Ducati Monster Forum

The day started out as most work days do: hectic. Up at 5AM, shower, dress, and then run for the taxi. I was flying down to Burbank for a customer meeting, but after that I had plans to drive to my friend Gary’s house in Orange County and go for a ride. LA is good for some things. I made my flight and landed in Burbank, tired but ready for an important customer meeting and product demonstration. Off to the rental lot, into the car, and straight into Southern California traffic…but I was still ready. The meeting and demo went well…until the point where I glanced at my email and found out that they eliminated my job. After 8 years, I was a free agent. Deep breath…breathe.

I manage to collect myself, finish the demonstration, smoothly hand the meeting of to a colleague, and excuse myself to make a few phone calls. I sorted out my situation, got the details of severance/COBRA/vacation payouts (I love California)/etc, went back and finished the meeting. I wasn’t sure whether I was in the right state of mind to get out on a ride: losing a job on short notice, on a day when they axed dozens of people and lots of friends doesn’t put you into the best mood. And I don’t take unemployment well: out of the last 17 years I’ve spent maybe 4 total months without work. But after thinking about it for 5 seconds I realized that a ride was the perfect antidote to my situation. I called Gary and told him it was a go.

I had read about Ortega Highway (http://www.theortegahighway.com/), Hell’s Kitchen, and The Lookout (http://www.lookoutroadhouse.com/gps.htm) many times in the cycle magazines. It’s a favorite route for magazine staffers and they routinely road test bike models on the high-speed curves of state route 74. It was also an opportunity to ride a 2006 GSXR-1000. I hadn’t ridden an inline 4 litrebike in a long time, and I was curious to get some seat time on a beast like that. Gary also has an RC-51, a model I haven’t ridden for a few years. There was only one problem: his bikes are both regular shift (1-Down, 5-Up), and I ride race shift (1-Up, 5-Down). It was going to take all my concentration just to manage the shifting and not accidentally bump it down a gear while accelerating out of a corner…on an unfamiliar high-speed route, with traffic, in 98 degree heat, following a fast rider, on two bikes very different from the ones I ride. Caution and prudence were the buzzwords of the day. But could I control my aggression?

The GSXR felt like you’d imagine a racebike would feel: high and cramped, with a short wheelbase. Swinging a leg over, I was taken aback by the height of Gary’s Vortex rearsets. I’m used to the stock pegs on my Monster and my Supersport, so this took a bit of getting used to. But there’s lots of room to move back & forth on the GSXR seat, and the high pegs made it easier to do that. Things were starting to make sense. Gary hopped on the RC-51 and started rolling, so I shifted up…damn!...down into first and followed him through a series of stoplights to gas up. The GSXR clutch is cable-actuated, and offers finer modulation than most hydraulic units. I was surprised at how quickly motor came to life in the lower RPMs. Inline fours are known to be happiest when you rev the hell out of ‘em, but the GSXR had pretty good torque off the line. This really showed at the stoplights in town. It’s not the mind-numbing, crush-your-internal-organs torque of a four-valve Ducati, but a healthy amount of oomph. I’d almost call it…user-friendly. 3000RPM-8000RPM is a fairly sweet spot or this bike. The radial master cylinder on the GSXR gave it an interesting feel…much softer at first than I’m used to, but it becomes ferocious as you pull the lever closer to the bar. Another thing on my list of things to get used to…like unemployment, fewer government services, and not having Michael Jackson to make fun of.

Sometimes I get a mental soundtrack when I’m riding. It’s a lot like when you get a song stuck in your head, but with two-part harmony from the bike exhaust. On this day, it was metal and punk…Queens of the Stone Age, the Sex Pistols, and every other agro band in my limited organic memory. Who needs an iPod? But once again…new bike, new road, strange shifting pattern, hot day, and a questionable emotional state…I desperately needed to chill. A few deep breaths, and things were better. Gary helped by setting a very sane pace in the rather unremarkable lower portion of Ortega. Two-lane blacktop, plenty of traffic, and a few small sweeper curves kept things slow. Then Gary started passing cars. Plenty of cagers would move onto the shoulder for us, but a few parked it and wouldn’t yield. These were the ones Gary started passing over the double yellow. In fact, it wasn’t just a double yellow…it was a wide double yellow with wake-up dots and indentations between the lines, as if to really emphasize the idea that you shouldn’t ever pass here. But those rules weren’t written for litrebikes. The big Suzuki hit warp factor 10 almost instantly, and I found myself becoming very familiar with the radial brakes while trying not to shoot past Gary after a pass. I was still wary of this beast.

We found a big gap in the cars, and managed to pull over for a bit and wait for the trailing car to show up. Gary knows this road, and he wanted to get us a clean run through the next bit. Ortega turns into high-speed twisties after several miles. The blacktop was in great condition, with a good amount of shoulder. The cars maintain around 60mph…we stayed around 80-90. The GSXR found its sweet spot here, with occasional shifts between 2nd and 3rd gear. The key is to gas this thing smoothly, not getting on the gas abruptly like I do on a twin. Gary dropped the hammer, and I had to remind myself: slow in, fast out. I managed to keep him in sight, enjoying the right handers at around 80, the left handers between 90 and 100. Ortega is just that fast. And the GSXR demands to be ridden that way. I have a habit of blipping the throttle on downshifts: on the Monster it’s a must. But doing this on a GSXR just unsettles the bike. The motor spools up fast, and it has a slipper clutch. It took me a few turns to get used to that.

At those speeds, Gary and I ran out the gap to the next set of cars quickly, but not before we hit two of the most glorious turns I’ve ever ridden. The slowest turns on the highway are two long consecutive carousel-type bombers. The advisory signs said 30mph, but our speedos said 90. The first right hander seems to go on forever, and the ensuing left-hander is almost as long. For a brief moment, I forgot about everything but keeping the bike gassed, leaned over and on the line. If I’d remembered to stick my knee out the puck would’ve scraped. I’d like to have seen the smile on my face after we got out of those turns. The rest of the ride up to the lookout was a bit of a blur…unremarkable, since we were stuck behind and between more cars. Riding Ortega on a weekday afternoon isn’t the best timing. We blazed past Hell’s Kitchen, with its flame paint job and chopper motif, continuing on to the summit.

The Lookout (http://www.lookoutroadhouse.com/gps.htm) is a small snack bar at the top of the pass, overlooking Riverside and ??? lake. We stopped there, got some water and a snack, and ogled the other bikes as they stopped by. From the top we could see the east slope of Ortega, choked with commuter traffic. I wish it had been clear, because those turns looked just as fun as the ones on the way up. I was admiring the view when my phone rang. It was a corporate recruiter for a company I’ve been talking to. They want me to come in Friday for an interview. I told her that I could free up my schedule  ;D
(http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs189.snc1/6328_127502434223_589624223_3173821_2859547_n.jpg)(http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v5207/87/15/589624223/n589624223_3179452_2594069.jpg)(http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v5207/87/15/589624223/n589624223_3179455_5952185.jpg)
A bit relieved, I was left to focus on the ride back down. The afternoon commute was in full swing, with people going east over the pass to homes in Riverside. The way west was clear. Gary and I mounted up, me on the more familiar RC-51 this time. I had ridden the big twin plenty of times when my brother had one. I also owned a Superhawk for a couple of years, so the motor was a known quantity. Gary had a Power Commander and Akrapovic pipe on his, so I enjoyed the extra power and the Ohlins suspension. Although the pegs were lower on this bike, the hard seat and rear Ohlins made this bike feel more like a race bike than the GSXR…a very heavy race bike. Anyone who’s ridden one knows that the RC is a bit of a pig, with its dual side-mount radiators. I definitely had to work a bit harder to wrestle this bike through the curves, and I was shifting more. But it was the same RC-51 I remember, with tamed-down v-twin torque, heavy steering, and a penchant to run a bit wide. Passing cars was smooth on this bike, not the hair-raising experience it is on the S4R or the GSXR. If the Monster is barely-chained mayhem, the RC is more of a shouting match. Still, it was plenty of power to keep up with the GSXR in the turns. I managed to loft the front wheel a few times, and it was just like the Superhawk and VFR: because of the weight, you’ve got to compress the front forks, then roll on the power to leave the ground. No ride with me would be complete without a wheelie or two.

We stopped briefly at Hell’s kitchen to check it out. They try to cater to both the Harley crowd and the sport bikers, with the aforementioned flame job paint on the building. We got there and a guy was doing chainsaw art, carving skulls into a dead tree in the front. The place reminded me a lot of Alice’s, with outdoor seating, and bike-themed posters inside. Except Hell’s Kitchen has misters everywhere, making the 98 degree heat almost bearable. Gary and I remounted, rolled out, and enjoyed another great run through those back-to-back carousels. We passed a few cars on the way back, then hit the highway to the massive suburbs of Orange County.

Bikes in the garage, beers in hand, Gary and I sat in his backyard and enjoyed the evening, laughing about the Al Luddington video and talking bikes. As much as I make fun of the suction cup Mohawk crowd, I understand why people would want the GSXR as a serious track tool. I respect folks who ride a bike well, and the Suzuki seemed very approachable. I don’t know how well I’d do on it at Sears Point, but it’d be a riot at Thunderhill. The knife-edge handling, smooth fueling, and the reliability make it a logical choice. But it still doesn’t inspire the same level of awe and admiration I feel when I see and ride a Duc. The Suzuki is cold, calculating, clinical. The Duc is temperamental, moody, but rewards you when ridden well. Just stop enjoying the sound and flog the thing, and you’ll be as fast as those GSXRs. I thanked Gary profusely for getting my mind off the bloodbath at work today. Screw employment: it just takes away from my seat time.

Sorry to hear about the jobby-job, Joe.  You know that we know aaaaaaall about that.   [laugh]  Sounds like you had a good ride though.   [thumbsup]

Yes, bummer about the J-O-B.  Thx for the good read & good luck with the interview!

Nice ride report.  [moto]   [thumbsup]


They canned you via email?  While you were making a customer pitch?!?  That's soo f'n wrong.  Sorry to hear it man.   :(


No matter what folks say about I-4s, a literbike is still a big goddamn engine.  They've got *plenty* of torque down low for bopping around.  I'm pretty sure I'd get a literbike for streetriding before a 600.  Actually, if it was a Suke, I might go with the 750--best of both worlds.  

Well, sort of. My company was acquired recently, and someone from HR scheduled an "Orientation" meeting that conflicted with my demo. The list of attendees made no sense...it wasn't by geography, it wasn't by reporting structure, so I figured it had to be bad. When I started seeing goodbye emails from some of the people listed during my demo, I put 2 and 2 together.

No worries though, and thanks to everyone for the sentiment and good wishes. It wasn't unexpected, and I'm as prepared as I've ever been for this type of situation. And now I have a lesson in all the wrong ways to run a company!

I am sorry to hear about the Job , wishing something line up for you soon , hanging there this is another reason you will find a better other job without travel and  spend more time with Anna & friends.
Good luck my friend.
D

ciao joe -

great ride report ... and ditto to what others have said about the way your situation was handled by hr.

so .... time to start considering the gerbil ranch concept ... lots of money in that venture (pre-paid, no returns), and if customer interface is only via the intra-web, no worries  [thumbsup]

Thanks!


Dunno...you start talking about customer interface and gerbils and I get worried. But thanks for the words of encouragement ;D

Sorry to hear about the job Joe, I'm sure you'll end up with an even better one soon enough.

Glad you made the most of it and had a good ride though! [moto]

"Orientation meeting"  [roll] [roll] [roll]

Some people are such gutless weasels.

Glad to hear you have an interview lined up. Seems like the tech world is still humming along, so here's hoping your forced hooky riding period will be brief.

That is Lake Elsinore. Looks better than it really is.  [puke] Ortega is a blast. I rode it everyday on my vaca down there... on my RS!! [thumbsup] [moto]

PS sorry about the job crap but sounds like you have a good lead on something else. Maybe it was just time for a change...

So Sorry about the job DQ, if you need any help with anything, let me know.  I know you'll find another one soon.  People always need you "technogeeks"  ;D.
You did get a great ride in though, like your helmet says, no psychiatrist needed  [thumbsup]

Yeah, I had to look up the name & forgot to copy & paste [bang]


Thanks Mark. That's my old helmet though...no stickers on the new one ;D

yo joe, 

great write up and sorry about the gig.  more seat time = more good times.

sid

UHG ... sorry about the job, Joe.  From talking to you at t-hill a few weeks ago it sounds like that job was stressing you out anyway.  In the long run I bet you'll be glad you're not working for those suckers anymore.

Sorry to hear about the job DQ. Now you can ride every day all day  [evil] just be careful  [leo]

Between [leo] and (http://consignmentshopdirectory.com/emedicalsource/home_tire_icon.gif) I have to be careful not to ride too much ;D

Sorry to hear about the job situation.  Seems to be a lot of that going around these days.  Hang in there, tough guy.

You should get fired more often. Nice report.  [thumbsup]
Maybe you should start riding/writing pro.  ;)


Smooth move on the proposition btw. You guys  [thumbsup]  ;D