uh... I need a runway, really... let me explain...

rhody

The new Ducati 1199 Panigale will be hitting the showrooms soon.

Thought I would give you a "first look".

Nice touch in the first video, chessmen, you will see what I mean, enjoy...

2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale S Superbike official video



Ducati 1199 Panigale - Development video



Ducati 1199 Panigale - Beauty video



Rhody...

rhody

As the weather gets colder the available grip goes with it. All summer I have been able to keep traction control off with no ill effects. However, when the mercury dips below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the tires need to be warm to get good grip while vertical or when leaned over. I learned this lesson when leaving the bike shop with cold tires (warmed up motor), I accelerated with decent throttle in first then rolled it on about 7K or so and instead of lifting the front wheel, the rear tire started spinning itself silly yawing to the left side. Pretty easy to bring under control but had the bike been on its side it would have been another story altogether and may have high sided me.

I decided to do a bit of reading on tire slipping, and as luck would have it ran into a nice write up in the December 2010 issue of Sport Rider Magazine. If a sport bike is heading down a straight section of road at 150 mph, a Racepak data acquisition system showed rear tire slippage of 5 percent, meaning the rear wheel was spinning at 157.5 mph. Heading uphill toward turn 6 at Willow Springs Raceway with the bike vertical the wheel slip is greater than 10 percent at 85 mph. In some turns slip can be as much as 40 percent. Finally, under braking negative slip is typically between 15 and 20 percent.

braking and sliding



skidding with valentino rossi



Rhody...

rhody

It has been over a week, almost two, since the beast and I have become acquainted. Today was perfect, mid sixties Fahrenheit, and I took a ride to try out my used 2009 ZX6 at the shop where it is waiting for parts. On the way there, even at slow speeds I was getting the rush, the "Buzz", it only got better on some near empty road, rolling through second and third gears to red line, 14000 rpm, nice and smooth, then hard on the brakes back to highway speed, all in about 15 to 20 seconds. Two fingers on the front brake was all that was needed to slow the bike, even harder on the brakes than acceleration. I really love this beast of a bike more and more as time goes on. If I could bottle and sell the feeling you get I when you ride it I would surely be a millionaire many times over by now.

On to the Kawasaki ZX6 then. My impression is that it is lower, the controls a bit sloppier, throttle and brakes, the suspension appears quite good although I didn't twiddle any of the settings. The bike gives you a nice tingly butt massage at 8K rpm and above, which I kind of like, as expected the rush is not as intense or anywhere near what the beast is capable of (no power wheelies to contend with). Plus the exhaust is whisper quiet by comparison, my bike tops the db meter at 109 db. The dorky mirrors have to go, and the handlebars are not too bad, a little lower than the other bike, but they are swept at a steeper angle so the bar end mirrors will be a risk. I may need the higher flatter handlebars simply for the mirrors sake. There is more room to stretch out as well, which is nice. I wish the BMW had more room, but not by much.

All the ugly graphics except for one are the gas tank are easily removed as well, which I plan to do. A last impression is that it took almost 3000 miles to get truly comfortable on the BMW, whereas on this bike I think the learning curve will be 1500 miles or even less. Only time will tell for sure, but I think the 600 will be more fun on the track, and give at least 50% more room for error than the BMW.

It is funny too, I was talking to my salesman friend at the shop who has been selling bikes for years, and when I asked him what percentage of his customers were decent fast and above all safe riders, he said about twenty five percent. That's about it for now folks.

Rhody...

rhody

Close racing, very exciting, and yes, these guys are nuts...

Irish Road Racing 2009 - Southern 100 - Solo race highlights



Rhody...

turbo

Wow! Those stone walls don't look too comforting as road-race barriers.

rhody

I agree, less than a foot away from them, is not my idea of fun, even at street legal speeds. How can you watch this youtube video, and not the one in the HotStuff thread I posted, I am confused.

Rhody...

turbo

I have to resort to work-arounds, at times, like letting a video start, pausing it, then waiting for it to buffer. Even low-res stuff like 60 minutes clips can be problematic if I try to stream them. I have a crap ADSL connection, so I have to pick and choose where I want to spend my bandwidth and my time.

rhody

Pause a moment to consider, would this have happened if the guy hitting the downed bike had been 3 seconds earlier or later in that corner. I think about situation like this all the time. The guy crashing into the oncoming bike "target fixated" for sure. Had he not and looked and reacted with a fast move to his right, he may have avoided the head on.

Johnny5 Head on Crash 07/23/2011



Rhody...

rhody

Interesting commercial for the new 2012 Yamaha YZF-R1 with traction control with MotoGP rider, Ben Spies.

Born from MotoGP feat. Ben Spies & his 2012 YZF-R1



Rhody...

rhody

British Superbike Highlights



Pay attention at 1:15, and again at 1:17, ouch... and again at 2:18 a whole different feeling altogether, the "Buzz".

BSB 2011 - Season clip



This one is even better... real close racing to the tune of 0.005 of a second for the win, good to see John Hopkins healthy and winning again...

Rhody...

rhody

No words necessary other than phenomenal bike control, amazing... I am jealous...

Concours de pilotage



Rhody...

rhody

Interesting WSJ article: The Master of Machine-Age Motorcycles
More than a few owners of his creations agree with his thought and execution process resulting in a "one of" piece of rolling art designed to outlive the owner.

Rhody...

rhody

This race came down to the last corner, and a single one second last minute decision by Valentino Rossi.
Amazing racing by two of the best, head to head, and as one announcer put it, "Rossi pulled the pin".

Catalunya 2009 Motogp 'Rossi teaches Lorenzo a lesson!'

Rhody...

rhody

Kidney stones, schmidney stones, stent, Bleh... pain until next Thurs when the "STINKING STENT" comes out, for those who don't know a stent is, it is a tube that they insert in another tube in your body, in this case my right ureter (the tube between a kidney and your bladder). I needed some mental clarity, and relief from annoying but not excruciating pain. As luck would have it, the weather was awesome tonight so I took the BMW out for 20 minutes. What a relief and a nice rush. I swear these fast bikes in careful hands are the best therapy in the world for those that truly appreciate and respect what they are capable of. They are a good way to clear your head too.

Now it is back to reality. After my ride, I took a pain pill to mask the pain that I have put up with for the last twelve hours or so, it is working right now, even though it only masks it. I hold out for as long as I can. I have good days when nothing is needed. Unfortunately, today wasn't one of them.

Rhody...

turbo

Sorry to hear about the pain, Rhody. I am not real tolerant of opiates (unless you call puking "tolerant") and am quite leery of the OTC painkillers. Motrin just got recalled, BTW.

rhody

I hate them too Turbo, the thought of someone taking ten or twelve of these things at once to get high really or feel normal makes me wonder how they can tolerate the side effects. I take them when I can't get decent rest, or when the nagging pain starts to make me cranky and nasty around other people.

People at work were laughing at me today, so I just sucked it up till I got home. Then a nice ride and one pill took all the edge off. It is funny too, Tues and Wed I didn't need anything, but today wasn't one of those pain free days. I was a little worried and a call to the nurse in the urologist's office assured me this is normal, so I am more at ease now, I just have to accept there will be good days and not so good days, I was hoping each day would get a bit better than the last, but it is not to be.

Rhody...

rhody

Today was a special day for me, unusual weather for January, mid 50's, the beast and I became reacquainted, and after the first 5 minutes on an access road with the front end 6 inches above the ground in 1st and 2nd gear the endorphins kicked in, what a feeling, true bliss, in real time, you can't reclaim it, in the moment you own it, no one can take it away, it is precious to me, ephemeral, you can't put it into words because words alone can't describe it. It rivals the most intense feeling I have ever had. I only wish others had the will, to discover their own sense of bliss. It has changed my perception, appreciation of my brief fleeting moment on this small speck of a planet in an unremarkable galaxy among one hundred billion or so (or so we think) in our Universe (multi-verse ?).

Just in case any of you are wondering, it is the end of the day and Patron may have clouded or focused my thinking. I am sorry, for a number of reasons I care not to share with any but my most trusted friends, this is the most I can share with you. BTW, the Patron came after the beast ride, I was clear and totally grounded during the ride. Wide eyed and in the moment.

Rhody...