p6x

I was listening to a journalist who got to test MotoGP bikes on testing days together with the GP pilots. He was someone who competes in lesser classes I think the 300, so he is not just a scribe. He said that at Jerez, MotoGP pilots were lapping 15 seconds faster than the best of the testers. That gives a little perspective.

What kind of bikes are there anyway? I thought they were just production motorcycles without the road legal appendixes, and a few tweaks. But not purpose built race bikes. Am I wrong?

@GuzziMoto just as an aside, have you seen what Danilo Petrucci does in MotoAmerica Superbike? three races, three wins... Does it serve to gauge level of competition?

Fabio was leading the race though! then he got his arm pump problem causing him to fall behind. I am probably going out on a limb here, but I would put my money on Fabio Quartararo to win Jerez. He only has to start at the front, and nobody will see him before the finish lane. My next guess would be Rims or Mir; the only unknown I have is either Aleix or Maverick. For Maverick, he said that he should be ready to show his real potential from Jerez onwards. I don't think Ducati, Honda, KTM can really do much. There is something about Marc Marquez that we probably don't know.

To me, the best sounding motorbikes were those which had one exhaust per cylinder; starting with the 1970 Honda 750 CB. Then, the Kawasaki triples; not with the expansion chambers that everybody seemed to favor.

If you care about your privacy on your mobile media, there is also a Browser App called "Brave". Allegedly, it offers protection against Google's AMP (Accelerate Mobile Pages), which are a way that Google uses to manipulate what sites you find when you look for something. By rewriting the hit list, you are not herded by Google, but have a better free will choice. At least this is what Brave is selling, and Google contradicting saying AMP is an open source framework with contributions from publishers and tech companies which objective is only to help web pages load faster on mobile devices. I let you to your own opinion. Brave is not a major player, but you can download it for free from your usual market place. They promise the best privacy on line, but this is what all the "other" browsers do too. I have only learned about it recently, I have installed it but I am not really using my phone to view webpages.

@PJPR01Have you been to the Salt-Lick BBQ in Driftwood? I bet you have. I think I am going to give it a try; not so much because it is an "All you can eat" Barbecue, rather, they have their own wine cellar and they offer some Texas made wine. I like they seem to have a lot of room unlike all the other popular BBQs in Austin that require long waits which kind of kill the pleasure of going out for a "graillou"

I use QWANT

In my opinion, to make it in MotoGP, you have to compete in Europe; ideally, Spain. They have the competitions to help you come out of the pack. Although, if I understood correctly, Beaubier is coming from US Superbike? which in itself is already a performance to be doing well in Moto2. Yes, I remember the Kenny Robert, Randy Mamola, Wayne Rayney, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Kevin Schwantz, Kenny Roberts Junior... These guys were two stroke riders though. I wonder why the drought? I should ask Colin Edwards the next time I see him.

@GuzziMoto If you remember, Fabio Quartararo started his motorcycling racing career in Spain. Any racing circuit in Spain he would be familiar with, given that he raced there on numerous occasions. As for Joe Roberts, and not only, e.g. Fabio Quartararo and many others, the only way to make it to MotoGP is to race in one of the rookie cups organized in Europe. Europe no longer being the sole organizer. Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and many other countries have started to look for talent early in the years. If you come out of the pack, then Europe is the spring board, especially Spain. There used to be many US pilots in MotoGP, but the supply has dried up since Hayden won the MotoGP in 2006. There are lots of European pilots, a few non European. Maybe Beaubier and Roberts will end up in GP?

@GuzziMoto Fabio is bound to have the same performance at Jerez. This is the consensus. I think we could see a repeat of Portimao at Jerez. Not only FQ was the best Yamaha, but he also had no competition in the field. Speaking with Johann Zarco on Monday evening (not me directly), he said that if he had managed to start as well as FQ, he may have been able to stay with him. But Zarco said he needed several curves before he could really trust his front end to start to push. Fabio said something interesting about his early objective to not have a Ducati in front of him. He said that the way Ducati corners makes them challenging to overtake, unlike all other motorcycles in the field. Zarco spoke about his future and while he said he would welcome to stay at Pramac, he said he was aware every opportunity is being considered, including younger pilots from Moto2. Is Joe Roberts affiliated with the Kenny Roberts family? a grand son perhaps? I am sure I could look it up. I watched the race, and saw that Beaubier was doing well before that massive crash. The race direction should have stopped the race once rain started to fall; I guess it is not an exact science and there are too many interests at play. Also, because some of the riders did not bring their motorbikes via the race track, within the 5' allocated to do so, they could not restart. When the accident's cause is race direction allowing to race on unsuitable track for slick tires, it feels like a double dip.

Just to confirm; I used Dow Corning cold self vulcanizing compound extensively. This was used to ensure no water could penetrate the chassis of a battle tank through threads or anything if crossing rivers using snorkels. You can pretty much shape it the way you want, and even paint it so it blends in with the rest. It never goes so hard that you cannot remove it, and it is cheap. The one we used at the time was transparent, but I saw they make them in different colors now. As I said, we used it every where a perfect seal was required, and I am quoting the 70's here.

You could use Dow-Corning self vulcanizing rubber? or other brands.

Sorry, stupid question: Shouldn't the plugs be removed and replaced by their own masking plug to prevent coating the inside?

My next stop should be #21; Point Bolivar Lighthouse; It should be interesting since there is a ferry ride between Galveston and Point Bolivar.

I have ordered a tripod that I should be able to carry, enabling me to use better photographic equipment. At present I am limited to a fixed lens camera.

This App. is aimed at those who travel professionally and need to track expenses. I am not subscribed, so I don't have access to the reporting. I can only take screen shots of the stats. My airbag App tracks my speed and mileage. However, I don't have access to the data. Otherwise, I could correlate. I need more mileage before I can decide what Ethanol free gas does, or does not.

I have added a Google Map with all the required stops for this year's Texas tour in my OP. This is my fourth stop, #31.

They checked it while replacing the leaky seal. They said it did not need to be replaced. Since I am now going to keep the car, if it does not need to be replaced, then I shan't. I may revisit this decision once I get that automatic tension system overhauled.

So I was at Einer's this morning, and the fault was identified. It has to do with the left cylinder bank cam shaft, and only at cold start-ups. The technician called me to show me the values on the Porsche version of GuzziDiag. According to the 911 Doctor, this is (one more) of the Porsche component that are bound to need replacement because they wear off. Something to do with the automatic tension system of the distribution chain. As you would expect, they need to drop the engine to get access. Meanwhile, I took the Guzzi to make stop 31 yesterday, and no leak after the 100 miles return trip.

Lithium batteries develop what is called a “passivation” layer when not in use. cold environment exacerbate the phenomenon. the advice from Docc is very valid. Before you attempt to draw serious amps, warm up the battery by running lights or else. my company started using Lithium batteries from the 80’s. Working with SAFT to improve them. Of course we used our batteries for a different application but we faced the same issues. something that nobody tells you, but a lithium battery is best left “energized” if possible. A very low draw is better than a big surge before use (charging before use). we had a device that made use of resistors to do just that. I don’t understand why battery manufacturers don’t include such device part of their batteries. They are aware of the con’s of lithium ion batteries. Something else. Batteries that have been stored a long time on shelf before purchase suffer from that same passivation problem.

Here's a recap of using Ethanol free fuel from Buc-ee's. Usage from April 18th was mixed city and highway. I refilled with Ethanol Less at Buc-ee's once more yesterday. I still have not noticed any blatant difference between Ethanol and Ethanol free. However, I don't think I was running on pure gas just yet. I have not checked what is the density difference of both fuel. They probably mix and dilute, not separate.

Finally; Johann Zarco in Pole!!!

Nothing that should have implied an engine warning light to come up. Changing seals and shock absorbers back and front. They just changed a seal and took a look at the oil exchanger.

@PJPR01 Got the 911 back yesterday; six miles out of the shop, engine check light came on.... it's always nice when you just spent two V11 equivalent.....