acebobby

Didn't Soft Science come out between Twist I & II ? Cobie/Keith: please chip in here. Kai I cant be 100% certain of when SS was released Kai but order I read them in was twist, twist 2, then SS! regardless off their order of release though the next book will still be the 4th! Ilook forward to it being released, I suspect that all us forum members may have had a sneak peek at the books contents just by reading certain things on this forum! Bobby

I guess that soft science is the 3rd book so whatever the next ones called it will be number 4!

Get well soon, friend! I hope you heal 100% physically and mentally, though your attitude towards riding Im sure you will be back stronger and faster than ever before! Take it easy! Bobby

I tend to hold onto bikes for a while so not a huge list, my first bike gave best value for money, it was a yamaha XS250 which I paid £220 for in 1993 put 25000 miles on it and sold it for £240 in 2001 lol, then it was a 600 diversion till 2003, never took to this bike, then onto my CBR600F bought brand new and I loved it until I traded it in for the CBR600RR in 2006, this is now my current trackbike, And earlier this year I bought myself a Ducati 848 for the road which just makes me go wow every time I ride it! I have been fortunate enough that throughout my biking life every bike has been better than the previous one! And now one for the dirt, just bought myself a yamaha YZ250 which I will be trying out for the first time today! So hay in 17 years of riding I have only owned 6 bikes, 3 of which I still own! Bobby

Have a nice winter my friend! Thanks fossilfuel I have just taken delivery of my first ever motocross bike, a yamaha YZ 250 so should be an interesting winter if nothing else!

Depeds on a few things, are you sitting very close to the tank, this will put more weight over the front and give extra wear, also are you following TC rule #1? If your not cracking the throttle asap then you are loading the front more until you get on the gas!

LOL, Did you really just compare relaxing in an office chair to riding an out of control RC212V?

The thing that worries me about this topic is that you guys are taking expensive helmets and putting pieces of foam into them, now I am no helmet designer but wouldn't you be concerned about the possibility of comprising the safety of the helmet by doing this? I personally use Xlite (Nolan) helmets and am very happy with the fit but recently Ducati gave me an Arai helmet for buying an 848 from them and to be honest I wasn't happy with the fit, after discussions with Arai and having my head measured they assure me that not only is my helmet perfect but that in the past the helmets I have been wearing have been to big, this is why I couldn't get used to the Arai. Now that I'm used to it It feels great and now my Xlite does feel a bit loose! Point im trying to make is next time you buy a helmet get your head professionally measured, and buy a helmet that fits, I dont think I could fit any strips of foam into my Arai but I probably could get some in my Xlite! Bobby

Well guys, its looking like winter is about to arrive in Scotland, weather man is predicting the coldest winter in 1000 years, and I have just attended the last trackday of the year at my local track, so it looks like this years track season is over for me! But,, what a good year I have had, with the most trackdays in a year that I have ever done, I never managed a school this year as I was focusing my time and money on doing trackdays! Its been a year of ups and downs for me, from my first kneedown moments and the buzz of novice racing in almeria, then onto a confidence crushing lowside at my local track, then the attempts of rebuilding my confidence and thoughts of quitting trackriding because I thought I was rubbish! Over the last couple of months and with some discussions on here I have rebuilt that confidence and have really been enjoying myself and yesterday I had a blast, it was wet in the morning and dry in the afternoon, ironically my favourite conditions, and everything just felt great, So it looks like I will be off the track now for about 4 months when I will be beginning the year with a spanish trip, followed by my level 4 at the school so will be interested to see what tracks Andy gets for us in 2011, Oulton would be ace as its my favourite track! Bobby

I suggest you might want take me out of the list, though it did make me laugh a lot. They're all way quicker than me son, way. I'd put money on me being a better coach than a lot of them though. Being able to go quick, doesn't neccesarily mean you're a good coach. You've definitely met some cool people though, I grant you. Mcguiness seems like a really nice bloke, let us know how it goes. Bullet. Bullet, For the exact reason you said, is what puts you on that list, "being a better coach than them" of that I have absolutely no doubt. I did think seeing your name on that list would make you laugh though! Bobby

Jason, I can only imagine that the differences could only come from geometry and suspension setup, I would start at the front end, are the forks sticking through the yolkes the same distance on both bikes? If this is a track bike chances are it will be running linier springs as opposed to the progressive springs in your stock bike, these will feel a bit alien to you at first, this leading on to whats going on inside those forks? do they have the stock valves and pistons, an aftermarket piston kit, cartridge kit or even aftermarket forks? The only other way to replicate how your stock bike feels is to use the same oil and springs! If you really want to know if its the forks swap them over and try that out, see how the bike reacts! Another thing If this track bike has race clipons and (or) aftermarket rearsets this will seriously change how the bike feels! Bobby

Eirik I personnaly dont understand what enjoyment there is to dragging hard parts and making sparks, everyone to their own though and if there's a kick to be had then so be it and if your happy riding like that then thats up to you! What I would like to say to you though is when I did my level 1 it was as a road rider with 17 years experience on the roads, what I learned that day was life changing and the 500 mile ride home the next day was the best ever as I got to use my new learned skills! From some of your posts you seem to understand the physics of how a bike handles etc and I think if you could at least manage your level 1 and 2 it would open a whole new world of riding enjoyment for you! Bobby

I think it would be a good idea for you to attend school Eirik and I hope you never meet some gravel or diesel mid corner on the roads you ride!

Nice one jason, have you had it on the track yet?

Ride within the limit of my visuals! I once went around a blind corner on the street and there was a dead dear lying on the road, it took some serious evasive action to avoid it! To be honest since taking up track riding my road riding has become very chilled out and when riding close to the speed limits you find that you dont really have to slow down for much! I would not be trail braking on the road though, thats just mental!

Hi Jason, I was out on my Ducati today, its a road bike in standard trim and what I noticed was that I was so much more comfortable than I am on my track bike and I think I was doing the calf raise correctly. I was putting that pressure on my outside foot as I pushed the inside bar for a positive steering input (like the sword fencer in twist 2), and I was relaxing for the rest of the turn and really enjoyed the ride! I think somewhere down the line I have got my wires crossed and have been using the calf raise to wedge my knee into the tank for a lock on and kept the tension in the leg for the duration of the turn, I will put some focus on correcting this next week on track! I also noticed how comfortable my ducati was compared to my track bike and it made me wonder if maybe my rearsets were positioned too high for my lanky long legs! Bobby

Since I have taken up riding track days I have met, been on track with and had advice and pointers from some of the top riders in the world, these include Randy Mamola, Nial Mackenzie, James Whitham, Simon Crafar, Jeremy Mcwilliams, Bullet Alex Debon, Stuart Easton, and a good few more and they have always been very approachable and happy to talk with you, next week I will be doing my last day of the year and one of my all time favourite riders John McGuinness is going to be there with Nial Mackenzie, at my local track. Really the point I was making with this post is, isn't it amazing that you can get the opportunity to chat with guys like this about bikes, lines, etc etc, I dont think there's many other sports you could take up where you get the chance to talk with the top guys about it! Bobby

SR's, survival reactions, we teach our selfs to combat the ones that can harm us WHEN THE BIKE IS IN GOOD WORKING ORDER! You know the list of SR's, you know what causes them and the effects of overcoming them, I ride a 110 BHP bike and am about double Dani's weight and I dont know what I'd do if my throttle jammed open (pinned) never mind trying to control a 220 bhp buck n bronco pinned! No one can be prepared for something like that, not even the top guys in the world, and think of this, even if he could have thought of pulling in the clutch, would you allow an engine to blow at 20000 revs while sitting on it?

I can only imagine that when you have such a championship lead like lorenzo at this point in the season it could be easy to feel like everyone is beating up on you, you would have 2 main problems, firstly you are the only rider in the race whose championship could be seriously destroyed by a crash and secondly, leading the championship makes you the guy everyone wants to beat! That guy used to be rossi but now its lorenzo! Look at Nicky's podium in aragon, that was a double victory for Nicky, not only did he get his first podium in ages but he also beat the most dominant racer of the season over the line! Thats exactly what Rossi had to do here, it was exciting racing but he had to prove he was still capable of beating the best because to be the best thats what you have to do! Also think how you feel after a 20 minute track session, these guys come in from the race of their life's and get a mic stuck in their faces, its not fair to judge someone by what they say at that moment! Bobby

Thanks for the replies guys, I thought it might be a bit dodgy trying to knock it back, the forks themselves are fine and have no leaks, they can travel down to bottom out and feel smooth throughout the travel! I think its just the psychological point of knowing about it that got me, I like to keep my bike maintained and prepped to a high standard so found this annoying more than anything else, probably a good idea to use fork protector's in future! Thanks Bobby

Thanks for the reply Bullet, Whatever I do I feel like I need to start the year with my level 4 so whether its at silverstone or jerez I dont mind, I would love to do the spanish camp but will wait and see cost etc! Bobby

OK I am going to struggle putting this into words, As I was doing some routine maintenance to my bike I noticed that one of my fork bottoms was slightly bent, these are upside down forks and if you imagine the cast bit at the bottom of the fork where the brake calipers bolt onto, there is a part at that section which sticks upwards purely for bolting the front mudgaurd onto, this seems to have bent slightly inwards probably as a result of one of my earlier lowsides, it only appears to have reduced the clearance between itself and the brake disk. I have been riding the bike without issue not knowing about this but now that I know it makes me wonder if it is ok. should I remove the forks during the winter and send them to a specialist (K-tech) to get checked out? What do you guys think? Bobby

OK i know every year some desperate person wants to know whats going on next year, so this time its me! I never did any CSS schools this year as I made the decision to spend my money on track time instead, but after a year of ups and downs I have decided that next year I am going to begin the season with my level 4! So this brings me to, whens the schedule coming out? Also if you guys are doing a spanish camp, where is your bike pickup an dropoff location? Thanks Bobby

Hey Jason I noticed it the most when gripping the tank under braking to turn in, but I guess if you're locked in then surely you're quads are getting used throughout the corner. Great move to exert effort into the quads (calf raise) to jam that knee into the tank prior to your steering input... this'll give you a good basis for a pivot steer.... You may find if your position is right in the seat, once into the turn you can relax a considerable amount of effort in your quads...doing this may even help with relaxing lower into the hook turn position. If you're maintaining maximum quad exertion throughout the turn you will tire quite quickly, that may not be the case, but worth noting as a warning sign in future. Hi Jason, I have been tiring a bit more than usual at trackdays recently, which has been quite confusing to me as I am much fitter than I have ever been through cycling. thinking about it I think I hold the calf raise locked on position for the duration of the turn, but if I relaxed my legs once I reached max lean angle would I not lose my lock on and fall to the inside of the bike? Bobby

In the UK, there was an interview somewhere, and Stoner was quoted as saying "I rolled off the gas and leaned it more to change the line". . . . Wonder why he crashed? Bullet Hi Bullet I never heard the stoner interview, but that would seem to make his lowside crashes obvious, even to a mear mortal such as myself! What confuses me is that this year ohlins have thrown more resources and development time at Stoner's setup than any rider in history even though every bike on the grid runs ohlins they couldn't get a setup that gave Casey confidence in the front end! Then onto Ducati, they developed a fairing with wings (look at the front of the desmo) that in theory loads the front end more, does it actually work, who knows but it has filtered onto Nicky's bike and will be on the customer bikes when they return to Europe, and will probably be making there way onto the 2012 1198 replacement. It seems he has had a lot of money spent on him from all angles to cure a problem that may now be just a chopped throttle! Onto the relaxing thing, I think its easy to relax on your bike if you are confident that you and your bike is ok, Confidence is the key word here but think about it. What is confidence? Some people think of it as gutsy or ballsy but thats not it, If you are confident you can drag your knee through a series of turns then thats how you ride those turns, you dont even give it a second thought, but if you think you could drag your knee through the turns but are not to sure then you will be entering those turns not quite so confident, and I bet not quite as relaxed as you could be! Another way of looking at it is this, imagine you are out on a session at your favourite track, lapping good, really enjoying yourself, feeling like you have never riden so well and suddenly you have a thought, did I torque up my front spindle bolt. Boom, in an instant you just lose confidence in your bike, what would happen to how relaxed you are now? To use Casey as an example again, you can tell the difference in his and his bikes body language when he's riding with confidence, and he becomes unstopable until something happens to dent that confidence, he's on a confident roll right now and enjoying himself again and I bet if all goes smoothly he could easily win or at least get a podium in every race till the end of the season now! Bobby