| Author | Message | ||
     Ferris |
Jim, the "lucky" part was that the CHiPster only clocked the last part of my Bonneville-qualifying pass (this on my VFR, after an extensive lay-up for some major maintenance), as i was slowing down to take my exit on Hwy 178. still, he later acknowledged that he KNEW i had been going much, much faster, and said as he went Code Three he was already calling ahead for a roadblock. i never saw him (one tends to be busy at a ton-plus) until i was hauled down to exit speed, then about dumped a load when my mirrors suddenly filled up with pretty red and blue lights. the "practice" part comes from knowing how to signal, via body language AND bike language, that you're not gonna run, and that you are VERY, VERY sorry for the sin(s) you've just committed. ultimately, he never even looked at my registration or proof-of-insurance. when he handed back my license, i asked him what he clocked me at. "87, but i'm guessing that you must have been doing at at least 130." when he promised not to hold it against me if i fessed up, i admitted to 150. (this was pretty stupid on my part, which may explain why i've never been asked to attend a Mensa meeting...) "Um, you might wanna consider slowing down a little in the future", he said, with that tone of voice that folks sporting guns and badges seem to be so proficient at. "Yeah, i'll consider it", i said.  i dodged a pretty sizable Howitzer round on this one, and have been fairly mellow-of-the-wrist since -- like i said above, i've got some equity to rebuild.  FB | ||
| Ferris |
btw, Sunday the 16th is looking VERY good for me... FB | ||
| Jim_Sb |
Ferris, you are a lucky dog! Busy, eh? I'm guessing you were focused all right. The body language didn't involve groveling on your knees, did it?  Sounds like this is a good time for me to ride with you guys. I'll have a fair chance at remaining in the same county as you. Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Jim_Sb |
Ferris, I saw this photo and thought of you...  | ||
| Slaughter |
Ferris, SHEEEEIT ! ! ! I haven't had a near-handcuffs experience like that one but I have a good second hand story (supposedly true). Anyways... about the ride... Why not let's just put a lock on the 16th and make it happen. We can see where everybody is tending to be coming from and structure the ride around that. Newcomb's for lunch is always a good thing (unless it snows again) Now the story: I was working for Burt Rutan a few years back and he told of a story when he was building a plane for Colin Chapman of Lotus. Chapman would fly out to Orange County, pick up a Lotus and rocket up here to Mojave to meetings. One time the two of them were riding together and on the back roads out near Willow, got "popped" and pulled over at the outskirts of town. I was told that the speed was WELL in excess of 150 (MPH, not KPH) When the Sheriff asked to see Chapman's license, he showed him his international license and the cop (fortunately) recognized who he had just pulled over. Apparently the cop was a formula one fan... anyways he asked Chapman if he knew how fast he was going and supposedly Colin's response was: "Hell NO! Bloody Yank speedo STOPS at 140!" Believe it or not, he was supposedly only written up for 80. There's a small writeup on the Microlight at (scroll down): http://www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/EHistory/glassfibre.html My first-ever ticket was around 1970 for going too slow on the 405 on my 441 Victor. I had just bought it with my line-boy summer job savings. My first big bike... and didn't notice that the rear wheel was bent when I rode it around the block. On the freeway about 50-55 it would just shake the blood out of my kidneys. I was in heavy traffic, getting passed on both sides. No experience on the bike, sheer panic and afraid it'd start coming apart any second. Motorcycle cop pulled me over and was really cool about the whole thing (but still wrote me up) Put on a new sprocket and she ran good as new - but still came apart on a weekly basis. Fortunately, I haven't yet been snagged going "well in excess" but I do admit to liking to just get into the rhythm of the turns and enjoying the scenery and the ride. Dragging footpegs is fun in a way but I don't like riding so close to the margins so if I have to do something stupid, I am likely to come off. (like jinking to avoid the rocks on upper Big Tujunga) We'll do the 16th. Gonna be fun - wherever it turns out to happen | ||
| Ferris |
The body language didn't involve groveling on your knees, did it? Jim, i didn't have to resort to this (altho it was in my arsenal and ready to be deployed at any time), but i sure did a BUNCH of fast talking -- "i JUST got it back together, it's been in pieces for a MONTH, i was only testing it out, i NEVER ride like that [tsk, tsk, liar boy], babble, babble, plead, plead!" if ya can't convince 'em with logic, overwhelm 'em with input i always say yes, i was lucky, VERY lucky, as a bike impound and a free trip to the big house in Bakersfield was but a handcuff away. Steve, in all my years i've NEVER been pulled over for going too slow! (and i'd have bitched no end about getting a ticket for it!!!) the 16th it is, looking wayyy forward to it! anybody else wanna come play??? FB | ||
| Ferris |
ps: cool pic! ( "My, what big pipes you have. Say you're not from Touch-your-pee-pee, are you?" ) hmmmmm, riding naked, now that's something i've never done. i wonder how one talks oneself out of THAT particular ticket... FB | ||
| Slaughter |
Ferris, You get the cool tickets though. Mine are dumbass - Too slow in traffic, 50 in a 35... real MANLY stuff. I am gonna ping some of the BRAG troops who may not be looking at the Badweb about the 16th. That gives Global Warming another 2 weeks to help us out and time for the storms we are having to finish having their way with us. Jim - Yeah, those pipes be stylin! Looks like a V-Rod concept bike. The nekkid ride though... gotta stay seated at speed so you don't whistle! | ||
| Ferris |
Steve, ANYBODY can get tickets, takes no skill whatsoever. what's COOL is NOT getting a ticket when you actually SHOULD be getting one! FB | ||
| Timbo |
Ok guys, The 16th is looking good for me too. I've gotten out of three 'ticket for sure' situations. Can't claim any particular skill or magic, just seem to get lucky sometimes. Maybe we can swap stories when we hook up. Timbo | ||
| Slaughter |
Looks like on the 16th there is the soul of a ride struggling to be free here somewhere. This is getting good. Just got an email from Matty and he might could swing it too. Tim and Candice are on the maybe list. On to the ticket thing (couple war stories)... The only ticket I got out of wasn't so much a ticket but getting pulled over for weaving after leaving work really late up in Mojave, not realizing that it was 0200 and the bars just closed. I was fighting sleep. Fortunately the local copss there knew me because I threw darts and studied mid-afternoon at the local cafe (yeah, Mom, I know - studying in a coffee shop...) in Mojave where the CHP and Sheriff took their coffee breaks. Bad news when you have a reputation as a sober guy among your hard-ass-wannabee friends but helpful at closin' time when you are stopped by the CHP at the roadside. The officer didn't even ask me out of the truck, just asked if I thought I'd be able to make it and followed me to the county line (Ave A) Yeah, don't let word get out but I am kind of a lightweight. Another dumb-ass one was a couple months after Nixon dropped the speed limits to 55. I had a 62 Buick at the time and a bunch of us were having after work dinner and talking away til too late again. Everybody was complaining about getting speeding tickets between Mojave and Lancaster/Palmdale and I proceeded to lecture them all (yeah, a smartass 19 year old lecturing them) told them there is no excuse for a ticket because you know they are waiting at Ave A and Ave D and you can see a long ways off so you just have to keep your eyes open... so I am heading south after that and after the first 10 minutes on the freeway am already nodding off doing 80-ish... Brain sees tail lights ahead, brain says move to left lane to pass... my car follows Brain instructions, moves to left lane and passes. "Suddenly out of nowhere" are red lights and the spotlight in the rearview mirror (WHERE THE HELL HE COME FROM??!!). I had just blown by the cop while half asleep. We are the ONLY 2 CARS on the 14 for like 10 miles. He was almost laughing when he pulled me over - said that he gets passed all the time but always sees brake lights or sees the car pitching while drivers hit parking brakes so they don't light the tail lights ... but me, noooooo - I didn't speed up or slow down, just kept a-rolling along 25 above the speed limit. Yeah, I got that ticket too. Dang, I need a COOL story really bad now. | ||
| Firemanjim |
Sparky etal,be sure and tell Tat to make sure he has his BBQ on a different weekend than Bonneville this year,OK. | ||
| Jim_Sb |
Slaughter, Burt Rutan the legend! Kewl. I remember flying from Van Nuys up to Mojave in an Aerostar (I was right seat) to see the Voyager after the "non-stop unrefueled around the world" flight. K-E-W-L. I had hopes that being the guru he was that they would figure out a way to make an affordable, high performance 4/6 seat aircraft for us all. Never quite worked out. I guess the best bang for the buck these days (new) is a Cirrus? Or maybe a Lancair? Anyway, it must've been something to work for a true pioneer like Burt. Jim in SB | ||
| Jim_Sb |
PS. I'll make an effort to hook up with you on the 16th. If you guys don't mind I'm going to invite a friend (the guy you saw on the Beemer, Slaughter). I've been nudging him towards Buells; this might be enough to push him over the edge (along with the 0.9% financing). So we'll need to do a few rides. One down around ACH, one up in Ferrisville, and another in the mountains between Frazier Park and Ojai. If you're feeling real zesty we can also hook that up with a run on the 58 from Taft over towards Atascadero. Of course that's more of a high speed endeavor and I'm not sure Ferris needs any encouragement there... | ||
| Jprovo |
Solvang was a hoot, can't wait to do it again. It was a pretty long day for me. 400+ miles on my stock Blast. Sparky has to be one of the most competent two-up riders that I have ridden with. A warning to anyone who follows Sparky, he rarely brakes. It was a total bear for me to try and establish braking points on an unfamiliar road while following Sparky with his brake lights never (rarely) coming on! It was nice to see you all, and can't wait till the next run. I think our total turn out was 18 bikes with 5 of them Blasts. Meanwhile I've gotta go buy some grips so I can change my bars. I gotta get my bike's ergos set up so I can ride 500+ mile days without torturing myself. To any of you that doubt that the Blast is up to the task, ask Timbo, we rode 100+ miles together at 70+ without and I never had any trouble keeping up with my Blast. I gotta jump on the bandwagon for a ride on the 16th. Slaughter, are you still riding this weekend? Let me know, maybe I can join you. James | ||
| Sarodude |
James - Thou hasth mail. -Saro | ||
| Ferris |
lest anyone get the wrong opinion (it's probably too late...), i do NOT ride like a madman (well, except on the BattleTrax course). most of the time i'm within spitting distance of the posted limit, but every now and then...well, you know. in all seriousness, i take the safety and welfare of anyone riding in a gig that i've had ANYTHING to do with organizing very much to heart -- i've been on way too many group-rides where inexperienced wrists and over-active adrenal glands have ruined a rider's day (or worse). Buells are sportbikes, and sportbikes are made to be whipped, and i am not afraid of putting the whip to mine. in fact, i pretty much LIVE for this stuff. i am also not afraid to give a brief safety lecture before the start of a ride, and i find no dishonor in wishing that everyone makes it thru the day with their hide, and their paint, and their license, intact. re: the 16th, if there's anyone reading this who wants to attend -- regardless of age, gender, race, nationality, or bike of preference -- but who has had second thoughts because of all my "Big Dog" b.s. about high-speed and high-jinks, please reconsider. you'll be among friends, and my bark is way worse than my bite. ride to lean, FB | ||
| Slaughter |
Wow - sounds like a ride be a-happenin on the 16th. Neat that is starting as a Buell ride here but yeah, we ought to invite our friends, too! The only thing is the next Sunday (23rd) is the usual day for the BRAG ride out of Glendale so let's not burn ourselves out and miss the monthly ride (not officially announced yet). We'll probalby have in addition to us here, a BMW, Sporty, and possibly a couple Lockheed sport bike regulars that I ride with on weekends up here (though they also ride non-Buells too). Jim (SB) - The Voyager was an amazing piece of work. We were flying back from an acceptance run of a machine we just bought at a vendor's place and were in our shop Dutchess coming back to Mojave when the Voyager was up doing the second-to-last flight before going to EAFB for the record flight. Mike Melvill and Dick Rutan were in the Voyager, Burt was flying us in the Dutchess and we slipped right in tight formation for about 20 minutes. UNFORGETTABLE! Just off the wingtip and watching it move and flex through the air. Burt did design a 4+ seater - the "Catbird" - a 3 lifting surface bird which really did very well but by that time, he had already decided to stay away from homebuilding. He never lost a lawsuit but with so many out there, he was always a liability target so (unfortunately) he just folded his hombuilder tent and left... but not really left. He still would go to Oshkosh every year and try to make announcements of new projects at the Fly-In. He is really true to his roots in homebuilding. Catbird would do 220 KTAS max cruise speed, Melvill set CAFE record at Oshkosh in it. 5 place (1+4) When I left, it was hanging from the main hangar inverted overhead. Sweet lines. A couple links follow with pics of Catbird (might have to scroll down a bit). http://www.longeze.com/The_Design/Burt_Rutan/burt_rutan.html http://www.biic.de/aviation-museum/planes/country/usa/planes/252.htm The Cirrus is a really good design. They had early problems but now look like they are flying a solid series of aircraft (and how 'bout that parachute recovery system??) - I have a friend test-flying for them since he retired from the USN. Ferris, I don't mean to imply that you or I would be pushing limits on a group ride. I tend to slack off quite a lot when riding with a group just so I can look at the scenery along the ride. I might go a tad quick through the turns once in a while but I can't afford tickets (long story but too many and I can lose my job, in addition to the expenses of tickets+insurance). I may go a mite quicker following Glenn on our rides but that is only on a select few roads and we are pretty used to riding together. Otherwise the really high speeds and cornering at or beyond the limits of tire adhesion are best left to the track. My purpose in the group rides is to have fun, meet some like-minded folks and eat greasy food that in NO WAY would I tell my doctor I actually eat. I have been suckered a time or two on bikes, cars and in glider contests by peer pressure into doing something totally stupid and am much more willing to let others go fast and in front so THEY can mark the oil patches and loose gravel and rocks for me so my ride is easier. I am perfectly content to follow (or lead) - it is just a lot less stress to relax the pace and not spread more than a couple minutes between fastest to slowest. Besides, the quick riders have to stop and wait for the guys riding a steady pace anyways so ya pick yer poison, I sez. James, We are still planning on doing a ride of some sort this Sunday. The 3 of us so far who are going are Glenn and me and maybe one other on a VFR750 - nobody else is going. Right now, it is pretty cool in the higher elevations - I rode to Bakersfield through the hills and got a tad chilly at about 5000 elevation - definitely NEEDED the long underwear. Newcomb's is a good rendezvous but is gonna be above the snowline - so it'll be chilly but not impossible if we dress the part. I usually start rolling at 9 from Palmdale (too freaking cold before then). You'd be heading in from the Chino area so maybe Newcomb's is a good middle-ground for a meeting and detailed ride planning from there??? We have a day still to think about it. Sheesh, I see on your profile, you are an engineer. This Sunday's ride will be an all-engineer ride. The 2 others who are not going to make it are also engineers. THERE'S NO ESCAPE!!! | ||
| Jim_Sb |
lest anyone get the wrong opinion (it's probably too late...) Yep. Too late. But that doesn't mean we can't all ride and have fun, eh? Some of us may arrive at the destination before others. NBD. When riding with folks one doesn't know well it's a good idea to discuss safety issues. Most important being ride your own ride. At a pace you're comfortable with. There's always someone faster and someone slower. C'est la vie. 150mph. He he he. Will any stock Buell go that fast?  | ||
| Slaughter |
Jim, Ferris, I concur totally about discussing safety issues before rolling. If we didn't have a little bit of a wild side, we'd be talking about doing Sunday on a couch watching some game and eating chips, drinking beers. We can just spread out according to our level of comfort and meet where/when planned (or at a logical fork/decision point in the road) and roll from there. Everybody should ride at their comfort and enjoyment level. and Jim... 150 on a stock bike? NO - the race ECM rev limiter hits me at 140 indicated (stock gearing). It'll go about a needle over 140 - which I suspect is really more like 130-ish. |
