Alanf's blog...

Once again, I find that I have a backlog of things I wanted to post on the blog but not enough time to do long postings on each one. Presented here is my second installment of “Odds and Ends".

A month ago, I did a blog posting about some Dunlop posters that were being offered for sale with the proceeds going to a good cause. Well, if you have more money to spend and want an even cooler thing to show for it, there is an auction of signed motorcycle gear being hosted by RPM with all the money earned from the sale going to help injured motorcycle racer Vincent Haskovec. The list of stuff up for sale is amazing and its guilt free since you’re helping someone in need. Bid soon and bid often.

Another news item which raised my eyebrows was an announcement from the AMA that the Daytona 200 would again be a Formula Xtreme race in 2006 but that the Superbike race would again be promoted as the premier race. My first problem with this is that it implies that the AMA has the luxury of determining what is or isn’t the premier class. I’d say that the fans determine that. If the fans feel let down by the Superbikes being removed from the 200 then Superbikes aren’t the premier class. My second issue with this is that it doesn’t really clarify anything. The AMA seems unable to make up their minds about the how to continue their recent commitment to Superbikes through 2008 while at the same time promoting their vision of Formula Xtreme as the direction the series should be going. Looks to me like they are tabling this whole issue for another year by sticking with a confusing class structure and confusing priorities at Daytona for another year.

I did a blog posting back in April about TV viewership of MotoGP races in Europe. Well, another report came out showing 50% viewership of the Catalunya MotoGP race in Italy and 33% viewership in Spain. 50 - freaking- percent!?!? Is that amazing or what? Obviously I’ve got Italian blood somewhere in my past. Maybe I should move to Italy and see if it feels like home?

Rossi makes bank according to the Forbes annual survey. No real surprise there but this is probably the first time a motorcycle racer has shown up near the top of a salary survey since the days of Barry Sheene. Just another sign of both how professional the MotoGP series has become and just how valued as a rider Rossi really is. We’ll have to see if Yamaha can afford to keep Valentino on the payroll when his two year contract comes to an end this year.

During the MotoGP weekend at Assen a press release hit the air waves saying that HRC and Repsol have agreed to terms that will continue to see Honda’s MotoGP team sponsored by the Argentinean oil giant through 2007. What is interesting about this is that earlier this year, it appeared that Honda was in a tight spot with Spaniard Sete Gibernau being the Honda rider that earned full factory support but having a Repsol contract that prevented a full factory bike from being handed out to any team except the one in the Respol HRC factory garage. Some agreement was apparently reached which allowed Sete to get a full factory bike and now the Honda/Repsol contract has been renewed. There isn’t any indication of whether the new contract contains the same restrictions as the previous one. Could Marco Melandri now be the next rider to get full factory support without being on a Respol bike?

I saw somewhere, and unfortunately I’ve forgotten exactly where, that the Australian postal service issued a set of five postage stamps last year to honor Australia’s Grand Prix motorcycle racers. I couldn’t google up any good links but the stamps were printed for Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner, Daryl Beattie, Garry McCoy and Troy Bayliss. Damn, now I can’t decide if I should move to Italy or Australia!

My favorite news item, though, were the details about the British Superbike “R6 Cup” series. At first, it looks just like any other spec bike race class. Lots of riders racing on identically prepared bikes. However, there are two things that make this one particularly interesting. First, all the bikes are prepared by the same crew (sort of like the International Suzuki Cup series bikes). Riders are randomly assigned a bike at the beginning of the race and the bikes are returned immediately after the checkered flag. No monkeying around with the bikes allowed. The riders pay a flat rate to lease the bike for the race season. The second, and biggest difference, is the prize. At the end of the season the rider that wins the series gets a full factory Superbike ride the following year with the Virgin Yamaha team. Sweet! What a dream deal for a young rider. Last year’s winner, Tommy Hill, has performed well this year in his factory debut and is rumored to have the same ride next year along side the winner of the 2005 R6 Cup championship. Bravo to Virgin Mobile for helping bootstrap the British Superbike series.

[image from the Fast Dates Calendar web site.]

Misano is a Ducati circuit. Every race run at the San Marino circuit for the past four years has been won by a booming v-twin from nearby Bolgona. In fact, of the 28 races run at the Misano track before this past weekend, Ducati have won 22 of them. Its also a track which tends to produce double wins during the World Superbike race weekend. Of the 14 previous double headers, 9 of them have been had the same winner. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that a Ducati rider won both events on the series latest visit to the track. But given the trend so far this season, predictions for a Ducati double were few and far between. Troy Corser has won 6 of the 10 races leading up to Misano. However, the last three races have been won by three different riders showing the winds of change may have finally started blowing.

It was Frenchman Regis Laconi that blew them away at Misano this past weekend. I appears that Laconi’s race one win at Silverstone, combined with a re-emergence of Ducati competitiveness after the Italian races at Monza, re-ignited his desire to win a World Superbike title. Laconi was the favorite to win the championship last season but crashes handed the #1 plate to his teammate Toseland. Laconi started out this season with good finishes but then suffered for a couple of rounds before returning to the lead pack at Monza. That early season “dip” has hurt his chances of winning the title this season as he is currently 92 points behind championship leader Corser. However, with the past five races going to someone other than the Suzuki rider, the door may yet be open for a fantastic comeback from one of the other riders. Laconi certainly looked confident at Misano and hopes to be that miracle story…

Another rider that looked strong on Sunday was Honda mounted Chris Vermeulen. Just as Laconi did a double win, Vermeulen was the double runner-up. Those finishes earned the young Aussie enough points to jump into second place in the championship. Vermeulen continues to look strong and got the better of Corser after a ferocious battle in race 2. The Ten Kate Honda also showed incredible speed indicating that Vermeulen’s CBR is now on equal footing with the Corona Suzuki of Corser. Vermeulen is 73 points behind his countryman in the title run so, like Laconi, he’ll have to make up a lot of points over the final 12 races to have any hope of hoisting that WSBK #1 plate.

Despite two third place finishes, Corser was still the big winner at Misano. Coming into the race weekend, teammate Kagayama was the most likely challenger to Corser for the WSBK trophy. With a DNF in race one, Kagayama lost major points and may have taken himself out of contention. While Vermeulen and Laconi gained points on Corser they were coming from well back so aren’t an immediate threat. If Corser can continue to finish on the podium for the rest of the season he will win his second WSBK title and as a result he doesn’t have to go all out for the win in individual races. That wasn’t obvious in race one as he battled with James Toseland for third on the track (a red flag split the race into two segments and Corser had a three second lead over Toseland based on aggregate time. The battle for position was strictly for honor). I think this tussle with the Brit was just so Corser could get a little experience battling with other riders after winning most of the early races this season by large margins. Expect Troy to play a strategic points game for the remainder of the year.

Keeping the repeat finish trend going, James Toseland was forth in both races, his fifth and sixth top five finishes over the last six races. The Ducati rider looked very strong in his battles with Corser, Haga and Chili during the weekend so he definitely has re-gained the confidence that earned him 3 wins and the title last season. He is currently fifth in the championship race but 130 points down on Corser so it is unlikely he will be a repeat WSBK champion.

Finally, my personal favorite rider is Klaffi Honda’s Pierfrancesco Chili who had another strong weekend with seventh and fifth place finishes. This moves him up to eighth in the title fight, one point behind Chris Walker and two points behind Noriyuki Haga. Considering he is 40 years old, and that he missed both Phillip Island races due to a broken collarbone, the Italian continues to defy expectations and thrill his fans.

Less thrilling was Chili’s teammate Max Neukirchner who crashed out of both races. Max was a revelation in the first few races with strong finishes but has since suffered DNFs. The German rider needs to rebuilt his confidence with some decent finishes in the remainder of the series. He is young and has plenty of time to make a name for himself without going into “Win it or bin it” mode this season.

Finally, the Yamahas inexplicably continue to struggle. Haga was the top Yamaha finisher this weekend with double sixth place finishes. But Pitt, Abe and Cardoso all finished outside the top 10. With Ducati and Honda both stepping up to challenge Suzuki, it is now time for Yamaha to do the same. It seems unlikely that riders like Haga and Abe are to blame for the poor finishes as both are spectacular riders. Lets hope we can see Haga capable doing another double at Brands Hatch later this season, as that appears to be a track whose history favors him.

[image from MotoGranPrix.it web site.]

Since I’m avoiding reading the web today (so that I don’t learn the results of the Misano World Superbike races before they are televised Tuesday afternoon) I thought I’d do a follow-up to my blog entry from a couple of weeks ago which touched on the 250GP class.

The 250 race this past weekend at Assen was fantastic. Unlike many of the early races of the season during which championship points leader Dani Pedrosa ran away from everyone, this was a tight battle which wasn’t decided until the last lap. In fact it wasn’t won by Pedrosa at all which gives us the hope that there may yet be some challengers to keep Pedrosa honest in his quest for a second straight 250GP title. Finally, it held that extra bit of excitement which comes from watching a rider fight through injury to card a good finish. Throw all those ingredients together in the incredible Assen TT circuit and you have an exciting race indeed.

The winner of this mighty battle was the Aprilia mounted Argentinean Sebastian Porto. In my preview for the first race of the season, I picked Porto as one of my favorites for the season. Two DNFs in Catalunya and France have basically taken him out of the championship fight. All he can hope for now is to earn some wins and show he is still a force in 250GP. His strategically run race in Assen was a good way to send this message. His double pass for the lead was the best move of the race and perhaps the bets of the season. With silly season underway, he needs more of these moves to justify his ride.

For second place Dani Pedrosa, Assen was all about maintaining his points lead. With Porto basically out of the points chase, Pedrosa only needed to worry about Stoner and Dovisioso. With them coming in 6th and 7th in Holland Pedrosa continued to build on his points lead which is now up to 37 points over Stoner. I think Pedrosa had a brief thought of pushing for the win but when Porto pushed under him and upped the pace Dani was satisfied to bring his Honda home in second. Champions know when to go for the win and when to get the points that are available.

I think that third place finisher Jorge Lorenzo was the best story of the Dutch weekend. The 18 year old Spaniard was involved in a crash with Alex de Angelis at Catalunya which resulted in a broken collarbone. He immediately went to a hospital in Barcelona and had the broken clavicle pinned and plated. A mere 12 days later he showed up in Assen to race. Most presumed he was there just to collect some points but he thrilled everyone by taking pole position. He then leap off the line at the green light and lead the race. He didn’t just lead the race for one or two laps but instead the entire thing until both Porto and Pedrosa passed him with on lap to go. Despite the injured shoulder, Lorenzo appeared to be the most physical rider in the 250 class. When transitioning the bike through the chicane at Assen, Lorenzo was throwing his body off the side of the bike with such violence I thought surely he would wash out the front tire. This dramatic style, combined with his recent surgery, made him the center of attention. While its unfortunate he couldn’t hold on for the win, his podium finish is a Cinderella story not unlike those that Marco Melandri put on during his 2002 season in the 250 class. Keep your eye on this kid!

Disappointing at Assen were both Aprila mounted Casey Stoner and Honda mounted Andrea Dovizioso. Both have emerged this season as Pedrosa’s primary challengers but neither was able to hold the pace of the front runners at the TT circuit. They need to keep pressure on the young Spaniard if either one have any hope of winning the 250 championship this year and 6th/7th place finishes aren’t going to accomplish that. Since the 250s aren’t racing at Laguna Seca, their next race will be July 24th at Donington Park in England. Lets hope the one month break helps them return to their competitive ways. Then again, if Lorenzo is healthy by then he may become the primary threat to Pedrosa. If he gets third with a broken collarbone, what will he do when he’s healthy?

[image from Jorge Lorenzo web site.]

This weekend MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi put on yet another masterful display of racing around the 3.75 mile long Assen circuit. As I guessed in my race preview on Friday the Assen circuit definitely suited the Yamaha. Not only did Valentino win convincingly, his teammate Colin Edwards made his second podium appearance of the year with a strong third place. While the Yamaha may not be the most powerful bike on the grid is definitely handles the best. The Yamaha engineers should be proud of their accomplishments on that front.

But its Marco Melandri who should be standing tall this weekend. The 22 year old Italian has been the revelation of the year having scored top four finishes at ever race. He has proven to be the main title contender to Rossi and the top Honda rider…a position which was assumed to be held by Max Biaggi or Sete Gibernau at the start of the season. This weekend in particular was a performance for which Melandri can be proud. First, he lead the race for nine laps and was hounded by Rossi for two long laps without making a mistake before the inevitable pass for the lead. After the pass, Marco was able to step up his pace and hang with Rossi for the remaining ten laps of the race. The result was a 1.5 second gap at the stripe, easily on par with the gap to Rossi that more experience MotoGP racers like Gibernau and Biaggi have had in their races with the dominant Yamaha rider. Additionally, his second place finish was the best of the year for Melandri so he continues to improve with each race.

Another improving rider is Honda’s Nicky Hayden. Over the past four races, Hayden has had two sixth place finishes, then a fifth and now a fourth in Assen. The 10 second gap from winner Rossi looks discouraging but he continues to show that he is learning. In the early laps, he was the most aggressive rider on the track pushing his way through to second place on the first lap. Hayden seems to have improved with both his qualifying and bike setup at the beginning of this year and aggressiveness was the one skill he seemed to lack, even as recently as Mugello. At Catalunya the rider from Owensboro, Kentucky seemed to pick that up with some tough riding in the early laps against Melandri, Gibernau, Rossi and Barros. He then picked that up even more at Assen, showing he is improving at each race. If he can just find that extra tenth of a second per lap, Nicky will be fighting it out with Valentino and Marco. Easier said that I done, I know.

For Rossi, it was another crushing victory, his sixth of the seven races run so far this year. Rossi can win no matter what: Fast tracks, slow tracks, wet, dry, running away or fighting till the last lap. This race used a different approach with Vale getting a poor start and having to charge through over the first few laps to join the front runners. He made it look easy has he carved his way to the front, then stalked Melandri before taking the lead. I think he wanted to pull a bait and switch on his Honda riding countryman by running Marco’s pace for a few laps after going to the front, then picking up the pace to crush Melandri’s confidence. Fortunately, Marco upped his pace as well which gives us hope that Rossi’s reign may yet be challenged. There are still two issues that need to be resolved. First, given Rossi and Melandri’s friendship, did Valentino really push Marco has hard has he was capable? Second, if Melandri does start to pressure Rossi for the championship will their friendship dissolve just as the Gibernau-Rossi relationship went sour after Qatar in 2004?

Edwards took advantage of the sweet handling Yamaha to run the pace of his teammate. In the middle stages of the race, the Texan was actually the fastest rider on the track. With open track ahead of him, it was clear that Edwards was comfortable. However, it took him a couple of laps to get past both Gibernau and Hayden showing he still has to develop the aggressiveness that the younger Honda mounted American is just now learning. Had Edwards been able to cut through slower riders sooner he appeared capable of running the same pace as the two Italians in front of him. His fine podium finish, along with the fourth by Hayden, bodes well for us American fans getting a great show at Laguna Seca in a couple of weeks.

Another big news item was Max Biaggi. He celebrated his 34th birthday at Assen but also earned a $6,000 fine due to careless riding. He ran into both Battaini and Melandri during the weekend. This was amplified when Biaggi’s uncle, a visitor in the Honda pits, physically assaulted Melandri in the paddock. The final insult for the Roman was the race itself. As with other recent races Biaggi sucked in the early laps before charging through to an eventual sixth place. With 250GP championship leader Pedrosa supposedly guaranteed a Repsol Honda seat in 2006, Biaggi better step it up if he wants to keep his factory position.

One thing that definitely isn’t looking up are the Bridgestone tires. Just like at Catalunya, the Ducati, Kawasaki and Suzuki riders all suffered miserable results at Assen. Over the first few laps, the Kawasaki of Nakano and the Ducati of Capirossi both ran in the top five. Both slid backwards as the race progressed to eventually get eighth and tenth place finishes. The Suzukis had a double whammy with both their crappy motor and the crappy tires conspiring to put them nearly a minute behind the leader, finishing in 13th and 16th respectively.

Finally, next year will be an interesting watershed for the Assen track. This year a chicane was added to the track but this winter a drastic modification to the circuit will cut nearly a mile out of the current layout. All the riders have expressed disappointment with the proposed changes as it will ruin the flowing character that has defined this course for the past 75 years. Assen also has a decade long history of drawing crowds of 90,000+ fans. Lets hope that the rider’s lack of enthusiasm for the changes doesn’t affect the ticket buying public or the world stands to loose a great race track based on both layout and attendance…

[image from the Team Gresini web site.]

The racing this weekend promises to be one of the best weekends of the year with racing in both Holland and Italy.

First is the MotoGP race at Circuit Van Drenthe in the Netherlands. This race takes place on Saturday but is being televised on SpeedTV on Sunday. Assen is truly one of the great road racing tracks in the world and it is the one with the longest running tradition of Grand Prix racing. This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the Assen circuit and the 59th Grand Prix race held at the track. In fact, there have been GP races at the Circuit Van Drenthe continuously since 1949! It has been around so long and has such a honored place among the race circuits of the world that it is referred to as the “Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing". With a title like that, you can imagine how popular the Assen circuit is both with riders and fans. The track regularly boasts attendance figures of 100,000 and in 1990 actually had double that number show up. The experience of watching a race at Assen is supposedly right up there with the Italian and Spanish race tracks which means the atmosphere for the riders is electric. As if the crowds aren’t enough, the track itself really allows riders to shine. The original Assen track was laid out on public roads and thus has severe camber changes over the course of a lap. Additionally, it isn’t a track with a lot of tight turns or long straight aways. Its lack of elevation changes and its gentle bends (with the exception of a new chicane added this year) mean that throttle control and ease of direction changes are the key to a fast lap. This isn’t a track where high horsepower equates to fast laps. Even as the track has been converted to a dedicated track over the years the two defining characteristics remain the crowned track surface and the flowing nature of the track. Expect the Yamaha’s light handling traits to really shine around the 3.7-mile circuit. As a result, Rossi has to be the favorite coming into this weekend. Since he won at Assen last year, he is shooting for two in a row. Gibernau won the 2003 MotoGP race at Assen and is again likely to be the biggest challenger to Rossi. (Assuming he has bounced back from the psychological beatings he has taken over the past few weeks at Mugello and Catalunya). Another factor that was highlighted at Catalunya was the tire issue, with Bridgestone riders suffering in the hot Spanish sun. If the temperatures are high in Holland, expect the Michelin riders to again set the pace and the Bridgestone riders to struggle. Finally, it seemed like Ducati found something between Mugello and Catalunya. This weekend will show whether their showing outside Barcelona was a fluke or if they are really back to being contenders. Then again, since they are on Bridgestones it may tell us nothing new at all…only time will tell.

The second race of the weekend will be the World Superbike races at Misano. As with all racing in Italy, thousands make the pilgrimage to the coast to watch the races. In addition, perhaps as many as a million Italians will tune in via TV. Sadly, SpeedTV decided that a bunch of car races are more important that World Superbike, delaying the broadcast of the Misano races until Tuesday and denying us Americans that same privilege. Argh! Misano, like Assen, is a very challenging circuit. In fact, with its own multitude of camber changes, Misano is a bit like a twistier, tighter version of the Dutch circuit but with one section straightened out. The most spectacular feature at Misano is the Curvone which is a long multi-apex left-hander which leads onto the straight. Not unlike Monza, this curve allows the riders to really spin up the tires and slide the bike making for spectacular racing. If this weekend provides a typically hot Italian day, expect the Pirelli tires to help that sliding whether the riders want it or not. Like the situation with the MotoGP race at Assen, the series front runner in WSBK is also the biggest threat at Misano. Troy Corser has a spectacular record at the Adriatic coast track, including double wins in 2000 and nine other podium finishes over the six years the World Superbike series has raced there. Given his performance so far this season and his trend at Misano, it would be foolish to beat against him. If anyone is going to step up and challenge the Suzuki mounted Aussie it will probably be the factory Ducatis who have scored podium finishes in both the previous doubleheaders at Monza and Silverstone. Both Laconi and Toseland have a lot of work cut out for themselves if they are going to challenge Corser for the championship but either can pressure Suzuki mounted series rookie Kagayama who has been struggling lately. All the Honda and Yamaha riders need to make a huge leap forward as they have been inconsistent so far this season. Finally, I expect Chili to do well as racing in front of the Italian crowds always seems to energize this elder statesman of racing. Hopefully he can contain his enthusiasm enough to keep his Honda on two wheels.

So the dilemma for me is whether to check the web on Monday and Tuesday, knowing I’ll end up reading the results from the WSBK race, or to avoid computers until I can watch the race on TV so I will be surprised by the winner. If I don’t have a new blog posting on Monday and/or Tuesday, you’ll know why…

[image from the Assen TT web site.]

This past weekend the high profile Formula 1 car racing series made its only stop on US soil at the famed Indianapolis Speedway for the United States Grand Prix. Unfortunately, before the race even began it was mired in controversy and when the racing was over on Sunday the disgruntled fans actually boo’ed the winner. Not what is expected from a world caliber race and downright shocking when you realize that F1 racing is the most popular sport in most of Europe…this is not a rinky-dink operation in which this kind of problem might be normal.

The first rumblings of the eventual melt-down started during practice on Friday. Of the 10 teams racing in this premier cage racing series, seven of them run Michelin tires (the remainder run Bridgestones). Two of the Michelin drivers, Ralf Schumacher and Richardo Zonta, both crashed in practice due to tire failure. The problem is that the FIA has a rule that teams must race using the same tire that is used for qualifying. Michelin didn’t have any harder compound tires, capable of dealing with the brutal down force generated by an F1 car at full honk on the Indy banking, available for the qualifying session. They requested an exception be made for the qualifying tire rule or that a chicane be added to slow top speeds but the FIA deemed either option unfair to Bridgestone that had tires which appeared capable of racing at Indy. As a result, Michelin withdrew their tire and 7 teams (14 drivers) thus withdrew from the race. When only six cars lined up for the final race on Sunday, the crowd went bananas and the end result was that Michael Schumacher was boo’ed as he took to the podium after his win. The FIA then responding by fining the Michelin teams for actions “negative to the sport”

Talk about a public relations nightmare! Michelin look like they can’t make a good tire. The FIA looks like they don’t care about driver safety. The track looks dangerous. The fans look like idiots. The teams running Bridgestones look greedy for stone walling on the compromise asked by Michelin then going ahead with the race to gain maximum points. Only Bridgestone comes out of the deal looking good, since they brought a tire that could go the distance at the Brickyard road course. Now it has become a nasty finger pointing war.

So given that I’m a motorcycle race fan and don’t give a flip about cars why am I bringing all this up? Well, its because this could well be in our future. The FIM, the governing body behind MotoGP, would sell whatever remains of it’s soul if it thought it could become as popular as F-1 racing. Many of the current rules being put in place, specifically the flag-to-flag rain race rule, were built specifically to increase MotoGP’s appeal to a TV audience. This rule was adopted despite some serious questions being raised about the safety aspects of such a ruling. This is just the latest in a long history of questionable decision making by the FIM in regards to rider safety.

Given that the tire war in MotoGP boils down to the same two tire manufacturers as in F1 (Dunlop also provides tires for MotoGP but they aren’t particularly competitive) it is ironic that the situation seems reversed on the bikes. Michelin virtually owns the MotoGP series while Bridgestone has struggled at really fast tracks over the past two seasons. Bridgestone’s most spectacular problem was Shinya Nakano’s 180 mph rear tire blowout at Mugello last year but even this year the Bridgestone riders seemed to struggle at Catalunya. I’m sure that Bridgestone wasn’t too sorry to see Michelin lose face at Indy given how bad they looked after Mugello last summer!

It isn’t that big a stretch to think that rules could be put in place in Grand Prix to limit tire costs in an effort to stem the hemorrhaging of financial resources by the smaller teams. Teams like Team KTM/Roberts, WCM and D’Antin Ducati need to find a way to increase sponsorship, reduce costs, become competitive with what they have or get out of the sport. The FIM can’t afford to lose more teams, so they may have to introduce rules changes that help. Since tire costs are exploding and since the difference between having first tier tire support and second is at least a second per lap the smaller outfits will never stand a chance against the better funded teams. Also, as the tire wars escalate, the tire companies will take more and more risks by providing softer and softer tires. Not only are these tires less likely to last in the harshest of race conditions, they also cost more which again widens the gap. Finally, the tire manufacturers can’t afford to make special tires for each model of bike so they design their tires around maybe two of the team’s bikes. Michelin, for example, builds their tires for Honda and Yamaha. Team KTM/Roberts, which also races on Michelin, have to make do with tires designed for a different bike. If it matches their geometry great. If not, they will struggle. As the World Superbike series shows, tires may be the first place the FIM looks when it comes time to make changes to improve the competition by reducing costs.

Given the pressure on the two groups…the FIM’s need to both reduce tire cost and increase popularity on one hand and the tire manufacturers struggle to make tires capable of handling the 250+ horsepower dealt out by the MotoGP bikes on the other. It seems that it doesn’t take a gypsy fortune teller to foresee the potential for future MotoGP rules which may ultimately sacrifice rider safety for a more level and affordable series.

Perhaps this is one of the “gotchas” which await the FIM in its quest to match the popularity of F1. As is often the case, the grass isn’t always greener and the complexities of balancing cost, safety and participation may yet create the same PR controversy for MotoGP that has just exploded in the Formula One world.

[image from the Motoplus Germany web site.]

The classic Roman arch is one of the great marvels of engineering. The weight of the entire wall is held in place by one single thing…the keystone. When this critical stone is removed, the entire thing collapses. So it is with the MotoGP silly season and that keystone is, of course, Valentino Rossi.

Rossi is at the end of a two year contract with Yamaha. Unless things change drastically, he will win a second title for the Japanese manufacturer this year taking them from bust to boom as they went over ten years without a premier class title and now have two in a row thanks to the young Italian. He is the most talented rider in MotoGP and probably the most talented ever. No factory will dare fill up their factory seats until it is clear who will have Rossi’s services next year. Thus the entirety of silly season (and the lucrative factory contracts involved) are on hold with all eyes firmly fixed on the #46.

The front runner to collect the signature on their contract has to be Yamha. Rossi, along with his crew, have turned the lackluster M1 into an excellent machine. It is still down on power compared to the Honda and Ducati but its handling is probably the best in the paddock. Throw in Rossi’s magic on the bike and its an unbeatable combination. When you look at the rest of the Yamaha riders, including teammate Colin Edwards, it becomes clear that the bike isn’t yet perfect. Clearly, both Rossi and Burgess enjoy thumbing their nose at ex-employer Honda and Yamaha gives them the budget and technical expertise to continue doing so. Switching to any other brand makes their job that much more difficult. If Yamaha does retain the services of Rossi for another year or two, they don’t need to make many changes. If, as claimed, Rossi and Edwards run similar setups then they need to keep the Texan on the payroll. Not because Colin can win but because he is the ultimate development rider which will be particularly valuable if he’s developing for Rossi. However, it is finally time to pull the plug on the Xaus experience. Just be aware that Sharkskinz stock is going to crash when that happens…

A distant second is the scenario of a return to Honda. This is definitely a case of Big Red needing Rossi more than Rossi needs them. But if there is one thing that Honda has, its money. Lots and lots of money. In an ideal world that wouldn’t play a part but I’m sure even Rossi would have a hard time turning down a disgustingly large offer, should it be made. But Honda has something else and its something no one else in the paddock can offer…a Formula One ride. Rossi is constantly flirting with the cage racing crowd. He has raced (and crashed) in World Rally and has tested both Honda and Ferrari Formula One cars. If there is one place that needs Rossi’s flamboyant personality more than the MotoGP series, its Formula One. (The organizers of both series desperately want him so don’t be surprised to see some political pressure and perhaps even extra money from folks like Dorna to enter into negotiations). If Honda could offer a MotoGP ride with a transition into Formula One, it would be difficult for any other motorcycle factory to match that. Then again, Honda could put him straight into F-1 next year and open the door for a Biaggi, Gibernau, Melandri, Hayden battle in 2006… If Honda does put Rossi back on a RC211V next year, they should immediately fire every rider that is over the age of 25. Keep Melandri and Hayden, bring in Pedrosa and Dovisioso, and have them all learn from the master. Send Barros, Bayliss, Biaggi, Gibernau and Tamada packing. Win now with Rossi and plan for the future with the young whipper-snappers.

The dream situation for most fans would be for Rossi to again do the unexpected and jump ship completely from the Japanese to join Ducati. The idea of an Italian winning the MotoGP championship on an Italian bike would harken back to the hallowed days of Giacomo Agostini winning aboard the MV Agusta. This pairing would add so much excitement to the series that I’m not sure the country of Italy could handle the pressure. The whole damned place might erupt into a combination delirious party and full fledged riot. Another side effect of this would be the breaking of the current “dream team” of Loris Capirossi and Ducati. If Rossi comes into the pit, you can be sure that the current “A” rider would leave. Given the way Rossi has shown up both Checa and Edwards, its possible even the “B” rider (currently Checa) would leave. If there is a hot seat anywhere in the pits, its being teammate to Vale! If the #46 was put on a Duck, the first thing the Bologna engineers need to learn from Burgess is that horsepower alone doesn’t win races. Let ‘em learn from Rossi how to make the Desmosedici handle. Either promote Toseland or Lanzi from WSBK to team with him while they are still young enough to learn how to handle the big power of the MotoGP bikes.

A persistent rumor is that Ferrari wants Rossi to come race for them in Formula One. This is basically the same as the Ducati rumor but on four wheels instead of two. While Rossi’s flamboyant personality would certainly give a boost to the somber atmosphere in the car paddock this does seem like a bit of a stretch. Rossi’s test times in the Ferrari were good but the difference between first and last in any world championship is often measured in mere seconds. The skill required to go from three seconds off the pace to winning races is huge. Rossi seemed good in his F-1 tests but is he great? Is Ferrari willing to put an unproven driver in the seat of one of their cars, even the costs of running the series for a year?

Let me throw out two unlikely but really fascinating possibilities for you to ponder:

First, the ultimate underdog situation. This would be Rossi leaving Yamaha to go to a team that is really struggling like Suzuki, or better yet, Team Roberts. This is unlikely for many different reasons: First, those companies could never afford the price tag of the Rossi Wrecking Crew. Second, it would be such a huge gamble for Rossi that he would have much more to loose than gain. Finally, its unlikely that Team Roberts team will even be around next year and its not hard to imagine MotoGP getting so expensive that Suzuki scraps its program as well. Still, wouldn’t it be amazing to see if Rossi could turn a complete pile into a competitive bike? If nothing else, it would be great for the series to have yet another brand running up front. If either company could get the Doctor on board they first should go immediately to their nearest temple, shrine or mosque and give thanks. In fact, they should probably go to all three! Then they should just do whatever he says, even if its to trash their current bike and lease a Honda or Yamaha.

The second test of your imagination would be to imagine Rossi going after another seemingly unassailable record: That of winning two championships in the same year like Freddie Spencer did in 1985. Honda currently has competitive bikes in both MotoGP and 250GP. With Dani Pedrosa rumored to be moving up to MotoGP next year, the factory 250 has an open seat. Rossi could probably win the ‘06 MotoGP series aboard a RC211V and at the same time mop up the 250GP class aboard a RSW250. Of course, Honda wouldn’t really get anything extra out of this since having Rossi just on their MotoGP would be all the marketing really needed. What’s more, Spencer basically ended his career by wrecking his body running both classes in ‘85 so again Rossi has more to lose than gain. Still, it would be my personal dream scenario since I’d love to see someone racing and winning both classes simultaneously.

No matter what Rossi ends up doing next year, you can be sure that all the other cards in the MotoGP deck won’t be shuffled until its decided. Silly season won’t start until the private negotiations for Rossi come to an end.

[image from the Yahoo UK Sports web site.]

Having reluctantly laid out the big bank for a BMW a few years back, I have been pretty slow to sink more money into bike. Right after I bought it, I added the Jesse bags and a few extras like a Throttlemeister and Touratech hex oil filler plug but overall I’ve been very happy with the bike as it was originally designed.

One thing that I have thought about fixing are the headlights. I know it seems strange to argue about lighting on a bike with a 700W alternator and dual 55W Halogen headlights but because of the way the Euro spec headlights throw their light pattern it is difficult to see things off to the side of the road when riding at night. Because I live in the mountains, animals are a constant concern and I’ve nearly blinded myself straining to see the reflection of light off critter corneas when riding home from work in the evening.

Two years ago, my wife Jonna bought me a pair of PIAA 510 Super White driving lights. I bought a ZanZBar light bar from Cycoactive and then bought a Euro right side switch pod from BMW with the “extra” three position switch. But at that point I stalled out because the wiring of the Euro switch pod meant that some electrical trickery would be required to get the lights to function the way I wanted (with the three position switch giving 1) spotlights off 2) spotlights on with high beam 3) spotlights on). As a result, I stashed the whole shebang in my projects box and then didn’t touch it until this past weekend. With some free time to play in the garage, I started digging out a lot of different projects for all the bikes and decided to finally tackle installing the PIAAs.

First, I threw my plans to use the Euro switch on the back-burner. I did go ahead and install the Euro switch pod but all it does now is turn off one and then both of the headlights (a basically useless switch but with it installed I can always splice the wires later to get the functionality I wanted…on the plus side, if my alternator ever dies I can now switch off the lights and eek out a little extra mileage from the battery). Anyway, the ZanZBar light bar went on so easily it could have been designed directly by BMW. The PIAA lights bolted up quickly too. Then I spent way too many freaking hours tediously running the PIAA wiring harness through the bike wiring harness, down to the battery, then back up to the switch pod (to install the stock PIAA switch/LED on the handlebars) and then back down into the wiring harness to splice into the high beam circuit behind the right headlight. The PIAA wiring harness is about a foot longer than needed for installation on the GS but since the connectors are pre-installed, it requires cutting/soldering to shorten so I just zip-tied the extra wires in with the rest of the harness.

Around 11pm, I finally got everything installed and buttoned back up. Now the PIAA switch is powered whenever the high beam is activated. I can either leave the PIAA switch on (so the spots work with the brights) or can switch them off so I’m not blinding cars when commuting during the day. Everything seems to work great. The dual 55W bulbs, along with the dual 55W stock headlights (when using the high beam) are enough to light up the road like it was noon. The only two things I’d do differently is get the Euro switch working from the beginning and actually solder the high beam splice into the stock wiring harness rather than using the PIAA supplied vampire splice. I hope to correct both of these in the near future. The only other task still on my list is to play around with different angles for the driving lights to see if “crossing” the beams gives better road illumination when leaned over in terms. I’m pretty with them happy so far.

In addition to getting the PIAAs mounted, I also took some time while I had the bike disassembled to install two extra Powerlet sockets up on the GS “beak” in front of the gas tank. I used one of the Powerlet wiring harnesses for the first socket then cut off the “T” connector and spliced in another set of 12 guage wires for a jumper over to the second socket. I still have to finish a little of this wiring because I couldn’t find any plastic tubing at the hardware store that I use to protect the jumper wires. I’m hoping to find something at NAPA this week and will install the second “T” for the second Powerlet later this week. Then I will have dedicated power feeds for the GPS and a radar detector (if I ever decide to buy one).

What is really nice is that I can’t think of what else I want to add or change to the 1150GS, other than replacing things as they wear out, unless its just to replace it with a new R1200GS. I’m a gear hound but this bike is just so well made that I can’t really find many things that have to change.

Hopefully these new PIAAs are going to give me a lot of confidence when riding at night. If you’re driving in Colorado one evening and find your eyeballs being seared by the lights from a fast moving BMW…I apologize in advance.

[image from my photo collection.]

Normally during the weekend I’m busy writing up race coverage about big name racers like Rossi, Corser or Mladin. The MotoGP, World Superbike and AMA series are huge professional racing organizations with a worldwide fan base. The racers also are also very professional and are, particularly in the case of the MotoGP series, wildly popular. Because each race pits some of the best racers in the world against each other, the racing itself is always exciting and often awe inspiring. Short of actual riding, nothing thrills me quite as much as plopping down on the couch and watching a Grand Prix or World Superbike race…knowing that what these guys can do on a motorcycle is limited to just a handful of humans. However, there is a whole other world of motorcycle road racing out there and its probably right in your back yard. Its club racing and its rapidly growing in popularity both with racers and fans.

This past weekend the MRA, the local Colorado based road racing organization, held its fourth race of the season at Continental Divide Race Park in Mead, Colorado. As with the the race two weeks ago at Second Creek, this weekend’s event hit new records for both racer and spectator attendance, clearly more and more folks are getting interested in club racing. I went up on Sunday to catch up with the action and was again thrilled with the experience of spending a day watching racing.

I hung out with my friends Jim “Pull My Finger” Brewer and Tony “Got One In the Oven” Baker most of the time. Their pit area is sort of a cross between the movie “Animal House” and what goes on behind the OSHA curtains at your local bike shop. There is definite male bonding going on but its more in the John Belushi food fight sort of way than a Robert Bly male drum circle. Off-color humor is the norm and conversations fluctuate between calling each other’s manhood into question and how to deal with rear tire grip exiting turn five…frequently both occurring in the same sentence. Additionally, both Jim and Tony have raced with the MRA for over a decade each and both are currently on the MRA board. As a result the pit is a constant bee hive of activity as folks drop in to chat, check on race results, ask for technical advice or toss around a few insults. Its sort of ground zero for getting the club racing experience.

On track is where the club racing experience really shines. Unlike walking around a MotoGP grid, everyone here is footing their own bills. This is where people spend their own money, their own time and their own sweat (and at times blood) to follow their obsession. Club racers range from someone with a beat up, out-of-date bike in the back of a pick-up truck to the fancy trailers adorned with sponsorships stickers pulled by monster diesel dualies. Pit crews can be non-existent or can be a huge group of dedicated friends. Pits themselves can be a simple as a folding chair and an umbrella to a huge pop-up canopy with all the niceties of home. But what really makes club racing great is that there is a general sense of camaraderie among everyone involved. If its a hot day, the guy with the umbrella may get invited to share space under the pop-up. If someone crashes, there will usually be a group around to help get the bike back together or at least help pack up the pit. In this way, it is perhaps the best racing around.

This weekend at Continental Divide Race Park, the story was all about local super-star Shane Turpin. As he has done for most of the season, he won nearly everything he entered (a big crash in one of his races prevented a complete sweep for this weekend). The usual suspects filled out the podium behind him (Dan “Otis” Turner and Rich Deeming) but in every case they were racing for second as Turpin pulled huge leads in every race. He is amazing to watch especially through the first three turns at CDRP. All are very fast and turn three is riddled with bumps, all require both stones and finesse to do well. Turpin keeps the throttle pinned while graceful arching the bike back and forth allowing the front suspension to soak up the bump right at the apex of turn 3, all without getting the bike out of shape. Its doubly impressive when he does all this while passing someone.

Although the MRA has a large number of classes, including endurance and supermoto races which run on Saturday, the premier classes are Race of The Rockies GTO and Race of the Rockies GTU. Both run longer than the other sprint races (usually twice as long) and both pay trophy money down to 15th place. While the various fast experts all race in different classes throughout the day you can be sure that nearly all of them will be in one RoR race or the other (and sometimes both). As a result, the Race of the Rockies winners generally represent the best the club has to offer. This is where I’m a bit disappointed…not with Turpin, Turner or the others but the fact that so few young riders show up in the top 10. Many of the top riders in the MRA have been ruling the club’s races for a decade now. If you total up the RoR titles held between Shane Turpin, Dan Turner and Ricky Orlando (Ricky is an MRA regular but is only doing select MRA and AMA races this year) the number is probably close to 15. Its time for some talented youngsters to step it up and give these guys some competition!

If there is another downer to the MRA races, its the quality of the tracks that the club has available. PPIR is the best circuit on the calendar and its definitely not a spectacular venue as it is built inside a NASCAR oval. Second best is Pueblo Motorsports Park which is a decent length and an interesting layout. Both Second Creek and Continental Divide Race Park are small and bumpy but both are close to Denver which is a plus for most of the races. La Junta has a track but other than a fast turn one, its not particularly inspiring in layout. It is also a *long* way from Denver so many MRA regulars skip it, especially when the race is run in the middle of the summer when its freaking boiling down there. Nearly all of the tracks have serious safety issues with CDRP probably topping the list…most of the track is lined with tire walls backed by dirt filled 55 gallon drums. Not a place you want to crash. Unfortunately, club racing (whether bikes or cars) doesn’t bring much money to the table so track owners rarely have the money or motivation to make expensive track improvements. Even if they did, the first thing that would help safety is to re-pave, so moving back walls is pretty low on the list.

Those gripes aside, back in the Brewer/Baker pits it was a mixed weekend. Jim won Supertwins GTO on his Aprilia Mille. This is the class he is focusing on this year, and the contingency money for that win from his tire, fuel and bike sponsors will help offset the cost of the weekend’s racing. Jim struggled to a seventh place finish in Heavyweight Superbike and then had bike problems which meant he started Race of the Rockies GTO from the hot pit, scoring an eventual 16th place finish…one place out of the money. Tony struggled all day with the heat, a track he doesn’t like and a lack of rear traction from his Yamaha RZ500. Thus the pit was a microcosm of the whole club racing experience. Some success, some struggles and another weekend spent racing.

If you’ve never been to a club race, I highly recommend it. The racing is more “real” than the shiny bikes and glossy presentation of a professional series and the racers are generally more approachable as well. The racing is just as exciting as any premier series. And besides, they can always use your support. Who knows, you may end up watching the next Nicky Hayden or Colin Edwards…or at least pulling the finger of a Brewer.

[image from my photo collection.]

I usually do a race preview on Friday but since there aren’t any international level roadraces scheduled for this weekend (though there is a MRA road race which I plan on attending on Sunday) I thought this would be a good time to cover last week’s Isle of Man TT races.

For those that don’t know, the Isle of Man TT races consist of a week of road racing…not what the British call circuit racing but actual timed motorcycle competition on public roads over a 37.7 mile long course laid out around the Isle of Man. For those really not in-the-know, the Isle of Man is a small island country in the Irish Sea north of England. The racing has been going on since 1907 and for many years it was the location of the British Grand Prix until it was dropped from the calendar in 1976 when the circuit was deemed too unsafe for the vicious two-stroke GP bikes. The course itself runs through quaint villages, over Mount Snaefell to an altitude of 1400 ft, though stone wall lined streets and through the tree and hedge filled Manx countryside. It is, by anyone’s description, an incredibly challenging course. If you are interesting in learning more about the TT there are some great movies including V-Four Victory and One Man’s Island.

I’ve always been of a split mind when it comes to the TT. On one hand, I’m horrified at the annual loss of life at the TT races (three racers and a track marshall died this year). The death toll in the 98 year history of the TT is now over 200 names long and being a fan of any event in which there are an average of two deaths per year has to be considered morbid at the very least. In addition to the fatalities, there are also a staggering large number of serious injuries each year but those aren’t recorded and thus the statistics aren’t readily available. Regardless of the actual numbers the TT races exact a pretty gruesome toll each summer and for that reason I understand (and at times support) the argument to end the races.

On the other hand, the Isle of Man TT is truly a historic event. Few sporting events have such an incredible history and, among motorcyclists, the TT has a draw not unlike climbing Mt. Everest for mountaineering types or racing at Indy for the cage enthusiasts. From this perspective, I am in awe of those that have raced the TT. Just watching the footage of the races makes appreciate both the incredible skill and the general level of insanity that one must possess to race there. Ultimately, this side of me understands (and at times support) the general argument that no one is forced to race, everyone has freedom of choice and it isn’t our job to protect people from themselves.

With that said, this year’s event offered up plenty of evidence to support both of those mindsets. For example just one of the four deaths was moto-journalist Gus Scott. He was young, a TT rookie and a single father. He was killed when he struck a corner marshall that was crossing the track to help another downed rider. Worse yet, the marshall was also killed the accident. This is a sad story and represents two senseless deaths. Surely this represents the worst possible side of the TT.

But this year’s TT races weren’t all about tragedy. A number of racers, mainly road course specialists, once again topped the races and they continued to make a name for themselves at the TT:

John McGuinness, now 32 years old, won both the TT Superbike and Senior TT races on his Yamaha R1. He also came in second in Supersport Junior TT A race, making him the biggest news story of the week. In fact with these two wins McGuinness moves into a three way tie for 15th on the overall win list of the TT with 8 wins. As if that wasn’t glory enough, he also got an outright lap record with a lap of 127.326 mph and averaged 124 mph over the four laps of the Senior TT. Impressive stuff. McGuinness is also racing a Yamaha in the British Superbike series but is struggling there, currently lying 24th, having only completed three races with a best finish of 11th. For a public road specialist like McGuinness, the TT is one of the few chances he has to shine each year. Based on his circuit results alone, he would barely warrant a passing comment but has a multi-time TT winner he is respected as the incredible racer he is. Clearly the TT has changed his life for the better.

Some other people that clearly benefited from this year’s Isle of Man TT races include:

Ian Lougher took his Honda home in first place in the Supersport Junior TT A race and then followed that up with a second in the Superstock TT and Superbike TT races. At 41 he is one of the veteran TT racers with 21 years of Isle of Man race experience. His Junior TT win this year was his seventh at the island. Clearly he is another person that not only survives on the Mountain course but actually thrives on it.

Ryan Farquhar has raced Kawasakis at the Isle of Man for the past three years and has quickly emerged as one of the up-and-coming road racers. This year he won the Supersport Junior TT B which was his second TT victory in two years. If the TT continues to run, expect the 28 year old to continue to win.

Bruce Anstey had a roller coaster week as the Suzuki rider from New Zealand won the Superstock TT but then had bike problems in both the Junior B race and Senior TT. Last year Anstey was probably the star of TT week with five podium finishes in five races, including one win. Clearly the 35 year old is another stunning racer and one whose career will be defined by the TT.

Dave Molyneux is relatively unknown even to those who follow the TT because he races in the sidecar class rather than the two-wheeled category. Despite the relative lack of popularity of the three wheelers, Manxman Molyneux has probably the most impressive credentials of anyone currently racing the TT. This year he won the Sidecar B race and is now tied for 4th on the overall TT win list with 11 wins. For some perspective this makes him tied with, among others, Steve Hislop. For some more perspective realize that he has more wins that TT legends like Giacomo Agostini (10), David Jefferies (9), Phil Read (9), Jim Moodie (8) or Geoff Duke (7)! In addition to adding to his total wins tally he also set a new sidecar lap record this year with a average over one lap of 116.044 mph, over a second faster than the previous lap record. Rumor has it that this may have been his last TT but no matter what Moly is now a legend in his own right.

Finally, Suzuki’s Adrian Archibald deserves at least a passing mention since he was the two time reigning winner of the Senior TT coming into last week. While his only podium appearance ended up being a second in Superbike, it initially appeared he would beat teammate Anstey in the Superstock TT until running out of gas on the last lap. His bad luck continued in the Senior TT where he was in second and closing on leader McGuinness when he got a flat tire. His results this year don’t show it but Archibald is arguably the best TT rider currently racing at the Isle of Man.

Finally, American Tom Montano deserves mention for his 13th place finish in the Senior TT and a 17th place finish in the Superbike TT aboard a MV Agusta F4-1000. Montano has been racing the TT for nine years and is thus the most experienced American at the races. For him to do so well on a largely unproven MV is a sign that his experience on the Mountain circuit is paying off.

If you want to read up on this year’s TT the Isle of Man Guide web site has the best coverage including race results, photos, lap times and more. Sadly, this may be the only way to get Isle of Man coverage in the US as it appears that SpeedTV has opted not to televise the races this year.

So what do *you* think about the TT?

[image from the Photocycle web site.]

I’ve been doing my best to cover the two major world championships so far this season. Both MotoGP and World Superbike have had dominating race winners, compelling challengers and some exciting racing. However, that focus means that I haven’t talked much about how some of the other world series are shaping up. For this entry I’ll focus on the two “quarter” classes. First, the quarter liter class…the 250GP bikes. Second the 125GP class which was traditionally considered the “quarter” class since they were 1/4 the size of the old 500cc GP bikes. Both series have provided some exciting racing and both give a glimpse into the GP stars of the future.

First, the larger 250GP class which started out looking like it would be a run-away but has now become much, much more closely fought. In the first races of the season it appeared Honda mounted Dani Pedrosa would continue his trend of running away with 250 races. The diminutive Spaniard has shown amazing speed for the past two years and his 125 and 250 titles show he is basically unstoppable if he can get out front early. His only possible Achilles’ heal is if he has to scrap with other riders. In the first races of this season he did exactly what he needed to do to escape early but as the series has progressed so have his rivals which has meant he’s had to fight more and dominate less. The last two races have been excellent with four or five riders all fighting for the win, though Pedrosa was able to check out in the second half of the race at Catalunya. I think the big news items are: 1) Dani Pedrosa has led the championship battle since the first race and looks strong to win his second 250GP title. Expect him to be on a Honda in MotoGP next year. 2) Casey Stoner has quickly matured after numerous seasons highlighted by crashes. After he threw away third place in the first race of the year he seems to have gotten his head on straight and is now a legitimate title contender moving into second in the points battle last weekend. 3) Andrea Dovizioso has shown amazing flexibility in so quickly adapting to the 250cc after winning the 125cc series last season. I really thought he would need a year to get used to the bigger bike but he has been competitive from the very beginning. As long as he doesn’t pull a Poggiali and flame out he may well be the next 250GP star. 4) Randy DePuniet and Sebastian Porto both seemed like the riders most likely to run with Pedrosa and both have had horribly inconsistent seasons either finishing in the top three or outside the top 10. Certainly not what was expected from experienced riders with their level of support. 5) the final rider I’ll mention is Jorge Lorenzo who has basically come out of no where to be a front runner. Were it not for Dovizioso’s stellar freshman 250 season, Lorenzo would be the greatest revelation of the year. Expect him to fight for race wins for the remainder of the season.

Unlike the other two classes, the 125cc racing has been close, exciting and unpredictable. There have been five different winners in six races split among three different manufacturers (from three different countries as well!). Aprilia’s Mattia Pasini is the only repeat winner and as a result he leads the championship chase. But Honda’s Thomas Luthi is only one point behind with KTM’s Mika Kallio a single point further behind. As if that isn’t tight enough, the gap from first to fifth in the title chase is only 12 points. With 25 points per win this one is still anyone’s championship. Not only is the points battle close but the racing is as well. Unlike MotoGP and 250GP there are maybe six or eight guys that can win a race and most of those guys are at the front coming to into the last turn on the way to the checkered flag. It could easily be argued that 125 Grand Prix racing is the closest motorcycle road racing on the planet. The fact that KTM (Austrian), Honda (Japanese) and Aprilia (Italian) are all in the running for the title with Gilera, Derbi and Malaguti not too far off the pace means it has twice the brand diversity of the larger 250s and a three-way manufacturer battle that is more diverse than the Honda-Yamaha dual in MotoGP. What is there not to like? Its just a shame that SpeedTV has such an irregular broadcast schedule for the little bikes. Everyone is a noteworthy surprise in this class but the one person I will call out by name is Manuel Poggiali. I expected him to dominate after returning to 125s from the 250 class but instead he has continued to ride inconsistently and generally well below the level expected of a multi-time world champ (He was the 125 champion in 2001 and 2002, then 250 champ in 2003). Someone needs to figure out what has gone wrong in the kid’s head because he looked incredible in his 125 and 250 title runs. He is only 22 years old and is way to young to hang up his helmet. I hope someone can help him get back on course because he was on the path to being another Melandri, Rossi or Biaggi but is now sucking two-stroke fumes mid-pack (his best finish so far this season is a 5th in Portugal).

So there is plenty to watch for in these support classes, not the least of which is that the stars of tomorrow’s MotoGP series are probably racing in these classes today. I think Pedrosa will be moving into MotoGP next year but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stoner or Dovizioso there by 2007…perhaps even Lorenzo as well. Its harder to separate the seed from the chaff in 125s right now but you can bet that any front runner with an Italian or Spanish passport will be racing in 250s soon with an watchful eye from the factories to see who they can groom to be the MotoGP champs of the next quarter century… With that in mind, the incredible racing is just icing on the cake.

[image from the Yahoo Italy Sports web site.]

“Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my what a wonderful day!”
– lyrics from Disney’s “Song of the South”

For many years I was a die-hard sport bike guy. I rode my GSXR clad in my Vanson road race leathers and Alpinestar boots. I rode like the wind, laughed at death and frequently made fun of the old farts in their dumpy looking Aerostich suits. I held deep respect for the makers of the gear, as I’ve always heard impressive stories about owner Andy Goldfine, and some of my friends who otherwise seemed quite logical swore by the suits but still I couldn’t ever imagine switching from the incredibly protective (not to mention somewhat svelte looking) leathers to a bulky Roadcrafter suit.

That was then, this is now…Once my birthday cake started needing more than 30 candles, not to mention once I needed to send my Vanson jacket in for an expensive “loosening” around the mid-section, I began to rethink things. I started to notice that I didn’t ride the GSXR all that often once I bought the Beemer (oh the shame!) as commuting to work on the big Bavarian bomber was so much easier. All the lockable luggage on the big GS meant that I could lock my riding gear up rather than schlepping heavy leathers through the office. The final nail in the coffin was that I started to ride in to work with only the leather jacket and jeans where I’d previously been pretty religious about wearing all my gear. So in the spring of 2002 I revisited my youthful reservations about the Aerostich Roadcrafter suit and whipped out the credit card to finally take the plunge.

As expected, the suit was excellent quality. I’d spent a lot of time trying on friend’s suits, so had the size really close but still had to go through the usual process of returning it once for final alterations. I also sprung for all the safety stuff, even though it cranked up the frumpy, bulky look to 11. I got the optional back protector and hip pads in addition to the standard shoulder, elbow and knee pads. I also went overboard on the safety mindset by ordering the eye-melting “hi viz” yellow. Whoo whee, no missing this thing. If anyone ever hits me and then says “I didn’t see him” I hope the cop dope slaps them… All said and done, I look like a sickly version of the Michelin Man.

So far, so good. Good company to do business with, great products, lots of options to customize. That’s it. Turn out the lights, flip the closed sign and declare this product evaluation done, right? Nope, remember, I’m trying to focus on companies that also offer excellent customer service in addition to a good product.

So fast forward three years. I’ve put about 40,000 miles on the suit and also bought various other products from them like their Combat Touring boots. All have held up great, though the suit does sometimes reveal it’s “water resistant” rather than “water proof” rating by leaking rain water through the zipper…usually straight onto my crotch. Nothing like riding through a cold pouring rain and then getting home looking like you had a little “accident” along the way. “No dear, I just need rain suit pants, not depends". Also as advertised, the “hi viz” color shows dirt. In fact, it looks pretty dingy after the first season of riding but then doesn’t get that much worse over subsequent seasons. Otherwise no problem with any of the gear until a couple of months ago.

While getting ready for work one morning, I managed to break the zipper on the right leg. I gave it a good tug and the pull tab just popped right off. I was able to zip (and, thankfully, unzip) the suit for the day’s commute but clearly I needed it fixed, preferably quickly so it wouldn’t eat into my riding time. I called Aerostich’s repair department and was quickly connected to someone. who gave me an estimate that seemed impossible ($15?!?!). I asked about cleaning and they offered back a reasonable price for that too. Still stunned, I boxed the whole one-piece suit up and shipped it off. A week later I got a call confirming my work order (cleaning, re-waterproofing and zipper repair) and got a total price quote of under $100, including shipping. Wow, fantastic! Then, no muss-no fuss, the suit arrived back a week later. While the “hi viz” color wasn’t totally restored it did have a little of its nauseating glow back. The zipper was fixed and the suit got a “A-OK” checkout from the maker…time to put on some more miles.

So even though it was just a simple zipper repair, I am altogether satisfied with the folks at Rider Warehouse. They are a group of motorcycle enthusiasts that make great products focused specifically at equally enthusiastic riders. They make a solid product and, once you get past the purchase price, offer reasonably priced repairs, maintenance and support. Just don’t wait till you are middle aged to buy one!

[image from my photo collection.]

This past weekend, I finally got around to watching the DVD One Man’s Island. This is the story of Canadian road racer Mark Gardiner who quit his job, sold all his belongings and moved to the Isle of Man to compete in the annual TT races back in 2002.

The DVD itself is very well done. Video quality is fantastic and the documentary was shot by someone that understood camera angles, video production, building a story line and developing characters. But its the contents of the DVD that really make it a worthwhile watch. Gardiner’s story is compelling on a number of different levels.

First and foremost is just the thrill of watching someone chase their dream. Mark got into racing late in life but went on to successfully compete in Canadian club racing, then Canadian national racing and then on to the AMA 250GP series. (As an aside, it was wild that I didn’t recognize his name but immediately recognized his leathers from all my time following the AMA series…). Ultimately, Gardiner decided that his real goal was to race the Island of Man TT. Realizing that he didn’t have the funding to chase this dream on the side he had to make a drastic decision. He sold everything, quit his job and headed for the small island in the Irish Sea. The story is guaranteed to be interesting when it starts like that…

Second, Gardiner faced a couple of different challenges which add another interesting ingredient to the story: He is pretty old to be starting real “road” racing. While most of the road race specialists are in, like Gardiner, in their 30s they got their start at half that age. Its quite a daunting proposition to start learning the 38 mile long circuit at an age when most racers are retiring. Gardiner also has lupus which saps muscle strength and endurance. Racing 150 miles over dangerous public roads taxes the body of even the most fit racer. He is very humble about this issue and its just a small part of the overall story line but I think is something that amplifies both this dream and his accomplishment.

The story itself is very well laid out talking about Gardiner, the history of the TT, the famous TT course, the components which came together to help him compete and finally his results. Great on-board footage is used, including an entire lap which is available as a DVD “extra". There are also a few short interviews with a few famous IoM legends including nine time winner Dave Jefferies (this interview being done the year before Jefferies lost his life during the 2003 TT). The DVD really holds a lot of little gems like this which combine to make for a very enjoyable film.

If you’re looking for something to add to your DVD collection, this one is worth picking up. Its available from both Aerostich and White Horse Press.

[image from the Aerostich web site.]

“Johnny said, Devil just come on back
If you ever wanna try again
I done told you once you son of a bitch
I’m the best there’s ever been.”
– Charlie Daniels Band, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia”

This past weekend was a flash back to my first viewing of the film Alien back in 1980. When I first watched the movie, I remember the combination of suspense and anticipation being unbearable. I was nervous, anxious and my whole body was twitching just because I knew that the certainty of the ending was being stretched out again and again. Well, in Catalunya the monster that is Valentino Rossi put on a show worth of that classic horror sci-fi flick.

The race started out with a frantic scramble for the lead that lasted three laps. Gibernau, Melandri, Rossi, Barros, Hayden, Biaggi and Tamada were all climbing one on top of the other in these earliest laps. There were close passes, elbows rubbed and bike contact. …Everything that makes motorcycle racing so exciting and the skills of these aggressive riders so amazing. As the riders sorted themselves out, the guys that had consistently been fast moved to the front and started to break into smaller groups. Tamada threw his Honda into the gravel trap in a shower of sparks and dust. Out front, Gibernau and Rossi started to pull away. Hayden couldn’t run the pace of the front two but his soft front tire allowed him to gap the Honda battle betweeen Melandri and Barros. Biaggi lacked the speed to catch any of the top five but ran a pace similar to the dice going on in front of him. Questions were already starting early: Could Hayden pick up the pace and join the Gibernau-Rossi battle? Would Melandri and Barros overtake Hayden? Could Biaggi come good in the second half of the race and join the front runners?

The next bit of suspense was added when first Hopkins and then Hoffman pitted for new tires. It appeared that the Bridgestone tires weren’t the equal of the Michelins on the hot abrasive Catalunya track service. Would the Ducatis, running in the top ten, fade as well with tire problems? Would Nakano and Roberts also suffer problems like their teammates?

The one thing that seemed certain from the beginning was that Rossi was once again stalking the race leader and was actually capable of going faster that Sete, as he repeatedly ran up on the back tire of the Honda mounted Spaniard at the entrance to the faster corners. All this despite the fact that Sete was turning laps nearly two seconds faster than the fastest laps from last year’s race. Gibernau set a new lap record a few different times and appeared to be riding confidently and smoothly. Had it not been for Rossi matching him lap for lap, it may have appeared that Gibernau was capable of winning in front of his home crowd. But we have watched Rossi play out this same routine so many different times that experienced MotoGP fans knew that every lap before the final two or three were just wasted. No matter what happened, the real race wouldn’t start until the final three laps as that was when Rossi would finally show his hand.

The two riders ran nose to tail and then with three laps to go Rossi smoothly sliced up the inside of Gibernau. The question of whether Sete could challenge Vale was quickly answered. On the penultimate lap, Rossi threw down a lap *1.5 seconds* faster than Gibernau’s fastest lap. This despite visibly sliding on the well worn Michelin tires and leaving black marks in every corner. This fast lap allowed the Yamaha rider to pull enough of a gap over the Honda that even on the long front straight Gibernau couldn’t close the gap. In the end, Rossi won by a second. Had he made his move earlier it is possible that Rossi could have consistently turned faster laps and won by a larger gap. It is a sign of his maturity that he did exactly what was needed to win but nothing more.

Behind the predictable finish among the front pair things were more interesting. Hayden started to slow as his front tire lost traction which allowed Melandri and Barros to catch and then pass the young American. While a fifth place finish would seem disappointing after Hayden held third for so long, I think this was actually a great race for Nicky. First, he showed consistent speed from first practice until the race. Second, he ended up on a scrap with other riders which is something which at which he desperately needs more experience. Hayden has speed and has shown excellent progress in qualifying this year but he definitely lacks the aggressive riding nature that seems to come standard among the Italian, Spanish and Japanese riders. In order for Hayden to learn how to dice at this level, he needs more time racing in close quarters with the other top riders. Finally, despite the Honda rider slipping backwards out of podium contention he did a great job riding on a shagged front tire and that also shows he is still learning. A great educational weekend for Hayden and some valuable championship points.

Hayden’s moving backwards allowed the Italian superstar Melandri to move forward. He held off a determined Barros to earn the final podium position, his third podium finish of the season, continuing his string of top four finishes. Another fantastic finish for the Honda rider.

Barros’ forth place finish was good but he is too experienced to be commended for finishing off the podium, especially after his win in Portugal made it appear he may have been a contender this season.

Biaggi brought the Honda home sixth which definitely isn’t a satisfactory finish for the Roman. His second at Mugello was excellent but he needs an off weekend to mean a second or third, not a sixth. Honda too the ultimate gamble in making him their star rider this season and placing him on the #1 bike at Repsol Honda. His putting in another inconsistent season and blaming this last mediocre finish on a “bad bike” may well have already written off his dream season as a factory Honda rider.

Finally, the suspense of the Bridgestone tire situation played out with both Checa and Capirossi fading to outside the top 10 with 11th and 12th place finishes respectively. The top Bridgestone finisher was Nakano in 9th. Roberts Jr. brought the Suzuki home 15th, the last of the points paying positions.

But ultimately, all this other news was just noise compared to Rossi’s masterful performance. What he continues to do on the race track just expands his legendary status more and more. Mike the Bike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Geoff Duke, John Surtees, Phil Read, Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and even Mick Doohan each have their claim to being the greatest rider ever but Valentino Rossi is quickly surpassing all of their records. As the Charlie Daniels lyrics says, he is truely the best there has ever been.

[image from the Yahoo UK Sports web site.]

There have been many famous national rivalries in history. Both Spain and England raced to make the world their empire. France and Germany spent a fair amount of time fighting over the Rhine River. The US and Japan played tug-of-war with the electronics industry in the 70s. Well, in this decade of MotoGP, there is a rivalry between Spain and Italy that is as strong and as brutal as any of them.

There are currently 6 Italians in MotoGP (Rossi, Melandri, Biaggi, Capirossi, Battaini, Rolfo) and 4 Spainards (Gibernau, Checa, Xaus, Elias). If you look at the support classes, those numbers really skyrocket. Nearly all the front runners in 250GP are either Italian or Spanish (this year’s 250GP title seems to be boiling down to a struggle between two of them…Pedrosa and Dovisioso). Events in either country draw huge crowds and television viewership statistics show that around 50% of the TV viewers are tuned into MotoGP when a race is being broadcast. Any time you mix the two throngs of rabid fans, you can bet things will get interesting.

After the first race of the season in Jerez, where Rossi and Gibernau collided in the last corner and the Spainiard was sent into the gravel trap while the Italian went on to win, the animosity between the two legions of fans has been growing. At the end of the Jerez race, the crowd chanted insults at Rossi and it appeared that his next visit to Spain had better be done stealthfully and humbly. Well, this weekend is that time.

The MotoGP series is at Catalunya, just outside Barcelona this weekend and the Spanish fans will deluge the place this weekend. In addition to being some of the most vocal of the MotoGP race attendees they also come armed with loads of noise makers and fireworks. The Spanish riders always feed off this, so expect them to either perform exceptionally or crash spectacularly. Either way, you can be sure the place will be deafening whenever either event happens.

Rossi has to again be the favor, having one nearly every race this year. At Mugello is seemed he was just playing with his opponents and that level of confidence will be needed since he will be the target of over a hundred thousand angry Spanish fans. The track itself is very interesting and has both a long straight as well as 13 turns. Numerous camber changes, elevation changes and passing opportunities mean that handling is probably more important that outright power. Again, expect this to play into Rossi’s hands.

Valentino Rossi isn’t the only Italian making news though. Max Biaggi seems to have figured something out because he downright sucked early in the season and is now running up front, where everyone (especially Honda) expected. He is up to third in the points…might this be yet another year he finishes the year in second place? Marco Melandri is another amazing story. After a year struggling with the Yamaha, he has clicked with the Honda and has finished in the top four at every race this season. Who would have predicted the young ex-250GP champ would be the main challenger to Rossi this year? Even Loris Capirossi is grabbing headlines after his third place finish at Mugello. Perhaps Ducati finally have a grasp of the handling woes which have plagued them since the beginning of last season. Having Ducati back up fighting with Honda and Yamaha would be a huge shot of excitement for the series.

The news on the Spanish side of the equation isn’t nearly so rosy. Gibernau, the perpetual thorn in Rossi’s side has crashed out of two races so far this season and currently lies forth in the championship (53 points to Rossi’s 120…ouch!) More than anyone Sete needs to get it together now to have any hope of pushing Rossi for the second half of the season. Carlos Checa has also suffered. His fifth place finish in Mugello may show that he, like Capirossi, has finally gotten the Ducati to handle. Like Sete, his two crashes so far this season have probably ruled him out of the championship battle. Tony Elias looked solid in the early races as a MotoGP rookie with a best finish of 9th in France. This surely gave hope to the Spanish fans that he would be the next big thing but a huge crash during testing at LeMans has temporarily dampened that enthusiasm. He is being temporarily replaced by another Spaniard, David Checa, brother of Carlos Checa. Ruben Xaus has continued to impress…not because of his race results but because no one thought he could crash more this season than last but the determined Ruben has proven us all wrong. I quit keeping track but its something like 20 crashes so far this year. His best finish so far as been a 10th in China.

With all this turmoil, it will certainly be interesting to see if the Spaniards can step up to give a classic David versus Goliath event or if the Italian steamroller will keep on rolling…

[image from the Australian MCNEWS web site.]

This past weekend the FIM announced some rule changes for the MotoGP class which will take affect for the 2007 season. While none of the changes were shocking one of them does have me a bit puzzled. Specifically, they have announced that the engine displacement limitation for the MotoGP class will be changed from 990cc to 800cc.

This isn’t really something new though it does have a different face now than it originally wore. Back in the 1970s the FIM actually had a separate world championship race series from the then 500cc two-stroke GP class which ran 750cc machines. Not exactly 800cc but pretty damn close. The class was known as the Formula 750 World Championship and it ran for six years from 1973 to 1979. It was dominated by the Yamaha TZ750, though Suzuki and Kawasaki also raced in the series.

What does a 750cc two-stroke class have in common with the newly proposed 800cc four-stroke class you might ask? Good question and an excellent segue… The comparison isn’t so much between the two classes as it is an example of why the FIM may not be achieving what they think they are achieving. Specifically, they are hoping that reducing the engine displacement of the MotoGP bikes will reduce their speed (at Mugello this past weekend they were topping out around 220 mph on the straight) and thus increase safety. This is not unlike the AMA continually trying to change their premier class to be a 600cc Superbike series (Formula Xtreme) rather than the current 1000cc Superbike class. What I think that the old Formula 750 series indicates is that engine displacement alone doesn’t dictate horsepower.

At the same time that the big TZ750s were tearing up European tracks with their 130hp, the premier GP series was the 500 GP. Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki were all going head-to-head in that Grand Prix series which ran simultaneously with the F750 series and involved many of the same riders. What is surprising is that the high-tech 500cc Grand Prix bikes like Yamaha’s TZ500s were making…around 120hp. It was in fact a limitation of the tires, frames and tracks of the time that limited the power, not the engine displacement.

I believe that the FIM is overlooking this simple fact…In two years, if not already, Honda and Yamaha will have 800cc engines that produce the same power as the current MotoGP bikes. In fact, the power increases over the past two years have been attributed to three things: 1) the continual one-ups-manship between Honda, Yamaha and Ducati steadily driving each other to unleash more and more power 2) enhanced electronics that help the riders get that power to the ground and finally, 3) Michelin, Bridgestone and Dunlop’s ability to make tires that can handle that power. Those same issues will be what determines the power of the MotoGP bikes in 2007, not some seemingly arbitrary decrease in engine displacement. What’s more, I think continually changing the rules is going to hurt the smaller manufacturers like KTM/Proton and WCM/Blata. They can’t change their engineering plans that quickly and each re-design costs them dearly in capital expenditure and time. It may also prevent new competitors like BMW or FPR from joining the fray if they think they will have to continually redesign their motor. The FIM can’t afford to make rules that continue to decrease the number of competitors in the MotoGP series.

Besides, I believe that the best approach to limiting power is already in place. Rules which restrict engines to normal aspiration, minimum weight rules and a limit on how much fuel a bike can carry during the race. Not only does the 21 liter fuel limitation impose a limit on horsepower it still leaves plenty of room for innovation among the manufacturers on how to achieve the necessary fuel economy. Honda and Yamaha have slowed their horsepower increases while Ducati has instead opted to build new electronics that try to conserve fuel at key moments like when braking or downshifting while continuing to increase peak power. Both approaches get to the same destination but get there two different ways. That is the very core of a prototype race series’ philosophy.

Then again, this rule could suddenly bring Suzuki from floundering to flourishing. They are the only manufacturer making a 750cc sport bike now, so they can just quit producing it, g ive it a cylinder bore and declare it a prototype race bike. If its as good as the GSXR1000, it may be a better starting point for a GP bike than the current GSV-R… Watching a Superbike spec GSXR750 race again really would be going back to the future!

[image from the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum web site.]

Its been awhile since I did a Box of Shame posting so I decided to delve into the pile ‘o parts for something else with an interesting story…

When I purchased my GSXR 1100 in ‘90, I assumed it would be my sport bike for riding around north Georgia. However, in the tradition of the saying “Give a kid a hammer and everything becomes a nail", I starting using the bike for commuting, cruising around town and even touring. Over the years, I rode the Geezer on multi-week trips up the Blue Ridge Parkway and halfway across the country to Colorado. I also did trips to most of the states in the southeast. By the time I moved to Colorado in ‘95, I’d put nearly 40,000 miles on the bike with only one major problem (a spectacular rear suspension failure…but that is another story).

In 1996, my riding buddy Ed Guzman suggested a road trip to the Pacific Northwest to attend the annual gathering of the subscribers to the Wetleather mailing list that was being held in Republic, WA that year. I decided to join Ed for the trip to Republic but then extend the trip to ride down the west coast to California before returning to Colorado. Ed then coerced Jim Franklin to join us, giving Gooz a riding partner for the return trip after the Gather. Since the GSXR was the only (running) bike I had at the time, it was once again drafted into touring duty. I threw on my well-used Chase Harper soft luggage, loaded up my camping year, threw in a bunch of tools, did a quick tune-up and headed out for a two week, 11,000 mile trip.

As it turns out, my quick tune-up was probably too quick and resulted in a stripped value cover bolt. In my defense, the GSXR head is soft aluminum and after three years of professional racing and then 40,000 street miles, the threads were pretty tired after all those value adjustments. Whatever the cause, the stripped threads allowed oil to steadily seep out and by the time we entered Utah was visibly dripping off the motor. The next two days of riding included a regular cleaning of the engine at each gas stop (along with a very slow, very smokey stop-n-go idle through a traffic clogged Salt Lake City) until I could get it temporarily repaired in Coure D’Alene Idaho with some JB Weld thread repair. We continued the ride to Republic for The Gather, with the problem apparently fixed (though the bike did pick up the nickname “Suzuki Valdez").

However, this blog entry isn’t about a stripped bolt hole. One side effect of the oil leak was that the wiring harness which runs behind the back of the motor had been coated with oil. When I lived in downtown Atlanta, I’d added a bike alarm to the GSXR to help discourage bike thieves. Since I was working in downtown Denver after I moved to Colorado I left the alarm installed to keep the bike safe when left all day in dark parking decks. The Ungo bike alarm is very simple, just a mercury switch and a few wires to connect to the battery, a loud alarm speaker and some wires going into the wiring harness to cut the ignition and sound the alarm when the bike is lifted off the side stand. The splice into the ignition wiring was done “right” but after six years of riding engine heat had done a job on the shrink wrap protecting the splice.

Unknown to me, the oil that had misted behind the engine while burning across Utah and Idaho eventually managed to get into the splice. At first, the bike was just tricky to start, which made me think it was just a dirty start button. However, as the weekend in Republic went on, the starting problem became more and more pronounced. The morning that Gooz and I decided to ride up into Canada, the bike refused to start all together. Ed was nice enough to give me a push start and we were off for a day ride into Oh Canada! By the time we were back at the US border, complete with draconian border guard, even a push start was taking more effort than I (and particularly Ed) was comfortable with. I was having horrible thoughts of trying to push start a fully loaded touring GSXR on some deserted coastal road in Oregon so clearly I had to figure this one out that night.

Once back at the campground, I started going through the bike’s electronics with a multi-meter and quickly traced the issue to the alarm’s ignition splice. Rather than re-wiring the splice, I borrowed a butane soldering iron from long distance rider Jeff Earls and removed the ignition splice all together. Quick fix and the bike ran perfectly for the rest of the trip. Sadly, Ed and Jim went straight back to Colorado and missed out on the trouble free riding I got to enjoy for a week on my return loop…a welcome relief after the four frustrating days that started the trip.

I am going to re-install the alarm with a new Ungo wiring harness now that I have the GSXR running again, but that simple problem could easily have ruined that two week trip. I keep the original oil covered ignition splice wire in my Box of Shame to remind me of that simple truth.

[image from my photo collection.]

It was a great weekend to be Italian. I suspect plenty of pasta and vino were consumed and the parties in the boot shaped country were kicking well into the night on Sunday.

MotoGP action was all about Italy, with the racing taking place at the famous Mugello circuit and the race itself was all about Italians since for the second time in the three years the story of the Tuscan track’s weekend in the GP sun was an all Italian victory circle. The race was spectacular, as is to be expected at Mugello with its long straight and fast corners. (In fact, with the World Superbike races at Imola historically being great, its easy to believe that all races in Italy are just intrinsically fantastic!) From the very beginning, it seemed that Rossi was again going to put on a command performance for his home audience as he launched the Yamaha into second and then quickly dispatched with leader Capirossi on the second lap to lead the race. From there, it was pure excitement. In fact, I wonder if Rossi is now so confident of his abilities that he was able to script a race that would drive the Italian fans into a mad frenzy. Over the first third of the race it appeared that Rossi would run away but then slowly Max Biaggi and Marco Melandri reeled him in and suddenly there was an all-Italian scrap for the lead. As the race neared two thirds distance Loris Capirossi on the bright red Ducati joined the fray which just pushed the Italian crowd’s insanity dial to 11. If Rossi did create the script for this dramatic race it was a performance worthy of a Tony award as he again cranked up the speed and with two laps to go rocketed away to victory leaving his three countrymen to fight for the remaining two podium spots. Just as he has done so many times over the past two years Rossi has given his competitors a sniff of glory and then crushed them with unbelievable efficiency. Just as in 2003, the podium was all Italian with Rossi, Biaggi and Capirossi but this time Biaggi finished second with Capirossi having just beaten Melandri for the third place finish. As if having four Italians lead the race wasn’t enough, Ducati managed its first rostrum appearance of the year “at home” and Carlos Checa brought the second Ducati over the line in fifth. I can only imagine how wild the village of Mugello was on Sunday night, not to mention the city of Bolgona!

Speaking of which, in the AMA the boys from Bologna have also been experiencing a welcome resurgence of late. Eric Bostrom’s win at Pikes Peak was the first for Ducati in a year and was desperately needed to buoy the sagging hope of the Ducatisti. Thanks to a Wisconsin deluge on Saturday the Ducati Austin snagged its second win in as many races. It would be easy to assume that that large number of crashers (Yates, Duhamel, Bostrom, Zemke, Spies) helped Hodgson win his first AMA Superbike race but watching the Brit power his bike around the soggy Road America track proved it was actually pure riding talent. Both Mladin and Spies, running with Hodgson at the front, had to pit for fresh rear tires because the first laps where run on a damp track with allowed the tires to overheat and shred before the downpour soaked the track and brought the tires back to their normal operating temperature. After the race, Hodgson admitted that his rear tire was also shot and he wouldn’t have finished the race had it not been red flagged at the beginning of lap nine. But despite all the confusion and chaos caused by the rain it was still an exciting win for Hodgson and for Ducati. Likewise, it was another stunning case of damage control for Yoshimura’s star rider as Mladin earned second when scoring revered back to lap eight…before he pitted for the new rear tire. Even on his bad days he is incredible. The final news worthy of some bubbly was Josh Hayes who earned a fabulous third place for the underdog Attack Kawasaki team. What a terrific turnaround after their miserable results early in the season and a new personal high water mark for Hayes as this is his best Superbike finish to date.

Sunday dawned overcast but unlike Saturday the Superbike race was run in dry conditions. As if to prove that two Ducati wins a row hadn’t really changed the status quo in AMA Superbike, Mat Mladin turned in another of his dominate performances. Leading from start to finish, Mat was never challenged for the win. The surprise was that a Honda (anyone remember them?) ran 90% of the race in second place. In this particular case, it was Jake Zemke who did his best to put pressure on the Suzuki rider early in the race. Sadly, the honor of earning a second place finish for Honda wasn’t to be, as Suzuki mounted Ben Spies snatched that position late in the race but Zemke does get the pleasure of getting Big Red’s first Superbike podium finish in 2005 as he held onto third. EBoz, rebounding from his DNF on Saturday after being taken out by a crashing Duhamel, came home in forth on Sunday. Ducati’s fortunes weren’t completely restored, though, as Hodgson was out with his second mechanical failure of the year.

With this weekend’s success of the Italian riders in general and the Ducatis in particular this weekend was all about Italy. All it all, it was “bella!".

[image from the Motoring South Africa web site.]

I normally try to do a blog posting each day during the week but the attentive readers will notice there wasn’t a new post yesterday. Well, the reason is that I normally spend my evening working on an article but had to spend Monday evening trying to get police reports and insurance paperwork…

This past weekend my wife and I were going to take a bike trip down to Manitou Springs (just outside Colorado Springs) for a little R&R. When we got up Saturday morning it was cool and dumping rain. At the last minute we decided to skip the motorcycle and take my wife’s 2004 Toyota Rav4 instead.

While driving through Denver, a group of high school graduates, still in their graduation gowns, ended up causing a four car pile-up resulting in a train of three cars slamming into the back of our car. The back of the car was pretty trashed but thankfully we only had sore neck muscles…no lasting damage for us.

Anyway, with the wheels now in motion to get the insurance paperwork filed, the police report in-hand and the damage estimate scheduled I can return to my blog duties. I’ll try to do a second posting today with the review of this weekend’s racing so I’m caught up.

[image from my photo collection.]

This weekend brings racing to two tracks which may well be the heart and soul of their respective series: MotoGP comes to Mugello in Italy and the AMA Superbike series travels to Rd. America in Wisconsin.

The headliner has to be the MotoGP race. Mugello is perhaps the heart of MotoGP. The organizing body (the FIM) is based in Italy, the top rider is Italian, the largest fan base is arguably in Italy and the Italian track has provided some of the most exciting races of the series going back to the glorious days of Doohan domination. The Mugello race was the best race of the 2004 MotoGP season and may have been the best race of 2003 as well. In addition to incredible racing, Mugello keeps things interesting by having the second longest straight of the entire series (second to the new Shanghai track in China). This long straight puts stresses on tires and engines that mean the teams have to be on their A game. Last year Bridgestone found the limits of their new MotoGP tire thanks to a horrific tire failure which slammed Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano to the tarmac at 190 mph+. That long straight also means that everyone better bring horsepower and plenty of it. Honda seemed to have Yamaha covered in that respect last year but this fact just allowed Rossi’s amazing skill as a rider to shine through. The RC211V’s of Tamada, Biaggi and Gibernau could pull four or five bike lengths on the M1 of Rossi down the straight but impossibly late braking and crazy corner speed allowed Rossi to pass them back in turns one or two. It was extraordinary riding and that accomplishment was made that much better when rain late in the race meant the event was finished as a six lap wet sprint race. Rossi showed he was a master of the wet as well as the dry by slicing through the pack for the ultimate win. If this year’s race at Mugello is only half as exciting it will still be the best race of the season. Another aspect of the Tuscan track and its fanatical crowd of spectators is that it always seems to make the Italian racers ride just a little bit harder. As a result, the red-blooded natives seem to switch into “win it or bin it” mode. This reached its peak in 2003 when Rossi, Capirossi and Biaggi all fought from start to finish in a ferocious battle to win in front of their countrymen. All came close to crashing and in the end it was an all Italian podium, including an Italian Ducati, so the crowd really got its money’s worth. If Melandri, Biaggi or Capirossi are going to challenge Rossi this season, this race may be their best shot. Expect all of them to ride with 100% of their heart.

The AMA trip to Road America brings them to the heartland of America and one of the best tracks in the country. The four mile long circuit includes a very, very fast straight away and some 14 turns meaning it is a challenging place to race. In the past, the Wisconsin track has been dominated by Ducati and Honda. The two brands have won 18 of the 30 races at the track and it is no coincidence that both brands have been known for making race bikes with lots of power. Last year the event was dominated by one man: Miguel Duhamel. In fact, the Canadian has won both legs of double-headers there twice, also winning in 2002. The Honda doesn’t appear to be the bike it was in 2004 but the track is the closest thing to a home race for Duhamel and he always seems to set it up there. Naturally, another favorite has to be Mat Mladin. The Suzukis have plenty of horsepower this year and Mladin is riding his best ever. Finally, the Ducati of Neil Hodgson should do well. Road America is similar to the traditional European race tracks on which the Brit has raced for the past three or four years and its high speed corners should play to his strengths. The track always makes for exciting racing and this year should be no different.

Sunday will bring five hours of road racing on SpeedTV including both legs of the AMA Superbike races and the AMA Supersport race from Road America as well as the MotoGP and 250GP races from Mugello. Should be a great weekend of racing!

[image from the waepoint web site.]

I have a couple of big blog entries in the hopper but found some news posted on some of my favorite motorcycle web sites today that has me so excited I wanted to share the news.

Dunlop has decided to make posters of their recent Legends line of print ads. These excellent black and white photos show incredible scenes of famous racers like Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey, David Bailey, Bob Hannah, Jeff Ward, Bubba Shobert and others. The first one I saw in a magazine was a shot of Kenny Roberts and the rest of the 1983 Grand Prix grid doing an old Le Mans style push start of their bikes at the Grand Prix of San Marino. I was blown away by the picture and then in other magazines continued to see these amazing photos from the ’80s showing Dunlop riders in action. (Interestingly enough, Roberts is much better known as a Goodyear rider since it was on that brand of tires that he had his greatest success…). At the time I thought Dunlop should make posters of them.

Well Dunlop realized there was an audience for these posters but in a rare case of corporate compassion decided to donate the net proceeds from the sale of them to the Clayton Memorial Foundation which helps injured riders with their medical bills. Not only do I get some more garage eye candy but it will help riders too. Sweet!

The posters can be ordered from a link off the Cycle News web site. Mine are already on the way!

[image from the Dunlop web site.]

The second company to get a thumbs up from me is motorcycle luggage maker Chase Harper.

I’ve been a satisfied customer of Chase Harper for a long, long time. I bought my first soft luggage from them back in ‘91: a set of Aero Pac saddlebags, an Aero Pac tail trunk and an 1150 tank bag. I was immediately happy with them and couldn’t wait to try them out with a bike camping trip. Unfortunately, that also meant that I had an immediate need to test their warranty. You see, Chase Harper makes a great product and in addition to a top notch build quality and excellent features they also include an amazing unconditional lifetime warranty.

Their saddlebags include a little plastic shield, which should protect them from your common idiotic mistakes. Well, as I’ve proven from my Box of Shame postings, at times I can be a particularly uncommon idiot and this was one of those cases. I pre-packed the saddle bags the night before leaving for a bike trip to Road Atlanta to enjoy the ‘91 WERA GNF races. When packing, I was careful to put the camp stove fuel in the saddle bag that would be on the opposite side of the bike from the exhaust pipe. Well, Saturday morning I went to put the bags on the bike and realized they fit better swapped around the other way. What I didn’t realize was that this change moved the fuel directly above the exhaust. During the ride, the hot Yoshimura pipe heated the fuel bottle to the point that it pressurized and misted Coleman fuel inside the saddle bag. That then started smoldering resulting in my GSXR trailing a cloud of smoke like a wounded WWII fighter plane. My riding buddy Troy waved me over and we managed to frantically remove the bag and extinguish the charred clothes inside but not before a four inch hole was melted through the back of the right hand saddle bag.

So that story clearly shows that I made an incredibly stupid mistake and roasted my new saddle bag. Nonetheless, when I called Chase Harper to get a new saddle bag they reiterated that their warranty is an unconditional guarantee and that includes user error. A few days later I received a box in the mail the contained a brand new right side saddle bag. Wow, how do you argue with a company that offers that kind of service?

That story alone would make me a lifetime devotee of the company. But I had another chance to experience the benefits of their warranty and this time it wasn’t because I was brain dead… In 2003, I finally got my old GSXR running again after a mini-restoration and went through all my storage boxes and dug out my old Chase Harper gear. The saddle bags and tail trunk looked great but the 1150 tank bag showed every bit of the 70,000 miles it had endured over 12 years. All the velcro was worn out, one of the strap rivets had come apart, the map case was sun faded till it was opaque and the front compartment’s zipper was broken. I sent the tank bag back to Chase Harper to get a repair estimate for the various bits and pieces. A few days later, like deja vu, a box arrived with a band new 1150 tank bag. No questions asked, no money owed, just a new tank bag to replace the one that I’d flogged like a rented mule for over a decade.

As I said in my first Product and Company Review blog entry I think that a company’s service is even more important than their product. In this regard, Chase Harper is probably the best manufacturer in the entire motorcycle industry. I’ve bought Chase Harper luggage as gifts for two other people based strictly on my knowledge that Chase Harper stands behind their product like no one else. If you’re looking for soft luggage for your bike (or storage bags for hiking, bicycling or winter sports) check them out.

[image from the Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse web site.]