Monday 29 October 2012

Protest Rally

Melbourne CBD was briefly transformed into Motorcycle Central this afternoon when like minded riders congregated to express their displeasure with the finger pointing SMIDSY attitude rife amongst many motorists.

As all riders know........Sorry Mate I Didn't See You.........is a red rag to a bull.........for any cagers reading this.....don't do it......if you do......don't say SMIDSY.........just a heads up.......

The Victorian State Government along with TAC are eluding to legislation which will make it mandatory for all motorcyclists to be legally required to wear hi-viz clothing and display a forward facing number plate.....these two laws, according to the decision makers, will prevent SMIDSY's and keep riders safe........hhhmmmmm.,.........okay then?

There was a large turnout - everyone was very well behaved.......they stood quietly.....listened intently......and parked politely.......after everything was said and done a Protest Rally departed A'Beckett Street for laps of Melbourne CBD in attempt to be seen and heard by the public.......yes......riders are out there on the roads.......please look for us.....no more SMIDSY.......





Tuesday 23 October 2012

No right (only wrong) turn

Part of this blog is unfortunately reserved for rages at cagers............this post falls into that category...

On the commute this morning - I was waiting at a 4-way intersection to turn right. I was the first vehicle in the queue.

A truck approaches in the oncoming lane and is indicating to turn right......fine, no problem......HOWEVER! I notice behind him a woman in a POS Suzuki 4X4 is up his ass and planning on pushing through the intersection......

Now, I have a dilemma......

The lights turn from green to amber, the truck advances, I creep forward...........knowing full well that I have a queue of cagers behind me and a dormant threat of a 4X4 ready to punch through the intersection......

Sure enough - the lights turn from amber to red (I've waited as long as I can) and said 4X4 hammers through the intersection ........luckily I have anticipated this and swung out left, then right - under her.......the cage behind me is not so lucky.......they come nose to nose (no impact) in the middle of a busy CBD intersection ........horns blasting in accusation...........

Bugger it......quick shift into 2nd.....GTFO.......have a good life guys............

\Bangs head on wall..........

Sunday 21 October 2012

Yea - it's Saturday

Saturday is the default ride day for many riders.........just because I commute doesn't mean I don't like a weekend blat too........

Originally the plan was to head down the Mornington Peninsula for a Arthur's Seat/Redhill/Costal run......luckily one of my mates recalled that today was the cycling event "Around the Bay in a Day".................now I am an avid cyclist......but the thought of contending with hundreds of weekend warrior, gumby pushbikes was enough to put us off and to change plans.......

Another mate suggested we hit the hills - Kinglake is always fun.......see where we end up eh? We took off in the general North-Eastern direction.......

WHAT A CRACKER RIDE.........one of my ride buddies has a particular knack for finding great "B" roads in rural Victoria, and today, he did not disappoint.

Having found some nice twisties and slightly technical road into Kinglake we stop for a coffee and decided the next destination should be Yea..................hell - let's go.......

Yea via Kinglake west was a fantastic ride - especially when coupled with ample use of throttle and open fast sweepers.......

The bikes all lined up in the shade in Yea..........



A creepy sculpture I found made from Diff gears, Saw blades and Barbed-Wire.........hmmmmm Yea?

We had another coffee and decided it was time to head for home.......one mate lives out West from where we were....another is back near Melbourne CBD, as am I......we part ways.........Cheers mate, quick toot of the horn and we hit the road.....

The ride back to Melbourne was definitely not a let down.............we found a nice "semi-direct" route from Yea to Melbourne via Toolangi and Healesvile - cracker roads in this stretch......


Thanks for a pearler of ride Gentleman.............where next? =D

\BitSar

Friday 19 October 2012

Carbon up the Cans

The Akra's have been on and going strong for the last ~500kms......they still need a bit more conditioning (via heat cycles through normal use) - however they are starting to "Carbon Up" nicely......

As the burnt carbon deposits build up in the expansion chamber of the can - as well as coating the surface-area of the internal baffle, the cans' sound becomes deeper and the flow rate tends to increase.....as does exit pressure...

This all leads to better sounding and performing Akra's.................game on...


Still some more work to do - eh? Getting there though....bit dirty too.....bloody rain this morning on the commute

You can see the coating is not that thick yet......after about 500kms I can hear and feel the difference....I anticipate the true sound and performance won't be available for another 1,000kms.


Straight down the throat....flash on......you can see the internal baffle surface is getting carbon powder deposits.....


\BitSar



Monday 15 October 2012

Pink Ribbon Ride -2012

The annual Pink Ribbon Ride for Breast Cancer was held in Melbourne this Sunday........of course me and the Ape had to attend......

For the first time in a long time the air was warm and dry.......A great day for a LARGE group ride - and all for a good cause too!

The main ride from Melbourne Docklands - just before departure.

The procession arrives at Werribee

Bikes, bikes, bikes, bikes....................

More bikes.....and more bikes.....and - you get the idea

The Ape was in there too of course!

Being an Aprilia fan - I had to get a photo of this gen2 Tuono 1000 - lovely!

All in all it was great day out - got to catch up with some friends from NetRider who I haven't seen for a while.......and hey......taking the freeway hostage with a couple hundred motorcycles sounds like a pretty good day spent :D

\All for a good cause - do your bit for tit! 

Friday 12 October 2012

Radiator: Guard or Gravel?


Take note......


I got off the bike tonight after the commute and for some reason took a look at the RAD........hmmmm.....


Before (with guard - everything looks A-OK)


After (without gaurd and after I had removed larger debris)


















There were some larger stones pinned between the RAD guard and the fins - they fell away nicely - what concerns me is the fine line of gravel slowly drilling its' way into the bottom seal.......


I'm going to run without the guard for the next week to see if normal riding vibration loosens this mess - a cursory clean with a coarse nylon brush had no effect (other than further embedding the current debris)


Case in point - RAD guards may in-fact do more harm than good - not only can they impede air-flow, it appears they can also trap crap that would have otherwise vibrated away.....


Just a thought.


\BitSar
More gravel than guard.

Splitting (with a) difference

I had a sting in my tail while riding home last night.........you know that mood you get in sometimes? You just want to put the hammer down.........and.....I did.

Traffic was pretty heavy by the time I got away from the office - no problem.......just carve it up with the Split......I was having a ball, moving through the 60km/h traffic @~0.80c.....not being too much of a larrikin - just having fun.

As I approached point B on the Map - for some reason my "Spidey Senses" kicked in and told me to back off......I did - and lucky too!


The traffic had slowed and I was in filtering mode rather than full-blown splitting.......as I moved through point B above I filtered slowly and smoothly past two Police patrol cars - one in each lane travelling abreast.

I saw them as I approached and my instant thought was the Akra's......no baffles......quick shift into 3rd gear.....constant throttle.....no load on engine, less compression........chug, chug, chug - past........phew....

I continued to filter on through whilst checking the mirrors......no "Blues and Twos".......in the clear.....

The traffic starts moving again and I signal right and slipped into the flow......I wait till point C - feeling like I'm in the clear then GTFO..........hammer time all the way home from there =D

Fun times indeed...........

\I like Sport mode (especially more so with the aid of the FatDuc)

Sunday 7 October 2012

Squid

I made a few more adjustments to the FatDuc this afternoon...........of course I wanted to test out the feel of the slightly leaner fuelling......

I had the Fly lid with me and the bike key - I was not ATGATT - but the urge was there.

My daily shoe is my Redback boots which are pretty robust - other than that I had a hoodie and pair of cargo's on.........but meh - just around the block eh?

Let it be known - I have NEVER ridden squid before, nor do I endorse it........but man! It felt freaking good!

I don't know why - I really can't explain it - But the feeling of being on the bike in total comfort without restricted mobility was amazing!

Not something I intend on practising on a regular basis.....I am definitely an advocate of ATGATT but hell.....being Squid felt gooooooood


\ashamed

BitSar


/* PS - the leaner fuelling has all but eliminated the backfire on the over-run and has improved throttle response*/

Friday 5 October 2012

New Helmet & some FatDuc adjustments

Another early morning today - woke up @ ~5:50am - not sure why I'm not sleeping much at the moment.....must be the seasons changing, the mornings are nice and bright - this should not last long though, next week Daylight Saving time kicks in.

But hey, I'm up now - might as well get a ride in before work...............good chance to test out the new helmet and make some trim adjustments to the FatDuc (see my Zorst post below)

With the Sun being brighter and a little higher in the sky, the daily commute has been torture with regard to Sun glare. By chance I wandered into the local motorcycle shop during my lunch break yesterday and came across this lid:


It's a budget DualSport (DS) style helmet - branded as Fly Racing with the model name being Trekker.........after doing some reading I decided it was worth the risk of shelling out $150 bones to give it a go.........if it proves itself I may indeed buy a more expensive Shoei Hornet to go with the XR-1100 I usually ride with. 

Initial impressions are good - It's not too noisy with the visor down, the vision is EXCELLENT. It is relatively comfortable to wear and the peak doesn't seem to be too adversely affected by wind. Furthermore, the peak is great for dealing with the Sun glare issues I've been having - all in all - a good purchase and a good price. For those of you who are interested there is more reading here

Along with testing the new lid, the morning ride gave me the opportunity to play with the trim setting on the FatDuc 02 manipulator I had installed. Essentially this little device plugs in-line with the return circuit of the lambda (O2 sensor) probe in the exhaust mid-pipe. 


You can see it here mounted on the frame (once I have the trim set nicely I will hide it better)

Essentially the idea behind the FatDuc is to alter the signal being sent back to the ECU which dictates the fuelling while the bike is running closed-loop (<= 4000rpm). As you increase resistance (trim) on the FatDuc you decrease the signal strength being sent to the ECU - thus resulting in a richer mixture. Reduce resistance and the opposite is true - the mixture becomes more lean and more like stock fuelling. 

During the ride this morning I made some small trim adjustments - I think I'm starting to dial it in - bike is running much smoother down low and not as snatchy rolling on and off throttle at low RPM.......thanks FatDuc =D


Wednesday 3 October 2012

First warm morning - Get a ride in before work..........Surely!

And don't call me Shirley..................

Woke up nice and early today - one of those natural wake ups @ ~5:30am, bright eyed, mind alert body ready to go..............excellent.

Completed the morning pushbike ride of ~20kms......nothing too extreme just a sprint to get the blood pumping.

It was 7:00am, I had showered and eaten and didn't have a meeting at the office until 9:15 so what the hell - morning ride!

Traffic was pretty abysmal to be honest - bloody Burnley and Domain tunnel closure in Melbourne so ALL the industrial and commuting traffic was on auxillary roads - but hey just more "Mobile Twisties" to carve up for the split eh?




Tuesday 2 October 2012

Zorst!

I had the OEM Akrapovic slip-ons installed along with a FatDuc O2 manipulator to even out low rpm stumbles.....

Man - I love this bike



Monday 1 October 2012

First

I'm new to this - I don't know if I'll like it.......................


FIRST
The first post - this is Genesis 

printf("Hello world \n");

...........only kidding........

HISTORY:
First rode a MOTO at age of 6, it was a PW50 - it was amazing
Cycling for > 15 years - MTB and Road - still ride road to this day

BIKES:
Learner = Honda VTR250
Teacher = Kawasaki Er6n Factory Full
Current = Aprilia Shiver 750

INF:
I am a commuter, weekend scratcher and try to complete a multi-day tour at least once per year. 

I ride minimum 6 days per week - rain or shine.........I wouldn't have it any other way.
As a commuter I am greatly dependant on my bike - treat her right and she treats me right - I love my Ape.

BLOG:
Herein you shall find my rants at Cagers, day to day riding observations, thoughts on roadcraft, the plod and inconsiderate road usage etc....

However - my key is to record (mostly for my own indulgence) the rides that make me smile...........the ones that you relive a day later sipping on a beer while you recount that set of twisties which opened up to fast sweepers just when the tires were nice and sticky......

That is riding - and that is why I love it......

\BitSar


My Ape:






Previous Bikes: