Joined Sep 1998
3K Posts | 57+
NC, US
Well, here we are, the 4th ride on the Husey in it's new habitat, and it's first ride on it's brand spankin new shoes(Michelin M-12's). While sitting at the dealer waiting for the tires to be put on, I imagined all of the pain and suffering that I might be inviting by actually improving the bike's traction. I mean, come on... what's so bad about lack of traction? Sure it gets a bad rep and all, but is it really worse than launching yourself off the side of a mountain? We'll see. Luckily I got them mounted 6 days before the next ride, so I get to look at them in the back of the truck, and visualize how fast I could be going when I do a faceplant in that one tough spot.
I get to bro's house, and pull out the brand spanking new tires and get ready to mount them. Bro comes out, looks at them, and comments "Man, those are some sweet tires! Tons of traction!" I feel my stomach drop to the elevation of my testicles. Then he says "They mounted your rear tire backwards"... I look at it, and indeed it's mounted backwards. When talking to the shop guy, I asked him which direction he mounted it, and he said that he mounted it the same direction as the take-off. So we load up in bro's car, and head to the dealer, get the tire swapped around, and head back to the house. Now, time is growing late due to a doctor's appt. I had before, the tire and I still have to get them back on the bike. I mount them up while bro begins loading the truck. We get it loaded, and we're off!
We get out to our private national forest OHV area. Private on Thursdays anyways. Bro and I discussed it, and if we ever find someone else riding it while we're here, we're going to kill them and hide the bodies. We unload the trucks, get geared up and start checking the fluids and filling up. Charles pulls the radiator cap and begins to grab a bottle of auto antifreeze and water.
schwim(helpful): "Hey bro, the guys at the site say that you shouldn't run that.
bro(antagonistic): "Huh... What do the UHF's do?(Unofficial Husaberg Fanatics)
schwim(helpful, but now wary): "They run engine ice or something that will run higher temps.
bro(scoffing): "This is a KTM, it doesn't need to be pampered.
So he fills her up, then starts to put the cap on.
schwim(wishing he could shut up): "Umm, hey bro, the guys say you should lean the bike over, to fill up any empty cavities, and since you have two radiators, you might want to do that."
bro(glad he brought me along): "I figured, your members had a HusaDiety bless Holy Water for your bikes. ominaominaomina cooolaaaaaant. ominaominaomina coooolaaaaaant"
schwim(wishing he had said nothing): "No."
We get the bikes filled up, and we're geared up, so it's time to get going! Bro gets on his bike, pushes the button and in less than one revolution, his bike fires up. I begin kicking, I mean really going at it. I'm kicking like there's no tomorrow. Bro watches for a while.
Bro(enjoying this): You need a catchphrase.
schwim(panting): What the hell do you mean?
bro(picturing my heart popping): you know, like a verbal talisman... like something a superhero would say. That would help the bike start.
schwim(incredulous): Like what?
bro(wishing he was carrying the camera): I don't know, it's your bike.
So I get it to TDC, take a deep breath, and make the jump "By the Power of Greyskull!"
Jump "Go Go Gadget Kick!"
Jump "Thundercats HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Nothing from the bike, however bro is now laughing pretty hard, so all was not lost.
I sit for a few minutes wondering if I'll live through this learning curve, and decide to try the handy-dandy choke that people speak so highly of. I pull the button, and jump. The bike roars to life! Oh, the glorious feelings I held in my heart at that moment.
So it's been four rides. Here's a quick breakdown of my ride progression:
Ride 1: Trying not to die(or "God wants to talk to you")
Ride 2: Trying to keep moving forward(or "1st gear festival")
Ride 3: Trying not to fall(or "Ride, walk, crawl, it's all the same")
After a half lap, in an epithany, I see the name of my 4th ride written across the sky:
Trying not to die(or "God feels you've missed your first appointment")
It seems that I've become fast enough to Really Get my *** In a Sling. I mean it's all relative... Bro still leaves me behind, but now I'm riding faster than I can think. Not a huge jump for me, but now I have a whole new batch of worries.
I'm really liking these tires. Although everyone was right that it would accelerate quicker, guess what? IT STOPS QUICKER TOO! I mean before, it was like I had a second operator on the bike that did the braking and he was always late. Now, I just accelerate right up to the point of impending doom, and then hit the brakes! WaLah! No pain!
I get to the part that was previously known as the "Hill of Death", and will now be called "Schwim's *****". You know, the hill from the first ride report? Oh yeah, baby. Right up like I owned it. I mean I'm really cooking. Sure I'm 5 minutes behind my brother, but remember that statement about it all being relative? All I have to do is let him lap me, and I'm right behind him again, with no time lost!
I do four laps(24 miles), then head over to the truck to get some water. Somewhere around lap 3, my throat quit working, and I'm feeling the burn. I go back to the trail head and wait for bro to give him some water as well. We talk for a bit about all the fun parts, then bro offers to take some pics of me so I can post them on the site with my ride report. He rides off, and I idle for a bit, so as to give him time to get set up. I go 4 miles or so, and have not seen him, so I figure he was having fun, and just kind of forget about it. I do "Schwim's *****", then head down the quick straight to the "faceplant section"(see 1st ride report). I get over the culvert bridge, and start coming up a quick part with water breaks, and there's bro w/the camera! I peg it. However, when you try to go fast unprepared, things get ugly quick. Although the pic looks like I'm doing the speed of light, you don't get to see the aftermath, which is me hitting a waterbreak in 4th and doing something that a freestyle rider would be proud of, had I done it intentionally. I go back and he says "You ride like a granny, try it again. So I do. Oh I'm cooking now. Bro even gets a video of my artful mastering of the trail. God bless bro for making me look competent.
We get a few more pics, and then it's time to head back to the truck.
pic 1
pic 2
pic 3
By far, the best ride ever, and I'm getting so comfortable, that next time, I just might open my eyes.
thanks,
json
I get to bro's house, and pull out the brand spanking new tires and get ready to mount them. Bro comes out, looks at them, and comments "Man, those are some sweet tires! Tons of traction!" I feel my stomach drop to the elevation of my testicles. Then he says "They mounted your rear tire backwards"... I look at it, and indeed it's mounted backwards. When talking to the shop guy, I asked him which direction he mounted it, and he said that he mounted it the same direction as the take-off. So we load up in bro's car, and head to the dealer, get the tire swapped around, and head back to the house. Now, time is growing late due to a doctor's appt. I had before, the tire and I still have to get them back on the bike. I mount them up while bro begins loading the truck. We get it loaded, and we're off!
We get out to our private national forest OHV area. Private on Thursdays anyways. Bro and I discussed it, and if we ever find someone else riding it while we're here, we're going to kill them and hide the bodies. We unload the trucks, get geared up and start checking the fluids and filling up. Charles pulls the radiator cap and begins to grab a bottle of auto antifreeze and water.
schwim(helpful): "Hey bro, the guys at the site say that you shouldn't run that.
bro(antagonistic): "Huh... What do the UHF's do?(Unofficial Husaberg Fanatics)
schwim(helpful, but now wary): "They run engine ice or something that will run higher temps.
bro(scoffing): "This is a KTM, it doesn't need to be pampered.
So he fills her up, then starts to put the cap on.
schwim(wishing he could shut up): "Umm, hey bro, the guys say you should lean the bike over, to fill up any empty cavities, and since you have two radiators, you might want to do that."
bro(glad he brought me along): "I figured, your members had a HusaDiety bless Holy Water for your bikes. ominaominaomina cooolaaaaaant. ominaominaomina coooolaaaaaant"
schwim(wishing he had said nothing): "No."
We get the bikes filled up, and we're geared up, so it's time to get going! Bro gets on his bike, pushes the button and in less than one revolution, his bike fires up. I begin kicking, I mean really going at it. I'm kicking like there's no tomorrow. Bro watches for a while.
Bro(enjoying this): You need a catchphrase.
schwim(panting): What the hell do you mean?
bro(picturing my heart popping): you know, like a verbal talisman... like something a superhero would say. That would help the bike start.
schwim(incredulous): Like what?
bro(wishing he was carrying the camera): I don't know, it's your bike.
So I get it to TDC, take a deep breath, and make the jump "By the Power of Greyskull!"
Jump "Go Go Gadget Kick!"
Jump "Thundercats HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Nothing from the bike, however bro is now laughing pretty hard, so all was not lost.
I sit for a few minutes wondering if I'll live through this learning curve, and decide to try the handy-dandy choke that people speak so highly of. I pull the button, and jump. The bike roars to life! Oh, the glorious feelings I held in my heart at that moment.
So it's been four rides. Here's a quick breakdown of my ride progression:
Ride 1: Trying not to die(or "God wants to talk to you")
Ride 2: Trying to keep moving forward(or "1st gear festival")
Ride 3: Trying not to fall(or "Ride, walk, crawl, it's all the same")
After a half lap, in an epithany, I see the name of my 4th ride written across the sky:
Trying not to die(or "God feels you've missed your first appointment")
It seems that I've become fast enough to Really Get my *** In a Sling. I mean it's all relative... Bro still leaves me behind, but now I'm riding faster than I can think. Not a huge jump for me, but now I have a whole new batch of worries.
I'm really liking these tires. Although everyone was right that it would accelerate quicker, guess what? IT STOPS QUICKER TOO! I mean before, it was like I had a second operator on the bike that did the braking and he was always late. Now, I just accelerate right up to the point of impending doom, and then hit the brakes! WaLah! No pain!
I get to the part that was previously known as the "Hill of Death", and will now be called "Schwim's *****". You know, the hill from the first ride report? Oh yeah, baby. Right up like I owned it. I mean I'm really cooking. Sure I'm 5 minutes behind my brother, but remember that statement about it all being relative? All I have to do is let him lap me, and I'm right behind him again, with no time lost!
I do four laps(24 miles), then head over to the truck to get some water. Somewhere around lap 3, my throat quit working, and I'm feeling the burn. I go back to the trail head and wait for bro to give him some water as well. We talk for a bit about all the fun parts, then bro offers to take some pics of me so I can post them on the site with my ride report. He rides off, and I idle for a bit, so as to give him time to get set up. I go 4 miles or so, and have not seen him, so I figure he was having fun, and just kind of forget about it. I do "Schwim's *****", then head down the quick straight to the "faceplant section"(see 1st ride report). I get over the culvert bridge, and start coming up a quick part with water breaks, and there's bro w/the camera! I peg it. However, when you try to go fast unprepared, things get ugly quick. Although the pic looks like I'm doing the speed of light, you don't get to see the aftermath, which is me hitting a waterbreak in 4th and doing something that a freestyle rider would be proud of, had I done it intentionally. I go back and he says "You ride like a granny, try it again. So I do. Oh I'm cooking now. Bro even gets a video of my artful mastering of the trail. God bless bro for making me look competent.
We get a few more pics, and then it's time to head back to the truck.
pic 1
pic 2
pic 3
By far, the best ride ever, and I'm getting so comfortable, that next time, I just might open my eyes.
thanks,
json
