How's this for a fringe benefit? I was at the brand-new, $250-million, 2.9-mile, 14-turn Autodromo Algarve in Portimão, Portugal, to take a guest-ride on the #21 Ducati, Troy Bayliss' World Championship-winning 1098 F08. But I also got seat time aboard World Supersport Champion Andrew Pitt's TenKate Hannspree Honda CBR600RR. Cool deal, eh?
After riding the 200-hp Ducati that "did the double" the day before in the WSB finale, I hopped on the #88 Honda. TenKate sure knows how to build a World Supersport bike, amassing a total of seven championships, including in 2008...not to mention James Toseland's World Superbike title in 2007. After I rode the Bayliss Ducati, the CBR600RR did feel like a "Pitt bike." It was so much fun!
Super-controllable power, light steering effort and great braking capability; every facet of this motorcycle has gone through micro-refinement. It has one of the best characteristics of a great bike: perfect balance. This CBR600RR made the difficult-to-learn circuit, even with its slippery surface and blind entries, the best rollercoaster I've ever ridden on Pirelli Diablo Super Corsa rails.
SPEED SECRETS Tuning tips from the grave. 01.20.2009
Last week's e-mail brought this tasty tidbit from author Jerry Hatfield, author of Flat Out! The Rollie Free Story, a new book about the Bonneville speed legend. Seems that ol' Rollie is still giving tuning tips, 24 years after his death.
For last year's speed runs, Randy Johnson and partner Steve Adkins of the Dallas-Fort Worth area had prepared a Norton 750 for Production Frame/Production Engine class. Says Hatfield, "With 50-weight oil, the bike clocked 113 mph plus. Then Randy remembered from the Rollie book that Free derisively referred to such thick oil as 'sorghum.' So the guys went to a Wendover service station and bought 10w40 oil."
On the next run, with the thinner oil, the bike clocked 121-plus. "Although the sparkplug gap had been reset between runs," says Hatfield, "Randy and Steve feel this was inconsequential and that the 9-mph speed increase was due to the thinner oil."
Word spread in the pits. Before day's end, all of the 10w40 in Wendover was sold out. Good thing Free's wind-cheating Speedos have long since been outlawed...
—David Edwards
CROSS TOWN TRAFFIC Taking the family for a ride, Indian-style! 01.15.2009 | Photo by Jeff Allen
We've all done it. We've all complained about traffic. How packed the roads are, how lawless our cell-phone-chatting drivers have become in the Land of the Freely Negligent. But you ain't seen chaos on the road until you've seen India.
I took a recent trip to the southwestern city of Chennai, home to Royal Enfield, and not only had a chance to ride in a taxi and auto-rickshaw (a two-stroke three-wheeler) through town, but also to ride a new 500cc Royal Enfield for an upcoming print feature. There seemed to be no rules, no laws, just a fluid dynamic that included a near-constant symphony of horn honking and an almost complete denial that red lights exist. One of my hosts put it best: "The horn is a wear item!"
But the coolest and craziest part of transport in India was all the stuff people carried on two wheels and how many families were using the abundant 100–125cc commuter bikes to transport everybody at once. Check out the family of five cruising comfortably through the chaos! Who needs a 5000-pound SUV?!
—Mark Hoyer
SNOW DAY Code at the office is "Out testing." 01.06.2009
Believe it or not, growing up in sunny Southern California does have its downs. As a kid, I never once got to have a snow day. I only was able to watch the news and see other kids playing in the snow when their schools were closed. My school never shut down! Lucky for me, I landed a job that allows me to make up for these missed play days. Code at the office is "Out testing."
Last week the nearby mountains were doused with white frost—close enough to declare it a snow day. I called a couple of friends, we loaded up our dirtbikes and headed up to the hills. Down low, no snow, but riding conditions were perfect. The dirt was soft, wet and tacky to the extreme. Turning and stopping, my bike felt like it was being sucked into the ground.
But, hey, this was a snow day, so we rode up in altitude to trails covered in the white stuff. About a foot of fresh powder with minimal ice made it easy to plow through without getting stuck. Only problem was hitting hidden rocks, which really just added to the fun when racing my buddies. A snow day indeed!
—Ryan Dudek
CARRYING THE TORCH Playing with fire! 01.06.2009
Plenty of ways to use one's free time in this world. If you've read Cycle World magazine or any of these blogs over the last few years, you know I spend abundant time fixing up old motorcycles and using them on some fairly long rides. I even commute on a regular basis using pre-1960 English bikes.
Which is why this photo even exists. It's one thing to build a trailer-queen machine that has the appearance of being a useable form of transportation but never really puts a wheel down the Long Road. But when you actually run something, every little detail has to be right, or else it is wrong. My 1954 Velocette MSS 500cc Single has had its share of wrongs over the last few years thanks to some poor work done by the previous owner, but in the big run-up to the 1000-mile annual Velo Club rally last year, I went the full distance on the most complete rebuild I possibly could.
With the help and guidance of my pal Mike Jongblood, himself a Velocette commuter and an incredible machinist and mechanic, we (mostly he!) fixed just about every possible problem with my Velo engine. Here, we (he!) are (is) heating the cases with a torch in the process of putting in new main-bearing races. It was fun to watch, but I hope never to have this photo opportunity again! So far so good...
