[The crime of adding throttle while increasing lean.]

15 minutes ago, Hotfoot said:

How many miles or track days do you have on that tire? 

This was my third track day on this motorcycle with those tires, however, those tires do have some mileage on them. The actual amount I honestly don't know (I know, shame on me, I know better), i should've changed them but due to my work schedule I couldn't make the time to get new tires, I figured I could squeeze one more track day out of them, after all, I'm not at the level where I burn through tires easily. They do have a lot of meat left on them though. 

[The crime of adding throttle while increasing lean.]

I gotta be honest, given how the previous sessions went, i figured one lap was good for a warmup seeing as how that's what I did from the second session on (in the first session i gave it two laps). So after one lap, i felt better grip and got a little more aggressive. I had one more session left so I didn't expect this one to be my last. Wasn't "going in" as if it was the last run of the season. Throttle control felt smooth, I remembered to ROLL it on, I didn't whack it open. I don't recall the RPMs shooting up, I just remember the rear coming around. I was pretty surprised that it wasn't a high side too. The bike didn't tumble either. It just laid down and slid on to the dirt. The frame slider, rider foot peg, passenger foot peg and rear spool saved the engine case. One thing i do remember was very briefly when i began to roll the throttle, i didn't feel the settling/squatting of the rear I had felt previously throughout the day when driving out through the exit (i guess this is the connection with the rear that you're talking about?) but before I could put it together the rear was sliding out. I have video footage of my tach because I had a go pro sitting on the gas tank cover so I gotta go review that and see what I made the engine do and whether or not I really rolled the throttle or whacked it open. 

[The crime of adding throttle while increasing lean.]

Thanks for the reply jaybird, going over the video footage from that day I was averaging about 2 mins a lap(not very fast, I know), but it felt consistent every lap. Left and right turns felt the same. I never felt any slip or give on the first lap of any session because I dialed it back for the first lap each time out. After the first lap, I felt like the bike gripped a little better so I would up my pace. This was the case in that session where I went down. It gave without warning. I didn't notice anything different between the lefts and few rights. I never thought to check tire temps after each session so I can't give you any honest feedback on that. I've been running 28 psi because it's what one of my coaches at NYST always had me set my pressures to. I would imagine (forgive me if I'm mistaken on this) that lower tire pressure to a point would give you a little more grip because of a bigger contact patch? I gotta take another good look at the rear tire and inspect it. 

[The crime of adding throttle while increasing lean.]

So I THINK I was guilty of doing this this past Monday at NJMP on thunderbolt. It was lap two of session six on the day, turn 7 (left hander, second turn after ther hill). The strange thing and what confused me at first was that before that session, all morning and afternoon I was, in my humble opinion crushing that corner. I was getting good drive out of it all day, using what i believe was a good line(I was trying to follow the line JJ used when he recorded me this past July in level 3) and decent BP. The track was great, sunny, clear, temp of 69°F, tire pressures were at 28 psi. In session six, second lap, I proceeded to do what I believe I was doing all day, as soon as I was done steering, I saw my exit line and cone and began to roll on the throttle. Suddenly I felt the rear start to come around to which i responded with a semi flabbergasted and laughing "aww fudge" only, as in the movie A Christmas story,  "i didn't say fudge". Bike low sided as I let go and sat down a little hard and slid a few feet. I was able to get the bike back up and ride it back to the pit believing that I added lean and throttle causing this low side. I was talking about it with a guy from the intermediate group (i was riding novice) who was next to my trailer and he made a comment about my tires saying that he believed it wasn't my technique or anything i did but my tires that failed me. I didn't wanna believe that at first because I thought it was totally me until I looked at the wear on my tires. He stated that riding on the tires I had was like riding on cinder blocks. I recalled that a month prior on these same tires, the rear slipped a little bit coming out of the last turn at NYST twice in two different sessions and I KNOW for a fact that I wasn't leaning the bike enough to ride past the edge and slip, my wear marks indicated and still indicates that i had some room for error. So... now I'm wondering if in fact it was the tires or me. It's messing with me mentally and this was my last track day of the season so I know this is going to be on my mind all off season until I go back there smh. The tires are metzeler m5 interacts which are supposed to be (although it's a street tire) a decent tire and they have plenty of life on them. I added a picture so you can see that I wasn't even on the edge of the tires grip. I guess I'm searching for an answer or guidance on whether it was my technique or if it's time for better tires/tire warmers. Sorry for the novel and thanks in advance for the input/insight/feedback.

[2016 s1krr front 2D sensor]

I have the 2D sensor for my 2016 premium as well but I haven't installed it. I'm aware of the extra adjustment benefits but since you stated that your adjustments disappeared I'm hesitant. I wonder If deleting ABS had anything to do with it? 🤔 Let me know what you find out. 

[Throttle Control Rule #1]

4 hours ago, CoffeeFirst said:

Always amazed at how when I nail my entry speed everything else (riding line, weight distribution, apex precision, exit drive, SR avoidance, etc.) seems to go well - and when I get it wrong everything suffers. 

Dave

^THIS!!!

Everytime I get my entry speed wrong, everything is off. Before I even reach the apex im already annoyed in my head because I know that I'm off the line, I either came in too slow and now I'm making mid corner adjustments, or I came in too hot and im running wide and making mid corner adjustments. When I get the entry speed right however, like you said, everything else falls in line and it just feels right, feels better, feels amazing!

[7 types of riders you see at a track day lol]

Not a really a discussion, I just found the video pretty funny, especially when I saw who they used as an example of #2 "The Seer" lol!

 

[Hello from NY]

On 8/15/2019 at 8:15 PM, Cobie Fair said:

Good to see you at the school!  The bikes are fun

Sorry I took so long to respond, it was GREAT meeting you in person! And awesome chatting it up with you. It's always an awesome experience and I can never thank you guys enough! Can't wait for next summer to do it again!!

[What is a person’s true riding potential?]

17 hours ago, Cobie Fair said:

SRod,

My oldest coach is in his late 60's, and he's fast.  I don't mean fast for a 68 year old (or whatever he is) but fast.  Raced with his son a few years back.

Got a whole slew of guys in their 40-50's that are crazy fast.

We had an 80 year old at the last school, it was his birthday in fact!

My dad skis in Taos, NM, he's 82, and free lift tickets after 80 (I thought that cool).

CF

 

I hope my body can still handle the rigors of snowboarding if/when I reach 80 lol! Free lift tickets!? Are you kidding me!? Lol! But back on topic, yeah it's inspiring and motivating to know that i can still potentially reach that level. It's just mostly if not all on me. I hope Jaybird feels the same way now. I'm just excited man!

[Hello from NY]

On 7/24/2019 at 6:51 PM, Cobie Fair said:

Hi SRod,

Totally get it, I'm still a track addict :).

Come say hello when you get there, we'll see you on Monday!  Riding one of the 2020's, or your bike?

Best,

Cobie

Hey Cobie, i definitely will! Im gonna be on one of the school's 2020s. I currently own a 16' premium and I was thinking about riding it because you guys had the 19s last season (basically the same bike) but when i found out you guys were gonna have the 2020s ready i figured why not try out the new hotness?

[Hello from NY]

Hi all, sort of new to the site but not new to CSS. I have previously done levels 1, 2 and 3 at NJMP. I decided to check the forums out for once since I frequent the superbike school website often. I've been riding for 6 seasons now, and I have done a total of 6 track days in the last two and a half seasons. Super excited to do level 3 again and level 4 next week. I never thought, six years ago when I got my first bike that I'd love riding as much as I do, or that I'd be addicted to riding on the track as much as I am. All I want to do is get better and better, and in that process, hopefully get faster. Anyhow, enough babbling from me. I look forward to having discussions with you guys and hopefully learning even more from all of you. Hope to see some of you at NJMP next week. I'll be there on the 29th and 30th.

[What is a person’s true riding potential?]

Jaybird, man, you stated something that I have been battling with internally for the last two seasons. Granted, I'm what I consider still fairly new to riding. I, like Hotfoot started riding in my opinion, late (early thirties to be exact), and I started doing track days just two seasons ago. I know I'm still relatively inexperienced when it comes to the track even though I've done levels 1 - 3 with CSS and about 3 other track days. I learned early on when I began riding that I LOVE riding, and I started following MotoGP and WSBK as well as MotoAmerica. I never thought I'd be as passionate about it as I am and like you, I have the desire to eventually race, and hopefully one day compete among some of the best. I've been asking myself the same questions. "Am I past that age?", "did I miss my opportunity?", "Whats my limit?", "Can I ever even reach that level?". I wonder if I'll ever have that "ah-ha" breakthrough moment that opens up as you stated "limitless improvement" or if I missed it because I started so late in life. Think about it, most of the "Pros" you see on TV have been on or around bikes probably since the age of 4 and here I am so late to the party. I can relate brother.

Hotfoot, your words are a breath of fresh air on this topic to me. It tells me that the only real limit is myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suddenly filled with hope that I'll be side by side up against Marc Marquez in the near future, but that I can always improve. I remember three years ago, I was at the motorcycle show at the Javits Center talking to one of the coaches for TPM (Team Pro Motion) and he asked my why I wanted to ride the track. My answer back then was, and still today is to get better. Yes I want to go fast, to be faster, but to go faster you have to get better, you have master your craft. I know I still have a long way to go but reading Hotfoot's comment I realize that there is no definitive window of opportunity that can be missed when it comes to learning and improving, that as long as you're willing to learn and pursue improvement, you WILL improve. I'm no where near as good as I want to be, I'm still chasing that knee drag moment but I know in time it will come, and now I firmly believe that in time I WILL find myself competing on some level eventually. Jay, if its what you truly want to achieve, you can and you will.