Robyn's Blog

Thursday, April 1st

Robyn's Final entry

mood: A little sad

We'll I guess I should catch everyone up on what's happened.

I had the Orthoscopic Knee Surgery to 'hopefully' help make riding easier on my knee.
Recovery was going along pretty good, but Robyn sat (unbeknownst to me) with leaky fork seals.

Well, one day after physical therapy, I'm feeling pretty good and I decide to take one of my favorite routes to work to get some twisty road action in before I got into the office. When I got to the 1st set of corners, I could feel the front end vibrating through the short right-hander I was in. Felt like I wasn't getting good traction but I didn't have a lot of time to think about it because I had to stand her up and tip her into a long left-hander.

As I was in the left-hander, I could fell the front end vibrating again. Just when I started to think I should stand her up to get some more traction . . the front end tucked. crazy

Off I go at about 50mph. I got pretty banged up:
3 broken bones in left hand (2 just hairline)
Road rash on knees (yep, I was just wearing jeans)
Road rash on both hands (right through my gloves)

Robyn got pretty banged up too. crying
She just sat in the garage for a while after that.

I then found out I was going to be relocated to the Silicon Valley for work.
I packed up Robyn with the rest of my things and dropped her off the my buddy Steve.
I told Steve "Part her out and see what you can get for her."

By the end of the week Steve had figured out that, with some trading, he could re-build Robyn.
She wouldn't have some of the trick parts anymore, but she could be ridden.
So this is what Steve was able to do:
Robyn_Red (65k image)

I rode her around for a bit, but the urge to get something a little smaller in displacement was still there.
Plus, after having a tricked out Robyn, she just wasn't quite the same anymore.
Robyn_Red_Ride (64k image)
Robyn_Red_Ride2 (57k image)

It just so happened that the zipper on my motorcycle jacket had broken. So, I decided to run over to a local shop and pick up a new one. When I got out the my Durago, I noticed a black Ducati 749 parked with the other used bikes for sale out front. I went in and found a new jacket and then ask the sales guy how much they wanted for it. The price he quoted me was in the right ballpark IF they would give me a decent price for the trade-in of my R1. I told them I'd be right back to let them take a look at Robyn.

I drove home, threw on my new jacket, jumped on Robyn and rode back over to the shop. After I got back with Robyn and they looked her over, they told me they would give my the Kelly Blue Book value for Robyn. That was good enough for me big grin

So, I no longer own Robyn. She was a great bike that ended up being a good bike in the end. I still miss that top end rush that the R1 has a bit, but in comparison to the superb handling of my 749 . . I'm willing to sacrifice that extra horsepower that I can use almost anywhere for the improved handling I can get everywhere.

So long Robyn, you won't be forgotten . . or really missed that much either. wink
Robyn_Gone (55k image)

If you want to see the new bike, check out Duchess web-site.
[Karma: 1 (+/-)] Stan on 04.01.09 @ 02:39 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

Wednesday, November 28th

So why haven't I been riding much?

mood: Bummed

This is a question I've had to ask myself lately. So, I made an attempt last weekend and got a really good reminder why.

Riding aggressively, on a track or canyon road requires I bend my knee past 90 degrees. My right knee has been giving me problems though. It has since I started riding really, but gotten worse over time.

I can put to work but having my knee bent for too long is painful, but that's the position my body needs to be in for me to be comfortable riding . . spiritedly.

Finally decided to see a doctor about it today. He informed me that I have Osteoarthritis of the Knee after examining me and looking at this X-Ray:

MyKnee2 (26k image)

This was the first time I've seen an X-Ray of my knee since the reconstructive ACL surgery I had in 1989. That is why I have the 2 screws in there.

I think a recent tear in my right lateral meniscus is to blame for the recent acute pain I've been having in my knee.

I should be getting an MRI soon. More info to come...

crazy
[Karma: -10 (+/-)] Stan on 11.28.07 @ 10:29 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

Sunday, May 6th

A Ride with the SBR crew

I decided to spend the Cinco De Mayo Holiday celebrating in my own way, riding with the Crew from SBR in and around the Skyline Blvd and see the famous Alice's Restaurant. I only took a couple of pictures, but Andy, Texaswasabi & dreze1 of the SBR crew have already took some many good ones that I decided it was better to use theirs. wink

R1-SBRRide (147k image)

ApexMolester (Steve) hosted me for the weekend at his place and planned one hell of a ride. Almost 350 miles of the twister roads you can find in the Santa Cruz Mtns., Easy Bay and the Lower Sacramento Valley.

We started out by meeting dreze1 (Eshan) and some of the guys at the Shell Station in Seaside. We then rode up to Alice's. Steve took some nice new Sato parts to BB (Brian) on the back of the KTM. When we got there, Texaswasabi (Mike) was snapping pictures. It was good to see Brian and Mike again.

We then hooked up with the posse Andy brought with him. After a quick conversation with Andy, we remembered that the Micron pipe I bought for my ZR-7s back in the day was from him. Small world huh? wink

Andy is a great photographer and an outstanding rider. He got some great action shots and led us on a lot of . . well . . goat trails. But it's all good . . TwistedGray (Tommy), Steve and myself hit some stuff that was a bit more liter bike friendly later in the day. wink

R1-SBRRide-04 (93k image)

R1-SBRRide-05 (62k image)

R1-SBRRide-09 (80k image)

All and all, a great day of riding. Although I did realize that my new perforated suit is not good in cool weather without a sweater underneath.

R1-SBRRide-15 (61k image)

Thanks SBR Crew for letting me ride with such a fun bunch:
R1-SBRRide-14 (54k image)
[Karma: -2 (+/-)] Stan on 05.06.07 @ 02:49 AM PST [link] [No Comments]

Monday, March 26th

Star Motorcyle School

mood: Pleased

SMS_Cornering_1 (63k image)

Today I attended Jason Pridmore's Star Motorcycle School at Willow Springs Raceway's Streets of Willow Track.

STAR stands for Skill & Techniques for Advanced Riding. They run a 2 group format to maximize the amount of track time each student gets, an Advanced group and a Street group. Since this was my first time attending the Star Motorcycle School, I thought it would be best if I didn't "skip any steps" and start out in the Street riders group. (Jason also recommended it in the riders meeting)

Before the riders meeting and after I got my gear and Robyn through tech inspection, I took a few pictures of the pits and of the STAR Motorcycle Truck and rental bikes.

After the riders meeting, the Advanced group hit the track first. This gave me an opportunity to get a picture with Danny Eslick (AMA 600 SS & FX #69) our guest instructor and with the top dog, Jason Pridmore.

SMS_Danny&Stan (61k image)

SMS_Jason&Stan (74k image)

We were told that after the first free session, the riders in the Street group that felt they were fast enough could move up. This was mostly because there were a lot of riders in a Street group and only about 10 in the Advanced group.

The Streets of Willow is my "home" track. I've only ever been on one other track, so I'm really comfortable here and basically have good lines and reference points. I was hoping to learn a little something new about the track and some new riding techniques, and I did.

One of the important tips that I picked up in this class was RPM Management. Keeping the bike in it's optimal rev range smooths the bike out and makes shifting easier. As Jason said in the class "Most people use too many gears". I found this true of myself as well. With less shifting, I could spend more of my concentration on other things.

I practiced this during our first 2 sessions and started to really get a feel for it half way through the second session. This was also the first free session. I was finding myself passing a LOT of people. When I realized that I had lapped one of the riders twice in the 20 minute session, I knew it was time to move up.

I pulled off after the session and went right over to Jason and asked to be moved up. He told Buzz to follow me around for a few laps to make sure I'd be ok in the Advanced group. After a couple of laps of going balls out . . . he passed me confused . He then tapped the back of his bike and had me follow him for a lap.

At the end of the 3rd lap, he pulled me off the track and gave me some really good tips on a few corners that were causing me trouble. Buzz said I was fast enough to be in the Advanced Group and that I had no business being in the Street Riders group. I told him I'd never been to the Star School before, so I didn't want to skip anything important. He was pleased I was willing to be patient about going fast but said the only thing he felt he needed to correct was how I was taking those 2 corners (Turn 2 and Turn 4).

He said he didn't really want to tell me about those because he might not be able to pass me again. smile Of course, I'm sure he probably still could have if he really wanted to. wink

Once I moved up to the Advanced Group, I was having a lot more fun. I even got a chance to chases Danny Eslick around for a little bit. I was only staying close because I was on a liter bike and he was on a 600. wink

At this point in the day, I wasn't getting passed much, but there was one student that was fast on his GSXR-1000, Steve. Steve and I seemed to battle all day, with him winning most of the battles. I could usually pull on him entering the corner, but the grunt of that GSXR was too much for Robyn on the corner exits. If I was in front and kept a good line though, he had a really hard time passing me. All in all, we had a lot of fun.

Here's my proof that I could get Steve going into the corner: wink

Anyway, The other big tip that I picked up was a down-shifting technique that prevents you from having to blip the throttle on down-shifts. I don't want to disclose all of their "secrets" though, so I'm not going to give any more details here. You'll have to attend the class yourself to find out more.

One of the last big thrills of the day for me was getting to ride 2-up with Jason Pridmore. This was done right after a session that I "thought" I was just flying around the track. Jason was a Top Level AMA racer for a reason. All day I was passing people at the end of the back straight doing about 120mph. On my 2-up ride with Jason, we went through there at about 145mph. crazy

What was really astounding, was not just how fast he was, but how smooth . . with everything. Someone asked me if he grabbed a down-shift going through the back kink and I KNOW he had to have grabbed one, but I never felt or heard it. His braking was eye-popping, yet smooth. It was like you you'd start to wonder if he was starting to brake and then suddenly it was like WOAH!! He's braking!!

The first lap I felt like I was going to make us crash because I wasn't in rhythm with him because I wasn't looking far enough up the track. Once I started to look as far down the track as I'm think he was looking, I could shift my body weight at the correct times. The second lap was smoother and consequently, much faster.

I would have to say that as a rider that has developed a pretty good arsenal of skills and wants to find ways to get that little bit extra out of those skills . . Star Motorcycle School is an excellent value. I don't know however, if I would recommend Star Motorcycle School to new riders. Not because it's not safe, far from it. It's the only track day I've ever been to with only 1 crash. I just don't feel like the skills/lessons being taught are done in a way that someone who doesn't already have a certain level of skill would easily be able to pick up. Or maybe STAR was just doing it's job as a school and fitting itself to my needs.

I still think that maybe newer riders, would be better off and less intimidated at CLASS (Jason's father Reg's School). But I'm not a new rider anymore, so I'll be back to see Jason and Crew again. big grin
[Karma: 14 (+/-)] Stan on 03.26.07 @ 08:57 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

Tuesday, March 6th

Take it 2 The Track

mood: satisfied

Ti2TT_Action01 (53k image)

I know I've been kind of slacking as far as keeping my riding adventures chronicled here, but just how many times can you read that I went to the Rock Store or Angeles Crest Highway. Besides, it was winter and even in SoCal, the riding slows down a bit because of the weather.

Now that the Motorcycle Season has officially started (WSBK started last weekend and MotoGP starts this weekend), I decided it was time for me to get out to the track. It's kind of a birthday present to myself too. wink I couldn't find anything directly on my birthday (March 12th) but I was able to sign up for a Ti2TT Track Day at Willow Springs Raceway on March 5th (on the big track) and one day with Jason Pridmore's Star Motorcycle School on March 26th at the Streets of Willow (the small track).

I'll post the Star Motorcycle School report here once I get back. Here's my Ti2TT report.

Since this was the first time I had used my truck for a track day, I was happy to finally use it for it's intended purpose. It worked out perfectly. Robyn fits in the truck bed with just enough room for me to close the tailgate. smile

I got myself up bright and early and drove out to the track. I got to Rosamond in time enough to get some breakfast at the Jack In The Box that's right off the freeway exit. I drove out to the track and got through gate check-in with no problems. Got instructions on where I could and could not pit and proceeded to unload.

Ti2TT_Unloaded (107k image)

After unloading, I went to registration. Ti2TT is a very well organized and friendly Track Day Organization. After signing all the necessary releases of liability, I was given a ticket that I would use to:
1. Get Authorized to get my bike inspected by Tech
2. Be entered into the raffle for prizes at lunch.

I went back and took the bike over to Tech. My buddy Freddie works for Ti2TT and just happened to do my tech inspection. He knows the bike so he didn't spend much time checking it for anything wrong. He actually just drooled over the upgrades for a bit and then I was back to my pit.

Ti2TT had the Riders meeting at 8:30am. Everyone gathered and we where given the on track rules of conduct, which differ from group to group. We were given a quick refresher on the flags and the on track group schedule. It turned out my group (B) would be on in 20 minutes (after the A group).

I was a bit nervous, because I had never been on this track before, and it's a FAST track. The fastest in the West Coast. I was just about to find out how fast. crazy

I went back and put on my gear. Soon, I heard the 5 minute call and I rolled over to the Hot Pit. We were lead on 1 sighting lap to get our bearings and then it was go time. I took it pretty easy in this session, but just as I was starting to get a feel for the track and get warmed up, the session was over.

I knew I was going to go much harder in the second session, and I did. I was seeing 140+ at the end of the front straight and about 120+ going into turn 8. I'd heard that people can get 150+ going into turn 8.

The third session and last one before lunch (provided by Ti2TT), I was going really good. Experimenting with new lines and really riding with some aggression. I was now seeing 150+ at the end of the front straight and 140+ going into turn 8.

Ti2TT_LetsRide (137k image)

After lunch, I took it easy in the first part of that first session back. Wanted to be sure my tires were warm and my brain was back up to speed. By the second session after lunch, I was flying around that track again. Of course, I was still getting passed occasionally by some skilled riders, but I was doing a LOT of passing. I had gotten a good rhythm and was actually starting to drag knee consistently in turn 6. This was setting me up for a good run through Turn 7 into Turn 8. I was finally seeing 150+ going into turn 8 and seeing a staggering 160+ on the front straight. crazy

By this point in the day, fuel was starting to become an issue. It's amazing how fast you can burn through a tank of gas when you can do wide open throttle for an extended period of time. This track has 2 spots that are like that, the front straight and from the exit of Turn 6 all the way into Turn 8.

I had to cut my last 2 sessions short because I simply didn't bring enough extra with me. I brought an extra tank full (5 gallons) but should have brought more. Live and Learn.

These pictures are of my tires. The first one is my rear tire after the 2nd morning session. The second is my rear tire at the end of the day. The 3rd is my front tire at the end of the day. Keep in mind, these tires were brand new when I started the day.

Ti2TT_PackingUp (117k image)

One thing that I was worried about at Willow was the wind. I've heard some nasty rumors about how bad it can be in turn 8. I'm happy to report that it was the IDEAL weather for a track day. There was little to no wind and it was in the mid-70s.

Can't wait until I go to Star Motorcycle school in 3 weeks. big grin

I also wanted to add a special thanks to Brian at CaliPhotography for the great action shots of me on the track. Good looking out bro.
[Karma: 5 (+/-)] Stan on 03.06.07 @ 09:44 PM PST [link]

April 2009
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