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ducatmh

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ducatmh last won the day on August 22 2018

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About ducatmh

  • Birthday 05/23/1975

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  • Have you attended a California Superbike School school?
    Yes and I keep coming back! :)

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    Kansas City

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  1. 39K Euro would be much better. I was thinking its pricing would be more like the Super Leggera. It is beautiful!
  2. LOL.. somehow, I manage to avoid the issue of weight gain and maintain my girlish figure year round.
  3. Don't forget to throw the 2019 RSV4 in the mix. Claimed 214HP (1,100cc) 199kg fully fueled. It's a big year for the Europeans and their bikes. I'll be shocked if you can get the new new V4R with the race package for under $70KUSD.
  4. Bummer! Perhaps you guys can provide them as an option for the Code RACE? I typically opt for the slicks on those days, but would be nice to have an option for something stickier than the Q3+ that will heat up a little faster than the slicks.
  5. Reporting back after a full day on track. Wow! Maybe it's all in my head (the power of suggestion) but by making a few of the adjustments, I found that braking later felt noticeably smoother, more controlled, and less distracting than before. I also found that the bike did in fact hold the line better on faster exits. Confidence levels were high! The only issue I have found in trying to set up the suspension so far is that I can't quite get in the ideal "Rider Sag Range" with the OE springs. It's still off by about -4mm up front with the preload backed out. It clearly handled well regardless so I will have to decide if I want to make the swap in the off season or leave it as is.
  6. I'll let you know for sure. Thanks for getting me in touch with Johnny on this!
  7. Hey Adam. IMO it all starts with the rider. If you haven't done CSS, get your butt out there. Regarding the original post; At the time of that posting, I hadn't made any changes. I was still trying to recall information from a conversation I had with one of the instructors a couple years back. Secondly, as the bike has changed a little over the years, I wasn't even sure that those changes were necessary anymore. I got a hold of Johnny at the school and was able to get the following clarification: "The 2018 is very nimble, more so than previous models, the changes we make actually 'flatten' out the bike to improve braking stability, particularly when trailing, and line holding on heavy gas turn exits. This does slow down the steering a touch though, but my bike has been adjusted to the max and I have no issues with steering rate. You are correct, we flip the eccentric and pull the forks down through the forks a few mm. I would recommend doing just one change at a time and asses the difference. A couple of the coaches left their bikes with just the forks adjusted and are happy with them. The eccentric only has 2 positions, no gradient of adjustment, but the forks can be adjusted any amount you choose until the cap is flush with the top yoke. Typically there are 2 preferred positions though; flush or cap showing. From the factory they have a couple of mm of fork stanchion showing above the yoke. I would also recommend a little pre-load both ends - maybe 1 ring on the front and 5 mm on the rear (10 full turns) be sure to have the ignition on if you adjust the rear. Again, try one thing at a time and see if you like it." My first day back on track is Labor Day so I will have the opportunity to test out the eccentric shock adjustment. Adjusting the fork height is a lot easier to do trackside so I will probably mess around with that throughout the day. Hope that's helpful.
  8. I'm excited to give the Q4 a spin. Are you guys going to start using them on the school bikes?
  9. First, I'm sorry if this is a repeat question. I am in the process of picking up a used 2018 S1000RR (premium pkg)and will be immediately converting to a track bike. Not my first track build, just my first BMW track build. So aside from the universal changes, are there any bike specific settings that I should consider changing? ex. the eccentric shock mount IIRC, the turn in and ability to hold a tighter line in some of the older models benefited significantly from such changes. Not sure if that holds true for 2018. I've been riding with CSS about twice a year since 2011 so I'm no stranger to the bike and honestly have been pretty happy with the characteristics of the student bikes but would be interested in anything that would enhance the experience. Many thanks!
  10. It’s a fast (60-70mph), relatively open, left hand turn with No perceivable camber change. The crash occurred before the apex. I’m 99% certain I was entirely off the brakes. I was more “thinking” out loud as I typed. If there was any brake pressure, it had to minuscule at that point. As far as the steering input, I’m not even certain that’s a fact, however it’s the only thing that I can think of that would have put me down so fast so I’m making somewhat of an assumption. I suffered a symptomatic concussion and not sure if that’s why my memory of what actually happened is so broken or if it’s merely the adrenaline. I also don’t want to be that guy that blames an error solely on my tire choice.... LOL I had a less experienced, fast rider in my paddock suggest that my skid marks looked a little “inside” of his line. Which is what led me to think that maybe I realized this and for some reason added a little lean to maintain my apex vs letting the “ideal” apex go and just riding it out as I set it up. Dunno if all that rambling is useful!
  11. I was at the track over the memorial day weekend and ended up in a low side. This is my second low side, but the first that was due to an error on my part. (The first time was at COTA when another rider took me out). So let me start by setting the tone for the day. First, the surface of the track is only one season old and lacked grip up until the end of last season and even then, I struggled with more sliding than I prefer. It was a hot/humid start with temps already in the mid 80's at 8 am. I rode the first session on my R3 and then switched to my RSV4 for the second. The RSV4 had brand new Dunlop N-Techs (Soft front and rear) I had chosen the softer compound to see if it helped with a bit more traction on this new-ish surface. I was throwing down really good times, especially considering it was my first time back at this track since last season and I was already running the same times I was running at the end of last year. At the end of that session, I was pumped at how great the bike was feeling with the tires. I was however, already feeling some of the effects of some dehydration so I upped my fluids/salts. Went out for the 3rd session.It was now 91 degrees (not counting heat index) and I was running a full second off from the previous session. Came around to T10 on my 4th hot lap, this is a corner I had been progressively taking a bit faster. I entered the corner and the next thing I knew the front end tucked and I was sliding off the track. I had zero feedback from the front end before/when this happened. Did I trail brake too much? Did I make a mid corner correction while already near/at max lean? Did the choice of a soft front compromise my front end traction? Was it a combo of 2 or more of these? I truly think it was a subtle mid-corner correction, whose impact was greater due to the increased speeds and lean. Which brings me to what is probably my actual question... can anyone help me rule out the soft compound having had any effect on my traction considering the conditions? Would the super smooth surface of the track and high temps possibly lower the threshold that led to the low side? I'm now a bit apprehensive to keep the soft up front and thinking about sticking with soft in the rear and going medium up front for the next 3-4 days that I will have at that track this season.
  12. Yeah, I had spent like 20 minutes outlining the "issues" with how I was attacking various areas on track and exactly what I was going to change, but decided it was way too much info to digest. So I deleted what I had typed and went with the very simple info above. Here's a few laps from Pridmore a few years back so you can get a first person perspective. The track was completely repaved at the beginning of the season after being shutdown for 2 years, so our surface is much smoother now... too smooth!
  13. Great question and I feel like I've put a lot of thought into it and honestly I think the most useful tool was not my lap timer or my onboard camera... it was actually footage from my friend's bike who followed me for a few laps. I attached an image of the track to help in visualizing the turns. Unfortunately, the map doesn't show elevation changes (yes there are a few hills in Kansas LOL). The only notable elevation changes occur on the front straight up to T0 (uphill with zero visibility of what's ahead, you crest the hill about the same time you hit T0 and then downhill into T1), the very short straight section between T5 & T6 (slight downhill) and then again T7 to T8 (slightly back uphill). The most time could be made up T14 onto the straight, T3 (T3 reminds me of the bowl at the Streets of Willow but with less banking), T7 and T9. I won't bore you with the details of how exactly I will address these areas but I will tell you that depending on the turn or turns leading up it's over braking, position on track at entry, late roll on and/or not pinning the throttle soon enough. I'm sure we could tie a handful of these to needing better RP's.
  14. Reviewing on-board video footage helped me guesstimate. I can extract GPS data from my lap timer to get more accurate sector times, but that would be overkill for my needs at present. Just setting goals for next season.
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