New kit

My old trusty Dainese boots are about to retire ... at last. These have beenfaithfully with me for almost 10 years whatever the bike, wherever we rode : from simple roadsters to advanced soprtbikes, from winter frozen road in the North to hot summer melted track tarmac in the South. They evan survived 3 crashes while saving my ankles and toes.

Farewell boots ... Welcome to a brand new pair of TCXs.

The comparison speaks for itself

Get a grip

Tired of slippery manholes waiting round the corner ? Think there's nothing you can do against that kind of surprise on a wet day ? Here's something to change your mind : the "Get a grip" petition.

Go sign it or stop complaining.

Watching MotoGP

Sitting in my couch watching the first MotoGP round of the 2011 season.

It looked promising on the paper with Bautista bringing Suzuki where they haven't been for 10 years - he then badly highsided in free practice -, Rossi on a still-to-impress Ducati (but certainly on the good move) and Simoncelli riding on super fast pace mode on his private Honda. It eventually turned out to be a rather boring race which looked so 2010 :

- De Puniet crashed in the 3rd turn (hurting Capirossi). This points actually looks so 2009, 2008 and 2007 as well ...

- The entry list was as short as ever

- Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa were in front from the start

MotoGP is back folks ! Let's hope this race is not a preview of what the rest of the season could look like.

Braking

Restoration to drool for

Click the link below if you want to drool looking at a ZX7RR restoration performed by a real fussy spoiled boy. Not only this rather rare bike receives the restoration treatment it deserves, but it also gets shiny tasty performance parts in the same process. Really nice to look at. Check it out here.

Could the TRX be back ?

Rumors are growing around a possible return for the Yamahe TRX. Back in 1995, Yamaha tweaked a XTZ Super Tenere 750 to build 2 new motorcycles, one being the TDM, the other what was Yamaha's attempt to hunt on Ducati's Supersport territory. Despite not being their best selling bike, the TRX wasn't a bad horse at all.

Now with the new 1200 Tenere out, could Yamaha do the Super Tenere trick once again more than 15 years after ? It may not be that obvious, but the factory released a few protective patents that could let us hope for such a launch to happen.

Read (a bit) more on Visordown.

Badly fueled

Synchronizing the throttle bodies didn't not cure the bad mileage on the big S. It's still difficult to start, hard to work with in town, stalling at traffic lights and eating gas like a thirsty camel. With this fueling problem unsolved, I don't want to move forward to the next steps like sorting the suspension or brakes. The project's stuck.

I took contact with a pro tuner in the Netherlands last week. The plan is to pay him a visit next week (Saturday anyone ?) with the bike so he remaps the RapidBike module. I hope he can sort this all out once for all. In the short conversation we had, he suggested I should revert to the standard ignition cables. So for the fourth time, I swapped these cables this afternoon.

And since the side panels were down and the tank was put away, it also was a good occasion to find a new place for the diagnostic USB plug as it will be needed when on the dyno to access and optimize the current fueling map. I squeezed the plug just between the airbox and the left frame spar.

Sharp Katanas

When it comes to Suzuki Katanas, some waste time in endless expensive accurate restorations, some others in tricky transformations, but all end up with a piece of motorcycle history that drags a lot of attention these days. There are countless efforts out there to prove that Katanas are now back on the roads as premium classics.

But there's another way to enjoy the unforgettable Katana look. Unicorn Japan supply parts to alter more "modern" Suzuki motorcycles like GSF1200 and GSX1400. The result is absolutely stunning.

I've got to find an old Bandit ... ;D

Rapid bike installed

As with a couple of other things, I took some time last week to fit the Rapid Bike module on the R1100S. It was a rather easy job, but once installed it caused the bike to be more difficult to start even with the choke trigger fully pulled. Add to this a disastrous gas mileage that makes me think the lean air/fuel ratio is now history and you can guess my reaction. More money thrown at trying to solve issues, more problems.

Apart from these new issues, the bike's absolutely flying with its new programmable injection module. It pulls  continuously with force in the whole rev range in a deeper than ever exhaust sound. The engine produces a much smoother torque curve and the famous 4500 rpm flat spot has almost disappeared. It was raining when I took it for its test ride, so there's certainly more to discover later, but a difference could be felt.

Now, the starting issue, a much higher idle speed and the rather short tank range made me think I was in for a "carb" synch, so I plugged my faithful Twinmax and gave the synch screws a spin. I ended up with both screws completely tightened, a sensibly lowered idle speed and an effective choke trigger. I also put the Power FRK module down just to see if it has something to do with it. 

Test ride is planned for tomorrow starting with a full tank of gas.

Collapsed BST

Pictures of what appears to be a collapsed BST carbon wheel showed up on the Pelican Parts forum the other day. Given the price for a pair, I would understand the owner, who's fortunately said to be alive and far from badly wounded, to be pissed as hell.

Ok then, what's to be learned from all this ? Well first, BST (standing for Black Stone Tek) wheels are light and hollow. Then, given the look of the inner threads, you could honestly ask yourself if you get the quality you expensively paid for. To me, BST wheels are so pricey that even with a 50% rebate I'd still think twice before buying (and I'm not trying to minimize their impact on the bike's flickabillity). Finally, don't get me wrong, carbon wheels, with Öhlins USD forks (or more recently Showa BPF forks) or TTX shocks, are still the climax when it comes to motorcycle upgrades.