msneedtx

I was fortunate enough to attend a 2-day camp at Streets of Willow and I must vouch for the steering drill. My coach, who was actually from the Oz SBK school, gave me some very informative advice and i wish i could go back for Levels 3 and 4! I agree this training would be beneficial.. hard to get to CA from Texas.. wish there was a school closer to home.. have lots of track addicts (and me) that would take advantage of this here in Texas. Regards,

New leathers arrived today (that problem is fixed). Moved rearsets forward so geometry felt much better. Forced me further forward on the bike and I my head was closer to the bars on turns and that seemed to help the feel of the bike (I was not fighting it as much). Had a 2:13 at ECR this weekend (a 10 second improvement over my ZX7R) averaging 2:15's and focused on putting pressure on bars and not on the peg and no fatigue (of course I was in 3rd gear all day with only a few 4th gear changes on straights and not all lefts like at Cresson). For my 8th track day I was pleased. thanks for the input and advice folks.. One question though.. new leathers have a removable liner.. pain in the but to get on and off. Do you guys remove the liner and just wear cool fit unders or just powder it up and use the liner? I know some folks wear armor under the suit and rip out all the internal armor and just use that but I am keeping my A* back/chest protector and using the stock Arlen Ness armor in the suit everywhere else. Regards,

Got it. Getting ready to leave now, so this will be short. First thing, have a look at the steering sections of the books, see if you are doing that as effectively as possible. Next thing, ok to use the throttle to run wide, just make sure you don't add lean angle at the same time! That's key, really. Gotta run, see if I can get back up in the next few days (traveling and schools). Best, Cobie Thanks. Had the ToW I and re-read that and I can see how my comment was alarming on steering lol. I was pushing on the bar (even with a featherlight grip) and had the desired lean angle going into the apex but as soon (sometimes too soon) as I hit the apex I went off maintenance throttle and used more throttle to go wide for the next apex (in a double apex turn I should have said). I did not trail brake as much as I do at Eagles Canyon and prefer to get all my braking (and shifting) done before the corner and I have been working on "locking myself in" to a committed body position so I am not moving around in the corner. I am still getting my muscle memory up to speed for higher entry speeds into corners and using the force "in the corner" to slow me down vs trying to hit the comfortable corner speed at the front of the corner by over-braking if that makes sense. As for the posture I did read some posts on geometry and noticed some of the interesting comments on placement e.g. from front axle to peg at around 70% and my rear set was set about 1 inch to far back compared to the ZX7R which compressed the knee angle on even straight riding considerably. By moving the vortex adj rearset two holes forward I am as follows: Original setting: axle to axle 54" +/- 1/8" front axle to rear set peg 39" +/- 1/8" resulting ratio 72.2% New setting: axle to axle 54" +/- 1/8" front axle to rear set peg 38" +/- 1/8" resulting ratio 70.3% This new setting is more consistent with the location of my foot (ball of foot on peg .. heel against the frame). The vortex peg is much more aggressive and held my foot in place more than anything else I have tried. I am going to try this new setting (as well as switch from my constricting 2 piece RS taichi to my Dainese or the 1pc Arlen Ness suit that is supposed to arrive any day). The seam is so tight it stops my knee from moving out with enough daylight under the knee and I end up fighting it all day (but that was nothing new). I am also reviewing the video the rider behind me was taking as well as the Starlane GPS data as he was following my lines so I would have an idea when I analyzed my lines and may have more ideas as to what I was doing. I was clearly having trouble getting a comfortable body position but thought that was just new bike-itis. Regards and thanks, mark

Many do, but usually best to reference whatever point you are trying to make. CF Yep.. let me have it ;-) Totally new bike and was not adjusted at all for me (close to weight.. Ohlins .95 and .90 internals and around 210 all suited up). I was clearly doing something wrong; thus the post, and yet it was my best lap time there (1:30) on the 1.7m CCW (hey for me that is a big improvement). I think I was just bunched up too much and too tense on the straights given the vastly different power band of this bike. I read all the books and slept since then but I am open to criticism so please let it fly if I am all wet (thus the reason I posted my inexperience level). Apparently I touched on a religious point on steering and didn't realize it (guess I'll read the Twist of the Wrist books again). My point was that using the throttle to push me wide instead of mentally trying to steer there was an improvement for me but maybe that concept is somehow wrong. Trying not to over-think anything and just get used to a new bike but this fatigue was new and longer lasting than I had experienced. Regards,

Great advice here. There are so many inputs new track riders (hopefully future amateur racers) get it is often hard to sort out. Foot peg position and weight were keywords I was dialing in on here when I noticed the "steering" comment. I guess I had not thought of steering with my hands as I just bought a CMRA race bike and the damper was set so tight steering doesn't even seem to be something I do anymore - it forced me to use lean angle (pushing down on handlebar "and" foot peg) and throttle to control my line. If I want to go wide.. increase the throttle.. this improved my lap times considerably. I was no longer really "steering" to my lines if that makes sense. I have only done 8 track days now since I started in January of this year so my comments are not exactly based on experience. Does my comment make sense about steering? I used to run a ZX7R with stock setups and typically only have my forefinger and thumb actually holding on to the handlebar and just rest the remaining fingers on top of the clutch and brake. With the new GSXR750 that was race prepped (too many goodies to mention) I do admit that I had to allocate another finger to hold on during acceleration ;-) ; however, my touch on the handlebar can only be described as feather light and it forces me to truly balance my weight distribution more forward. My main question (I don't know where to post however it seems posture/foot position related) - is more related to the leg / ankle fatigue I am experiencing (and still struggling 4 days later). The new bike has a GP-shift. The adjustable rearsets were never adjusted for me but it felt ok since everything was weird getting used to the GP shift. No this is not a gp shift thread but after a member day at MSR Cresson (consisting of 7 full 30 minute sessions on the 1.7M track) on Saturday the 23rd I still don't have full use of my left ankle (can't move it upward with "any" force and I am still having to reach down to put my kickstand down with my hands (yes I had to put it back on since I unsaddle alone)). This track is practically all lefts. Is this normal? I am used to member days where I have almost unlimited use of the track and yes it kicks my legs arse but this was extreme. I am in fairly good shape and do one leg squats, etc., I guess I need to do more foot lifts ;-) I am going to adjust the shift lever lower so I am not straining as much on upward down-shifts but just thought I would gauge if this ankle/foot fatigue seemed normal. Regards, Mark

For the Keith Code course at Willow Springs what do they use on those zx6r's for shift pattern? I want to have shifting down so I am not fumbling around with changing from street pattern to race pattern.. is it GP Shift? I'm basically putting in effort to prepare for that as my first on track experience. In the mean time I plan on working some corners at local tracks in Texas so I am more comfortable in a track environment. thx Mark fairing_lurker

I started riding in December. Now 7 months and 13,000 miles later I am still working up to the track and working a lot on braking and shifting (emergency stops from 40, 80, .. and well beyond when on country roads. In preparation for track I have been especially working on clutchless shifts (up and down) and I still have a few embarrassing misses but overall (beyond 1st gear) I have a very smooth up and down shift motion (and a nice little blip that I love to hear frankly). On track bikes I understand the gearing is reversed e.g. 1st all the way up and upper gears down. Should I consider changing my street bike to reverse gears to get comfortable with reverse gearing and further my shift work? FYI although there are plenty of track days and training here I am working up toward one of your classes (3 day). Plenty of questions but I will limit this thread to the subject. Sorry if this is already covered. Thx Mark Fairing Lurker

Good evening all, Yes I am new to the forum. Yes I am new to riding if you call 8k miles in 3 months new (I do). I have all the usual questions about getting started (when to buy a track bike, should I do motocross and training there first to know what it is like to get air and how to survive a 100 mph moment of air on the track, when to take school vs jump in and do a track day with an on-site training program, etc.,) but I will search first and ask later so I waste less time of those whose time in the racing world is much more valuable than mine. Having read everything I can find and reading about Mr. Code's techniques and looking at the years of devotion to this sport by Keith and his team (yes I have read about the decades of experience) I am hooked and want to join what I would call "student for life" which has a lot of meanings. The books I have read from Mr. Code (among others) have saved me on the street (learning to commit to a curve and that a bike really can lean like the books say if forced to due to lack of preparation for swerving vehicle on a near 90 degree curve). In addition to improving my safety on the street I want to jump in (like I do with everything I do to a fault) and get on the race track where there are no trucks, cars, roadkill, potholes, and worst.. gravel (I've slid one foot two far sideways and stayed on two wheels and realized that the track is where I need to be). Since realizing the thrill of a lean vs just speed I know the track is for me. Looking for instruction closer to Texas but yes I will go wherever I need to in order to obtain the instruction I need but for this moment I just wanted to say Hi and how much I look forward to progressing in this sport... Vegas? What I won't be doing - trying to ride the dragon with people that haven't had this training (much less myself), trying to make the street into a track, etc., and battling cell phones and minivans ... Regards, Mark fairing_lurker p.s. Yes I know my Triumph Sprint ST -- no matter how much I modify it is not going to work on the track - nope I am not going to fit it with GXR forks, Ohlin shocks, etc., and going 158 mph on a country road left me with one decision -- stop it and find a track and some training ... fast. I love Triumph and the Daytona 675 prepped for the track is where I am "leaning" even though I am amazed by the technology "stock" in an MV Augusta, Ducati 1098 "R", etc., I have something to look forward to though.