Combat Performance Funky Fish Flopping riding

Well fate/conditions finally splashed together with a year's antics under my belt and decent familiar tyres on.

Eased to work at 9 am 70's>80's, did my thing then as was putting on helmet a R6 scrubbed tire rider rode up - punched my shoulder saying cool bike then screamed off up the climb out of our village square. Left me froozen for an instant then reset mental GPS from home to crossing THE Hump.

Strapped helmet then gloves, stepped on Trixie for fire then WOT'd up the grade to get behind cars a while, screaming redlined 2nd 3rd 4th around em in an open and stayed on it, much as I could - which is the subject of this post.

This hwy 21 is a Tyson's truck route and drivers bitch to hi heavens if they feel much a bump or bad pavement in the tights, so its the blackish smoothest grippy fresh tarmac around with no severe turns just sweeepers and few drive ways and no intersections to watch for.
Mildly breezy waves of wind pressure but not the sharp/shorter gusty stuff. I was still flashing back on Peel who could of and did catch these free flyers on short mile or two head starts.

Not on no factory Combat. Constant work to dampen down or let off power through every slight turn and lean, even very mild ones cresting the dome rigids of THE Hump, Trixie's front tire would hunt a bit from the rear end wagging the front iso mount till whole chassis waverying and threatening to lift a tire or two off the surface + Smack Down loss of control.
Couldn't out run it up to 110 in opens nor the leans in 80's to the ton, so behaved like normal riders and had to wait and wait til apex for WOT again. I'm long time familiar with this so in no real danger of any surprise, just refreshing spine/bone-muscle memory limits of rubber baby buggy. I kept Trixie bone stock for Comparisons and a keeper for those after me.

Never caught sight of the R6 and likely he would of out hp'd my SV650 too so couldn't keep up in the opens or blasts Out of Apexes either. This area is made for testing bike and rider and regularly crashes sports bikes to trikes. So I'm done now, topped out, on road racing Trixie, only some stunts left to try but discipline not to ever go harder than today in good conditions and expect to feel good later. As it is I'm tingling head to toes at the effort as Combat do deliverl pretty good speeds, especially the extra zoom 90-110 with 19T sprocket G's pulls. Off again - more normal like to bring some friends over, see ya.

Safe Journeys
Steven hobot

excellent daily report, much anticipated of course

can I suggest that you simply provide a link to your private daily Mrs Peel blog?

that way, anyone truly interested can breathlessly tune in regularly

highdesert has a good point here.

hobot, you need to come back to Texas and ride the hill country.

Dances with Shrapnel said:

highdesert has a good point here.

Click to expand...

+100

All's we got is our conscious time here and many of us are on borrowed, begged, stolen time from Kali's karma and know it, so glad to play with ya while i can. Riding near limits of Commando is risky scary state to me plus too much work to enjoy. I was in scared states for many seconds of hop-a-long for 20 miles/12-13 min. But had to get it out me system, as I just can't stand lurking mysteries short of life after death. This ride was beyond joy ride, so no incentive to stress strain me or ancient Trixie into end of the world states again. Any who try to hang with a hot shot on hot modern with an un-tammed Commando no matter its power are asking for end of the world real quick. I know all of Trixies tricks now and know she will never be under my thumb for down and dirty stuff like Ms Peel was.

There is no blog on Mzzz Peel, how she pronounced it to me. Her/its reincarnation is not yet time, dependent on my Karma. One new friend calls his rat bike Miss Tilley.

After Trixie & me failing hwy handling test I got more scared/strained to lead friends to home on THE Gravel in its worse state, smoothed crowned hard base with inch+ loose marble extra loose by the heated dryness that develops electrostatic charge that lowers the friction of lubricating fine dust grains. I stopped twice to check tire air as got so squirrely w/o any intention and extra effort not to. Working up to THE Hinge on tarmac is one thing, trying actively to avoid it on THE Gravel is other worldly. One wierd thing about THE Gravel travel is no matter what speed, crawling to skiing, it flips bike in and out of counter and straight steering so eventually I leaned lock down forks from snatch down yet free enough to let them snatch into natural road following instead of right down.

I got '09 goats crashed SuVee back to life to get my poor friend off his 50cc scooter and able to leave city on hwys. Pasture is fresh hayed and Trixie can take it Ok but I'd made a firm discipline never to take SuVee on pasture again, but friend was hot to see it roll so I got about 20 yds out on a run - like a squirrel on grass clumps, so put feet down to creep back to front yard stability. I can easy out ride Trixie on SuVeee but still don't think I could keep yesterdays R6 rider in sight as more open than dangerous tights so hp matters more than handling. He took it down driveway and came back wide eye'd saying he was worried about the slight climbs but almost lost it on the easy looking down hill on return.

But shoot that was just warm up for the Yellow Brick Road full moon howling mini-wood stock, where many asked where's my Norton or Wes on his scooter. They were most impressed with Wes taking a city rider across the rugged way there, but Wes and I know better as at sane rates the scooter is more sure footed than our size tires. Pick up the pace to some spirit though and tables reverse. I stayed up til last banjo picker and Sitar plucker packed in, so put my MaCaw and me in car for a rain front that hit about 5 am then left at 7am. Was warned about the Huge pay ticket festival along the way that brought out police hunts so stayed over.





[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM68JwnyJyM&feature=youtu.be[/video]

went right over your head, didn't it?
clue: its not about you
You have over 7800 posts on this forum, you compulsively feel a pathological need to reply to every single thread

almost every post is full of going on and on about you personally, what you did today, like a high school girl.
seriously, you dominate this forum
sometimes you have helpful comments specific to a thread
but they inevitably end up in a sea of blathering me me me

like I said, you seem like a very likable guy, my comments are just an observation, echoed by others tired of it
again, a personal blog, off this forum, all about you, would fulfill your need for attention, how about it?

After Trixie & me failing hwy handling test I got more scared/strained to lead friends to home on THE Gravel in its worse state, smoothed crowned hard base with inch+ loose marble extra loose by the heated dryness that develops electrostatic charge that lowers the friction of lubricating fine dust grains. I stopped twice to check tire air as got so squirrely w/o any intention and extra effort not to. Working up to THE Hinge on tarmac is one thing, trying actively to avoid it on THE Gravel is other worldly. One wierd thing about THE Gravel travel is no matter what speed, crawling to skiing, it flips bike in and out of counter and straight steering so eventually I leaned lock down forks from snatch down yet free enough to let them snatch into natural road following instead of right down.

I got '09 goats crashed SuVee back to life to get my poor friend off his 50cc scooter and able to leave city on hwys. Pasture is fresh hayed and Trixie can take it Ok but I'd made a firm discipline never to take SuVee on pasture again, but friend was hot to see it roll so I got about 20 yds out on a run - like a squirrel on grass clumps, so put feet down to creep back to front yard stability. I can easy out ride Trixie on SuVeee but still don't think I could keep yesterdays R6 rider in sight as more open than dangerous tights so hp matters more than handling. He took it down driveway and came back wide eye'd saying he was worried about the slight climbs but almost lost it on the easy looking down hill on return.

But shoot that was just warm up for the Yellow Brick Road full moon howling mini-wood stock, where many asked where's my Norton or Wes on his scooter. They were most impressed with Wes taking a city rider across the rugged way there, but Wes and I know better as at sane rates the scooter is more sure footed than our size tires. Pick up the pace to some spirit though and tables reverse. I stayed up til last banjo picker and Sitar plucker packed in, so put my MaCaw and me in car for a rain front that hit about 5 am then left at 7am. Was warned about the Huge pay ticket festival along the way that brought out police hunts so stayed over.

Click to expand...

Maxing out relationships and machines is under tone of this blog. Its a mecka here for fast ride testing. Its tempting to dive in with the hot shots on some thing as responsive and nimble as a Combat. It was my best and last road climax for me and Trixie. Might not compare to others ability but it was all I could take and got it out of my system. Can list a bunch of stuff I don't like in variations of wobble weaves om my Combat. Having to tuck down, more for air pressure too far forward than for speed resistance in the leans. Having to keep butt planted back in seat with knees tank grip to help stabilize the rear's wiggle, wobbling the forks with tiring arms. Pressing limits means controlling constant upsets - just short of out of control. What sticks out in my mind is most the fling impression is fighting a sideways bucking bronco. I did not stick anything out away from locked on close and tight. I even got Trixie into essentially straight line speed weaves on coming out of sweepers and topping crests on WOT near the ton. That more than anything else struck down my sporting mood - when sideways tug of war carried on too long vertical. It meant if I pressed much more it'd be past point of any back off recovery. Its good to have sense for self correcting upsets vs positively spiking out of control.
Base line moral is I will never master a real Commando.

Funny side note Wes couldn't attend party as said taking a scooter to GA and N/C trip on Saturday, but he passed me Sunday 7:30 am in heavy rain. Couldn't trust his '71 to do it on.

Trixie was put up wet then I left so she got rained on. Didn't put the stick under stand so was relieved to see still upright.