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Keith Code

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Everything posted by Keith Code

  1. Many many moosn ago Jack, Thanks and I think you'd be surprised at how much more we focus on what we call basics than we used to. That of course brings up the definition of what basics really are and that ranges from how to let the clutch out to being safe on the street if you ask most people but I don't think that is what they are. Getting the bike to cooperate with you is basics and requires a fairly in depth study and plenty of practice just to get that part of it out of the way. For track riding, learning how to back the bike in isn't going to be the thing that knocks off the next 2 seconds in lap times. Being able to set the bike on a line and learning yourself how to choose a line to me are basics because so many other things will go wrong if you can't do it. That is more of how I see the subject of basics. ciao for now, Keith
  2. In a word? Yes. Beyond his ability to repeat them. You can get caught up in the "flow" for a couple of laps but the glue that held it together for that time wasn't your level of ability at that time. kc
  3. Wally, That is an interesting point you brought up. We used to do a 125cc GP bike school with a companyin Texas who used to import them. It seems when you roll of the gas on a two stroke you have no back pressure slowing you down and it is spooky. What I noticed was the 125cc GP bikes slowed down about the same rate as a bigger, heavier four stroke machine. The 125 bikes weigh about 130 lb and a 600 four stroke about 400 lb. The momentum of the larger heavier bikes was balanced by the back pressuer you feel on a four stroke so it was a false perception to think that the lighter two stroke didn't slow down as well, it did. Keith
  4. xtrmin You've got it. That is one of the many reasons we emphasize the Quick Flick, it is one of the huge components of comfidence and goes hand in hand with turn entry speed becoming a tool instead of a dangerous black hole you don't want to get too close to. Really well done on that, Keith
  5. Exactly and most rider don't see how fundamental their Sense Of Speed is to GREAT cornering, fast or slow. Keith
  6. You have to use the brakes to get fast lap times and not get passed at every turn where there is brkaing. We are talking about improving our sense of speed without the brakes, that is all we are doing. Having said that I'll tell you a story about John Kocinski when I worked with him at Brands Hatch the last year he rode Ducati. He was having a bad time getting Paddock Bend sorted out and he was slow there and knew it. He was actually almost 3/10ths slow in that one short section of the track. I had him do no brakes into it which he did for three laps and then went back to the brakes and immediately was the fastest man in that section of the track. So, if the question is "who or what skill level rider can improve with this approach to improving their sense of speed, that list would have to include guys who have already won world championships. Who knows, maybe the rest of us can improve also...! Keith
  7. Marc, What gears you use isn't that important if you can get your turn entry speed right. It might be a 3rd gear corner that you are doing in 6 th gear, who cares what the drive off the turn is like--if you got the right entry speed you won--know what I mean? The question is: is it harder to twist the throttle on the exit or judge your turn entry speed accurately? If it is the latter then you take the time to bring it under your control and forget about the dirve off the turn until you are confident in yourself on the speeds going in. Keith
  8. The Fine Art of Braking By Keith Code By survey 100% of over 10,000 riders agree on this point: they know that if they possessed the ability and skill to get their turn entry speeds consistently right, their confidence would soar; they would feel more in control; they would be faster and they would be smoother. Here is some information on why you might want to master that ability. Coasting Races In the mid '70's I was introduced to an amazing form of "racing". Four or five of us would get together at the top of one of our favorite southern California canyon descents; turn off the engines; line up across the road; heckle each other; count to three; pick up our feet without pushing off any more than was necessary to get moving and laugh and yell out insults to one another all the way down to the bottom. Most of the runs were a couple of miles long with lots of turns. That's a coasting race. The rider who coasted the farthest and fastest (they were usually the same rider) "won". There weren't any tricks, equipment mattered little, it was all you. Well, I did have one little trick -- pushing the pads back into my front caliper to eliminate the pad drag. The camaraderie was elevated enormously by the fact that, unlike our usual canyon rides we could, for the most part, communicate throughout the descent. It was such a delight. Even when it went wrong and someone crashed (like me) I still have fond memories and get a warm sensation when recalling it. Strategy of Coasting Races On the technical side of things: I was immediately impressed with several aspects of this form of entertainment and a couple of those points were indelibly printed in my memory and became a part of the California Superbike School over 20 years ago. The simple trick to winning a coasting race is the obvious, the rider who could maintain his momentum by using his brakes the least generally would prevail. Doing an entire run down some of the steeper roads with little or no braking took as much or more mental grip than doing it with them, this becoming immediately apparent in the first semi-tight corner you came to. Unwilling to give up the momentum yet afraid of the speed which had accumulated, your focus and interest became laser sharp. Sure your hand would be poised over the lever and sure it took some supreme acts of willpower to keep from using brakes and sure you would make errors and have to use the brakes but you also paid closer attention to the speeds than you normally would. The reduction of distractions like engine noise and gear changes and throttle and charging the corners with hard braking were all eliminated and it allowed you to make much finer estimates of your corner entry speeds and maintain that precious momentum. Low Noise, High Speeds After my first coasting race I realized I never would have gone through those turns with the power on as fast as I had done with no engine running, no charging and, for the most part, no brakes. It made me realize just how distracting those things really were and just how much of my attention they absorbed. One of the things I have noticed when I watch students is how erratic their turn entry speeds often are. That comes from the idea they have to charge the corners and brake hard but they can tend to over-brake and foul up their entry and corner speed momentum. Low Speeds, Quick Times One day, as I was driving up to the Laguna Seca track in northern California to do a school, I realized that if anyone was going to overcome this self generated confusion from over-braking, the quickest route to that was riding no brakes. Once I got to the track I tried it out and rediscovered what I'd already figured out before from the coasting races. I went faster into the turns, my speed sense and judgement became sharper, I worried less about my entry speed and found that getting back to the throttle earlier was significantly easier. I thought it would be worthwhile to have the students try it out. While it is true that some tracks lend themselves to this form of sharpening your riding skills better than others, I did begin to notice a trend at different tracks. The riders who stuck with the no brakes, even after we officially switched back to using them, made more improvement in their speed and confidence than those who were "testing" our brake pad material by charging the turns. Ignore the Instincts It's almost as if riders feel obligated to charge turns. It's the idea that you will go faster because of it and seems such a simple and direct route to that end but rarely works. The instinct to brake late and hard is like clubbing a female to then take her for a wife. That plan isn't going to work. I have observed many truly diligent riders who ignored the instinct and stayed with the No Brakes format knocking off seconds from their lap times. To top it off they were achieving their quicker times with only one or two gears instead of the usual thrashing through the gear box. They might be going 20 mph slower on the straights but one should pay attention to the results (improved lap times and corner speed) not the impulse to go fast on the straights. As I have said a thousand times, the brakes become more of a crutch than a tool for most riders. Someone always whines about the no-brakes riding format at school. Well, crutches are notoriously hard to put down, aren't they? Riders claim it is difficult (of course it is), that they could go faster with them (faster down the straight away, yes); that they "had" to use them (the crutch again) and on and on. What these riders don't realize is how satisfying it is to persevere at the exercise until you really get it, so you really can judge your entry speeds and really know you can do it. Very, very satisfying. Very, very big contribution to your riding confidence. Very! The Basic Idea The logic is flawless. Using or not using the brakes is irrelevant to the intended result of getting into the corner at the exact right speed. One either knows what that right speed is and can achieve it or they are guessing. If they are guessing they are paying more attention to it than they should have to. Guessing brings about inaccurate braking and inaccurate braking brings about rough and uncertain turn entries. Trail Braking (Definition: Action of trailing off or tapering off brake lever pressure and braking force as the rider enters the corner.) Trail braking is a valid and useful tool for any rider at any level of riding. The warning is this: when used too often, or as a crutch to calm the fear brought on by the inability to sense speeds accurately, it not only doesn't solve the source of the problem it makes it worse. As the pilot you must make the decision on when to let off of the brake(s). It is a complicated little piece of work with all of the other usual distractions you encounter at the turn's entry, e.g., setting the lean, getting the line and feeling the traction. Bottom line - if you are trailing the brakes towards a well known, accurately understood speed it is a tool. Otherwise it tends to become a crutch and invites riders to "charge" the turns, low line them, leave the throttle till late and make tricky and sometimes dangerous mid-corner steering corrections all of which could be avoided with accurate turn entry speed sensing and setting. Panic Crutch In contrast to the aforementioned, I see many riders who feel compelled to stab at their brakes in the last moments before entering a corner. While watching them do it, the only conclusion one would come to is that the speed was a big surprise; all of a sudden they become aware of it and it seemed too fast. This is an obvious error. They aren?t using the brake to adjust anything except their fear. In either of the above cases, an accurate sense of speed opens the door to confidence. Results Then and Now The essence and final result of any brake release for cornering remains what I said in 1980 in my first Superbike School lecture and on page 64 of the first ?A Twist of the Wrist? book in 1982: To set the speed of the bike correctly for that place on the track (or road) so that no further changes are necessary. In other words, you get it right. Not too fast, not too slow. Braking itself is an art within the art of cornering. Your sense-of-speed is the underlying resource you have to get it right. As an exercise, no brakes riding will help improve your sense-of-speed. Do no-brakes whenever you have the opportunity and see what happens to your sense of speed and see what happens to your riding. The best part is that once you have combined a good sense of speed with the other twelve basic skills of cornering it all begins to come together. It is truly one of the skills that allows you to discover the ART OF CORNERING. All the best, Keith ----- ⓒ Copyright Keith Code, 2004, all rights reserved
  9. Will, I'll offer my congratulations as well for a terrific season both at the races and your 5 championships and second overall and the great work at the schools keeping our 27 Kawasakis in top working order every day for every student. I hope you are ready for all the new 2005 bikies you have to set up and selling all of our 2003 and 2004 models 636's. If even half the students who wanted to buy them for track bikes call you they'll be gone by the end of Janauary and you can get to working in your race bike for next year! Everyone at the school is proud of Will and his phenomenal record both this year and last. When you consider he is beating bikes often with over 10 horsepower more than he's got and giving up usually around 50 lb to his competition, you start to get the idea of how well he rides. Congratulations, Keith
  10. komodoracing First off you have to look towards the basics before you get into any confusions about your turn entry. My question is: in the types of turn you are talking about (and it would be good if you gave an example like turn one at Willow Springs) do you have an actual turn in point already established or are you just turning in when you feel your speed is OK? Keith
  11. The Forty-eight Parts of Riding Warning: Before you read this article you should know that it will create more questions than it will answer. Consider yourself forewarned. Reality Check For the cornering enthusiast, there are at least 48 different aspects in riding a single corner. Riders observe, record and scrutinize these points, usually without being aware of doing it at all. A while back I started out with a list of 14 things riders monitor in turns. I never imagined it would become so extensive. During its development, I mainly used the list to help racers identify and clarify aspects of their riding skills. Now, we?re starting to use parts of it in our Level IV School sessions. Several interesting things have come to light while quizzing riders using these lists. 1. As expected, each rider relates to the 48 points on the list a little differently. 2. As above, it was discovered that awareness (on many of the points) was low or even subconscious. Many were lumped together with other points of riding and never before isolated as separate and individual aspects of cornering. 3. Once each point was discussed, clarified and understood the riders were then able to grade themselves on how well they felt they executed them. 4. Even professional riders had no names or even slang type racer-expressions for most of the points covered. As it turns out, there is great deal of awareness of a great many things while riding. These can be recalled once the rider?s attention is directed to them. Apparently, each of these points occupy some corner of a rider?s attention?they wouldn?t know what they are otherwise. Even the absence of terms that describe these perceptions is valuable data. That fact brings us closer to understanding why some riders excel at the sport. The better the rider the easier time they have isolating and grasping the points. Their ability to translate them into real world actions showed me they were more aware of the points than other, less skilled riders. I see riders, and you?ve seen it too, struggling with this lack of descriptive terminology all the time. Without the descriptive words what do we do? We use hand gestures and facial expressions when describing different riding situations! The Name Game What I?m saying is that inherent in the problem of rider improvement is the lack of names for these often flimsy and fragile perceptions. If you don?t have a name for a problem it makes it hard to discuss. If it can?t easily be communicated it is difficult to solve. Example, if you can?t easily communicate what the front-end feels like when you lose it (within an acceptable range) how would a rider recognize it when it happens? How would he know whether it meant an impending crash or if it was just good feedback on the traction limits from his front-end? You can say ?I was pushing the front-end in turn_______.?, but where does his imagination take him if he hasn?t done that? Unless you figure out a way for riders to easily experience this or develop the words to describe it, your communication on the subject would go nowhere. No matter how many hand gestures you make. This points directly to the heart of the matter of rider improvement and one of its major pitfalls; communicating what things feel like. Having a name for things helps. Short of having a good descriptive name for something there is the building of fundamental skills that keep the rider out of trouble and in control. That is what we do in our levels at the schools. Now we have another tool. The list of 48 has given us forward motion in helping to bridge the communication and experience gap. Categories and Solutions For 25 years I?ve been evaluating and re-evaluating the school?s curriculum; adding and subtracting things as we see fit. As this list started to shape up I began an inventory of what techniques we coach at CSS to see if the 48 points were covered. Our current arsenal of drills and exercises numbers around 20 so how could we be covering all of these points? At first I was a little deflated. However, as I looked closer it became apparent that the 48 points could be grouped into categories. Examples of the categories are: traction, lean angle, stability, speed, corner entry, corner exits and lines. Looking Deeper From the perspective of an educator you have to design something that communicates and that brings another interesting problem, it?s one of those ?which came first the chicken or the egg? things. Is the rider working the controls from the way the bike feels; making a mental decision before working the controls? Looking (with his eyes) then making a decision and then working the controls? Do we naturally take into account the lag-time between looking then feeling and then initiating control actions? Is the rider ?ahead of himself?; is he riding right in present time or slightly ?behind? himself to make these decisions? Is this all guided by what he did the last time he made this or another turn like it? How often does he flip back and forth from one sequence of seeing and feeling what the bike is doing to another? See what I mean, a lot more questions than answers. Whatever approach you finally use must be based on a keen understanding of what the rider senses, how he uses it and a clear picture of which chain of events he uses leading up to controlling the bike. Try One You could ask, ?Is it really so complicated?? Isn?t there some simple way of going about sorting this out? Sure, once the categories are established, a few of which are listed above, then it does become somewhat simpler but beware, it also brings up more questions. I?ll take point number 27 from the list under the category of LINE so you can see what I mean. 27. Do you have Immediate Certainty on your Line?? This breaks down into several questions of its own: 1. Can you see and understand the exact line you are on right away after getting to your final leaned-over angle? 2. Do you have to wait a while to see if it is right or not? 3. Do you know it?s good sometimes before you even know that you know it is? Refinement Breaking this tiny portion of time down into its mini component parts can be done by referencing: 1. Time, how long does it take you? 2. Distance, what is the distance covered before you know? 3. Your attitude, how does it make you feel when you have to wait? 4. A description of visual data, what were you looking at? 5. The feel you get from the bike, was the bike stable or what? 6. Perception of speed, were you trying to decide if your speed would get you where you wanted or not? 7. Lean angle, could you tell if it needed changed or left alone? and 8. Traction, is your awareness of traction at this point too attention consuming? These are but a few possibilities of additional questions. But wait, there?s even more. The answer to those bring about a whole other column of questions. Super Refinement Which of the above is more important than the others? Can Humans multi task--input and process--this much information? Do we monitor this sequentially or simultaneously? Do all riders do it in the same way? You can see the problems in working this out. But most importantly, the value of this line of questioning is rider improvement. To access this value you have to be able to rate yourself from 1 to 10 on point number 27. Can you do it? Go back and look it over. Tricks or Basics Sure the things that we?ve developed over the past twenty-five years like the Lean and Slide Bike, the Panic Brake Trainer, the Control Trainer and our various video inventions are a big help in solving these areas. When we broke our school days into individual ?drills? in 1983, that was a major breakthrough in rider training all on its own. That was the beginning for me. I knew then that, luckily, there are simple answers. Unfortunately, it isn?t just one technique that covers #27 of the list. It?d be nice but it?s not so. What we have here is a very detailed process built on the true fundamentals of riding: throttle control, visual skills, traction sensitivity, ability to turn the bike accurately, rider input, speed setting and line recognition skills. All of these have to be in place for any rider to rate high on this Certainty of Line aspect of riding, # 27 above. Is anyone likely to get to be a 10 on this in even one corner on one day? Sure, its possible. Could anyone get it right for every corner on a given track in one day? Hmmm, haven?t seen that happen. When mastered is it one of the parts of a rider?s confidence? Think it through?if you could get point 27 on the list really right all the time, how would you feel? See answers below... The Benefits Here is a partial list of what you would have conquered: 1. You could see your line right away. This reduces the tendency to target fix. 2. You wouldn?t be sitting on the bike waiting while you search for the answer to ?where am I going in this turn?. Perhaps the most important question a rider can have. 3. No doubts about when the gas should go back on. Being able to achieve throttle- induced stability earlier in the turn is always a plus. 4. Total certainty on any steering corrections you might have to make. This dramatically improves timing the steering inputs to be most effective. 5. A solid idea of where the bike is going to wind up at apex and the exit. Having good prediction on this always inspires confidence. 6. Huge reduction in rider tension on the bike. You don?t have to be wound-up about steering inputs you imagine you ?might? have to make. How valuable would the above six points be to you? OK, there are 47 more points, let me know when you are ready to start (or continue) working them out; we?ve got over 100 school days in 12 countries in 2005 to handle it. Keith Code ------ ?Keith Code, 2004, all rights reserved.
  12. Take a look at the "rear brakes" thread that just got posted here. keith
  13. Riders, Part of what is happening with this technique of throttle and rear brake is applying to opposing torques to the rear swing arm pivoting in frame which affect the hwole chassis. The throttle-on (of course depending how much is applied) tends to jack the bike up and the rear brake tends to suck it down. This would make the bike feel different promarily because it would dramitically alter the feel you would get from the rear suspension of the bike. Some bikes may feel better with the rear suspension in tension, especially ones that have either too light a spring in the rear or too heavy a spring. Too heavy? Yes, because under braking that too heavy spring can top out the rear shock and make the ride like a buckboard. Sucking the backend of the bike down a little in this case could provide some travel and a potentially smoother ride. By the way, this technique worked out really well on 1970's Kawasaki Z1's which had swingarms and frames that were pitifuly weak and flexible. I raced them I know... Magizine editors always come up with interesting material but it isn't alwasy presented after thorough investigation. I think on one hand that this technique could make up for some bad riding habits we've seen riders have but at the same time it adds complexity to the situations which is unnecesary. Situations mentioned that he suggests it be used for can all be handled by skilled riding without the complexity. Additionally, riders can adopt techniques like this as crutches which can close the door to further understanding of the bike and their riding skills. Keith
  14. Bill, That is something to write about I don't blame you for being proud. It kind of reminds me of my first race meeting at Vineland, NJ in 1961. I went way faster than I should have as a first racer but it kept me pumped up for serveral years afterwards. Great Job, Keith
  15. When I started doing the new racers schools for the AFM race club in 1977 I used to make every new rider lock up the front brake for me in the pit lane. I used to send them around and around until they could do it and I made everyone do it. All I was looking for was a momentary lock up of the front wheel and you can still do that on any bike on practically any surface. Don't do it with hot tires, cold works better. It isn't that you get the total experience of a locked up front by doing this it is that you become willing to expereince it and break through the fear of it. The solution to a locked up front wheel hasn't changed, as soon as it locks you let up slightly on the lever and the front wheel comes back to your control, same at any speed. Meanwhile, it isn't necessary toi burn up track time to practice braking. What is the most essential -part of it is that you become consciously aware of the lessening of your lever pressure as you are approaching your final turn in position (either trail or straightup braking). It is the lightening of the lever that gives you choices and judgement on your turn entry speeds which is the only thing that is important about the entire braking process for performance cornering. Keith
  16. Too fast usually also translates into too wide. Start turning in later and see if it cleans up those exits. One other point, don't forget your 2-Step and the entry. Keith
  17. smooth guys, SMOOTH is all about visual skills not how cool you are with the controls. Once you have passed the point that you have a decent grasp of your controls and know what they are for and what you should expect from using them it all comes down to your visuals. That is what Level II is all about. When you see a rider efforting to get the bike through a series of corners you are looking at a rider who has passed his own point of comfort in what he is looking at. The Survival Reactions all start at the eyes, even traction situations can often be traced back to the rider not being able to "see" exactly where he is and how much he should be winding on the gas. Think it through: if you have an accurate picture of where you are it is easy to tell which control to use and how much to use it. Chop up your visual input and your riding will be chopped up to. Think how many times in one aggressive ride you let your eyes come in too close to the bike or stare at a patch or seam in the road. Each of those little "holidays" is costing you visual information and when you are short in that department you are choppy with the controls. It's all about the flow of visual data. That is what smooth is. Keith
  18. Hang on here dsm36, I NEVER say "keep the rubber side down", never have and never will. Aslo, I never said to look "through" the turn. Please review those pages in TOTW II. There is a very specific point to look for just before you intiate the corner. THe 2-Step is a precision tool which applies to all corners. Saying look through the corner isn't possible with all turns but looking for your apex point usually is, provided you haven't gotten sucked into turning too early for the turn. Keith
  19. Dear Mac, The tools you got are only a benefit if you are using them. So let's take a look that. Let me ask you a few quesitons: 1. Were you finding yourself a turn in point (remember we marked them on the pavement at Mid Ohio with tape or if it was damp, with a cone). Remember how they boosted your confidence in your cornering? If you don't have a psot to turn in, there is no way to make a decent run through any corner, anywhere. If you recall, we discussed that fact that our survival reactions want to suck us into the turns way too early and that spoils the turn for practically everythings welse we learned: good throttle control is impossible, quick flicking the bike is useless, looking into the turn before you make you steering inputs is pointless if you start intoo early, you will never be able to keep your rider input under control and you will stiffen up on the bike if your line isn't predictable. I bring this one up because it is the root cause for most rider's errors and can transform any corner into a dog's breakfast if not sorted out. Things will never look quite right if you let this partcular Survival Reaction keep on beating you up. So what it is the answer? Were you turning in too early, were you able to use your steering and visual and throttle control skills? If not, I'll bet this is why. Tell me, Keith
  20. Brake/Down Changing Gears Like a Pro Barriers Open Doors To make real improvement there must first exist a real barrier to overcome or a real result to achieve. These are always based on the rider's own desires: to go faster; be more in control; have fewer panic situations; put it all together into a smooth flow or simply remove doubts and questions they have relating to those goals: when do the tires slide, how hard can I brake, how far can I lean the bike and so on. When you look at it you'll see that there is very little difference, if any, between a riding barrier and a riding goal; they both have the same stumbling blocks. They both have an end result to achieve. They both have some fear or uncertainty or distraction attached to them. There is always a barrier. The Braking & Downshifting Barrier An example of a common barrier would be the complications that arise from the hurried and slightly frantic control operations that stem from not learning to smoothly and simultaneously brake and downshift for traffic lights, obstructions and, of course, corners. Doesn't sound like a life or death threatening situation but when inspected closely you see what impact it really has on a rider's attention and how they are spending it. Check it out, if the rider can't do braking and downshifting, simultaneously and smoothly, they are forced into one or more of the following attention draining scenarios: 1. Slowly letting out the clutch to make the downshift smoothly. This requires attention to be spent and is the most common way uneducated riders handle it. 2. Having to change gears once the bike is stopped. When the bike is stopped even the best transmissions can be sticky. Gears change more easily and more positively when the bike is moving. It causes less wear on the gearbox to change the gears while you are moving. 3. Having to change the gears after the braking is completed for a turn. That means doing it in the curve. This is distracting and can upset the bike, to say nothing of the rider. 4. Alternately going from the brake to the gas to match revs for the downshifts. This has the bike pogoing at the front. It does not get the bike slowed down quickly in an efficient manner. This is very busy riding. 5. Downshift before braking. This is fine for very relaxed riding situations at slow speeds but is hazardous to the engine if the rider is in "spirited cornering" mode as it provides the opportunity to over-rev the motor and bypass the rev limiter that protects it. Could be very expensive. In an emergency situation you don't have time to do this because you should be on the brakes right away. Not only that but some emergencies require you to brake and then get on the gas right away for accelerating hard to avoid things like cars running a light on you. In this case the rider would not have the time to get it done. 6. Forget it entirely and just go through the corner. This forces downshift(s) to be done at the corner's exit thus losing the drive out and complicating the whole thing by having to make a gear change when they should be rolling on the throttle. This is distracting and not smooth at all. Coordination And Concentration It is true that if a rider was uncoordinated and attempts simultaneous braking and downshifting it could be dangerous. For example having the front brake on along with the power can make your front wheel lock up. On our panic-stop training bike I have seen it many times: the rider aggressively squeezes the brake and unconsciously rolls the throttle on at the same time. It's spooky to watch. So yes, practice and coordination are necessary, you will have to practice. More importantly, you have to make a decision. Are the 6 potential distractions above likely to get you into trouble? They do break the rider's concentration even if only slightly. In other words: if you aren't a super hero at multitasking each of the 6 is a negative in comparison with braking and downshifting simultaneously. In Control = In Communication Continuous perception of your speed is how you control it. Accurate turn entry speed is critical to good, confident cornering. If you are worried about your speed, you are distracted by it. Finding the right turn entry speed (for you) is far easier when the braking and downshifting are happening in one continuous flow of change. When compared to one that is chopped up, incomplete or creates anxiety like having to shift in the turn, it's obvious which scenario is better. Your Sense of Speed is a precious resource and is far more accurate when monitored as a steady stream with your awareness. Maintaining a continuous state of awareness of what the bike itself is doing is another of the true benefits of this technique. You always know where the engine speed is in relation to the road speed and that improves your feel for the bike. Your communication with the machine improves; no false signals or guess work; no waiting to know how the bike will respond in any of the above scenarios. You ability to maintain communication with the bike is important input. Naming It Simultaneous braking and downshifting. I'd like to shorten it to something like brake-down. Car guys call it heel and toe, which is a nice, short and simple way of saying they are simultaneously using the brake pedal with their toe and revving the motor with their heel. In some cars you just put the ball of your foot between the brake and gas pedals and rock your foot side to side to do it, it depends on the pedal arrangement. On a bike, provided the brake lever is comfortably adjusted to fit your hand, they are always in the same position for our maneuver. Alright, for now it is brake-down. It would be interesting to have a non rider hear about you executing a "breakdown" coming into a curve; sounds pretty dangerous. How about fist and fingers or palm and fingers or B&Ding? Whatever we call it, it works to simplify corner entries and puts the rider in command of and in communication with his machine to the highest possible degree. The Sequence 1. Gas goes off. 2. Brake goes on. 3. Bike slows some. 4. Clutch comes in. Maintain brake lever pressure. 5. Blip the gas rapidly on and off. (Usually no more than a quarter turn). Maintain brake lever pressure. 6. During the blip make the gear change positively and quickly. Maintain brake lever pressure. 7. Clutch comes out. Maintain brake lever pressure until desired turn entry speed is achieved. 8. Release brake smoothly. Bear this in mind: the quicker you do steps #1 through #7 the better. Brake Lever Control Expert use of the brake during this entire cycle means that you can maintain, increase or decrease the pressure as desired, without abruptly stabbing or releasing the brake lever. Number of Fingers Some riders let their finger(s) slide over the brake lever as they blip the gas. Others grab the brake lever with the tips of their finger(s) and still get a continuous lever pressure without the bike pogoing up and down. Whichever way you do it is fine. How many fingers you use for the brake is up to you: one, two, three or four, this is your choice although I recommend you try just two fingers, your index and middle ones. What's Important? Braking is important, it is life and death on the street and vital on the track. Changing gears is not. You can still make it through the corner or get the bike stopped without ever touching the gears. But, riders do have the six above scenarios to contend with if they can't do the fist/finger, down-brake, palm/finger, B&Ding technique. Learning How The fact that riders have a problem doing this technique led me to a solution. I've built a bike that trains it. We call it the Control Trainer. It takes you through the technique, step by step. The trainer's computer program talks you through the whole sequence and it points out your problems and how to correct them. The computer is hooked up on a static ZX9, you can't ride it but you do get the coordination/muscle memory necessary to do it for real. Each of the controls is monitored for: correct sequence; correct timing of the clutch and gear changes; correctly sized throttle blips and consistent brake pressure, throughout the whole process. With or without my Control Trainer, anyone can learn to do it. Start now. - Keith Code Upcoming articles: clutch-less up shifting and clutch-less downshifting. ⓒ2004, Keith Code, all rights reserved.
  21. T SUNRISE YOU SHOULD LOOK AT TONY FOALE'S BOOK FOR MORE DATA FROM A GUY WHO HAS A VERY GOOD HANDLE ON THE ENGINEERING AND PHYSICS OF IT ALL. WWW.TONYFOALE.COM CHECK IT OUT. KEITH
  22. Blue636 Pridmore's whole deal is smooth riding and if you take those low, early turn in lines then it makes all of the transitions blend together pretty well and it is smooth. That goes for the other school's and their banner techniques as well. Freddie carries the Trailbraking banner at his deal, same thing, very smooth transitions into the corner. If smooth was the only goal then these guys would have all of the answers, just be smooth. So we see that there is something to be said for that and mastering smooth riding for rain situations, for example, is definitely to the point. There are however situations that crop up from these techniques that make them a little more risky than it would seem. Not to go over the whole thing but just as an example we know that the low line, lazy turn in requires more lean to complete the turn than does the quick flick entry. We also know that tryng to quick flick the bike while trailing the brake ain't healthy for Humans... In the end you have to look at what is as good as it gets both from a theoretical and a practical standpoint. There are many factors to take into account. It is a beautifull thing to get (or see) a quick flick done clean and smooth. It is harder to do and it requires more skill at many things than the "smooth" alternatives. The one thing I know is that once you can master the quick flick, it's a no brainer to do it the other "smooth" way. Look over the choices and then decide. Which one gives you the most freedom and control over the bike for the most situations. The answer to that would be the way to go. It's definitely the way we go at the school. Keith
  23. oh oh, is this another CS vs BS thread? This ground has been covered well and many times and what riders think they are doing and what is actually happening aren't always the same. By the same token, the physics masters don't always get it right either. I respect Kevin Cameron for many of his good works, his description of spark and combustion is one of the true pieces of poetry in the mechanical world. However, a decade or so ago he wrote an article in Cycle magazine where he stated that there must be a sharp counter, countersteering action to stop the roll-in momentum. In other words, he was saying the bike would just continue to fall into the corner if the rider didn't counter the roll-in that he produced from his countersteering. That is of course a completely false statement but it was consistant with his understanding of the phenomena at the time. I wrote him a note on that and I'm sure he has it straight now. Now I hear that one of Reggie Pridmore's group has put together a bike that shows how BS works and I can't wait to see it. Keith
  24. Roadrunner You shouldn't be having this problem. No matter how close the box is if you can make quick downchanges this shouldn't be a problem. If you are good at it, you can make 5 downchanges in less than 2 seconds and every one of them silky smooth. If you are waiting too late to make your changes that can crowd you on the turn entry. Waiting until the braking is at least half way done is good because the blips don't have to be that big to match the revs. Waiting too late is the major problem. Doing it too early only wastes the motor and can bend valves. If your downshifting isn't perfect then you might be stressingout on the pogo effect that many riders get while they are blipping the gas, i.e., they pull the lever in and out with the blip and that alters the pressure so the front end is pogoing up and down. That is distracting. This is the reason that I built the Contro Trainer: http://www.superbikeschool.com/us/machiner...l_trainer.shtml Maybe 50cc GP bikes were before your time but you should know that they had between 10 and 15 gears! Don't complain about going down 5... Keith
  25. Vagelis, Who are you talking about when you make a statement and then say, "(you say)"? Who said that? Keith
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