AMA Superbike and Moto GP (the latest)
There were both AMA Superbike and MotoGP races this past weekend. Marco Melandri (top), racing for Honda, won his second GP race of the season at the Le Mans circuit in France. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) came in second and is third overall. Vallentino Rossi, who is a 6 time world MotoGP champion, has had a rough year due to problems with the bike. He has had one win this season and is currently 43 points behind. He believes he still has a shot at the championship and so do I. If he can come up from 11th spot on the grid to end in 4th place (GP of Turkey), he's definitely got the skill and ability to win overall, it just depends on the bike.
Ben Spies (bottom) raced into AMA Superbike history with his 6th consecutive win. The AMA race was held at Inferion Speedway in Sonoma, California. Until Spies came along, Mat Mladin was unchallenged in AMA Superbike races. Spies is now giving Mladin a run for his money.
posted by Synth at 5:13 PM
4 Comments:
Suspension is key! As is tire pressure. You see some people with tire warmers because oftentimes one warm up lap is all you get and the practice laps occured hours ago. Tire pressure makes the difference in the turns (sticky tires, that aren't too worn are also important).
Also, safety wiring has to be done. That is what I was paying attention to this past weekend. From what I hear, you need 1/4 inch bits and lots of them. The safety wiring is done to prevent bolts from rattling off.
The bikes themselves are pretty similar, lots of Suzuki GXRs, Kawasakis, Honda CBRs, there's also a Ducati 749 out there and a Triumph as well. Of course, you can get into the whole vintage bike arena as well.
Okay, I'll stop with my monologue.
Synth,
Wow, I had no idea (but should have)that racers warmed their tires. When you mentioned the safety wiring, it brought back the days when I worked on aircraft in the Air Force. We had to safety wire bolts to prevent them from vibrating loose/or off. I never thought that was needed on racing bikes.
I'm new to this blog, but the whole project sounds so interesting. I have been riding a 2002 Yamaha V-Star 650 custom for just over a year and I'm so hooked. I've managed to rack up just over 6,000 miles, I know it's not as much as many, but I'm getting there. I put on 1,000 just since this last April 11th.
I probably overlooked it somewhere, but what is the purpose of this project and how many women are involved? I look forward to future postings.
Congratulations on passing the MSF course. That was some of the best money my husband & I ever spent. We took it together and had a blast learning so much. We can't say enought good stuff about the course.
Good luck to all,
Betty :)
Hi Betty,
Thanks your comments and sharing your experience. Working on planes for the air force sounds both challenging and exciting.
Having safety wired a plane you would be at ease, I'm sure, doing the same on a bike. If you haven't been on a track, you should. I participated in the Race Licensing school in Albuquerque and had a blast. It was certainly the right step to take after the MSF course as you don't have to deal with pedestrians and traffic, thereby allowing you to focus on MSF skills "at speed" and it's fun!
That's great that you and your husband went through the MSF course together. What peaked your interest in motorcycles?
To answer your question about MotoFemina, the objective of the project is to film three novice women motorcyclists as they spend the summer learning to ride. We will be learning not only riding skills but also technical skills. The video will be shown on a pod or web cast with the premier coming sometime in July. The woman with the most technical skill and enthusiasm will be awarded a new F650GS at Sipapu (ski area) in September. I think it will be a blast. The people we are introducing on the blog are part of a posse each of us is putting together. Our posses will be mentoring and helping us develop our skills.
Keep an eye on the blog to see what's new : )
Synth,
Thanks so much for a more detailed explanation. As I look back thru the postings, it's all starting to make more sense. What fun!! Good luck to you and the other two ladies. It sounds like you have all caught the motorcycle mystic and in the end you'll have learned sooo much.
I have started learning some maintance on my motorcycle. I do have to push my husband aside at times, which frustrates him (lol). He is having fun working on mine and his bike and he at times doesn't like sharing this fun (pout!). I have insisted on putting on some of the extra stuff we buy for my bike. Under his eagle eye's I have installed the new lightbulb and then the sissy bar. While these are not really big in maintenance, it's great fun. After the sissy bar, my husband teasingly told me he's not buying anymore new stuff for MY BIKE if he can't install it. Then he reminds me how he bought my bike (sigh). I would love to learn the guts of a motorcycle, like I learned the guts of hydraulics on aircraft. Do you ladies learn some of that?
Sounds like you will learn so much and I look forward to future postings by everyone. I didn't even know what a F650GS was, but looked it up. That looks like a sweet machine!!
Once again, Good Luck to All,
Betty :)
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