Is anyone planning on riding Labor Day weekend? Post your ride points here! I'm going to be riding the Kalkaska loops on Saturday 10am. I haven't been there all year, and usually have 3-4 rides in there by now. Anyone interested in joining CRistie and I? Hopefully they'll have the mountains of gravel they dumped in the parking lot levelled out by then.
Labor Day weekend
- Thread starter MWEISSEN
- Start date
- Oct 28, 2001
- 4,704
- 0
I hadn't planned on it, but....
The wife booked Labor Day weekend for us with another family at their new cottage in Gladwin. Hmmmm.... Gladwin. "I'm sure we'll find something to do up there", I comment. "Well, are there any trails up there?" she says. Me: "Oh, I don't know. I'll check it out if you really want to bring the bikes up."
;)
The wife booked Labor Day weekend for us with another family at their new cottage in Gladwin. Hmmmm.... Gladwin. "I'm sure we'll find something to do up there", I comment. "Well, are there any trails up there?" she says. Me: "Oh, I don't know. I'll check it out if you really want to bring the bikes up."
;)
No ride for me...will be on my way to Wyoming with the family... picturing a nice single track is I poke along in the motorhome. Hmmm yep I can squeeze those mirrors between those cars...just like a couple of trees! I will be suffering from withdrawal by the time I return that is for sure!
Heading for Baldwin Friday night. Saturday I am applying graphics to my Dad’s new truck and also two fire truck’s for the Lake Twp. Fire Dept. Going to Berlin Raceway Saturday night, then back to Baldwin. Sunday I plan on riding south out of Caberfae, as far as I can on a tank of gas, or I hit pavement. Monday I’ll ride from the my Dad’s cabin, till I have to head for home.
bbarel said:
Sad...isnt it! :(
But, sometimes you just gotta keep the wife happy. She puts up with tons of my crap everyday. She even puts up with the likes of 2Big4aKDX , Creeper9 and others hanging out here at Camp Chaos..and she even runs gas for me, and allows uh...12 bikes in the garage right now! So i shouldnt complain to much!
But...I am gonna be hurting guys! I have not ridden since the Pinecone, and by the time I ride again it will have been 5 weeks! :| So everyone - bust some bark for me! :ride:
- Feb 3, 2001
- 3,818
- 0
Mark,
I will be at the clubgrounds on Sunday if you want to ride from there.
Mike
I will be at the clubgrounds on Sunday if you want to ride from there.
Mike
I dont know Neal,,, sounds like someone needs a good roostin :ride:
You ALL have a GREAT ride this weekend! PLEASE be careful out there - maybe turn it down a notch for ol Woodsy. Leave a little extra room for that oncoming traffic!!
RIDE ON!
Woodsy
You ALL have a GREAT ride this weekend! PLEASE be careful out there - maybe turn it down a notch for ol Woodsy. Leave a little extra room for that oncoming traffic!!
RIDE ON!
Woodsy
- Thread starter
- #17
Kalkaska ride:
Well, there were about 30 trucks in the lot, but this trail system swallows up a lot of bikes, and I only ran into two quads in the time I was there.
It was Cristie's first outing with her lights, and she looked pretty She got a lot of looks and "what's that? I've never see a Honda like that". Well, I guess I accomplished what I wanted to, something really unique.
The trail was surprising tacky, hardly any dust. My favorite sections of single track have now been quaded to oblivion, a scene repeated many times over throughout Michigan unfortunately. The motor was perfect as it has been since I made my changes. However, after riding Badgerman's MX-Tech modified YZ250F a couple weeks ago, my suspension feels hard as a rock. Badgerman has that suspension absoluely DIALED! I think he's got a benchmark for smooth yet solid fork and shock action. My shock isn't far off, but it looks like new valves will be in order for the front this fall. It'll give me something to do during the riding seasons.
I switched to ProTaper AC3 bars after having cut down my old KTM bars a little too far. The AC3's, and the SE's that have replaced them, have 5mm thick aluminum that is bored to accept bar ends at the tips of the bars. With these bars I get NO vibration from the engine through the bars, something I didn't expect. They fell pretty rigid, and I really like the Doug Henry bend I selected.
The extra weight from the lighting doesn't seem to have any effect on the bikes handling.
I got a few miles out, then started feeling really bad. I went back to the truck, rested a bit, then went back out. I went about two miles out and felt even worse. By the time I got back I had a heck of a time holding the bike up, and barely got it loaded. I headed back, and was sicker than a dog for the next two days. Fever, leg cramps, headache, this time I my heart was throwing PVC's for a couple hours. This is getting pretty frustrating! Off to the doc again this week. I've got to get to the bottom of this.
Anyway, it was great to get back out on the Kalkaska. I didn't get back far enough to hit one of my favorite spots - tight switchbacks up and down a two-mile long ridge - but I guess I'll save that for next year. I still hope they're single track, I really couldn't imagine quads getting into that section anyway. It's too far from the parking lot.
Fatherandson, thanks for the invite to the LMC grounds! I'm sorry I saw it too late. Hope to see you October 24.
Well, there were about 30 trucks in the lot, but this trail system swallows up a lot of bikes, and I only ran into two quads in the time I was there.
It was Cristie's first outing with her lights, and she looked pretty She got a lot of looks and "what's that? I've never see a Honda like that". Well, I guess I accomplished what I wanted to, something really unique.
The trail was surprising tacky, hardly any dust. My favorite sections of single track have now been quaded to oblivion, a scene repeated many times over throughout Michigan unfortunately. The motor was perfect as it has been since I made my changes. However, after riding Badgerman's MX-Tech modified YZ250F a couple weeks ago, my suspension feels hard as a rock. Badgerman has that suspension absoluely DIALED! I think he's got a benchmark for smooth yet solid fork and shock action. My shock isn't far off, but it looks like new valves will be in order for the front this fall. It'll give me something to do during the riding seasons.
I switched to ProTaper AC3 bars after having cut down my old KTM bars a little too far. The AC3's, and the SE's that have replaced them, have 5mm thick aluminum that is bored to accept bar ends at the tips of the bars. With these bars I get NO vibration from the engine through the bars, something I didn't expect. They fell pretty rigid, and I really like the Doug Henry bend I selected.
The extra weight from the lighting doesn't seem to have any effect on the bikes handling.
I got a few miles out, then started feeling really bad. I went back to the truck, rested a bit, then went back out. I went about two miles out and felt even worse. By the time I got back I had a heck of a time holding the bike up, and barely got it loaded. I headed back, and was sicker than a dog for the next two days. Fever, leg cramps, headache, this time I my heart was throwing PVC's for a couple hours. This is getting pretty frustrating! Off to the doc again this week. I've got to get to the bottom of this.
Anyway, it was great to get back out on the Kalkaska. I didn't get back far enough to hit one of my favorite spots - tight switchbacks up and down a two-mile long ridge - but I guess I'll save that for next year. I still hope they're single track, I really couldn't imagine quads getting into that section anyway. It's too far from the parking lot.
Fatherandson, thanks for the invite to the LMC grounds! I'm sorry I saw it too late. Hope to see you October 24.
Hey Mark
Good to hear you got out for a ride ... bad to hear you're still having problems with your health ... sounds like Christie is now nearing completion ... speaking of which, brings me to this [long] question:
I have been making a bunch of changes to my CRF-450 to try to make it more trail worthy ... especially for a novice rider which is the basis for my somewhat roundabout question ... I already have had the forks and shock professionally redone for trail use by ESP Engineering [connected with Scott's, the damper guys, who also supplied the ProTaper bars, Scott's triple clamp, and steering damper], I had the spring upgraded to 5.5 Kg to accommodate my 200 lbs heft and gear, and these suspension changes have made the bike very plush in accordance with many 'good' riders comments to me after having ridden it. After nearly three seasons though, I am still having trouble with the gearing [1st and 2nd are way too high for my skill level] and the motor is way too 'twitchy' in throttle response for my safety as well. [I know, you're probably asking yourself, why did this idiot by that bike in the first place ... but that's water under the bridge and a mistake I can't overcome easily at this point, so let's not go there for the moment ...]
To continue ... after a couple of rides in the UP last month with a fellow named Dan Djokovic, he suggested that I might soften the engine hit by installing a Steahly fly wheel weight and I might improve the gearing problem by installing a smaller counter sprocket while maintaining my current larger rear sprocket [originally the bike came with 13/50 tooth sprockets front and rear, after a couple of months I changed the rear to 52T ... this was a substantial improvement and helped me with regard to stalling in sand ... but I still find it hard to maintain control under strong breaking or downhill situations and significant clutch work is required]. So, I bought and had installed a 15 oz fly wheel weight and changed the sprockets to 12/52. Another UP series of rides last weekend indicated the bike is now considerably more docile and definitely geared more toward 'tractoring' ... but 1st and 2nd are still too high for real tight stuff without constant clutching.
I was talking with Woodsy on the phone last night and he gave me his advice that potentially I have gone in the wrong direction for someone of my novice skills with this particular bike ... namely, he felt that a 12T counter sprocket might be too small for a high powered bike running an O-ring chain thereby causing potential accelerated wear on both the sprocket and the chain, and potentially ... the combination of a large fly wheel weight plus the 12T counter sprocket might put too much stress on the engine thereby leading to problems. By the way, Woodsy suggested one of the 'auto clutches' as perhaps the best solution to my 'gearing' problems in tight stuff ... this would enable me to return to a 13T front sprocket and perhaps leave the 52 on the rear while still having the ability to eliminate stalling under slow conditions and thereby giving the 'impression' of having much lower gearing overall. These devices no longer permit free wheeling under normal conditions therefore engine breaking on downhills is still evident and the bike will retain that feeling of being in gear from a weight transfer perspective ... something I don't get when I have to pull in the clutch whenever using the rear break to avoid stalling the engine.
Finally, the question(s) ... I believe that I read a while back you installed a fly wheel weight on Christie ... I know she's a 250 2-smoke, but which one did you install and how do you like it? Do you believe the internals on your Honda can withstand the extra stress of the fly wheel weight based on the quality/size/strength of components you observed on its installation? Did you also change the gearing via sprockets ... if so how much?
I recognize that 2-smokes and 4-strokes are vastly different beasts, but your incites remain important to me and I would appreciate any thoughts you might have regarding my dilemma ... maybe FredT will see this and respond also, I think he installed a Rekluse on his ride not too long ago?
Thanks for the ride report, hope you start feeling better soon!
terry nestrick :cool:
Good to hear you got out for a ride ... bad to hear you're still having problems with your health ... sounds like Christie is now nearing completion ... speaking of which, brings me to this [long] question:
I have been making a bunch of changes to my CRF-450 to try to make it more trail worthy ... especially for a novice rider which is the basis for my somewhat roundabout question ... I already have had the forks and shock professionally redone for trail use by ESP Engineering [connected with Scott's, the damper guys, who also supplied the ProTaper bars, Scott's triple clamp, and steering damper], I had the spring upgraded to 5.5 Kg to accommodate my 200 lbs heft and gear, and these suspension changes have made the bike very plush in accordance with many 'good' riders comments to me after having ridden it. After nearly three seasons though, I am still having trouble with the gearing [1st and 2nd are way too high for my skill level] and the motor is way too 'twitchy' in throttle response for my safety as well. [I know, you're probably asking yourself, why did this idiot by that bike in the first place ... but that's water under the bridge and a mistake I can't overcome easily at this point, so let's not go there for the moment ...]
To continue ... after a couple of rides in the UP last month with a fellow named Dan Djokovic, he suggested that I might soften the engine hit by installing a Steahly fly wheel weight and I might improve the gearing problem by installing a smaller counter sprocket while maintaining my current larger rear sprocket [originally the bike came with 13/50 tooth sprockets front and rear, after a couple of months I changed the rear to 52T ... this was a substantial improvement and helped me with regard to stalling in sand ... but I still find it hard to maintain control under strong breaking or downhill situations and significant clutch work is required]. So, I bought and had installed a 15 oz fly wheel weight and changed the sprockets to 12/52. Another UP series of rides last weekend indicated the bike is now considerably more docile and definitely geared more toward 'tractoring' ... but 1st and 2nd are still too high for real tight stuff without constant clutching.
I was talking with Woodsy on the phone last night and he gave me his advice that potentially I have gone in the wrong direction for someone of my novice skills with this particular bike ... namely, he felt that a 12T counter sprocket might be too small for a high powered bike running an O-ring chain thereby causing potential accelerated wear on both the sprocket and the chain, and potentially ... the combination of a large fly wheel weight plus the 12T counter sprocket might put too much stress on the engine thereby leading to problems. By the way, Woodsy suggested one of the 'auto clutches' as perhaps the best solution to my 'gearing' problems in tight stuff ... this would enable me to return to a 13T front sprocket and perhaps leave the 52 on the rear while still having the ability to eliminate stalling under slow conditions and thereby giving the 'impression' of having much lower gearing overall. These devices no longer permit free wheeling under normal conditions therefore engine breaking on downhills is still evident and the bike will retain that feeling of being in gear from a weight transfer perspective ... something I don't get when I have to pull in the clutch whenever using the rear break to avoid stalling the engine.
Finally, the question(s) ... I believe that I read a while back you installed a fly wheel weight on Christie ... I know she's a 250 2-smoke, but which one did you install and how do you like it? Do you believe the internals on your Honda can withstand the extra stress of the fly wheel weight based on the quality/size/strength of components you observed on its installation? Did you also change the gearing via sprockets ... if so how much?
I recognize that 2-smokes and 4-strokes are vastly different beasts, but your incites remain important to me and I would appreciate any thoughts you might have regarding my dilemma ... maybe FredT will see this and respond also, I think he installed a Rekluse on his ride not too long ago?
Thanks for the ride report, hope you start feeling better soon!
terry nestrick :cool:
- Thread starter
- #19
Terry, it sounds like you've really done a lot to your 450. They are really nice bikes, and it sounds like, for the most part, you're going in the right direction.
I installed a 10oz flywheel made by Steahly, and it has done wonders for the bike, along with the different pipe and exhaust manifold. I'm really not planning on doing much else on the motor, but may gear UP one tooth on the countershaft (from 13 to 14) to open up the ratios a little.
I agree with Woodsy in that a 12 tooth sprocket is a pretty tight sprocket. I'm a little surprised that you're still finding first and second gear a little high. I've ridden a couple of CRF 450's and the gearing seemed OK. In really tight, slow-speed stuff, clutching would be an expected thing.
Are you still experiencing stalling with the flywheel? You may want to bound up the idle setting just a touch.
Also, have you gone to an aftermarket pipe? The FMF Q might be something to look at.
We'll have to get toghether and ride sometime soon, as soon as my doc can figure out this fever/cramping thing.
I installed a 10oz flywheel made by Steahly, and it has done wonders for the bike, along with the different pipe and exhaust manifold. I'm really not planning on doing much else on the motor, but may gear UP one tooth on the countershaft (from 13 to 14) to open up the ratios a little.
I agree with Woodsy in that a 12 tooth sprocket is a pretty tight sprocket. I'm a little surprised that you're still finding first and second gear a little high. I've ridden a couple of CRF 450's and the gearing seemed OK. In really tight, slow-speed stuff, clutching would be an expected thing.
Are you still experiencing stalling with the flywheel? You may want to bound up the idle setting just a touch.
Also, have you gone to an aftermarket pipe? The FMF Q might be something to look at.
We'll have to get toghether and ride sometime soon, as soon as my doc can figure out this fever/cramping thing.
Wow ... quick reply, Mark
Thanks for the info ... after my first year of riding, I really got over the stalling problem via constant attention to the clutch and a basic disuse of the rear break under all but the most dire of circumstances ... but the high gearing and easy stalling characteristics have caused me to develop my riding skills so as to slant them down a peculiar path relative to what you folks would consider "normal" ... and these 'bad habits' are limiting my ability to grow better at any reasonable rate ... remember, I'm the guy who started riding at 55 ... so my development curve is vastly different than anything most of you could imagine and my years to grow are somewhat limited at best ... couple that with choosing a 'monster' for my first bike and you have the makings for a "quickly injured, dropout" or an "insanely stubborn, old fart who refuses to give up" ... well, I've survived several injuries and am still here ... and stubborn has been used many times before in my life to describe my tenacity when I am determined to achieve a goal ... and riding this bike sufficiently well so as to have fun with you guys in the near future is one of those 'goals' ... I just want to get my equipment optimized to make the job as easy as possible to help make up for the 40 years [or more] experience you guys have accumulated while I was busy being an insanely dedicated, one-minded, world's best "dioxin" analyst for Dow instead of being out on a dirt bike enjoying myself. While such optimization will not even put a dent in accounting for all your years of riding experience ... it now appears to me to be of considerable importance to increasing the steepness of my learning curve without resulting in my severe injury caused by my attempting to do something that is still beyond my humble skill set with somewhat 'less than optimized' equipment. For sure ... there is absolutely nothing wrong with my CRF-450 ... it is an amazing piece of machinery ... the problems are really with the rider ... and, while I can continue to ride, practice and develop my skills ... it is currently my opinion that even quicker results might well be obtainable through appropriate modifications of the bike. Hope this makes some sense ... I'm getting really long winded here!
The 15 oz Steahly fly wheel weight makes a HUGE improvement in 'tractability' of the motor ... it is smooth and no longer, twitchy ... it hooks up much easier in slippery conditions and is difficult to stall in all but the worst of conditions. I find the 12/52 gearing combination makes the bike much easier to control than the 13/52 ... on anything but real tight stuff, I can almost 'tractor' through sans any clutch use ... but 1st & 2nd gear could still stand to be a bit lower for tight or steep situations. I really don't care about top end speed ... even the 12/52 has plenty of speed [for me] in 5th gear without excessive rev'ing on roads ... while I don't have a speedo, I would estimate it can still make 70 mph.
I did install an FMF Q this season ... it is certainly quieter at low to medium rpms ... but at higher revs, the bike is still very loud ... however, I seldom run it at high rpm so that's not an important issue. I didn't notice any performance differences relative to engine characteristics ... I probably don't have enough experience to notice anything but the most blatant of changes anyway.
As for that ride ... sometime soon I hope ... I'm working out some motor problems unrelated to the issues discussed above and hope to be up and running again soon.
Take care, buddy & thanks for the advice ...
terry nestrick :)
Thanks for the info ... after my first year of riding, I really got over the stalling problem via constant attention to the clutch and a basic disuse of the rear break under all but the most dire of circumstances ... but the high gearing and easy stalling characteristics have caused me to develop my riding skills so as to slant them down a peculiar path relative to what you folks would consider "normal" ... and these 'bad habits' are limiting my ability to grow better at any reasonable rate ... remember, I'm the guy who started riding at 55 ... so my development curve is vastly different than anything most of you could imagine and my years to grow are somewhat limited at best ... couple that with choosing a 'monster' for my first bike and you have the makings for a "quickly injured, dropout" or an "insanely stubborn, old fart who refuses to give up" ... well, I've survived several injuries and am still here ... and stubborn has been used many times before in my life to describe my tenacity when I am determined to achieve a goal ... and riding this bike sufficiently well so as to have fun with you guys in the near future is one of those 'goals' ... I just want to get my equipment optimized to make the job as easy as possible to help make up for the 40 years [or more] experience you guys have accumulated while I was busy being an insanely dedicated, one-minded, world's best "dioxin" analyst for Dow instead of being out on a dirt bike enjoying myself. While such optimization will not even put a dent in accounting for all your years of riding experience ... it now appears to me to be of considerable importance to increasing the steepness of my learning curve without resulting in my severe injury caused by my attempting to do something that is still beyond my humble skill set with somewhat 'less than optimized' equipment. For sure ... there is absolutely nothing wrong with my CRF-450 ... it is an amazing piece of machinery ... the problems are really with the rider ... and, while I can continue to ride, practice and develop my skills ... it is currently my opinion that even quicker results might well be obtainable through appropriate modifications of the bike. Hope this makes some sense ... I'm getting really long winded here!
The 15 oz Steahly fly wheel weight makes a HUGE improvement in 'tractability' of the motor ... it is smooth and no longer, twitchy ... it hooks up much easier in slippery conditions and is difficult to stall in all but the worst of conditions. I find the 12/52 gearing combination makes the bike much easier to control than the 13/52 ... on anything but real tight stuff, I can almost 'tractor' through sans any clutch use ... but 1st & 2nd gear could still stand to be a bit lower for tight or steep situations. I really don't care about top end speed ... even the 12/52 has plenty of speed [for me] in 5th gear without excessive rev'ing on roads ... while I don't have a speedo, I would estimate it can still make 70 mph.
I did install an FMF Q this season ... it is certainly quieter at low to medium rpms ... but at higher revs, the bike is still very loud ... however, I seldom run it at high rpm so that's not an important issue. I didn't notice any performance differences relative to engine characteristics ... I probably don't have enough experience to notice anything but the most blatant of changes anyway.
As for that ride ... sometime soon I hope ... I'm working out some motor problems unrelated to the issues discussed above and hope to be up and running again soon.
Take care, buddy & thanks for the advice ...
terry nestrick :)
- Jan 1, 2002
- 794
- 0
Terry - don't beat yourself up (novice rider/skill talk) when the bike is the issue. Get a bike designed for the riding you do. Making the bike do something it's not meant for is not the ticket for someone wanting to improve their riding ability.
Trade that puppy in on a crf250X. Give a KTM exc model a peek. You don't have to buy new, used can be good (it's all I buy) and the $ saved can put you on a different class of bike for less money than you'll spend "making" your 450 a trail bike.
Trade that puppy in on a crf250X. Give a KTM exc model a peek. You don't have to buy new, used can be good (it's all I buy) and the $ saved can put you on a different class of bike for less money than you'll spend "making" your 450 a trail bike.
- Thread starter
- #22
Terry, my years of experience are broken into two parts of my life. The first part is ages 12-18, when I was the fastest and stupidest. Fortunately I never hurt myself badly, and while going to high school rode EVERY SINGLE DAY for a couple of years.
The second half of my riding experience is from 39 to 47, my current mode. I had to relearn a lot, since bikes are a lot different than they were in the 70's. Lately with my health issues, riding is savored even more, and my speed capability seems to be dropping exponentially.
Anyway, back to your bike. The low gearing, if it suits you, is fine. If you can swing it, go back to the 13 tooth sprocket and up the rear to like a 54 or 55. This drops the strain that the 12 tooth countershaft would cause. A friend of mine also rides a CRF450, and he's turned the idle up to prevent stalling the engine from using the rear brake.
The second half of my riding experience is from 39 to 47, my current mode. I had to relearn a lot, since bikes are a lot different than they were in the 70's. Lately with my health issues, riding is savored even more, and my speed capability seems to be dropping exponentially.
Anyway, back to your bike. The low gearing, if it suits you, is fine. If you can swing it, go back to the 13 tooth sprocket and up the rear to like a 54 or 55. This drops the strain that the 12 tooth countershaft would cause. A friend of mine also rides a CRF450, and he's turned the idle up to prevent stalling the engine from using the rear brake.
Thanks for the thoughts and advice ...
I assure you all that your interest will help me decide what route to take in the future ... just have to set up my old chemistry set now so I can distill all this dilute knowledge into some strong medicine for future application !!!
While a new bike [even used] would be nice, I have become somewhat attached to my Honda ... so much so that I have finally settled on a name:
"Crash Gordon"
He's the space age miracle machine that, so far, has survived my best attempts to destroy him via a three year string of near continuous falls, spills, crashes, slides, flips, flops, drops and stupid mechanical mistakes [like putting the chain tensioner on incorrectly resulting in its complete failure in the middle of nowhere near Newberry on the Sandtown trail] ... all the while he gets stronger and I seem to be loosing control.
The reality of biking for me may truly be more of the passenger-mode than the driver-mode ... while I am aboard and sit in the driver's seat ... more often than not, Crash takes me where he has a mind to go ... sometimes we're together, sometimes not ... always we come home together though. To me this is good start ... could be better ... but it could have been a lot worse based on some of the stories I have heard from you guys! My wife is pleasantly surprised that she has not been able to cash in my insurance ... as when I opted to start riding three years ago, this is what she and almost all of the folks who know us predicted would be the outcome. Maybe I'm a bit tougher than even I thought at the time ... but all in all, I have made it this far only partly on my own efforts [maybe 20%] ... the real reason is folks like you who graciously have given of yourself, your knowledge, your mental and physical support to make this hobby/sport what it really is ... our family of riding brethren.
terry nestrick :ride:
I assure you all that your interest will help me decide what route to take in the future ... just have to set up my old chemistry set now so I can distill all this dilute knowledge into some strong medicine for future application !!!
While a new bike [even used] would be nice, I have become somewhat attached to my Honda ... so much so that I have finally settled on a name:
"Crash Gordon"
He's the space age miracle machine that, so far, has survived my best attempts to destroy him via a three year string of near continuous falls, spills, crashes, slides, flips, flops, drops and stupid mechanical mistakes [like putting the chain tensioner on incorrectly resulting in its complete failure in the middle of nowhere near Newberry on the Sandtown trail] ... all the while he gets stronger and I seem to be loosing control.
The reality of biking for me may truly be more of the passenger-mode than the driver-mode ... while I am aboard and sit in the driver's seat ... more often than not, Crash takes me where he has a mind to go ... sometimes we're together, sometimes not ... always we come home together though. To me this is good start ... could be better ... but it could have been a lot worse based on some of the stories I have heard from you guys! My wife is pleasantly surprised that she has not been able to cash in my insurance ... as when I opted to start riding three years ago, this is what she and almost all of the folks who know us predicted would be the outcome. Maybe I'm a bit tougher than even I thought at the time ... but all in all, I have made it this far only partly on my own efforts [maybe 20%] ... the real reason is folks like you who graciously have given of yourself, your knowledge, your mental and physical support to make this hobby/sport what it really is ... our family of riding brethren.
terry nestrick :ride:
Get an auto clutch and you will never regret it. Pay less attention to being in the perfect gear and applying the right amount of clutch. Twist and go. Stall less, kick less and have more fun. Rekluse has held up with no attention for the entire season and will go on my new '05 250 E. Face it, that 450 has a lot of horse power and the clutch will smooth that out for you. Good luck.