RE: [ST] Triumph to WSBK?

["Andrew" <yogig@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yeah there was something seriously wrong with the 02 Daytona that we
rode yesterday.  The Throttle needed adjusting as there was a ton of
play in it.  The Throttle response was very ON/OFF especially at low
RPM's.  The motor had no "go" in it.  The seat was a freaking torture
chamber.  I would be able to stay on the bike for no more than 30 mins
at a time.  Compared to the Daytona "classic" that I am buying, there is
no contest in comfort.  

I am very bummed out about this, as I was looking into purchasing the 02
Daytona, but I am much happier with the 00 one I am going to end up
with.

Silver Rules...

Andrew
?? 00 Daytona ??
http://ultrasupercool.com



- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-st@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-st@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Peckham .
Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2001 8:53 PM
To: ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ST] Triumph to WSBK?




>From: Matt Knowles <matt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>If Triumph is serious about the Daytona which their recent update
>indicates, maybe they're ready to test the "What wins on Sunday, sells
on
>Monday" theory.

Just rode a Daytona today and it felt like a bike with the parking brake

engaged.  Yeah, I know it doesn't have one, but something was preventing

this bike from moving. If you told someone that "this" is a fast
powerful 
bike and then sent them out on it, they'd come back and ask if you've
ever 
ridden a motorcycle before.

I like the looks, but I hated the total package.  The guy I went to the
shop 
with *wanted* to buy the new one, but ended up getting a 2000 model.
Too 
bad Trioomph doesn't have their flagship model sorted.

OTOH, I had my RS at the track and it was awesome.  Heres' the scoop:


The early part of this week was spent preparing for the track -- going 
overthe bike and adjusting everything, lubing all the bits that needed 
lubing, tightening everything, etc.  And then there is the mental 
preparation that goes with it.  By Tuesday morning, it was all I could
think 
about and yet there was still a day to go.  Andrew's little collision
with a 
deer Tuesday afternoon did prove to be a diversion and the unplanned 
hospital detour meant that we had to do our final prep pretty late at
night. 
  Sleep would not come easily with the din of car alarms and loud
neighbors 
interrupting our best attempts at getting some rest. Five hours later we

were waking, and I was experiencing
pretty acute back pain from having driven a car twice that week -- once
on 
Monday to pick up Girl Wonder from class and, of course, the hospital
trip. 
Driving still causes major problems for me, while riding seems to solve 
them.

We arrived at Seattle International Raceway at 7:00 a.m. and checked in.
This event was organized by some employees at a software company -- and
the 
company's employees also made up the brunt of the riders. There were
enough 
high-dollar bikes present that if you sold them you could feed the
entire 
African continent with the proceeds. Seriously, with 45 to 50  riders,
some 
of whom brought two, three and four $10,000 to $20,000 motorcycles,
there 
was more money in the pits than most people could earn in several
lifetime's 
of work. The number one brand appeared to be Ducati, followed by
Aprilia. 
There was a fair representation of Japanese superbikes, and then the odd
MV 
Agusta or two-stroke racebike -- I noticed an RS50 and an Elephant too. 
Quite a collection...

We assigned ourselves to one of three groups -- racer, fast, or slow. We
did 
not know this track or these riders, so we chose the slow group. I rode
at 
about 65% of my usual gusto since I was suffering those spinal
eruptions. 
Between sessions, I had to keep walking and stretching or I couldn't
move at 
all without pain and stiffness. Also noted in the 
between_sessions_cacophony, was the story of the Deer Hunter, who was 
missing. I knew he wouldn't make it.

Although Andrew was missing, a guy that recently highsided on a "Andrew 
organized group ride" was there on the ZX6R that he had wadded on the
Road 
to Neah Bay.  He seemed to have learned his limits from the experience,
and 
spoke in a pedagogical  manner regarding riding. He
would ride in a reserved manner this day -- partly because of his
experience 
and partly because he had to sit 3 inches of-center on that bent
subframe. 
The bike looked rather rough, especially with the fiber glass baffles in
his 
muffler puffing out like plastic grass in an Easter basket.

Despite riding in the slow group, I was hitting 125mph in the straights,
110 
mph in turn one, 70 to 90mph in turn two, 30 to 40mph  in turns three
and 
four, 60 to 80mph in five six, seven eight and nine, and then 20mph in
turn 
ten and eleven -- then back to 125mph.  Lather, rinse, and repeat.  I
was 
not being passed very often, but I was not passing many people either. I
did 
manage to pass Girl Wonder each session, meaning that I had gained 2.25 
miles on her in ten laps. Slow group? I don't think so.  I didn't have
any 
way to time the laps, but I suspect that most of us were turning laps on
the 
2.25 mile course in and around (or just under) two minutes.

The racers and fast groups were turning laps times in of 1:40, according
to 
what I heard.  And that is where the crashes happened as well. There
were 
three wrecks, all requiring ambulances. What a way to ruin your $20,000 
Ducati and spend some vacation time at home with broken bones. It is not

like there was a trophy handed out for the fastest rider.  Track days
are to 
improve your skills and have fun.  They are  not contests.

GW was very nervous about the whole thing, which translated to one
stiff-looking rider.  She rides pretty fast on the street, but I think
that 
being in an environment with a lot of fast, loud bikes passing
unexpectedly 
was a bit unnerving.  So, a stiff rider makes for an unsettled bike, but
she 
eventually loosened up and did her best laps on her SV650 at the end of
the 
day. The only incident that happened in our group (which I noticed,
anyway) 
was when some impatient jackass tried to pass her on the inside of a
narrow 
20 mph curve called the bus stop, which is intended to slow you way down

before the long straight. He blew it (it was against the rules anyway)
and 
ended up riding off the track - then back on. I shadowed him for the 
remaining laps so that I could give him a friendly lecture when we were
off 
the track. Had he
waited 10 more seconds, he could have safely overtaken her in the
straights.

While I stayed on his tail thinking about staying with him so I could
"talk" 
to him, and thinking about what I would say, my concentration was not on

what it should have been.  My riding suffered that lap -- not so smooth,
not 
so precise.  When riding, you really need to be thinking about riding.
It 
was a good lesson, even if it sounds obvious.

The RS performed perfectly all day.  The new suspension absorbed all but
the 
most enormous bumps, and also prevented the front from diving under hard

braking.  The bike's velvet smooth power delivery made throttle control
easy 
and precise -- and I love that motor as it sings at 9500 rpm.  I spent
most 
of the day in 1st to 4th gears, never needing 5th or 6th.  I should have

changed my front sprocket though, as I had to drop into first for
several 
turns which meant that I was bouncing off the rev-limiter at the exit.
The 
sprocket sits on my kitchen counter, waiting to be installed... still.

There were two turns that I had some difficulty with.  Turns three and
four 
are kind of tight switchbacks, first right, then left.  My typical line 
would have been to enter three very deep, swoop across the turn hitting
four 
equally deep and then powering out - an "S" within and "S".  On the
street I 
like to use as much of my lane as possible -- but this was prohibited by
the 
rules, since that might cause a collision if a bike crossed your line.
Makes 
sense, but I really never figured those turns out enough to be perfectly

comfortable.  And this is where I made most of my mistakes, even
touching a 
toe slider down, the only time I made any contact with body or bike
against 
the track. I didn't expect the contact and pulled up for a split second,

only to chuckle and ten get back down on the line.  The RS has great
ground 
clearance, and with quick turn-ins I never needed to hang off. At times
I 
did slide a cheek over and point a knee out, but I never had to do
anything 
radical to keep the clearance.

By the end of the day I was soar, but feeling accomplished. It was a lot
of 
fun. When I got on the highway heading home. I looked down at the speedo
to 
notice that I was doing 90 in a 60.  Whoah... I was still a bit
velocitized 
from the track.  65 mph felt like a walking pace -- and all the curves
felt 
huge and open and surmountable at almost any speed.  Street riding
becomes 
boring after being on a track.  I guess that's why they add a few deer
- -- 
something to keep the excitement level up.

After returning to Seattle and having a martini, the bike therapy was
having a noticeable effect on my back. By Thursday morning I felt fine.
Can't wait to do it again.



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