| Author | Message | ||
     Sinjhin |
check out 40.156245,-88.284888 in google maps. I know I am probably gonna get griped at as this is technically a public road, but this place has NOTHING around it right now... I was cruising around Champaign and found this. I think they were gonna build a hospital or something and ran into problems with funding. Brand new tarmac, no cars are EVER on it. Also, this is not shown in google maps, but the northwest corner extends out to a small parking lot perfect for practicing wheelies. Fun times will be had! I will get pictures from the ground soon to show you all what I mean. This place is gonna be heaven till they actually start building the building... hopefully it won't be til after summer. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
Curbs? | ||
| Sinjhin |
Yes, it has curbs unfortunately. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
Find a proper race track with some instruction, you will be far better off. | ||
| Axl_rose |
SICK! Wish it was in jersey! axl | ||
| Hogzilla |
"What could possibly go wrong?" Have fun, but make sure you have a buddy close by with a cell phone just in case. | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
You guys must really have it bad in Champaign if you're excited over a piece of road like that. I thought we were relatively deprived around Carbondale, but we're apparently spoiled enough that a piece of road like that wouldn't even get any attention. | ||
| Sinjhin |
Dude, I have been in my car down in Carbondale... you are definitely not deprived compared to flatland up here. (I am originally from Fairfield, IL... spent a lot of time in shawnee) | ||
| Sinjhin |
So, I didn't take any pics, but I took a video of this place after work today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja3KkL00LKg Some notes: I know... I missed second gear for the first time in a month or so (how embarrassing); I had already gone around the road once to check for people (the van was empty), and the red car I chased down was my friend... I wasn't being an ••••••• to someone. Oh, and sorry for the downward camera angle. I am working on it, but that is the best I got for an impromptu ride. (Message edited by Sinjhin on May 10, 2010) | ||
| Arcticcr |
Please please PLEASE, put on a set of gloves! | ||
| Jpagel |
Looking at the map.. concerned.. one way in.. one way out. If the po-po's were to get a tip that someone was riding this like a racetrack, you're stuck. They pull into the intersection and there is no place to go. | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
That road looks so gently angled that you'd have to be doing a buck thirty to hit any sort of interesting lean angle. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
Yeah man you got to get some gloves! And boots if not already. I've had lots of crashes where I was able to keep my head off the ground so in theory making the helmet unnecessary but I've never crashed without my hands and feet hitting the ground. Lots of painful complicated stuff can happen to the extremities. | ||
| Freight_dog |
If you look at the aerial view, it does look laid out like a simplistic track. Lots of turning but almost all in the same direction, only two short swithcbacks. Definitely big speed if you were to actually race here. It would be very cool if you could keep the cops away. No escape route either if they did show... | ||
| Sinjhin |
Yeah, that is definitely true... no escape route at all... As long as you are riding solo though, the most I think they could get you on is excessive speed or reckless driving. More than seeing how fast I can get on those gently sweeping turns (which would be really fast), I am more interested in the fact that I have found a place to do slower speed "stunts" like learning how to launch my bike and keep the front wheel down, or not if I am practicing wheelies, etc.. As far as gloves go... I choose to take the risk of mangled fingers in lieu of having a better chance of not wrecking. My reasoning is that I feel I have much finer control and feedback without gloves. Maybe it is stupid, but I am much more comfortable driving without them... besides, all the vitals are covered in leather or helmet... | ||
| Duphuckincati |
I will pray for you and I'm an atheist! | ||
| Family_buells |
Get good gloves and there's no issue with control or feedback. Wear gloves designed for use above the arctic circle and you'll probably have trouble with both.  | ||
| Hogzilla |
Those separations in the road would scare the crap out of me. Get one of those inflatable sumo wrestler suits. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
OK Sinjhin, I'm gonna stir your shit a bit here, and please leave your voo-doo doll aside for this one (btw, I tore my shoulder muscles as per our last postings and am having surgery soon!) To anyone else reading this, please read Sinjhin's last posting here and know that this is his first motorcycle with no prior experience at all. Sounds scary to me for his sake and in other postings of his he has sincerely come across as a very intelligent and thoughtful young man. So the above posting sounds like he has succumbed to the call of the wild that the 1125 evokes. I just want to say that any advice given here comes from fellow Buell riders that are I'm thinking generally 30 or older, maybe double that, and have a wealth of experience behind them on riding fast motorcycles. So this is not like advice from non-riders who "knew someone that got killed on one of those things". SO GET SOME DAMN GLOVES AND THAT IS NOT A RACETRACK! I'll now go back to minding my own business. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
One more thing, a lot of people have gotten severely ••••••• up or dead while wearing full gear. Leather and helmets can create a false sense of security. Watch out for that. | ||
| Hogzilla |
Duphuckincati speaks the truth here. Whatever negativity is from those of us that just don't want to see you get messed up. What you showed is not a track and has a lot of objects that could mess you up pretty bad with or without gear. The risks aren't worth any presumed reward. You'll do this for a lot longer if you do it the right way. Take your sweet ride to a track and get the wealth of knowledge that comes from experienced riders. Get the critiques and learn. You're learning curve could come from one of THOSE "curves." | ||
| Geforce |
Have you taken a riding school or safety course yet? I used to think safety classes were BS...until I crashed. You can learn some good stuff and race schools or track schools are even better once you get some street sense in ya. Something that cured me of street sillies was watching crashes on youtube. I always watch them throughout the winter months and then gently get back into riding in Spring leading into track days by summer into the fall. | ||
| Hogzilla |
One thing I noticed, and not trying to bust balls here, if the camera is mounted to your helmet, it appears you are looking WAY too close to the front of the bike and not enough into the corners. That camera should show the horizon in the straights and we should barely see the road in front in the turns. Keep your head up and look well into the turns. Don't let this slip for a second, even at low speed. | ||
| Drawkward |
Go for it. Have fun, be careful and don't ride above your level...KNOW YOUR LIMIT! Haters will be haters... | ||
| Gschuette |
Try Ash Creek Resevoir in Utah on google maps. Look at the roads just to the left of the res. That is a subdivision that still has not been developed and I used to rip it up when I lived in Utah. | ||
| Lastonetherebuys |
+1 hogzilla your bike will want to go to where you are looking alway keep your head up and no offense but i ride on far more interesting roads going to and from work daily | ||
| Guard_rail |
There are plenty of gloves that feel like your not wearing nothing but still offer some protection. Get them | ||
| Socoken |
I used to say the same thing about gloves. Hell, I used to say the same thing about a helmet. Not that a helmet affects my feel of the handlebars, but rather the diminished sound/mobility/visibility. I got used to a helmet and gloves, and things are much, much better. Cool roads though, I would be severely tempted to have a little fun there myself. | ||
| Sinjhin |
Duphuckincati, Hogzilla, and others... ok, ok... thanks for reigning me in a bit there. Good couple of posts Duphuckincati. I have learned in the past that listening to my elders is a good idea, and I will do so here too. I'll start wearing my gloves... I am going to continue to go to the "racetrack" as it is the leastused/closest/best piece of road I have found for playing on the bike, but will only be doing slow speed maneuvers and tricks. You are all right, highspeed and curbs = bad. Hogzilla, the camera is actually IN my helmet, I shove my iPhone between the two cheek pads so it is angled WAY down. I also tend to keep my head down really low when riding fast, even though my eyes are angled very far up. To get the camera to look in front of me, i.e. at the horizon, I have to literally look at the sky and angle my eyes down right over the iPhone. I have taken the safety course and I plan on saving up to take a racing school class thing after I get back on this side of the pond. P.S. Sorry to hear about your surgery Duphuckincati, I promise no Voodoo was involved. | ||
| Hogzilla |
Man, that sounds uncomfortable. LOL Have fun on that bike. I get excited when I find fun roads too. Be safe. Chris | ||
| Guard_rail |
I really need to learn your iPhone trick but with a better angle. 1. So is the phone sideways or top to bottom. 2. I wear a 3x helmet does that make a difference. 3. Is it touching your nose the whole time. 4. Can you still lift the visor and not drop the phone out (Message edited by Guard_rail on May 13, 2010) |
