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Article on riding an R100RT "in a sporting manner" at the Dragon

ron_ces

Aging Hacker
Interesting article

The only negative is that your main picture in the article shows you riding with a long sleve t-shirt and no gloves. ATGATT. :violin
Ron
 
A couple things:

- The balls of your feet should be on the pegs, not the arch. Look in the photos and you can see that your foot is going to be the next thing to touch down. By placing the balls of your feet on the pegs, you're in a position to move around on the seat without disturbing the motorcycle.

- If you're dragging the undercarriage, you need to get your ass off the seat. By moving your body off the seat you move the CG inwards, which lets you get around the corner with less lean angle. If you're riding a heavily loaded bike or a large bike, this could be the difference between the centerstand levering your rear tire off the road and you staying on the road. If you're riding well, IMHO, nothing should touch down, even at pretty decent velocity.

- And please, wear your gear - all the time. A photo of you posing as an "instructor" and not wearing gear is just plain wrong and diminishes your credibility.
 
Step 3; paragraph 5: "leaned" is spelled "learned".

Other than that, and the observation of others about the lack of ATTGAT even though you stated it should be worn:scratch, I'm curious if you're going to feel any regret for advocating such behavior if someone gets injured or killed following your example.

Tom
 
Guilty (sort of)...

Well the pic with me sans jacket was on the "trial run" up from the TN side. My dad (on his wing) and I were caught behind a "parade" of Harleys that rarely exceeded 20 MPH. The only chances to get a decent corner in were if we slowed way down and then zoomed up a bit (emphasis on "a bit") to catch up. That was what was caught on the photo. On the return trip I told my Dad that I was itching to do the Dragon all out, and I dressed appropriately despite the 90+ degree heat. My Dad said he would start out while I "geared up" and let me know that he would pull over when I wanted to pass him. Surprisingly I pulled out only a minute or so after him and I didn't catch up until 1/2 way through the Dragon! My old man, loaded up with his girlfriend and gear was able to do 80% of what I could on his GL1800!

Regarding ATTGATT, I compromise. If I know I will be riding in conditions that cause my testosterone to flow (or if I come upon them), I gear up appropriately. If the temperature is approaching my body temp or above at slow speeds in sedate settings I shed layers and add sunblock to compensate. My logic is that the discomfort and mental dulling cause by heat exhaustion are more likely to result in impaired judgment and higher risk of a crash, so when needing to choose between higher chance of crash but better protection, or less protection but less risk of crash, I choose the lessened (greatly lessened according to my subjective comparisons) risk of crash - simple mental statistics. Here is the source regarding mental impairment caused by overheating - "Numerous CNS symptoms, ranging from minor irritability to delusions, irrational behavior, hallucinations, and coma have been described."

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/166320-overview


I realize my personal stance of this issue is very controversial and against all "official" positions (despite what y'all may do once in a while when not around judging eyes) :blush and I do not wish to debate the issue. I have ridden nearly 30 years safely on all types of bikes all over the US and Canada, including regular commuting in congested Connecticut traffic without incident, and I ride defensively and predict the moves of idiots with mental chess three moves ahead. It has worked for 200K riding miles so far (at least) and the day I lose the ability to be mentally sharp while riding is the day I turn in my license.

As far as riding on the arch vs. the balls - I learned that quickly! My boots did catch two times! The photos are totally unstaged and from killboy.com - they were taken of me without me even noticing the cameramen. I am tall and have size 14 feet and my Dad has size 15, so we both have footpeg problems and friggin' toes that love to touch in corners. I found that I actually had to lift my foot away from the peg on the right - it would lean so far that only my foot would touch - I could lean right down so far that the tire had no "chicken strips" left without anything touching but my foot. Which creates the dilemma of having no right foot to rear-brake with. On the left, as you all know, the centerstand loves to touch quite early.

Regarding the spelling errors - thanks. I caught them too after the article was published. In order to edit it ehow takes it offline for up to four days, so I have to plan when to do it...

Suffering from spring fever already,
-Chris
 
The picture...

I agree that the picture of my w/out jacket and gloves is a poor choice. On the possibility that someone may choose to follow the example of my picture rather than the text I will change it now - so the page may be down a few days.
 
Riding sans gear will actually dry you out faster. There's a reason the bedouins cover up. Hydrate appropriately (pee should be clear).

Again, sliding the butt off the seat will keep your hard parts off the ground.

:thumb
 
editing

if you are editing, you had an extra "o" in " lose the luggage" which I think is what you wanted to say, not "loose the luggage" which would be a bad idea.
 
Drying out...

Having hiked most of the Appalachian Trail twice and ridden in almost every weather condition, I agree that in conditions with less humidity and decent airflow more covering is good to even out evaporative cooling losses. However in humid conditions with low airflow (20 MPH and less) and engine heat to factor in, more layers just equals more sweat-soaked clothing that overwhelms the body's ability to cool via evaporation, not to mention the other painful conditions that can be caused by being drenched in sweat (rashes, "monkey-butt," blisters, etc.). Bedouins wear head-to-toe clothing, but how many Jungle-dwellers do? The humidity that day was high enough to make me sweat quite profusely with full gear, and thunderstorms hit the area later that evening.

So I guess I follow ATGMoTT then. I don't advise it for beginners, maybe they shouldn't ride in conditions where it is not comfortable to be fully geared up, but as for myself I trust my judgment over dogmatic stances that don't account for all variables.

Now if I could only shrink my feet for faster riding...? I wonder what the sizes of the top GP motorcycle racers feet are?

-Chris
 
Good article and good photos! I agree with KBasa about moving "around" on the bike's seat for truly aggressive riding. I think of it as "center of mass" as opposed to "center of gravity" but it's the same thing.
 
Riding the Dragon

Fellow Beemerphiles,
I have written an article on riding the "Tail of the Dragon" (US129) specifically geared towards the R1100RT. I'd appreciate comments on it!

http://www.ehow.com/how_5892871_ride-dragon-bmw-r1100rt-motorcycle.html
:bliss

p.s. - I rode it both ways just before heading to the rally last July, and then took the Exp. Rider Course while at the Rally. The Dragon was like a earning a Master's degree in riding, I learned so much about my limits and what the bike could do! The course was more like a single graduate lecture, enlightening, but not too helpful post-Dragon. Now if I was from the south and had done things the other way around...
:thumb.gif

-Chris Gorski
"Seekerhiker"
1997 R1100RT


I road The Dragon for the first time last year also - might I suggest, per the MSF info, and a couple of track courses I've been lucky enough to have taken over the years - No breaks required. "Turning Speed adjustment" done with the rpm's only - smooth is the touch. Also Keith Code does a good job of explaining the geometry of your suspension - (Twist of the wrist-2)
Not a challenge gentlemen, just an observation
I loved the Dragon, and the BRP areas, can't wait till next time! Ride Safe / MJM
 
I found the biggest hazard on the dragon was the scenery. I went in the fall when the leaves were changing. The second biggest hazard for me was feeling of being disoriented entering a curve with a group of mini coopers going in the opposite directions. All of them racing and tail gating each other like a long, fast train. I just tried to focus on my business and hoped nobody was crossing into my lane. I only had one person that passed me and I only passed one myself. I wasn't a speed demon it just seemed like all the traffic was going in the opposite direction than me.
 
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