And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
motorcycles are designed to be inherently stable. in fact when in trouble with stability, sometimes when appropriate, loosening ones grip on the handlebars results in the bike straightening out all by itself. i have decades of motorcycle predominate use. once when on icy road, while trying to brake, bike got sideways sliding upright down the road. with the experience of a lifetime, i released control of the motorcycle, without removing my hands completely. think C shape, with approx twice diameter of hands to hand grips. while taking my foot off of he brake. bike straitened up all by itself. went straight thru the intersection safely, managed to slow down thru braking horse power and draging my soles. got off the road, checked into a motel and waited for road conditions to improve. frightened, absolutely. lucky, absolutely. have had numerous frightening, lucky situations, that being focused managed to survive. rear tire blowouts at 60 mph. oncoming traffic using my lane. oncoming traffic passing, using my lane. hitting gravel while trying to make right turn. over 40 years, had approx 20 old motorcycles. managed to drop every one of them at least once. managed to never hit a car or anything more solid than a curb. never injured. done many stupid things. lived and learned. rule of thumb. if you can survive the first 6 months of primarily motorcycle use, you are a survivor and will probably never get seriously hurt. rule number 2. if you are faster than the rest of the traffic, you do not have to worry about what is behind or beside you. you only have to worry about what is in front of you.
Speedway bikes. From what I know (never tried it but.....), as the rider is entering the corner, he turns the throttle wide open to get the tire spinning, allowing him to slide around the corner, and when the time is right, backs off on the throttle allowing the tire to hook up and accelerate to the next corner. Just the opposite of what you would expect, but makes sense when you think about it.
Correct. Been a Speedway enthusiast since about'72. I would love to buy an old one to restore. Too old to race but, I'd give it a solo try around the track.
That was a well trained steed, all it knew was never quit, no excuses until the checkered flag. So much so it even tried to find another rider so it could finish the race. Man verses machine.
Spectators got a little more than they bargained for!
ReplyDeletemotorcycles are designed to be inherently stable. in fact when in trouble with stability, sometimes when appropriate, loosening ones grip on the handlebars results in the bike straightening out all by itself. i have decades of motorcycle predominate use. once when on icy road, while trying to brake, bike got sideways sliding upright down the road. with the experience of a lifetime, i released control of the motorcycle, without removing my hands completely. think C shape, with approx twice diameter of hands to hand grips. while taking my foot off of he brake.
ReplyDeletebike straitened up all by itself. went straight thru the intersection safely, managed to slow down thru braking horse power and draging my soles. got off the road, checked into a motel and waited for road conditions to improve. frightened, absolutely. lucky, absolutely. have had numerous frightening, lucky situations, that being focused managed to survive. rear tire blowouts at 60 mph.
oncoming traffic using my lane. oncoming traffic passing, using my lane. hitting gravel while trying to make right turn. over 40 years, had approx 20 old motorcycles. managed to drop every one of them at least once. managed to never hit a car or anything more solid than a curb. never injured. done many stupid things. lived and learned. rule of thumb. if you can survive the first 6 months of primarily motorcycle use, you are a survivor and will probably never get seriously hurt. rule number 2. if you are faster than the rest of the traffic, you do not have to worry about what is behind or beside you. you only have to worry about what is in front of you.
"you only have to worry about what is in front of you"
DeleteYes, yes.
I was told once (while lying in a hospital bed), that you never have to change the oil in your first bike.
/DW
"ALIVE. IT'S ALIVE"!!!
ReplyDeleteI think I can hear one of the spectators screaming, "IT'S POSSESSED, RUN!"
ReplyDeleteSpeedway bikes. From what I know (never tried it but.....), as the rider is entering the corner, he turns the throttle wide open to get the tire spinning, allowing him to slide around the corner, and when the time is right, backs off on the throttle allowing the tire to hook up and accelerate to the next corner. Just the opposite of what you would expect, but makes sense when you think about it.
ReplyDeleteCorrect. Been a Speedway enthusiast since about'72. I would love to buy an old one to restore. Too old to race but, I'd give it a solo try around the track.
DeleteLooks to me like that throttle got stuck wide open.
ReplyDeleteThat was a well trained steed, all it knew was never quit, no excuses until the checkered flag. So much so it even tried to find another rider so it could finish the race. Man verses machine.
ReplyDeleteThat bike was once owned by Stephen King, which explains it all!
ReplyDeleteFlat track bikes are a blast. Check out Springfield, Illinois on youtube sometime.
ReplyDeleteThe Season (as it was this year) will be ending soon. Look up Fast Fridays in Auburn ,CA.. A bit of a drive from Redding but worth it.
ReplyDeletetheir fence is a little fragile.
ReplyDeleteYou just can't keep a good motorcycle down!!!
ReplyDelete