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sleepr

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Everything posted by sleepr

  1. Very long time away from the forum, but just back to try to catch up. Interesting topic as I know I have been guilty of this before. 2 weeks ago I had a crash during race practice that I feel was a result of doing just this. Check out the video below and let me know if you all agree. I did stand up the bike to avoid another rider and then to me it seems I added a turn input, while at the same time or almost immediately adding throttle. Some of the contributing factors could have been the change in surface on the track, (patch laid a few years ago, significant difference from rest of track) plus I was using an older used rear DOT race tire with a front slick as opposed to the rear slicks I've been on for a while. Note my lap time on the lap leading up to the crash was 3 seconds off my best time, and I was just starting to get up to speed. When the Ducati comes out of the pits to the left, I decide I'd like to follow and learn his line, he is the rider I'm trying to avoid hitting late in the lap.
  2. Well I'm going to have a hard time capturing what I get out of riding, I think Adam and Hotfoot got some of it for me. Somehow the man(woman)/machine relationship is tied in there for sure. I have never had an attachment to a car like I do my bikes. I certainly have talked to others of the magic of a sinuous piece of pavement whether it be track or road. One of the strongest experiences I have had, have interestingly been while touring. Once on a deserted prairie provincial highway early in the morning I was treated to the site of the sun rising over the top of a low lying bank of fog as I was just about to drop down the escarpment. It was as though I was Icarus about to ride into the sun on a bank of clouds. That was in my third year of riding and it all hit me there why we do it. Another time on a ride up the pacific coast after WSB at Laguna, I had the joy of riding up and down into 3 separate valleys, the first assaulting my nose with the scents of artichokes, the second with strawberries and the third with vinyards. In a cage the event would have never been the same. I can remember that day like it was yesterday!
  3. Here's a link to Andrew Trevitt's blog, it contains a link to his Suspension Tuning handbook. He is an editor of Sport Rider and was recently paralyzed while testing street tires by a cager u turning in front of him I believe. Good clear language.
  4. I find the best way is to go Kawasaki.com and compare the parts fiche for individual models. Ron Ayers motorsports has a good online fiche that is a little quicker to navigate than the Kawi homepage. It requires a bit of time to look up the various models and jotting down the part numbers but it can be done.
  5. Actually it was only my second year riding, luck more than skill came into play in this incident.
  6. Well I'll try to keep this brief. One day in my second year of riding on a clapped out 78 Yamaha XS400, I was heading home on a 2 way single lane road. An oncoming small truck had a bunch of furniture piled in the back. On the very top of the load was a small love seat/couch turned upside down. This love seat appeared to be tied down but was fluttering a little. I was wrong on the tied down part! The love seat became airborne and because of it's orientation decided it would need to occupy my airspace and lane position. To this day I do not remember the 3 quick downshifts nor the quick countersteer to the very right edge of the pavement gravel shoulder but I do remember the sound of the couch hitting the ground just behind me over the sound of the bike. The most interesting part of the whole experience was the tabloid headline flashing through my mind "Motorcyclist killed by flying love seat" Because I was so close to home and I knew I would likely dismember the driver I continued home like nothing had happened but when I walked in the door the adrenaline was wearing off and I was as white as a ghost. Of course Mom felt it was a bad omen and should stop riding but here I am 20 years later no worse for wear. Now whenever I am near an open truck or trailer of any kind I am extra vigilant!
  7. Welcome to the forum Kai, don't be afraid to ask questions, I've found everyone to be very helpful, with the bonus of having regular coach participation.
  8. Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and have a fabulous Festivus everyone!
  9. The slide bike is used when you do your level 4, unfortunately I've only done the school at Vegas so have not had the chance to ride it. That being said the track at Vegas is quite fun but I understand the school will be only riding the infield course for the Nov 20/21 date. The nightlife at Vegas can be distracting if you don't have any self control to get a good nights sleep. Maybe Cobie can answer if the slide bike will be available at the vegas classic course though as the next track I do the school at must have it available.
  10. And he came back to finish on the podium, 3rd I believe!
  11. Just watched it last night, great DVD, thanks for all the effort to put it together. Great result for both Misty and Josh, what did the bike gremlin turn out to be Josh?
  12. Started riding at age 19, after mom did not let me have the dirt bike I wanted at age 8. Started with a 78 KZ200 for a year, moved to a Yamaha XS400 the following year then an 84 Yamaha Virago for 3 years. Made the switch to sportier bikes with an 88 ZX10R, rode that for 5 years and 160000 km. Did my first track day in about 96 or 97 and then proceeded to spectate at the track till 2000 when I purchased a 99 R6 and started club racing. By that same time the ZX10 had been replaced by my first brand new bike, a 2000 ZX12R, which I'm now still riding on the street. Unfortunately she has been neglected more than the ZX10 and only has 94000 km on the clock, life has gotten in the way a little as I've aged. After racing the R6 sporadically for 7 years, in 07 I bought an 06 ZX6R and have been racing that for the last 2 seasons. After my 20th year riding I can say I'm more excited about riding now than ever, bikes are one of those things that the more you know about them the more enjoyable they become and you still want to know everything. I'm hoping to start ice racing this winter on a little KLX110 I picked up for shits and giggles. Can't wait for the next ride!
  13. Normally for track riding it is recommended to lower the pressure from street pressures to allow more heat and flex in the tire for track use, so perhaps this is what the inspection was referring to? On my street bike (ZX12R) I usually run the max recommended pressure as a lot of my riding is straight boring(comparatively) riding, and a lot lower aggression level than the track.
  14. The other drill that will help is the no brakes drill, allows you to get comfortable with having more entry speed, and helps you get a better feel for what is a good entrance speed while gradually increasing it.
  15. Jason I think you'll like the tech specs on the school bikes, after riding the school bike I went out and bought them for all my bikes (well 2 anyway) the rest still exist only in my dreams.
  16. I've had good success with Woodcraft CFM on my racebikes. What I like about them are their durabilty and parts interchangebilty with the stock components. If I'm out of a spare I can try to find the owner of a bike willing to lend me stock parts to use at the track. For street use you might prefer something with more of a sexy factor like Attack, Sato or Gilles
  17. Here's a how to if you do feel like tackling it. Change 636 shift forks
  18. You mentioned your sag was set at 35mm, is not recommended race sag 25 to 30mm, and higher for street use?
  19. Good post Jason/Hub, if your mechanically inclined you can change the shift forks yourself without taking out the engine. It's a good idea to check for damage to the gearbox at the same time, if there is damage you will have to drop the motor and split the lower cases. Just did my racebike a little while ago. If you were a little closer I'd offer to come help but I'm 3 days riding away from you and am out of holiday time for this year.
  20. Well Jody I'm glad you will recover and are reasonably OK. That was clearly a situation that should not have happened, it would appear to be lack of oxygen to his brain because no smart sane individual should have attempted that kind of overtaking in that situation with that number of riders with such a drastic speed differential. As a Canuck we tend to joke about the litigious nature of the US but in this case if he can't even make some attempt to cover your costs in a gentlemanly manner, then court may your only recourse. As Bullet mentioned a mechanical could have caused it but I assume he would have claimed that already if it was the case. I'm looking forward the time you can tell us your back in the saddle, please keep us apprised of the situation.
  21. Hey Charles, Welcome to the forum, I'm from Manitoba and made the trip down to Vegas (cheap flights) for the 2 day camps twice now. Well worth the time and cash. Would like to get out and ride Road America some time, have you? What track day provider?
  22. I'm looking forward to the replies as I suffer the same problems.
  23. Sometimes they can accommodate the request, I always let the office know ahead of time and then mention it again in the am at sign in. Last time I didn't know they were able to change it, and the first time I jumped on the bike I stalled it!
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