Gus Kuhn Seeley Commando

It is not as silly as the way I think. As soon as my bike fires a shot, I am convinced that I will never crash again. I don't know why I'm like that, I've had a lot of fast crashes so I know the truth.

Silly none the less.

So acotrel, you believe you are a victim of something on the track and it has little or nothing to do with your ability or your machine preparation? It's ok to believe this but recognize it is a departure from the real world.

We agree that smooth is fast and practice is a key ingredient.

hobot said:

... always makes me grin and shiver a bit on your delights but I know you are not having as much fun as I am on Peel as you ain't breaking free of traction and surface in glee like I can on Peel.

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I've been away, so perhaps I've missed something here.

Steve Are you saying that this bike, "Peel", is actually functioning and out and about? That you are riding it and making good on all the talk you talk? That you are, in the present tense, "having as much fun". Are you saying that all this talk over all these years filling pages and pages in the ether clouds has finally come true? Are you saying you are currently breaking traction and surface in glee in the real world on this Peel? Please, take a video of you steering on your rear wheel and post it here.

Oh wait.... it's not real????

I think I hear McArthur Park playing in the background. :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHS8hj4TdT8

Ugh, neither Al or me is having any cycle fun so just going by bone and muscle memory right now. Al is over a decade older so might be aged out but I'm hitting a prime d/t my neuro metabolic practice for the states it takes to do what I claim on Peel with more to come. Peel is still a living room decoration. Ken Canaga has his hands full on aging family member far away on top of his racer support business so Peel engine is still waiting some final valve geometry and Comnoz cam tensioner. I can plumb and wire with the mock up engine but was hang fire till TTI installed to diddle shifter lever. Got one more haul to a welding session before take down to finish frame. I've had damaging big animal events on car and cycle this last season and homestead issues which sucks time money off dream machine. But all the extra stuff is just to get better power/wt raito, more lean clearance and public use armoring for routine events like last months dogs take down on THE Gravel only got bar, lever, tank side and shifter taken out on SuVee again, but Drouin hanging out will have 2 grand in it. I don't fear a racing crash so cage removed for that to get to about 60's angle or more with front lifted up, off surface in the sharper action. Handling is so solved on Peel its really not on my mind anymore but to learn next Peel's new CoG and mass pivot reaction speed and recovery and explore phase 5 I can only do on THE Gravel on past Peel. I only got nine months of Peel in her prime and was about to fit the blower when she hit over 11,000 rpm and Ducati 1098 came out. Only 3 things hindered Peel, deadly blinds I had to stick close to inside paint lines, no luxury of Barber's freeway wide turns, air compression lift/drops on leans and 3-4 gallon fuel slosh if tank half empty. Peel just got easier to control the harsher i tested her so flat invites ya into higher orbits. I didn't even know I could ride a bike that leaned till '99 Gravel-ed lesions and took till 2001 on SV650 in pubic with other joy riders/squids then corner school for it to sink in I might have a nack for it and how dangerous isolatic Commando are depression & stupid waste of tight funds to be rid of for a good motorcycle, so spiked by my Dad words saying i never finished anything made me, plus would be more sale-able if roadworthy. If not for the full tri-links I'd been long gone and hanging with whole 'nother crowd I now don't think can even keep me interested, so mainly configured Peel for the tough stuff. I'm got to be known around here as a bone collector so Peel's main past time will be hunting em down after dark, I tease thee not with video to come. Fast Freddie says it takes 30% pilot 70% cycle.

When I broke my leg in 1965 I was in a ward with about twenty other motorcyclists with broken bones as a result of hitting something. The exception was a steeplejack who had fallen off of a church steeple and broken most bones in his body. Enough to require a cast that encased his torso, both arms and both legs. He was suspended above his bed, the only thing he could move was his head. By moving his head from side to side he could swing his whole body....kept us in fits, drove the nurses bananas.
I discovered the true meaning of terror in my first race, on a 500cc Rudge at Mac Park, SA, Acotrel will know it. At the end of the straight there was a corner which required serious braking. First lap was ok, second lap everything was hot and the front brake just went away. I had to scrabble round definitely not smooth. The third and subsequent laps I learn't from my terror and was finally going round far faster than I had thought possible initially. Learning on the job I suppose!
cheers
wakeup

acotrel said:

Pommie John, Looking at that video of Brands, I would really love to do that, it is my kind of circuit. The straights are not long enough for the guys with top end motors to really get going. It looks as though a lot of people would find it very difficult if they were used to 'point and squirt' handling. An underpowered bike which handled well would not be at a great disadvantage there ?

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Indeed it would not be, but I can tell you that Brands Hatch is seemly a riders circuit, as most of the bends are deceptive, that is the circuit designer tried to make it as difficult as possible for a rider /driver to get round the circuit.
Take Paddock Hill bend for instance ( the one at the end of the start/finish “straight”)
You are approaching flat out going uphill, then gradually you start to go downhill, with the hill getting steeper and steeper (that will always catch out sleepers!) so it is therefore approached “blind”, as you hit the apex of the corner you will hit a bump on the inside when cranked over so most intelligence riders keep the bikes tyres about 12-15 inches from the inside of the kerb, Oh! and also it has an adverse camber so that if you approach too hot and suddenly bottle out by shutting the throttle off, the result is all the weight of the bike moves to the front as you go downhill overloading the front tyre, so much so that you eat it. There always appear to be a lot of footrest groves in the tarmac down this hill.
The approach into bottom bend from the hairpin ( Druids) is also similar going downhill except it is a left-hand bend.

I had to scrabble round definitely not smooth. The third and subsequent laps I learn't from my terror and was finally going round far faster than I had thought possible initially. Learning on the job I suppose!

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Noteworthy remark and learning curve for me to read wakeup, thanx for a flash back that could keep one too awake to sleep at times.

Dances, Isn't delusion what road racing is all about. When I'm not on the bike my feeling is that If I don't crash in the first 5 laps, I'm not going to. Bernhard, Brands sounds like really good fun. We have a circuit at Broadford owned by Motorcycling Victoria (ostensibly the riders). It has several blind corners and I don't like that so I have never ridden there. I've met one young really good rider who loves it, however my main rival of about 12 years racing years ago really dislikes it. I recently thought about taking the Seeley there, however I would be very careful. The Seeley comes on with a rush and self steers appreciably, it would take a lot of concentration and memory to be safe there. They have already had a couple of deaths there, which in itself doesn't mean much however it is a warning.

acotrel said:

Dances, Isn't delusion what road racing is all about.

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Clearly, for a select few on this forum, definitely yes.

For me, it is so far from the truth. Once I am reasonably tuned up, it is one of the most pure moments in my life. Again, for me, it is as real as it gets.

Dances with Shrapnel said:

acotrel said:

Dances, Isn't delusion what road racing is all about.

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Clearly, for a select few on this forum, definitely yes.

For me, it is so far from the truth. Once I am reasonably tuned up, it is one of the most pure moments in my life. Again, for me, it is as real as it gets.

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I couldn't agree more. I never feel more real. Nothing else matters, absolutely nothing else matters, or exists, apart from the here and now of the moment for me.

I take beta blocker medication which stops the adrenalin rush, however I love the experience of getting on the track, especially if there is someone there who has a slightly faster bike. The best experience is being in a race with a really big grid on a tight circuit and scratching through every turn in a mob of other idiots who are determined not to be last.

Oh boy, now it comes out, yoose all is as crazy addicted cheating death as I am. On number of occasions, fights, falls, trapped under water and speed craft, time seems to slow down and my point of view seems to be sitting a good ways out in front-above ' me ' and my body can react faster than conscious decision-actions so feels like I'm a sane shocked witness watching a wild man kidnapping me off w/o asking first...

hobot said:

so feels like I'm a sane shocked witness watching a wild man kidnapping me off w/o asking first...

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It is OK to have that out of body experience...........when the men in white coats are coming to take you away.

I vaguely recall a song from the 60's that was along that line.

Drifting off Gus Kuhn performers thread but what else are they meant for but excite us to out of body sensations. Well known that people become one with the object they operate and play. How was the first time ya fired a big gun, BANG!, YIkeS, Alright - BANG-BANG-BANG, yeah man. Whew, BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG....

Coming to get Me, haha hoho hehe was sort of a them song, along with Flying Purple People Eater, Zerro and Mickey Mouse saves the day opera. Better Living Through Chemistry was my 3ed favorite T-shirt and literally killed off or freaked out the weirder damaged parts of me. Strange peace just cruising at a loff on P!! with front so low all I was, was the road a-head and throbs of big twin as surreal relief during rough times... every now and then on my Combats I flash back on P!! and try not to shake it off - feeling the roots of me so far back now. Norton torque accelles down low P!! did over 60 in first in like 1.3 sec so pulling into hwy traffic only needed two-3 car space to zip in like sluggish parking lot cones, then snick 2nd and pass a line of em then two more gears to go go. I want it again before i go - in spades but smooth to the bone.

My 2nd favorite

I once built myself a very fast T250 Suzuki two stroke and I found out that winning is not really what it is all about. The two stroke is fast, reliable, and handles superbly - in fact all you should want in a race bike. However for feel and versatility my Seeley 850 craps all over it. When I ride the Seeley, I know that in any situation I can do a big number on the other guy as long as he doesn't have over-the-top power to blast him down the straights at obscene speeds. I believe that if ever I can get the Seeley onto a 'level playing field' based on similar technology and capacity, it will crap on everything else the guys might bring along to play with. I think it is a bit sad that we don't have stand-alone race classes for aircooled two valve twin cylinder bikes in Australia (thunderbikes) . The BOTT looks great however I think that including four-valve water cooled bikes is counter productive. The commando would probably be the ultimate example of a 'thunderbike', however an 851 Ducati would probably give it a bad fright. It would be great fun testing that theory.
As far as the 'cheating death' thing is concerned - we all know that is there waiting, however if we manage the risks appropriately the threat is minimal and largely irrelevant. I've found that the more I've moved towards competence, the more confident I have become. The Seeley helps that happen.
When I practice at Winton there are often many guys there with modern four cylinder superbikes. I often get blown to the weeds going down the straights, however that never happens in the tight twisty bits. It is actually quite amusing if you out-ride them, they seem to go a bit silly sometimes.

Racing takes over your life.
You always know where you could have gone faster!
The big question "is why didn't you"
I'm not any good but there is always someone to play with & there isn't a feeling like it.

Chris

My method forced on me was find out how many ways there are to crash from both unexpected things as well as done on purpose then decide how to handle it for most fun and least side effects. Best wishes finding your happy zones in all conditions as none of it makes any sense except for lasting memories of childish immature expensive wasteful hobby addiction and hope nothing ever in your way to have more with others of like mind.

Chris said:

You always know where you could have gone faster!
The big question "is why didn't you"

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So true though for me the first statement is only a hunch and the second (question) is an ongoing personal struggle yet the easy canned answer to myself is "I really did not want to die at that particular moment"

Racing to me is like stringing a set of beads, each bead is an element of the track/bike/rider (ex. turn in point, brake point, apex, throttle roll on point etc.) It is great when you get a few of them strung together.....then someone comes along in front of you and takes the down hill off camber about 4 mph faster than you; then you are back to stringing the beads.

Oh Brother Dancer, lets get real, you already got very good at stringing the beads on the bike and track you are on - so back to what I'm preaching about, ya get ya a bike that's more similar to the fella who had far more fun than fear that left you behind... Its the reason race buiders try to cheat rules as its the machine that allows more fun rather than just a good operator. Its Gus Kuhn's Commandos that let the pilots shine >> until out gunned by construction progress >>> at least until something else better comes along >>>> that's nothing but fun.