Jaybird180

You start at one end of the room and go X number of paces, turn and go X number of paces. Those are RPs.

Don't all of us brake with our right foot? Kevin I'm not yet at that level. I still use my fingers only.

Cobie; I think it is: "If I Recall Correctly". Kevin Yes, that's what it means. But unfortunately I didn't recall correctly. I could just about start winding out 4th to a guesstimate 10k-11k on the back straight before dropping 2 cogs for the chicane leading to the final right downhill off camber turn.

OK, let's have a look at this, humor me for moment. Let's imagine a situation with truly no references. Flat piece of asphalt, no markings, skid or oil marks, 50 miles square. One is dropped in the center, say Scottie beamed you there. Would that be a little disorienting? How does one even know he is on a road if there isn't some kind of reference? C I was doing some thinking on this yesterday as I drove to a friends home from work lastnight. It was dark, raining cats and dogs and I didn't know the way. I had to rely on my GPS to get me there. On top of all of this my wipers SUCK major scum in cold weather. It was 32*F lastnight (the temperature that water freezes kiddies) and the glare from the cars approaching from the other direction on the narrow, twisty road increased the pucker factor. I was missing MAJOR reference points on this one. Nevermind the fact that my attention was divided to navigating, visibility, traction monitoring...Oh and that I was late to the meeting and was on the phone working with customer service to fix a situation where I was being overbilled (yes, I was using my Bluetooth- I'm not a total moron). Who thinks my driving was smooth and comfortable? Think it would have been easier if I knew where the heck I was going? For comparison, the trip home was a bit worse, but I could zoom, zoom because I knew the way. :-)

If you're looking for a great training track, I'd recommend ViR's Patriot course. It's small and technical. Speeds are drastically reduced but it can still work your tires and wear you out if you're not in shape. IIRC, I got up to about midrange 4th gear on the back straight my 1st time there, but did most of the work in 2nd gear.

Hi there, Yes you can but only on your own 33bhp bike. We cannot Hire you an R6 becuase it is well over the 33bhp limit. I would advise because of this that you look at booking Silverstone Stowe as it is a short track and the 33bhp will not be noticed as much as on more open 'faster' tracks. Andy What if I promised to not use more than 33HP? Think that would fly? These limitations are still present for a rider on closed-courses?!?!?!?!?!?! Isn't that considered private property? God Bless America.

Their SP6 looks similar in design to my SP4.

Did you mean 'marital' arts or 'martial' arts ? (I assume you meant 'martial'). Uh, ya, MARTIAL but I suppose you'd have to say that Marital activity is an ART as well. Keith And it's even funnier when you go back and read the typo in context. Still works...and hilarious.

Your words Sir.

How does a tire work? How do they stick, and what temps are really needed to get a tire to stick to it's potential? The tire moves and flexes, and this creates heat. A tire at full temp is from 160-200 F. You wouldn't be able to put your hands on the tire just after it came off the track at full temp. Going easily around town, on a cool day, you won't get heat in the tires. On the other end of the spectrum, we were at the track and it was over 100F, and it hardly took any time to warm the tires up, jumped on the bike and you could pretty much go. Slicks are made differently than street tires, can take a little more to get heat in them. The exact specifics of this, don't know, I'll ask Will. C To co-sign on what Cobie said: The carcass (innards that you can't see) of the tires are constructed differently. Tires are designed to work in a certain range. Too hot and they get greasy, too cool and the rubber won't grab the surface of the road. A street tire is designed to withstand more heat cycles than a race tire. It also works at a lower and broader temperature range. In exchange there isn't as much grip as a full-on racing tire. Hope that helps.

Here's a point on this: how can one go through a turn (and not run off the track) without some kind of reference? There is no such thing as "no" reference. It may not be where you want it to be, but it's there. For example, the inside of the turn is a HUGE reference. Your eyes can see the curvature of the turn and the imaginary line extending to that from the "you are here" marker in your brain. The edge of the track (probably outside of the turn) is another reference.

Also, the intro to T2 pg XIV (14) has 75% Anyone want to tackle these?

Plenty of racers will save them on the knee. It's one of the uses of the knee puck.

I've lost the front once and felt it a fraction of a second before I lost it. I was trying to undo my trail braking and comfort braking habit and went into a corner faster than I was accustomed, got on the brake, felt it stop rolling, got off the brake, but it wasn't enough to keep it turning and she washed out. So I'd say "yes".

Does approaching the turn point with constant throttle work? Why or why not? It has been suggested that you have advocated increasing idle speed, which has the effect of producing the same result (entry stability), with the added benefit of less work for the right hand. Do you advocate this and under what circumstances? J, When you say constant throttle it is a question of degree of throttle opening. If you had the gas on a quarter turn, you'd experience a good deal of difficulty turning the bike, in that case it would be too stable. When we talk about turning up the idle, it is like the very first tiny crack open of the throttle, enough to bring it up to 3,000 or so. That doesn't really have a huge effect on entry stability, the bike is after all slowing down and weight is still transferred forward, just a little less than usual. The other key point is that it makes the transition from off the gas to back on the gas a little easier and buys you a moment of time to feel the speed of the bike. That "moment" can scrub off a lot of speed at a normal idle speed. With it set higher the speed still goes down but not quite as fast. It is another way to trick yourself into improving your turn entry speed. Another advantage of using the technique is that there will be slightly less slack in the chain so getting back to the gas is a little bit easier, a little bit smoother transition. Keith Thank you for validating that.

I've read a few places that keeping a rhythm is important. At the CSS school it is recommended that a student go (IIRC) 7/10ths pace to get the most out of the drills, lessons, etc. Although we know when we're exceeding it, how would you describe or define "the pace"? Specifically what would be changed (technique-wise) to adjust one's pace?

Stu, This is really helpful, thanks. One point that still confuses me - isn't ultimate 4.3 a leaded race fuel, and is that OK to run in my stock bike? VP Fuel website says 4.2 is a drop in for pump gas (and isn't that all unleaded now?), but I thought running leaded fuel would damage the catalytic converter. Also, with the current available race gas, can it remain in the bike for a week or two or does it gum things up or cause any other problems if it sits in there? Incidentally, in my case it isn't about needing the extra HP to be at the front of the race - it's about getting that little extra advantage over my riding buddies, on occasions where it's REALLY necessary. Thanks for the info! Since they can smell it, your bike isn't really a sleeper.

There are only so many types of corners. True, the flow of a track changes, but you only have: Radii changes Elevation Changes Camber Changes And that it!!!!

With today's tire technology it's really tough to get a bad product. With that in mind though I have and recommend the Michelin Pilot Power tires, not the 2CT. It's the same carcass tire with a softer compound only on the side. I've not had any issues at full lean on this tire. They warm very quickly at the track (no tire warmers) and I've gotten about 12,000 miles + 3 trackdays out of them (no kidding). I run 32/34 on the street and 31/30 on the track. You can feel when the front is ready to ride hard which happens by the 3rd lap even in the wet.

Several people have mentioned that in various ways. I've never ridden a dirt bike in my life. The problem right now is essentially starting another hobby while I've got my 2nd kid starting college.. not good timing! This may be a good time for me to pickup one of those el-cheapo bikes from Pep Boys or something. hmmm....and I've always wanted a pocket rocket too.....

Thanks bones, thats a well explained write up on how you find and use reference points! I am looking forward to getting back on track and working on this. cheers B Agreed on the good write-up

And what did you find as a solution to your entry stability problem? The specific thing I noticed was that the bike wiggled/bobbled, whatever you want to call it, right at the end of the steering action, right as I got closest to max lean. It was a little unnerving. I had to learn how to ease back up on the bars. This wasn't just a one-solution fix though, as part of the problem was due to body positioning on the bike, and I wasn't supporting myself correctly with my legs. What Keith developed on the Lean Bike fixed most of it, then easing up on the bars at the end of the steering action. C I think I can relate to that feeling, before I had read TOTW and joined this forum I used to counter steer but not relax when I got leaned over, I would hold some pressure on the inside bar, at the time I thought this was the correct method and would feel that front end wobble all the way through the turn, back then I never got on the gas till the apex either so everything was wrong! Now since learning to relax my grip the bike goes through the turn so much smoother and am able to corner a lot faster than before, the only reason I need my hands on the bars during cornering now is to roll on the throttle! I cant wait to get on the lean bike though! I recall one of the suspension guys talking about the feeling of the bars 'rowing' through the corner. Is this what you're describing?

Does approaching the turn point with constant throttle work? Why or why not? It has been suggested that you have advocated increasing idle speed, which has the effect of producing the same result (entry stability), with the added benefit of less work for the right hand. Do you advocate this and under what circumstances?

And what did you find as a solution to your entry stability problem? The specific thing I noticed was that the bike wiggled/bobbled, whatever you want to call it, right at the end of the steering action, right as I got closest to max lean. It was a little unnerving. I had to learn how to ease back up on the bars. This wasn't just a one-solution fix though, as part of the problem was due to body positioning on the bike, and I wasn't supporting myself correctly with my legs. What Keith developed on the Lean Bike fixed most of it, then easing up on the bars at the end of the steering action. C Betcha a dollar cracking the throttle fixed the rest (smile)

So for us mere mortals that would be bald eagle?