Stunt Bikes & a Superman Seat-Grab

CharlaCharla Registered Users Posts: 238 Major grins
edited August 31, 2006 in Sports
My husband and I rode down to Cyclefest yesterday to check out the Supermoto racing and they had a bit of in between race entertainment. I thought these Stunt bikers were pretty dang cool (when kept to appropriate locations of course!) They sure have amazing skills and I was surprised to see all the mods they do to their bikes to be able to perform these tricks.

There were also a couple of Freestylers doing a little bit of a demo but the conditions were pretty bad so they only did a few jumps each. I did manage to get this Seat grab and was excited to see this guy still had his feet!

Thanks for looking! C&C always welcome :D
Charla

Stunt3.jpg

Stunt1.jpg

Stunt2.jpg

Stunt4.jpg

FMX3.jpg

Comments

  • Steve CaviglianoSteve Cavigliano Super Moderators Posts: 3,599 moderator
    edited August 29, 2006
    Charla,
    Nice action in all of those shots thumb.gifthumb.gif What are those commentators (??) doing so close to the action?

    Steve
    SmugMug Support Hero
  • CharlaCharla Registered Users Posts: 238 Major grins
    edited August 29, 2006
    Steve Cavigliano wrote:
    Charla,
    Nice action in all of those shots thumb.gifthumb.gif What are those commentators (??) doing so close to the action?

    Steve

    He was playing "What does this lever do???" rolleyes1.gif

    This bike had a micro clutch lever which is just long enough to grab with your 1st finger. I believe it makes it easier to grab the bars without risk of accidentially engaging the clutch. I liked this shot because it gives you an idea of how slow these guys were going during their wheelies. Both riders were doing stand-up wheelies in circles around the commentators. These guys have pretty amazing skills along with excellent balance!

    Thanks for taking time to comment Steve, I appreciate it very much. :D
    Charla
  • JeffroJeffro Registered Users Posts: 1,941 Major grins
    edited August 29, 2006
    you gotta love crazy people on high powered street bikes! :D
    Always lurking, sometimes participating. :D
  • Twisted ImageTwisted Image Registered Users Posts: 110 Major grins
    edited August 29, 2006
    great shots..you really captured the action.
    http://des-studios.smugmug.com/
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited August 29, 2006
    Charla wrote:
    FMX3.jpg

    :jawdrop
    Andy

    Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
  • xtnomadxtnomad Registered Users Posts: 340 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2006
    Great Shots! thumb.gif
    xtnomad :wink
  • DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,952 moderator
    edited August 30, 2006
    Put a rear sprocket just shy of the wheel diameter on my bike and I could do that too...

    lol3.gif

    (oh wait, my bike is shaft-driven, crap!)

    Charla mentioned the shorty clutch levers. Another popular stunting mod is illustrated in this photo. These guys do some pretty amazing stuff. The US scene has a long way to go to rival Europe, however. If you're into this kind of thing, you'll want to check out 2 of the best in the world:

    chris pfeiffer
    jean-pierre goy

    JP is famous for his ability to do stunts on just about any bike and all his bikes have very little modification. Watching him ride a one-handed wheelie on a 700lb full-dress touring bike (1200LT) is just unreal. Had the chance to see him last summer:

    49072889-M.jpg

    Great set Charla - thanks for sharing thumb.gif

    As Andy would say, Enjoy stunting photography!
    Since 2004...
  • CharlaCharla Registered Users Posts: 238 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2006
    Jeffro wrote:
    you gotta love crazy people on high powered street bikes! :D

    When they're not acting like idiots on the freeway! :nono Makes the rest of us idiots look bad :D
  • CharlaCharla Registered Users Posts: 238 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2006
    Andy wrote:
    :jawdrop

    :D - and this shot doesn't even reference how high in the air he was! Probably around 30' off the ground.
  • CharlaCharla Registered Users Posts: 238 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2006
    Thanks for the comments T. I. & Xtnomad :D Glad you liked 'em!

    Erik - Very cool shot of JP.
    Sounds like you're screwed if you want to do stand up wheelies on your bike! You've got a Beemer right? I think I read that somewhere. My husbands' favorite "stunt" on his F650GS is to hop on while it's on the center stand, fire it up, pop the clutch and rock it off the stand without ever putting his feet on the ground. If he can roost some gravel while taking off that's even better! He thinks he's pretty cool :):
  • DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,952 moderator
    edited August 30, 2006
    Charla wrote:
    Thanks for the comments T. I. & Xtnomad :D Glad you liked 'em!

    Erik - Very cool shot of JP.
    Sounds like you're screwed if you want to do stand up wheelies on your bike!
    Nah, standups are actually doable on the big pig. You lower your CG when you stand up, and with my lower geared adventure tranny I can loft the front easily at low speeds. naughty.gif
    You've got a Beemer right? I think I read that somewhere. My husbands' favorite "stunt" on his F650GS is to hop on while it's on the center stand, fire it up, pop the clutch and rock it off the stand without ever putting his feet on the ground. If he can roost some gravel while taking off that's even better! He thinks he's pretty cool :):
    Yup, my beast:

    84983250-S.jpg

    And I thought riding off the centerstand was the only way to do it? lol3.gifthumb.gif
    Since 2004...
  • CharlaCharla Registered Users Posts: 238 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2006
    Sweet ride! thumb.gif Just where the heck do you take that thing? Bark Busters, crash cage, skid plate... you must have seen some serious adventures!

    Here's a shot of my ride. Not quite a go everywhere type of scoot but she sure gets a lot of attention. :):

    1989HondaGB500.jpg
  • DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,952 moderator
    edited August 30, 2006
    Charla wrote:
    Sweet ride! thumb.gif Just where the heck do you take that thing? Bark Busters, crash cage, skid plate... you must have seen some serious adventures!
    where: everywhere :D
    bark schmark, I don't kid myself, it ain't a dirtbike. those are to keep the cold air off my hands when I'm commuting in January. brrrrr. crash bars/skid plate: it weighs 600lbs, i drop it sometimes.

    that's a slick little ride you have there. gorgeous shape tank, surely a one-off, no? looks like a Honda that someone put some serious effort into. care to share any details? ear.gif
    Since 2004...
  • CharlaCharla Registered Users Posts: 238 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2006
    DoctorIt wrote:

    that's a slick little ride you have there. gorgeous shape tank, surely a one-off, no? looks like a Honda that someone put some serious effort into. care to share any details? ear.gif

    Ahhh, I was wondering if you'd be curious enough to ask :D

    Not a one-off, but this is a pretty rare 1989 Honda GB500. Only a few thousand were imported to the states in '89 & '90. They didn't sell very well back then mostly because they were priced the same as Honda's top-o-the-line model of the same year. It was retro back before retro was cool. It uses the XR500 engine in a cafe racer style streetbike. It's very nearly bone stock with the only mods being the Supertrap Exhaust, custom seat (have a buddy who's an upholsterer) mirrors & turn signals.

    My husband (we will here-to-for refer to him as Ben) bought it for himself a couple years back but I fell in love with it so I convinced him that it was waaay to small for him, and he needed to buy a Beemer :D I'm 5'8" and can touch the ground with tons of room to spare.

    Very few people have ever heard of the GB500 and even fewer have ever seen one so I get stopped all the time by people checking it out. I rode it to Cyclefest and even sitting next to $20-$30K sportbikes people were still lining up to check it out. Ben was so paranoid that we had to go out to do a "Bike Check" every half hour or so.

    It's a blast to ride, I love to take off to the mountains for a few hours with my camera bag on my back although I don't get the opportunity nearly often enough. Thanks for giving me the perfect opening to show this baby off! :D
    Charla
  • DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,952 moderator
    edited August 31, 2006
    Charla wrote:
    Ahhh, I was wondering if you'd be curious enough to ask :D

    Not a one-off, but this is a pretty rare 1989 Honda GB500. Only a few thousand were imported to the states in '89 & '90. They didn't sell very well back then mostly because they were priced the same as Honda's top-o-the-line model of the same year. It was retro back before retro was cool. It uses the XR500 engine in a cafe racer style streetbike. It's very nearly bone stock with the only mods being the Supertrap Exhaust, custom seat (have a buddy who's an upholsterer) mirrors & turn signals.

    My husband (we will here-to-for refer to him as Ben) bought it for himself a couple years back but I fell in love with it so I convinced him that it was waaay to small for him, and he needed to buy a Beemer :D I'm 5'8" and can touch the ground with tons of room to spare.

    Very few people have ever heard of the GB500 and even fewer have ever seen one so I get stopped all the time by people checking it out. I rode it to Cyclefest and even sitting next to $20-$30K sportbikes people were still lining up to check it out. Ben was so paranoid that we had to go out to do a "Bike Check" every half hour or so.

    It's a blast to ride, I love to take off to the mountains for a few hours with my camera bag on my back although I don't get the opportunity nearly often enough. Thanks for giving me the perfect opening to show this baby off! :D
    Charla
    Very, very cool, Charla! My guess was going to be a CB500 cafe-racer mod, but I've learned something today. GB500, right from the factory! Me likes, very much... someday, I'd very much like a smaller bike just like this to compliment my long distance beast.
    Since 2004...
  • CharlaCharla Registered Users Posts: 238 Major grins
    edited August 31, 2006
    DoctorIt wrote:
    Very, very cool, Charla! My guess was going to be a CB500 cafe-racer mod, but I've learned something today. GB500, right from the factory! Me likes, very much... someday, I'd very much like a smaller bike just like this to compliment my long distance beast.

    Thanks Erik, someday I hope to get a daily driver that a won't feel so guilty racking up the miles on but we're pretty much out of room in the garage (we have six bikes!) and next on my list is probably going to be another dirt bike if we can find somewhere to store it. :D

    I like having a small bike, it's much less intimidating for me. If your much taller than me though, something this small will have your knees stuck up to your armpits!
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