Cobie Fair

Position filled as of now. But people come and go, if you have any interest in working here, contact whitney@superbikeschool.com. If you want to be a coach, contact me. We regularly look for and train coaches, schedules and day jobs change people's situations.

Figured this thread would come up with some variations on what riders do. One thing that helped me the most a few years ago was working the lower body more, more leg work. In particular in thighs. This both helped outright pace, but also endurance. There were a few ballet exercises that helped. Or maybe someone will come along and say they play a bunch of video games...

I'll be interested to hear what you think

I think the answer is the 3+ and the 4 are gone. Not yet sure on the 5 and 5S what the plan is there, I'll check in with Dylan.

Got a chance to ride on a set of Q5's the last 2 days of our Vegas schools. Not a formal review of any kind, just got a chance to use a set of used ones from the track day at Buttonwillow (no information on how many laps and sessions they had on them). Coaching requires paying attention to one's students, so not as much left over for the tire. A few comments below: 1st thing I noticed on the cold morning (50 degrees?) was they felt like they turned in a little slowly (stone cold), but didn't feel like a slick (slicks are stiff, hard to turn in, and skimming the surface, feels sketchy and is, when really cold). My next impression was I'd actually thought someone had made an adjustment to my suspension, the bike (going slow, before I even got them warm) felt like the suspension was moving less, more planted. Looking back, I'd wished I'd gone out and done some more hot laps, used a bit more lean angle, as fast as I went (with some pretty good students) there was still a little lean angle left available. The tires did not dissapoint. As fast as I was willing to go, they went, no sliding to speak of, felt planted the whole time. I was very pleased with them. They were pretty well used up after the 2 days, but I have no idea what wear/use they had gotten before I rode them.

Talking with a student today, another off-season activity came up: super-moto. Can be done at kart tracks, some take a dirt bike and convert the wheels and put on slicks, and ride the snot out of 'em. I've not gone this route often, but a lot enjoy it over the winter, and use as an off-season way to practice (pretty cheap for track time too).

Turkey day is over, Johnny learned what tryptophan is (passed out after a double portion of turkey). 4 of our guys will be at the BMW RRfest down at Chuckwalla in mid-December, anyone going to that? That's Dec 14-15, with Femwalla on the 16th. Johnny, James, Ben, and Lyle will represent, should be good fun. Anyone going to that?

Agree with all on the fitness. Has anyone else tried Dr. Doug McGuff's fitness program's? At 62, I noticed an amazing change in 3 workouts, but curious if anyone else has tried his stuff. His book is BODY BY SCIENCE (haven't read it yet), but his big 5 exercises are on the inter-web thing (all over youtube).

Hotfoot, nicely described. Here's a look at the other end of this, when the tire is really nice and hot. I notice that I rarely get the tires all the way hot, unless I have a fast student. Since we are mostly on used slicks, it can often take 2-3 laps of going at a good pace to get them hot. When they are hot, and I turn in, I notice the bike takes a tighter line than before (same lean angle and turn-in). Anyone experienced this?

Thanks CF. JJ and Dylan were at Buttonwillow 2 days ago. JJ said it was cold, but the tire still felt great.

That Timbersled thing looks like silly good fun! OK, we have a list of things going, anyone want to add more? One thing would be to look at a winter training program. This was big for me this last winter, helping with this year. Does how strong or how one's endurance come into play while riding? Faster tracks take a lot more muscle to ride than slower ones, the new track at Pitt Race is a good example...it was a workout!

Hotfoot, nice description of what it feels like. This subject comes up often, I'm glad we are getting more descriptions of this.

Dylan and JJ ended up going to Buttonwillow racetrack yesterday, some kind of release on the Q5. Both said the tire was good, real good. More when I can get some specifics.

Me too. The Q4 was better in every category than the Q3+...except wear. I'll be interested to hear how that 5 works.

OK, "skate" is the wrong word, too strong. We aren't talking about sliding at all. The concept we're going for is what does a tire feel like that is cold, how can one tell? What does it feel like on those cooler rides you have done, what does the tire feel like at the beginning of the ride? Either on a cool day at the track, or on the street. How would you describe that? Describe that in any way that makes sense to you, put it in your words.

So...part question, part statement: what to do over the winter to not regress one's street or track riding skills? You could watch MotoGP in the living room, pretend you are one of those guys and lie on your side with your elbow on the ground making engine sounds... How about a list of things that could help one's riding? I'll start: Get out and ride the dirt bike. Besides being good fun, and good exercise, it's a nice social thing to do, even in the modern era if you want to socially distance. Highly recommend wear all the gear, all the time and make sure it fits correctly... OK, let's see what else we can come up with...

Hmmm...above post wasn't quite clear. Those schools were filling quickly and are now sold out (the 2-day camps at VIR and Barber). We have a second 2-day camp at Barber this year, that is not yet sold out, still room there.

Thanks, I'd heard it was available. curious if any of the forum members had ridden on them yet.

JB, Regarding being able to feel the traction: earlier in the thread we'd talked about the feeling of a cold tire and it feeling like it was not holding a line well, feeling like it was not positive and planted, skating even? Have you ever noticed that when you have started on a ride, with cold tires?

Any of you internet savvy folks know about this new tire...?

Honestly, on the street, I don't know that I ever get tires to full temp. It would have to be very warm day. I just don't ride that fast on the street. At the track (or street too) one thing that can help is in a straight line, accelerate hard, and brake hard-ish too. This will help flex the tire and get some heat. Still have to make sure you increase the pace gradiently at the edges of the tire though, no sudden increases in lean angle, just gradual ones. See if it helps to be aware of that feeling of a cold tire, and then notice the opposite, how does it feel when it is hot. Might have to wait till you get a warm day for that :).

This next part is to see how to tell what it feels like, and some simple guides: No, not necessary to be going fast, this can be felt at slow speeds. This is before sliding of course, the tire just doesn't feel like it's tracking exactly as it should, it doesn't feel positive and planted, it's not turning and holding a line well. One might think, "I'm just being a wuss" but in fact the tire isn't working, the rubber is not filling into the those little dips. Tires do not work below temp, full stop. A way to check the tire is simply when you pull over, pull your glove off and feel the tires (both front and rear). If it feels cool to your touch, that's stone cold. If it feels tepid/lukewarm, that's cool. If it's for sure warm, you are getting there. If the rear is hot, then you are there. This is just a rule of thumb of course. But the idea is to start to get a feel for what the tire is like as it warms, and when it's finally hot. When hot, it turns in, and holds the line (sometimes going even tighter than you'd expect). So a question to all reading: have you experienced this?

This is a question we get often, and as Jaybird mentions above, a part is how does it feel? First, lets refer to one aspect of a tire's grip, contact patch. To somewhat over-simplify, the surface looked at closely is quite rough, with small ridges and dips. A cold tire "skates" over the top of the ridges, and doesn't push into the dips. Have you ever gone out on a cold tire, cold day and the bike felt like it was skating on the surface? Well, it was! When steered into a corner of any kind, it also didn't turn and hold the line well at all. Have you noticed this?

😁

Just got word from CSS HQ (my wife Whitney, in the next office), our first full schools. That's the 2-day camp at Barber in May, and also the 2-day at VIR. So...if you have been holding off on signing up for a date...don't dawdle. Even if you aren't sure you can make it, if you give more than 2 weeks notice, won't cost you anything to re-schedule. Best, CF