Had to have it

Being a long-time Bimota fan, I've always lusted for their only BMW-based model, the BB1, fondly known as the "Supermono". This bike was made from 1995 to 1997, and only 371 of them were made. It was never imported to the US, so the rare few that are in the US are grey-market. The bike is extremely light, and is powered by the Rotax-built single-cylinder 650cc water-cooled engine that powered the early models of the BMW F-650. In stock form, the engine is rather unexciting, delivering a whopping 48hp at the crank. But I just love the look of this bike.

One of the more interesting features of the Supermono is that the fuel tank is not above the engine like on most bikes, but below it! Yep, what's normally the belly pan on other bikes is the fuel tank on this one. This keeps the center of gravity extremely low and makes the bike so flick-able it feels almost like a bicycle.

Back in August, I saw a post on a Bimota mail list I'm subscribed to by a guy down in the LA area who was selling his Supermono. This one caught my eye because not only was it in excellent condition, but also had a pumped-up engine built by Ron Wood (a well-known Rotax 650 engine guy) that delivered 60hp to the rear wheel. With dual Keihen FCR flatslide carbs, a ported head, high-compression piston, and custom exhaust, this one sounded like a dream. I emailed the seller and got a bunch of photos of the bike, and became pretty certain that I was going to buy it.

I couldn't get down to LA for a month or so but he said that was ok as long as I sent him a small deposit. Finally the weekend of September 7, I drove down to LA with my empty bike trailer behind my gas-guzzler Jeep (sorry, I only own it for towing bikes to the track and such). As soon as I saw the bike and heard it start up I was hooked. We loaded it up and I wrote a check for the balance and headed home.

I took this thing for a ride the next day and it was a total kick - vibrates like hell, sounds fantastic, and is surprisingly quick. It's so light that it's effortless to turn. My 800-mile round-trip drive to LA to pick up the bike was definitely worth it. No buyer's remorse on this deal!

Back on the Track

Well, I finally got back out on the track after 2 1/2 years. My last track time was in February 2006 at Buttonwillow Raceway. This time was at a track I had never seen, Reno-Fernley Raceway in Fernley, NV, about 40 miles southeast of Reno. Three friends and I piled into a truck pulling an RV and made the long journey to the track for the weekend of August 9-10. It just so happens that my 53^rd birthday was August 10, so this was sort of a birthday gift to myself. I took my trusty '98 Ducati 748, mainly because I'm very comfortable on that bike on the track, but also because I have full track trim for it - fairing stay, race bodywork, etc. I got some Dunlop slicks mounted up for the weekend too.

Fernley is a pretty technical track. On Saturday we ran only the upper part, only 1.8 miles but with 18 turns. A few of the turns are pretty bumpy and challenging. It's not real fast either - I don't think I ever got out of 4^th gear - and I reached 4^th only on one section where you could get up some speed between turns 16 & 18. This is what that part of the track looks like:

After the first couple of sessions I was feeling pretty discouraged, I felt completely out of sorts on the track. Then, in the third session something clicked and it all came back to me. By the end of the day I was having a blast and getting around pretty well. This was a fun turn (I'm the one on the left):

On Sunday, we got to run the full 3-mile course, with 30 turns plus a nice 1/2-mile front straight:

Wow, what a blast! There's a set of kinks - left, right, left, right - at the end of the straight that you can fly through if you take the correct line and have the cajones for it. Then after a few more turns is a spot they call the Hoot-n-Holler Hill Climb - a very steep hill with 4 turns that you can take pretty fast. Of all the tracks I've ridden, this is the biggest elevation change I've ever seen. This is what we look like coming up the hill. Look very closely, you can see the top of my friend Mark Ellsworth's helmet just above mine, and you can see part of his left shoulder. He's right on my tail - I love this picture because you can't even see his bike:

Overall, I'd have to say my return to the track was everything I'd hoped for - I loved being back out there.

Keep the shiny side up!

Fibula Plate Removal

On Thursday February 14^th, I had the second of two hardware removal surgeries, this one to remove the fibula plate and its 9 screws. I was back to lying on the couch with the leg up on pillows covered with ice packs for 4 days, then on crutches for another 9 days. On Wednesday the 27^th they removed the stitches and replaced them with strips of tape. I went into the doctor's office on crutches, and walked out carrying them under my arm. It hurts a little when I walk, but that will get better over time. Removal of the fibula plate was a little more invasive because there is so much muscle they had to move out of the way to get to the bone. They also sawed off a shard of bone that was sticking out and digging into my calf muscle, so once the soreness from the surgery is gone there should be no pain. When I talked to Stacy, the PA who has assisted on each of my 4 surgeries, she said that when she was digging around in my leg feeling for the bone shard, it nearly pierced her surgical glove when she found it, as it was really sharp. No wonder it was causing me pain!

Here are a couple of pics of what was removed. It looks rather wimpy compared to the hefty plate that held my tibia together.

I'll spare you having to look at any external post-surgery pictures, as some people can't handle seeing stitches. Suffice it to say that it took an 8-inch incision to get that plate out so there were a lot of stitches.

Here are a couple of x-rays taken the day they removed the stitches. The holes in the tibia are faint, as they've now had 4 months to repair. The holes in the fibula are pretty scary, just because it's such a small bone and the holes large relative to the size of the bone. I guess that's why they told me no activity with any impact beyond normal walking for another 8 weeks. It wouldn't take much to snap the fibula in its current state.

Hardware removal surgery

On Thursday October 11, I had the first of two hardware removal surgeries, this one to remove the tibia plate and its 14 screws. This hardware had been in my leg since April 8, 2006 (see here). I was on crutches until yesterday, and although my leg is still a bit swollen, bruised, and sore at the incision sites, today I can walk without any pain in the bone. I am thrilled to no end - prior to this, every single step I took hurt, causing me to limp. Now I can walk without any limp at all.

Here are a couple of pics of what was removed:

I had the stitches removed Wednesday, October 24, and talked to the surgeon about the fibula plate removal. I had hoped that this could be done next month. Unfortunately, the doctor wants to wait a few months before doing that, so I have to live with those stupid screws on the outside of my ankle until probably February. Being right on the ankle bone and right under the skin, they really do cause a lot of irritation, especially if I try to wear hiking boots or my motorcycle riding boots. I have to get creative with padding to make it possible to ride over long distances. Here's an X-ray of my leg with the tibia plate out. You can see all the little holes in the bone where the screws were. 

Benelli?

Benelli is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer that was formed in 1911, and produced its first complete motorcycle in 1921. Over the years, they went through numerous changes, creating quite a storied history. In the late 1970's they began to lose market share to the big Japanese motorcycle companies (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki) and eventually shut down production on their motorcycles. Their last motorcycle before the shutdown was the Sei 900, an impressive 6-cylinder machine.

Then, in 1995, the company began its rebirth under the new leadership of Andrea Merloni. In early 2001, plans for a new machine, the Tornado 900 Tre, were announced. I saw photos of the bike on the internet, and instantly fell in love with it. In 2002, came the official launch of the superbike. Australian rider Peter Goddard raced this bike in the World Superbike series. I was lucky enough to witness this machine howling around the track at Laguna Seca that year at the World Superbike event. Seeing and hearing it in person was fantastic!

I finally took delivery of my 2005 Benelli Tornado 900 Tre in October of 2005. Shortly thereafter, I was asked by the editor of CityBike magazine in San Francisco to write an article about it (there were only a handful of the bikes in the US at the time - mine was the first in northern California). Here's a link to my article. There, you can read all about the trials and tribulations I went through to eventually own this beautiful machine.

Big Bike for a Big Trip

Well, I have finally broken down and bought myself a real touring/enduro bike, something I've been needing for quite a while. I ended up getting a nice deal on a used 2006 BMW R1200GS with only 918 miles on it. It's already outfitted with a Touratech headlight protector and windscreen; Adventure engine guards, cylinder guards, and footpegs; plus heated grips, expandable BMW side luggage, and spoked wheels so it's suitable for both on- and off-road riding. It literally looks brand new, not a scratch on it. The only accessory it needs is what my friend Mark calls a "sheila" - a nice sheepskin pad for the seat that is really great to have when you're in the saddle for days on end. Mine will be here this week.

I'll be leaving on May 20th for a 3-week trip with a couple of friends, Terry Naumann and Mark Ellsworth. Mark and I are riding up from the Bay Area to Bellingham, WA where we and our bikes will board this ferry:

The M/V MALASPINA carries 500 passengers, and provides 53 four-berth and 30 two-berth cabins.The vessel was built in Seattle in 1963 at the Lockheed Shipbuilding yards, then lengthened and renovated in 1972 at the Willamette Iron and Steel Company shipyard in Portland. The Malaspina is now 408 feet long, with capacity for 88 vehicles (20' lengths), and a service speed of 16.5 knots. Passenger services include a cafeteria, gift shop, cocktail lounge, solarium, and forward observation lounge.

We'll take a 4-day cruise from Bellingham to Haines, AK, arriving there at 3:30am Saturday May 26. Terry will be arriving there from Anchorage (where he's a geology professor at University of Alaska) on his GS and we will leave Haines together headed east towards the Yukon Territory. The plan is to ride south through the Yukon, then through British Columbia, and into northern Idaho, where we will spend a day in Moscow (where Terry went to college).

From there, we head to Boise and will spend two days there. Another friend, Billy Hines, will meet us there in Mark's RV. Billy has the unenviable task of driving the RV from the Bay Area to Boise, but his compensation is nice - two paid track days. Inside the RV will be Billy's, Mark's, and Terry's dirt bikes and Billy's and Mark's track bikes. Billy, Mark, and Terry are competing in an ISDE qualifier on Saturday and Sunday, June 2-3 (see ISDE 2007). I'll spend some time as a spectator and more time out exploring the Boise area.

Then we head down to Salt Lake City, UT to Miller Motorsports Park, where another friend Dave Johnson will be meeting us from St George, UT with his track bike and Terry's track bike in his truck. All the guys (except for me) will be doing track days on Monday and Tuesday while I sit there green with envy. I'm really dying to get back out on the track, especially such a fantastic track as Miller. But I can't risk it when my broken leg is still being held together by steel plates and screws - see my blog entry here. Perhaps I'll jump on the GS and do some canyon riding around Salt Lake - there are some great roads around there!

From there we will split up, Billy gets to drive the RV back to the Bay Area, while Terry will ride down to his summer home in St George and Dave will drive back there. Mark and I will probably ride across to the Sierras and come through Tioga Pass and Yosemite on the way home. The plan is to be back home sometime the weekend of June 9-10. I should have some great photos from this trip!

UPDATE: Here's a photo taken just as I was about to take off on the trip:

International Motorcycle Show in San Mateo

Last weekend I went to the motorcycle show with a bunch of my riding buddies. I had to wear my leg brace and use crutches to get around, but it was really fun to get out and hang with the guys. The show was quite good; I'd have to say the bike that took the show was the new Ducati 1098 - WOW! After Ducati's total flop, at least in customer appeal, with the 749/999, they got this one right. It's like they threw the classic 916/996/998 style in a blender with the Desmosedici and out popped the perfect hybrid of the two. The styling is another milestone, and you just can't beat the performance for the price - 160hp for just $14,999. Of course they also have the limited edition "tri-colore" version in Italian flag red/white/green, but to be quite honest, I liked the solid red much better. The white number plates from the tri-colore would be a nice touch but other than that I wouldn't change it at all. Nice job, Ducati!

They did have one of the street-legal Desmosedicis there, and that was quite impressive. I love how the exhaust is routed out through two oval-shaped openings in the top of the tail section - yes, the top! Definitely a monoposto bike. I'd love to be behind one at night and see flames shoot out of the top of the tail section with a throttle chop.

Aprilia had a lot of cool new stuff too, their super-moto and off-road bikes with the 450cc V-twin engine were quite nice. In fact, one of the guys I was there with just bought one of the super-motos. I hope I get the chance to take it for a spin sometime. The new Mille-R Factory looks really good, too. I'm still hanging on to my 2000 Mille-R, which I just can't part with...