Moto Lust: A New Beginning
Sitting on the couch. MotoGP final round in HiDef. Netbook running an ASP.Net MVC site that I have been working on.
Lorenzo has a huge moment and Rossi passes. He is nearly chucked off the bike.
“I don’t know how he stays on when that happens…”
“Faith?”
“So is that what it feels like when you lean over?”
“I suppose. There was only one long left-hander where I could really get a feel for leaning over that far. All of the other corners are shorter in duration. They are snaps. I never get enough time at full lean to learn any feeling. In any case, it felt very strange in those moments. The only way I could really tell how far I was hanging out was by looking at my rear-tire after the fact. I shredded the left side and there is no chicken strip left, so I must have been really hanging off the bike and rolling on the throttle. The shape of the KTM tank doesn’t allow for me to lean off and keep my upper body down at the same time. It’s too vertical. I really noticed that the last time I was on your Ducati. It was much easier to move around the bike because of the tank shape. I could get my head in the right spot and keep my shoulders lower. ”
“Hmm…”
“I was watching the 250 race before this one. It really seems like if I want to get to the next level, I need to start over so to speak. I need to find a cheap 250 or 500 that I can turn into a track bike. I need something small so I can learn how to get through corners as fast and smoothly as possible. On a liter bike, there is too much going on. The weight and physical size require more gross muscle movement. Subtly isn’t one of my strong points and on the KTM it is totally lacking. Throw in over 120 horse and I can go really fast regardless of my true skill level. A little bike would be cheap to acquire, cheaper to run for tires, fuel, and the like, less expensive to replace when I destroy it and I might actually learn how to really corner.”
“That’s what I want. A light, little throw away bike so I can get used to being back on a bike. Then you could turn it into a track bike and beat the crap out of it.”
“Something like a used late model Ninja 250 or 500?”
“Exactly”
…
“Here are a couple on CraigsList. $1450 for this one. Never crashed. $1650 for this one down in Bend. Crashed. More miles. Two years older… It looks like we could find something good for under $1500. At that price we could skip full coverage and go liability only.”
…
Honestly, I don’t have room in my garage for 4 bikes at this exact moment. I just got the vette back into the garage two weekends ago. And just in time. It seems to be raining everyday now. Winter has arrived.
Maybe we’ll pick one up. Maybe not. But having the discussion end positively is always a good sign. We’d both be getting something that we are interested in. She could get something small and manageable to reacquaint herself with two wheels. I’d get a little track bike so I could learn more about cornering, lean angles and proper body position.
The idea of doing more track days is starting to sound like a good idea. I need to know where the edges are so I can avoid them. The only way to find out is to practice. That’s what a track bike would do for me. Give me lots of opportunities to practice and reduced risks when I cross the limits and slide across the tarmac in a grassy field. Dumping a $2000 project bike is much less painful than dumping a $15,000 rocket.
