Wrider's Scribblings

[AZRider]

Hey, you bought a bike. Sold a bike. And a month later updated, and I missed it all.
Congrats on getting your license back soon. Wanna buy a bike? sell ya mine.

Id tell ya where I know where a 1000 Strom is for a good price, but I gotta keep it secret for awhile so I can buy it.

[Wrider]

Lol thanks AZ... I would but I've decided I want more of a sportbike than a cruiser now... So yeah, that big ole VN of yours is out of the picture... lol
Wrider

[Wrider]

So I haven't updated this since Clinic 6, now I'm in Clinic 9. Yeesh I'm horrible at this whole updating thing!

Anyway, let's see, Clinic 7A was a total overall performance exam of everything we've done up to that point. Clinic 7B was all computer systems used in dealerships. Clinic 8 was advanced electrical troubleshooting. Hmmm, horn doesn't work, seems like the entire electrical harness being separated and torn up from hundreds of students testing it repeatedly might have something to do with that!

Anyway, now Clinic 9 is going to be fun. We get to run the Dyno! Officially it's a performance clinic, we're measuring cams, changing cam timing, doing flows and such, it's gonna be a good time, lots of numbers, which I like!

Oh, and we're running my buddy's big-bore Busa on the dyno to see what it's actually got. I'll make sure to let you know that one.

So has anyone else seen that new V-Max? 197 HP and 123 TQ STOCK...
That's absurdly powerful!
Wrider

[Wrider]

Well I finished up clinic 9 today.

For those that want to know! The following numbers are in Rear Wheel Horsepower, not crank HP.

Suzuki:
1999 Hayabusa: Stock with PCIII: 165 HP

2002 Hayabusa: PCIII, 4-2-1 Yoshimura exhaust, 1397cc kit, bad TPS and need for valve adjustment: 177 HP

2006 GSX-R750: PCIII, 4-2-1 Yoshimura exhaust: 147 HP

2005 DR400: Yoshimura exhaust: 41 HP, 23 TQ

2008 DL650 V-Strom: 61 HP

Honda:
2003 CBR600RR: Two Brothers Slip-on exhaust: 101 HP

Those are the bikes we ended up running, the GSX-R750 and the DR400 were class bikes because the class is sponsored by Suzuki.
The first all stock Hayabusa surprised all of us because the thing has 65,000 miles on it and had never been down... Very rare.

The DR400 and the GSX-R750 were also class bikes, which means both had over 5000 miles on them and had never even seen the street, all dyno miles, so very rough miles. Pretty good numbers eh?



And now, OFF TO SUZUKI I GO!!!! So yeah, now I finally get into my electives, 12 weeks of Suzuki, followed by 12 more of Yamaha, then possibly 12 more of BMW or if they pick it up like they've been talking about, Triumph.

Potential graduation dates:
Suzuki and Yamaha: December 12th
Suzuki, Yamaha, and BMW OR Triumph: March 6th
Suzuki, Yamaha, BMW AND Triumph: May 28th

I figure there's no point in not taking BMW or Triumph, because most dealerships back in Colorado won't be hiring until March, April, or May anyway, especially in the mountainous regions where I'm headed (Montrose, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, Durango, Telluride, etc.)

Wrider

[fireguzzi]

Awesome man! I sure miss playing with the dyno at school.
Nothing like an FZ1 with a D&D screaming bloody murder to get the juices flowin.

Just thought I would add something my instructor told us.

"You won't get rich working on poor peoples stuff." So I would def recommend learning to work on BMW and Triumph. ( or Harley)

Just something to keep in mind.

Not that everyone who owns other bikes are poor.

[Wrider]

Well, I'm basically done!
I've got two more weeks of Suzuki electrical and I'm graduated out of MMI!

I'm completely factory certified in Yamaha and Star motorcycle lines, as well as quads/atvs/rhinos, watercraft, generators, and snowmobiles.

I'm finishing up Suzuki so I'll be factory certified in Suzuki motorcycles and quads/atvs. I also have full access to Zuke's online technical manuals, which date back to 2000 right now, so feel free to ask! If I don't know it I can try to find out for you.

I'm working January 9th and 10th, then roadtripping with a friend who's flying down back up to Colorado.
We're taking the scenic route.

Phoenix to Vegas, spend the night there, hopefully hang out with Poet.
Vegas to Grand Junction, CO. Spend the night there.
Spend all of Tuesday going through the bike shops in Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Delta, Montrose, then up to Gunnison.
Wednesday go to the Gunnison bike shops and head over to Salida and Buena Vista, then home late that night!

Shouldn't be too bad. I'm hoping to get a job in Colorado in the mountain towns, that'd be optimal. After that I'm aiming for Alaska. And after that I'd love to head to Australia/New Zealand.
Wrider

[Wrider]

So I decided to go in and change my profile and signature and such, which got me looking at my old posts...
Wow things have changed!
When I first came onto this forum on August 16th 2006 I knew nothing about motorcycles. I was a student at a local community college going for Computer Science.
Now I'm finishing up Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, and know quite a bit more than I did before...
I was driving mom's 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Since then I've had a 2004 Dodge Intrepid SE and I now fully own a 1997 Toyota Camry LE.
I no longer have a bike, but have ridden so many different bikes it's crazy. Plus I'm now going to the sportbike side of things instead of the cruiser category I started off in.
I think I'm gonna have to make a list of the bikes I've ridden...

-Honda Rebel 250
-Yamaha TW200
-2001 Suzuki Intruder Volusia
-2006 Suzuki Hayabusa
-2006, 2007 Honda CBR600 RR
-1999 Honda CBR600 F4
-2004 Yamaha R6
-2004 Suzuki GSX-R600
-Triumph Speed Triple 955i
-2002, 2009 Yamaha FZ1
-2009 Yamaha V-Max
-2008 Can-Am Spyder
-2004 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883
-2000 Honda XR650L
-2004 Suzuki DR650
-2005 Yamaha FZ6
-2004 Suzuki SV650S
-2002 Suzuki GS500
-2008 Kawasaki EX250
-2005 Yamaha YZF-600R
-2004 Suzuki SV650S

Dyno-tested
-2006 Suzuki GSX-R750
-2006 Suzuki DR-Z400SM

[Wrider]

So for those who are curious (I know there's at least one person remotely wondering what the heck I've been up to )
Well I'm back in Colorado Springs right now. I've been looking for a job, but the bike shops just aren't hiring yet (Colorado in the winter, who'da thunk?).
On my way home I road-tripped with a buddy through Vegas then through Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Montrose, Gunnison, Buena Vista, Salida, and finally back through Colorado Springs.
I've also made another trip through northern CO to look for jobs. So chances are I'll at least have someone curious in me come hiring-season. I'm hoping to stay in CO but am willing to go wherever I'm hired obviously.
I think in the next two weeks I'll head up to Denver to look into some shops and such. (Slimcolo your advice is very welcome and appreciated.)
Right now I'm bouncing down here at a club downtown and still driving my little Camry, waiting til I can afford a bike.
My sister has picked up a brand new 2008 Kawasaki EX250 Ninja that she's learning to ride on. The only problem with it is that the thing has ice for blood. Takes about 20 min. for it to warm up before you can begin to give it gas without it dying. I need to do a carb rejet for her.
Other than that things are pretty good. Haven't been doing much other than work and look for more work.
Anyone who wants/needs advice/help is always more than welcome to ask, and if you're relatively close I'm more than willing to stop by to help!

[Wrider]

So I went out today on my buddy's DR650 to see how my sister rides her new EX250. She's actually not bad at all, especially considering she's got a total of 110 miles under her belt now.
She's leaning into the corners, braking correctly, downshifting pretty well, and generally being fairly impressive with her riding!

Plus I was happy I got to go for a ride!
That DR has got some pep to it! Something's up with his clutch though, every once in a while you shift to first and come to a stop and it stalls out with the clutch fully disengaged...

Ah well. My other reason for posting this is wondering if anyone reads this or if I should just let it slide down the post list? Just curious if this is helpful or harmful!

[poet]

Ah well. My other reason for posting this is wondering if anyone reads this or if I should just let it slide down the post list? Just curious if this is helpful or harmful!

I read all Blogs/Journals since I joined... even some Scriblings
Is it helpful or harmful for you?

Mine is cathartic if nothing else.

Someday I will take off a year and tour like Beemerchef