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.]