Modern Vespa

So after the trials and tribulations with wheelie bars and all your helpful suggestions for stiffening the camera mount, I've finally got something to show for it: HD video of the Three Peaks Challenge 2010.

In the end, I still couldn't get the over-the-shoulder shot stabilized. There is, as a result, limited footage included in this video from that particular angle. The down-low shot looking forward from the left side looks fabulous, though, and in a few places you'll see how close it came to the Botts Dots on the road.

One important note: the three angles you'll see in this video were all shot in different places at different parts of the ride. There is, therefore, no continuity. Since nothing especially exciting happens during the ride except hurling around corners at unwise speeds, I've simply spliced together the footage against some repetitive (but infectious) music so that you can be hypnotized by the scenery.

Enjoy!

Cool! The video when shooting the scooter behind you was much better than I thought it would be. I just bought a Gopro wide, sd but have only used it on top of my helmet. I have a rack on the back of my motorcycle where I could easily mount the camera to catch the riders behind me. You've inspired me to mess with it (when the weather cools down). Thanks for posting this.

Nice! Thanks for posting it!

Who were your riding partners/video subjects?

Yes, the trailing bike shoots were very good. Since both the camera and the subject were leaning around corners it really have the effect of being on a bike.

The guy wearing a white helmet and black leathers on the black GT behind me was oopsclunkthud. The yellow-ish MP3 (both ahead of and behind me) was jimc. The guy in front of me in the yellow helmet was glasseye.

The foot was mine.

Jess that is really high quality stuff and a great video in some nice twisties.

Permission to put the video on our home page for a while? I am certain visitors will throughly enjoy it.

SDG

Awesome. I like the shots of Patrick and Jim going through the twisties. Great stuff!

I don't think I've ever felt this jealous on this level before.

Well, maybe once.

Great stuff.

Bill XX

Certainly!

Alrighty then. It is up now, I know folks will enjoy it.

Thanks,
David

As my little nephew would say, "Again!"

Jess, excellent Vid. At approx 10 to 13 sec's the front tire came of the ground twice, where you attempting to pop a wheelie? Also, what type of helmet are you wearing?

Jim,

I am surprised at how low you were able to lean your MP3.

Well, sort of. My technique is terrible, so the risk of actually getting the front tire off the ground by any appreciable height is pretty much nil. Schuberth C3 modular.

Ah yes! I saw you doing that. A for effort.

Excellent video. For all the rides I have been on, I rarely get to watch you and Oops ride and learn from it, because I have about 3 or 4 turns to take it in before you all are out of sight, so this is great watch and observe.

Also, I know there is a lot of glinty stuff in the surface of the road, but I swear OopsThunkClud throws a spark at 5:03!

Great video Jess. Both the low angle and the rear facing footage are really outstanding. Really brings back the memories. I'm itching to ditch work and head back into the hills now...

Looks like it's all from Mt. Hamilton Rd, San Antonio Valley and Mines Rd, is that right?

One special moment - that was a bit of a recurring theme - especially once we got to Mt. Tam - is at 2:44. We did do some breaking of the double yellow to get around slow cages...

That's a really wide lens. I was maybe 3 feet off the back of your bike in some of those shots and it still looks like I'm kind of leaving a safe distance.

Wow! Great video! You really got the kinks worked out for stabilization. What type of tripod are you using?

Good eye! And I think you're right. Considering that his bike was occluding the sun at that moment, I'd guess that grinding the centerstand would be the most likely explanation for that glint.

It's a mixture of a custom-fabricated rack bolted to the rear, plus a Manfrotto Magic Arm and some RAM-mount balls and arms.

Here's a picture of the rig, in the over-the-shoulder configuration:

That center stand really must go! Even with the weight shifted well into the turn it was scraping.

Great treatment of a ride. Makes me want to go out now and do the same.

The bottom camera position does hide the upcoming road course, so it makes me kind of want to look around your scooter to see what's coming. Great for a left-turns-only course

Were you checking out who's passing you, at 2:30, when it was your shaddow? I remember the first time that happened to me, it scared the shits out of me.

I think the best positions are the view backwards and the high one over your shoulder. I don't know how you got the camera up there but you may want to experiment with tensioning that extension, flexing it back or back/to the side, to reduce the shake.

Overall, excellent job! Thanks for posting.

I posted a picture of the rig while you were posting, a few posts up. It's pretty hard to get it any stiffer with the current configuration. The v2.0 rack will allow a third dimension of support, which should get it a lot more stabilized. Getting anything with only two dimensions to be stable that high up in the air (and on a moving scooter) is nigh on impossible without something more elaborate than I could afford (or carry).

I think it's 170 degrees.

I see. Smartly designed. There can't be much vertical flex, but most will be horizontal, going forward and back. That could be reduced by a string/boom design similar to tha masts of sailboats. A horizontal boom, maybe 20" total. Placed about 1/3 from the top, pointing forward/backward. Then two strings, running from the top, down over the ends of the boom, to the base of your bipod, really, really tight.

Well, except for the parts of it that didn't work.

The over-the-shoulder shot was very unsteady, but the same components produced a decent image when mounted down by the swingarm. Go figure. Not a bad idea. We tried something like that from one direction only (see Wheelie Bars) but it wasn't sufficiently stiff.

The Manfrotto arm worked exceptionally well to provide a bunch of different positions, with the camera angle always easily adjustable before locking everything down. They're so handy, I think I'll get a couple more of them.

Interesting... it looks like the MP3 has to lean to a greater angle to maintain the same speed through the turns as the two-wheelers. Or is it just because he was using a tighter apex?

I think it's more that an MP3 can lean with more latitude in either direction.

I thought it was due to the black vespa rider's body lean (mostly knee).

That too.

Nice video! I enjoyed it so much, I watched it a few times and noticed different stuff each time. However, the last time I watched it, at the end, I noticed links to another video titled, "Dan's Crash." Ouch! I hope that's not somebody we know...

That is in fact someone we know -- his username is shown right there in the still frame from the video. That was a previous Three Peaks ride (last year? two years ago? I can't remember) right past the North Gate of Mount Diablo.

He wasn't badly hurt. He made it to this years ride as well.

Glad to hear it. Sometimes it's impossible to tell from crash video whether it was a gnarly crash or merely a gnarly looking crash.

P.S. I noticed that somebody above commented on jimc's lean angles on the mp3. I noticed that, too. It looks like he pushes it over to full lean and just kind of sits on it. Is my perception completely off the mark?

With his feet on the highway pegs dragging the pegs and the stand the whole way through. While I was hanging off to try and keep from dragging parts.

Yeah I noticed all of that. I'm not sure I want to scrape my stand on the MP3. Well maybe just the once. According to Genie, I was fairly close last weekend.

It's not that scary. Scary is scraping cases, which I've done. Freaked me the eff out.

I haven't taken that "leap of faith" yet... ie I haven't gone hurtling into a corner so fast, that I've had to push hard on the bars, grit my teeth and sail round, again the word is yet.

Follow Patrick for a few, it'll happen before you know it heheh

Followed Patrick a fair bit in Italy and I'm sure I improved. I'd have liked to have much more practise though.

Yeah. I've learned a lot from Rich and Patrick. In fact I think I have largely improved as a rider from watching them and internalizing it more than anything.

My first three peaks was a watershed moment for me in learning more about how I might approach controlling my bike.

Looks like Patrick has lots to answer for!