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marioo

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Everything posted by marioo

  1. When you are working body position on stands, look for RPs in relation to the bike so you can replicate it on the track. Where is your head in relation to the wind screen, chest to the tank, angle and extension of your arms. Another thing you might add to your homework is to look at the track on google earth. That's actually my homework this weekend. I am racing there next weekend with WERA. One thing I do for my track notes is PDF print each turn and sometimes additional sections, and add my RPs. Usually a little X is all I use. Nothing fancy just pre-planning a path and visuals to pick up when I get on track. Once I get on track adjustments are made for camber, elevation, bumps and patches......most of all I choose a TP, apex and exit that can be moved. It's a lot easier than doing it at speed.
  2. Hi Apollo Part one "screwdriver hand". Try transitioning to lower body positions when your bike is on stands. Position your hand on the grip in a normal position during turn entry, only snugging up the index finger and thumb all other fingers completely loose. As your upper body drops in keep your wrist straight with your forearm/elbow and relaxed. Screwdriver hand will happen automatically if you relax and let it. Once you get that part down and want to apply it on track, you will be finding new positions that you prefer on the grip, usually a little closer to the end. That's the part needs to be worked into the sequence of things to do. I usually re-position my hand between rolling off the throttle and finishing my braking, depending on the type of turn and the speeds involved. Part two Buttonwillow First of all, I have only ridden at Buttonwillow a couple times. I watched the video and it looks like you are getting around there pretty well. I agree that you need to figure out a line for the Sweeper and the Esses. I would recommend starting by looking at the track map (believe you are running config Race #13) and penciling in some RPs to figure what you know and what you need to find out.When you are looking at the map, you should notice the first Ess is more offset/tighter than the others (look at it with a straight edge), use this to help decide when you can get pinned on what line. Getting this figured out will give you a turn in area for the Esses and will help you choose a better line through the sweeper and will know where your next RP is. Also decide where you want the TP to be for the last left out of the Esses, choose one that will let you use all of track when you are on the gas. Sunset is another turn you can improve your time. Watch the video again and think about what would change if you used a later apex. Cheers
  3. RChase I am also riding an S1000RR (and racing it), moving up from a bike that had half the HP. I completely get where you are coming from. I agree that you have a combination of factors going on. The best way to deal with them is one at a time. Life above 100mph. Think about it, most people you walk up to on the street have never been 100mph in a car let alone on a motorcycle. Things start happening pretty fast. Your visual and motor skills need to adjust to get the correct timing. I would have to guess humans weren't designed to go that fast, probably why we get so passionate about doing it well. I think that wall you're hitting is the point that you don't have any attention left to spend on new information. When you go faster than you ever have before, everything is new and requires free attention to be comfortable making the adjustments. The more attention you have on all the sensations of going fast (wind noise, G force, acceleration, thoughts of wheelies, arms ripping out of sockets etc..) the less likely you will be comfortable going faster. I would recommend handling this in two steps. First clean up your riding in the turn before the high speed straight and the turn after the straight. This leaves you extra attention in the boring middle section to go fast. Something you might try once you have the attention issue sorted out is not using all the power when you are getting close to 120MPH mark. Get there and go flat on the throttle to maintain the speed. Doing this will take away the sensation of acceleration and allow you to pay attention to other things and build confidence. As you gain comfort do the same thing at a higher speed. Once you get up to the proper speed for the straight, revert to the proper roll off and braking technique. The BMW acceleration takes getting used to at all speeds. Getting used to the BMW acceleration. Yep that's a handful. I had to completely change my body position, timing and riding style so I could be in good positions not to interfere with the bike, still hang on and get on the gas. What kind of riding do you do? I can probably answer some specific questions if you have em. Regarding wheelies. I agree with the things Hotfoot said. Throttle control is the key. The bike will not unexpectedly just go 12:00 on a wheelie without a lot of help from your right wrist. The wheelie control can only do so much and my understanding can be ran through if you try hard enough. In most normal good throttle control situations the bike only has certain places it tends to wheelie and they are very controllable (some people might even say fun). Race starts, hard roll on in 1st, in 1st wide open above 11K RPM, 2nd gear wide open above 11K RPM. 3rd gear occasionally above 11K RPM. This is on my 2010 on various tracks and elevation changes under race conditions. The higher the gear and speed the slower the wheelie. The race start wheelie are rider error and the traction control gets involved and makes me go slow. 1st gear hard roll on can lift the front wheel at will. Not the place to learn hard roll on for this bike.Top of 1st, I usually short shift at 11K RPM to second, keeping TCS off. 2nd gear I might short shift or let the tire float depending on the track and turn. 3rd gear is non issue. As I said earlier throttle control is key. If you have a power wheelie and don't feel comfortable with it, roll off or upshift (quick shifter) and the wheel will come back down. If you whack the throttle on in second gear 7K RPM the front wheel will likely come up, this is not good throttle control, unless you want a wheelie. Use good throttle control as taught by CSS and you can go really fast without having scary wheelies. TCS intervenes if a wheelie is too high or long. Not sure on the details but here is how I figure it. The higher the mode (race vs sport) the more latitude the ECU gives you for wheelies. When the TCS sees rapid changes it tends to intervene more quickly to help the rider overcome the conditions. Poor throttle control or too aggressive of a wheelie will initiate more intervention from the TCS and help you learn faster. It's an amazing bike, trust it.
  4. Ya that is funny. Not all the pages came up...or I missed em. I thought it was odd the way the story ended. Also saw your racing blog congrats.
  5. Hi Yellow Duck First of all I have to let you know I agree with Bullet about asking question instead of just giving answers, it works cause your the only one that knows the answer to what's in your head. The answer doesn't matter if you don't believe it. Second, you haven't convinced me you don't trust your tires. Sounds like you trust your tires everywhere but one place. I am convinced your scared to go slow in second gear and bang the bike over to max lean angle. That's probably more of a survival instinct than an SR. As discussed earlier, the bike is inherently less stable at low speeds and low rpms due to a lack of gyroscopic force and rotational mass. I'm not saying it can't be done but I would think most riders would prefer not to.You mentioned concern for dragging your toe or dragging hard parts....are you concerned that you might fall inward without your tires sliding? If so, something you might try as a confidence builder is to take the turn in 1st gear. Sounds like you are going slow enough with low enough rpm it should work. Even if the speed is slower entering the turn the higher rpm of motor will make the bike feel more stable. Don't try to set a lap record or drive hard out of the corner. Just work on feeling the lean angle with more stability and how it feels when you pick the bike up. Most likely you will feel more confident locating the body position you like. Good throttle control is important for this. If you don't have it practice in a straight line till you get it. When you have had enough of the slower speed and feel comfortable with the lean angle go back to second gear and see if you can pick up the rpm. Hopefully you have been reading the book and some drills to help with that. If it doesn't work in this turn with 1st gear maybe you have a 2nd gear turn that uses higher rpm to practice in. Another thing you might try to figure out what really has your attention is to simplify what you are doing in that turn. Trail braking....stop it, it's not gaining you anything. Worrying about when you are getting on the gas for the drive....Stop it, It's not gaining you anything. wanting more lean angle....stop it, lean angle is what it is. Right now you just want enough to get you pointed in the other direction. You don't need more till you're going fast enough to need it and support it. Just relax,and go through the corner, see what is getting your attention. Start at a comfortable pace that you know you have complete control and ease in to the SR. This is practice. These things don't get better when you are running hot laps. Once you get this turn figured out then start adding everything back in and go turn some laps.
  6. I am just finishing a personal experiment on trying to find the best weight for me as a racer. Of course this is not scientific, just the results I found. My conclusion is the harder you ride, the more weight and muscle to fat ratio matter. I am 5'11" and normal morning strip weight was 180lbs. My experiment weight ranged from 165 lbs to 195 lbs. My muscle to fat ratio varied also but to keep that short, it matters. When I was racing on small bikes (NSR50, ninja 250) it was obvious that my weight and surface area were handicapping me against smaller riders. I found myself tucking in the bubble tighter than ever trying to minimize the disadvantage. I also found that all movements had to be smoother than usual or I would upset the bike. Don't get me wrong, this was blast and some of the funnest racing out there. I am just realistic about giving up HP for my weight. I use 1 HP for every six lbs I am carrying over my competition. This usually comes up over a beer when we are bench racing. Racing on on a Ducati 749 I found my weight and muscle mass a lot less significant. 103 HP and an incredibly stable bike to move around on. The main thing I noticed was my endurance level and recovery time changed based on weight and muscle ratio. At the time my preferred weight was 180lbs to 185 lbs. Things really changed when I started racing a BMWS1000RR. As others have mentioned regarding the mortal level of riding, HP to weight is not an issue The increase in forces forced me to change how I was doing things. Now the weight I was carrying got magnified against the forces and affected my timing. Simple things like driving out of corners were now extremely physical. Speeds between corners went way up, front straight at Autoclub went from 145mph on the Ducati up to 170mph on the BMW, 20 to 30 mph between most turns. Entry speeds stay the same, so there is that much more braking to get done - the forces are higher, for longer. The first thing I did was drop my weight. This helped but there were diminishing returns with a lack of endurance similar to the riding the 749. Next I worked on my muscle mass and core strength. Not trying to bulk up but more to improve the muscle ratio. I am carrying about 175 lbs right now and finding that it works for me. Light enough to move around on the bike quickly and enough mass for endurance. I have been on the track with faster riders that are both heavier and lighter. Does weight and muscle ratio matter, yes. It just has to be the right combination for you.
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