Freestyle with Face

What can I say? I dig the brand =)

I don't suspect this will be all that huge a thread, as most of this stuff is fun for me but not all that amazing to talk about. But I also didn't think fishing or racing would be all that big, and look what happened =) While a vast majority of my riding is just tooling around the back 40, occasionally we go on huge rides or deep into the Alleganies or just happen upon something worth sharing, whether it be a devastating wreck or a bear attack. So since there's a "sometimes" and since I like to share, I figured I make myself a place to do just that.

Most of my family does ride, if you call putting around the back 40 "riding" =p. Pretty sure every family within my extended has at least one toy, and a few have several including side by sides. And all of them are pigs, just giant, V-twin, 4x4 workhorses. Ain't my style. I took Pop's Brute Force 750 out last week and started hot lapping a little oval I made. I DO NOT suggest it. It was like trying to hot lap an office complex lol. Just dull and sloppy and wayward, with about 8X's the power required to put you in a chair for the rest of your days. I only got about 10 laps in before the matriarch hollered for me to cut the shit before I killed myself, but that was enough to see that I'm still very much a kid on the inside. So yesterday, I went all the way the hell and back to Ontario, NY, and came home with my new ride =)



Same damn blue YFZ450 I used to have (well, same model; I killed the last one I had =p). Not a bad ride, either. Has some wear, naturally, but everything's there, on, solid, and straight. Did half a lap around my yard and first punch almost blew it over backwards, so she's fit. And I got a whole lot of pent up frustrations dating back to T-giving that I haven't had an avenue to unleash, so the timing is just perfect. I really should've waited a few weeks until the health insurance kicked in, but whatever. Time's a'wastin' ;)

So this Sunday will be the refamiliarization. I'm gonna run 'er up to the family plot and buzz around the 140 acres up there. There's absolutely nothing of note there, but I wanted to get a solid ride in close to home before bugging out past Bradford just in case there's something faulty with it. And I'll surely have the GoPro with, and will have to experiment with a number of placements to give a good look. I reckon on my head will be far too jostl-y, especially at the speeds I ride, but I'll give it a shot. Try some shots on the bars, some on the bumper, pretty much anywhere it'll fasten solidly. Then I'll come back, edit, and post, see if I can find a view that doesn't make EB motion sick =)

As always, I'll try to make it interesting. Here's hoping it's half as fun as my others =)

I may be riding a quad this weekend but I do not expect to exceed 10mph at any point. We live a completely different lifestyle.

In the desert?

I do ride just to ride. Cuz of the kid, I very often am on one of those tanks just cruising around the fields and ponds. It is nice. Getting to be Out and Away, getting to cover a lot of ground, and having to do not much work at all to do so is very appealing. Were I in the desert, it'd be totally new and I could swing it there, too. Or at a new property. I like looking around.

But if the place is common, or worse, barren, you gotta do something to get some entertainment out of it. A flat expanse of dirt is just dumb. But if you roll around, wear a path in it, then do some flat trackin' hot laps, well that's a barrel of monkeys. I've spent so many hours just doing that all by myself. Day after day after day lol. I did it went I was 9, and last I did it I was 29. It hasn't lost a bit of its lustre.

You'll see. There'll likely be some video of exactly that =)

Have fun. It's a good time =)

Quote: Face

In the desert?

It is considered near-desert and is pretty much the middle of nowhere. A four hour drive from the nearest "major" airport where I will be landing and the nearest town is less than 200 people, and the only restaurant in the area closed. BTW, no internet. A city boy like me is going to be way out of his element.

I just returned from a trip to Northeast Montana and am sad to say it rained all weekend so we never got out on the quads. It turns out that the area is almost all farmland. The place we stayed had no internet and it was like living in the dark ages. Please don't make me go back.

Quote: DRich

The place we stayed had no internet and it was like living in the dark ages. Please don't make me go back.

My in-laws lived in MT for 40 years,
they loved it. I hated going there
because there is nothing to do.
You ride a horse and look at the
mountains and that's about it.
Thank god they moved back here
and I don't have to go anymore.

Silly city boy. Those things work in the rain. You do know that, right? ;)
Too bad you couldn't get out. I think you would've enjoyed it, despite your citification =)

My own riding has been a bit bleh. I can't believe that I've owned this thing like 10 days now and only rode it once. It's got me a bit bound up and neurotic ><

I did take it to Pop's, as I needed a shake down run before a big ride I got planned this Sunday. Ash is also in and just bought a Polaris Scrambler 500HO, one hell of a ride for a first timer. Funny thing is, I decided to look for her one random day, saw it, and 5 hours after I had the thought she owned it. Just two towns over to get it, too, the lucky b#$%^. So we both went to Pop's to get a feel and see if there were any issues before heading down to Rue, PA on Sunday.

Hers is pretty much the epic find. It's 11yrs old so certainly has some wear and age, but it nonetheless looks like it was rode for a year and left to sit in a barn the rest of its life. Surface rust, a few scratches on the plastics, and that's it. A real sweet ride. Mine likewise is a pretty good bit o' kit, but I got two problems. One is that the clutch most certainly slips. I ripped it down the road (right into a speed trap, because I'm me and that's how my life plays) and could tell immediately on that surface. It's still got enough friction to easily pull up the front end, but it's also losing a ton of its energy to slippage. Not a huge issue, it's just an issue I'd rather not have to deal with =p The second issue is... I'm getting old. This SOB is just way too loud. My last ride had the stock pipe but I pulled the spark arrestor, basically making it a straight pipe. Had a nice idling pop and quite the growl at full chat. This one has a full titanium exhaust front to back including the can. It's like insanity wolf. Even at idle it's always "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!11!1"



I can't believe I'm saying this... I need a quieter pipe ><

But anyways, the ride went fine otherwise. I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but Ash nonetheless surprised me with her instant familiarity. About the only time I was "stuck waiting" was when blazing new trails through virgin wood. Whereas mine's a 350lb sprite I can whip around using body input and handfuls of throttle, hers, though potent and sporty, is still a 600lbs+ 4x4 behemoth. It must be guided, and guiding is slower than my brand of travel. But everywhere else she's either capable (wide open stretches), my equal (hill climbs) or downright better (anything wet, be it mud or crick crossings). It's shaping up to be a fun weekend =)

I did get some video, but it was pretty poor. Rather than multiple tries, I put it on the only place I really found to put it, and that was on the cover to my front brake's fluid reservoir. It was the only place flat and level and stupid me never thought to notice that, duh, it's on the handlebars which will be the least stable thing on the bike =/ It ended up being not terrible, but bad enough that it needed editing and the editing pretty much killed it. Something about the shakiness elimination function makes the frame zoom in and out, which is not only disorienting, but ruins the sense of speed and situation. And really, all we did was some shallow wood cruising, one high speed blast, and then I blew wheelies up and down the yard for like 10 min. There wasn't much to see.

But it's all at least shown me that getting something is possible. I'm gonna bring all the clamps and all my rigging garbage and try a number of things Sunday. Hers, mine, body, bikes, there'll be somewhere to put it and I'll have something to show. Might get a few in me and break out the alter ego, "The Mad Bomber" =D And with this place, I could go full bomb run and I'll run out of stamina before I run out of trail. It's gonna be a good time. Hopefully, a good show, too =)

Quote: Evenbob

My in-laws lived in MT for 40 years,
they loved it. I hated going there
because there is nothing to do.
.

I enjoy Western Montana because of all the mountains and trees. Eastern Montana reminds me of living in Iowa.

Ugh. It's like the universe is trying to tell me something...

My clutch fix worked, near as I could tell. It was just set too tight, not allowing it to fully engage. I loosed her up and definitely felt more bite. Haven't had a stretch of tarmac to truly test it, but it's good enough for now. And if not, a clutch kit ain't but $60.

My video still wasn't set properly. I tilted it up more but though I accounted for the helmet slant, I did not account for my riding posture. It's still far too low. I'm so far planning a solo trip either this Sat or Sun, so should finally dial this SOB in.

And I wrecked it. Was just talking about changes I've made to protect my dome, wasn't doing anything out of parameters, and rung my bell anyways. The level, or lack thereof, of force it took does not have me pleased. I didn't even hit my head; just the snap was enough. Crikey Moses.

Anyways, it was other wise a good day. The Alleghanies in PA are the essence of what I consider home. Dark, old world trees for days and days. Ever present hills and canyons. Flowing water. It's the tops. And that day was just about perfect. Enough sun to see, enough shade to keep cool, and a glorious break from the stifling heat we'd been experiencing. Warm enough for sleeveless T, cool enough to not sweat your balls off.

I was just happy to be out, and with a new rider, I spent little to no time at full tilt. I did one hill climb flat out, got real sporty twice on the fire roads, but that was all the extreme that day. Mostly it consisted of sporty stints across some technical spots, followed by a coasting cruise until Ash showed up, then more putting and just enjoying the day. My idiotically loud wheeler was less idiotic out there. I think it sounds good, when in an area where this sort of stuff is appreciated. And the grunt this thing has is fully transmitted even in sub-par audio recording. I was having a good time.

The wreck was just dumb. While the trails wind all up and down the mountains, little knolls have been knocked through so you can actually cruise, instead of getting bounced or jumping all over. As a result, some places have vertical walls boxing in each side. It's basically an Armco barrier made of clay, rocks, and roots. I've never in all my days had a problem with these, but they always catch my attention. I always wondered what would happen, what with us skittering all about in the woods, if you were to hit it. Catch it. Just rub up on it once. Ugh.

I was mid second gear, so about 20-25mph. On the upper limit of, but still firmly within, the max speed of a human. Basically a really stout run; not that fast all things considered. I came into an uphill trail boxed in as such and it had moderate ruts in it from the effort. Not yet coming to know my ride's travel height, and not wanting to find out, I straddled the ruts to prevent a bottom out. Sure makes the ride smoother, but necessarily puts me to the extreme side of the trail. And while these walls have been beaten into berms in the corners just like an MX track, these where it's just twisty are untouched. I came wiggling through one of these areas, got a little too close, and WHAP!

It was just like that, too. There was no big wiggle to let me know I might strike it. It caught me totally unawares. One big knock and jerk as I caught a root and it ripped me to the left, immediately followed by a huge knock that hooked my wheeler and stopped it dead. I did not stop as quickly. The wheeler bucked ass over teacup and I was trebucheted about as you'd expect. Did about a half flip and barrel roll and landed on me side, stopping dead as I hit the face of a hill. The lack of tumbling and sliding sure saved a bunch of superficial damage, but damn, it sure caused a bunch more serious ones. Or I'm just getting old. My everything hurt too bad for several days, and this is I think the first day that I haven't seen anything that wasn't there. To sort of convey, this injury that caused this huge bubble in my leg (top pic) that today has faded to bottom pic, was an injury I didn't even realize I had until 7 hours later when I took a shower. Everything else hurt so much I never even noticed it =p





Here's the vid, anyway. Not too exciting as we were just cruising and the angle is all wrong. Third time's a charm, though. I'll nail it this weekend.

Yeowch! That really did come out of nowhere. The abrupt stop is probably why everything hurts. Your body absorbed all the energy of the impact, instead of your armor.

I was watching a supersport road race this past weekend, and they had a camera mounted on the tail of the bike. Maybe it had a gimbal built in, or the video software corrected it on the fly, but the horizon would stay level while the rider scraped his knees back and forth.