chopperbill

I dont think Stoner needs to make excuses, he's is right up there with the best in the world, he has proven himself over and over again, so i dont believe that is an issue. Im sure if the pain is intense before the race, he'll get a quarterzone injection to see him through. Not even close. Stoner proving himself would have included him successfully defending his MotoGP title. He had the bike to do it with. The problem is that he didn't have the mental ability. He had plenty of things to blame that didn't include himself. He's only on his fourth year in MotoGP. He hasn't proven anything yet. WOW, that's pretty harsh! I think having one Moto GP Championship is proving yourself enough. Lets face it he is racing with one of the all time greats,(Rossi). I just read 5 minutes ago that he has the fastest lap times,(ahead of Rossi) at Qatar.

I just read that the operation went smoothly, but he needs to do the physical therapy exercises to get back all the mobility. I think he'll be there, he wants to be out there with Rossi!

I think TC and ABS are fine on touring bikes when you have the bike fully loaded. It's hard to controll your braking in wet weather under those conditions. But on my sports bike, or race bike, no thanks. Of course if I'm on a 200 HP Moto GP bike then I would want TC.

To me it almost feels like it was in slow motion....The entrance looked huge and the exit was effortless. That's why I think the eyes are the most important thing to work on in my riding.

Going wide in 7 is easy to do. Going up the drag strip after turn 6 is the fastest part of the track. I pass a lot of guys on the inside of 7 because they make that mistake. It's the bus stop that drizes me crazy. So if someone knows the right line there, please let me know.

Some bikes are geared too high from the factory so they can pass the drive by sound requirements. That is the case on most Ducati's. The first thing most Ducati riders do is go down one tooth on the front,(with the exception of the 1098). I race a 749r and it was geared too high for 3 turns at Sears and 4 turns at Thunderhill. My bike has a flat spot in the power band around 7000 rpm, so I like to be at 7500-8000 when I start to power out of the turns. Because my bike is a twin downshifting one gear would put me too close to red line, (11,000 rpm). So I went one tooth down on the front and two teeth up on the back. At the tracks I ride there is no way I could hit red line in 6th on the straights, (Sears Point doesn't really have a straight).

I like being in front. If there is a rider in front it distracts me from where I like to brake, turn, drive, etc. In the long sweepers all I'm thinking about is whether I'm going to pass him on the outsdie or wait 'till he drifts out and take an inside line to pass. If a faster rider passes me, all I think about is trying to keep up, instead of thinking about my riding, and that doesn't help me get faster. The only time I don't mind being in back is when a friend who I know is faster wants to show me some better lines through some turns, so we purposely go out to pratice those lines.

I just looked up the times at Sears Point for AFM racing. Open Superbike: 1:40, Open Production: 1:43, this was for the same rider. The production class isn't "bone stcok", you can have an after market exhaust and ECU and run DOT race tires. I think the tires have more to do with lap times then the exhaust at Sears Point, but there isn't anyone racing with street tires so that is just my opinion.

Very long late apex decreasing radius turns are what comes to mind for single turns. C WOW, I just read all 5 pages on this trail braking tread. Can't believe it started 1 1/2 years ago!! Could it be that if you put a top Moto GP racer on the track by himself and said go run some fast laps, that the amount of trail braking would be a lot less then if it was a race situation? Adrenalin and competitiveness makes you push a lot harder, sometimes too hard into corners, when you have to trail brake. That doesn't mean it's the fastest way around the track it just means it was the only way to get the job done at that moment. To use Keith's saw/house building comment from a few pages ago. Lets say I'm building a house, and I'm up on the roof, and I need to cut one 2 x 4. My choices are go down to the truck, plug in the extention cord, haul it up on the roof, plug in my saw then cut the board. Or I could just use the hand saw that is on the roof and is available. The power saw is faster, except when it's not. To me the quick turn and trail braking are just tools that should be used when the time is right, not all the time or none of the time. Just my 2 cents.

I would even pop for "pay per view" to see this race! It would have to be a promoters dream come true!......and throw in Mat Mladin please!!!

I'm currently having a Nemesis ECU installed in my Bike,(Ducati 749r). This ECU has the capability to have multiple maps installed that can be switched at the starter button. One map will be for pump gas and another will be for oxygenated race gas. The numbers I have heard are about 5 more HP on race gas. Does that make a difference? Only when I'm on the straights and the guy next to me is on a Susuki 750(750 SB) or a 1098 (open twin) classes........

Hubbard; The Desmosedici that Stuman is riding in that shot is an L-4, not a twin. Ducati realized that if they were to build a MotoGP Twin it would need to spin at over 17K so they married two L-Twins together...if I got that story correctly. Kevin That's correct, it's a L4, but it still has gobs of low end........I've been told.

You might be on to something with that one. That nut is a real ###### to tighten correctly. I agree! This sounds more like a perceived problem rather then a real one. When my front end pushes on any particular corner I either find a different line, use a different entry speed, hang off the bike more/lean less, put more weight on the front end or all of the above on the next lap at that corner. What ever you do, DO NOT LOOK AT THE FRONT WHEEL while turning. Unless of course you want to get up close and personal with the ground.

No dought King Kenny was fun to watch! But my favorite is Dick Mann. He would road race, flat track AND ride motocross.....all on a Triumph!! I watched him race the Sacrameno Mile with a broken foot! Then I watch him race against Roger DeCoster at Carnagie MotoCross, on a Triumph single. He got smoked, but the sound of that thumper going around a motocross track was way cool!!.

I go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week. I do 30-40 minutes of cardio, either on the bike or jogging on the tred mill. I do about 60-90 crunchs on the exersize ball. Then I mix up my weight training, making sure to give my muscles at least one week to recoupe before doing the same set of exersises. I do light weights and lots of reps,( 3 or 4 sets of 25 reps) to build endurance and strength. I think it is very important to focus on the core muscles of the body, thighs, hips, stomach, back and chest. I also do a lot of reps for my tricepts, I think these muscles are very important for counter steering and holding your body during hard braking. For dieting I have found that keeping a journal of what you eat, ( get a book to look up the food calories), helps a lot. I started this because my daughter graduated in Sept from SF State with a degree in nutrition and she told me to start doing it. I figured, hey, I spent all that money on her college, I may as well listen to her. I have been losing about 3-4 lbs per month. It takes burning about 3500 callories more then you bring in to lose 1 lb. Also I have started eating 5 small meals per day rather then 2 or 3 big ones. This has helped me the most. My energy level is way up, do to my blood sugar staying at a more even level all day,(I've been told). At the track, I make sure I eat a bannana between breakfast and lunch, and an apple a couple of hours after lunch. Also I'm 53 years old, so I think the older you get the more important this becomes.

Of course this is a very subjective question. I had a chance to ride the new Buells at a Buell sponsored track day at Sear Point a few weeks ago. Other then the bad suspension and under powered motors they are great bikes.........I'll not be selling my Ducati 749r anytime soon. Set up in the 23.5 degree rake with the 97mm trail front end set up, it is by far the best handling bike I have ever been on, even better then the 999s Ducati I used to ride.

OK, Turn one at Sears,(AMA turn 1, yes?): Come around turn 11 as tight as possible,(that means slow) to get a good drive early, tuck in and haul a.. to the start/finish line, sit up and brake hard....as soon as I see the paint at the apex I release the brakes, seam to me there is a milasecond before I turn in. Then I point the bike for the painted ripple strip and open it up. It happens very quickly.

All of the above, dude. Every "feeling" you mentioned is possible. Like Cobie said, it depends on the conditions. Some tracks are quite grippy when wet and some are not. The same conditions exist on the street. Just like learning a track, it is a good idea to learn the roads you regularly ride. Where is the tarmac fresh and grippy, where is it old, worn and slippery? Intersections are the worst as cars and trucks sit and idle at red lights leaking puddles of slip juice onto the road. They can be pretty slippery even when it is dry. So, there isn't any one single answer to your question for wet weather riding. Sometimes you will get lots of clear warning. Sometimes your first clue is the sound of scraping bodywork. That said, you'll need to start trusting your tires, in general, sooner or later. Like you said, if you can't make yourself lean over, you won't be able to turn. Make sure you have fresh rubber and your machine is certified in good working order. Then... just do it. One note about rain riding: the most dangerous time is when it first starts to rain and the oils and grime in the road float to the surface. In a hard rain, they will be washed away after a short time. In a light rain, they might not go anywhere. So, the most slippery time is just after it begins to rain. And a hard rain is better than a light rain for traction. (Sorta counter-intuitive.) In any case, the best thing you can do is to have fresh rubber with deep grooves for standing water. A last word of advice: be smooth in rain. Like a car in the snow. Nothing sudden. Gradually increase lean angle to find the limit and mind the rules of throttle control and weight balance. Don't overload front or rear. No hard gas. Be easy on the brakes. Use a little rear brake in the rain. Be mild and be smooth. And get a copy of Twist of the Wrist if you don't have one. It will save your life. Good luck, r All of the above and avoid painted surfaces. That includes the street and the track, such as cross walks and center lines and stay off the paint in the corners of the track.

That could be it. I've changed my approach into that turn and it has helped me be smoother and back on the gas quicker. But this guy generally didn't seem to like the quick turn.

1: Desire. With out it nothing can be achieved.2: Good instruction. Listen and learn!3: Practice. Put the good instruction to use.4: Persistence. The ability to continue even when it seems like you are not improving.5: A good bike. I have 2 Ducati's, a 749r and a 900 Super Sport. On Saturday my front brakes went south on the 749r, so Sunday I rode the 900 SS on the track for the very first time.....Big difference in the two bikes.6: Natural ability. With the above 5 items you will raise to the level of your natural ability.......period. That's my 2 cents. I'd like to add to your list: Discipline And it needs to be higher on the list. Probably #2 or 3. Practicing without discipline is just running last. And I think good instruction isn't as good as it would be if the rider isn't disciplined enough to keep working on what they were taught, even if it doesn't seem to be working. There have been a couple of things that people have told me that I just didn't think were helping me, but there was one lap each time that the lightbulb came on, and it was working. If I would have given up I wouldn't have shaved 12 seconds off average laptime without staying disciplined. And I've been thinking about this part of the day, and I was going to say that desire, or "want" is probably #1. When my wife said she wanted a motorcycle I tried to talk her out of it to make sure she really wanted one, and she kept insisting. She's had some medical issues, but she'll probably be on the track by the end of next year. Great list Chopperbill. I agree, disipline should be in there around #2 or #3. Bad practice will just reinforce bad habits.

1: Desire. With out it nothing can be achieved.2: Good instruction. Listen and learn!3: Practice. Put the good instruction to use.4: Persistence. The ability to continue even when it seems like you are not improving.5: A good bike. I have 2 Ducati's, a 749r and a 900 Super Sport. On Saturday my front brakes went south on the 749r, so Sunday I rode the 900 SS on the track for the very first time.....Big difference in the two bikes.6: Natural ability. With the above 5 items you will raise to the level of your natural ability.......period. That's my 2 cents.

If 3 is the average street rider, and based on the fastest and slowest at the track, I would say I'm about a 5-6. Although one of the track day instructors found me after a session and told me I was turning in too quickly (on turn 2 at Infineon) and that I would crash if I kept doing it.???? When I told him I had just gotten back from Cal SB school, his comment has "well that explains it, everyone who comes back from that school trys to turn in way too quickly". I know a lot of people high side on turn two, so maybe he was trying to help, but it seam to me that high siding is a throttle control issue not a turn in issue. Am I wrong about that?

I read that Troy Bayliss is 5'9" 150#. He says sometimes he gets down to 145#, but rides better at 150#. When I went to Superbike School in October I was 198#, (I'm 5'9"), I have been working out and have cut out a lot of fatty foods in my diet and have gotten down to 182#. I can feel the difference already. My goal is 175# by spring. So if the 7#=1HP is right that would be equal to 3 HP for me. WOW that is a lot cheaper then Carbon Fiber or Titanium parts!!

There are a few guys that have use both tires, and the normal comment is the Pirellie's are much softer, and that requires different suspension settings (as you are finding out). Not familiar with your ride height adjuster, but for sure it was ride height, not preload? Maybe Stuman will chime in, pretty sure he has run both tires. CF I only changed the ride height because Thill is a faster,(more straights/less turns) then Sears Point where I had been running. The damping I have been playing with to get the right setting, (also based on the track). The tire change just added one more dimension to the equation. That's what I love about this sport. I'm a rookie at it, and it seems like there is ALWAYS something new to learn!