Un-tracking the Ninja, Sobering reminders, Getting dirty & clean again.

Well fans, this week's post is another hodge-podge of varying Motorbike content. The shop has been busy over the last few weeks with the addition of another pony in the stable. While I have been becoming familiar with my new Flat Track bike, I have also been clearing out the shelves of all of my Ninja related gear. Many wrenches were spun with only a few PG-13 words thrown in for good measure. Lastly, I had some very tense moments when I heard about a good friend's close call. Grab a drink and settle in, as this one is going to go places folks.

We'll start of with a little Ninja action. I mentioned last week that the Ninja was up for sale in order to help finance the new direction my racing is going. I haven't had much luck with selling her so far. Even though the riding weather in SoCal is pretty much all year, we still have winter used bike sales slow downs during the cooler months. In the North San Diego County/Southern LA area, there are literally thousands of used bikes for sale on Craigslist. Every size, shape, color, type and price range can be found within 100 miles of my location. Even though the bike cleans up well, as can be seen in these pictures, I am competing with a lot of others sellers to move the bike along to a new good home.

When I race prepped the Ninja I made a conscious decision to save all of the parts and pieces that I removed. I also made sure I didn't make any physical changes to the bike that I couldn't reverse. The bike is now back in the stock state that I got it in, though running better and a bit cleaner than it was back then. Even though this is a 2004, you can see the 1980's styling that Kawasaki didn't bother to change for almost 20 years. It took me the better part of last weekend to get her back to street worthiness, but the results speak for themselves. She's still a beauty and can turn some heads. I'm hoping to move her on to a worthy owner shortly. If I don't, I may just get her registered and insured and take her out myself.

In more distressful news, I found out that the buddy of mine that I sold my old V-Strom to was involved in a serious accident. Here are the results of the accident. They are graphic and illustrate the risks that we motorcyclists all face out on the road. I am using the pictures with my friends permission. He only asked that I mention that his gear probably saved his life. This is the result of someone "not seeing" the bike and pulling out in front of him at 65 mph. My buddy was taken away with a concussion, a broken nose, a broken rib and a broken arm along with other bumps and bruises. The accident took out my beloved V-Strom. The wheel is now a triangle and the fork legs split spilling out all of their innards.

Here is what he did to the other guy. You can see the full on frontal impact that happened in the wreck. The dent on the top of the rear driver's side door is most likely from my buddy's head hitting the car at speed. Think about that when you choose to wear your cool half or 3/4 helmet. My buddy is just as ATGATT (all the gear, all the time) as I am. He was wearing a Shoei Qwest helmet (same as me), a two piece textile riding suit with elbow & knee padding, full gauntlet gloves, riding boots and an Icon Chest/Spine protector (again, same as me). He wore all of this because he asked me about my gear and I took the time to explain it all to him with all of the pros and cons. I don't take credit for his survival as it was his choice whether or not to wear the gear. I am just happy that the advice I gave him worked and he is still around because of it. Get gear people. The gear my buddy wore was all Sedici brand gear from Cycle Gear with the exception of his helmet and chest protector. It is an example that gear doesn't have to be expensive to work. Go. Get. Gear.

Enough of the ranting and back to more fun things to talk about. I took a weekday in the middle of this week to go to the Flat Track and get some practice in. I was supposed to meet my new found dirt mentor there, but he was unable to make it so I went alone. I'm glad I did because I had the track all to myself for the first hour I was there. Even then I didn't have to share much. There was plenty of track time for all three of us that were there. It was a perfect SoCal day for it too. 67 degrees and partially cloudy meant that the track didn't immediately dry out after the water truck came through. The track was slippery in one set of corners and grippy in the other set. I got lots of practice controlling my drift and modulating the throttle to maintain my race line. I also got practice sliding while wearing a steel shoe on my left boot. My mentor let me borrow one from his stash. It made lots of difference as I was able to confidently put weight on my left leg while sliding to save me from a few incident of over eager throttle application. After spending a few hours turning laps, the bike needed a good wash. The great thing about dirt bikes is their simplicity. I washed the bike with a hose and some dish soap and didn't have to worry about water doing any damage. She came out clean and looking ready for more track action. I can't wait to get back out there!

Lastly, Valentine's Day happened. And on the same day as my Flat Track practice session. I saw a Facebook meme that went something like "love is the feeling you get when you like something as much as your motorcycle" or words to that effect. My lovely wife, Mrs. My Motorbike Obsessions, gave me the coffee mug and VR46 die cast bike toy in the picture above as my Valentine's Day present. The mug reads "I only work to pay for my motorcycle addiction" and pretty much sums me up succinctly. I knew she was a keeper when I found her 20 years ago. Here's to you babe and another 20 years of you putting up with My Motorbike Obsessions.

That is all I have for you this week friends. I will be going to some races this weekend and will be sure to document the trip. I am going to link up with some people that race and get some back stage info, I hope. I also took the week off next week and plan on getting out to the track at least one of those days. I am gaining confidence on the dirt and hope to get faster with every trip. Be sure to come back through the Motorbike Obsessions pits for more content soon! Ride safe friends (get some gear!) and we'll see you next week!

Blue