hubbard_28

But who wins? Who's can withstand adversity better? Melandri hasn't been given the equipment that Pedrosa has. Pedrosa has had the fortune (probably well earned) of having the right people (HRC) behind him. This is what makes racing a team effort. The question wasn't who would win between Pedrosa and Rossi, or Melandri and Pedrosa, but who's style we'd like to emulate. I think Pedrosa has very good form, and can (it's been proven) ride with and beat the top riders in the world. But if you want to talk about who wins, Melandri is going to be a non-factor. And with the equipment, they're not going to focus all their effort on supporting a rider if they don't believe he is or can be great. It's not logical or financially sound. Even if Melandri hasn't had the opportunities Pedrosa has. Poor guy was stuck on the Ducati for 2008. We all know that wasn't a good bike. Might as well have been on a Kawasaki.

Either on my own or following. I like getting out and being able to take my lines without worrying what anyone in front of me is doing. They usually brake where they should drive through, or something like that. I can SOMETIMES find someone who is about my speed or just a little slower who takes similar lines, and I like to get behind them and just cruise. A lot of times if someone is faster than me, they're FASTER than me, and I can't even try to keep up past a couple of corners.

Ditto. I was riding my sportbike wanting to try track riding for over 2 years. One day I just decided to go try it, and I'm so into it now that I study what I can about track riding, and can't wait until my wife graduates so I can spread my wings and travel to different tracks.

I've never lived in a place I didn't ride my bike. In Dallas and Louisiana, as long as it didn't ice, I'd ride in as low as 20 degree's, Vegas and here (Phoenix) don't get cold at all. It got down to 30 degree's some time last week, and I didn't even know it until I got to work and had everyone telling me the temp. What I do like to do is watch track video when I'm sitting here and find lines or turn markers. On WSBK.com all of last years races are watchable on the Superbike TV or whatever, and I can watch their form and race lines.

I'm not kidding about Pedrosa using the entire track. In a close race he's holding defensive lines, but he will use every piece of track available when trying to keep pace with Rossi. And I honestly don't think that Melandri and Pedrosa would be anywhere close to a tight race.

The track cones usually offer the best starting point. I always start with the cones, find my RP's from there, and tweek them as necessary. There is one carousel that I keep working on that I just changed my RP on last trackday, and I've found another new point that lets me keep my line tighter. I've even noticed since using my points that they do have different places they put the cones on a couple corners.

I'm interested in knowing more about what makes a Pedrosa fan. I don't see the consistency that you speak about. He seems to come unraveled when pushed and is prone to making many entry speed mistakes when battling for the lead. Maybe if I'd seen him in his 250 or 125 days... You're probably referencing something like the Sachsenring (?) ride last year when he ate it in the rain. Pedrosa takes chances probably more-so than most. You'll find that there are many more riders like him, most of whom I like. Haga is probably my favorite rider (this is his year by the way), and he's a risk taker, Toseland, Biaggi, ROSSI. I like all those riders. Pedrosa can drop the hammer and take off on anyone when he hits his comfort zone. Of course, like in Sachsenring, you can't quite do that safely in the rain. But in most races Pedrosa turns fast laptimes repeatedly. He's a winner, and he's going to be in MotoGP for a long time. You don't place where he does without being consistent. And good. You also may have him confused with Stoner. He showed last year that he is unable to handle pressure. LOTS of errors on Stoners part. I was speaking of his BP though, when I referenced him, and noone leans the bike as far as he does. He flips the bike and drops into corners very well. He uses the entire track, and can change lines to get past people. I guess it's his size that allows him to do some of these things.

Welcome. If you stick around, you're going to learn.

Welcome to the site. I'm trying to do April in Vegas.

If I had my choice, I'd go for a Pedrosa kind of style. He's consistent and promotes the bike to work better. The position that I've come up with isn't similar to anyones style though. I just want to get myself in the best position to hold the bike up, and allow the bike to perform as well as it can.

Four words, F4i: Kawasaki has slipper clutches.

I commute on my bike rain or shine, and ride track just about every chance I get. I just finished my first year of track riding, and did about 15 of them. I don't have the urge to just go riding since I started track riding, but rarely did before that. I never drive my car, and my wife ended up selling hers, and she just drives mine now.

Armor All is great. KIDDING! When I'm helping my friends who race in the pit we brush off the rocks and rubber before putting the tire warmers on. I live in Arizona and it rains so rarely that I think if anyone suffered from the oil and dirt on the roads, it would be us, but nothing. And I've gotten chain lube on my tires plenty of times, and nothing. It's a complete non-issue, unless you saturate the tire. A little spray won't do anything.

I had my Christmas yesterday, but Happy Holidays to all of you. I'm working. Well, maybe I should have put that in parenthesis. No one seems to get sick on Christmas. Go figure.

I've never even thought about putting most of my weight on the inside peg and all that weight on the outside. It sounds really hard to control the bike, but I guess it does work. I wasted an entire trackday trying to get the hang of putting all my weight on the inside peg. I was fighting the bike. If I work on things people tell me are effective, I can make it work, or at least implement them into my riding somehow. The only thing I got from putting that force on the inside foot was sore. I completely scrapped even trying it. I'd assume that is a preference thing if there is one in motorcycle riding.

Repaved areas, seams, apexes, end of a straight, next apex point after a corner. There are a large number of RP's that I never realized I used until this discussion.

I thought that any weight that was put up and into the tank with the outer leg was countered by the outer foot on the peg. I don't think you can have one without the other. My thigh cramped up yesterday halfway around the track, and I had to go through a carousel with my cramping leg on the inside. I had lots of trouble because I couldn't bend my leg or put pressure on it (try to figure that one out). I really slowed down, and was laughing and wincing at the same time because it was so painful but funny. The photographer was in the corner taking shots, and I can only imagine what that looked like. I almost ran off the track, but it would have been no big deal because I was doing about 20 mph in a 50-60 mph turn.

I'm 6'2 210, and wear a 56 Dainese. It is SNUG, and I can't stand up straight in it. I think it depends on what kind of riding you're going to do. If you're going to trackday it, a two piece would probably be fine. I've had some friends fly in 3/4 to full zip pants from highsides, and skip down the track in lowsides, and they are just as safe. Difference is my friends can just take off their jackets, and I have to pull my arms out of the sleeves, and kind of carry my suit around unless I want to take it all the way off. I have to pull my arms out because the suit is so..... squinchy that it kills my back (I have a bad back).

They're supposed to be working on a new Twist of the Wrist video.

For the body lean, here's what I'm talking about. The gray on the bike is equal to the gray on the rider, and where he would be initially if adequately aligned with the bike if he were in the proper position. The white is where he would be if he kicked his body out just a little more into the turn.

How was there not more interest in this post? I can't believe I missed it. In my first year trackriding, I never found anything really definitive about this. I'm sure there is, but I've pieced things together to where I am at. The standard "proper" body alignment is taking a straight line from the coccyx (butt bone) to the mid-neck, keep that even with the lean off the bike, and moving your shoulders just a bit farther into the corner and keep it on the tank. The weight should be evenly distributed onto the pegs. I've tried putting more pressure on the inside peg, and it becomes a battle with the bike to get into the corner properly, and (I know we shouldn't do it, BUT) it makes midcorner adjustments almost impossible because you're already weighted to the inside. There should be no weight on the outside arm. You should relax it, and let it fall onto the tank, unless you're a pull into the corner rider. That is why Ben "elbows" Spies is considered to have such a unigue riding style. I know when I'm relaxed, because my elbow falls right onto my outside knee. For the inside foot, I don't know exactly what we're SUPPOSED to do, but I turn mine out a little. There is a guard on my bike that I can put my foot on consistently, but I still don't know exactly where the peg scrape limit is on my bike, so I don't have anything set for it. Using the calf raise method for the outside puts a significant amount of pressure on the outside tank, not the seat, allowing us to lean over more into the corner, and not put all that weight on the bars. The same amount of weight will be distributed on the bike to hold up your weight. The question is where to put it best to properly allow the bike to function. I hope we get more input from the more seasoned riders, because I'm really into proper BP, and try to help riders on the track whenever I can, and the more I can learn, the better I can help others.

Alright. How many of these do we need to have? I'm set on numbers 4, 6 and 9. It would be one of the greatest jobs I think I could have though.

Howdy. I'm guessing you like speed. My wife and I were just checking out exotic cars yesterday. Ferrari's, Lamborgini's, and Aston Martin's. Speaking of videos, anyone know when the new one is coming out?

The unlimited finances and all that time make it too easy. Buy a bike and have it track prepped, find a school with top instructors (CSS?), pay for weekly individual instruction, and get in on a race program that will allow him to earn his AMA card. If he had money and time to spare, he could spend so much time on the tracks that he would be able to forgo any street riding, although I LIKE TO ride everywhere in any kind of weather.

I'm not doubting that it works, but doesn't quickly releasing the brake change the weight too quickly. I'm going to focus on my turning specifically this weekend, and would like to have it straightened out before I hit the corners. I was going to have a slow release of the brake while going into the corner so the front stays somewhat loaded. Should I just release and lean? I'm thinking before quickly releasing the brake there should be a gradual release before getting to that point.