drgreenthum said:
As for a 500 beating a 600 or a liter through some twisties, I'd like to see that bike (race bikes excluded) The only one I have ridden couldnt drive off the corners hard enough to keep up. I thought that was the whole point of starting off a guy with something small was so he couldnt get a drive off the corner hard enough to spin his tires or lift the front tire or otherwise get him in trouble.
Perhaps I am uneducated about the small bikes. Which one did you say beat you through some twisties.:twofinger
Well, this :twofinger did it for me. Here goes.
Pay attention newbies.
Apparently you ARE uneducated about those smaller bikes. I do it EVERY day I take my daughters EX-500 out on our 500+ mile, twisty, day ride. If it's a ride where the twisties seldom will handle over 110 MPH corner speed and few straights or riders willing to do more than 110 on those straights, as our mountain rides are, the best riders will keep up, the rest will be left in the dust. Ever hear of carrying speed
into the corner? Dint' think so. If you've got a 600 or litre, a lot of +110 sweepers and straights, you'll win.... if there's enough of them.
Otherwise, holding it to 110 and less, hang tight, stay smooth, and if you're pretty good you'll be in the hunt.
And that's a stock EX-500, stock exhaust, stock rider complete with original gray hair, and weighing in at about 200#.
I wouldn't want less than the 500 for this purpose but it's enough.
I get REALLY tired of the posts that treat those bikes as less than what they are by riders who know less than what they think. How many times I've had riders say at a stop, "Gheez, you're running 130 and I can't keep up!" NO,
you're running a hundred thirty trying to
catch up... on the straights. That 500 strains its milk to do any more than 110. With enough practice, they'll eventually be able to do it.
And that's STOCK. Those stock tires like to slide when ridden that hard.... especially the front.... right up to the apex where you pick up the throttle, bring it in, and GO! I've started to rework the suspension and mounted up some good rubber now. They really respond well to those mods, making them even more fun, and affording a sound bed of basic knowledge and feel that's hard to arrive at if you've never felt one less than optimum. Knowledge and feel that's useable forever, on your eventual latest, greatest.
The few really good riders know what it's about and enjoy the fun in it all. The really good ones could also do the same thing. They also have a LOT of seat time, getting to their level. They also won't make snide remarks about your smaller bike. Neither will the litre beater, throttle twister, jaw jockies.... after you SPANK THEM SILLY!
Why do you suppose AMA races have lap times so similar between the 600's and the 1000's? Many of the same riders, good riders! The small difference is only because of the straights. Why do you suppose Loudon has good riders on EX-500's running damn near the track record? Not many high speed straights on that track is why.
Newbies, get the smaller bike and ride it for a long time. You'll learn more in a shorter amount of time than on the bigger bikes PLUS, when you've really learned how to ride, it's SO much fun to spank them silly if they've given you any cause.
Also, you only get better the longer you ride. 36 years at it and still improving!
Going back and riding that smaller bike is an absolute hoot every now and again, in case you couldn't tell. I could live with it as my only bike.... well, with the reworked suspension and decent rubber, please.:thumb:
Riding it
that hard, into the range where the suspension wallows and the OEM tires are starting to slide demands a lot of attention.
Thankfully, when you get there, there's things you can do about it and learn about that stuff, too.