Broken

Well the inevitable finally happened.

So far I've had two tip-overs. One on a group ride where I tried to pull over on the side of the road and tipped over the drop-off between asphalt and gravel. That resulted in a broken turn signal I super glued back together and a small scratch on the fairing. Nothing too serious. The second was in my driveway when I didn't get my bike up on my new rear stand correctly, causing it to fall over and narrowly miss my car! THAT resulted in a broken brake lever and a dented clutch cover, and a few more scratches.

There was a big group ride this weekend - all three days, with over 200 miles each day. Due to the driveway tip-over, I was frantically wrenching Thursday night until midnight getting the replacement brake lever (cheapy internet part didn't quite fit correctly until I took a rat tail file to it) and clutch cover ($175 Paulimoto fits like a glove - I guess you get what you pay for?). Friday we rode the Santa Monica Mountains and it was awesome. Saturday we rode Highway 33 and it was awesome. There had been rain during the really early morning Saturday (like 2-3am), but it was just overcast and damp when we headed out around 8am. I was cautious with the unknown road conditions, but felt on all day long. The sweepers of Highway 33 were just fantastic. I was confident and things were going smoothly. We had lunch at the Deer Lodge (the tri-tip sandwich was great) and headed to the coast for a bit, then turned our bikes homeward.

I split off with two others and we were going back over Balcom Canyon near Moorpark when the leader pointed out some sand in the bottom of a right hand corner. I tried to avoid it, but the sun was low and I couldn't really see where it was. I signaled to the rider behind me by pointing to the inside with my right foot, and then my rear tire skidded a bit. I planted my right foot and the bike got back in line, but then I ran wide on the left hand turn right afterwards. Off into the dirt shoulder, where I slowed to about 5mph before the bike fell over on the right side. My right mirror and turn signal popped off, and the right fairing has some pretty extensive scratches, but the bike was still rideable and I was uninjured. I righted it, we gave it a once over and I cautiously rode home.

So the bike is fixable and I'm uninjured, which is the important thing. Although I noticed I had a hard time on the tight right hand corners on the way home. I think I was just psyching myself out and it should be fine once I get the Duc put back together.

As they say, "shit happens." Who knew a Ducati superbike couldn't double as a dirt bike?

Angeles

Another early Saturday morning as I meet up with a gixxer and a 'busa to ride up in the Angeles National Forest. We avoid the ever-popular Angeles Crest Highway and opt for Big Tujunga past the mountains and into the high desert. Some very diverse scenery flies past as both the Duc and I are very happy that the temperature has finally dropped from the triple digits we've been seeing since Labor Day. The fast sweepers in Tujunga give way to sage and cactus dotted straights in the desert, followed by some really fun twists. We stop at the "postoffice" in the middle of nowhere and continue on for brunch up in Wrightwood. It's a small town that I've never visited and the country store/cafe we stop at is nice and homey.

With full stomachs we bid adieu to one riding partner who heads back to Fort Irwin, and head back the way we came. My gas light comes on at the bottom of Tujunga (excellent timing) so the group says goodbye for today. I gas up and slab it home, thankfully making it back before the hottest part of the day.

Time: 7 hours
Miles: 200 (a new one-day record!)

Reading Recommendations

I recently got some online advice to pick up the following two books:

Total Control by Lee Parks
Twist of the Wrist II by Keith Code

Both books are incredibly helpful. The Parks book is much more general, with excellent tips for the street rider. Code's book is very technical and provides specific, focused advice primarily intended for the track racer, but the concepts are still applicable every time you get on the bike.

I can wholeheartedly pass on the recommendation that anyone serious about their riding pick up both books. I have a feeling that I'll be going back to them many times over the coming years.

First time for everything...

6:00am - It's still dark as I drag myself out of bed, get out all my gear, and force myself to eat breakfast.
6:45 - Take off in a hurry because I'm supposed to be in Thousand Oaks at 7:15 and my bike's out of gas.
7:15 - After a quick freeway run, show up at the gas station to meet up with some other riders I originally met online.
7:30 - Route plan established, full tanks of gas, and we head out for a day of cruising the canyons!
12:00pm - Arrive home, peel off leathers, take shower.

Low point: Accidentally tipping the bike over when trying to pull off onto a dirt shoulder. Lesson learned: Don't drop the front tire off a 3 inch dropoff when the bike is still almost parallel to the road.

High point: 5 hours of riding with some really really awesome people!

Time: 5 hours
Miles: 140 miles

Early riser

Sunday I woke up at 7am. I never get up at 7am, especially on weekends. That's what this bike does to me.

I met up with a guy I met in an online motorcyclist forum, and we headed out through the Santa Monica Mountains. Cruised PCH to Los Flores, then over Stunt to Mulholland and down to the Rock Store. After a run down Latigo, we stopped for gas in Malibu and called it a day. It was 10:00am, getting warm, and he hadn't slept well the night before.

As I'm headed home along PCH, my bike decides the day isn't over and turns onto Los Flores again. I'm feeling good and turns are coming really smoothly today, so we decide that it's time.

Tuna Canyon, here I come.

I was so busy having an awesome time I completely forgot to take any pictures. That road is amazingly fun. Tight, twisty, and one-way with a fantastic view of the ocean.

Time: 4 hours
Miles: 90

Where have you been?

Almost a full month and no posts? Well, there's always a good excuse reason.

Last weekend in July was a dance weekend. As such, no riding for me. After that, my bike was due for it's 18k service. I ended up checking out several places around LA, and since I couldn't get a hold of Motoservizio (the most recommended place by the Ducati forums), I called up West Coast GP Cycles and asked them to do it.

Quote:
$200 parts
$500 labor
$700 total

Actual:
$650 parts
$500 labor
$72 fees, taxes
$1222 total

Ended up needing a new chain and sprockets. They put on an AFAM quickchange carrier, so next time I can just replace the sprocket and it should be less expensive (no need for Ducati official parts - any superbike sprocket will do). Since they ended up going over by about $400 in parts the service guy (Andy) didn't end up charging for labor to install the chain and sprockets. The disadvantage was it took almost a week and a half for all the parts to come in, so I was without my baby for about two weeks!

Also, my closing rockers were pretty far out of spec, so the service guy hand lapped the shims down to 0.000 clearance (awesome!). Why is zero a good thing? Well, if the closers have some gap, they will not close the valve completely, which relies on ignition in the piston to essentially "blow" the valve to its closed position. This means you're losing some compression with every stroke! If you get them to zero (but not below or you'll cause excessive rocker wear), then you're getting the most out of your engine. (Ducati spec is 0.000 - 0.004 according to the bottom of this page)

Well, as my father constantly reminds me, "You gotta pay to play." Now, to get some playtime in...

Work Drudgery

Nothing sucks more than getting out on your bike on Sunday only to have to go back to the drag of work on Monday.

Sunday: Wake up when I feel like it. Head off on the Duck at about noon. Note smile starting to develop at edge of lips. Hop onto Topanga to Old Topanga. Enjoy bright sunshine and lack of traffic. Bike feels good and I feel good on it. Self satisfied smirk decidedly evident. Contemplate Stunt, but decide against due to time constraints (MotoGP this afternoon!). Opt for Latigo Canyon again. Note slight increase in speed resulting in significant increase in stability mid-corner. Manage one particularly good line through a series of curves. Burst into maniacal laughter at the sheer fun I'm having. Hit friend's house and catch the last bit of the MotoGP race. Opt for roundabout route home just to spend more time on the bike. Split traffic and feel moderately comfortable about it for the first time.

Monday: Hit snooze button. Contemplate not going to work. Hit snooze button again. Continue until horribly late for work. Drag self out of bed, slog to work through an hour of traffic. Get just enough rain on freshly washed car to leave water spots. Arrive to cube with smelly coworker blasting Mannheim Steamroller music again (apparently has never heard of headphones in shared office environment). Attempt to fix irreparably broken system. Get told to start working 9am-9pm because project is behind schedule. Tentative weekends. May need to "adjust" vacation schedule to "ensure coverage." Leave at 9:30pm feeling like you accomplished nothing.

Time: 3 hours
Miles: 100