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  2. Denken
    Denken joined the community
  3. Today
  4. Mohawk
    Where are you ? I have a set of Chinese replica fairing ones.
  5. xweb
    Hello, I am looking for an STL model for 3d printing #9 and #10 as they are no longer available. Does anyone have one or would like to prepare one and share?
  6. andyoval
    andyoval joined the community
  7. Gaz66
    Hay Peeps, Hope all u guys are doing well. I agree with the general consensus that the 5th Gen OEM Showa rear shock is a bit lacking in some ways, to me it always feels a bit harsh & over damped, even set to manual's recommended settings, shocks still in great condition for it's age though, never leaked any oil. So recently been thinking of sourcing a new shock, prices aint cheap, we're talking £350-£450 for a basic emulsion type shock, which isn't worth the asking price for a same spec design shock that I already have as OEM, may be they're more suitably valved for a heavier bike & better ride, but I can't justify the expense for such a basic shock. I've done some research, considered a few shock that would physically be s suitable donor for this project. Discovered that a ZX10rr Twin tube compact alloy shock had been fitted to a 5th Gen, forum member never updated his work on spring weight/dimensions/damping settings used after fitting, so I'm unaware if he failed with this mod or had it re-shimmed to suit the 5th Gens weight or is still riding on the original valve shimming set by Kawasaki? I accept the ZX10 shock is a tad shorter stroke, valve shim pack may well be unsuitable in it's current ZX10 spec, as its been spec'd for a much lighter bike, but the general compact design lends itself to being a great shock to use, valving can always be sorted at a later date once the physical barriers have been overcome, which is where I am now, hence I thought I'd share my exploits for those that might be interested. I kept an eye on eBay for a few months & eventually sourced an as new zero miles 2019 ZX10rr shock off eBay £130 posted. Shock came with the upper steel mounting bracket, I did consider modifying this top mount it until I discovered an all alloy unit from a Gixxer 1000 had the correct inner dimensions to match the ZX10's upper shock bush, plus it easily cleared the top of the shock, so grinding out wouldn't be required. eBay to the rescue again, Gixxer alloy top shock mount £8 posted. Next barrier was to get the ZX10 shock/Gixxer top mount combo to match the OEM shock & top mounts dimensions. OEM shock is 325mm centre - centre plus top mount. ZX10 shock is a fair bit shorter, which isn't such a bad thing as it turns out, using the alloy Gixxer top mount gave me more than enough material to use to match the OEM length plus a bit more to factor in some adjustability on ride height too. ZX10 shock appears to be used upside down, but as it's a twin tube compact unit, it makes no odds to which orientation it's used in. So on the 5th Gen, it'll need inverting, bringing the threaded pre=load rings & damper adjusters to the top & both accessible on the 5th Gen thru the left side above the chain guard. Upon measuring the new ZX10 shock up, I found both upper & lower mounts are the exact same internal bore dimensions, so I pressed out the rubberised steel bushing & needle roller bearing flipped the shock pressed the bush into the other end, shock is now inverted, with the lower needle roller bearing issue to figure out. After some measuring & head scratching, I found the now bottom eye width was too short of the required 39mm , too narrow to fit between the 5th Gen's triangle mounting plates, after studying potential bearing options, I decided to keep the ZX10's OEM inner bearing top hat bushings, but these wouldn't be a direct fit in the other end on of the Zx10's shock, internal bores are the same but not the width's so thinking cap on, sussed out that using 2 needle roller bearing would work centred in the shock eye, this would leave me with enough room for a pair of dust seals & using the original bearing top hats would give me an excess width of 4mm, inner section of the top hats was 3mm too short so bushings would bind & lock solid the bottom eye, so this was spaced out with 3x1mm brake hose banjo sealing washers, I had some in stock that fit inside the needle bearing with clearance. This left me with upper rubber bush fitted & correct dimension to fit into Gixxer alloy mount (no clearance issues). 2 needle rollers fitted into bottom mount, space for dust seal, top hat bushing spaced out internally, correct clearance so no metal - metal contact like the OEM shock is plagued with between the triangle plates, ZX10 top hats just needed reducing externally by exactly 2mm from each bush to get a total bottom width of 39mm, now a perfect fit between the alloy triangle plates & no metal to metal binding. Now the Gixxer alloy top mount - frame issue to suss out. Gixxer mount is a really chunky bit of kit, so I elected to cut down the 20mm diameter thread section, leaving enough material to accept the original lock nut, I ground off the steel locking section & lost only 1mm from the nut, further measuring up proved the nut to be too thick, so I cut the nut in half & inverted the big nut, this could now be used as my ride height adjuster, which in fact proved to work as expected, a lot of careful measuring, I decided to leave it 3mm longer than my original plan of matching the same dimensions as the 5th Gens OEM shock & mount combo. So at this point I have a nearly ready to install shock & top mount which is plus 3mm, plus option to increase ride height by another 4mm by using the Gixxer's inverted top nut, I later found out that 1mm plus on the top shock mount gave approx 2-3mm bike ride height increase. Gixxer top mount now needed some way to bolt it into the 5th Gen, 2 options came to mind, drill out the centre & thread it accept an M10 bolt from above or loctite a high tensile M10 bolt into the Gixxer mount & bolt the shock in place like the 5th Gen's OEM shock does... I went with the 2nd option, I already had a spare Gixxer mount in case I messed up this one, but as it turned out bang as measured, I have no complaints so far. 1st shock install into bike gave +5mm on ride height (measured on centre stand). ZX10 OEM spring is way too spindly to support the 5th Gen's girth, so I fitted a 115nm K-tech spring left over from a previous project, this proved to be way too weak & miles too much bike sag. Pulled the shock, ftted a 125nm K-tech spring, a bit better, but still too much bike sag. I then discovered the OEM Honda spring was a claimed 130nm, albeit a tapered progressive coil of sorts. Due to a 125nm spring proving to far too weak, I doubted Honda specs of 130nm. Ebay again, found an as new 160nm K-tech spring £40 posted. I couldn't source the correct spring length of 175mm, only a 160nm x 155mm, so I packed out the spring to 170mm with some coil over alloy lock rings that a friend turned down on his lathe to fit the ZX10 shock, this seems to give enough installed spring length & seems to give enough pre-load on the spring to get the spring off its end coils & into a range where it support the bikes weight enough for a decent bike weight sag, if it proves not enough, I'll have to source a 175mm x 160nm spring from K-tech, no big deal, I'll still be under £300 completed even with a new spring. Rebound damping set at 2 turn in from fully out seems adequate enough to stop the spring going into a 2nd bounce with 2.5 turns of rebound damping left to use if required. Compression seems enough at 2 turns in from fully out, 2.5 turns left if required, so hopefully I have enough damping adjustability without pulling the shock & getting the shims altered at my local bike suspension shop. So to date the total cost is £180 for an alloy twin tube shock inc spring, modified to fit a 5th Gen with adjustable ride height. Not yet road tested as I have the wheels out for tyres & a refurb paint job. I'll update my findings after a road test. Bye for now👍
  8. JohnnyE
    JohnnyE changed their profile photo
  9. JohnnyE
    Hello from Northern Ireland! 👋 I'm back to riding after a number of years away (15+). Decided to cautiously dip my toe in the water about 6 months ago and bought a brand new Yamaha NMax 125 scooter. Well, put it like this, within 1 mile I knew I wasn't going to enjoy the slush box belt twist and go experience. I needed back on a geared bike! Before I'd stopped riding, I'd worked up from a CB250 superdream, through to a 600 Hornet and 929RR Fireblade. I finished up with a Z750 and 700 Ducati Monster before hanging up my gloves,. so I really don't know what I was thinking buying the scooter! I guess it was just nerves about finding my skills again safely, now that I'm a bit older and wiser. One of the best test rides I'd had years ago was on a 6th gen VFR800 VTEC. I owned the 929RR at the time and couldn't believe just how fun the 800 was. That engine note.... and the snap on/off VTEC was hilarious. So, my focus was on getting a clean VFR 6th gen. 3 failed attempts to buy later - 2 from a local dealer who promised to call me as soon as he had one coming in (but didn't) and a private seller of a 12k mile VTEC which I offered the asking price on. The problem though, I'm in Ireland and he was in England. Despite offering to send over proof of ID and a bank transfer deposit, he sold it out from under me. It was then that I spotted a lovely 5th gen 50th anniversary for sale locally and to my surprise... I knew the owner! I've known him back 20 years and he was ALWAYS a fussy owner. 24hrs later, the deal was done. Just 19k miles on it and in lovely condition. The proper 50th anniversary panels without a mark on them and the matching seat cowl I bought it on the spot! I'll freely admit.... the first run out didn't happen for a couple of weeks until the conditions were right. Bear in mind this is my 1st geared bike ride in probably 18 years! First issue was getting used to pulling the bike from the garage safely! No grab handles didn't help, but I remembered my bike lessons, leaning the bike into me a bit, one hand covering the brake just in case. Got geared up... got the bike warmed up.... then set off. Perhaps some might say I was mad after this time to go straight to an 800, but I knew full well that if I started on a smaller cc bike I'd hate it within hours. I never liked my 600 Hornet and always preferred something with more low down torque and longer gearing. I needn't have worried! I'd say it took about 10 minutes before I was right at home again! The VFR is a delight to ride and just right for where I'm at. I can short shift and just enjoy that rumble and whine of the cams... but give it the beans here and there. Just perfect! Previous owner fitted a voltmeter so I quickly realised that the charge system was NOT up to scratch! Discovered a TourMax R/R in there which seemed to be the well known weakness here. Stator tested well with zero ohms resistance on all 3 coils, so I'm currently mid way though installing a MOSFET R/R supplied by Kevs Shed which I'm sure many of you have watched on YouTube. Kev does a full R/R kit right down to the aluminium mount plate, silicone wiring loom and self resetting breaker. I've a new set of Bridgestones to go on as soon as that's done and a set of AS3 Performance stainless coolant hose clamps. I wasn't happy with how some of the mild steel fittings look under the fairings on inspection. After that, it's going to my local mechanic for a top to bottom health check. I plan to powder coat the forks and perhaps the side and centre stands. I've been ordering a lot of OE fittings to refresh anything that's either missing or showing signs of age. Whilst I aim to keep the bike close to original, those condom mirrors DID have to go! I've also talked to Scorpion exhausts and they are making up an OE look can with no branding so I can let a bit of that sweet V4 sound out without changing the look too much. As for that wee NMax, well, only 130 miles on it and I'd lose a fair chunk in depreciation to get rid so soon, so I've come to actually quite like it for what it is. Great for a quick run to the shops when the sun's out and room for a large bag of groceries under that seat! It's staying... for now. Thanks for reading the ramble... and I'll have plenty to ask over time no doubt 👍
  10. Spyro115
    Spyro115 joined the community
  11. Hiske258
    Hiske258 joined the community
  12. ducnut
    Unslip the slip joints a bit and get everything loose and floating. You’ll need to work your way around to each exhaust port, tightening a bit at a time. I don’t mean tightening the pipe all the way in; just equally moving each head pipe in, by using the nuts. While doing that, keep working the slip joint, incrementally moving it together. The gist is to equally move everything into place, until the headpipes are seated. I didn’t use a torque wrench and I’d suggest you don’t either. The studs are quite small and it doesn’t take much to damage them, strip them, or even pull a stud out of the head. Using just your hand, you can better feel when something is not right. The main thing is to just take your time and equally ease everything into place.
  13. RC51Nick
    This freaking exhaust. Did anyone who got the last batch of headers here have any major install problems. I'm not an idiot with a wrench and this isnt my first aftermarket exhaust install but jeezus. I'm back to square one... I was tightening up the front 2 pipes and before they hit 12NM per the manual the studs and flanges started bending and the tubes didnt look square in the ports. The process I followed initially was I installed the rear 2 pipes loosely, and then routed the header and after pplying wd40 got the rear pipes to slip down fully into the header. Went to install the front pipes and had the same issue with width as some others had but also they looked to be somewhat short to the ports. Had a had time getting them around the studs to seat into the ports. Started tightening up the front ports and thats where the bending started. Very frustrated. So right now I pulled everything back off and replaced all 4 of the front exhaust studs. Any words of wisdom before I start this again. I know laying the oem rear pipes up against the header pipes and the shorter of the 2 pipes looks alot shorter than the oem pipe. Dont know if they were supposed to be or not. Almost to the point of wanting to go back stock but I already expanded my Staintune midpipe.
  14. Yesterday
  15. bmart

    until

    Is anyone planning on a ride from the hotel on Thursday or are folks planning to arrive in the evening or on Friday? Weather looks pretty good over the four days. Friday may be a nice day to hit Maggie Valley museum. 🙂 https://wheelsthroughtime.com/
  16. NHVFRGUY
    Finally got this project under the pressure washer, now I can better see what's going on. Plenty of frame polishing, parts refinishing and painting/powder coating, fork seals, fuse block cover, new rear tail light (help a brother our here if you got one), glass seals on the instruments seem to have a problem as water just got in there when I washed it. Wheels have to be cleaned up as It sat in the woods for a while, rear rim has a small spot of rust, brakes are gonna need a full rebuild both front and rear. Now the engine, turns freely but certain it's gonna be milky mess as penetrating oil seeped right past the plugs, guess we will know more tomorrow as I get into it. The carbs are a mess a run thru the ultrasonic will tell us the direction on that. transmission however looks perfect. Tires are almost brand new. Rear suspension cleaned up bright red on the spring...happy dance 🙂 still looking for a set of front lower side fairings that won't drain my bank account.
  17. Silver800
    Silver800 joined the community
  18. keny
    Bandit now has a OEM silencer Did a test ride whit XT today Not so nice. Should top 135km/h bt actually doesn't do much more than 100km/h, ok on small twisty tarmac roads but awful on gravel bits. You have to keep taco between 6-8k to have some movement. This was a bike I dorled after as a teenager, but a total disappointment for real, how can some folks love this bike? Not my cup of tea or this example does have some issues, strange through it starts ok, runs okay and has good compresson... Bike is listed Amen
  19. keny
    Brake calipers are cleaned Ultrasonic cleaner is nice
  20. keny

    Anything goes!

    Images added to a gallery album owned by keny in Member's Gallery

    Other VFR and other pics....
  21. sebdark
    sebdark joined the community
  22. bmart
    I saw that. Seems like a solution without a problem to me.
  23. Cogswell
    So great to see a 3rd gen!
  24. 93 VFR750 RC36
    I had it in Camel colours after I dropped it on the track in 2006. When it got damaged by Canada Customs, I wanted it in the yellow I'd seen on VFR800s, which turned out to be the Goldwing Pearl Yellow.
  25. 93 VFR750 RC36
    Sorry, missed this. Sandy Bike Spares in the UK. Terrible joints, had to cut, grind and reweld. Look for a Two Bros if you can.
  26. avelino
    avelino joined the community
  27. gekko
    gekko joined the community
  28. dychhobbs
    dychhobbs joined the community
  29. NorthernV4
    Here is a simple video explaining it way better than i could ever do for you curious out there. Since my low side 2 years ago it is just a tiny bit fiddly to find neutral sometimea. Nothing really serious but i'd give this thing a go,
  30. Last week
  31. Skeo
    Skeo joined the community
  32. bmart
    Very strange. Shifting takes so little force...seems like people are just doing it wrong.
  33. Captain 80s
    I had to look it up. Never heard of it before either. Seems Groms and CRFs are a popular application?
  34. bmart
    What is a shift shaft support and why do you want one? Never heard of them...
  35. Granite
    Thanks! Yes, UK variant Gen1 had the square clocks. Yeah, good shout but checked also. I have another knuckle in the post from Germany so i have a fall back if needed. Ill see if i can get some video this weekend. 👍
  36. NorthernV4
    To my knowledge, no one sells a shift shaft support for the 5th gen. Is there anyone here who can help me find one?
  37. swimmer
    For those who have posted WTB listing. Do not proceed with any transactions at the suggestion of new members who provide email address (that are supposedly real members email address ) stating that those real members have what you are looking to buy. The email address is not that of the real member and it's a scam .
  38. VFR750F3
    I have a gas tank for a 87 VFR700 has 1 small dent no rust in tank. Email me I can send some pictures.
  39. Captain 80s
    Couple more things to consider... How does the different petcock style fit with the rear head? How does the 86 Airbox match the contour of the bottom of the tank? (this one is probably pretty close) The 86 seat style *might* work ok with the seat relief on the 92, but I don't think it will fill in quite right. Can the 92 tank "fit" between the mounts and accommodate the seat properly? Let's see some mockup pictures.
  40. NHVFRGUY
    Hey Guys, In my ever complicated 86 rebuild, where the original tank is at the welding shop trying to get put back together like humpty dumpty. Not sure if it will survive. A friend had a leftover 92 tank that he gave me. overall the dimensions are not that far off. 5.2 gallons on the OEM and 5.0 on the 92 tank. I will be doing some complete on the bike measurements to confirm proper fit as it might need some cushioning along the bottom left/right sides for rubbing on the frame as it will not sit perfectly on the 86 frame. I will have to modify the top bracket by cutting off the top mount of the 92 and installing a straight mount for the 86, the bottom mount looks like it will line up with the single bolt at the bottom. Just wondering if anyone has done a cross year tank swap?
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  • Blogs

    1. HispanicSlammer

      A blog by HispanicSlammer in General

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      Recent Entries

      HispanicSlammer

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      Juniper Pass

      I took a day off from work and also from my bicycle training to take out the Veefalo one last time before the weather turns ugly, supposed to snow the rest of the week and possibly start sticking to the ground along the Colorado Front Range. I took a leisurely pace up hwy 105 toward Morrison and got reacquainted with the bike since its been over a month since I took any sort of twisties on it at all, hwy 105 is a scenic ride along the front range between Denver and Colorado Springs, its mostly easy fast sweepers and lite traffic so its a favorite road of mine when going north. Then I have to negotiate a bit of traffic near Highlands ranch and up hwy 470 into the mountains. I decided to take the Morrison Exit and try either Lookout Mountain or head up Golden Gate Canyon - this time it was Lookout Mountain, I was sort of making it up on the fly as I went along. Lookout Mountain is my old bicycling haunt from my days while I was working at Coors, its a killer ride and all uphill - I don't think I could do it today If I had to, not quite there yet! I saw a whole bunch of riders doing it though and wished I was in shape enough to be there doing it as well. 30 more lbs and I will be able to do it! On this day I would do it on the Veefalo instead.

       

       

       

       

      I took a video from the gateway to the top at the Lookout Mountain State Park, getting past riders, the guy in the green jacket actually pretty much astounded me with how far he had gotten in the short time it took me to set up my camera, some 3 miles at least and up to the gateway from the turn off at hwy 6! Amazing I thought. I took the first two turns slow then got more comfortable as I went up further, till I was doing well, I made some gearing mistakes and took the tight 15mph marked hairpins in the wrong gear so I lugged it a bit on one or two. Still enjoyed it though and then got off at the top and hiked over a rock outcropping for an overview of the road for the pictures below.

       

       

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      Lookout Mountain - Golden Colorado

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      Zoomed in

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      Lookout Mountain Park top of the mountain

      From there I headed up interstate 70 to Idaho Springs for a beer at the Tommy-knockers brewery, I was the only customer in the joint - slow day for them so they treated me like a king! I got a nice tour of the place sort of impromptu, they made me a nice Pastrami sandwich on rye and with the brown ale it was fantastic. I must say the beer is much better there than in the bottles - its always good at the brewery. I am glad I stopped

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      Tommy-knockers Brewpub Idaho Springs

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      Idaho Springs Colorado

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      Mashtuns and fermenters

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      Rows of fermenters

      I finished my lunch and since the road to Mount Evans is right there I headed up Squaw pass hoping to get in some nice pictures I wasn't expecting what I found, ICE IN ALL THE SHADY PARTS

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      Icy patches on Squaw Pass definitely taking it easy on that road

      There were some section where the ice covered the whole road for 300 yards or so I had to roll through it with my legs out to help keep the bike from sliding and falling over, I took it real slow. A Ford pickup was right behind me so I pulled over to let him pass but the guy was going slower then even I was so I pressed on - in places where I could see I just cut over to the oncoming lane and out of the ice where the sun was shining on the road more, but some places there was not alternative so I just had to go slow, good thing it wasn't slick but rather they tossed some gravel over the worst parts so I had some traction!

      I did stop for pictures in all the best spots

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      Echo Lake at Mount Evans showing off my new plate

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      Elephant Butte Park and Denver

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      Close up

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      Veefalo on Squaw Pass

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      Juniper Pass

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      Juniper Pass

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      Mount Evans

      My route A is home B is Tommy-knockers

       

    2. MartinkaP's Blog

      A blog by martinkap in General

      • 8
        entries
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      martinkap
      Latest Entry

      I Am Back !

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      Not that it matters and not that I expect anyone had noticed, but to those who sent me "where are you?" I would like to say I am back. Not only that I am officially returning to VFRD after nearly 2 months break but I have also ridden my Hawk last weekend and had FUN! Let me restate that; I had major fun riding! Something I have almost given up on.

      Most of you have been riding your whole adult lives and riding is not only a hobby to you, it is part of you. But I started riding three years ago and even though I have encounter some setbacks, till this spring I loved riding with whole my heart. However, I have always considered riding as my hobby. As a hobby which suppose to make my life better, more fun and more rich. Life is too short to do something which we don't fully love.

      My love of riding received a first major scar this spring: I lost a friend on the racetrack. He was a total stranger who offered me his help after I lowsided at CMP track last year. I still remember hearing his "Hi, my name is Todd, do you need help?" while I was duct-taping my roadrash from ripped jacket. He helped me straighten up the shifter and we kept in touch. The next time we saw each other was the day he died.

      With 9 months delay, I can say that Todd's death shook me more than I have realized. It rooted fear in me which was fueled by seeing and hearing about others getting hurt over and over again. If I was to summarize this year - it would be one big accident report. I became sensitive to every broken bone, every roadrash, every lowside. And even though I did 10 track days this year, I became slower and slower and slower. Suddenly, I have acquired this 'grandma' riding style on the road, frozen with fear that behind every corner there is car standing in my lane, or major sand trap or deer staring at me ... I was crippled with fear not only for me about also for my fellow rider.

      So, at the end of this year, I rode more and more by myself. I could not bear the feelings of responsibility for others on the road and my lines were crippled by my own fears. It all culminated this fall at WDGAH. In a freaky accident Love2rideh82crash was taken down by a truck crossing into our lane. I was done. I finished the weekend, locked the VFR into a garage and took a break.

      Until the last weekend, I pretended that motorcycles do not exists. As a last instance after 2 months break from riding, I decided to go to CMP track to see if I can still have fun. I also felt like I should go for the memory of Todd. I went and I had fun! I had much more fun than I expected and the most fun on track I can remember. Suddenly the whole track connected into an uninterupted line of turns and I felt one with the bike riding around! I was giggling like a little girl in my helmet and keep on giggling ever since smile.gif

      Granted I was not the fastest one and through out the weekend, I have never exceeded about 60% of my riding abilities, but I had no "oh-shit" nor 'blond' moments. I could have maybe go faster, I could have brake later for the turns and I could have lean further, but I am no Rossi nor Stoner. I decided to ride for fun and I had amazing blast riding well within my comfort zone.

      I was proud of myself when, after bandaging Ricks arm, I was able to distance myself and go back to riding without the year-long fear. I did feel bad for him but the feelings were not crippling my lines nor my mind. And when a total stranger came to me and said "Hi, my name is Todd", my heart stopped for a minute though but I suddenly knew that my life went a full circle. I probably will never win MotoGP :idea3: , but I am back! :wheel:

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