MotoGP vs. Formula 1

A very expensive traffic jam

I just finished watching the F1 parade in Monte Carlo.  Watching the massive, modern F1 cars (so wide they practically fill the road) following each other through the streets of Monte Carlo reminded me why I've been watching MotoGP instead.  It's not uncommon to see multiple lead changes on a single lap in MotoGP, and dozens of mid-field overtakings during a race.  It's uncommon to see any lead changes in an F1 race and a driver climbing through the field has become a rarity.  At Monte Carlo this morning the only overtaking was political.

I started watching F1 during Michael Schumacher's rookie year and followed him all the way through his career.  My favourite race of his was '94 in Spain where he managed second place while stuck in one gear.  Spain a couple of years later was a master class in keeping an F1 car on the pavement in torrential rain.  While the engineering is interesting in F1 it's not why I watched it regularly for over two decades, it was because of the brilliance of the drivers.

I'm now into my second season of watching Motogp.  The first race I watched had a resurgent 34(!) year old Valentino Rossi chasing the astonishing Marc Marquez (beginning a record breaking run of wins) to a one two finish with multiple lead changes in a single lap.

It's hard to see just how much a MotoGP racer works their tires.

Slow motion is the way to go if you want to see just how much

they drift on a single wheel.

In one of the early races an announcer mentioned how in Formula One the car is the majority of the equation whereas in Motogp the rider is the key component.  From that moment on I made an effort to understand the complexities of riding a race bike.  Motosports that are decided by operator skill over engineering prowess (and budget) are what I'm into.  Schumi got that second place in Spain driving a second tier car.  When he started winning championships with a massive budget I was less interested.

Watching the parade around Monte Carlo reminded me of why I enjoy the bikes more.  With the rider such a big part of the equation, you'll see human excellence much more clearly on two wheels than you will with four. There is much less between a rider and the road than there is between a driver and the road.  While one is wrestling with their machine the other is setting suspension settings and adjusting engine maps.

With the Isle of Man TT coming up I'll also be able to see bikes battling on public roads just as the F1 cars didn't do on the streets of Monte Carlo. You see a lot of precision in Monte Carlo but you don't see the breath taking bravery that you'll see in the TT.  If you've never watched one before, give it a go.

This has me thinking about vehicle dynamics and the differences between motorcycles and cars... fodder for my next post...

From Tony Foale's Motorcycle Handling & Chasis Design: a must read if you're curious about motorbike dynamics

Some Links

Formula One vs. Motogp: vehicle comparison
F1 car mechanical and aerodynamic forces
Applying the fluid dynamics of F1 aerodynamics to motorcycle racing
The Physics of Motorbikes
Which is faster? F1 or MotoGP (by F1 fanatics)

Money To Burn Wish List

Another wish list... we were talking about what we'd do with a lotto win while camping last weekend.  I'd be aiming to expand into road racing and off road riding.  Here's what my cost-no-object-moto-summer would look like.

LOGISTICS

I've been thinking about a Ford Transit van, Guy Martin style, but now I'm thinking about a trailer.  Stealth Trailers make an aluminium bike trailer that is pretty awesome.  It weighs about 1200lbs and carries another 1700lbs, so something with a three thousand pound towing capacity would manage it.  Fortunately, the Jeep Cherokee I'm currently fixated on can tow 4500lbs.


Trailer: ~$6000
Jeep:    ~$36500
----------------------
~$42,500

I'd also pick up a custom pop up tent with Mechanical Sympathy printed on it.  They look like they go for about a thousand bucks plus whatever the custom screening costs.  Setup off the back of the trailer I'd have an instant pit stand.


Tent ~$1500

ROAD RACING

Track Bike (newer)

Kawasaki ZX-6R if I wanted to keep it Kawi as I have thus far.

Other short listed bikes would be the Honda CBR600RR or the Triumph Daytona 675R.  All three are mid-displacement bikes that would allow for an engrossing track experience.  A litre bike is a bit much for track day riding, unless you're either an ex-professional or compensating for something.

Price range (new) : $12,500 (Honda) to $14,500 (Triumph) with the Kawi in between.  I'd pick the one that fits best.  Rather than a new one I'd probably find a used one and then strip it down to race.  I could find a lightly used one of these for about six grand and spend another four to get it race ready.
~$10,000

Track Training & Track Days

 Racer5: The three day intro-weekend would do the trick giving me the basics on a rented Honda.

$1000

Getting in some laps at Grand Bend...
$100 a pop x 5 a summer = $500

Pro6 Cycle track days at Calabogie
$350 a pop x3 a summer (x2 meet up with Jason) = $2100

Vintage Racer

Join the VRRA and take their racing school.
$475

A mid-80s Honda Interceptor would be my classic bike of choice.  I couldn't care less how competitive it might be, this is an exercise in nostalgia.

You can find well kept ones for a couple of thousand dollars online.  Converting it to a race bike would cost that much again.
$4000

Road racing ain't cheap...

--------------------------
~$18,000 + race costs (tires, etc)

OFF ROAD

Suzuki DR-Z400S x2
Build out a couple of Suzukis, do some training, complete some multi-day enduro events.
~$7000 each + maintenance and upgrades

Join OFTR
~$65

Trail Tours Dual Sport Training
$250

Smart Adventures All Day Training
$260

$2000 competition budget
--------------
$16,575


Forty-two, eighteen and sixteen and a half thousand (~$76k) and I'd be having a very busy summer expanding my motorbiking repertoire both on and off road.  That's only a two thirds of the price of a new Range Rover!  What a deal!

PW80 is Rolling!

A fully functional stable!

After banging my head against a non-starting PW80 for the better part of two weeks I went back to basic troubleshooting.

The one thing I changed prior to it dying entirely was the spark plug.  The only NGK I could find was a BPR6HS, the bike is supposed to take a BP6HS.  The difference is a resistor which prevents feedback to electronic equipment in the system (important if you've got a machine that uses computers and other finicky components - the PW80 is nothing like that complicated).

I'd read that the resistor doesn't matter, but after swapping back to the old plug the bike fired up immediately.  I've got to look further into resistor effects on simple two stroke machines like the PW80, but the troubleshooting still stands: when you change something and it suddenly stops working, change it back even if you think it's supposed to be an improvement!

I'm going to regap and try the newer plug again, but if it kills it again I'll have to accept that the PW80 doesn't like (and doesn't need) a plug with a resistor in it.

After it was up and running we had a throttle lesson, walking next to the bike while my son got a feel for rolling on the throttle gently.  I then tore around in circles on it - it's a zippy little machine!

Living On The Concours

It doesn't happen often, I'm usually the one taking the photos.
A student of mine saw me riding in to school from her school bus.

I've been riding the Concours for over a month now.  It came to me with a broken speedo reading 25073 miles.  Today it's 25784 on it - 711 miles so far.  With some commuting and longer trips in the mix I'm starting to get a good sense of what the bike is capable of.

My most recent refill took me 175 miles and took just over 20 litres to refill (pardon my half imperial/half metric measurements).  It looks like I'm getting about 41mpg out of it, which is quite a surprise considering how often I push the RPMs up (it just sounds so good doing it).  I've been told you can get up near 50mpg if you don't wring its neck, which should be doable if I'm on a longer road trip, especially if I'm covering miles at speed on the highway, which I never normally do.

The only time I pushed too hard was winding on the throttle when entering a main road a couple of weeks ago.  Being so torquey, the Connie broke loose on the back wheel when I rolled on the thottle.  I caught it in time but it was exciting!  Hooking up the bike and keeping it upright was surprisingly easy, this Kawasaki is remarkably responsive for how big it is.  Easing off the throttle and letting the tire reconnect was enough to get me straightened out and launched up the road right quick.  Other than that one bit of excitement the Concours has been an easy bike to live with.  It handles two up duty well, swallows the horrible roads around here with much better suspension than the Ninja had, and the engine has only gotten sweeter as I've started using it regularly.

With the Connie sorted I've been working on the rider too.  I started working on my weight in February when I was shocked to learn I was over two hundred and sixty pounds.  Most recently I was down to 248lbs, which is a 14lb drop, which isn't bad considering I'm exercising regularly and have put on some muscle as well.  I'm aiming for under 240, but I'm going to keep up the exercise and eating choices and just see where it lands me.  The goal is still to eventually head off to racing school and not look like a tool in one piece leathers.

The Magic of Motorcycles

My son is a pretty shy guy, but he's an instant celebrity on the bike.  When we ride home kids who might not otherwise acknowledge him want a wave.  The bike seems to produce fame on demand!

On my way in this morning on the Concours a little girl went running down the sidewalk next to me waving and giggling insanely.  That kind of thing doesn't happen when I'm driving the mini-van.  Kids' eyes are drawn to motorbikes like they are to anything awesome.

Two hundred metres further down the road another kid riding his BMX bike gave me a serious nod and his gaze lingered.  Perhaps that's the magic of motorcycles, they are the adult evolution of what we loved to do as children. Kids can see themselves on a motorcycle because it's the technological enhancement of a device they are already familiar and in love with.  Adults in cages have no analog for children, but motorcycles are immediately familiar.

Unlike the desperately-seeking-cool types on cruisers, I'm always happy to grin back and wave.

You have to wonder how hard we work on kids to scare them out of getting around on two wheels as adults when it's such an intrinsic love for us when we're children.  For the lucky few who find themselves back on two wheels as adults the magic can keep happening for the rest of your life.