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Canyon carving machines?

21335 Views 39 Replies 20 Participants Last post by  sportbike_pilot
First!
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A quick addendum to the above: In Keith Code's "A Twist of the Wrist II" there is a lot of good material and a few techniques that many might question, but his discussion of the seven "survival reactions" and his "two step" are more than worth the price of admission. Maybe the worst book ever published on motorcycle riding is Pat Hahn's "Ride Hard, Ride Smart." It is a complete waste of time and I really wonder whether he's ever really ridden a motorcycle.



Lastly, while this book doesn't discuss riding techniques, it gives you all of the information you'll need to set your bike for the street or track. Truly one of the best motorcycle books ever put on the market is "101 Sportbike Performance Projects" by Evans Brasfield (ISBN # 0760313318). Sorry to be so windy, but I do have an image to maintain. Cheers, Jack



"just an old man riding a little motorcycle"
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I agree with all of your reading recommendations. The only one I haven't read is the Lee Parks book. I would be very interested in hearing more about why you prefer Pridmore's school to Code's, particularly given the great Body Steering/No Body Steering Debate.
You should have tempted me with the RD-my dream bike as a young lad.
The Lee Parks book is a good read. Unlike many "high performance" books, Mr. Parks makes a lot of sense at real world street speeds. BTW, the Deer Park gloves he has are fantastic. @ $109 some of the best gear I have.
Yeah, my buddy with the Katoom just sent his back to the shop for some needed hop-up stuff. Good luck. Even with all the bells and whistles, it still only as fast as a decent running modern 250 mx 2 stroke.



Even on top.
Fogging the neighborhood during the summer sounds like a blast but family and friends are already giving me the raised eyebrow look with three bikes in the garage.
I agree. In fact, I'd go even older for the track bike. I see F2's, F3's and YZF600's for sale around here from $2-3000. It would a whole lot easier on the pocketbook to toss one of those down the track than my new naked bike.
They're even worse when you have to fix them. My brother and I are, for some reason, being assaulted by broken four-strokes lately. Cam chain wear is taking it's toll.



Modern day 4-stroke MX bikes are requiring substantially more expensive maintenance than the old 2-strokes. The new 250's are requiring full top-end rebuilds, with valve and camchain replacement every season. This comes as quite a shock from those of us who grew up with a simple piston replacement requirement on 2-strokes.
Nows the time to take the bull by the horns, and fill your garage with a large group of "eclectic" motorcycles to show the family that you truly don't give a f*ck what they think! Hey I crossed that Rubicon years ago. Either that or you could just give me that Ducati that you've been trying to off, and make some room in the garage. VWW
I've known you all this time, and I just now went to your web site. Nice job on it ya hillbilly!
I agree about Codes first book. Totally useless to me. I have friend that has the DVD and he lent it to me it was garbage too. My friend had the same opinion maybe his school is much better.. I haven't bought the second book yet. Fool once...Fool me twice.. :)
Amen, good to see all the praise of the mighty 2-stroke. I catch hell over at allthingsmoto.com for sticking up for the 'ol 2 smokes. Noe that the novelty and "unfair advantage" of the MX 4 strokes has worn off people are seeing how expensive they are to work on. As they say "you'll have to pry the pre-mix from my cold, dead hands".
Again and as usual, I log on late and all the necessary comments have been made: so I'll say it anyway. The tighter the road the more nekkid you need to be.



Spending $$$ on learning how to really ride is way better than spending $$$ on new bike or accessories.



And lordy do I miss my beloved 2 strokes. Yup, I'm guilty of owning an H-1, DT-1 and RD-350. Back when men were men and misquitos were DEAD!
It's simply the downside of saving every ounce of weight. Many of the components are too light for durability now.







I have gone to three of Code's and two of Reg's schools over the years. The biggest difference is attitude. My first Code school was back in the 80's, my last in 1997. Keith's attitude was that us pathetic little peons were so lucky to have the great "guru" who trained Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Randy Mamola, and Doug Chandler (they'd have probably made it without him, ya think??) stoop to our level to teach us. I have a real problem with anyone that looks down on me when I'm spending several hundred of my hard earned quid to attend his school. Most schools have two groups: one in the classroom, one on the track. My problem with Keith is that he has three groups: one in the classroom, one on the track, and one sitting around doing absolutely nothing. Of course, this cuts way down on your classroom and, more importantly, track time. You aren't told about this on his website or the literature when you sign up. You find out at the track. At that point, if you decide you've been raped and choose not to ride, you still sacrifice all of your money. Obviously, the only thing that this benefits is Keith's wallet. I also have a problem with having to attend four schools to get the whole curriculum in. In my opinion, Keith is condescending, greedy and plays eager young riders for a bunch of suckers. However, if you are relatively inexperienced, you will learn from his school. I understand his attitude has improved in the past few years (since I've attended his school), but I'm not willing to spend any more money to sit around for a third of the day to find out.

On the other hand, Reg genuinely makes you feel welcome. He is a super gentleman and truly a class act. As far as the body-steering vs. the "No BS bike," I think they both over emphasize their positions. Keith insists body steering doesn't exist, Reg says it's the only way to steer a bike. If you go out on a back road, let go of the handlebars, push on a footpeg and push your outside knee towards that peg, your bike will steer in that direction. It'll do it slowly, but it will steer. So much for no body steering. This same techniques also confirms that body steering is not the way to turn a bike quickly or precisely. So much for Reg's theory on the major way to turn a bike. Most students of the sport pick a middle ground: both Kevin and Freddie teach that you have to do both to effectively turn a motorcycle. They teach that handlebar input is the primary way to initiate a turn and you use your body to fine tune as necessary. I suggest going to as many schools as you can, read as much as you can get your grubby little mitts on and figure what works best for you. Based on everything I've read, if you can afford it (I can't), Freddie's is the premier school in the country. Reg's is the most reasonably priced. It is geared more towards street riding than the others, and you will learn a lot and have a great time. More information on Reg's CLASS schools can be found at www.classrides.com. I hope this has answered your question. Cheers, Jack
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it makes no difference whatsoever

if you can't be with the one you love, love the one your with.
That's how they get the quick revs out of 'em.



Like works four stroke racers of the 70's and 80's, they tend to blow up and have very high maintenance.
Yeah. Plus you have to rev 4strokes to the moon to get marginally competetive power. All that adds up to poor durability.
I have my moments.



You have got to get in on the dirtbike smackdown we have going on this summer. Loser paints their bike pink.



Crashley - u can use my powdercoating machine on yours.



:)



seeyaman
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