rootkit007

Points taken. Granted, I was not going very fast that day relative to faster riders, even if it felt mighty fast to me. I have to stop putting so much weight on my legs and move some to the seat, guess this is part of the 'relaxation' Plan on doing another TD soon, we'll see how it goes! Peter

I am getting there... starting to get some confidence back. Some corners are still unnerving. I certainly plan on going back to the same curve and riding it again. This is a good learning experience for me - riding is mostly mental, and your mental state varies from day to day. If I could take that corner yesterday at 50mph that does not mean I can do the same today. Relax, take it easy, recognize the signs and dont push the envelope too far! Thanks everybody! Peter

Is "hopefully it will come back" enough of a solution for you? Wouldn't you feel better if you had some actual control over your 'mental preparedness'? If just 'hoping it will get better' isn't good enough, have a look at A Twist of the Wrist II, Chapter 21, there is an actual drill described in there that you might find very useful. Assuming the basics are in place (you are fed, rested, hydrated, etc.) this drill can do wonders for preventing or correcting issues like "loss of concentration", difficulty judging correct entry speed, and just generally feeling unprepared for what is coming at you when you are riding. Regarding your other post about it being a blind corner - are you familiar with the Vanishing Point drill? Would looking for the vanishing point have helped keep your eyes moving ahead in the corner instead of getting hung up on the tar snakes or the place off the road where you ended up going? Thanks for the tip - I reread those chapters just now! I often practice looking through the turn or towards vanishing point just driving in a car. That day, however, I do not know what came over me and I made all the SR errors in the book - the same ones I have been practicing to avoid. Apparently I am not as good at managing my SRs as I thought, and need way more practice. Peter

I just turned 44, and have been riding for 3 years now. I am sure the mismatch between my speed and mental state was the cause of that crash - I know what had to be done, and what I didnt do right. What I dont like is that my mental preparedness was much lower than at a track day month earlier. Hopefully it will come back

Yes, I am familiar with the technique and have practiced it a lot, especially on track. The particular corner was blind so I didnt have a good reference point - still not an excuse for not looking towards the apex before initiating the turn. Peter

One thing that might help is to think through the crash so there is no mystery about why it happened, or how that situation could be avoided or corrected in the future. You mentioned a number of things - you felt you went in too fast, got scared of the traction (tar snakes) and lean angle, and went straight off into the grass. Looking back on it now, do you think you really were going too fast, or carrying too much lean angle, to make the turn, or did it just seem that way at the time? Do you remember how the turn looked to you as you entered it? Did you have a wide view of the whole thing or did your eyes get hung up on the tar snakes, or the edge or the road? (Bear with me, I may ask a variety of questions to see if we can pin down exactly what was going on - there may have been multiple things that contributed to the crash but ideally we'd like to find the first error, the one that likely triggered additional SRs - in other words, what happened right BEFORE everything started going wrong.) I wasnt too fast (except in my mind). I wasnt carrying too much lean angle. It was all mental. I would have definitely made that turn if I committed to it. I got fixated on those tar snakes in front of me, didnt look through the turn (doh!). I did all the wrong things. The single biggest reason IMO was that I just wasnt feeling confident at the time. Should I have committed to the turn I would have been fine. Mental preparedness. Peter

I blew a corner last week. A classic SR scenario - unfamiliar snake turn on unfamiliar road, carried too much speed for my comfort zone, got scared of tar snakes and lean angle, went straight off the road and down in the grass. Broke plastic fairings, bent subframe. I got a small bruise on calf (was wearing full protection which I think saved my bacon). Leathers got dirty, not torn. Obviously I blame myself for getting scared of that turn - I have been on track and into much more extreme lean angles (down to scraping pegs) than was required for that corner. I shouldnt have been afraid of that lean angle, yet I wasnt feeling safe there. In fact thinking back I wasnt feeling safe that day on the road at all for no reason. My family, of course, now is even more against track days and street rides. I feel I got a good lesson, but not sure how to get back the confidence needed for riding a sports bike. I wonder how others have dealt with similar situations and got back into saddle? Peter

Funny you should mention that. I find myself gripping tank most of the time even on straight road. Somehow I dont feel stable and have to transfer weight on my hands unless I am anchored to the tank. I tried knee-to-knee drill and it indeed seems to alleviate the pressure on legs.

Wow man, 60 TDs in 9 months? Thats like 2 TDs per week? Holy smokes, you going into racing? You are living a dream! I think I get what your are saying. I was getting into more extreme lean angles towards end of that TD, and ended up dragging toe sliders, as well as curb feeler on the footpeg (this actually caused me to crash - no damage beyound scratched fairings). In fact I'm proud of myself of not cornering white-knuckled on the track despite going faster than ever before What I think may be going on is that I'm trying to support most of my weight on legs since I dont trust suspension - this is a standard bike, suspension is not adjustable, and I have had several close calls with rough pavement in curves so am trying to compensate for that by not sitting down on the seat. Could that be it? Peter

Thanks for the feedback! I still wonder what exactly 'too tight' means for legs... too much weight on legs? not enough on the seat? Here is a bunch more http://www.gron4.net/2013/060913/nov/kawblu/

Too far to the side, or towards the ground? It feels like most of my weight is on the inside leg. This is how I look now: https://plus.google.com/photos/100264784324343457396/albums/5887662525371378209?authkey=COr0p5n-qq2hNg Thanks! Peter

Thanks for all the advice! I am on Kawasaki Ninja 650r, no adjustable clipons or rearsets. Will keep trying Peter

Yes, I got Stomp grips. Its the inside leg that bears the brunt - I wonder if I'm putting too much weight on the inside? Too tense might be right as well. Prolly should include some adductor muscle exercise in my regimen :-| Thanks! Peter

I am a noob and still learning proper body position - have dragged my footpeg but not the knee. Lock my outside leg to the tank feels right, but my legs get tired real quick. I have been a gym rat for many years and have strong quad muscles, yet it still happens. Whats funny is that leg muscles more on the inside seem to get tired and quads get little workout. I believe I am doing something wrong - any advice what could it be? Peter

I did my first (dry) trackday about a month ago. My body position sucks - I dont hang off far enough and stay too high (http://www.gron4.net/2013/060913/nov/kawblu/) . Anyway I felt confident in corners, didnt slide out and was gunning it more and more towards the end. Until I scraped my peg hard in the very last lap. I ground off about 5mm off the curb feeler (yes, I know I should have taken them off). This resulted in some weight being transferred from the rear, and I lost traction. Somehow I managed to save it, but of course lost my line and went off the track, and down in the grass runoff - scratched fairings and that was it. Please dont try to scrape your footpegs. If your feet are in right position you'll hit toe sliders first (I know I did), and that should be your early warning. Getting hard parts down is just outright dangerous, especially on street.