2001 and newer.
07-09-2010, 07:14 PM
#31
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Wheelies are fun until you have to replace the bearings (said the old man).
BTW: The FJ would never lift a wheel. I thought it was because of the long wheelbase, but 58.7 inches doesn't sound THAT long to me. The bike had mad amounts of torque, though.
BTW: The FJ would never lift a wheel. I thought it was because of the long wheelbase, but 58.7 inches doesn't sound THAT long to me. The bike had mad amounts of torque, though.
07-09-2010, 07:48 PM
#33
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well if you want to coax the front end up with a little less stress on the bike, you can grab the front brake, the front will dive of course, and as the forks rebound, turn the throttle quickly as you pull up on the clip-ons. Using fork rebound aided with pull up will bring the front up easily.
07-09-2010, 08:09 PM
#34
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Location: Lake View Terrace, CA
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as it ran a 10.7
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/mod...j1100%2084.htm
07-09-2010, 09:45 PM
#35
Senior Member
Superstock
Superstock
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Posts: 293
And of course, the quarter mile times are all for bragging rights only, as I can tell you, having more hp won't get you down the track faster if you don't set up the bike right for drag racing. These guys aren't getting these times on a bike off the showroom floor. They are strapping the front ends to get more weight over the front wheel. And they are practicing...a lot. It's incredibly difficult to get a bike to bark off a beautiful drag launch...especially with a hydraulic clutch. Bottom line is, it's going to be easier to get your automatic Corvette Z06 to run closer to it's potential than your bike on the street. All this talk of beating cars is kind of ridiculous, as it's totally apples to oranges. Heck, the freaking CX500 cafe build going on elsewhere in this forum should be able to embarrass plenty of cars out there based on power to weight ratio alone...but it's always going to come down to rider skill.
I went to a test and tune with my turbo bandit and my buddy and his turbo'd ZRX a few years back. I didn't run that day (They wouldn't let me run without full race leathers and I was in textile gear). My buddy had fabbed a custom 8" over swingarm and strapped the front end, and he still had problems with it trying to wheelie. All he could manage was mid 10's...mostly on the rear wheel. That's on a bike with over 225hp.
It's all in the skill of the rider. Always has been, always will be.
Also, that SH is gonna lose power at +5000 ft. There's really no way around it. You can jet optimally for altitude, but that's not going to get you hp back that you would have at a lower (denser) altitude. Lower gearing is your friend at altitude.
I went to a test and tune with my turbo bandit and my buddy and his turbo'd ZRX a few years back. I didn't run that day (They wouldn't let me run without full race leathers and I was in textile gear). My buddy had fabbed a custom 8" over swingarm and strapped the front end, and he still had problems with it trying to wheelie. All he could manage was mid 10's...mostly on the rear wheel. That's on a bike with over 225hp.
It's all in the skill of the rider. Always has been, always will be.
Also, that SH is gonna lose power at +5000 ft. There's really no way around it. You can jet optimally for altitude, but that's not going to get you hp back that you would have at a lower (denser) altitude. Lower gearing is your friend at altitude.
07-10-2010, 10:59 AM
#37
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Well to me the whole drag racing thing is rather pointless, I've just been playing along due to boredom....
While beating a 600 down the block might bring some pleasure, it is nothing compared to a riding buddy coming up to you after a ride (who is on a liter bike) and saying, "How do you come out of the corners so quick, I could barely keep up with you"...... Now that is a good day.
While beating a 600 down the block might bring some pleasure, it is nothing compared to a riding buddy coming up to you after a ride (who is on a liter bike) and saying, "How do you come out of the corners so quick, I could barely keep up with you"...... Now that is a good day.
07-10-2010, 12:25 PM
#38
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Squid
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 48
No offense to my mile high friends (actually going there next week to do some whitewater rafting) but, with a normally aspirated engine, your performance will suffer considerably at that altitude. Even with proper jetting it doesn't surprise me that it's difficult to get it up...no pun intended. Honestly, since I'm a big car and bike guy, that is the main reason I don't live in Colorado.
07-12-2010, 06:51 AM
#39
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Tweety you go on the road in FULL leathers every time? I have a jacket gloves and helmet i wear all the time. If it makes me "stupid" to not wear race pants then I've never seen a smart rider on the road. EVER!
07-12-2010, 06:54 AM
#40
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And 8541 I took your advice and did some twisties with my two buddies on cbrs. I had a blast but wow do I have a lot to learn. The left me like I was standing still. Granted I did come out of a turn to find my friend riding out of the weeds.
07-12-2010, 07:56 AM
#41
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Join Date: Oct 2009
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I'm sure your friends are nice guys, but it sounds like thEY are the types of people I would go out with ONCE. There’s nothing worse than worrying that your buddy is going to go off the road and hit a tree or something. That's happened a few times to me a few times and it sucks bad.
Pick up a copy of Keith Code’s Twist of the Wrist (II) and take your time, PW. If you start off right you can avoid having to fight against bad habits.
CR
Pick up a copy of Keith Code’s Twist of the Wrist (II) and take your time, PW. If you start off right you can avoid having to fight against bad habits.
CR
07-12-2010, 07:58 AM
#42
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Oh, look, here's the book as a PDF:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...KnCXyNAqcutpeg
(Google search in case the link is bad: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&rlz=1R2...ae37bcc0eae736)
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...KnCXyNAqcutpeg
(Google search in case the link is bad: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&rlz=1R2...ae37bcc0eae736)
07-12-2010, 08:27 AM
#45
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Oh and I was able to bust my first wheelie this weekend. At this altitude I dont think the bike will do it on power alone but with the clutch in first it is super easy. I tried it on my friends Cbr 600 and even reving to 10.5k and dropping the clutch the front doesnt come up very high.
07-12-2010, 08:49 AM
#46
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
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Location: Skurup, Sweden
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And yeah, 90% of the time I'm on my bike I wear the full leather suit, boots with ankleprotection, gloves, backprotector and helmet... Doesn't matter if it's like now, 35-36C (95-96F) or not, I still wear it...
I sometimes compromise if I'm going somewhere to a meeting or such, and wear dragging jeans with kneeprotectors, and the jacket... But that's pretty rare...
Think of it this way... at anything above 25 mph going down wearing jeans is like sitting your *** on a spinning grinder... You know the sandpaper ones...
You go try using one of those on a pair of jeans and compare it to when doing it with leather pants... I bet you'll wear leather pants next time you ride... Because the grinder easily eats through the jeans, skin, flesh and into the bone... So does tarmac... The leather is much tougher to go through, but it gets through after a while...
And the kneeprotectors isn't as much for impact protection as they are there to make it less likely to grind of the jeans and skin above the kneecap or any other joint if you go sliding...
Your level of stupidity or not is up to you to judge... I follow one simple rule... ATGATT!
07-12-2010, 08:55 AM
#47
Out of my mind, back in 5
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BTW... Especially going out canyon carving in jeans and a leather jacket seems like a bad idea... The risk for injury is probably greater here than at the dragstrip, and the paramedics are further away... But to each their own...
07-12-2010, 09:09 AM
#48
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I understand your appreciation for safety. You will never fully remove risk from riding a motorcycle. But, if everyone followed your rule to wear leather pants or stay off the road, you would start to feel pretty lonely. Im looking into those Kevlar reinforced jeans that Shift makes. But that still doesnt mean they will let me on the drag strip.
07-12-2010, 09:17 AM
#49
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
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Well... It's not a rule that you need to wear them... It's a rule that you need to own the protective gear or stay of the road...
Wear them, don't wear them... Your call... But I'm wearing them...
Wear them, don't wear them... Your call... But I'm wearing them...
07-12-2010, 10:40 AM
#51
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While you might not like what Tweet has said to you, he does have a good point. I never get on the bike without fully gear. You never know when you might hit the ground and the proper gear can make all the difference.
The old saying that there are 2 types of bikers, those that have fallen and those that are going to fall is very true. I went a little over 13 years since my last get off and then I had 2 in 2 years.
The first low side put me the the hospital for a week with 4 broken ribs and a punchered lung. If I didn't have full gear on, it would have been much worse.
The second low side, 3 months ago, I walked away with just a banged up knee where the bike landed on me. Either one of those crashes would have been much worse if I would have had to deal with road rash.
So wear whatever you want but just know that spending some money on good gear can and will save you from a lot of pain later on. You don't need a one piece racing suit but at least get a good set of textiles for "normal" street riding and if you do plan to wick it up a bit, invest in some leather (one or two piece). Just take this as some advice from someone who has been there and has kissed the asphalt a few times over the years.
The old saying that there are 2 types of bikers, those that have fallen and those that are going to fall is very true. I went a little over 13 years since my last get off and then I had 2 in 2 years.
The first low side put me the the hospital for a week with 4 broken ribs and a punchered lung. If I didn't have full gear on, it would have been much worse.
The second low side, 3 months ago, I walked away with just a banged up knee where the bike landed on me. Either one of those crashes would have been much worse if I would have had to deal with road rash.
So wear whatever you want but just know that spending some money on good gear can and will save you from a lot of pain later on. You don't need a one piece racing suit but at least get a good set of textiles for "normal" street riding and if you do plan to wick it up a bit, invest in some leather (one or two piece). Just take this as some advice from someone who has been there and has kissed the asphalt a few times over the years.
07-12-2010, 10:45 AM
#52
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Squid
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 48
If you can't afford the protection, you shouldn't be playing.
Spoken as someone who has gone down with a full monkey suit and my ONLY injury was that I couldnt walk for 3 months without crutches. I'd be dead now if it weren't for my suit, which wear even if I'm going to the store down the street.
Am I preaching, maybe, but I've got the experience to back it up.
Spoken as someone who has gone down with a full monkey suit and my ONLY injury was that I couldnt walk for 3 months without crutches. I'd be dead now if it weren't for my suit, which wear even if I'm going to the store down the street.
Am I preaching, maybe, but I've got the experience to back it up.
07-12-2010, 10:52 AM
#53
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
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Oh... I could probably add that I have worn through two full monkey suits on two different occasions and walked away with a light rash... Jeans is not an option for me...
Draggin or similar kevlar jeans are OK for special occasions, but not as your everyday gear...
There is another old saying that is very, very true... You never plan to fail, but fail to plan... Ie I'm not expecting to go sliding down the road on my ***... But if I do end up doing it, I prefer to do it on a cows hide, not my own...
Draggin or similar kevlar jeans are OK for special occasions, but not as your everyday gear...
There is another old saying that is very, very true... You never plan to fail, but fail to plan... Ie I'm not expecting to go sliding down the road on my ***... But if I do end up doing it, I prefer to do it on a cows hide, not my own...
07-12-2010, 11:43 AM
#54
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My arguement was never that It wasn't a good idea to wear leather. My point is that I dont have the cash for them right now. Thats why I was bench racing. And while it is a good idea to wear leather pants an extremely large majority of sportbike riders go in jeans. It is less safe it is not uncommon. That is why Tweety's response surprised me. Being someone that ALWAYS wears an armored jacket and gloves I feel that I am one of the more responsible riders out there. It is no secret that leathers are safer. But to act like I'm the only person you've ever talked to that doesnt ride in full leathers is a bit much. I don't have leathers so I don't go to the track. I believe this topic came up in last months Cycle World. A reader was upset that they put a rider on the cover in jeans. Cycle World(might have been Motorcyclist I bought both) followed up by quoting a pro Superbike racer who claims that when on the street he wears a Helmet and Gloves and thats all.
07-12-2010, 12:02 PM
#55
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
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Location: Skurup, Sweden
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But to give you some perspective on why I expressed that opinion to you the way I did, I also refuse to ride in a group with someone that isn't geared up. I will either ride of on my own, or ask him or her to do so... I have done that several times around here when I got group rides together...
I have been down, and I'm 100% sure everybody else on a bike will go down, sooner or later...
Uh... Sorry, I have a different opinon... But like I said, to each their own...
07-12-2010, 12:04 PM
#56
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I believe this topic came up in last months Cycle World. A reader was upset that they put a rider on the cover in jeans. Cycle World(might have been Motorcyclist I bought both) followed up by quoting a pro Superbike racer who claims that when on the street he wears a Helmet and Gloves and thats all.
07-12-2010, 12:25 PM
#57
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Dress for the crash is the way I heard it years ago.
In NC, where I lived until recently, everyone wore full protection all the time. Here in Maine people rarely even wear helmets and I've seen lots of folks in shorts.
Buy the best you can afford, then buy better when you have more money. The nice thing about good kit is that it follows you even if you decide to trade away the bike and get something new. You won’t regret a good pair of boots the way you might a crappy bike.
When I started I wore a used Bell Captain America helmet I bought at a yard sale, Doc Martin boots and work gloves. It got me going, but I consider myself lucky. And I wasn’t on a 100-HP sportbike, I was on a 15-HP RD125. I think in a lot of ways we just know more now that we did then, but we’re also in a world where someone like Mike or Tweety, who have concrete experience, can offer you solid advice.
(My dad was luckly just like me, but my brother-in-law wasn't and he now has pins in his legs and my buddy -- a prof at the school I went to -- wasn't and now he's in the ground.)
I know it can be discouraging thinking about spending a 1.5k or more just for good gear, but it will last you, and it’s probably the single most important part of motorcycling these first few years of riding. If you’re tight for cash, go to the BMW marketplace and lurk. Things come up, especially as we get closer to winter.
To be perfectly honest, I think you need good gear, but I’m just as worried about you riding with dumbsh*ts, drag racing corvettes and trying out wheelies before you’ve really got a handle of the physics of riding.
CR
In NC, where I lived until recently, everyone wore full protection all the time. Here in Maine people rarely even wear helmets and I've seen lots of folks in shorts.
Buy the best you can afford, then buy better when you have more money. The nice thing about good kit is that it follows you even if you decide to trade away the bike and get something new. You won’t regret a good pair of boots the way you might a crappy bike.
When I started I wore a used Bell Captain America helmet I bought at a yard sale, Doc Martin boots and work gloves. It got me going, but I consider myself lucky. And I wasn’t on a 100-HP sportbike, I was on a 15-HP RD125. I think in a lot of ways we just know more now that we did then, but we’re also in a world where someone like Mike or Tweety, who have concrete experience, can offer you solid advice.
(My dad was luckly just like me, but my brother-in-law wasn't and he now has pins in his legs and my buddy -- a prof at the school I went to -- wasn't and now he's in the ground.)
I know it can be discouraging thinking about spending a 1.5k or more just for good gear, but it will last you, and it’s probably the single most important part of motorcycling these first few years of riding. If you’re tight for cash, go to the BMW marketplace and lurk. Things come up, especially as we get closer to winter.
To be perfectly honest, I think you need good gear, but I’m just as worried about you riding with dumbsh*ts, drag racing corvettes and trying out wheelies before you’ve really got a handle of the physics of riding.
CR
07-12-2010, 12:31 PM
#58
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Join Date: May 2010
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Again not arguing that it isn't a good idea. There is no doubt in my mind that you two know from experience. And like I said I will get leathers when I have some cash but until then I guess I will just have to be stupid.
07-12-2010, 12:45 PM
#59
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The only thing I am new to is street turns. I have ridden dirt bikes for years. Wheelies and straight lines are not new to me. The only place im not comfortable, yet, is getting low to the ground in a turn. And I never denied that gear isn't important but I've waited a long time for my bike, I have a nice helmet and a nice jacket, and I'm not gonna park my bike just because I don't have leather pants.
