www.citybikerblog.com » sportbikes

Engage ludicrous speed…

CityBiker1 — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:42:47 +0000

Since we mentioned speed – and didn’t talk about the ridiculously fast of the fast (because all bikes are generally fast)… It’s nice to look back a couple of years when ridiculously fast meant riding one of these wide bodied, harder-to-turn (but comfy!) 1400cc bikes… Thanks to MCN for comparing them to the current power leaders for those us… since we’d never really get to open one
of these up around NY traffic – or even on the track, around here, the straights are too short to really see what these bikes can do…

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How to rock the TT…

CityBiker1 — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:38:14 +0000

This is some great onboard footage from the Isle of Man TT – when the coolest Island in the world opens itself to some of the fastest riders… What makes this video worth a close viewing is, this is Guy Martin himself giving a play by play of how to make a fast lap… filled with plenty of practical advice…”[go] slow on the slow, and fast on the fast.” Notice how important road markers are, and how he’s always looking ahead for the next break marker, turn point, as well as planning for how good the traction is on any particular part of the road… Cool.

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A quick lap around Losail

CityBiker1 — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:33:49 +0000

If you ever wondered what it would be like for a regular sport rider to take a lap around the MotoGP track in Qatar, here’s the MCN video from the Kawasaki ZX-10 press conference. Three neat things about riding Losail: one, you can only go at night because it’s so darn hot during the day. Two, the lights make it as bright as day, so that MotoGP riders wear tinted visors. And three, it’s perfectly flat. No elevation changes. And sometimes that makes it hard to see or remember which turn you’re on.

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The Future of Gearboxes?

Leo — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:29:49 +0000

High performance cars (like the Ferrari with auto clutch) made the shift some time ago from standard gearboxes to electronically controlled clutches and paddle shifters (sans clutch pedal). Is this the future of motorcycles also? What’s interesting about the video is that (at the end) it shows the performance implications for the dual clutch gearbox: more constant power delivery that doesn’t upset the suspension. This isn’t an “automatic” the way a Ford Taurus is an automatic. There’s no torque converter and resultant loss of power. Instead it’s a miniature version of what Formula 1 car designers have known for over a decade: that a computer can change gears faster and more smoothly than the best of drivers. So what would happen if semi-automatic dual clutch gearboxes found their way to an AMA race?

More importantly, to us, could you live with a high tech high performance gearbox for your street ride or would you miss shifting the old way?

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Happy Labor Day!

Leo — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:26:40 +0000

If you aren’t out riding, here’s a nice set of videos test driving the 2009 Ninja ZX6… It’s not the most coveted motorcycle, but to the world at large, “Ninja” is synonymous with “sportbike.” And for good reason. They’ve been making great, solid sportbikes and race bikes for years. Sure everyone has their favorites, but as a track bike or in race prep – anyone who’s spent time on one can tell you, the ZX6 kicks butt and takes names. “That 600 will throw you on your back jump on top of you and make you call its name…”

You can watch parts 2-5 after the jump, or jump on over to Hulu (what did we ever do before hulu?)

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

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Quick helmet tip…

Leo — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:43:45 +0000

Superfluous Ducati video

You don’t have to watch the video for this, and I don’t think I’ve seen anything else by this reviewer, but the way he put on his helmet is affecting his riding position (especially if you jump ahead to 4:10 when he’s talking). When I took the MSF, I think I vaguely remember them saying that the top of the eye-port needs to be right around your eyebrows. And while this makes sense on a half helmet (because the bulge of the helmet on your brow can help keep your face off the asphalt) it’s not necessary on a full face helmet. Actually, it can ruin your riding experience on a sportbike. With the top of helmet eye-port on your brow, you can’t see forward with your head down. That means you have to crane your neck to see forward (and good luck seeing traffic signals way up top). People complain about neck pains when they’re riding sportier bikes… it’s not the bike, it’s your helmet… Or more precisely how you wear your helmet.

If you watch racers put on their helmets their eyes usually line up right around the middle of the eye port. The nose and mouth should be covered by the chin part of the full face helmet, and the eyes should be right in the middle (or thereabouts) of the opening. Sometimes the chin sticks out a little below the helmet. Some people think this is wrong, but if you think about what a crash would do to a helmet, the chin out the bottom just slightly is quite safe. Your eyes should line up right around the center line of the helmet.

Some jacket/helmet combinations make this difficult. I have an old KBC helmet that fits as nicely as any top of the line Shoei or Arai (seriously, the feel is excellent) but the back of the helmet bumps into the collar of my everyday riding jacket, and pushes it low on my brow. I was getting neck aches craning my neck upward. With my AGV S-4 helmet (not as comfy, but 5 stars on the Sharp helmet ratings) this is not a problem. The KBC helmet is also not a problem when I’m wearing my track suit (that has no collar). So it has to do with how your gear fits you.

Now this video reviewer might be doing this because his producer asked him to make sure people could see his face, or because of the microphone or something, but you can see how it adversely affects his riding position in the video. People ride like this all the time, and then they wonder why they can’t get low enough onto the tank to do the turns they want… In this case, it’s not you or your bike it’s your gear.

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Five tips for dealing with back ache…

Leo — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:59:08 +0000

The summer riding season is in full gear and that means TRAFFIC. And for city sportbikers (and some chopper riders) that also means back ache, wrist ache, and general questions of “am I too old for this?” For sporty bikes equipped with low “clip on” handlebars, the problem is that the forward lean is nice when you’re accelerating, but not so nice when you’re going slow or standing still. So what to do?

If this is the main type of riding you do, then the answer is as simple as “change the location of the bars.” Just google “bar riser” along with the make of your bike and with a little searching you should be able to find a few brands of bar risers that let you adjust the position of your handlebars. You don’t hear scooter riders complaining of back aches, and there’s a reason for that. An upright bar position doesn’t stop you from leaning forward (when you’re accelerating) but at the same time it let’s you sit like a human when you’re not. Installation is reversable, and it shouldn’t hurt the resale value of your bike. But if back aches are only a problem some of the time, and you don’t want to use bar risers, then here are some tips to save your back from summer traffic torture.

1. Put it in neutral (at stop lights). Sit up whenever you get the chance, even if it’s only for a few seconds.

2. Change your speed. Most cars tend to speed up and slow down in traffic rather than cruising at the right speed. I always found that annoying, but in this case it’s your friend. The time you spend accelerating (while not good for fuel economy) is good for your back. Make sure to point your toes downward when you accelerate so that you’re using your feet (and not your arms causing tension in the torso) to keep you in place.

3. Change your position. Fine art models will tell you that any position, no matter how comfortable at first, becomes a pain after a few minutes. You have to keep changing position in order to keep from getting muscle aches. Sit up with one hand on the throttle on a safe stretch, lean over, look back, try not to get stuck in one position for too long. This doesn’t help much once you begin to get backaches, but it can hold them off for a bit.

4. Use your legs. Bumps in the road do a bit to contribute to back aches when you’re hunched over. Use your legs to absorb bumps rather than letting your back take the hit. Also experiment with different foot placement: heel on peg, middle of the foot, toes, to find better support while cruising.

5. And last but not least, stretch and take breaks every hour or so. A MotoGP race only lasts around 40 minutes. Some bikes were made to ride in relatively short intervals (by touring standards). So planning breaks once an hour (before anything starts to ache) can go a long way.

Got any back health tips? Share the wealth… Comment below!

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A “Monster” 1098

Leo — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:52:58 +0000

Ducati has decided to unleash it’s newest monster a few days after Halloween. Only it’s not a “Monster” this time…it’s a buck naked 1098. The people who invented the naked sportbike have jumped into the fray once again with the king of the hill streetfighter. (Click here for the teaser video)

Is it just me, or does it look like something I’ve seen before? Sure it’s nice. And I bet it’s fast, but the early Monsters were beautiful, and the 1098 is distinctive and clean… This looks nice, but nothing special. Perhaps I’ll change my mind when I see it in person. This model was just released today. At the same event Ducati announced that the 1098 will be replaced with a bigger bored 1198… Stuff like this is usually good news for bargain hunters looking for left overs of the older models (I think you can still find some new 999s out there). As Warren Buffet said, be cautious when others are Bullish, and when everyone is scared of the market put your money in motorcycles. Or at least that’s how I heard it. So what do you think of the new ducks?

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Big Bang Theory

Leo — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:08:17 +0000

This might be of interest to only a few citybikers, but it’s too cool not to mention: Yamaha’s 2009 R1 will have a “big bang” engine. “Um okay” you say as your eyes glaze over getting ready for a technical discussion. The Big Bang engine is a regular inline four cylinder engine that works like a two-cylinder. Instead of firing each cylinder in a regular pattern, Big Bang engines fire two at the same time (or very close together) so that it runs more like a 2-cylinder engine. MotoGP bikes have been experimenting with this for years now. The result is that the bike gets better traction (the theory being that the pause in between the pistons firing gives the tires more of a chance to connect with the pavement in a similar way to Ducati’s twin cylinder sportbikes). The downside to this engine setup is that it causes more wear and more vibration. People have been talking about this as a possibility for a while now, so I’m interested to see this for myself.

Also new for 2009 in sportbikes is ABS for Honda’s CBR 600RR and 1000RR. Yamaha takes the cake for the wow factor this year – no one I know is super keen on ABS just yet, although out of the two technologies Honda seems to have a better grasp on what riders really need for the street.

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Time Waster: Mad Scooter Skills

Leo — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:00:17 +0000

I’ve heard different accounts of what it’s like to ride a motorcycle in Italy but the basic story that this video seems to confirm is: “You can be scraping pegs up a windy road going as fast as you think humanly possible, patting yourself on the back…and some kid from the neighborhood who rides the road every day will come up on a scooter and pass you on the outside…”

Cool.

And if that doesn’t get your sportbike stunting respect, check out this guy Nicola... “The vespa wheelie king.” It’s not what you ride, it’s how you ride it.

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