CanyonChasers Podcast // The Braking Zone

Enter to win the 2027 MotoGuzzi V85 TT at https://fanathem.com/canyonchasers We start by admitting they’re both Africa Twin nerds, and then the conversation wanders everywhere. A Ducati dealer tells us the Streetfighter V2 outsells the Panigale V2 about 3 to 1, and insurance quotes are a big reason why. We follow up on the Showa big piston fork that feels bottomless under hard braking, and dig into the air gap theory a viewer sent in. We also cover:

- Why triples confuse Dave, and how firing order changes an engine’s character
- Chinese ownership of Italian heritage brands, and the “pick two” problem with price, heritage and where a bike is built
- The MotoGP 850cc test and why those lap times need a big grain of salt
- Kalex ground effects in Moto2
- An energy-limited MotoGP thought experiment
- What’s wrong with bagger racing in MotoAmerica, and how a claiming rule could fix it

We close with Brian’s $8,000 a year insurance bill on a CBR600F4i at 17.

Tell us in the comments: what was your first bike, and what did it cost to insure?

0:00 We're both Africa Twin nerds
7:55 Honda's V3 and why triples confuse Dave
13:40 Chinese owners and Italian heritage brands
20:30 Big piston fork follow-up: the air gap theory
28:57 Nissin, Brembo and budget brakes
32:55 Why onboard footage is boring
41:40 MotoGP 2027: the 850cc test and Pirelli
48:23 Ground effects, aero rules and the V5 loophole
55:17 Thought experiment: energy-limited MotoGP
58:36 MotoE, Harley and fixing bagger racing
1:10:32 Streetfighter outsells Panigale 3 to 1
1:12:17 $8K a year to insure a CBR600F4i at 17

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/CanyonChasers

Enter to win the 2027 Moto Guzzi V85TT at https://fanathem.com/canyonchasers - MotoGP’s last weekend at Phillip Island ended without the race everyone wanted, so Dave and Brian go over what we did get: the Marquez vs Martin sprint fight, a wet qualifying lap from Marquez that looked like a different sport, Jack Miller’s sendoff, and Martin’s crash heading into Sepang.

After that, the conversation moves into bikes. Dave explains why tall-rounder adventure bikes like the Moto Guzzi V85 and the Africa Twin keep up with sport bikes in a technical canyon. That includes how modern rake, trail, offset and swingarm length get around the old tradeoffs, and how much work modern tires and IMU electronics are quietly doing. Then the insurance check game: if the Multistrada Pikes Peak got written off, what replaces it?

Next comes the naked superbike debate. If you had a blank check, which one goes in the garage: the KTM Super Duke, Aprilia Tuono, BMW S1000R, Speed Triple or the Streetfighter? That leads into engine configurations, Honda’s V3 rumors, and whether electric drivetrains turn gas engines into the new recreational horse.

We close with a talk about how riding schools teach. Why does the same lesson click when one instructor explains it and fall flat when another does? How do you spot snake oil riding advice? And why does the sport depend on everyone riding better?

Tell us in the comments: what naked bike would you buy, and what’s your favorite engine configuration?

Chapters
0:00 The last race at Phillip Island
1:54 Why MotoGP is leaving and the Adelaide street circuit
4:14 Sprint highlight: Marquez vs Martin
7:42 Next year: Acosta, Pirelli tires and the 850s
10:27 Marquez’s wet qualifying masterclass
11:56 Helmets, liveries and Jack Miller’s farewell
16:06 Martin’s injury and Sepang
18:21 The V85 giveaway bike and the case for tall-rounders
21:29 Modern geometry: rake, trail, offset and long swingarms
25:34 Electronics and tires doing the hidden work
28:06 If the Pikes Peak got written off, what replaces it?
33:13 Naked superbike shopping: Super Duke, Tuono, S1000R
45:43 The Speed Triple and the triple debate
49:25 Honda’s V3 and engine configurations
52:36 Electric vs gas: does the engine become the horse?
59:14 Riding schools and coaching language
1:04:58 Listen to the question: the motor officer example
1:10:37 Spotting snake oil riding advice
1:13:03 V85 giveaway details and wrap up

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/CanyonChasers

Enter to win the Moto Guzzi V85TT: https://fanathem.com/canyonchasers - Ducati’s factory team just ran away with the most dominant World Superbike season ever, and we think it exposes a bigger problem. When the Panigale V4 R is basically a GP bike you can buy for $50k, why would Yamaha, Kawasaki, or Honda spend millions to show up and lose? We dig into the tech that makes the Ducati so good (twin pulse firing order, counter-rotating crank, electronics that add rear brake mid-corner), why fuel flow limits haven’t slowed it down, and what we’d do with the series if it were up to us. Spoiler: more power, fewer rider aids, worse tires.

We also follow up on last week’s counter steering debate and the idea of putting a potentiometer on the steering head to see what the bars are actually doing. Then we get into single function forks, and I share a frustrating track day at Utah Motorsports Campus West where no setting I tried gave me any front end feel from the big piston fork.

And yes, there’s a brand new Moto Guzzi V85 in the studio. More on that below.

What should happen to World Superbike? Let us know in the comments.

0:00 Intro
0:17 First impressions of the new Moto Guzzi V85
9:22 Counter steering follow-up: your comments
17:04 Ducati's perfect WSBK season
22:30 Inside the Panigale V4 R
30:44 Is this the death of World Superbike?
42:40 What we'd do: more power, fewer aids, worse tires
49:56 BSB's 200hp cap and the 500cc two-stroke era
56:20 Single function forks explained
58:52 Track day: no feel from the big piston fork
1:07:00 Our techniques aren't tattooed on us

Enter to win the Moto Guzzi V85 TT at https://fanathem.com/canyonchasers - Dave spent the week at Barber Vintage Motorcycle Days riding Honda's new CB1000F alongside Freddie Spencer, the only rider to win the 250 and 500 world championships in the same season. We get into how Honda deliberately tuned character into this engine (mismatched velocity stacks for a two-tone intake note, offset cam timing, carburetor-style fueling), why Dave came away liking it more than expected after his long-term time on the Hornet SP, and what it actually takes to keep pace at a press launch on a bike and road you've never seen.

Then Freddie drops a bomb: he told Dave to try cornering without countersteering at all. We break down what countersteering really does, what "counter-countersteering" means on corner exit, and why universities are still trying to figure out how two-wheelers stay upright.

We also talk about the collapse of the big motorcycle magazines, what that means for how brands launch bikes now, and why YouTube's comment section is the best feedback loop a creator can ask for.

Plus a full Mandalika MotoGP recap: the smartest version of Marc Marquez we've ever seen, Aprilia's costly tire pressure mistake in the sprint, the turn one incident where a knee knocked a shifter into first gear, the "nobody wants to lead" standoff, and Marquez stalking Martin through Q2.

00:00 Intro
01:28 Riding Honda's CB1000F with Freddie Spencer
05:04 The retro styling: a Honda restomod
08:11 How Honda engineered character into the engine
15:02 Deep dive: intake and exhaust tuning
21:13 Ergonomics and the small press launch
24:27 Magazines are dying, creators step in
33:10 Riding with Freddie at Barber
39:11 Freddie's advice: stop countersteering
44:41 Countersteering and counter-countersteering explained
50:35 The science of bike stability
54:45 MotoGP Mandalika recap
1:06:16 The tire pressure rule problem
1:12:31 Marquez stalks Martin in Q2
1:14:55 Giveaway bike and outro

#freddiespencer #CB1000F #countersteering

There's a new bike in the garage: a 2021 Ducati Panigale V2, bought to replace an Aprilia RSV4 Factory as a club race bike. We talk about the first track days on a completely bone stock V2 (slicks only), what the Showa Big Piston Fork does well on the brakes and where it falls apart mid-corner, and why racers ditch BPF internals for cartridges.

Then the good part: riding the old 955 V2 and the new 890 V2 back to back on the same track, same day. The new bike has less power, a double-sided swingarm, and a very different personality. On paper it looks like a step backward. On track and on the street, it might be the better bike for most riders.

We also get into why club racing is worth it, whether 155 hp belongs in a middleweight class, Honda's electric-supercharged V3, the unforgivable sin of Honda never building a production V5, a Discovery Channel show that led to an Air Force career in metalworking, and an update on Frunk the cat.

0:00 The new bike: 2021 Ducati Panigale V2
1:09 Why leave the Aprilia RSV4 Factory?
3:31 First track days, bone stock
6:25 Big Piston Forks: great braking, vague mid-corner
17:28 Engine, frame, and the single-sided swingarm
28:00 Old V2 vs new V2 back to back
38:48 The new V2 should have been called a SuperSport
40:53 Will he race it? A love letter to club racing
51:26 Honda's V3 and shifting a twin
59:27 Paint plans and a Discovery Channel origin story
1:04:21 Honda's missing V5, EICMA, and a Triple R wish
1:09:51 Frunk the cat

#PanigaleV2 #Ducati #CanyonChasers