hubbard_28

Howdy Lucky. Welcome back to sportbike riding. I rode across Phoenix today, and hit heavy traffic. I'm not worried about it usually. But today I rode out and got the Go Pro camera for my bike, and it was only when I was transporting the $200 camera back home that I became wary of the other vehicles. Crazy. I've been riding for 11 years, and haven't owned a car (although when I go shopping my wife and I share hers) in well over 2 years.

Howdy. If the economy didn't ###### out I'd be doing levels 3-4 this fall. I planned on taking 1-2 in Vegas last April.

That's Qatar. How did you get so lucky? Nice video. It's seldom that I get to ride with someone who is the same speed as me because I'm so inconsistent. I've gotten to do it just a couple times, and love it. You with the guy at the beginning of the video made me think of it.

LOL- Yeah, your seat. Smarty pants.

He's my favorite rider. I'd take Utah (of which AMA has dropped out of, by the way) over Laguna if I was going to attend one this year just to see him ride. My wife would argue. Italian woman. Valentino Rossi. Nuff said. As far as the earring, watching these kind of races, you need to remember all the different cultures. I don't know where you live, but I've lived in Europe, and traveled all over the world, and everyone is different. America is very anal retentive.

Have most of the riders in USGPRU attended CSS? They are motivating to watch knowing your school can make a rider that incredible.

These guys were incredible to watch. It was the best racing I've ever seen live. Melissa Paris was there, but she was new to the track, and couldn't keep pace with the faster rider we have out there. USGPRU was so much fun. They had more skill than our better local riders. Passing on the outside, inside, deep in corners, where ever. Peter Lenz only lost to two other riders when he put his 125 against equal competition on 250's. Melissa Paris on #13. Josh Hayes was out there, but he didn't ride. I don't even know who he is, but he was the coolest out there. At times I thought he was going to drag his elbow.

I'm sure he did it to get a steeper steering angle. Sometimes it just feels "right" to have the rear-end up high. I've tried it out and tend to prefer it, however I'm 6 Feet, so it works for me. Seat modifications are easy and inexpensive to do, as is working on the Thighmaster. Is anything sacrificed during this adjustment? I've never seen anyone do it.

If it happens on other bikes, it's the rider. You'd probably be best served slowing down some for a while, and work on the throttle in the corners until you get more comfortable using it. Work on relaxing, and you should be able to slowly increase your speed and be comfortable enough to stay relaxed.

I'll start with an obvious question: is your suspension set up properly? Why is the back jacked up. Is it functional, or just for looks?

Howdy. Welcome to the site and to the wonderful world of sportbikes.

I can't either.

Welcome to the site. Hopefully you'll stick around after you've "brushed up."

Here's a link to a conversation we had not too long ago, that might have something valuable to you: http://forums.superbikeschool.com/index.php?showtopic=1301 I'm tweaking my workouts more for track riding, and a large focus is all the muscles you would think you'd use. I have a regular workout, but when I'm "resting" I work out a few areas for endurance. Thigh, midsection, and shoulders. Thighs are good to have fit for obvious reasons, and when I say midsection, I include lower back and abs. They both tighten up that region and believe me, I don't know how old you are, but I'm 38, and my back is already shot. I work this area hard, and have noticed improvement in the months I've done it. Upper back and shoulders also help for endurance racing because of all the repetitive use. If you come up with a good general workout, you won't go wrong. Being fit overall is helpful during wrecks. Fat cushions, but muscle holds parts firm. Run. Run. Run. Or swim, or anything that will get and keep your heart rate up. And we've been through it somewhere on this site, but while you're exercising, don't be that guy with the water bottle. Unless you're doing hours long activity, your body can manage 45 minutes to an hour without drinking. And on that note: stay hydrated. I work out 5-7 times a day currently, and am doing a weeks worth of 2 a days. Drink WATER. Drink WATER. Drink WATER. Very important. Unless you're actively doing LONG workouts, hiking, biking, what have you, stay away from Gatorade and the like. If you're eating a relatively healthy diet, your body will be able to replete those losses from the food you eat.

We had a discussion about this not too long ago on this forum. I can't say I've had problems getting back up to speed after a wreck when I've had a wreck, because it's usually late in the day, or I've done something stupid, and know what I did. The important thing is to understand what caused the accident, and adjust. A friend of mine, who races in Arroyo Seca, NM, had a problem with highsiding in a particular corner. I just ended up slowing down. But one day, when he checked the track, he noticed an elevation change that he never knew existed. He adjusted his throttle control and line, and hasn't wrecked there in months to my knowledge. I know for sure that he hasn't highsided there again. If it's in random places, it's your riding. If it's one turn, go back and check the track out. It may be different than what you think it is. I wrecked once in a turn, and when I actually paid attention to the track, noticed it is an increasing radius turn, and have actually improved my time around that track since paying attention to the track and adjusting accordingly. But slowing down and not trying to correct the problem works just as well (that's sarcasm).

I commute on the same bike I track, and have Pilot Powers. I don't ride as hard as most here, but I need a new set about every 6 moths, which is 6-8 trackdays and 80-90 miles of road riding a week.

I know your problem well. The deal is that it's the wear of the tire. The flat part one aquires during use changes the shape of the tire. When you get past the flat patch, and standard wear that occurs when you do slow or frequent cornering, the tire acts differently. When you're on the outer edge, that part doesn't have contact much, so it's still shaped for what the tire is designed to do. Smooth lean. I LOVE new tires because the bike rolls where ever I want to go, and easily. Takes a few corners because it's such a smooth transition to lean that it kind of freaks me out, and gives me the feeling that I'm "rolling over an edge." I'm sure, judging by your pic, that you are familiar with tire slippage. It feels completely different. That rolling feeling is also something that I forget when it's been a while since I've mounted some new rubber. Now I want some new tires.

I work on that a lot, and sometimes end up having to use throttle after braking before dipping the bike just to get into the corner. I think that is where my misconception so many months ago about "maintenance throttle" came into being. I'm going to go into the next trackday in May off of what I've learned in recently; use the brake to set a speed, not just to slow the bike down. Maybe if I go in thinking differently I'll be able to come up with something I can improve and work on.

I'm good on the brakes, and feel like I'm comfortable going into corners, even though I'm not at the speed I want, and think my great braking is what starts me on my poor drive into, through, and ultimately out of corners. I'm just slow on everything that isn't straight. I can figure apexes out pretty well, but I'm not fast enough most of the time, especially when I need apex early to push the bike wide, to do what I NEED to do. TOTW says to keep a bike tight, so ultimately we know how much faster we can go, but I have to go wide on corners to set up for the next one.

I have "wings" on my '05 ZX6R that I plant my heels on, and it's perfect for every corner. I know my feet are in perfect position. I'm at work, so I can't watch it, but if it's the Jerez save, it's wicked.

It's hard to diagnose the problem without seeing what you're doing. If you've gotten far enough that you've done level 3 and 4 you're probably close to scraping hard parts. I'd guess leaning, your foot position, and how you're angling the bike all would need to be looked into. If it's just that corner, you could possibly just need to adjust in that one. Maybe if you adjusted your apex you'd be in a different position.

I don't have a strong point. It's not just that I need improvement here or there, but in everything. I'm really slow on entry, I know I need to lean more, my BP needs work in the worst way, and I don't push it enough on the exit to have any tire slippage except for a few corners. I'm dying to take CSS. I get some pointers from some of the riders at the track, but I'm at the point where I need coaching from someone more advanced to get me over the hump. We have our top racer out there who has started a school (half day basic instruction, the other half for trackday) and I might take it, but we'll see. Summer is coming, and no one is going out unless their racing because it's going to be too hot.

Howdy. That is awesome that you get to ride Phillip Island. Fast track. It's on my list of dream tracks.

Sounds like the night ride was fun. I was stationed in Tn for a while. Wasn't riding then, and I was out of the country most of the time I was stationed there. Welcome to the forum.

It was a highside. Grabbing brake would cause a slide, not a launch. He got bucked over the bars.