[056]

Widowmaker!

After seeing two R-1 riders killed on two seperate trackdays, I think I know what I'm saying when I say "this bike is going to kill a lot of people."

So, indirectly, MO is encouraging people to go kill themselves. Nowhere in this article do they say that this bike is only for experts or how hard it is to ride safely on a racetrack.

I don't believe in tiered licensing, horsepower limits, or even mandatory training. But all those things will be inevitable if the industry, press, manufacturers, and dealers, doesn't start behaving responsibly and policing itself.

Just look at the testosterone coursing through this message board! Lots of young guys who don't want to race, but want that adreline rush of raw acceleration. Not what this bike is for, folks.

So what is the bike for? I'm not sure. On most tracks, a 600 will be faster, and nobody can utilize 150 HP safely on the street. So what's the point?

The point is that they will sell every last one, mostly to people who just want to wobble around at about 50% of the bike's performance capacity. Most of them will be crashed after one season.

So enjoy, squid-o's! Just get a good life insurance policy.

 

[056]

Re: Widowmaker!

Well, I sound negative for two reasons, first, I am out of riding for a couple of months because I crashed and fractured my spine, and second, I have posted on this subject numerous times, and find very little in the way of helpful feedback or suggestions.

I do suggest one area of improvement; more responsible behaivior by the motorcycle industry. But look at how much interest this bike generates: 147 posts in less than 2 days! Americans want big, powerful bikes, whether they can use them or not, and they will ride them whether they are trained or not.

Mandatory training, unless it's a 6-month Keith Code racing school, will not teach you how to ride a bike like this safely while riding it near it's limits. I've been racing and riding 13 years, and I would be terrified of riding it at the track. The two guys I saw killed were experienced riders. One guy was in his 40's, the other in his 50's.

I gotta pull an Abe Froman here and say that the only solution is to encourage riding and buying smaller displacement bikes, since regulation is always a step behind the market. If we limit horsepower, they'll build 150 pound, 90 HP high-siders. If they limit displacement, they'll perfect 500cc GP technology for the street. Before you say, "oh, cool!", you should go find out how many bones Mick Doohan HASN'T broken. We have to police ourselves, and that includes injecting a note of sobriety into superbike launch hysteria. A lot of people are going to die or be horribly injured on the GSXR-1000. That's the truth. And whether that will be a result of idiots, squids, Suzuki, MO, dealers, socialists or men from Mars is irrelevant. A human being dying is serious sh*t. So let's hear a little less rah-rah and a little more reasoned thought.

I think your last paragraph contains terrific advice . I agree 100%. So why doesn't the AMA support it? Too busy repealing helmet laws, I guess.

 

[056]

Right On! n/t

 

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Re: Widowmaker!

Well, not every single one. Sometimes I skip a few days.

Some of us like to take postitons contrary to the majority to stir debate and work the ol' intellect muscles. You should try it.

 

[056]

If Only!

If only it were so...unfortunately, every year there's a new crop of 10-armed mollusks with the newest, bestest bikes. They seem to be slightly worse riders every year.

But you know what? I've decided I just don't care...I have been assimilated....bzz, crk..bzt

Right on! GSXR1000! All right! I'm gonna put my deposit on one as soon as I can! I'm gonna smoke all of you pussies with your R1's! Woooooo-Hoooo!

I just hope Yosh has a pipe as soon as I get my bike- I just know I'll need that extra 2.7 HP.

Yeeeeeee-Haaaaaaaa!

 

[056]

Re: Whoa...

True enough- It's OK to go fast, just make sure you are wearing good protective gear, (over 40MPH=leather or ballistic nylon!) and have some training and confidence. Never ride past where you feel comfortable!

keep riding!

 

[056]

Re: Widowmaker!

Why not keep the TL-R as a streetbike and buy a "track-only" bike? For 2/3rds the price of a new GSXR-1000, you could get an Aprillia RS250- this bike weighs 300 pounds and puts out 70 hp! It also has premium suspension, brakes, and a frame like a Mack truck.

I rode one on the street, and it was SO much fun. When the powerband hits, it's like sucking on a crackpipe.

A bike like the RS250 is a REAL racebike. Notice that open-class motorcycle racing has generated relatively little interest, except at the Isle of Man. But with 70 HP, you can focus on sharpening your skills and having fun, which is what riding at the track should be about.

After a few track days, you would be leaving 600's, R1's, 996's, everything, in the dust.

 

[056]

Re: Widowmaker!

So please explain to me what the point is of having a bike that is incapable of being used safely on the street. It seems to me that the only purpose of having a F4 as a first bike is nothing but posing.

As far as speed in a straight line being safe on the street, you had better pick a long, long straightaway with NO potholes, NO driveways, NO cross-streets, and perfect smooth pavement with no traffic at all. Highway 35 south from Salinas, CA has a few stretches like that; otherwise, I wouldn't know where to go.

At 120 MPH, you are going almost 2/3ds the length of a football field every second. So if you see a car or other obstacle in your path 1000 feet down the road (15th of a mile!), you have about 4 seconds to react, plan and execute a course of action. You're going to need about what- 400 feet to stop? Leaving you with 2 or 3 seconds to react and start braking. You could probably do it, (if you don't panic- you DO practice emergency braking, right?) but what if you saw the hazard 500 feet away? That leaves you with 1/2 a second to start braking, or...splat!

Your attitude about cornering speaks of your lack of skill and training. You can safely lean an F4 way, way, way over. But you should take it easy if you can't see through the corner.

An inch of "wanker strip" is a lot- I run about 1/4 inch on the street and I consider myself chicken.

I would get a lighter, less powerful bike if I were you- you'll see that it's the cornering that's fun.

 

[056]

Re: Widowmaker!

Wow! It's amazing how your story parallels mine, with the exception of the year in a wheelchair, thank God.

I also became disillusioned with big, powerful bikes, and my riding only improved when I started riding an MuZ Skorpion. Expert-level chasis and brakes with a 40 HP thumper motor teaches you what sportbiking is about- braking, cornering, entrance speed.

Is the VTR a racebike to be? 250 Production is a great class, but as far as I know, only AFM here in Northern California has it.

Pretty stringent requirements in that last paragraph- but of 5,000 GSXR1000 buyers, how many will fit that description? I'm gonna say about 500, and a lot of those guys will be killed as well. It's just plain sad.

 

[056]

What? A 2000?

That's LAST YEAR'S MODEL!!! Ha, ha, ha! If you're such a winner, how come your bike is so old and outdated? EVERYONE on this board knows that only bikes that are less than 6 months old are any good at all.

Aren't you embarrased to be seen on it?

 

[056]

Well, I hope your credit is good enough too. Plus your health and life insurance.



Don't let anybody tell you you're not man enough for this bike! Remeber, riding a sportbike isn't about skill or experience, it's about purchasing power and raw bravado! Think how much respect you get when you roll up to your local sportbike hangout. Everyone will ooh and ahh! Of course, they'll all be thinking, "What a frigging squid!" But they're just jealous!



And besides, you obviously don't care what other people think of you, otherwise you wouldn't have posted such a pathetic statement!



Enjoy!

 

[056]

It starts to make a weird kind of sense when you see all of the "peeing calvin" stickers on the back windows of pickup trucks, with calvin peeing on a ford or chevy logo, depending on the brand of truck.



Here in America, we judge each other by our taste in consumer products. Not too surprising when you realize how little we spend on arts and education compared to other wealthy nations.

 

[056]

Not at all! I am TOTALLY serious!

 

[056]

Deep thoughts from a monkey...

Well, Monk, I've pondered, and I gotta say, I think you missed the point. When I talk about us spending money on art, I mean society supporting artists with grants and what not. I don't have much respect for people who treat art pieces as consumer goods either.

Maybe you have a limited idea of what is meant by "art." It goes beyond sculpture and painting and goes to film, theatre, literature, dance, music, or any other kind of artistic expression.

I agree, motorcycles are beautiful expresions of industrial design. Wasn't there some show of motorcycles at some museum, somewhere? But the problem is, our culture will be judged not by its wealth, but by our art: the enduring things we produce. Ancient Greek wealth has disapeared (most of it was probably in slaves!) but Greek literature, art, architecture and philosophy lives on.

The GSXR, while gorgeous, is another culture's art. We discourage people from becoming artists in our society by underfunding art education and grants.

As far as education statistics go, I don't writes 'em, I just reports 'em. People come here to go to school because we do have some excellent institutions of higher learning, but notice that Swedish parents don't send their kids to High School here.

 

[056]

MY BIKE'S WRECKED SO KISS MY ASS!

 

[056]

How is it in conclusions, anyway?

You jump there so fast!

I love arguing with conservatives- you only have to type a few words and they assume much, much more than you've written! Saves so much time. (I'm not neccesarily talking about you, Monk, but Cosmic Abe Froman down there).

Anyway, should the government fund art? I think so- it's better money spent than ray-guns and invisible airplanes that can't fly in the rain. I also think the government should fund space exploration, medical research, public broadcasting, and all kinds of other stuff. But all the good stuff a government can do will be out the window, "big time" with clown-boy and his merry men in office. Remember Reagan? Remember AIDS research being practically ignored by the Federal Government? Remember Iran-Contra, the S &L bail out, deregulation of banking, airlines, and TV? Banking, Airlines, and TV are MUCH better now that they've been deregulated, aren't they? Have fun flying home for Xmas!

But hey, with Bush I'll get a $300 tax cut! Whoopee! It's a worker's paradise!

Man, did I stray way, way off topic! What were you saying, anyway? Oh yeah, blown glass! Far out! I don't think we should spend a lot of money on it either! How about 1/2 of 1 percent of the Federal budget? What would that be, $500 million dollars? Sounds good!

 

[056]

Inteligent Life on MO!

We do need lighter, faster bikes. And I believe that's the next frontier- at some point the power is going to get ridiculous. If a 500 pound, 100 HP bike was a "crotch rocket" in 1988, will 2013 bring us 200 horsepower, 300 pound streetbikes? Yipes! And will teenagers with student loan checks be able to buy them? I think the answer is yes to both.

What I want is a 350 pound (wet), 90 HP twin. That would be a kick-ass streetbike.

But you are right- these bikes, the 916, R1, GSXR600/750/1000, are all amazing bits of engineering. What amazes me is how jaded and spoiled everyone is! This bike could win the Isle of Man TT with $5k of mods, and some schmuck who thinks having credit makes him a sportrider can just go into a dealership and buy one! For like $10,000!

Anyone who thinks we live in some kind of repressive dictatorship is just plain bananas. This is a great friggin' country!

"What I really want to know, is "Has the mantle, the crown, definitively shifted from Yamaha to Suzuki?" - and - "By how much and in what ways?""

What crown? What mantle? It will bounce back and forth between the two as they try to top each other with the latest squid-killer. I'll ride my SV and let you heros sort it out.

Merry Xmas all!

 

[056]

I love you too, Abe...

I hope you and your family have a wonderful, sausage-filled christmas.