The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Deliberate Practice on the Way to Being Great

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In my last post, provocatively titled How the Motorcycle Gods Ride, we examined Rossi's control, as demonstrated in that fascinating photo, as something beyond the levels most of us mere mortals can achieve. In the comments, SteveH, noted the 10,000 hour rule, made popular recently by Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers, in which Gladwell pointed out example after example of superior … [Read more...]

How the Motorcycle Gods Ride

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While looking through the latest Motorcyclist magazine, I came across this image from the Ducati MotoGP test session at Sepang. It shows Valentino Rossi entering a turn at speed with the bike pointed in a seemingly impossible direction, impossible, at any rate, for mere mortals. Most of us, if placing our bikes in this exact same spot, would be about to make our way across the … [Read more...]

Getting (My) Back up to Speed

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Though I seldom post anything personal here, regular readers may have noticed The Kneeslider has been quiet lately. Some weeks ago, I injured my back, enough so that I've been a bit limited in what I can do. While recovering, I managed to pick up a nasty virus/head cold which was followed by a bad reaction to a prescription. Interesting experience. Things are improving, I'm … [Read more...]

Yamaha Virago Cafe Racers by Doc’s Chops

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It's always interesting to think about who first looked at any particular motorcycle and thought, "nice bike, but why not make it a cafe racer?" The Yamaha Virago has been done many times and as we've noted before, it doesn't come from the factory with any such pretensions, it's a cruiser. Well, once you look at these two Virago cafe conversions by Greg Hageman of Doc's Chops, … [Read more...]

Honda CX500 Cafe Racer Conversion Kit Turns Your Donor Bike into a Bike Night Eye Catcher

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Cafe racer conversions are all the rage, and, as we all know, anything popular is often done very badly, but every now and then, someone with a bit more skill and a good eye puts his hand to the job and the finished product makes you sit up and take notice. Starting with a rather rough and ratty Honda CX500 donor bike, you can build a sweet little cafe racer by adding your own … [Read more...]