- Thread starter AvsFan
- Start date
I use to ride like that when I was a wee lad. had 2 really badass bikes that I road well over 170 a few times. Then, one day I was on a casual ride and had to lay the bike down to avoid a serious collision. Was only going about 30mph but it scared the hell out of me. I've been shot at, stabbed, and jumped out of air planes, but nothing has scared the shit out of me more then that!
I Have never been on a bike since.
I Have never been on a bike since.
161 was the fastest I ever went on a bike and that was in a straight. That headshake would get the best of me at some point I swear. Besides after I broadsided a car at 55 (her fault) I rode a few times but I was always too sketched out on the street so I sold it a year later. If there was a track nearby I would ride there but I have no interest in dealing with cars while I'm on 2 wheels.
Looks like a blast, I miss my bike. Happens every time I sell one... only a mater of time until another one finds its way home. The adrenaline rush of a sportbike is probably my favorite kind of rush, performance cars just seem so much more tame and don't quite do it for me the same anymore.
It takes a special kind of crazy to participate at Mann at all, but to climb on a sidecar and put your life in someone else's hands there? I can't even imagine that level of trust.
Say what??? Was this to go under something?
Sorry but I hear this phrase many times and haven't found a solid argument for brakes or swerving being worse than skidding on pavement.
The IOM race is insane, simply put. Great to watch every year - last year Dunlop had an astoundingly good performance. There is also a lot of good footage from BSB @ Caldwell Park.
I'm a slowpoke. I think I probably got up to about 115-120 on my last trackday, but I'm never looking down at the speedo when I'm going fast. I prefer the slower, tight, technical courses.
No, long story short....some broad wasn't paying attention and pulled right out in front of me. I had just looked over my shoulder for a split second and when I turned back there she was. My reflexes kicked in and I guess I could decide to swerve or slam on the breaks so I did both and the bike slid out from under me. even though I wasn't going very fast, if I would have hit her it would have probably fucked me up.
Some of the best times of my life were spent in the saddle of a sportbike. 05 zx10r was the best thing to ever happen to me. Not a day goes by that I don't miss it. Goddamn responsibilities took over. I can only hope that someday I will discover an adrenaline rush that matches what I achieved on that bike. I doubt it will happen though.
G
Guest
Guest
People I have known have died on the IOM course. Hollywood aside, dying is never cool.
You can bet your sweet azz that if I'm doing 200 mph....it won't be on a friggin 'murdercycle' but a ridin this:
T-6_II by Sharps45 2 7/8, on Flickr
T-6_II by Sharps45 2 7/8, on Flickr
Just watching that brings back the longing of the horrendous rush a 1000CC sportbike can give.
Going over the handlebars at 150 mph cured my desire substantially.
I had a really fast GSXR 1000. I'd pass up the other liter bikes just like that one guy in the video was doing. Of course some of those guys were faster in the corners, ha.
That'd be a fantasy of mine, just having a few laps at the TT would be awesome!
Going over the handlebars at 150 mph cured my desire substantially.
I had a really fast GSXR 1000. I'd pass up the other liter bikes just like that one guy in the video was doing. Of course some of those guys were faster in the corners, ha.
That'd be a fantasy of mine, just having a few laps at the TT would be awesome!
Used to ride like that back in the day. I remember the rush coming off the ground with the hammer down but after cleaning up a few as an EMT and getting married, I walked away with no regrets. Still, it's cool to watch, thanks for posting.
Dying is not fun to watch....very sobering.
Dying is not fun to watch....very sobering.
I did this for 40 years:
RickMulhernSprayingCotton2005 by Sharps45 2 7/8, on Flickr
That close enuff to the 'green' for ya?? Dodging wires, poles, trees, hawks, buzzards, tractors, well heads, towers, cars, houses, etc! And probably I'm 'historical' because I'm probably the only Ag Pilot that's ever cut and 18 wheeler in half and lived to tell about it!
I still have my BMW 1200S. Modified to 180hp. Love that bike. Sitting in my garage since my twins were born. Wife says go ahead and ride again. She loves bikes but I am fearful of death and leaving them. More fearful of spinal or brain injury and being a burden on them. Still the bike sits. Hmmmmm
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've never ridden but have been thinking of it a lot lately. Anyway, are their race suits armored underneath or something? They seem to just slide along the pavement all casual but I imagine the initial impact has to do some damage. Not to mention the guys who fell off cliffs. Does the suit offer any protection?
Provided you don't high-side too badly, or hit something solid, a good suit offers excellent protection.
Yes, depending on the suit there is hard armor in the back, shoulders, elbows and knees at a minimum. There is also padding under the hard armor, and on the hips.
The problem with the IOM is the lack of run-off space and the many solid objects. Like altitude when doing aerobatics, run-off space is life when something goes wrong.
Yes, depending on the suit there is hard armor in the back, shoulders, elbows and knees at a minimum. There is also padding under the hard armor, and on the hips.
The problem with the IOM is the lack of run-off space and the many solid objects. Like altitude when doing aerobatics, run-off space is life when something goes wrong.
i personally done 200mph WITHOUT any mechanical devices many times, just by standing on my head.........in free fall ......easy shit !
If you want to learn,go take the MSF basic course. They provide all the gear you need to learn, and it's fun put putting around in a parking lot for two days. You learn a lot, and it will better help you understand what you prefer in a bike. Don't buy a bike before taking this course. Also, some people just take it to learn how to ride and decide never to do it again. They're still much better on the road after that and tend to notice motorcycles more often, having an awareness of them and a knowledge of what it's like to be on one.
If you want to pick it up, just don't try to ride like those guys in the video. I don't know of anyone that rides like that. Doing 170 or whatever has been claimed in a straight is way different than what they are doing (average speed over the entire lap of ~130 on country roads through towns). Also, don't try to speed around on anything but a racetrack. Anyone who has done triple digits on public roads is just asking for bad things to happen. Once you get comfortable riding around at a sane pace, then go to a racetrack and do some instructional days. You'll get better and faster, and you'll lose that bug that's always itching you to grab a handful of throttle on public roads. Track days are a blast - here's what you can expect on your first few when you're slow like me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzRFxadWvVM
[QUOTE=TNT; and you'll lose that bug that's always itching you to grab a handful of throttle on public roads.
this is very true! i used to ride the roads in southern ohio like it was my on race track, then all my riding
buddys started to crash or was getting to uncomfortable with the pace i started to get to.the smart ones
began racing, and begged me to get on the track. well it finally happened the bike got tired and decided
to lay down in a corner and throw me into a guard rail (the rail was fine btw)the bike got totaled and i
got some road rash and a very sore back.
fast forward 8 months after that and i purchased a race bike and had a BLAST! and as tnt said the street lost
all it's appeal, it actually was a bit scary. i started to notice the extreme lack of run off in the corners!
and the blind corners with driveways on the other side.
btw TNT vir is sweet aint it.
this is very true! i used to ride the roads in southern ohio like it was my on race track, then all my riding
buddys started to crash or was getting to uncomfortable with the pace i started to get to.the smart ones
began racing, and begged me to get on the track. well it finally happened the bike got tired and decided
to lay down in a corner and throw me into a guard rail (the rail was fine btw)the bike got totaled and i
got some road rash and a very sore back.
fast forward 8 months after that and i purchased a race bike and had a BLAST! and as tnt said the street lost
all it's appeal, it actually was a bit scary. i started to notice the extreme lack of run off in the corners!
and the blind corners with driveways on the other side.
btw TNT vir is sweet aint it.
I did this for 40 years:
RickMulhernSprayingCotton2005 by Sharps45 2 7/8, on Flickr
That close enuff to the 'green' for ya?? Dodging wires, poles, trees, hawks, buzzards, tractors, well heads, towers, cars, houses, etc! And probably I'm 'historical' because I'm probably the only Ag Pilot that's ever cut and 18 wheeler in half and lived to tell about it!
I have a lot of respect for you and the other crop dusters after seeing a few different ones growing up in the midwest. Watching them fly under the power lines is something that I don't think I would want to try lol
I've run the IOM in 2003 and 2004. Still didn't learn the whole course. Only managed a best lap of 126mph (average speed). The in town stuff looks the scariest, but it's not. You're not going that fast there. Up in the "hills" your touching 200mph with zero margin for error. That's pretty spooky.
I've crashed at Daytona just before the tri oval (bike in front of me grenade a tire) at 198mph. Bruised up and a few burns but I was back on the track in an hour.
Crashed at the entrance to turn 1 at Brainerd at about 190mph. Dislocated a shoulder and doinked my head pretty good.
Lost the front in the "kink" at Nelsons Ledges at 165ish. Knocked myself out but no real damage. The bike ended up in the "parking lot".
I won't ride on the street though. You guys are nuts.
I've crashed at Daytona just before the tri oval (bike in front of me grenade a tire) at 198mph. Bruised up and a few burns but I was back on the track in an hour.
Crashed at the entrance to turn 1 at Brainerd at about 190mph. Dislocated a shoulder and doinked my head pretty good.
Lost the front in the "kink" at Nelsons Ledges at 165ish. Knocked myself out but no real damage. The bike ended up in the "parking lot".
I won't ride on the street though. You guys are nuts.
Adrenaline Rush @ 200 mph
The Mountain section is so flowing that it sucks you in, faster and faster until you make a mistake. Almost clipped the wall at Guthrie's and got out of rhythm for the next corner: That could have been a very bad day. I've never qualified to race in the the TT, but I've never had a get-off on the course either.
Came-off in turn one at Mid Ohio, on the old surface a number of years ago, after a rain. There used to be a seam in the pavement where the water seeped up. It was right on the racing line. Lost the rear at full clip: A nice, slow motion low side...Did the rag-doll thing into the gravel pit along with the bike. Ouch. Thank God turn one is the one place at Mid Ohio that has a decent amount of run-off.
Lost twenty minutes of my life on an RS125 at a smaller track. Not sure that I will ever get my memory back of that morning: Woke up in the ambulance. Bike was fine. CT said no permanent damage. I guess some people wake up from that, but others don't.
Lost my aerobatics instructor, who thumped it in with another student the day prior.
Shit happens. I suppose I could always elect to stay in bed. But somehow I can't help getting up each morning as if my hair was on fire.
The Mountain section is so flowing that it sucks you in, faster and faster until you make a mistake. Almost clipped the wall at Guthrie's and got out of rhythm for the next corner: That could have been a very bad day. I've never qualified to race in the the TT, but I've never had a get-off on the course either.
Came-off in turn one at Mid Ohio, on the old surface a number of years ago, after a rain. There used to be a seam in the pavement where the water seeped up. It was right on the racing line. Lost the rear at full clip: A nice, slow motion low side...Did the rag-doll thing into the gravel pit along with the bike. Ouch. Thank God turn one is the one place at Mid Ohio that has a decent amount of run-off.
Lost twenty minutes of my life on an RS125 at a smaller track. Not sure that I will ever get my memory back of that morning: Woke up in the ambulance. Bike was fine. CT said no permanent damage. I guess some people wake up from that, but others don't.
Lost my aerobatics instructor, who thumped it in with another student the day prior.
Shit happens. I suppose I could always elect to stay in bed. But somehow I can't help getting up each morning as if my hair was on fire.
Last edited:
Or just forget which way the next corner goes
It sure would have been nice to have a video game to train on back then.Mid O was NASTY before the re-pave. And no good when you can't see the water coming up through the track, as you know. Nothing quite like thinking everything is going swimmingly and all of a sudden you're crashing with no idea why. There is a lot of stuff to get into at Mid O. That was definitely one of the better places to go down.
Did you get to run there after the re-surface? Man it was incredible. It was like playing a video game. The only problem was that if it was cool out and the sun was behind the clouds it got really slippery. I think it was 2006 when we did the first tire test there on the new surface. First day it was really nice out and everyone was flying. The next morning it was 30deg cooler and cloudy. A whole bunch of guys went out.....and down right away. I overhead Mladin bitching he couldn't get within 3 seconds of the times he put down the day before. I felt a lot better about being a turd after that.
The surface is all screwed up again.
That's exactly what happened to me at Nelsons. I lost 20min. I remember loosing the front, trying to save it on my knee, then my elbow went down....then my face. Then I "came to" in the ambulance. My buddy was telling me Kerry got elected (it was still before the election), ass hole
They said I was talking the whole time but wasn't making a lot of sense. It's been a long time, I doubt I'll ever get that back. Spooky stuff.I'd do it all over again. I'm hoping to get back on the track and up to speed next season at 43yrs old. I hope I remember how to ride.
Heheh, Bolt, if that pic in your profile is any hint as to your timeframe in doing this, I'm going to guess your rig was NOT freefly friendly. Gotta hand it to you guys pioneering this stuff. It scares the heck out of me just sitting by the door, but darn if it's not one of the most amazing experiences around. I'm not into freefly yet - still working on RW for now, but I'm hoping to do a few head downs before I call it quits.
Adrenaline Rush @ 200 mph
Still, Mid Ohio is my favorite, with Barber a close second (although admittedly they are two very different kinds of tracks):
Mid O is tight and twisty, incredibly fast for a track which doesn't flow like the European designs (eg. Putnam in Indiana). But the commitment level required after the back straight makes it second to none in my opinion - better than the higher-speed car tracks like Road America, because I run a 125 GP bike and I hate having to gear it for top speed and wait on the straits.
Barber combines speed with the elevation and the flow that the smaller tracks just don't have. When I am able to put a lap together there it's effortless, even in the anticipation of the few corners where it looks like you are about to ride off the surface of the earth into thin air. Awesome!
My friend, a racer, had a similar 20-minute get-off experience: Lights went out; then lights came back on. Except that, for him, when the lights came back on he was a Quad.
That kind of shit, if you let it, can play with your head and slow you down. It's a similar mental game in free-solo climbing, aerobatics, or when someone is screwing an AK flash hider into your ear: It helps to accept the fact that chaos and randomness rule it all, and not overthink it.
Yeah: For a short time it was a billiard table - worth a few seconds over the old surface, which as you know is a huge difference. But I thought it always sucked when cold, especially given the surface changes and the concrete seams. Running the cars on it chews it up way too much.
Still, Mid Ohio is my favorite, with Barber a close second (although admittedly they are two very different kinds of tracks):
Mid O is tight and twisty, incredibly fast for a track which doesn't flow like the European designs (eg. Putnam in Indiana). But the commitment level required after the back straight makes it second to none in my opinion - better than the higher-speed car tracks like Road America, because I run a 125 GP bike and I hate having to gear it for top speed and wait on the straits.
Barber combines speed with the elevation and the flow that the smaller tracks just don't have. When I am able to put a lap together there it's effortless, even in the anticipation of the few corners where it looks like you are about to ride off the surface of the earth into thin air. Awesome!
My friend, a racer, had a similar 20-minute get-off experience: Lights went out; then lights came back on. Except that, for him, when the lights came back on he was a Quad.
That kind of shit, if you let it, can play with your head and slow you down. It's a similar mental game in free-solo climbing, aerobatics, or when someone is screwing an AK flash hider into your ear: It helps to accept the fact that chaos and randomness rule it all, and not overthink it.
Last edited:
You guys racing are nuts - awesome, but nuts. I did some cornerworking last year and watching the mid weight maniacs was like watching a meat grinder sometimes. Also, I loved watching the 125s. I picked up one of those from a racer that low sided in the carousel at Summit Main, and as I get his bike over to the sides, I see him walking over and he looks really short. He pulls off his helmet...turns out its an 11 or 12 year old kid. I had been watching him lap people in the lightweight class all day (it was practice day before the race), and I look at him and ask him if he's ok. He looks a bit down but says he's fine, good to go, just wondering where to move his bike off the track. I told him, per the rules that day, if he could get it running he could keep going. He brushed off some dirt, hopped on, got it checked out in the pits on the next lap and then he was back to tearing the place apart. It was at that point that I realized I will never be a racer - pretty sure that kid on his 125 would smoke me on my R6.
VIR is excellent. Only done the North Course, not the full one. They recently took out the gravel pits and it's looking even nicer now than it was before from the pictures I've seen. I've got a vid of a VIR lap from last year somewhere around here...
Similar threads
Accessories
Rush Rail
