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As I’ve matured as a motorcycle rider, I’ve become more appreciative of a bike that handles well rather than one that has big power.

In my youth, my thirst for power was voracious. Even after buying the fastest bike available in the early ’80s, a Suzuki GS1100E, I started modifying it to produce more HP. I learned two things: First, the venerable GS was over built and had a lot of room for expansion. And secondly, it’s really easy to make modifications that ruin the drivability of the bike for everyday use. While aftermarket exhausts, more displacement and higher compression ratio typically make an all around more powerful machine, things like bigger carbs and high-performance cams move that power up the

Executive Summary:

• Big improvement in the suspension and the ride quality
• Excellent handling, adjustable range from single to two up riding.
• Nice red spring to replace the old black spring.
• Just buy it… It’s only $1300 to have RaceTech do the install while you wait at their SoCal Shop.

Bike Specs:

• ST1300 – 2004 NON ABS Model
• Suspension: Stock, no changes or upgrades
• Mileage: 6500mi at time of change.

Rider Specs:

• 20+ Year riding experience
• 3 years current racing/track days on sport bikes.
• Skill level: Above average.
• Weight: To much (The far far side of 275lbs)
• Passenger: Good sized wife (Not going to share her weight or size)

What was changed?
Front:

• Upgraded springs from stock to 1.2kg/mm springs
• Damping upgraded with
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Damn.  I knew it was only a matter of time before something would go south on my dirt bike.  I bought it used less than a year ago but from a total stranger.  Said stranger was a complete tool too, so I have no confidence in the previous TLC that the people gave to it.

Three weeks ago was the first ride I took since the summer down time.  Prior to that I performed what I would call a major maintenance - oil/filter, coolant, air filter cleaning. new rubber, greased a bunch of parts, etc.  Saturday was the third weekend in a row that I have ridden since then.

As we were wrapping up the ride and heading back towards the truck,

Ok,

So as we all know the 2009 AMA Pro-Racing package for the superbike class has been released.

Some of you might want to check out all the details on the rules, so jump on over to the amaproracing website and download a copy of the rules.

Some other bonus information…..

Dunlop will be the only tire of choice and no “Special” tires will be available.  In general this should be a good thing, with a few top teams and riders ticked that they don’t have access to special tires that most others do not have.  The AMA rules have a few interesting lines about tires…

• Unless otherwise announced, tires approved for use in dry
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Looks like all parties have finally agreed to what next years AMA/DMG US motorcycle roadracing series will look like. And the outlook seems positive. Seems DMG relinquished it’s “our way, or the highway” stance and accomodated the existing structure in large measure. My respects to Roger Edmonson for not throwing out the baby, the bathwater, the bathtub and torching the bathroom! There’s still plenty of time to continue changing the series over time to accomodate future circumstances without alienating the entire paddock.

For the most part the exisitng class structure and rules remain in effect, so it’s business as usual with a few minor modifications.

The highlights:

Tires:

Dunlops for all! Dunlop has been granted the exclusive right to supply tires for all

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in awhile, I get surprised by a motorcycle. This past weekend I rode a buddy’s Ducati MultiStrada and was thoroughly impressed.

A couple of my moto-buddies and I took our potential last ride of the season this weekend. I say last, because this time of year the weather here in the Inter-Mountain West can turn pretty wintery at the drop of a hat. I decided we’d head up to Bear Lake since none of us had done that particular ride yet this season and I thought we might see some nice late-Fall colors. There were 3 of us: I decided to take my Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 since I hadn’t been riding

I don’t know what the weather is like where you are right now but I’m pretty sure your temperatures are starting to decline. Now that the days are getting shorter, solar radiation is having less of an effect, despite global warming. In fact, here in Salt Lake we had our first snow of the season! I woke up to an inch on the lawn and 34 deg on the thermometer.

For those of you science and engineering types: PV=nRT. This is called the Ideal Gas Law and it means if volume is the same (ie… your tires aren’t leaking), when the temperature drops, so does the pressure. If you’ve lost 20

As a few have been reading, Aaron Clark out in Denver, Colorado is struggling to recover from a serious motorcycle crash why praticing at Pikes Peek International Raceway.  First off you can follow how Aaron Clark is recovering at www.getwellclarkie.com.  He is soon going in for sugery for his injured hip and pelvis, and his breathing is not 100% due to an infection he has right now.

Now if you would like to help Aaron Clark out, you have two options.

#1:  Go to www.getwellclarkie.com and click on the donation page…. You can just go their directly with this link, and send money via paypal to the fun setup to help Aaron Clark.

#2:  You can now

Can Valentino Rossi continue winning MotoGP Championships, and for how long?

Now that Pedrosa is on Bridgestones, can he finally take the premere class?

Will anyone other than Casey Stoner figure out how to ride the Ducati?

Can Nicky Hayden learn to love a Ducati after so many years on a Honda?

Can Noriuki Haga finally win the World Superbike Championship by riding a Ducati?

Why isn’t Italian Valentino Rossi riding an Italian bike (Ducati), especially since it’s competitive and it would potentially give him titles on 3 different marques?

Why on earth did Suzuki keep Vermeulen and Capirossi when Ben Spies is the only rider who has even a remote chance of getting them another world title in the forseeable future? And how will Ben

This weekend was to be a happy weekend for the wife and I.  Unfortunately Saturday morning we heard about Aaron Clark having a bad accident at PPIR in Colorado.  If you would like to follow what is going on and maybe make a donation to help Arron and his wife Tedi with medical expenses, feel free to go over to getwellclarkie.com to help out.

For thoese who do not know, Aaron Clarke is a New Zelandar transplant who has been racing in the USA for the better part of 8 years.  He came over to run the Aprillia Cup and other racing series.  In the past few years Aaron