stuman
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Posts posted by stuman
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You feel lost in the turn, not sure if you are going to make it, not sure how close to the edge of the track you are, right?
So what tool can you use to help tell where you are on the track (hint: you learned it in level 2)?
Don't you think if you had a really good idea of exactly where you were on the track you would feel a bit more comfortable?
If you plan for turn one at VIR was to let the bike run out some in the middle of the turn and then bring it back in for the second portion of that turn, did you have something that would tell you how far to let it run out?
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If your talking about tires used at the track, the best thing to do is ask the tire vendor at the track for a recomendation. They will know what is best for their brand of tires.
For the street go with the recomendations in your bike's owner's manual.
On the track most guys do run much lower presures, something like 31/29 f/r is common.
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I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "some guys are holding the clutch in while braking and changing down for the corner much later" so I'll answer a couple different ways.
1) If you mean they are holding the clutch in the whole time they are braking, downshifting and then letting the clutch out slowly just before the corner... Then I think this would require a lot of attention on how you release the clutch and would be very difficult to do smoothly. You would have to pay a lot of attention on the clutch and I would think other aspects of you corner entry would suffer.
2) If you mean they are blipping while downshifting but just holding their downshifts until later in the corner entry, then I think this would be a good idea. It would allow less engine braking and make for a smooth corner entry. You wouldn't have to put as much attention on the clutch and you can release it quickly when you blip.
Keith wrote a good post on braking and downshifting ... http://www.superbikeschool.com/bbs/index.p...t=ST&f=11&t=258
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Jeff is right, weaving will not build heat. Speed will.
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Yes, you are responsible for the first (up to) $750 in damages. Anything over $750 is covered buy the school.
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No it won't hurt. Most people don't even use a switch.
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You can usually bribe the school's mechanic Will to change tires for you.
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TRE = Timing Retard Eliminator
GSXRs retard the timing in the first 3 or 4 gears at low revs so you have less power. It's supposed to make the bike easyier to ride.
The TRE fools the computer so it does not retard the timing and you get more power at low RPMs in the lower gears. On the Busa it also bypasses the top speed limiter that would normaly kick in at 186 MPH.
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I went out for a ride on Ortega hwy yesterday. I ride that road all the time and it's a blast, like twenty something miles of twisties. I had this thread and what Keith wrote about turn points in my mind when I went out. I decided to really try to use good turn points on this ride. I don?t usually do this on the street, turn points is just not one of the skills I normally work on when street riding, I typically work on other visual skills.
So as I approached each turn I took a good look at it and if I could see the whole or most of the turn I would pick a turn point that looked good to me as I came up on it. If I could not tell what the corner was going to do I just stayed out wide until I could.
Picking a turn point for each corner really gave me much more confidence going in. I knew where I wanted to turn and would be less distracted by oncoming traffic and stuff. It was a very enjoyable ride. I work on using good turn points on the track all the time, but this ride made me think about them more on the street as well. Good stuff.
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Use the best tires you have. You can go as fast as you like and lean as far as you want at the school. Tires are cheaper then bodywork and you would be better off if you didn't have to worry about your tires.
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Bring an EZ-Up. We typicaly do not have access to the garages at Pocono.
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Only one thing I can think of... It's prbably going to be HOT down there, so make sure you have something cool to wear under your leathers. I like that under armor stuff or a coolmax jersey and some bike shorts. You can also pick up a full coolmax inner suit from Judy when you get to the school.
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Anyone else doing the 2 Day Class at Barber Motorsports on September 2nd and 3rd? I'm headed to Birmingham from Nashville on the 1st. It's my first 'track experence' and I can't wait! Not really sure what to expect.
Thad
Well I'll be one of the instructors
What can you expect? Expect to have a great time and learn a ton. Seriously Barber rocks! -
Mike, not to sound too much like a sales guy, but...
Have you done level two at the school? The exact problem you?re talking about is addressed In short no I don't feel like I'm neglecting the turn I'm in by looking ahead, but this is a fairly common problem. It all has to do with the way you use your vision. Try this next time you go out for a ride and see if it helps. Think of each turn as a three step visual process. When approaching the turn spot your turn point as early as possible, just before you reach the turn point use the two step and look to your apex spot, turn the bike and then once you feel confident you will hit your apex spot THEN start looking ahead as far as possible.
Yes, if I look through the turn I'm much less inclined to roll out.
Yes, it is common to have you attention zoom in on stuff when you are tired. You have to maintain concentration and that is harder when you?re tired.
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[butthead voice] Huhhhuhhuhu he said wood huhhuhuhuhuhhhhuuh
[/butthead voice]Congrats man, and great write up!
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Great write up Andy! Glad you had a good time and learned something at Mid Ohio!
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Ugh... I just went through 5 pages of this exact topic on my forum...
http://www.cbr600rr.com/forum/index.php?bo...y;threadid=5154
Bah! Only 5 pages? This same topic went 38 pages on the R1 forum a while back.
Man talk about a can of worms Here's a link to that thread... http://www.r1-forum.com/forums/showthread....&threadid=21254
There is a lot of really good info on this subject on the above thread with the Likes of Keith, Will, Andrew Trevit, and many others putting in their 2 cents.
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I didn't feel it coming. And no after 3 years of racing I don't expect to know everything in fact I don't think its possible for anyone to know everything about anything.
I wouldn't expect you or anyone else to know everything, but the fact that cold tires have sucky traction is pretty comon knowledge. I was just trying to see if you were looking for something more then just confirmation of that fact, I'm not trying to be a wise ass.
As I said I was 'wondering' if there was a technical issue as I might have missed somethingOther then picking the bike up and just going easy until the tires come in, no. I think that wold pretty much cover it IMHO.
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An RP is anything that provides you with information. It's usualy better to use something on the track but sometimes an object in the distance is better.
Ok so here are some examples of both types of RPs I spoke of above for The Streets. I'll put (RP) after each so you can see what I mean.
For turn three I use the right edge of the track (RP) and the second crack in the pavment(RP) for my turn point. I know I want to be right on the right edge of the track(RP) going in and there are two cracks(RP) that run all the way across the track when your comming down the hill aproaching turn three. I turn in at the second crack(RP). I double apex turn three so I have a spot(RP) picked out about two feet off the curbing(RP) and about 1/4 of the way through the corner for my first apex. I then let the bike run out about three feet off the curbing(RP) towards the middle of the turn. if I remember correctly there is a pavment patch(RP) that I use to tell me how far to let the bike run out. The I start to pull the bike back in for my second apex which is between the curbing(RP) and the pavement patch(RP) aboiut 3/4 of the way through the turn.
For the little esses comming of the back strait I use a white water tower(RP) off in the distance to line myself up for a strait shot. The esses are blind so I enter on the left side of the track(RP) and pick a skidmark(RP) on the track to use as my turn point. When the Xs(RP) are there I can use them. I turn at my skid mark(RP) and look for the water tower(RP) off in the distance. If I aim right for the water tower(RP) I will be lined up for a strait shot through the esses as I crest the rise.
I don't really want to write a book here so I hope you get the idea.
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Believe it or not, riding the twisties without using the brakes is a great drill for getting better at using the brakes. IMHO one of the most common problems people have when hard braking is they slow down too much. Riding without the brakes goes a long way towards improving your sense of speed and setting you entry speed correctly is what braking is all about.
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So if I am on cold tires do I need to push the bike up harder with the outside peg as I am getting on the gas or have I missed something?.
So do you really think pushing on the outside peg stands the bike up?
I'm not sure what you are trying to get at? Yes of course it would help to stand the bike up more on cold tires, but that ain't going to happen by pushing on the outside peg IMHO.
That aside, the answer is pretty simple, you can't go as hard on cold tires, their traction is far less predictable. After racing for three years are you really surprised that the rear end would come around quickly on cold tires? There is a reason why cold tires are one of the most common causes of crashes, they suck.
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There's a bit more to it then what you listed. Just sticking to level one stuff...
You want to spot your turn point
You want to look into the corner and spot your apex before you turn
You want to try to relax mid corner
Then there's all the level two visual stuff to think of and the level three skills as well. And still more stuff we may go over with you in level four.
There's a lot to do in each corner when you think about it. If you were to make a step by step list it would be veeeeerrrryyyyy lllooonnnggg
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I beleive we will have it at all the schools and it's available for any level student to try. Just hop on it when you have some free time between sessions.
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Most tracks have a web site with printable maps.
What can you expect? Expect to have a great time and learn a ton. Seriously Barber rocks!
Blind Corners
in Cornering and Techniques
Posted
There are a few things we teach at the school that can really help with blind corners.
Two things that I think really help in these kinds of corners are ...
1) Set your entry speed carefully. This is pretty difficult when you can't see what the corner is going to do, but you have to take your best shot. Error on the side of going in a little too slow. It's much better to go into a blind corner a little slow then to go in too fast and find out that it tightens up later on.
2) Wait till you can see what the corner is going to do, then turn in. Don?t commit to the corner until you can tell how it is shaped. Just cruise around the outside of the corner until you can see what kind of corner it is then turn in and roll on.
The vanishing point drill is probably the best thing we teach for blind corners, but you?ll have to come to the school for that one as it would be difficult to explain in this format.