Sportbike Stuff

I picked up a new toy a couple of weeks ago. It’s an Aprilia SXV 450 Supermotard. Basically it’s a dirt bike made for the street. The Rip It energy drink sticker kit really makes it look great and it’s super fun for zipping around town.

Since the summer has been so hot we’ve been riding our motorcycles later in the evenings. We finally got some relief in the heat and decided to get some friends together and go for a ride. We decided to go on the ‘DeSoto Loop’ which has a nice variety of roads.

We went on a group ride the other day with some of our friends. We rode to Baldwin City and then came back to the house to hang out for a little while.

It’s been an incredibly hot and dry summer here in Kansas and we happen to have one thunderstorm pop up out of nowhere. Here is a really good reason why we don’t ride in the rain (normally)…

The other night, Elyse and I met a bunch of riders from Johnson County that just happen to be riding through Lawrence. We decided to join them on their ride and we ended up in Kansas City at The Plaza. It was fun to meet new people and ride on some new roads.

On Memorial Day we went out to Heartland Park in Topeka to check out the road track. Chris, Cole, and I were able to join a Track Day experience where you get to test out the track for 4-5 laps following control riders (who make sure you take it easy). The track is 2.5 miles long with 14 turns; Chris and I loved turn #3, a wide turn that feels like it goes on forever!

We had a great time riding out on the track and getting a taste of the track racing experience. Here are some pics that were taken of Chris and I that day. Sorry, Cole; I guess you were so stealthy he missed you!

After we were done with our time on the track we stayed to watch some of our friends who were also at the track that day. Here’s Cole (and our bikes) as we spectated at one of the best sets of turns.

Here is our buddy Phillip dragging his knuckles through turn 12…

We started off our weekend celebration with a trip to Heartland Park in Topeka to check out some drag racing. We got invited to check out the Engle Motor’s BMW s1000rr drag bike and we had a great time. We also did some of our own motorcycle riding with our friends.

Our friend Kim invited us down to Wichita to meet her family and to do some shootin’. Her dad has a Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle and we’ve been wanting to check it out for a while.

We started at 200 yards from our target with the .50 cal. Then we moved up to 100 yards with some smaller scoped rifles. Finally, we shot some AR’s and pistols a little closer.

Could we be more American?

We had a great and busy Memorial Day Weekend. Elyse wanted to show you the .50 cal rounds…

Elyse picked up a new shield for her motorcycle helmet. It’s a Nutrafog shield in Silver Iridium and it’s awesome. It’s like looking into a mirror and it goes with her helmet design perfect.

For one of our first rides of the spring we went with Kim and Kylee to the Capital City Motorcycle Show at the Expocenter in Topeka. It was a windy ride! It wasn’t a huge show but we looked around at all the bikes and here were a few of our favorites: a Goldwing that looks like it’s outfitted with machine guns and the 65 “Monkey” bike that a guy from our motorcycle group custom built from a Triumph. We had a really good time riding and hanging out with our friends.

We rented a climate controlled storage unit to keep all of our motorcycles in for the winter. The bikes spent their time on front and rear Pitbull Stands to keep the tires from getting flat spots and we used our Battery Tenders to keep the batteries charged and ready to go. We also used some Yoshimura Wash Plugs to keep anything from getting in or living in our exhaust pipes.

Since we’re already in Spring, we hooked up the trailer, got the bikes out of storage, and got them ready to ride. We’ve already made a few trips with our sportbike friends. We’re looking forward to a long(er than normal) riding season this year.

Phone the neighbors! I’m no longer riding a GSXR, I bought a BMW. I looked around for a while and after much debate I decided on the S1000RR. I went to the BMW dealer in Kansas City, Engle Motors, and there it was; the bike I had been looking for. I love the BMW Motorsports paint scheme and it has some neat features like ABS and traction control. It’s got more power than you know what to do with and is a blast to drive. Luckily winter isn’t too bad this year and I’m able to get out there and ride.

Before getting too far along, we measured for our Pit Bull motorcycle restraints and wheel chocks that we had already ordered. We had to figure out all the spacing but we finally got it and pre-drilled everything.

Next, we painted the floor and the walls. We used Rust-Oleum’s 2-part Epoxy Shield on the floor (the same kind we used on our garage floor) and put a no-slip additive in it. The epoxy is harder to use than paint because you have a limited amount of time to apply it once it’s mixed, but it’s not too bad with a little bit of planning.

After the painting was done, we installed all of the restraints. I was glad Cole was here to help because he did all the under-trailer work! As always, Chita supervised the work.

Next we installed e-track along the walls, which we can use to attach straps to secure motorcycles, stands, or anything we want. On the right is the finished product with the restraints in place.

The work wasn’t too bad. We worked in the evenings and on the weekend and got it done in no time. Now we’re ready to roll!

And so the work on our trailer began! We knew the trailer was going to need some work but since we got such a great deal on it we were ready to jump right in. One of the wall panels had some damage so pulled it out. We also decided that we would replace 2 floor panels.

We used wood filler to patch up holes, scratches, and anything that needed it. The new wall panel was fairly simple to replace; 3 cuts, some screws and it was done. Then it was time to sand everything and clean.

Next we replaced the floor panels. We used the old panels as templates and had the new panels cut in just a few minutes. Both of them fit perfectly on the first try. Then we caulked all the seams with paintable silicone.

We bought a 16′ enclosed trailer a few months ago and have been working on fixing it up. Here it is after we bought it and gave the outside a good cleaning. We are planning to use it to store our motorcycles and also transport them if we go to another state to ride.

Here’s what the inside looked like when we bought it. It needed some work, but we decided we could fix it up pretty easily. More posts to come on how the work went…

We all got Pit Bull rear stands for our motorcycles from SportbikeTrackGear.com. They are great to use when cleaning your rims or chain because you can just spin the wheel as you clean rather than actually having to move the bike while cleaning. We will also be using them when we store our bikes for the winter so that the tires don’t develop flat spots after sitting still for several months. I just finished giving my bike a good cleaning before putting it away for the winter. I will really miss riding, but it is getting too cold for me to enjoy!

We have been taking every opportunity we have to get one last ride in before the snow gets to Kansas. We invited our friends Ryan and Norm to join us for a run through some back roads. We got stuck at this railroad crossing while two trains got the right-of-way. This is a common problem with our rides but it does gives us a chance to stretch our legs.

We’re trying to take advantage of the last few nice days that we’re having before winter shows its ugly face. We had a couple of friends over to go on a ride. We usually hang out with other Gixxer people but as you can see, we let Jared come on his Yamaha.

In the past I had Pit Bull motorcycle stands and I’ve never owned one that was better. Since we love the quality we decided that we would all get Pit Bull front and rear stands. We also got Pit Bull trailer restraints and wheel chocks to use in our Trailer. We were having a hard time finding one place to order everything we wanted from but one email to the guys over at SportBikeTrackGear.com and we had no more problem. Even though they didn’t have everything list on their website, Sportbike Track Gear was super helpful and got exactly what we wanted.

Our Suzuki GSRX family has expanded! Now that Cole lives here we have a 2011 GSXR 600, 2009 GSXR 750, and Cole’s 2005 GSXR 600. We’ve had a few good cruises since Cole moved here, but this week has been chilly so we haven’t gone; it is supposed to warm up a bit later this week, so hopefully we will get in some more good rides before winter.

I upgraded!! I sold my Ninja 250 and got a 2011 Suzuki GSXR 600. I enjoyed learning the basics on the 250 but was ready to move on to my dream bike. I love my GSXR and am having so much fun riding it around. Also, the blue and white color scheme is beautiful!

Here are our bikes together; don’t they look great?! Chris and I have found some great rides to go on outside of town and have met some new riding friends, too!

I’ve been wanting to get my own motorcycle for a while now, and I finally talked Chris in to getting them. Chris has had motorcycles before, but this is my first time having one. I got a Kawasaki Ninja 250 and Chris got a Suzuki GSXR 750. I wanted to get a GSXR600 but Chris talked me in to getting a 250 so that I could start off easy. First I practiced in empty parking lots, then as I got more comfortable we headed to the street. I’ve had my bike about a month and a half now, and have been having a great time with it and have been riding it to work. Chris and I also like to go on rides with friends.