Re: Delusions of Ducati: MO''''s BMW R1100S Hop-Up
On some kinds of road surfaces a BMW is superior, and that's that.
DucatiRed certainly would tell you that frost heaves and potholes "don't count". But they have them out on the highways. I have minimal skills, and I didn't even pass a collection of Japanese and Duc riders, but there were reasons.
I overtook them on some twisties, but was familiar enough with the road in question to know that there were blind curves ahead. The older I become, the more likely it is that around the next blind curve is a refrigerator on the road, and the pickup that dropped it stopped blocking both lanes.. So I fell in behind, and decided to play the same game I do with cages, namely fall back and catch up in the curve. The line was long enough that I had a pretty good chance of getting stopped before rolling over the wreckage of the leaders of the pack.
Actually, the riders had plenty of guts. Not only did they take the curves faster than clear sight distance allowed, but the bikes were clearly dancing out on the bumps, yet they didn't back off. It took less guts to have my BMW stay with them, especially since the Ohlins shocks were keeping my tires on the road very nicely.
The squids here, anonymous or otherwise, would have passed on the outside, I suppose, but I really didn't like the notion of some multicolored plastic from Japan or red plastic from Italy sliding out into me.. And when we all stopped, I could have offered to swap with someone, but who needs that humiliation? At least the BMW overcame some skill and guts differences.
I agree with some of the other messages. Money for Ohlins suspension is far more worth while than money for engine hop-ups. If you want to go fast, get one of the big Japanese fire breathers, your BMW will never be in the 180 mph category anyhow.
