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Philly cops get to ride these awesome F650GS!
We were back in Philly again last weekend for Clutch Control. Again, great turn out for the event. This year, a lot more stunters participated in the various competitions held at the event, and throughout the day, you see stunters practicing their latest tricks in the parking lot.
We had great fun there, not to mention the great food as well... mmmmmm, philly cheese steaks... We'll be back again next year!
The Duc in Yosemite.
Last week I rode up to Boise for WPS' National Sales Meeting. Since the shortest route to get there is around 850 miles, I decided to break the ride into two days instead of trying to cover that distance in a day. Then I figured, since 2 days is plenty of time to cover 850 miles, why not take the scenic route? So I did.
I left Sunday afternoon, got onto Angeles Crest Highway and ended the day in North Las Vegas. In case you've never heard of Angeles Crest Highway, it's one of the better and longer intermediate-level twisties here in So Cal. I couldn't have as much fun as I wanted as traffic was relatively heavy, but I still enjoyed the beautiful ride.
The next day I took the scenic route up to Boise via eastern Nevada, going through US93, Nevada318, US6, back onto US93 before finally hitting Interstate 84 and arriving at Boise. Eastern Nevada is way more scenic than I had expected, and I thoroughly enjoyed the open roads.
After three days of meeting, I hit the road again on Thursday afternoon. I started the ride by cutting through southeastern Oregon on US95. While in Oregon, the TPX scored another save for me. The posted speed limit on all the highways in Oregon is 55. I was doing around 90-95 for the most part. At one point, I was riding on a long gradual incline, and I could see the road going into a decline ahead, but I couldn't see past the crest of the incline. As I got close to the crest, the TPX started going off with a weak K alert, then it really quickly ramped up. I knew something was up. I had already let go of the throttle at first warning so I've slowed down a bit, but I was still a good 15-20 or so over the posted speed limit, so I decided to apply the brakes. Good move on my part because as soon as I got to the top of the crest, the road goes into a pretty sharp decline for about a quarter of a mile and then shoots straight back up into a pretty steep incline, creating a mini-valley. And you guessed it, right at the bottom of the valley is a cop. It was a perfect spot for the cop. His radar signals are trapped by the valley and if you are a motorist not abiding the speed limit, it's easy to get caught. I was probably still a bit over 55 when I started the decline, but it wasn't fast enough to warrant the cop pulling me over. If it weren't for the TPX, I would've probably still be going at around 90 heading into the decline and probably would've gotten a ticket. I ended the day in Fallon, NV.
The next day I continued on US95, then cut over to California via Nevada359/CA167. I then made a pit stop at the world famous Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining before cutting through Yosemite on Tioga Pass, probably one of the most scenic rides in California. After getting out of Yosemite, I then cut over to Ben Hur Road.
Oh man, do I have a story to tell about my ride on Ben Hur Road. First of all, the road is awesome. Very light traffic, in fact, I only saw one vehicle the entire time I was on it. The road is very fun, with plenty of twisties. About the only down side is that part of the road is in not-so-good condition, pot holes, bad patch jobs, and loose gravels here and there. But overall, fun.
I got into it immediately and was having fun with the twisties. Then, about 10 minutes into it, I got into trouble. Now, I've been riding consistently for about 8 years now, and if you want to count messing around on friends' bikes as riding, about 15 years. In these past 8 years, I've never really made any gross mis-judgments while riding. I've never gotten myself into situations where I'm thinking to myself "oh shit, I'm f'd". I've always rode within my abilities, and when I'm on the twisties, I push my limits but always knew when to back off. So, back to Ben Hur. I was coming up on a right turn. The right side of the road is a hill so I couldn't see the other end of the turn, but I was slowing down going into the turn, getting ready for it. As soon as I got into the turn, I realized that I was going in too hot. The turn turned out to be an almost u-turn, and it was much tighter than I had expected. Immediately I leaned down even more, but realized I was still too hot. The next thought went through my mind was: "shit, I'm going down", and I can feel myself starting to low side. I then decided to apply my back brake. By now, I've already drifted into the oncoming lane and I can feel my right foot dragging on asphalt. I thought I was going down for sure. All of a sudden, I realized that my bike was aligned perfectly straight with the other side of the almost u-turn, and I must have hit my front brake a bit because I felt like my bike was a bit more upright then where it was just a fraction of a second ago, so I punched it on the throttle. I could feel the back wheel spinning out as it was on the loose-dirt shoulder, but it regained traction real quickly and somehow, miraculously, I got out of the low side and got back on the road.
I couldn't believed what had happened. I was certain that I was going down but somehow I got out of it. After gathering myself, I started to try to analyze what had happened, and realized that it was my instincts (and probably luck) that got me out of it. There is no way that I could've figured out what I needed to do to get out of that situation if we were to freeze frame each split second and ask me what I should do then and there. I knew that had I gone down, I probably wouldn't have killed myself as I knew that I wasn't going that fast, and worst case scenario would be the bike landing on me and dragging me down the ditch. Probably a broken foot (or two). It would've been a bitch to try to get the bike out of the ditch, and I'm out in the middle of nowhere. It took me another 20 minutes or so after the close call to see any sign of civilization; a house on the side of the road. It was a blessing that the road had almost no traffic, as I had drifted into oncoming lane, but it would've been a curse had I gone down.
Needless to say, I went easy on Ben Hur the rest of the way, and after getting out of the back roads, I took CA99 back to LA.
All and all, it was a memorable four days of riding for sure. 1,883 miles when it's all said and done, and overall moving average of 68 with top speed of 116 (trust me, the Duc wouldn't go any faster) according to the GPS. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and gained new perspective on my riding abilities. I realized that I was probably a bit tired before I hit Ben Hur, and I'm almost certain that it had some effect on my judgment, and it was a good reminder to myself to always be alert with my riding, and never get careless with it.
We got some love from Super Streetbike! One of their editors, John Zamora, had the TPX on his Ducati 848 for a while now and he mentioned the TPX in the bike's longterm test. Check out the July issue of Super Streetbike, available on newstands nationwide!
Monterey's finest...We were at Laguna Seca two weeks ago for Moto GP and AMA races. It was awesome! Beautiful weather, great races, and a fantastic crowd... what more could I ask for!
Needless to say, we had a great time there. The only down side out of the entire weekend is that I didn't get to ride my bike up. I wish I could, but I had to haul all of our displays and stuff with my truck. Maybe next year.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who stopped by our booth, especially those of you that shared your TPX stories with us. It's always great to hear your stories of how the TPX prevented you from getting that ticket!
Hmmm, maybe I should look into being a CHP... Nah!
The Duc at SML.We were at Speed Measurement Laboratory's 2009 Radar Detector Shootout in El Paso, TX last week. We were there to test a few prototypes, and I'm happy to report that things went well and we are very hopeful that our "Remote Laser Unit" that we've been promising for a while will be ready by the end of this year. That's about as much as I can reveal at this time.
We also saw some cool new stuff (but not so cool from a motorist's point of view) from radar gun manufacturers. Stalker had this new slick radar set up for patrol cars that is being used by law enforcement agencies throughout the country as we speak. It is capable of picking up the fastest vehicle and the speed of the largest vehicle at the same time in both directions! I've never seen anything like this before and the capability of being able to pick out the speed of the fastest vehicle in a pack is a great arsenal for them. Drivers beware!
As for the trip out there, I rode the Little Monster out to El Paso from Los Angeles. Unlike last year, I didn't hit any bad weather, that is if you don't count scortching heat as "bad". This is my first long trip with the Monster and found the Monster to be a pleasant long trip bike. A bit buzzy, a bit under powered, and a small tank, but othen that, not bad at all. Would be nice if the bike can go a bit faster, as I found the top speed for the Monster is at about 120mph and it cruises comfortably at around 90mph. And it would definitely be nice if it had a bigger tank, as I got stranded near the Arizona-New Mexico border because I ran out of gas. A full tank of gas gets me about 125 miles before the fuel light comes on, and from my experience, I was able to get about 25 more miles before the tank is completely dry. My fuel light came on just as I had passed the last gas station in Arizona. I didn't think it was a big deal because usually if there is an extended stretch without gas stations, there would be a sign informing motorists. I didn't see it so I just assumed that the next gas station can't be more than 15 miles or so away. So I rode. About 15 miles later I came to an exit in New Mexico with a couple of gas station signs, but only to find both gas stations to be closed as I pulled up to them. To my despair, there wasn't anything else at the exit except for a Motel and a closed tire repair shop. I went into the Motel and asked where the nearest gas station is and the guy at the motel told me about 15 miles either way on the interstate. Not exactly what I wanted to hear. I told him that it's unlikely that my bike can go another 15 miles and asked if anyone in town might have some spare gas, and he told me that the owner of the closed tire shop might have some. So I went over to the tire shop. The owner lived right across from his shop in a RV and after waiting around for about half an hour, I finally got about 3/4 gallon of gas into the bike. Paid $10 for it but it was well worth it.
As always, I had the TPX with me. I was expecting the TPX to get a real good workout going through Arizona, but to my surprise, I didn't encounter as many DPS as last year. The state of Arizona have installed portable and permenant camera traps to catch speedsters, and they are all over the place once you get into Phoenix and Tucson. The portable traps does use radar, but the radar signal that they emit are so low that you won't be able to pick it up until you get real close. Bad news for radar detector users but the good thing is that they have to put up warning signs about a quarter mile out to let you know that you are approaching the trap, so you can just slow down when you see the sign to avoid getting a ticket. The permenant ones use sensors inbedded in the road. Same as the portable speed traps, warning signs are also posted a quarter mile out.
The TPX, however, did save me twice. Both on the way back. The first time was in New Mexico. I was cruising along at about 95 in a 70 when K band started to go off. As always, I backed off on the throttle and looked around for patrols. I didn't see anything and thought it might've been a false positive. I wanted to pick it up again but the signal stayed at 3 bars for a few more seconds and then started to go up, so I decided to stay at 70 for a bit longer. Sure enough, as I came over a little crest in the road a few seconds later, a trooper was parked in the median. Good thing I didn't speed up at all or else I would've been toast for sure. The second time was in Arizona, just past Tucson. I was riding along, around 95 again, when the TPX picked up a weak Ka. The traffice was relatively busy and there were numerous trucks, so I thought it might've been a fase positives from one of the trucks around me either using a radar detector or with their garage door openers. But unlike the usual false positives, the weak Ka signal didn't go away. It stayed. So I kept my speed legal and sure enough, a few seconds later, there was a DPS trooper traveling on the access road! If I hadn't been using a radar detector and paying attention, there was no way that I would've noticed the DPS and I'm sure that the DPS was trying to catch speedsters from the access road.
1,856 miles and two sure saves thanks to the TPX! Can't wait for the next trip!
Twisted Throttle's "KLR 650GS".
We were at Americade last week in beautiful upstate New York. Unlike the previous years, the weather cooperated and we didn't get a single drop of rain the entire week. We partnered up with our pals at Twisted Throttle and had a great time meeting the Americade-goers. Too bad I was busy working and didn't get a chance to go on a ride... Next year, I'll make sure I make time for a ride or two.
