First off. Find me on Twitter at TheRideIndyGP and find me on Facebook at Jarrod Krisiloff. I do my best to give sneak peaks to my blogs on Facebook and of little snippets of my daily life 140 characters at a time on Twitter. While I’m fairly proficient in the social Web world, I have to say that I am not one who actively participates in it.
Before I get into my life, let’s talk about Stoner and Hayden making the podium at the annual Madonna Di Campiglio press event in northern Italy. The 2009 launch event features Scuderia Ferrari drivers and Ducati Corse riders in a combined press event on the slopes of northern Italy. Stoner won the karting event, F1 championship runner-up Massa was second, and Red Bull Indianapolis GP runner-up Nicky Hayden was third.
Last weekend was a big weekend. Not for riding, but for motorcycles. Well, maybe it wasn’t a big weekend, but I certainly got my moto crave for the year.
Last year I spent at least a day a week on my Tiger throughout the winter. No thanks to this years snowy, figg’n cold and wet winter, I’ve been grounded on four wheels. As I mentioned in my last e-mail, my wife purchased a trip for me and my “bros” on what we are calling “The Man Trip.” The Man Trip is going to take place in early March at RideRoyalBlue.com. She picked up the Redneck Lodge for me and five buddies. So, armed with two motos and two quads, we have a solid group of guys that can’t wait for the trip.
Since the trip is getting close and I’ve been off my bikes for quite awhile, I felt that it was time to take a few minutes to fire them up. My Triumph Tiger started right up. By the way my son, Van, absolutely loves my Tiger. Every time we walk down to the garage, he points and grunts. From what I can tell…That means start it up!
Anyway, so last weekend me, Bobby Wilson (bobbywilsonracing.com) and my buddy Phil went over to our shop and fired up the Scrambler, which took forever. Finally she fired and growled for warm air. Once we cleaned the Scrambler, it was on to the dirt bikes.
Phil’s Honda 230F fired up pretty easily - it has an electric start - and my Suzuki 250 took a little time. I swear I kicked 50 times before I finally got it running. Once it was fired up, it was a wheelie machine! So cold (20F), yet so much fun. The three of us wheeled the bikes on to our trailer and headed over to Dreyer for a little 2009 tune-up. Both Phil and I had a list of items that needed to be done so that we could be sure that we got to enjoy every bit of the 430 miles of trails at Ride Royal Blue.
Here is my list:
1. New rear tire…no wonder I can do donuts on any surface!
2. New rear brakes…I never really examined my brakes considering the bike is still new to me, but I had about a Band Aid’s worth of pad left. Time for a change.
3. Bark Busters…OK, I’m not the strongest guy or the best dirt rider yet so I figured that bark busters would be a good idea in case I drop or crash my bike.
4. Overall tune-up…fluids, air filter, etc., because I’m too lazy to do it.
5. Flywheel weight…I have the RMZ 250, and I’m not the best rider YET! So its really important to not stall my bike through slow-moving trails. Do you know how tiring it is to kick-start your bike every five minutes? The flywheel weight essentially helps the flywheel rotate at low RPM. This is key when trail riding since you are stopping and going, grabbing controls, putting your foot down, etc.
I have to also give a plug to Chelsea at Dreyer. She’s always helpful and knows her stuff. The entire time Bobby was trying to act like he knew what I should do because he is a karting genius. Yo, driver, I have a dirt bike, not a go-kart. When I got out of the shop, I told him that Chelsea was a bad-ass dirt biker and has more hardware in her body then he could ever dream of (broken arms, pelvis, etc.). She’s pretty much a bad ass on two wheels.
Well, that’s the update. March can’t come quick enough! Tomorrow we have a meeting with Red Bull to discuss this year’s Red Bull Indianapolis GP. Of course, I can’t tell you everything, but I will slip a few insider comments for next week’s blog.
Stay tuned, stay warm.
P.S.: I had great customer service at mxsouth.com.
Jarrod
First, a quick picture of me and the lady on your trip down to Kentucky for the IndyCar Series race. We left with two others on Saturday morning, Aug. 9. It was Megan’s first long trip on the bike, and it turned out to be a great trip. Here is a picture of our stop in Madison, Ind., where we stayed the night after the race.
Our route only took us about four hours, considering we took several breaks. Thanks to my top box on the Tiger, Megan was able to sit back and enjoy the ride. This also made it a lot easier on the driver since I didn’t get head butted every time I shifted! Here is the route.
Marker A: Was Megan’s Parents, That’s were Van was dropped off.
Marker D: First stop at BP in Nashville.
Marker E: Lunch at Mikey D’s
Marker K: Stop at the Broadway Tavern & Inn to pick up our room keys.
Marker O: Kentucky Speedway.
Back to the Scrambler…Here is the “Before” picture
Not sure if anyone caught my appearance on the 3-2-1 video blog with Jana Strange or not. In that episode, I went over the Scrambler and mentioned that I still wanted to eliminate the fender. Well, over the past couple of nights, I did just that.
The reason why I combined two kits is to get the ideal setup. The kit from British Customs (BC) has a license plate with a built in LED tail light. The kit from Newbonneville.com (NB) has a better bracket system for the rear blinkers and has OEM connectors for both the front and rear blinkers. The nice thing about the brackets for the rear blinkers on the NB kit is that they provide screws that go directly into the back side of the shock mount. The BC kit requires you to remove the shock mounts and place the blinkers on the outside of the shock. This is not only less attractive, but it causes much more work and makes the signals stick out farther then desired.
The other disappointing thing about the BC kit is that it doesn’t come with completed OEM connectors like the NB kit.
So here is how the kit was combined. The BC taillight was used with the rear signal/taillight harness that was provided by NB.
Here is how the process went. I went ahead and took off the headlight and attached the new front signals and connected them. Checked the function, and they seemed to work properly. At the same time, Matt was working on the rear taillight, and Phil was drinking beer and eating pizza.
Once Matt started to troubleshoot why this light wasn’t working or the tail blinkers weren’t working and etc., we blew a fuse or two, and I had to take the rear window washer fuse out of my FJ Cruiser to finally get all the pieces working. So after about an hour of incomplete circuits, we decided to take the front headlight apart again and switch the front signals. Magically, it made everything better, and the system was working.
It’s done. Just waiting on my artist to finish up my pin-up girl, and I am set!!!
Jarrod
So I missed by blog last week. I really just didn’t have anything nice to say, so I kept my thoughts to myself.
Last weekend was a full weekend of riding. The weather was outstanding, and everyone had the weekend off after the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and a bare weekend with the IndyCar Series taking their first weekend off in six weeks!
At the home front, it was busy – busy riding, that is. On Saturday morning, a group of us met downtown across from the new Dunkin Donuts. Our original plan was to meet on the Circle, but there was a Lotus Car show that had the area blocked off.
The group consisted of six total riders on two Triumphs, three Suzukis and a Ducati. Paul Riley and Phil Sparks were the other to IMS employees that made the trip, along with Paul’s son, friend and Matt, a buddy of Phil and I.
Everyone was roughly on time, and we left downtown at 9 a.m.
We typically take the same routes when we ride down to Brown County. For the first leg of our trip, take a look at this route:
This route took us down Highway 37 until old 37, which is an nice warm-up road. You really don’t get into anything crazy. The one thing that kind of sucked was the fact that the road was slightly damp in a lot of the areas. Old 37 then runs into Bloomington. You then hop on 45, shoot around the north side of the town and head northeast on 45, which is probably my favorite road in central Indiana.
Be sure to turn the volume down on your computer. The audio isn’t the best, but you can see me leading the pack:
That stretch took us about 1.5 hours, and we stopped in Nashville, Ind., for some BBQ. Once we filled up with food and gas, we hit the road for our second stretch. Here is the route. We ride south on 135 around Brown County Park through Story, Ind. From there, we continue on 135 to IN-58:
We took a break at the 446 intersection and lined up the bikes. I’m on the far left, and Paul is on the far right in his orange Hayabusa.
Once we took a quick break and chatted with an ‘ol timer on his Harley Sportster, we rode up 446 across Lake Monroe. Once we got to Bloomington, the group split up. Matt and I headed for 45 again on our way home and the others went straight to 37 and went home.
Here is the ride home Matt and I took:
The ride was excellent. We started around 9 a.m., and I was at home by 3:30 p.m. I had plenty of time to relax before my family got home. That night, Megan went out for a wedding shower, so it was just me and the boys. Van and dog Rex hung out and watched a movie and called it a early night.
The next morning, I had baby duty since Mommy was out all night with her friends. It was fun; Van is in a great stage right now. I bet he will be walking on his own on my next blog.
In the afternoon, Megan had another baby shower that required her to take Van; this one was with the mothers and grandparents. I took the opportunity to hop back on my bike and take it over to storage and get my Scrambler out. I met up with Ron Pitman, another IMS employee, and we took a Sunday cruise around west Indianapolis. Here is our route, which I think is a great on if you want to stay close to the city:
From here we pretty much back tracked our route back to a parking lot at Raceway and 56th Street, parked for a few minutes and talked MotoGP. Buy tickets, ride to the track – it’s going to be a blast!
See you next week.
Jarrod
The Scrambler is back!
How about this weather? Crazy storms, blazing heat and gusty wind! Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I have been on my bike without a jacket. I am a big believer in having the proper gear on because “you just never know,” but it was something that I felt I could take a chance on.
During lunch yesterday, I ran down to the powder coater that did my wheels on the Tiger. While I was there, I picked up a couple of painted pieces to match up with the roulette green on the Scrambler. Oh yeah, by the way, I went ahead and got the Scrambler. In response to “oldracer27’s” comment, I went ahead and got it! Once I walked into the Triumph dealer and got close the Scrambler, I remembered all of the reasons why I purchased it in the first go-around before my buddy totaled it (he’s fine). The Scrambler is just stunning! Everyplace I went I was asked, “What year is that?” told that it was cool, a classic! It didn’t matter if the guy was on a Harley or a Sportbike, the Scrambler gets attention and it deserves it.
So back to my jacketless lunch adventure yesterday. I took a sample over to Triumph to see how the colors matched up, and it just didn’t work out. The roulette green on the bike has candy to it, and all of my powder-coating options just didn’t cut it. After chatting with the body shop, I figured that I would just go ahead and paint them to match perfectly. It’s not going to be as durable as the powder coat, but it’s going to look good!
This time around, I am going to get all of my customization completed before I event saddle up. Just before my buddy crashed it, I had the bike all lined up to get several items painted, put on and tweaked to turn my Scrambler into a Scrambled Flat Tracker.
So here is the list:
- New handlebars: I choose the Speed Triple Bars.
- Triumph Off Road Slip Ons: Great Sound!
- Bar end mirrors: Streamline the bike a bit.
- Paint the rims: Match the roulette green on the tank.
- New seat: The Scrambler has a heavy rear end, so I am going to trim it up with a new seat.
- Fender eliminator: The rear fender is big enough for a softail – it’s got to go.
Like I said, I haven’t ridden the bike yet and told the boys at Triumph to tear it down and start working on it because I don’t want to ride it until it’s completed!
My two readers might be asking, “How in the world did you go from a Ducati Hypermotard to the Triumph Scrambler?!”
Well, like I said above, the Scrambler is just a cool bike! Once I really started thinking about my options, I factored in price, usability, style and what I would use the bike for. They Hypermotard would have been fun, fast, agile, but my Tiger is all of that, as well. With the Ducati, I felt that my bike wouldn’t really be unique to me. With the Scrambler, it’s me, it’s got style that I know is me and will be uniquely mine once I polish up my mods.
So that’s why…
Jarrod
I rode the Ducati Hypermotard S. I was a little unsure about riding the S because I didn’t want to give myself any false expectations if I were to get the Hypermotard. As any rider will tell you, once you hop on the badder version you instantly get that urge to find justification to get it.
Well, luckily there really isn’t that much difference to a rider like me. Down at Carr Ducati, the only demo that they have right now is the S. The owner, Mr. Carr, told me that his son had just spent the weekend out at Putnam Park at an open-track day pushing the Hypermotard around. The bike was rigid, which I like, but let’s be honest, I really wouldn’t have known the difference. The ride was outstanding and the bike in person is still, to me, the coolest bike out there.
My fiancé doesn’t think the same. She still wants me to get the ole’ Triumph Scrambler and finish the project like I originally intended to. The bike was beautiful, well at least on my drawing. If I were to get the Scrambler again, the finished product would look like the picture. She insists that the Hypermotard is like every other bike. I insist that it is not! I guess she can’t see through the plastic, fast tires and Ducati style. I honestly think she just doesn’t want me to get another bike.
On my test ride I followed Travis, who was on a Monster. We zipped through a biz park and into Zionsville and right back to the dealer. It was a short ride but I understood how the motard handled. The bike corners effortlessly, has plenty of power and could be a unicycle if you wanted it to. I am not a wheelie guy but I could feel the lightness of the front end as I cranked the throttle.
The verdict is still out …
Jarrod
Test rode the BMW 650 Moto.
So lately I have been on this supermoto kick. I don’t know what it is, but for me riding in the push-up position just is fun! I like to sit up on a bike, and I really never understood why others like to be hunched over while cruising around.
Right now, I have a Triumph Tiger 1050. It’s bad, real bad and a great all-around bike, but as all riders will tell you … one bike isn’t enough. Ever since the Ducati Hypermotard came out, I have been drooling over it. The only downfall is that I’m not sure if I want to pay the “Ducati Premium.” Sure, it has Ferrari-like styling, but it’s just not my style to go after a “lux” brand. The Hypermotard is different, though. The sexy lines, lean and limber stance, it’s just striking. I haven’t ridden one yet, but I have sat on it a few times.
So in my efforts to find a supermoto bike that will suit the city streets, I gave my first ride to the BMW. I like the guys down at Victory Triumph and now BMW. I have always had a great experience with them. On the first day of business, I walked in and hopped on the 650 Moto. I thought, “This could be a lot of fun!”
In short, it is not for me. The BMW just didn’t seem like a smooth bike. A short, short first gear and a rumbling vibration that blurred my vision wasn’t that much fun. I remember when I first got a bike, I said, “There is no reason to get anything above 600cc’s.” Now I don’t know if I would get any thing under 900cc’s. I like the ease and comfort of an easily driven bike, the available power that can give you an effortless ride and the ability to scare yourself. With the BMW, I felt like I was constantly over-revving and rattling my eyes.
Since that ride wasn’t enjoyable, I almost crossed out the Suzuki 450 sm. I just can’t see that bike being better than a BMW 650. In my efforts to escape the lure of the Hypermotard and to settle for something that would work, I am worried that I am going to give a test ride to the Hypermotard and instantly ask what type of financing is available. It’s just one of those things that I try not to think of because emotion may make the decision for me.
Jarrod
I am blogging to blog at this moment, Wednesday, Feb. 13. This is my second day home from work with what I like to call “The killer flu that won’t kill me!”
Just so you understand the pain that I am typing through right now, every strike of the keyboard is like getting poked in the eyes, followed by a sword slicing my head in half and a circus monkey clapping each side of my skull like cymbals! It hurts.
As I mentioned last week, I planned my wedding the same weekend as the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, or as I like to say it, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway planned the Inaugural GP on my wedding weekend …
Wedding Tip Number One: Check with your place of work before you set a wedding date.
My fiancée and I had been struggling with a date on which we were going to commit our lives to each other. There were a few factors that we needed to consider before we actually set the date.
Introduction:
Hi! Welcome to my blog. I really couldn’t come up with a more spectacular entrance to my redbullindianapolisgp.com blog.
My name is Jarrod Krisiloff, and I am extremely pumped for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP. I am an avid rider and a speed junkie who coincidently planned my wedding the same weekend as MotoGP. So throughout my “weekly” blog, I’ll be delivering updates on planning your wedding around a motorcycle race, places to check out around Indianapolis on your two-wheeler and just about any other topic that comes to mind.