Hey you kids - get offa my lawn!

[R100Pilot]

Readin' all these posts here lately, what with the discussions of wheelies, stoppies, how often you hit the rev limiter, and (somehow related?) now a couple of posts about wipeouts, I gotta wonder what kinda ridin' most of y'all do.

Maybe it's just 'cause I am older than most rocks, or because I started ridin' when most o' y'all's idea of a scooter was a Big Wheel, but I gotta wonder how ya git away with it. To read the posts here, one would think at least 75 percent of the S3 forum folks spend all their time riding on one wheel at a top speed of between 145 and 167, depending on who you ask, what kind of sprockets they're running, and what is the precentage of error on the speedometer.

I do not consider myself the Most Boring Person Here - my idea of an ideal day would be a spirited run down some of our two-lane county roads to the coast, where there's a li'l club that meets to jump outta airplanes.

But while I have no hesitation about tossin' myself outta a Cessna a few thousand feet over terra firma, the notion of doin' wheelies or running 150 on public roads seems just plain... well...

Put it this way - more power to ya. But around here, that kinda thing would git you throwed UNDER the jail. Way under.

And leavin' aside the legal ramifications, I'm just not inclined toward it. First off, I worked damm hard to buy the bikes I got, an' I ain't rich enough to go out an' just buy another if I happen to dump one of 'em.

And then there's what I'll call The Other Guy factor: I don't care how good a rider you are, how many gears you can wheelie in, or how long you can roll a stoppie. On the street, you are ONLY as good as the blue-haired old lady who mistakes the gas pedal for the brake just as you pass in front of her Oldsmobile.

An' don't tell me about lookin' out for civilians - it's the one you don't see that's gonna git ya. Or maybe it's rudebwoy85's oil slick.

The bottom line is, regardless of how much skill you have when it comes to controlling your machine, there are a heap o' other things you can't control out there. So far in the last few days, we've seen a slide and one totalled S3, compliments of some turd in a pickup truck. I'd hate to log on here one o' these days and find out worse, on accounta I think you're a great bunch o' folks - even the cheapster.

Okay... Old Guy Rant off...

So, what kind of riding do y'all _really_ do most of the time?

Me, use my bikes riding to work every day and runs on weekends when the band's not keepin' me busy. I'd love to find time to take in a track day, but there are none around here and between the day job and the band, I'm working at least six days a week. You won't find me doing wheelies through intersections, but 70 through a corner marked 30 isn't unheard of. I don't ride like your grandmother, but if you put together all the time I've spent on one wheel, it would probably be less than TonUp's average run. But I bet the smile on my face is just as big :chug:

[tekmoe]

i'm with you man. i posted a topic awhile back and the title was "what's the difference between a hooligan and a squid?" I did not get many replies... :wink:

i'm 23 years old and whenever someone sees me on my bike, i assume that THEY assume i am a squid who does burnouts and wheelies at every stop light. this is not the case. i ride my motorcycle very responsively (well, most of the time. every now and then, you just have to act a fool...it's an s3 for crying out loud!)

i'm also the same person who posted the hot topic of "who revs over 4,000rpm?" i'd say, 99% of the people who replied to that thread were like "are you crazy? you have to ring this things neck!" i totally did not expect that. this bike has so much power down low that anything over 4,000rpm is for adrenaline rush purposes.

so yeah, to sum it all up, the more and more i read this forum, i realize we have a lot...*ahem*..riders, who like to have a lot of fun. maybe too much fun...i've had an accident once already and am lucky to be alive. i learned my lesson.

[R100Pilot]

Two accidents here, in my first year of riding (unless you count that collision with the stegasaurus). One trip to the hospital. In my half-hour commute, the revs go between 3 and 8K. I've had it to redline, but again, even in first, that's enough to git my license yanked and I prefer riding to walking, thanks.

I admire Corners, Cheap, TonUp and the rest. I just wanna see 'em ridin' for a long time. Actually, I wanna see 'em ride, period. I think an S3 Forum Weekend would be cool as hell. Anybody know of an unused airstrip or someplace where they could do their thing?

Oh... and burnouts... I never figgered that one out either. I am just a little old guy who lives in a tin box. I can't afford that many tires!

[tekmoe]

i failed to answer your question so i will try to stay on topic.

typical riding for me is all city riding. i live in dallas so there are lots and lots of city streets, stop lights, cars, pedestrians, etc. there's always something to be looking out for.

just as an example for this mornings ride to work; started my bike up, took it down the street in first gear doing around 3500rpm just to get the engine all nice and lubricated. hop out onto the main 3 lane street with a speed limit of 35mph. rev thru each gear up to 6th gear not surpassing 3,000 rpm thru each shift. in 6th gear at 2500rpm, i'm already doing close to 45mph. if the cop is a schithead, he'll pull ya over for 10 over. usually won't get a ticket but it does happen. hit another main 3 lane street with a speed limit of 35mph. did the same thing with the gears, as usual. this street leads to the interstate.

by the time i get to the interstate, i've already done close to 4.5 miles. the bike is all nice and warmed up now. i get onto the entrance ramp and rev it up to about 3500rpm in 3rd gear thru 4th gear. into 5th gear, taking it nice and easy. into 6th, nice and easy. slowly get up to 80mph and pace along. made it to work in 15 minutes flat. not bad for a 10 mile ride in the big city.

so yeah, that's my typical riding behavior. never rev much past 3500rpm except when i am in 6th gear. i usually do around 70mph to 80mph on the freeway which is around 4400rpm to 5000rpm. love the power down low. and i know my rear tire is very happy about it, as well as my wallet. :wink:

[ This message was edited by: tekmoe on 2006-06-05 12:06 ]

[Dobieman]

OK R100 head over to the Honda dealer and see what kind of trade you can get on a Gull Wing :razz:

Just kidding....if you want to ride a track there is one near you in Jennings JenningsGP

I dont ride like a maniac in town or in traffic, I save it for the backroads. I am sure once you get away from the city there you can find them.



[ This message was edited by: Dobieman on 2006-06-05 12:06 ]

[cheapbastard]

Hey Rhundred, I appreciate your concern man. Of course, all you hear about from most of us are all of the crazy things we do. It would be pretty boring to talk about the regular, cruising at 60 stuff, right? So when you ask what kind of rider I am, I'm a normal everyday rider just like you. I ride to work, and when I do, I just chill out and ride. But when I get out to play on the weekends, it usually consists of a little hooliganism or squidly acts if ya wanna call it that. But, even then, it's not like that's what I do all of the time. We ride the speed limit alot, but of course, once we hit that really twisted road, we're gonna wick it up a bit. And occasionaly on that straight away, I'm gonna jack a wheelie up. I'm 30 yrs old and have 2 youngn's and a wife to take care of, so sure, I shouldn't be act'n a fool as much as I do, but that's what I enjoy.

Don't know if ya remember, but I had a friend of mine die right in front of my eyes about a month and a half ago, and I have to admit, it's changed my riding style a bit. I rarely hit the triple digits anymore. I've just come to realize, that the majority of the time, you can have just as much fun chill'n on the straights, and roll'n thru the turns. I used to act like a twisty road was a racetrack, never letting off of the throttle until the end of the road. But after seeing what I did, I realized it's just not worth it. Plus, all of my riding buddies have taken that step with me, so that helps too. We all still have a blast, and ride pretty hard thru some corners. Sure I still hit that magical ton every now and again, just on much less occasion now. I actually did this weekend, but just for a brief moment.

But as I said, I understand your concern, and really do appreciate it, but just understand that a few pics of some wheelies and top speed isn't how we ride everytime we get on there. We definately need the S3 forum weekend meet, I'd like to take my anger out on Limey! :kck: :-) Ya know, some of us are planning on meeting up at Deal's Gap in July. Think you can make it???

Be safe! :-D

[ This message was edited by: cheapbastard on 2006-06-05 12:46 ]

[R100Pilot]

Thanks for the info on Jennings. I'm gonna check it out if I ever get a weekend free. Usually I'm too busy doin' this:



As for the Gold Thing - y'know, every time I see one o' those, I just think "Get a car!" Especially if they're pullin' a trailer. The closest I get to a tourin' mount is my other mistress here...

[R100Pilot]

Yeah, I remember your experience, Cheap, and was thinkin' about that when I wrote. Kinda sobering.

I'd love to make a run. Right now the band's booked every weekend through the end of august - I think our bass player's tryin' to set some kind of record. Considering I've got a day job too, I'm lucky if I can get a couple of hours riding on Sundays in (well, not counting the hours I'm riding in traffic during the week).

[dr_gallup]

I've never been one to do burnouts although I do like to pop the occasional power wheelie. Just 1st or 2nd gear, nowhere close to the balance (flip over) point! I grew up riding dirt bikes, last one was a CR500, that would wheelie in 6th gear. I've had a motorcycle or 3 for 34 years now. My idea of fun is beveling off the edges of my boot soles in a 2nd gear hairpin, winding it out to redline before shutting down for the next corner. I exceed 100 mph on rare occasions but I never got around to doing a top speed run. I think 120 was the most Speedy ever saw. I have now had 3 major motorcycle accidents on the street in 28 years, all caused by automobile drivers. Only two broken bones in a lifetime of horseback riding, snow skiing, water skiing, bicycling, dirt biking, hiking, white water canoeing and street biking. Only one broken bone in the first 50 years. I hope this second break covers me for the next 50!

I think the most dangerous thing you can do on a bike is commuting! Just say no.

Some day I'll tell you about the time I totalled out my Canadian RD350 L/C into the side of a Ford Mustang that was blocking both lanes in the middle of a hairpin turn going up Ceaser's Head Mt. I stood it up, locked down the front brake, rode a stoppie into the passenger door and flew over the roof. My knees were the only part that touched the car, they both had orange paint on them. That got me spinning in the air, I was above the car looking straight down at it thinking I had never seen a Mustang from that angle before. I came down in a ball, did a shoulder roll (thank you, Judo training for learning how to fall) came up on my feet and ran out of it. Not a scratch. That bike was the most fun I ever had and it would only do 110 flat out. It did not have a scratch on it until it got wadded up, just like Speedy.

[ This message was edited by: dr_gallup on 2006-06-05 13:00 ]

[Hairball]

I totalled out my Canadian RD350 L/C into the side of a Ford Mustang that was blocking both lanes in the middle of a hairpin turn going up Ceaser's Head Mt.

I loved my RD350, 0 to 110 as fast as you could shift that little 2 smoker.
Mine was totally built - clip-on's, Basani chambers, ported & polished, Wiseco pistons...

My RD350 was removed from this planet by a 77 Eldorado... my fault...
...never turn left in front of one of those big suckers, They leave a mark.

I know the road your talking about on Ceasar's head, I use to take that route headed to Asheville from Easley SC. I only wished I had a bike back then.