It's getting scary people.

Gas prices are so high now I have actually resorted to using the bike to do a lot of my little commutes.

Picking up Chinese food and strapping it to the back seat of my bike is a favorite chore now. The bike gets between 40 and 50 mpg so it's great to run these little errands. The downside though, is that it doesn't have a lot of storage space, and some evil-doer could easily walk away with it.

We'll see how it goes though. I don't do that much commuting, but every little bit of savings helps.

The wear on the front tire is looking a little ragged. It didn't look this bad during the winter months when riding temps were around 65F - 70F, and the tire pressures are usually 29F/31R (as low as 28F/30R). Today, however, the front tire looks like it's tearing a bit.

I may try some higher pressures the next time out to see how the tire reacts.

Ambient Temperature: ~78F
Tire Pressure: 28.5F/30.5R
Average entry speed: 40 mph
Average exit speed: 40 mph
Average slowest mid-corner speed: 34 mph
Average highest lateral acceleration: .9 G

Front tire tridents have all been worn off the tread.

Rear tire chicken strip rides right above third prong in trident. Tread-wear looks good.

I was just looking through this month's issue of Sport Rider magazine, and saw the DAQ printout that they usually do of a test run at Buttonwillow. Before I ever got to ride at Jennings GP, I always wished I could get a data log of the JGP track.

Below is a data log of one of my laps, during a session where I was running consistent 1:30s.

The speed plot is located on top in green. The plot below shows lateral (blue) and longitudinal (red) acceleration. A minus value for the lateral acceleration indicates that the bike is turning to the left. A minus value for the LonG (red) line indicates deceleration. And,.. of course the track layout is on the far right of the image.

Click for larger view

Bike Info:
Bike: 2007 Kawasaki ZZR-600 (ZX600J)
Mods: Kerker Slip-On (Model 171-61105)
Tires: Pirelli Diablo Corsa III (180/55-17, 120/65-17)
Tire Pressures: 29F/31R
Ambient Temp: ~77 F