bradvanhorn

GP riders are the elite of the elite in motorcycle racing. They learned to manage 220+ HP but they did this by starting at 25 HP and earning their way up the ranks over many years. Those of us who are mere track day riders, or even amateur racers, generally don't have the time, energy, money, techincal support, etc., to ever reach the level of skill needed to effectively manage a GP spec bike.

Superb comments Eirik. I wholeheartedly agree. I see a comment repeated often among the track day forums: track day vets decide to step up and try a liter bike only to quickly return to a 600 because the liter bike simply is a lot more effort for no or very little gain (and sometimes turning into a loss). Going back to my previous example, our local pro was running ~1:50 in AMA Supersport at NOLA. He's been firmly 2-3 sec off that pace since going to a superbike (and despite reaching higher straight speeds). I don't think anyone here is challenging your courage or determination. We're surely challenging the notion you'll perform better on turbo Busa ("hot rod") than you would on a smaller displacement bike specifically tuned for the track. If I was watching two equal riders, one on a track tuned SV650 (80 hp) and the other on a turbo Busa (200 hp?), I'd put my money on the SV650 every time.

From what I'm reading it seems to me you want to make your Hayabusa into a "hot rod". Nothing wrong with that at all if that's your desire. From what I see in my area, I simply assumed a Hayabusa must be lowered, stretched, and "bling-ed" out. However, I think the other posts noting this will make the bike less racetrack friendly are spot on. It doesn't mean you couldn't take it to the track but it will be less than optimal. As regards extra power, particularly on a bike already sporting 150+ HP, I don't know what a turbo will do but it probably won't be especially useful at the track for most of us mortals. It'll probably sound cool and work wonders at the drag strip however. Also, from what I've seen, turbo kits (and the necessary/associated hardware) are pretty expensive. You probably could buy a modest second-hand track bike for the cost of the turbo alone. A sort-of related story about excess power: our local pro racer decided to try a new ZX-10 this year, and this after a decade or two of racing 600's (mostly ZX-6's). He says he loves the ZX-10 but he's noticeably slower. Despite running slower lap times, he's determined to stick with it this season. He often remarks the bike simply is so powerful it nearly always hovers at the edge of being uncontrollable (I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist). When I hear such comments from a pro, I am totally convinced I have no business riding anything with more power than a 600 (mine makes about 120-ish HP), and I could probably do just fine with a step down to a 650 twin.

Honda is well invested in electronics in MotoGP. The production CBR1000RR is notably lacking in electronics. By comparison, Aprilia, BMW, Kawasaki, Ducati all have extensive electronics packages for their superbikes. Perhaps this is a contributing factor in those teams having much recent success in World Superbike, whereas Honda has achieved just four race wins since the beginning of the 2011 season. Food for thought...

The Q2 front, 120/70-17 is widely available and the school always has had them on hand when I've trained with them. The Q2 rear, as I understand, is available as a 200/50-17, vice a 200/55. I've no idea what a 200/50 Dunlop would do to your handling compared to a 200/55 Pirelli. Anyway, at the school I only recall seeing 180/55-17 and 190/55-17 but they might have the 200s hidden away. Your best bet I think is for you to call the school and talk with the office about your options. You can get tires mounted during the school but time is the main obstacle. Will, the chief mechanic, stays pretty busy so you'd probably want to make arrangements in advance and arrive early. Another question to ask the office staff...

I still vote for, "stretching out a leg cramp"

Ah, I miss VIR. Maybe next year I can work it in. My consolation is I get NOLA almost every month, and CSS will be here in just 2 1/2 weeks for a 2-day

Wow, responses have come in quickly... From what little you've mentioned, it sounds more like visual errors (I suspect that's where Hotfoot may be going with her question). If you haven't read Twist of the Wrist II or watched the DVD then now is an excellent time. If you have, then perhaps this is a good time to re-read or again watch the video. When you get back on the bike, I think you can best start by lowering your speeds to where you are very comfortable and not worry about carrying a certain amount of speed. It may feel slow but it'll allow you to put most of your attention on technique.

Yes, exactly

For fun I went out this afternoon and rode my Ninja 250 and then my Speed Triple and tried steering with peg pressure. On the Ninja, with a couple days to practice, I probably could steer as was seen in the video. The Speed Triple, not so much. However, even on the Ninja I had to press really hard into the peg to get the bike to move left/right. If I was rolling on the gas then it took an extremely hard push. The control was vague and wandering at best. I easily could do more using just one finger to apply hardly any pressure on the bars. I can't see what you could possibly accomplish trying to steer with the pegs that you couldn't otherwise better accomplish with dramatically less exertion, more precision, and quicker with the bars. I call it a gimmick at best.

I can see how it would seem confusing to suggest you are putting your weight on the outside peg when most of your body is hanging low and inside. I've listened to Keith and Dylan explain this a number of times and I cannot do their explanation justice in trying to recall and repeat it here. However, I think it was simpler for me to think of pivot steering as less about weighting the peg and more about using a gentle to moderate force to push on the outside peg with the ball of your foot. Thinking of it in this way I don't worry about "weighting" the peg but instead only think to push off the peg when I need some extra muscle on the bars. Not sure if that answer is useful... maybe a coach will bail me out

"FBD" Frozen beverage dispenser?

Based on the picture, you probably would apply a little extra pressure to the outside peg to help lock on the tank with your outside knee. How much pressure you may need will vary depending on your build and the shape of the bike/tank. Otherwise, I don't believe there's any reason to apply "more force" to either peg. Some racers assert you can steer the bike by putting pressure on the pegs. Keith developed the no-BS bike and effectively disproved this notion. Simply putting pressure on the inside peg will not affect your center of gravity; neither would putting pressure on the outside peg. To lower CoG you have to shift a portion of mass lower and/or to the inside. Just pushing on a peg won't do that.

Sadly, I have Cox service and it appears they have no intention to bring in BeIN Sports. Cox "customer-no-service" is well known...

Hmmm, that sounds great. Time to have another look at how I can get BeIN.

I once mentioned I thought it would be awesome if there was a California Superbike University, where graduates could get a "CSS coach" degree

Do you feel something about your current body position is holding you back?

Where is this happening? Track, street, both? Is there an incident replaying in your mind? I think ktk_ace listed some good ideas.

You generally don't want to crowd the tank but also don't want to get so far away you become disconnected. A point to deviate from would be to move back from the tank and leave enough room to place your fist between the tank and your groin. From there you can adjust to your comfort spot. What Tyler described about lining up your thigh with the shape of the tank is a good method.

For those who are interested, apparently FOX Sports, aka Speed, has signed a deal for broadcasting MotoGP... the details in this story still are a bit vague however. http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/913/15836/Motorcycle-Article/MotoGP-Inks-FOX-Sports-TV-Deal.aspx On the whole, this is too little too late from FOX/Speed. They lost my business when they failed to develop race broadcast deals well in advance. They still have no plans for WSBK and barely even limited coverage for AMA (excluding motocross). But we get lots of reruns of R U Faster than a Redneck. I'll watch the races through other sources.

Time to start marketing elbow pucks

So, after a disastrous Daytona, Josh Hayes is starting well behind in the points... will this change the championship outcome?

I did Streets in 2011 and really enjoyed the track. Hopefully I can get back there again in the next year or two. Anyway, just go, have fun

Ron surely is a prominent member at NOLA, and (unless riding) he always is wandering about chatting with folks. I was thinking the other day if NOLA had a mayor, you might think Ron was running for office No argument from me on being able to shadow another racer to get a feel for routine. In military terms I think of it as reconnaissance. We're hoping Ron will do this for us, but haven't gotten word from him about his plans. I'm hoping to see him tomorrow and talk about this more. Perhaps I'm being naive but I'm not concerned about the riding. My only real concern is the conduct of the day. Where are you supposed to be, when are you supposed to be there, what are you supposed to be doing, etc.; much the theme of things you mentioned. My military mind is quite attuned to having a well defined plan... even if the plan falls apart under execution

^ this I guess if you simply want to drag your pegs, push the bike under you and keep pushing until the peg touches. I wouldn't do it, but to each their own.