Americade report, 2003

Warning: Another Long Post

I took 3 days off last week and went up to Americade Thurs & Fri. Thursday was forecast to be showery and it had rained overnight, so roads were wet. It was misty when I headed out around 07:30, but by the time I got up to Clifton Park and was getting onto the Northway, the sun was periodically peeking out. I got up to Roaring Brook Ranch and in line for Aprilia demos by 08:25.

I asked for the sportiest thing they had and was signed up for a one liter RSV1000R Mille at 10:00. Then I shot over and registered for a Suzuki SV1000S for 11:00 and then managed to catch a Kawi ZX600R ride at 15:00, mostly due to low turnout because of the gloomy weather. Ducati and Triumph were not there.

While I was milling about (ha!), waiting for the ride to be called, there was a younger guy and his friend sitting on various bikes and snapping pics. When we left on the ride, I was 4th, behind some guy on a less sporty bike who wasn't that great a rider. Behind me were the two guys I mentioned.

Aprilia uses the same course mapped by BMW, which starts off taking a twisty road running parallel alongside the Northway, from exit 21 down to 20. Then it turns right and heads towards Lake Luzerne.  About 12 miles into this ride, you make a right onto a road that heads up the side of a mountain, making a series of switchbacks. There are a couple lefts and rights and then a longer sweeping left which leads to a 110 degree hairpin to the right. All of this while climbing. We were moving at a fairly brisk pace, though not the fastest I've gone since I had to keep slowing for the guy in front of me.

So we are in the long left, the guy in front of me slows for the hard right and I start to slow and am looking at some sand that has washed across the right side of the lane we are in from all of the rain and then I look towards the upcoming right turn and start to setup when I hear a loud BASH type noise. I look hard at the guy in front of me to see if he had touched down in the turn or something when I see peripherally, a bike sliding from right to left across my right mirror and then right to left across my left mirror, and I look back in time to see the bike go off into the woods. The guy behind me had gone down.

We were motioned to keep on going and we stopped to regroup about 1/2 mile up the road at a stop sign. The entire way there I'm trying to figure out what happened and am hoping that I had nothing to do with it. I asked a few others who were farther back what they saw and one guy says he was hard on the brakes and went down and another says it didn't look like he braked at all, just tucked the front end. A minute later the guy comes in on the chase rider’s bike and the factory guy has the downed one. It didn't look bad at all and the guy wasn't visibly hurt, and didn't walk over to punch me in the face, so I assumed I wasn't the cause.

A few minutes later and I'm over at the Suzuki ride and they use the same course. The guy gives the pre-ride talk and describes the course and says we'll be taking a nice ride and the usual about not going in over your head, it's no embarrassment to slow down; you don't want to crash and have to ride back in the "Van of Shame". This time I'm the first bike behind the leader and figure I've got it made with no possible clowns to get in the way. The SV1000 is also a 1 liter V-twin, like the Aprilia, but noticeably smoother. I don't care how much it costs, I wasn't that impressed with the Aprilia. Don't get me wrong, it was nice and all, but not with my money. As we are suiting up, I tell the guy getting on the bike behind me what had happened earlier.

Well, I've got position, but no where to go. The leader is riding like I'm on a Honda run or something. Too slow; everyone is bunching up. The most interesting thing that happened along the ride was trying to match gears with the leader as he rarely used his brakes. He did launch away after making a couple turns and I went with him and got up to around 80mph, but it was short lived. When we got to the spot of the crash, I pointed out the parallel lines running off the road, from where the engine guard and footpeg dug in.

Next day and I'm thinking about that. I told Joann that I had time to take my hand off the bar and point out the lines. A lot of time, before making the right turn. Okay, we were going kind of slow and it felt like I could have stopped, jumped off, flagged people to the marks on the road like I was directing planes on a runway, then got back on and made the turn. What I realized was that these marks began significantly before the right hand turn, so the guy couldn't have been leaning for the turn and lost it. That brought me back to the braking issue because of the guy in front of me. I later realized that what could have happened was that the guy saw the sand across the lane and either got into it and lost the front end or panic braked and swerved to avoid it. Either of those and not my fault.

I took out the ZX6R as I do every time I'm up there. I always enjoy that bike. Both Scott and Luke said they hated the redesign of the 6R due to severe, um, seat ergonomics.The 6R was upped to a 636cc this year and the seating position is pretty radical with big tank and low bars. The footpegs are pretty far up and rearward as well -- similar to my own bike. I think it’s really good looking this year, and am hopeful for the ride. It was a light turnout for the ride and several bikes were pulled from the lineup, including the 9R which I wanted to ride also, but I stuck with the ZX6. It's tradition. They had 2 of them and they were both at the end of the line so I took the last one figuring I could at least hang back a hair and give myself some room, particularly since the chase bike was a 500.

Kawasaki takes the twisty road to exit 20, then gets on and blasts up the Northway to 22, off and back on and down to 21. It's a fun ride. This bike was a blast. Totally dedicated riding position forces you to sit up on the tank and hang off, which is where you want to be for maximum control under hard cornering anyway. Not much fun under other circumstances though, so keep moving. This bike is so light and so nimble and so much more powerful, and in that position you feel like an extension of the bike. The guy on the other one was at least my age and a very good rider and we managed to have a blast, stay up on the pack and still leave the chase rider for dead the whole time. Part of the fun I have while riding is watching the rider I'm following, as it gives you a sense of watching yourself 3rd person. It was another great ride. I had much more fun than I did on either liter bike ride earlier in the day. Just wish Kawi would adopt the long course ...

Friday was a sunny day and is always crowded. I signed up for the ZX9R at 15:30 and then went to Suzuki and got a SV650 at 14:20. By the time I got back to the Kawi line, all good bikes had been taken and there were only abundant cruiser rides to be had. Against my better judgment, I was talked into and signed up for a 16:45 ride on a Mean Streak, which is some 1500cc sport cruiser. Scott and Luke raved about how much fun they had on it, but I sat on one and didn't even like that feeling. Good looking bike though (I've spent too much time watching Discovery Channel lately...).

So the morning went by and we were down in the village at the vendor area. Not much happening there anymore. Over the years, I've had tires put on my bike, Joann and I both bought seats from Corbin Saddles there, I've gotten gloves and Joann bought a leather jacket. Now it's acres of junk jewelry, cheap black leather -- mostly with fringe and tassels and low IQ tee-shirts. I did manage to buy another set of overpriced sunglasses though.

Some bad food and back to the tent. At 14:00 I realize I should be at Roaring Brook and head off, knowing full well there is no way I can make it in time. Long walk back to the field where we parked. I actually found my bike first try, which is much more impressive than it sounds. Idle along back to the beach. Idle along to RT 9. Back to Roaring Brook just in time to meet my ride going out. Killed some more time until the ZX9R ride.

The 9R is a more comfortable riding position. The reach to the bars isn't as extreme as the 6R and the pegs are lower and more forward. I was the 2nd to last bike in the line, followed by a ZX11. The 9R under way felt almost as light as the 6R did, though not quite. But the engine is far more powerful. This was also a lot of fun to ride. Kawasaki makes nice bikes. If I had to choose, I'd go with the bigger bike. It wouldn't be as sharp in the tight stuph, but would keep right up just by it's power and is a far more practical bike. You could ride this one for several hours whereas the ZX6 is one you'd like to trailer to the twisties, ride 30 minutes and trailer it back.

I waited around to see if there would be any no-shows for the final ride and the ZX11 was empty, so I took it out. This is not at all a dedicated sport bike, but was developed several years ago (7?) as a killer sport tourer. It's big and heavy and bulky and has a very mild riding position, which didn't fit me as my knees were hitting part of the frame and my left heel kept hitting the tang of the -- gasp! -- center stand. Sport bikes don't have center stands... The engine was a monster. Like the ZX9, I just put it in 3rd and left it there.

I don't know why I bother riding bikes other than what Kawasaki brings, as I always enjoy theirs the best. The European v-twins are not my thing right now, and until Triumph returns, I don't really want to ride many others. I definitely prefer an in-line 4. Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda never bring their serious sport bikes.