Best biking moment ...no lies about wasting foggy...
Discussion
rsvmilly said:
Neil Hodgson and Chris Walker battling out the BSB in 2000, banging fairings, backing it in and trying to outbrake one another. Amazing stuff.
Second that! And the WSB race when they were both wildcards (was it Donington or Brands?) and Haga got in the way. Even he had to back off, and he was the most hard-core rider out there at the time. Got to be some of the hardest, tightest racing ever seen.
adetuono said:I was at Brands for the WSB round of 2000 when Hodgson wiped the floor as a wildcard.
Neil Hodgson and Chris Walker battling out the BSB in 2000, banging fairings, backing it in and trying to outbrake one another. Amazing stuff.
Second that! And the WSB race when they were both wildcards (was it Donington or Brands?) and Haga got in the way. Even he had to back off, and he was the most hard-core rider out there at the time. Got to be some of the hardest, tightest racing ever seen.
I was also at Donnington for the last BSB round when Hodgson pipped Walker to the title. I remember that day as my Ducrappy went home on a flat bed, courtesy of the RAC and Ducati's 'finest' generators!
To be honest with you even over all the bike stuff on TV the racing that used to be at my small local circuit in Kirkcaldy(Beveridge park)in Scotland was fantastic!.To explain what this track was like to those who don't know,it was very,very narrow all the way round and the camber of all the track from side to side was like a humped back bridge!and if this camber threw you off there were lots,and i mean lots of trees planted closely together with grass all around them ready to flatten you,two guys who were the biggest of rivals,in private production class,one on a cbx1000(nicknamed 'The hulk'hulk on tank etc)and Gordon Grigor,orange black and white GSXR1100.Two complete nutters,Gordon had a really upright riding style,orange,black,white leathers,pure jet black visor,it really looked like a totally upright manikin on the bike,like there was no-one in there!odd looking to me when i was younger but really impressive seeing him go so quickly,winning most of the time but being so upright it was like he wasn't trying?,this Gordon Grigor and The Hulk would batter off each other all the time,wheelie together either side of people and pass them together!Go off the track and somehow,miss all the trees and come back on together!When i think back,and if anyone knows the sheer weight in these bikes and the narrowness of this track i've never seen anything better!
kingb said:
Bayliss Vs Edwards for the WSB title last weekend of the season. Ducati Vs Honda what a couple of races
Definitely agree with that one!
Lots of personal best biking moments (almost any time when it’s dry, warm and the roads are not too busy!) but some that stick in my mind are:
Getting 60mph out of my old Honda SS50 moped. - Slipstreaming a Luton van.
Arriving at Mont Blanc less than 13 hours and over 1000 miles after getting off a ferry in Reggio Calabria.
Overtaking a "weekend warrior" on a new R1 in a right hand bend. He was hanging off the side desperately trying to get his knee in the ground while the bike was almost bolt upright. I was on a 17 year old BMW R100RS! The look on his face as I smiled and gave a little wave was priceless.
Getting overtaken by an Aprilia 250 on the Mountain on the IoM. I was on a BMW K100RS 16v so expected to loose out in the corners but to be out dragged up a hill!!!!!
Riding my VTR on the D955 in France! What a road!
Replacing the “hero blobs” on the VTR for a second time!
Oh! Roll on the good weather so that I can add many more moments!
My most triumphant was my first euro tour with triumph. doing 500 miles a day, avoiding motorway's, it was utterley exhausting.
weather was very changeable and one day south of the pyranees, I left my waterproofs at the hotel, and was 300 miles from "home" when it started snowing
Got utterley drenched, and shivering, riding in the dark and in snow with ice in the fogcity.
Made it back, and several more long days afterward. a couple of others on the trip hung back to help me as they saw my pace fall right off. One lent me his spare winter gloves, and a charming girl in an out of the way garage, let me use her portable radiator to dry my clothes while she made me a HOT chocolate.
Saw some fantastic roads and scenery, and it was like I had been around the world for 6 months, even if it was only a week. awesome.
We road home from this::
weather was very changeable and one day south of the pyranees, I left my waterproofs at the hotel, and was 300 miles from "home" when it started snowing
Got utterley drenched, and shivering, riding in the dark and in snow with ice in the fogcity.
Made it back, and several more long days afterward. a couple of others on the trip hung back to help me as they saw my pace fall right off. One lent me his spare winter gloves, and a charming girl in an out of the way garage, let me use her portable radiator to dry my clothes while she made me a HOT chocolate.
Saw some fantastic roads and scenery, and it was like I had been around the world for 6 months, even if it was only a week. awesome.
We road home from this::
Racing at Croix. on 2 races I pushed too hard at the start and went grasstracking, but then recovered and won on both occasions. 
This was also the first place that I was consistently sliding the back end through some corners. As I remember, it was: Accelerate out of the bottom hairpin, click the next gear, back off the throttle, countersteer hard for the apex winding the throttle on quickly but gently and feeling the back end going away from you. Countersteer into it slightly and then much harder to flick it into the fast left towards the end of the circuit. Biking nirvana, it really was.
This was also the first place that I was consistently sliding the back end through some corners. As I remember, it was: Accelerate out of the bottom hairpin, click the next gear, back off the throttle, countersteer hard for the apex winding the throttle on quickly but gently and feeling the back end going away from you. Countersteer into it slightly and then much harder to flick it into the fast left towards the end of the circuit. Biking nirvana, it really was.
bennyboysvuk said:
Racing at Croix. on 2 races I pushed too hard at the start and went grasstracking, but then recovered and won on both occasions.
This was also the first place that I was consistently sliding the back end through some corners. As I remember, it was: Accelerate out of the bottom hairpin, click the next gear, back off the throttle, countersteer hard for the apex winding the throttle on quickly but gently and feeling the back end going away from you. Countersteer into it slightly and then much harder to flick it into the fast left towards the end of the circuit. Biking nirvana, it really was.
My best biking moment was a track day at Dubai Autodrome, amongst a pit garage full of new fireblades and R1's etc, sits my 1989 CBR400RR, an old TZ250R and 87 1100GSXR belonging to John Clark. He is a friend of a friend and said he would help me out, being a newbie to track riding, he is also 5 times South African superbike champion from the late 80's. The guy is a really great bloke, spent a few of his laps leading me around, then following, before zapping of and showing everyone what you can do with an old bike, 20 year old leathers and a big dose of talent. Then chatting and giving free advice all through the day. My on track riding and confidence have improved. The whole day was just great, real friendly atmosphere and a great track.
2004 "Swiss Racing" Monza two day track day on a GSXR1000K3. 34 Degrees C and surrounded by very, very serious foreign types.
Circuit is pure undiluted speed. The bike up against its 186mph limiter on three straights. Wore out two sets of brake pads in the two days.
Between the first two chicanes is the fastest corner I have ever seen in my life. You need to short shift into 5th before entering to avoid running out of revs half way round. Fastest indicated speed with knee on tarmac: 172mph.
Fabrizio Pirovano (ex-WSBK racer) turns up to do some laps on a completely standard GSXR750K4 (on slicks) and still manages to take 250 metres per lap out of me - aaargh!
On all the other foreign track days (Spanish mainly) I've done the evening social aspect is stunning - on this one most just sat in quiet contemplation with couple of beers and a 1000 yard stare.
Be warned if you fancy Monza - It utterly ruined me for UK trackdays and I had to take up racing in 2005 to get the same buzz.
Circuit is pure undiluted speed. The bike up against its 186mph limiter on three straights. Wore out two sets of brake pads in the two days.
Between the first two chicanes is the fastest corner I have ever seen in my life. You need to short shift into 5th before entering to avoid running out of revs half way round. Fastest indicated speed with knee on tarmac: 172mph.
Fabrizio Pirovano (ex-WSBK racer) turns up to do some laps on a completely standard GSXR750K4 (on slicks) and still manages to take 250 metres per lap out of me - aaargh!
On all the other foreign track days (Spanish mainly) I've done the evening social aspect is stunning - on this one most just sat in quiet contemplation with couple of beers and a 1000 yard stare.
Be warned if you fancy Monza - It utterly ruined me for UK trackdays and I had to take up racing in 2005 to get the same buzz.
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