fossilfuel

Welcome.....join in the fray!

I don't know what kind of camera you had but it was good quality! Like Hubbard said, you are crossed up but that is easy to fix. I suggest looking more toward the turn..aiming your head toward the entry, apex and exit and turn you head as though you are telling the bike " I want to go this way!" The other thing I noticed is you could carry a lot more speed through the corners.

I like your analogy about snowboarding. I also took up snowboarding and have caught the down hill edge. They call this a "garage sale"! I get up thinking I am blind and there's snow inside my goggles. But what is interesting about this analogy is that it parallels so many things in life that we all need to have "feel" for. When I was learning how to snowboard, I could have had a million instructors telling me what I should do and how to do it but they can't do it for you. I know I fell a hundred times in 4 days but finally it registered and I got the "feel". My brain and body got ther act in sinc and away I went. To me this sport is no different. You can have great coaches to give you the tools but you have to discover the "feel". I can't tell you how great it would be to have a simulator to understand what the AMA, WSB, or MotoGP guys "feel". There is no way around it, you have to do it yourself. P.S. Hey Keith, how about a riding simulator as your next training aid!

Steve, I haven't looked at your profile so I don't know your age. I started riding sport bikes at 50. I am now 54 and I am doing track days and WERA races. I once tried tossing around in my brain the risk and reward of riding. The rewards are many. I have attained every goal I set for myself in riding. I am setting new goals now and I am in the best shape of my life. So, for me, the reward has greatly out weighed the risk. If you want to keep from crashing there are three drills you can work on....Throttle control, throttle control and throttle control.. . I wrote sometime back about going to my first two Keith Code schools and being so overwhelmed by the experience that coach's lips were moving but I couldn't hear what he was saying. It was like ok, ok, when do we get back on the track? When I had a chance to sit back and synthesize the experience and really put together the lessons in my mind, I understood. I got it! I took the track I rode the most and visualized what I would do in the approach, apex, and exit of every corner and every straight. I would visualize where I shift, how I pull in the brake lever, my reference points, and seat position. Now, the lessons I learned are second nature. I don't fear what might happen. I work on what I want to happen and use the skills I learned to get me there. This is a great sport with so many great people. I hope you decide this is something you want to continue.

I think Hotffot makes a good point and you can't go wrong with her advice. I have noticed riders that try to improve in the group they feel comfortable in and begin to get stuck. Most of these riders forget some of the most basic tenants of CSS and fall into a pattern that I call "follow the leader". It is not unnatural to be behind a rider and memic their response to an entry, exit, or line. The lessons you learn in CSS are to use the visual cues to find your own place on the track, your own reference points, your own braking points. You should never focus on the rider in front of you but the area around the rider in front of you. Run your pace not someone elses.

I just got back from a 2400 mile round trip to pick up my dream machine. I am trying to find someone who will ride up to VIR with me on Aug 31. This date looks to be the best opportunity. I had to make sure this was going to work out so once I get back to work tomorrow I can confirm a vacation day for the tryout and call Cobie to see if he is good with that. The book is looking at me as we speak. I was going to read it on the ride to New York but since I was driving, decided to just look at the pictures!

I think I need a cold shower!

Cobie said you were relentless. I was sucking up and agreed. I hope to see you on the track soon.

You don't even have my age right. My wife says I am 12. Can't joke around anymore....convenient huh! I've got to bone up on Twist II!

"She's kinda relentless, isn't she?" Yeah, she is relentless! She's the kinda person I would trust wheel to wheel, elbow to elbow......but only for a second then I would have to pass her! Yeah Baby!

Hotfoot, If I had known that you were going to challenge me to these events I would have gotten three jobs to pay for all this. I guess it's never to late to pick up cans on the side of the road! I wish I could go back to Laguna Seca and the Code Race is definitely something I would like to do but the wife is starting to get a little irritated! 4-Nesba weekends 1-Sportbike Track Time weekend 1-Keith Code Laguna Seca (I don't think she should give me hell about a week in Monterey?) 1-WERA race weekend (Pirelli Series) Pending Events 1-WERA National Series weekend 1-Jennings GP day 1-NESBA November Weekend Oh yeah, I forgot I'm going to pick up a motorcycle this weekend only 19 hour drive one way and I have a tryout coming up. So yeah maybe after the divorce!

Well, did you see they added a 2 day camp at Laguna Seca over Thanksgiving? If I read it right, it's school on Wednesday, day off for Thanksgiving on Thursday, then school again on Friday. Sounds like fun, I think you should rent a house and host a big Thanksgiving dinner for everyone on Thursday!!! Oh, by the way, FossilFuel, I am booked for CodeRace Oct 26-27th, are you up for it? I believe I would be better off if I had a tent out at the track instead of what happened last time! I would really, really like to ride and the Code Race sounds great but I have a WERA race September 12th and 13th and I plan on placing in Senior Superbike. There maybe other plans that might work out but I will have to wait and see. Hotfoot, please do not tell me about this stuff. It is killing me! Hope to see you guys soon.

Hub, That is really great that you are going. Just one bit of advice, live in the moment! This school is all about here and now. From the time you walk up the steps of the trailer to get a cup of coffee until you get your last days certificate, take it all in. It really is a very enjoyable experience. Have fun. FF

This thread is not long enough. I thought we were going to set some sort of record? I'm actually doing nothing and I am going to miss a track weekend at Barber this weekend. I am going to New York state to pick up a motorcycle I have always wanted.....anyway, I saw we had something like +6000 hits on this thread. Nice work Domina! I always have ti have the last word. P.S. Would love to get back out to Laguna for another school! Maybe we could find a better place to stay this time!

The thing about the weigh amount is probably 80% on the inside peg. I get as close as possible to the tank. I mean snug so that I can hold with the opposite thigh against the tank. You have all your thigh against the tank and it is so much easier to keep weight off the bars and on the inside peg when you can hold on with that much surface area. I have tried pushing my knee into the tank but you have to push with the outside leg and for me that is brutal. I felt very awkward at first doing this because I am 6'2" tall. I feel like I am am hanging out over the front of the bike but the proof is in the times.

I was in a situation where I was having a hard time getting that extra second. I started weighting the inside peg and holy ######, the times were there. You do have to try and get comfortable with position to do it but once your there its like taking the training wheels off. I had heard that some coaches teach weighting the outside peg and was wondering about that. I thought maybe the thinking was that if you pushed hard on the outside peg at exit, you would be helping to transfer the weight to a more upright position. So, it could be an aid or enhancement to pivot steering....I don't know just asking. Anything I can come up with to go faster, you know?

Why was it a fight? I have gained a significant improvement in lap times that seem to point to weighting the inside peg? I have heard that some coaches teach weighting the outside peg for exit. Is this to help stand the bike up so one can get on the gas quicker. I was wondering?

Ok all you boys and girls, The question is, I put all my weight on the inside peg for corner entry. Do I weight the outside peg for exit? Where is the weight most needed?

Yes it is, don't use it. I'm sorry. Let me clarify. I was using oxygenated fuel and left it in a plastic container for storage, big mistake. The recommendation by the fuel guys is to immediately siphon it from your tank after every use and store in the original metal container. That means at the track siphon all fuel, run engine until completely burned out of injectors. I hope i'm not saying something you already know. Anyway, I decided that the fuel was to much of a pain in the butt for me so I quit using it.

Dunlops "Grip and Rip"

Derek, I ran Pilot Power Race and loved them. I rode cold tire pressure of like 28 front 25 rear....only problem I had was wear. At the time I was riding an RC51 (tire eater)! The tire I do not like is the new Power One "V" profile. I do not have anything against any other Michelin tire I have ever used and probably should have put in a disclaimer ahead of time to that effect. I went to Barber this weekend and put in one personal best lap after another on my Dunlop slicks. I was riding faster this weekend on the Dunlop slicks with no issues with max lean angle. The only problem I have now is that they are not making the slick I am using anymore so I am thinking about going back to the new Sportmax and changing my geometry a little to suit that tire.

Are you on a 600 or 1000? CF Cobie, THe 600 is still in intensive care. I road the 1000 with the Dunlop slicks.

I DID IT! The second session of the first day...1:40.93, 1:40.88, missed a lap 1:41.23, 1:40.77 then a 1:40.26. It was very hot, about 98 ambient. I had to take a couple of cold showers between sessions to cool down. I started slowing down a bit after lunch and couldn't break the 1:41 mark. I had a plan for Sunday to come out the first session and get loose, find a couple of 1:35-1:39 riders and hitch a tow. I was on my way when the rider in front of me through up a hand with mechanical problems and put me off the pace...I finished with a 1:40.22. I started making mistakes in the third session after lunch with a couple of missed shifts. The tires were starting to feel a little greasy with the heat of the track so I called it a weekend. There is just so many Bananas, potassium, gatorade and water one can drink and when you're done you're done. This was a goal so now on to the 1:39's at Barber.

Good luck with it mate, make sure you keep it shiny side up though eh? Let us know how you get on with experimenting with tyre pressures. Bullet Thanks Man! I am going to stick with Dunlops. I know how they work and what tire pressures to use...If I go down on these there will be no crying.

Yes, I am headed to Barber a little later in the day for two days of well deserved track time with my NESBA brothers and sisters. The weather maybe a little warm but I am expecting good things from my Dunlop tires and a hot track..I need to set a personal best this weekend! I will need a 1:40 or better to place in the Senior Superbike class at the WERA Nationals in September. GET R DONE!