Gymkhana

[Harvey Krumpet]

Originally Posted by RxZ

I have BT45 tires on my Ninja 500 as well, and in the 3 years I have run them I have no reason to switch to anything else. That said, I have not tried out what you guys are doing, but I have no doubt they would be fine if I did.

I'm using mix & match dual purpose tires, the profiles do not match so I run off the front first........

The BT45's will be way more betterer.

[opmike]

Sorry if this is too regressive or if it's already been covered, but I have question about location...

What locations are you guys using for this type of practice? The local university campus has a huge, level, sand-free lot in front of the intramural field that I was using, but the campus cops ran me off as they got reports of some "stunter" popping wheelies

I can only assume this was an unfortunate case of the "telephone game" where information got horribly distorted by the time it filtered down to the cop. I was doing nothing of the sort, and was doing low speed circles and figure 8's. Granted, the campus police have a reputation for being pretty aggressive in general.

Also, I found another lot near the local community park that is empty on weekdays before school and work lets out. I've been there three times, and two of those time, a patrol car took up position in the corner of the lot, and just sat there watching me. I continued doing things as usual, but eventually just left as it was distracting. I kind of wish the guys would have just gotten out and chatted with me so he could see I wasn't there to cause any issues, and was just working on proficiency. You know, put a face to the "guy on the bike."

[Harvey Krumpet]

Originally Posted by opmike

Sorry if this is too regressive or if it's already been covered, but I have question about location...

What locations are you guys using for this type of practice? The local university campus has a huge, level, sand-free lot in front of the intramural field that I was using, but the campus cops ran me off as they got reports of some "stunter" popping wheelies

I can only assume this was an unfortunate case of the "telephone game" where information got horribly distorted by the time it filtered down to the cop. I was doing nothing of the sort, and was doing low speed circles and figure 8's. Granted, the campus police have a reputation for being pretty aggressive in general.

Also, I found another lot near the local community park that is empty on weekdays before school and work lets out. I've been there three times, and two of those time, a patrol car took up position in the corner of the lot, and just sat there watching me. I continued doing things as usual, but eventually just left as it was distracting. I kind of wish the guys would have just gotten out and chatted with me so he could see I wasn't there to cause any issues, and was just working on proficiency. You know, put a face to the "guy on the bike."

Love your quote!
We practice on an undeveloped sub-division & get attention from the local rent a cop & the developers henchmen. Both short on vocabulary & big on attitude. We stump them because of my girlfriend & the learner plate on the back of her bike. Not what they expect. The explanation that "we are practicing to be better & safer riders because their are so many idiots about" really stumps them. Not sure what folks attitudes are around your way but if given the opportunity I would not hesitate to share what I'm doing & why. Anybody with half a brain can see the benefit, particularly, I'm sure, cops, who are first on the scene when idiots collide. Gymkhana will draw a blank expression, Practicing advanced riding safety techniques might, just might, make you some friends.
Of course it never hurts to ask if it's ok for you to practice somewhere. IIR a poster approached their local cops & got permission to use the car park in front of the station. Why not ask them directly & find out from bike cops where they recommend you can ride?

Since we started practicing we have had some of the residents from the completed part of the sub-divison out for a stroll & pulling faces at us. Both of us have made a point of stopping to talk to them, helmets off, just to say hi & offer that we hope we are not disturbing them because we are practicing etc etc. They all wave at us now & one guy is all fired up to get a bike again. The wife says no. He watches us with a big wistful smile on his face now.

All the best with your practice! A smile & a bit of proactive social interaction with good manners goes a long way. We get stereotyped to easily..

[Harvey Krumpet]

Originally Posted by Harvey Krumpet

I'm using mix & match dual purpose tires, the profiles do not match so I run off the front first........

The BT45's will be way more betterer.

May I also offer the idea that sticking the latest greatest stickiest rubber on your bike can delude you into riding beyond your ability. I've never had "bad" tires, they all did their job. Some have had different characteristics as they wore & occasionally showed a weakness in a specific condition. I have never fallen off because of tires.
One thing this practice has taught me and I'm riding the most compromised sets of tires in my life is that if you ride well, modern tires stick like shit to a blanket. I'm at the budget end of cheap.... Even ones with more gaps than rubber in the contact patch have more grip than I can use.

[liquid_ice]

To bad the riding season also is ending in The Neatherlands.

This was a very special year for Moto-Gymkhana in our country

<< A Little fast forward through the year >>

January 2012
- I bought my F800GS, What a springs on this thing, I didn't even dare to break hard
(I know... I'm a sissy ;) )

April 2012
- A bike safety and handling training to learn how to control my new beast

May 2012
- A Second training followed quickly (this one also saved my some insurance payments ;) )

Around now, I was thinking to practice more often, but not with those expensive professional trainers...
I wanted a group of like-minded people.

- Around the same time, someone posted a question on the internet if gymkhana is practiced in The Neatherlands.
But the thread went quiet within a month.

June 2012
- I contacted Helen, Who had done a Gymkhana training a year before and was quite active on the internet.
- Also contacted Nikki van der Spek, a female bike handling trainer from The Neatherlands who had won the Open Dutch BikeHandling competition a few months earlier.
- I met both Helen and Nikki and we discussed Gymkhana in The Neatherlands. Our ideas and visions.
- I started another thread on the same Forum (but a different sub-part), also this one died quietly within a month.

A location for organizing a 'event' would be the main problem

July passed quietly while searching for a location

August 2012
- Helen found the first thread and dusted it off.
- Helen also found a location for a try-out


!! now things would go fast !!

- A group formed both on Facebook and on the internet forum.
- About 10 pages a month are written on the forum
- Our facebook growed with 20+ people a month (now over 80 members)

September 2012
- The try-out was a great success with about 10 / 15 riders
- The group wanted to keep organizing these kind of events to promote the sport.

October 2012
- A Second try-out was organized, now with about 20 riderd
- A journalist of a big motor magazine came to take photo's and discover the sport.

November 2012
- 11 November we are going for our 3rd gymkhana practice event on a second location (Amsterdam)
- We are now discussing how to cover the winter and be back next year.

I will sent some photo's / video's of our day in Amsterdam...

[Motogymkhanaman]

Liquid_Ice shows us just how quickly Moto Gymkhana can become established when some like-minded individuals get together. It can help a lot if there is enough information available so that everybody knows what they are supposed to be doing, what the aims and objectives are and how everything needs to be organised.

It is for these very reasons that we in the Moto Gymkhana Association www.motogymkhana.org have spent a great deal of effort in translating and understanding the Japanese rules, regulations, methods and procedures so that it becomes relatively easy for people to get started with the sport.

It is our hope that now small groups have become established, other small groups will form and then others until eventually the sport becomes mainstream throughout the world.

There is already talk of an International competition series being organised and in fact we are well on our way to a small International event being held next year between teams from the UK and the Netherlands.

Until recently and the advent of forums like this one, social media, Youtube etc, this would have proved to be a monumental task, but when it is so easy to swap ideas and ask questions the task becomes relatively easy.

The crucial element that is beyond our control is the availability of places to practice and play on, but we are sure that over time this will become less and less of a problem once people realise that Moto Gymkhana riders are not at all frightening/dangerous/evil, but are just ordinary people who want to do extraordinary things with their bikes.

[TheWall]

+1 on the comments about making friends with police and passersby while practicing. A little good-will can go a long way.

I'm lucky in that the area where I practice is the parking lot where I work. it's small, but the place is deserted by 5:01 pm :) there is little through traffic on the streets near the lot (so I don't draw a lot of attention while practicing) and it's in a decent part of town, so the local PD doesn't patrol the area much (they don't need to).

Liquid_Ice: outstanding! Sounds like a great place to be if you enjoy gymkhana. I'm jealous...I haven't been able to talk any of my riding friends into joining me

Slightly off-topic, and honestly, irrelevant at my current level of ability, but...my wife's bike is a CB750A Hondamatic. It's basically a '77 CB750 with a detuned engine and an automatic transmission. Would that bike even be legal in gymkhana competition? No clutch, only two gears...it's slow, but the automatic tranny would certain reduce rider workload.

[Vulfy]

Originally Posted by TheWall

Slightly off-topic, and honestly, irrelevant at my current level of ability, but...my wife's bike is a CB750A Hondamatic. It's basically a '77 CB750 with a detuned engine and an automatic transmission. Would that bike even be legal in gymkhana competition? No clutch, only two gears...it's slow, but the automatic tranny would certain reduce rider workload.

I saw people on scooters. Looks like mad fun! So automatic transmission should be interesting to try.

[Motogymkhanaman]

Moto Gymkhana is dead easy on an automatic, but I'm not sure how the big Honda would get on. One of the fastest guys in Moto Gymkhana does not compete any more, but he does 'prove' the course by riding round it on a little automatic Honda Motocompo moped. This machine is no ordinary moped as it was built by HRC in the Honda racing department and it goes like stink!

Check it out http://youtu.be/BfOkxI07yvA

[TheWall]

Sweet! Maybe I should have picked up these rather than the XS750 last month:

http://anchorage.craigslist.org/mcy/3278990165.html



Might have helped bring some other riders to the sport, if they didn't have to worry about crashing their daily riders

[ohgood]

Originally Posted by TheWall

+1 on the comments about making friends with police and passersby while practicing. A little good-will can go a long way.

I'm lucky in that the area where I practice is the parking lot where I work. it's small, but the place is deserted by 5:01 pm :) there is little through traffic on the streets near the lot (so I don't draw a lot of attention while practicing) and it's in a decent part of town, so the local PD doesn't patrol the area much (they don't need to).

Liquid_Ice: outstanding! Sounds like a great place to be if you enjoy gymkhana. I'm jealous...I haven't been able to talk any of my riding friends into joining me

Slightly off-topic, and honestly, irrelevant at my current level of ability, but...my wife's bike is a CB750A Hondamatic. It's basically a '77 CB750 with a detuned engine and an automatic transmission. Would that bike even be legal in gymkhana competition? No clutch, only two gears...it's slow, but the automatic tranny would certain reduce rider workload.

if and when people put rules on gymkhana, I'm quitting all organized events.

gymkhana is skills building, wether its a scooter, quad, bike, quad or forklift. that hondamatic deserves riding, and leaning.

:)

[ohgood]

Originally Posted by Vulfy

Back from the storm...

ohgood: do you have any videos of you and your friends riding? really would like to see your progress to a 30 second GP8.

Harvey: glad you and bike are in working condition. Good thing you are pushing though.

AAAGH!!! NYC is in a bit of a stand still. Haven't been to work this entire week, but the deadlines remain the same. Only got phone and internet back yesterday. Good thing we had electricity throughout the whole ordeal. NYC is slowly getting back on its feet though.

I really want to get out there and ride again.

don't think we have video of 30 second runs, it was end of the day, and we weren't thinking of video.... but we have some shots :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk6G5DBj4kQ

what I really want to do is get a street gk , log crossings, and off rfoad gp8 setup to really learn what is possible on the bike. dirtskills are difficult to organize here because of politics and location preferences.

just an afternoon of trying things:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtG8ws704B4

[Redclayrider]

Ha! I love seeing Ohgood riding that bike. Good to find a Gymkhana thread on here! So much fun packed into a small space.
As far as the police go I have to say I have never been hassled. Had a few come by and ask what am I doing but thats what they get paid for. I do my practicing at the old Westlake mall (nothing there but empty buildings) in Bessemer Alabama. Once I tell them what I am doing they just watch me awhile then drive off. The loose dirt/gravel on the old pavement makes it more of a challenge. I am usually on my Honda XR650L cause its easier to pick up and cheaper to fix than my H-D XR1200. :)

[Harvey Krumpet]

Originally Posted by Redclayrider

Ha! I love seeing Ohgood riding that bike. Good to find a Gymkhana thread on here! So much fun packed into a small space.
As far as the police go I have to say I have never been hassled. Had a few come by and ask what am I doing but thats what they get paid for. I do my practicing at the old Westlake mall (nothing there but empty buildings) in Bessemer Alabama. Once I tell them what I am doing they just watch me awhile then drive off. The loose dirt/gravel on the old pavement makes it more of a challenge. I am usually on my Honda XR650L cause its easier to pick up and cheaper to fix than my H-D XR1200. :)

Kia Ora.

[Storm Shadow]

Really theres no law to riding around a car park at car park speeds

send on a small touch screen by a guy with fat fingers