Shad Topcases

Giving rise to new meanings for texting at the ton. We concours.

 

Please be very careful and think seriously about how aggressively you wish to pursue this. Vehicle instabilities in general and bike shimmies in particular are non-linear and may progress from a barely noticeable to unrecoverable with no warning. The English policemen who died due to the ST1300 "Pan Weave" were highly trained and experienced riders. It wasn't lack of expertise that killed them; it was that they went over an unrecoverable abyss.

How fast are you planning to ride with the case heavily loaded? I respectfully suggest you reconsider the necessity of demonstrating a 30 to 40 mph margin on this speed.

 

Mestoo, while I appreciate your concern, please tell me you are kidding! :crazy: First, who says I'm aggressively pursuing anything? I'm just riding my bike with a topcase in different scenarios and providing feedback. I've ridden Harleys that shake, rattle and roll at 120MPH (the top end on those bikes at that time) and believe me, THAT is a ride... the VFR with a topcase at 140MPH is nothing compared to that. How fast am I planning to ride with the case heavily loaded? Hmmmmmm... where did I say anything about "heavily loaded?" You really don't know me at all, and while I don't mean to sound ungrateful or cold, trust me, I'm not an idiot and I know what I'm doing. I didn't just start riding last week and I'm not just a Sunday rider. I ride every day all year, hot, cold, rain, shine... I can handle myself and my bike. Actually, it would be poetic justice really, if the topcase did me in. I got sideswiped last year coming back from MotoGP at Laguna Seca and kept the bike up and didn't really get hurt as badly as I should have, I got rearended a few weeks ago and, while the bike and I DID go down that time, I was not injured one bit (but I AM $4100 richer thanks to the old lady's insurance). So, wouldn't it be awesome, if I'm just riding along, minding my own business at 140MPH with the topcase even mildly loaded and just do myself in?? That would be one for the storybooks. Stay tuned, ya never know what might happen next!!

 

Welcome to Chickyland where for every action, there is a reaction. As an analogy, I submit that this is much like farting in an elevator and all exit at the next floor.

 

Hmmm... I see some fence mending is in order.

First of all, I in no way meant to impugn your experience, skill, or judgment. You're right; I don't know you, but what you've shared on this forum speaks of someone highly skilled (not everybody comes out of tank-slappers upright) and using good judgment (being aware of and investigating what the bike handles like with the top box).

Similarly I meant nothing pejorative using the term "aggressive". I'm not accusing you of harsh maneuvering or squid-like behavior. I meant it in the engineering sense: if you test at mission speed + 20 mph you are being more aggressive than testing at mission speed + 10 mph.

I also acknowledge that the probability of a snake in the grass is low. Our generation VFR has been out there for 10 years and lots of people use top boxes. If this was a truly disastrous configuration we probably would have heard about it by now.

Finally I freely admit I am far from an expert rider or tester of motorcycles. I do have some experience however in the analysis and testing of vehicle dynamics (forty years as a helicopter test engineer). Vehicle instabilities (helicopters, motorcycles, skate boards, pogo sticks) come in all kinds of flavors including vanilla, chocolate, and Very Rocky Road. Having a 10 mph margin between "Noticeable" and "All I Want to Deal With" sounds pretty vanilla. Well and good. The point I intended to make in my original message was that, as you add weight in subsequent tests, you may both reduce the speed of the onset and also the speed margin between Noticeable and AIWTDW. It's the reduction of speed margin that can cause trouble.

As is common with me, I've been very long winded. The short version is:
1) No offense intended
2) Be careful out there

 

You just blew my mind, BB. And all my life I thought this was a scientific principle that applied to everyone... wow, no wonder my life is so awesome!!

I see you've met Reggie (Reg71) although, he can clear out an entire kitchen full of smelly VFRW members, which is much larger than an elevator. That guy is QUITE talented!!

 

It's no problem at all Mestoo... hopefully you caught my humor in the whole thing. I'm pretty sarcastic at times, so I hope you don't take offense. Just to clarify, I am not out to test this thing under various conditions until the world blows up. I am merely riding like I normally would in circumstances that would occur anyway, then providing feedback. I'm fully aware that my information is only helpful to "maybe" 10% of the members on this forum, but isn't that the case with many of the topics here? LOL!! Anyway, I happened to be riding with a great group this weekend and had the topcase on so reported on my experience with it. It was damn frustrating not being able to go as fast as I know this bike can, and being left in the dust of the other riders!! I know this weekend I'm heading to R3 at Reggie's and will have more weight in the topcase so will be able to provide a report on that. I am not taking a scientific approach, whereby I add 5lbs each time I ride and see how fast I can do. I have not accepted any challenges and am not out to prove anything. I'm just doing what I do and reporting back. The (VFR)World is definitely good!!

 

No, I have not met Reggie. I hope your next meeting with him is again in the olfactory sense rather than in the sense of his professional attention. Hopefully you will be able to get closer to the source than across a crowded room in the upcoming fest. Given some incentives, perhaps the rest of the attendees can join in as you report the various nuances inclusive of all members present.

As to reporting could you share more on the multiple insurance claims you submit when you have these "accidents". The last two if I recall correctly, summed up, exceeded the worth of the bike. Is your VFR now a "branded" vehicle?

 

Just a quick update. I have done a couple road trips on the bike with the top case fully loaded. First time I was very aware of putting liquids or anything heavy in my tail bag, while keeping the topcase strictly for clothing or light items. Second trip, just recently, I was forced to pack all of my belongings in the topcase, as I was travelling with an Aprilila Rider who was going to use a backpack. I offered to put his stuff in my tailbag to save his shoulders, and he took me up on it. So... I was carrying for two you might say. Both times, I felt the bike handled wonderfully... actually BETTER and more grounded with the extra weight in back. At one point on the way back from the last road trip, my Aprilia riding friend commented that I was able to split lanes and maneuver through traffic with a fully loaded bike far better than he was on his light and nimble Italian artsy machine with nothing extra.... LOL!! We were not on any back desert roads where I felt comfortable pushing it over 120MPH, but at 120, she was definitely solid!

 

Now that we have seen chicky chuck Mestoo under the semi, it might be a good thing to do as is done in the media for famous folks having a prepared obit ready to go for this silly stunt when she offs herself and becomes critter food. (at the ton) In the interim I suggest a collection be taken up to buy her a map on bilbo to be sort of one of the boys in a speed wobble.

My two cents worth. The check is in the mail.

 

Karen:

BETTER with more weight in the back?? Didn't see that one coming! Glad it worked out for you.

BB:

1. Could you be any more offensive? That's a rhetorical question; PLEASE don't answer.
2. I would suggest the collection we should be taking up for Chicky is an all expense paid trip to Oz (with her bike) to help Rainbow7 sort the handling on his 6th gen.

 

More weight in the back sure works for Kim Kardashian.

I raise my two cents to two-bits as long as the ticket is one way.

 

Bilbo has his own map of middle earth. I am happy to see that Fahrenheit 451 lives on in the hands of the censors.

 

Yellow bikes are the slowest on earth. Kinda like the Lada of the motorcycle world.

 

Good stuff and I do appreciate some of it.. Your mission if you choose to accept it, is to write the pre-event obit or save that, a generally worded text for some noob who thinks all that BS is the way to go and buys the farm. Too many stories about cops, lawyers, judges and collecting from insurance companies all coupled with an ever increasing terminal velocity tossed in with nearly every effort at being one of the fast guys. And all self taught too. Imagine that.

Oh deer! Suicidal is not in the cognatives of Bambi and sibs. Now if ya wanna talk the other side of suicidal, lets talk elk in rut.. Thankee Jesus the moose stick pretty much to Randy's hood..

That stretch of slab in TX is private and is I think about six bucks a pop. Wide open spaces in TX can be observed for literally hours between El Paso and San Antone. Been there done that and Uncle Sam was providing the Tshirts.

Do we wick it up to the ton when nature or testosterone calls and the road is nice and clear. Sure do, but not at 140 with a bunch of plastic boxes full of personal shit just to say it can be done. ...and always outriding everyone or being leader of the pack.. Make one's BS meter to peg out real quick. We might want to take a look at what the manufacturers of the bags say too. BMW has had a caution/warning out for years on thier Krauser bags of several designs. It would be great to think that bags of various design are aerodynamic. Tain't so, and who rides in a straight line anyway except harledoods and fast guys at the lakes and the salt flats?

So when was it when those forests full of critters hiding in the shadows were in the Kansas-Nebraska area? I always thought that to be true but my geology tells me that the dinosaurs of the vegan type ate em then the toothy ones ate them and nothing was left but the great plains and a whole bunch of flat shit. Damn, I not only thought you were taller but also younger..

Here's what we can do. I count among my friends Dave Hough who used to come on my rides. Dave is very savvy and he might enjoy a verbatim exposure to la chicas adventures. I also have access to "Nick and Reg" via Soundrider. I can tell you in advance about what they would say about this um/ err, "Estilo de caca del toro."

 

How bout we go full tilt PC and instead of saying "dumb" we say "U R challenged." The response would be "I am not". Problem solved.

I thought since ya got promoted to all seeing eye who lives on the mountain top, holding sway over the lowly grasshoppers, you might whip out the obit.

Anyway, I'll do the darn thing..


La Chicky who texted at the ton,
Spun speedily into the sun.
Burning out quick,
Like this limerick,
Her stay was quickly undone.

 

Sidebar on the deer dear.. This is a no shit deal.. Let's be careful out there.

November Deadliest For Wildlife Collisions

October 30, 2012

During the last several years, more drivers have reported being involved in traffic crashes with wildlife on Oregon roads during November than any other month of the year, according to Oregon State Police (OSP). According to statistics from ODOT’s Crash Analysis & Reporting Section, more than 5,100 traffic crashes involving wildlife (deer or elk) were reported on Oregon roads from 2007 through 2011. A five-year ODFW study documented 1,900 deer-vehicle crashes along a 100-mile stretch of Highway 97 and 50-mile stretch of Highway 31 in central Oregon from 2005-2010. Because many vehicle/animal incidents go unreported, analysts believe the true number is much higher. ODOT statistics show the number of reported crashes increased each year from 903 (2007) to 1,199 (2011), and seventeen (17) crashes resulted in a fatality. The top five months for reported wildlife-involved crashes were:

* November (average 142 crashes)

* October (average 116 crashes)

* August (average 108 crashes)

* July & September (tied average 107.6 crashes)

ODOT recently completed construction of two wildlife undercrossings on Highway 97 near Lava Butte in Deschutes County. The passages, aimed at assisting large and small wildlife to safely cross the highway, is already proving to work. Cameras have caught deer, elk and coyote using the new paths and avoiding the highway.

State officials offer the following tips for safer driving:

* The annual deer rut season starts soon, increasing deer activity and increasing the potential for wildlife trying to cross roads.

* During the next few months there will be less daylight hours and visibility will be challenged by darkness and winter weather conditions.

* Be attentive at all times, especially sunset to sunrise for any potential hazard on or near the highway.

* When driving in areas that have special signs indicating the possible presence of animals/wildlife use extra caution because these signs are posted for a reason.

* Be extra careful in areas where there is a lot of vegetation next to the road or while going around curves. Wildlife near the road may not be visible.

* Remember that the presence of any type of animal/wildlife could also mean that others are nearby.

* When you see an animal/wildlife near or on the roadway, reduce your speed and try to stay in your lane. Many serious crashes are the result of drivers swerving to avoid wildlife or other obstacles and they crash into another vehicle or lose control of their own vehicle.

* Always wear your safety belt, even the slightest collision could result in serious injuries.