exceeding your PHT

[yota]

Some of us must constantly remind ourselves of the limits of our PHT (personal horsepower threshold). I'm a great example of this. As long as I stay 200cc or below (250cc for 4 stroke) I can ride fast and seldom get over my head. As soon as I get ****y and get something with a bigger engine I either get hurt (broken collarbone a while back) or I ride too conservatively knowing that I'm over my PHT.

Another good example is one of our regular riding buds, lets call him Robin. Robins a great guy and a good rider, esp in tight stuff but a few years back he was flirting with the urge to ride a big Husaberg. This resulted in numerous injuries (some serious) and a great deal of kicking his guts out trying to restart the bike in races. Finally seeing the light, what does he do? He gets a KTM 380 (more injuries and a lot of hilarious Robin crashing stories for the next year or so).

Finally Robin gets an XR 400 and he's never ridden better in the woods. Last weekend he scores a third in his class at a notorious whoop fest enduro (Swamp Fox) and I think he may be leading his class at this point on the XR.

A couple of weeks ago Robin gets the urge again and picks up a used Husaberg 501 enduro. Oh well, at least we'll get some more good stories in the near future.

 

[ktmboy]

I have the opposite problem---I get over-confident on the smaller bikes and ride over my head.

 

[dell30rb1]

it took me awhile to get comfortable with the power on my cr80 (about 3 rides) but now i'm able to use the full throttle feature;)

 

[fmfkx125372]

I have the same problem as ktmboy. I just got a 250 and tried a 125 again for the first time in a while and went buck wild because it felt slow...I ate it big time!

 

[yota]

FMFKX125372, if the 125 you rode had been an 02 KTM, it wouldn't have felt so slow.

 

[bbbom]

My right hand seems to keep me from exceeding my PHT.

Maybe it's my right brain that controls that function,or is that the left brain, third eye, sixth sense?:think

 

[taraker]

I ride a 426 & it's relatively tame by "AJ" standards. I have no problem grabbing a bunch of throttle & tackling what I need to get myself out of the mess I got myself into, but what scares me the most is the 500cc 2 smokes!

I rode a KTM 520 or 540 or something or the other, lets just call it "The Man Eater" & I'm going down a straightaway in 4th gear at about, oh lets say 45 plus & I decide I'll go to 5th & grab me a bunch of gas, lets see what this baby can do, you know what I mean? I'm thinkin that this thing is movin at a pretty good clip & I ride a 426 & all so how much could it really have? Well I learned something new that particular day. A KTM 520 or 540 or something or the other can stand straight up & down at 45MPH & fortunately for me that particular day something snapped close hard enough from behind that the front wheel came down & I didn't have to add another chapter to my hospital stories.

Since then I meet AJ & he nearly begged me to ride his AF500, I just gave him that stupid knowing look & said thank you very mush for you kind & generous death threat but I think I'll pass & stick to the 4 stroke. :cool:

That my PHT story & I'm stickin to it.

 

[DAVE C]

Same thing happened to my friend who had his bike for 10 minutes. "Let's see what this baby can do..." Fifth gear and it stood straight up. He didn't fare so well though, shattered humerous and collar bone. Bike is now all bent up and may not be salvagable. That is a really scary thought!

 

[Camstyn]

yes, the wonder of the 500 2-strokes.. they'll pull your eyeballs through the back of your head and pull the arms out of your sockets if you don't respect the twisty-turny thing in your right hand.

 

[Smitty]

The alltime Open bike story!

http://patburroughs.dirtrider.net/the_ktm.htm

I always laugh till I cry when I read this one.

And this one.http://www.patmanracing.com/onemore.htm

 

[taraker]

Re: The alltime Open bike story!

From Patman's Site
Alright, so, we got this 550cc of rompin', stompin', fire-breathin' two stroke racer, screamin, wide open, me on it's back also screamin' wide open, trying to pack itself & me into the back of a mini-van

OMG Too funny!
Man, it's been along time since I read that one.

 

[yota]

god, did that story ever remind me of my broken collarbone. Every part of your body is tied to that broken bone. The sling is the worst part. Of course I took it off to shower all the time, which causes the healing process to reverse. And gotta wash it occasionally cause of the hideous smell. Thanks for the memories.

 

[Old CR goat]

I thought about that story a couple of months ago. We were at a race, well practice day before the race, this guy was pulling a bike with a S10 Blazer. About 10 ft. of rope, back glass up and gate down. The bike never started but it reminded me of that story and I couldn't stop laughing.

My kids thought I had lost it.:)