Motorcyclists
take to Lake Koshkonong for stunt competiton
(Published
Monday, January 31, 2005 12:03:15 PM CST)
By Sid Schwartz
The Janesville Gazette Staff
Ryan
Suchanek is accustomed to popping no-hands wheelies with
his street bike.
But not on a frozen
lake.
"This is a lot harder," he said.
The
Milton man was among a dozen street bike stunt riders to
compete Sunday in the Ice Stunt Competition sponsored by
Sunset Bar on the north end of Lake
Koshkonong.
Although stunt competitions are
common on asphalt, this is the first time anybody knows
of such a contest being held on ice.
Riders competed to see who
could ride the slowest while popping a wheelie or ride a
wheelie farthest with no hands. There also was
individual and team trick riding.
For the unusual
event, the riders of the street bikes-sometimes called
crotch rockets-had to borrow technology used by dirt
bike riders, who have been racing on ice for
years.
To provide traction, they screwed
thousands of sharp-headed studs into their front and
rear tires.
"Different stud setups are key,"
Suchanek said. "I'm a firm believer that a pattern works
better."
While heavily lugged dirt bike tires
provide a clear pattern and plenty of rubber to hold
studs, the smoother and thinner street bike tires
require more ingenuity. On the rear, they put a tire
within a tire for twice the screw-holding power.
Joe Beavers, one of Suchanek's partners in the
stunt group Vertical Mischief, said a rear tire studded
with 1,100 screws weighs about 60 pounds instead of
15.
"They're so heavy, they want
to stop rolling," Beavers said.
Most of the
competitors Sunday ran with little or no air in their
back tire to improve traction.
Beavers said the
studs on ice actually have better traction than rubber
on asphalt.
"You dump the clutch, and it's right
there," Beaver said.
Beavers has been riding
street bikes for about six years and stunting for three.
He, Suchanek and the two other members of Vertical
Mischief-Andy Lancaster and Dan Rupnow-met through
motorcycle riding.
Vertical Mischief was born
from on-street mischief.
"One person says he can
do a wheelie, and somebody else says he can do one
better," Lancaster said. "It just goes from
there."
Finding a place to practice stunts is the
biggest challenge.
"A wheelie-no matter how fast
you're going or where you do it-is a ticket for reckless
driving," Beavers said. "If he wants to be a jerk, the
cop can write it for reckless
endangerment."
Beavers currently is unemployed.
He lost his eight-year garbage man job because of his
driving record.
But his driving brought cheers
from the crowd that gathered on the ice
Sunday.
In the acrobatic freestyle competition,
Beavers stood on the gas tank of his bike and waved. He
sat with his legs over the handlebars. He skated on the
ice behind his bike while hanging on to the rear
fender.
He said riding on ice take
confidence.
"You think it's going to be slippery,
but it's not."
The trick, he said, is convincing
yourself.
"It's a mind thing." |
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