New Zealand has always been one place that I didn’t want to visit – as once there, I thought I’d never leave. Fortunately, as I have commitments for the rest of this year in other countries I have to, but as the big man says “I’ll be back!” What a wonderful experience on all levels. There are many lasting memories of this trip the most prevalent being that of openness, friendship and a thirst for knowledge in the riding community as a whole followed by a visual epiphany from those who received the knowledge.
As a nation of tinkerers I will find many more road motorcycles in tip top shape in all aspects when I return. Perhaps with the knowledge I have dispensed over the last several weeks and with winter approaching, the tinkering will begin in earnest and when I return, things will be generally a lot different. I know the track and race riders will be knee deep in bolts, grease, brake fluid and seals soon enough. How about you road riders?
For any trip like this, a lot of “thank you”(s) have to be given out starting with Sam Neilson and family who made this trip happen in all aspects from the initial email of “Hey, would come to NZ to help riders?” to hosting me for the bulk of the trip and to the supporting cast of characters that hosted me in various cities who will become center pins for their cities during the next trip.
I’d also like to give recognition to dealership principles and staff and track day groups who allowed me to present information to their clients without really knowing who I was in the grand scheme of things:- AFC, MCR, Hawks Bay, Avon Suzuki and TSS dealerships along with Play Day track days, Pacific Club track days, Moto TT and the Victoria Motorcycle Club. I know that in all cases, we will be back with each business listed with more events during the week in that city with more information and more training. No doubt there will be extra cities that jump onboard in 2014 so contact Sam who will be the NZ National coordinator at sshbneilson@gmail.com (give him a month to unwind first!). BTW: Kayla has first dibs in Auckland with Anthony!
For 2014 I will be providing all kinds of opportunities to NZ riders including seminars and workshops, suspension tuning on and off track, rider coaching and track day and race classroom sessions at tracks or in the evenings to bring the full Dave Moss Tuning repertoire to NZ that US riders are so familiar with. There’s already a lot of riders verbally signed on for many of the above, so look for more details from Sam Neilson in various forums beginning in September of this year. When the announcements are made, book quickly as there will be limited numbers per event to keep the experience personal and much more detailed in regards to the topic covered (dirt race, dirt trail, dirt adventure, road, road track, road race, road race championship). I will try to keep groups in a single ability/skill category so we can go much deeper in to the topic.
In order to keep the momentum going from now until January 2014 I will be posting monthly to national and regional forums that want information for their members, or private rider/track/race groups where the information can be distributed to its members from a single point of contact. Along with that post, I will answer all the previous months questions in full making sure the answer is comprehensive for all. If you want to be the contact for your group, please email Sam in regards to this so he can distribute the information appropriately.
I will be back next year from the beginning of January through to the end of February at least, possibly into mid March. There are so many riders that need initial and continued help, guidance, advice and motivation and I want to continue with my mission in this regard to make all riders globally safer and more knowledgeable in helping others so that we all create a much stronger sense of community amongst our fellow riders whose bikes handle significantly better and are therefore substantially safer. I really care about every rider out there who has any kind of need for understanding rather than confusion.
The most important point that I can reiterate in this post and from every conversation I have had during my time here is that it is YOUR bike, it has to meet YOUR needs, YOUR weight, YOUR ergonomics, YOUR riding style, YOUR pace and needs to be able to get you around with a well set up OEM suspension to start for sag and hydraulics. Everyone that had their bike adjusted will agree that it was the best money ever spent on their bike. So succumb to peer group pressure and get your bike reviewed and set up correctly – you’ll be very thankful in so many ways and then as a direct result of that experience go find someone who also needs that nudge. One person at a time and we will get there through concrete and accurate knowledge, more comfortable bikes and safer handling machines that bring nothing but a smile to their owners.
Learn what you can at www.feelthetrack.com under the chassis set up video tab! It’s all free ☺ !!!
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Originally Posted by JD Racing
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