Jump to content

spgtech

Members
  • Posts

    61
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Previous Fields

  • Have you attended a California Superbike School school?
    Yes

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male

spgtech's Achievements

Cornering Expert

Cornering Expert (4/5)

  • First Post
  • Collaborator
  • Week One Done
  • One Month Later
  • One Year In

Recent Badges

0

Reputation

  1. Hi Cobie, A strain gauge on the pinch bolt for the clip on should do it. I have a Starlane quickshifter that has a little metal doughnut about 5mm thick and 10mm in diameter which sits under the head of the shift arm pinch bolt where it clamps to the splined shaft on the transmission. The increased tension on the bolt is sensed and the shifter activated. No reason this type of sensor couldn't work for the pinch bolt for the replaceable handlebar tubes on most aftermarket clip ons. I would guess a strain gauge, a signal conditioner and a data logger. Calibrate with a spring scale. Should be pretty cheap and easy. -Sean
  2. Give this link a try... http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/RBRC-Riders-en_INT/001242988798094#7 -Sean
  3. To the OP; To me, it seems like you are asking how to set your braking start points, while admitting that your braking actions may be inconsistent. I'll be starting my 3rd year racing next year, and up until the middle of last year I didn't have braking start points. In many corners, I still don't. What I have been using are braking end points (my turn point). If my attention is focused down the track, and I know how fast I want to be when I get to my turn point, the control of speed becomes much easier to modulate. Granted, this doesn't have me using 100% braking all the time, but it does usually have me releasing the brake lever as I tip the bike in. The timing is much easier. Otherwise, you need to accurately pick your start point, consistently apply your brakes exactly at some pre-determined level, and hopefully do it perfectly to end up at your tip-in point. Unfortunately, you end up focusing on your braking application instead of your entry speed, and the final outcome is much harder to manage. Mid season, I added using start points as a gentle reminder on blind corners (still on the track). I see the start point, start applying the brakes to get the process rolling, and keep my attention focused on spotting my turn point and relaeasing the brakes just as I tip in. If the corner isn't blind I still don't bother with a start point. On bigger bikes I still struggle with over braking the entry, but mostly due to not riding them enough to build consistency. The higher straightline speeds makes me feel the need to shed a little more than necessary, and they slow down quicker than I expect. -Sean
  4. Nice work Greg. Turn 4 caught me this year as well. Looking forward to next year already! -Sean WMRRA #76
  5. I have been pretty impressed with the new gloves from Insurrection Racing. These will probably be my next set. I especially like the two piece knuckle armor and the Scaphoid slider. Also priced pretty well at $160 and very easy to move in. http://www.insurrection-racing.com/insurrection-race-gloves.html -Sean
  6. Here is a recent video of a few laps on a Motorcycle. This should give the CSS crew and students an idea of what things look like up here. http://www.youtube.c...=2&feature=plcp -Sean
  7. Minus whatever the rear tire should be carrying for cornering loads...
  8. A picture (thanks to Darren Beatty Photography!) from last weekends WMRRA racing. It shows shows the #1 plate holder, Eli Edwards, doing a bit of trail braking past the apex of Turn 5. Pretty amazing level of grip for not only the cornering loads but the stoppie as well. I guess for this instance, getting on the gas "as soon as possible" would involve waiting for the rear tire to touch down... -Sean
  9. So Hotfoot, Are you actually running an O-ring chain on your Moriwaki? If not, degrease with whatever solvent you like, and (when Will isn't looking) grab some Silkolene lube and lube the rollers. When done, immediately wipe the excess off the chain with a rag and let the stuff thicken. Repeat after each track or race day. My favorite solvent these days is Zep Brake Wash which is alcohol based, cleans everything but doesnt damage o-rings or paint. Great stuff, I use it on everything. It is great for cleaning all the earlier chain ###### off of your bodywork, wheels, tires, boots, etc. -Sean
  10. I agree with Will that there are a lot of bikes where the forks are being lengthened for increased trail and feel based on the riding style (in his example trailing the brakes). My example for lowering the back or the front were meant to compare the differences between ends of the bike. They will of course still hold true for raising one end or the other. In addition, choosing to raise or lower the bike as a whole will change CG and the resulting turn and transition quickness and fore/aft pitch moment, as shown in the link from ktk-ace. It all comes down to ballancing the effect you are looking for, with the other items which will be affected as a result of the change. There are very few settings on a motorcycle that act in isolation.
  11. Higher swingarm angle gives more anti-squat. In other words, the tail section of the motorcycle lifts when power is applied. This ideally is roughly balanced by the rearward weight transfer, which helps keep the chassis stable, the suspension in it's sweet spot, and the rear tire firmly planted to the ground. -Sean
  12. Hi Dave, I used to think that front and rear height adjustments accomplished the same thing as far as pitching the bike forward or back, and it does to a point but not entirely. So, what follows is probably an over simplification, but here we go... Say you want to quicken handling; If you drop the front end (slide fork tubes up in clamps and make the triples closer to the ground), you reduce trail, steepen steering head, shorten wheelbase, reduce ground clearance and REDUCE swingarm angle. So, in contrast, raising the rear to pitch the bike forward, the effects of steering head angle, and trail are the same, but you are raising ground clearance and INCREASING the swingarm angle. With dropping the front, the swingarm angle changes are slight, but with raising the rear, they can be pronounced. Swingarm angle is related to the anti squat tendencies of the bike and can have a pronounced effect on how well the bike finishes the corner (as does rake and trail) So, if you know what handling changes you want with steering head angle and trail, you can decide which end to use based on desired swingarm angle (increase or decrease), and ground clearance (making the bike taller or shorter). Hope this helps. -Sean
  13. Well, on some bikes the rear is not bigger. Several vintage (race) bikes run equal tire widths, and last year a lot of 250 Ninjas either ran 110/120 or 120/120 combinations. Kinda fun when you can rotate your tires front to back and side to side. As others have said, lower horsepower reduces the need for large contact patch to reduce tearing. As for cornering loads, they seemed to carry the riders to the top of the podium with little trouble. -Sean
  14. A 60 degree lean angle (of the CG of rider and bike), should net a 2G force compressing the suspension and a lateral force of 1.7Gs. A two G lateral force from tire grip alone, (instead of banking, train tracks, etc) would be pretty impressive for a motorcycle. And yes Eirik, I think the braking and acceleration force is limited by the high CG which causes the tendency to wheelie or endo, while when cornering the horizontal force is held in check by the downward force against the counterbalanced mass. -Sean
×
×
  • Create New...