Motorcycles

This is my current ride of choice, back when it was all stock. It's a '93 GSXR-750WP in case you were wondering. I bought it new in May of '94 for $5500 from a dealer in Rhode Island. It was sitting in the middle of a bunch of '94 models (they were UGLY!...Never did like that color scheme.) Anyhow, I found three dealers that were really hurting to sell a bike, and they gave me a choice of my bike, the '94 ZX7, or any of the '94 cruiser models (excluding HD of course). It also helped that I had the greenbacks in my pocket. Money definitely talks. Well, you can see what I chose. Less than a month later, I was transferred out to Oregon.

Mods and Setup

In mid 1995, I added a Yoshimura Duplex exhaust, and a K & N jet kit. Prior to this, the power curve was fairly steady all the way up to the red line. With the mods, the bottom end got a fair amount of boost, but the real kick now comes around 8000 rpm on.
Somewhere around November 96, it was due for a new chain and sprockets. After a lot of research and chatting on the various e-mail lists, I decided to change the gearing fairly radical from stock. I went from a 42T rear to a 45T rear sprocket. That works out to 3.0:1 vs. the stock 2.8:1. Now the bike rides like it should have when it came from the factory!
For tires, I was using Dunlop Sportmax II's. When it's dry, their triangular profile makes for light handling and fair traction (I've gotten to the point where they slide all the damn time on me). On the down side, they are near worthless when it's the slightest bit wet. The other downfall is that they don't wear for anything. 2500 miles, and they are beyond gone! I can't imagine how fast the GP compound wears.
Although I've been pretty loyal to the Dunlops in the past, I went out on a limb to try the new Avon Azaro series before any real word of them came out here in the states. Motorcyclist magazine did a write up of them in the July 97 issue, and I can't agree with them more. These tires are awsome. I'm scraping and dragging parts of my bike that never even came close to the ground before. The Dunlops would always slide out first. The rear tire is holding out extremely well so far too. The front on the other hand is nearly shot after less than 2 months and under 2k miles. The reason for this can be found on the "playing around" page. In my ever so humble opinion, these tires are the next best thing to race tires (D364's and D207's)(the magazine guys say the same thing too).

On June 29, 1997 one of the local shops was having a horsepower shootout. I was planning on spectating only, but for $15 and a short line, I couldn't resist. With the mods described above, I peaked at 103.6 horsepower. Not too bad considering I had really shot plugs, dirty oil, and an extremely dirty air filter. Hmmm....Maybe I should go back after I catch up on my routine maintenance. Another 93 750 gixer pulled 121hp, a 91 1100 gixer whipped out 157, and the leader when I left was at 157hp with a 92 GSXR 750 frame (sort of) holding an 1100 motor!!)

Life in Oregon, Ridin Pals, and other Bikes

For the first nine months or so that I lived in Oregon, I really didn't have anyone to ride with. Finally, Bruce Terrell transferred to the same ship that I was on. Bruce is the proud owner of a '90 Ducati 750 Sport. Can you say drool! He actually let me ride it once. It was a dream. So light and nimble compared to my pig. He also has a Ducati 750 Paso (not sure what year), and an old RM 490 dirt bike. This guy is the ultimate bachelor. Retired from the Coast Guard and lovin life. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of his bikes, but I'll put up pics of those models when I find some on the net.
In his younger days, Bruce used to race at Laguna Seca, SIR, and PIR. I absorbed a tremendous amount of riding experience hanging around him, especially cornering techniques. But the most important thing that I learned from Bruce was this: NEVER watch the back end of a Duc for braking points coming into a turn when you're riding a four cylinder!!! More than a couple of times I went around the corners a wee bit wide!
To give you an idea of how much riding you can manage between the weather on the Oregon Coast, and being underway on a ship 190+ days per year, my bike had 6500 miles on it after two years in Oregon. We moved here to Northern Virginia on July 01, 96, and now have over 21 thousand on the clock as of July 01, 97. Amazing what you can do with a desk job and a little sunshine. (grin)

I had this beauty from October '94 to October '95 (roughly). It only had 4700 miles on it when I got it (cheap) and was in immaculate condition. Eventually I ended up trading it for an '81 VW Rabbit Convertible. Looking back, I really wish that I had kept this bike. At the time, Penny was dead set that she would always be a passenger and never ride on her own. Needless to say, four months after I got rid of it, she took the MSF beginner course, and had a blast (even after the little accident on a 90 degree turn...oops). Oh well, I won't make the same mistake with my Gixer. I'll have it until it rusts apart. Well, I think that she's decided that a GS500 or something like that would be the thing for her. For now though, our new son, Connor, is keeping her from doing much riding of any kind.

This beauty belonged to my brother-in-law when I first met Pen. I only rode it once, but I really enjoyed it. Very smooth, and everything that I had read about it. After this bike, he just had to have a '94 CBR 900RR. (Pic to come when I get one sent to me). I got to ride that one quite a bit. In fact, for a while there I think I rode it more than he did. Although it was "lighter" and "more powerful" than anything else like it at the time, I thought that it was the worst riding sport bike that I'd ever been on. The front end was terribly jittery. It wouldn't quite do a throttle wheelie, and wouldn't quite keep the front tire on the ground. Definitely not the most desirable qualities. It also felt like the weight was very high, like right under my chest. All in all though, it wasn't that bad of a bike.

This sweet Harley belongs to Benjamin Hawkins (Class of '92). He and I work together at the USCG Marine Safety Center as staff engineers. We've been out and about in the backwoods of Loudon county, Virginia a few times together, and I must admit that I was really surprised at how great this thing handles the twisty stuff. Please send him a nice e-mail telling him what a nice ride he has.

This bike belongs to my best friend and Academy roomate John Paul Gregg III (Class of '94). He's currently the XO of a patrol boat up in Alaska somewhere so we haven't been able to ride together for a long time. Maybe he'll get unlucky and get a HQ job next year and we can share some miles again.
It's a Suziki Intruder 800, and he got one heck of a deal on it. Actually, I wish I could have afforded to buy it myself. It would compliment my gixer quite well, and Pen would fit real well on it. Please send Paul and his wife Dianne a nice e-mail telling them about all the riding you and I get to do down in the warmer regions of the world.

Recently, I've been doing a lot of riding with a local group called the Capital Area Motorhead Society (CAMS). They have several philosophies that I really like. First off, the motto is "Ride to Eat, Eat to Ride". I can definitely relate to that. Second, anyone, riding anything, can be a member. And finally, no one gets overly offended when I ride well over twice the legal limit, or lift up the occasional wheelie. Click on the image and visit the humble home page of the CAMS!

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