Jaybird180

Have you considered giving that a try?

I too had similar concern when street riding but I discovered that I could hear the important bits quite well with plugs. What you’ll find (if you’re go looking for a scholarly view) is that plugs don’t attenuate evenly across the frequency spectrum. Plainly stated, they dampen by several dB the wind noise that can cause tinnitus or hearing loss, with only minimal loss of high, mid and low pitch-tone information (screeching tires, sirens, engine noise, etc).

You packed a lot in just a few sentences! Thank you.

Thanks Hotfoot. Going to do more thinking on this.

That video of MM93...I wanted to let out a train of unintelligible words known only to myself and the Big Man upstairs, except I would have been discourteous to everyone around me.

Gnarly

Finally was able to get the video to play through. Thanks for posting it.

For some reason, I can’t get THIS video to play through. It stops partway. Going to keep trying though. Although the results were predictable it wasn’t in the way I thought (not going to spoil it for anyone else).

Just wondering what you guys and gals think about the learning value of watching motorcycle racing. I am even beginning to explore the idea that watching on TV, while entertaining, may come with some negative transfer of ideas about riding. What have you noticed watching others ride or race? In person and on TV?

I’ve come to accept that with the passage of time, my chances of becoming MotoGP Champion declines. I should know this by the fact that I spend 8hrs a day, 40hrs a week honing a craft that involves driving a desk and that I’ve been doing it nearly 2 decades. But as I think about the investment I’ve made in my riding skill and make an honest assessment in the return on that investment, I begin to ask: what is a realistic goal for my riding accomplishments? I’m a multi-time Level 4 student and because I love it so much, I will very likely return to CSS for more L4, but now with a different mindset, and a question. I’ve previously thought there was that ONE THING that once unburdened in my riding, would open the door to limitless improvement. My interpretation and reading of TOTWII indicates that as a message. But what if I’ve already peaked? What if my “plateau” isn’t really a plateau but instead my zenith? How in the world can I figure this out? I know that I certainly have counterproductive habits and tendencies and as I ride more they come to my attention. When my awareness comes up, those tendencies reduce, at least until the next ride. I also know that I have fears and as I ride more they become articulable. I know that I sometimes make errors because I have a base of information gleaned from years of study of Keith’s and others’ material and my comparison of my error in judgement becomes apparent as I reflect on a previous session. I DO know that I still enjoy it. And I also know that I don’t do it often enough for my learning style. I think...I’m just looking for MY breakthrough. Writing this post has been therapeutic. Now I hope to get some valuable feedback from other students, forum posters and especially coaches on how riding breakthroughs actually happen. I’ve heard about them. Now I’m ready to experience my own.

I USUALLY wear earplugs for street or track. I also believe that having well fitted gear with no lanyards or hanging bits is part of the equation. Except... I used to have a pair of washable earplugs that has softened over the years, you guys might not believe me if I said how long I’ve had them. But I kept them in a little plastic box that was tied to the zipper of my suit. Keith asked me 2 years ago if it was distracting. Do you know THAT day was when I lost one or both plugs and grieved a bit then threw it all away. I found that box light enough and the lanyard short enough that it didn’t bother. Now, I often forget to grab a set of disposables from the drawer before I go out. I don’t find engine noise distracting but wind noise, certainly. For minimoto racing I can get away with not wearing them. I think top speed on my XR100 is maybe 47MPH and that’s IF it can haul my weight up to that speed in the short distances we use on kart tracks. Good bike and rider ergonomics often get overlooked. Once you find what works the bike becomes invisible. This goes for proper bike setup too.

Same thread please

Keith told me he will train a rider WITH DOCUMENTABLE RACING EXPERIENCE as young as ______ (I cannot recall the number). Certain tracks have age restrictions but CSS has the most freedom at their home track.

I vote this as best answer. Rereading the question, I must have heard Family Fued music playing in my head when I answered. 😂

4-1-3-2-5 in that order, though I Place 4/1 similarly related. I might even be inclined to swap them but didn’t because I’d place reflexes as senior to quick steering.

I’m running GP Suspensions kit up front and Penske triple adjustable in the rear. I am not sure if I put the 50 (OE) or the CBR forum recommended 55 series tire on rear, likely the latter. I’d have to verify. The tires have maybe 2-300 miles on them.

2006 CBR1000RR. Dunlop Q3+. DC area.

I ran 32/32 the other day on street and it was okay...not great and not bad. I think I may go back to Michelin- I don’t feel connected to the road, but also I don’t get to ride this bike often AND the streets here have gotten just awful. I'm definitely in need of some suspension tuning. The bike is all over the place- can’t blame it too much though, streets are wicked. But it did seem to improve at higher speeds (sigh...)

Higher wet pressure seems counterintuitive but makes sense when pondering. Just can’t wait to see someone’s face when I say this to them- LoL. It would them make sense to open the rebound and compression circuits. Did the Dunlop guy say anything about Q3+ street pressures?

Finally was able to order a paperback

A motorcycle is a series of gyroscopes. Gyroscopes resist changes in planes of motion and exert forces at 90degrees the plane of rotation. These gyroscopes are what keeps the bike in balance and it is the interaction of the forces along with the subtleties abovementioned that make what you observe. It’s why a rider cannot “muscle” a bike to do his/her bidding; it must be asked according to laws of kinematics.

Great question! To negotiate a bend (corner) we want to turn the bike. That’s our goal, objective or purpose. To accomplish this, one of the things we do as a prerequisite (thing we do beforehand) is we lean the bike. The countersteer and relax of input at the handlebars establishes the lean angle. To make the bike turn, the wheel turns slightly into the direction of the corner. Depending upon many things (speed, road surface and type, tire size differential, throttle application, etc) the amount the front wheel turns gives us the turn radius that gets us through the corner. The art and skill of the rider in applying known inputs a predictable amount will determine if we get through the corner effectively or not as effectively.

IIRC there was a video of Rossi describing the techniques. Personally, I didn’t find the particular video credible as I believed Rossi was practicing his art of chicanery. YCRS instructors have been known to advocate the technique and they even have a drill where it makes it a proficiency goal. In theory it sounds reasonable...then you get to the practicality of it. With current engine management technology it is easier to make the transition smoother so as to keep a stable chassis- that is the goal, right? Isn’t this something we all practice in our riding, even when not specifically focusing on it?

Of course, it’s an option. But then I’d be forced to confront other realities about my time commitments and I’m not quite ready to do that yet (LoL).

The tires aren’t getting hot. I mitigate this by not street riding below 60F, which I violated in the above. I’ve read discussions on other boards about using a touring tire and I’m rethinking it but I don’t have a dedicated sport bike - double duty of track and street. Racing season (we do mini-moto) starts soon and at both ends of the season it’s cold enough to rethink the weekend...but we need the seat time and last year my son needed the points at the last event and it was coooooold. I worry about tire temps more than he does. A couple folks had suspected cold tire crashes but they were only the adults. The kids rode fine.