RLMEsq
06-23-2002, 08:07 PM
From the subject, you've probably already figured that Sunday's ride didn't quite go as planned....
Short version: The Intuitive sliders and AGV leathers get a big :thumbup
I went on a ride with the service manager from the local Yamaha dealer, one of the mechanics, his wife and a couple of other guys. We took Highway 70 from Chico, CA to Quincy for lunch, then came back via Highway 162.
Click here for a review of the ride on TrackJunkie.com (http://trackjunkie.com/features/articles/2001/0901/0901_001.htm)
On the way back, past Buck's Lake, I was leading through a twisty, six mile stretch with a fairly steep ascent. (There's a bypass for campers & trailers.) We were taking most corners at 30-35... much faster than most car traffic, and a little bit cautious due to loose gravel and rock on the road, and oncoming pickups and SUVs who can't seem to stay in their lane.
I was in a right hand turn... feeling pretty good, looking through the corner, everything a GO... when it happened. Traction just let loose (running the stock quasi-208s, which are feeling a little squirrely after a couple of track days, getting H2s this week) and the bike started to lowside. I tried to get it back up but there was just noplace to grab... I'd hit a patch of gravel in the road, which looked like it was mixed with some spilled oil.
Fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic and my friends were quick to block off the roadway and help me get the bike back up. I'd installed Intuitive sliders -- both the frame and clutch sliders, plus bar ends -- and they saved big $$$. There is some rash on the high point of the lower fairing, about 3 cm high and 9 cm long. There is very small rash on the right mirror and the right (stock) turn signal. The mirror folded back but snapped right back into shape. The front and rear brake levers are bent (the service manager thinks he can heat the rear lever and bend it back). There's also a small area of rash on the bottom bend of the connecting pipe for my Micron high mount, and the pipe's aluminum mounting plate is slightly bent. There's also some minor rash on the right passenger footpeg and mount, right where they hinge together.
The right frame slider is worn down about 2 cm and the clutch slider about one. I have no doubt that much of the other bodywork and the clutch case would have been majorly thrashed if if wasn't for the sliders.
I was also wearing my AGV leathers -- the two piece zip-together R7 model, made by Corner. I've had the suit almost three years, and have been planning to get some perforated leathers because it's so damn hot here in the North Valley. The leathers did well... they have CE armor throughout, with hard foam in the elbows, outer wrists and shoulders, and foam in the thighs. The outer wrist and right shoulder were scraped, as was the right thigh, but the damage was just cosmetic -- the stitching on the leather graphic overlay came loose in a couple of places, but my shoe repair guy can handle it, I'm sure.
Overall, I figure the $100 (or less) spent on the sliders probably saved me at least $750... the leathers saved my ass (and other parts of my skin).
Short version: The Intuitive sliders and AGV leathers get a big :thumbup
I went on a ride with the service manager from the local Yamaha dealer, one of the mechanics, his wife and a couple of other guys. We took Highway 70 from Chico, CA to Quincy for lunch, then came back via Highway 162.
Click here for a review of the ride on TrackJunkie.com (http://trackjunkie.com/features/articles/2001/0901/0901_001.htm)
On the way back, past Buck's Lake, I was leading through a twisty, six mile stretch with a fairly steep ascent. (There's a bypass for campers & trailers.) We were taking most corners at 30-35... much faster than most car traffic, and a little bit cautious due to loose gravel and rock on the road, and oncoming pickups and SUVs who can't seem to stay in their lane.
I was in a right hand turn... feeling pretty good, looking through the corner, everything a GO... when it happened. Traction just let loose (running the stock quasi-208s, which are feeling a little squirrely after a couple of track days, getting H2s this week) and the bike started to lowside. I tried to get it back up but there was just noplace to grab... I'd hit a patch of gravel in the road, which looked like it was mixed with some spilled oil.
Fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic and my friends were quick to block off the roadway and help me get the bike back up. I'd installed Intuitive sliders -- both the frame and clutch sliders, plus bar ends -- and they saved big $$$. There is some rash on the high point of the lower fairing, about 3 cm high and 9 cm long. There is very small rash on the right mirror and the right (stock) turn signal. The mirror folded back but snapped right back into shape. The front and rear brake levers are bent (the service manager thinks he can heat the rear lever and bend it back). There's also a small area of rash on the bottom bend of the connecting pipe for my Micron high mount, and the pipe's aluminum mounting plate is slightly bent. There's also some minor rash on the right passenger footpeg and mount, right where they hinge together.
The right frame slider is worn down about 2 cm and the clutch slider about one. I have no doubt that much of the other bodywork and the clutch case would have been majorly thrashed if if wasn't for the sliders.
I was also wearing my AGV leathers -- the two piece zip-together R7 model, made by Corner. I've had the suit almost three years, and have been planning to get some perforated leathers because it's so damn hot here in the North Valley. The leathers did well... they have CE armor throughout, with hard foam in the elbows, outer wrists and shoulders, and foam in the thighs. The outer wrist and right shoulder were scraped, as was the right thigh, but the damage was just cosmetic -- the stitching on the leather graphic overlay came loose in a couple of places, but my shoe repair guy can handle it, I'm sure.
Overall, I figure the $100 (or less) spent on the sliders probably saved me at least $750... the leathers saved my ass (and other parts of my skin).