCS and WERA here at Gateway in St.Louis!

Sorry but I just wanted to spread a little cheer for the old girl. We Guzzi riders are a bit different and have chosen to go with old traditional, and not the "latest and greatest" and I thought you might like a bit of pride to see that "the ole' girl can still show the youngsters a thing or two!" Geno929

[Murray]

For me half the enjoyment of owning a Guzzi is nailing someone on superior machinery and watch them try to comprehend whats going on. Will I push it further to make the move, no I ride at a pace I'm comfortable with and let things pan out they way they do. But after 6 years and 80 000kms on the same bike with dialed supension I have a pretty good idea most of the time anyway what it will and won't do so my pace can be a little umm enthusiastic.

[Guest trispeed]

like i said....moron; pass up the inside on the street and you risk both lives. If you're not racing, why not hang back and wait for a straight or just stay away from the group altogether? pass me up the inside on the street, I'll find that guy at the end of the ride and kick his ass; I've done it twice before with other guys that were riding that dangerously with complete disregard for the safety of the rider they were passing! The third guy that did that killed himself up on stunt road before I could get to him.

[rocker59]

like i said....moron; pass up the inside on the street and you risk both lives. If you're not racing, why not hang back and wait for a straight or just stay away from the group altogether? pass me up the inside on the street, I'll find that guy at the end of the ride and kick his ass; I've done it twice before with other guys that were riding that dangerously with complete disregard for the safety of the rider they were passing! The third guy that did that killed himself up on stunt road before I could get to him.

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[Mike Stewart]

I am not taking sides and I pass only on the outside when riding on the street. And I have never riden with geno929. But there are a few points that I can hopefully clear up. A Guzzi won't out accelerate any Jap bike down a straight. 2nd, it appears that the some of the other riders were riding like point and aim, meaning once the bike is out of the corner and stood up, full acceleration was applied. I used to ride like this 23 years ago . I can see where these guys will let off on the throttle way early and hit the brakes hard because of their high speeds when coming up to a turn, I believe geno929 would actully pass them at the end of the straight before any of the bikes even started their turn in. But again, I was not there.

 

Mike

 

 

like i said....moron; pass up the inside on the street and you risk both lives. If you're not racing, why not hang back and wait for a straight or just stay away from the group altogether? pass me up the inside on the street, I'll find that guy at the end of the ride and kick his ass; I've done it twice before with other guys that were riding that dangerously with complete disregard for the safety of the rider they were passing! The third guy that did that killed himself up on stunt road before I could get to him.

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[staedtler]

Here's a video of the track where this pic was taken in Houston...

 

 

yes the track is diff. from the street

the turn the pic was taken is @ 02:05 on the video

(vid.camera is in a Suzy 750 btw)

[grossohc]

I just wanted to spread a little cheer for the old girl. We Guzzi riders are a bit different and have chosen to go with old traditional, and not the "latest and greatest" and I thought you might like a bit of pride to see that "the ole' girl can still show the youngsters a thing or two!" Geno929

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[Guest geno929]

like i said....moron; pass up the inside on the street and you risk both lives. If you're not racing, why not hang back and wait for a straight or just stay away from the group altogether? pass me up the inside on the street, I'll find that guy at the end of the ride and kick his ass; I've done it twice before with other guys that were riding that dangerously with complete disregard for the safety of the rider they were passing! The third guy that did that killed himself up on stunt road before I could get to him.

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Well Trispeed, you just can't leave it alone! Have to use name calling to get a point across. The bastion of the unintelligent!

I get the feeling that you are just plain slow and don't have the ability to read and understand my post!

 

1: Guzzi 80 hp, Honda CBR1000 154 hp, Suzuki GSXR1000 168hp. How do you (trispeed) think I'm gonna pass an inexperienced rider? On the straight? No Way!

I play to my strength. Smooth corner enterance and smooth accelleration. I can't pass those squids on the straight! But maybe you have never experienced the quality cornering of the Guzzi!

 

2:Passing on the inside. Why did I use this ability? Because it offered the safest pass while giving me the greatest margin of error! How can this be? The young guy was way on the outside of an uphill right hander, he had already come full throttle down the straight and was grabbing gobs of brake approaching the corner. I was 10 to 15 feet past the guy before I turned in for the corner, never touched my brake and accelerated up the hill. If you've never experienced this pass before, Keith Code or Jason Pridmore do some great track schools in your area.

 

3:Kicking my ass. Well, I find violence to be the last resort of the uneducated! "I can't compete with this guy so I'll just beat him up!" Talk about letting your emotions get away from you! Trispeed, I think you are actually a Harley rider who thinks anything other than cruising from corner to corner at 45mph to be offensive. You are the driver who is in the fast lane going 62 mph because you don't want to be passed by faster traffic! You drive a Volvo! Sometimes you even have to take the wife's mini-van to work. And then park it in the next lot because your embarrassed! Your a Democrat who feels that the Government should legislate all civil liberties! Yet, you don't vote! It sad! Just plain sad!

[Admin Jaap]

In Geno929's eyes the situation permitted his actions and you all should leave it at that. If you think he's a moron, you don't have to write it down immediately.

[Guest trispeed]

Wow, you still don't get it!?!

Here's the deal; when you pass someone (on the street) in a corner, whether it's inside or a close shave on the outside, you create an unnecessary period of exposure for a collision; you don't know if the guy in front is suddenly going to move left or right to A; avoid a road hazard, rock, sand, animal (we've all had to adjust our lines to compensate for those elements, sometimes rather dramatically; how would it turn out if there were a rider right next to you at that place in time??) B; decide to try a different line for no particular reason, etc. You are taking chances with your life which is certainly your prerogative but why do you feel that it's OK to take a chance with his/hers??

Let's say you get by clean, do you know how the 'passee' just reacted? You might even cause them to panic and straighten up, running off the road themselves. They are on a street ride and you have no reasonable expectancy that other riders should ride at the pace you want or be subject to dangerous/ rude/ aggressive behaviour on your part. It could be a guy like me who rides mellow these days, watches his mirrors and always lets anyone by that wants to ride faster but maybe the road is tight and didn't see you right away; I won't get spooked but I'll be plenty pissed and find the guy who shaved me and confront him with his dangerous idiocy.

I've seen plenty of riders get real nervous and sketchy when passed close on a track day, (and they should be expecting it there!)

The issue is that the rider in front has the right of way by law and by common courtesy. If you can't pass on the straight, let them go/ ride slow on boring straight bits and catch up in the turns/ or don't ride with them at all.

Above all, ask yourself why it's so important to 'show those slow novices' that you can ride faster than them? Who cares? What's in it for you at the end of the day? I imagine just a juvenile ego boost. Grow up and show some respect for your fellow riders.

[Steve G.]

Wow, you still don't get it!?!

  Here's the deal; when you pass someone (on the street) in a corner, whether it's inside or a close shave on the outside, you create an unnecessary period of exposure for a collision; you don't know if the guy in front is suddenly going to move left or right to A; avoid a road hazard, rock, sand, animal (we've all had to adjust our lines to compensate for those elements, sometimes rather dramatically; how would it turn out if there were a rider right next to you at that place in time??) B; decide to try a different line for no particular reason, etc. You are  taking chances with your life which is certainly your prerogative but why do you feel that it's OK to take a chance with his/hers??

  Let's say you get by clean, do you know how the 'passee' just reacted? You might even cause them to panic and straighten up, running off the road themselves. They are on a street ride and you have no reasonable expectancy that other riders should ride at the pace you want or be subject to dangerous/ rude/ aggressive behaviour on your part. It could be a guy like me who rides mellow these days, watches his mirrors and always lets anyone by that wants to ride faster but maybe the road is tight and didn't see you right away; I won't get spooked but I'll be plenty pissed and find the guy who shaved me and confront him with his dangerous idiocy.

  I've seen plenty of riders get real nervous and sketchy when passed close on a track day, (and they should be expecting it there!)

The issue is that the rider in front has the right of way by law and by common courtesy. If you can't pass on the straight, let them go/ ride slow on boring straight bits and catch up in the turns/ or don't ride with them at all.

  Above all, ask yourself why it's so important to 'show those slow novices' that you can ride faster than them? Who cares? What's in it for you at the end of the day? I imagine just a juvenile ego boost. Grow up and show some respect for your fellow riders.

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Actually I'm with Geno929 on this one. Nothing worse than getting held up by anybody. Point and shoot riders are the worst, because they foul up the true essense of motorcycling, namely the proper navigation of the corner. I will get by any way, and soon. I have little patience. I only que [line up] during movie ticket booths, and at the supermarket. It is not done while riding. Sorry. Not.

That said, if I see a faster guy in the mirrors, I make room for him fast. I refuse to hold up a guy that wants to go by.

Ciao, Steve G.

[Guest geno929]

Trispeed, you live in a fantasy world. What happens if a semi blows a tire when you are passing it? What happens when the car next to you dosen't look and pulls into you? Man, anything can happen at any time. I and the riders on the ride wern't wearing full face helmets and full leathers for a solw boring old man ride to the grocery store.

You seem to feel that I was showing off my skills and trying to show those younger riders a thing or two. That had NOTHING to do with it. It was unsafe to ride in a group of inexperienced riders that were trying to show something. The safest thing for me to do was get through the brake check at each corner entry. Their 1000 cc Jap bikes rocket off at each straight, but at each corner I am catching them up and get brake checked right when I am setting up for corner entry.

I didn't get this motorcycle to treat it as a couch, I got it for the fun and challenge of riding fast and fun. Anyone can make a jap litre bike go fast. It take real skill to negoaiate a Moto Guzzi through the twisties. No one that I passed went down or had any other issues. We all sat together at Bixby, joked and had lunch together. We all helped the Fast Guys out of the ditch, fixed there bikes and rode 120 miles back to St.Louis together. shared e-mails and phone #s. And I was invited to go down to Bixby next Saturday.

I can not live in fear. Fear of what "might happen". "Paranoia will destroy ya", Said Ray Davies, of the Kinks.

Having ridden the street and track for over 35 years, I've seen exactly 1 bike /bike crash, but many solo bike crashes. Mostly caused by too fast pace and target fixation. Not the inside pass. Don't live your life by "What it's". It will stagnent your live!