warthog1984

Oh ok I stand corrected, thanks! I should add (just in case) that the way to deal with boiling brake fluid is 1) better fluid, like ATE superblue or a DOT 5.1 fluid and 2) more frequent bleeding/changing.

That's the brake *fluid* boiling, not expansion of the brake lines. Rubber lines give a vaguer feel; bad fluid saps stopping power.

It sounds like you probably had a decent amount of experience on your streetbike. If that's the case, the only reasons I'd see to get the 600 first are 1) cost and 2) better training. By training, I don't mean the safety aspect so much as the ability to make more mistakes safely & have them show up more obviously than on a liter bike where the sheer power and responsiveness can disguise lost speed in corners, unsteady piloting, etc...

If anybody wants to analyze it more, rockstorephotos has dedicated an album to high-speed photos of this crash.

Bandit 600 with Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tires.

I guess I should clarify. As Gr8Dane said, most of the corners in the snake are blind to some degree (check out street view). What I'm running into is when I'm riding the Pace through the corners (8/10 of max street effort, so about 7/10 of all-out), and coming up to a corner, I'll "read" it as a 90 degree turn and plan my line accordingly; however, once I hit the apex I see it's actually say a 150 degree turn and my bike- although perfectly on a out-in-out line for a 90 degree turn- is out of position to smoothly finish the full 150 degrees and I end upstanding up, scrubbing speed, and "wasting" the corner. What I'd like to do is see if there's a way to "save" those corners and finish the turn smoothly. Ideally, I'd go to the track to figure it out, but $ is kinda tight right now. If I was getting outside my safety comfort/competence zone, I'd back off more; right now I'm just trying to find better lines through the corners. FWIW, I don't use much hangoff (body issues), and the kickstand scrapping was due to a camber change in the road.

90%+ is due to simply misreading the turn- only "seeing" the immediate apex area, missing a decreasing radius, and/or misjudging camber/grade. Usually I realize 0.5s after I've committed and apexed when I see my line not going where I need to. Usually I'm pretty good on reading the turns & TOTW2 is helping with that; there's always 1 or 2 turns out of the 200+ I do every week where my mind wanders or I see what I'm expecting to see, etc... Still, one bad turn is enough to ruin my entire day I should mention that most of these turns are hairpins or partially blind 90+ degree turns where I'm only sighting the turn briefly during the approach or out of my peripheral vision before committing. Mostly this section of Mulholland. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=mulholland+highway+kanaan+dune&hl=en&ll=34.102495,-118.794479&spn=0.017626,0.042272&sll=37.230328,-95.712891&sspn=34.473961,86.572266&hq=kanaan+dune&hnear=Mulholland+Hwy,+Los+Angeles,+California&t=m&z=15

The best way to handle it is of course not to miss the apex in the first place - but that doesn't help you much now does it? More seriously: looking at the exit of the turn, keeping loose is a good start. You write that you stand the bike up and brake. First, could you explain why you do this? Standing the bike up (and braking) will only get you closer to the outside wall! Are you are maximum available lean when this happens? - If not, how could you utilize this? Would there be another way to tighten your line? - could you possibly do this by transferring a little bit of weight to the front? How? The dangers of added lean and throttle have been discussed here several time (several films on youtube to demonstrate it too), so what options do you have to avoid this? Yeah, no easy answers but a bit of food for thought (and a couple of hints) to get you started. Cheers, Kai Generally, I'm not right at max lean, but the 5-10% I have left isn't (seemingly) enough to bring my arc all the way back into the lane. Standing the bike up: since I'm using most of the available traction for cornering, I partially stand the bike up for extra traction and then smoothly but quickly scrub off 5-10mph of speed before dropping it again. I could brake leaned over, but not sure where the breaking point for the tires is. I understand the part where standing the bike up gets me closer to the wall, but I'm trading a little space during braking for a much tighter line afterwards. The frustration is trying to figure out: once I recognize a moderately bad entry, how do I tighten up my line those extra few feet? FWIW, I have scrapped the kickstand during a "good" turn in the snake and ended up trading a slightly wider line for 1/4" of clearance to the kickstand.

What is the best way to "save" a blown corner? I've read TOTW2 and am gradually working through it while riding (mostly around the Mulholland area). Most of the time I'll do OK, sometimes I'll do very good. Occasionally, I'll miss and apex too soon, mostly on slight hills in tighter corners. What I usually end up in is: 1) Line running wide (natural end ~5ft outside the lane) 2) Modest lean angle left "in reserve" ( some cornering clearance to the kickstand , probably near the limit for the tires & Gs I have available without falling over) 3) Rock wall on the outside edge of the lane 4) 3-6s reaction time available before I go "out" 5) throttle rolling on 6) bike balanced front/back What is the best way to handle this? I don't feel comfortable rolling on the throttle much more, and I don't want to hit the wall. Currently what I'm doing is focusing on the exit of the turn where I want to go, breathing & loosening up, standing the bike up enough to gain more traction, scrubbing speed with both brakes, then leaning back down while trying to keep the line tight. Is there a better way to handle this? I don't mind scrapping the kickstand as long as it doesn't throw the bike out of control. Thanks!

I've had one, where a manhole in a corner camouflaged a pothole that ripped up my strut. Generally, the only crashes I've seen that are unavoidable are ones where a 3rd party did something so out of control that a situation changed too fast to react OR there's something hidden in the road where your first indication is substantial damage to the vehicle.

Well, took the bike out after getting the new rubber on. Pirelli Rosso IIs, 110/70-17 and 160/60-17. A lot stickier than the old ones, had to tighten up the lines b/c I wasn't slipping into turns anymore. Noticed the 60 series feels like a very round tire & need more muscle to turn it in. Oh well, other than that, feels very good.

If I want to start accumulating purpose-built riding gear, what pieces (besides the helmet) should I start with? Also, if I invest in a suit for SoCal canyon-carving & CSS, what are the important things to look for (1 pc, 2 pc, leather/textile, weight, etc...) and how should it fit in the store? Was looking at Sedici Monza 1 pc leathers today, not sure about quality. I'm 5'11", 215lb, 30" inseam, 36" waist and 34" sleeve right now. Without the gut (like earlier this year), I'm 34-35" waist and 185-190lb, if that helps. Thanks!

^I've thought about it before, I just don't have the coin that would take my training from local NASTAR races to Giant Slalom. In response to your list above, I know/know of people that have done each of those things very successfully (granted, some like the lions take special circumstances). The key has always been training & mitigating what dangers you can while accepting the dangers you can't realistically mitigate. With that approach, you can do just about anything in a sane manner. OTOH, we likely all understand that a cavalier attitude can turn a sane, fun activity deadly- just look at any kid who buys a liter bike and next week thinks he can imitate Stoner or Rossi on the streets- it's suicide-by-sportbike. Doesn't mean I don't want to wring out a S1000RR on the track, but I'm going to do it realistically.

It's not a specific hobby, but people who intentionally increase the danger to themselves/others or think the degree of danger defines how "good" something is. Not Crazy: Skiing the steepest slope you can find Hiking across a desert to "find yourself" Crazy: Skiing the steepest slope you can find/handle and intentionally STARTING AN AVALANCHE beforehand A city-slicker hiking across a desert to "find themselves", but carrying far too little water to "heighten the experience" (ie, 2 liters for a 5-day hike) etc... I've actually seen people DO crazy stuff like this and then wonder why it went wrong.

^+1. Also, have you had a coach/experienced rider give you a "chalk talk" for that track? If you are a newer rider on that track, you may be surprised by how different the reference points & lines the veterans use are compared to the "obvious" points. And yes, it makes a difference!