khp
-
Posts
956 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Posts posted by khp
-
-
Malcom Gladwell did a very good bit of research on this type of topic ("Tipping Point") Here's a short article on that part of the book: http://www.dailymail...m-Gladwell.html
His conclusion was that there is no such thing as a natural born maestro. By his reckoning, anyone considered as such had put in at least 10,000 hours of hard work BEFORE they were regarded as such (Chess, Software, Pianist, Hockey, etc) I suspect he is right and that there is no difference when it comes to motorcycle racing. You need a good bit of natural ability/talent AND the passion and luck to be able to devote a boatload of time to refining it.
While Gladwell definitely have helped popularize the ideas of the "tipping point" and that it takes 10.000 hours of practice to become an expert on a subject, he is not the original researcher/source on the either.
The original text on the 10.000hours of training is an article in Harvard Business Review called "Making of an expert" by K. Anders Ericsson, Michael J. Prietula and Edward T. Cokely.
(I think we've been over this once before).
Edit: Yup, I even started the old thread What Does It Take To Excel?
/Kai
-
I haven't been riding much this year - lots of excuses including vast amounts of rain and a couple of projects on my house taking a lot of 'time' (think $). But I did manage to get out twice in August to the local favourite Ring Knutstorp - and fall both times
First time I had the video camera going and it perfectly chronicled my error(s). I'll let you guys sort the errors out:
My computer is playing tricks on me at the moment so this is without laptimer bling.
I should add that the session before I did a 1:08.86 lap (1.3 seconds faster than my previous record) almost without trying.
Less than 25 days later I have replaced the engine covers and whatnot and go out again. This time without the video camera, so I can't show it.
The fall came on the return lap after getting the chequered flag for the end of the session, at turn 1. T1 is really a quad right turn: 45 degrees, then 90 degrees, and then two smaller turns, but it's taken as a single sweeper (if you get it right, that is). After giving the steering input at the 45 degree, I feel the rear tyre slipping and then very quickly gripping again - highside time! I've never experienced a highsider before (and this was a very small one), but boy - I didn't have a chance to react! Bike didn't get smashed up that bad - just the recently replaced mushrooms got torn off and the left clipon is due for replacement.
I was less lucky: I broke the right wrist, going over the bike ('Fractura radii, extremitas distalis', for the medically inclined). I think what happened is that I hit the wrist on the fairing stay on the way over the bike. Both knees and the left shoulder had a smack as well. Just blue marks but no torn ligaments or broken bones.
Had the wrist x-rayed and got a cast on the arm same day, and were in for a checkup at the hospital friday + at a private hospital for a second opinion later same day. Everything looks OK, and there will not be a need for an operation is the verdict. Cast should go off in the beginning of October and then it's physiotherapy for some time for strength and movement in the joint. That should leave be plenty of time to be fit for the 2012 season
-
Awesome Cobie, do make sure the Scooter nickname sticks
-
I've been asked this question a hundred times: "What could you possibly be coaching on a rider like ________ , who is already a podium guy at world championship level?" I'm pretty sure my face betrays me because I've never had what I'd call an intelligent answer. But people always expect something really wise, some new or miraculous aspect of riding they'd never thought of before. Of course it never is. It's always something that is, in my mind at least, very simple, very basic, very mundane to the ear but very important to the rider who is struggling with it.
This reminds me of when I started playing basketball at the club level as a teenager: our coach drilled into our heads that in order to get better, we always had to go back and work on the FUNdamentals. And practising them had to be FUN so he came up with umpteen different ways of practising them
I find it interesting but also comforting that world-class riders struggle with the same problems that the mortals like me do, but just on a much much higher/faster level.
Of course, their perception of grip, throttle control, lean angle etc is vastly better than mine.
Kai
-
Note that I type this well aware that your speed and skills are much, much higher than mine and that my observations are purepy based upon on-board camera sessions from world class racing. In other words, I should probably just have kept quiet since I do not know form first hand experience how to do things better - or even remotely equally well - compared to you.
But still: From what I can see, you sometimes take some lines that seems like you go in too tight and have to wait too long before you can turn. At least from my point of view; I often found myself picking out a very different line I felt was natural to me compared to where you rode. Also, you seem to be quite late getting on the throttle and also early and quite gentle on the brakes.
BTW - it would be very interesting to get somebody with actual knowledge to comment so that I can learn whether I am wrong, partially or completely.
PS! Congrats on your improvement - that's a big chunk on such a short track
Thanks, Eirik - it's definitely a major step head.
Your comments are most welcome - remember that observation skills is entirely different from riding skills. I think it was Steve Brouggy (head Aussie coach) who said: "Who would you prefer to learn golf from: Tiger Woods or Tiger's coach?"
You are most likely right on me being a wussie and braking too early
I'm a little confused about your comment on being "too tight and have to wait too long before you can turn": are you saying I'm too far from the outside curb and turn too late or that I have to wait too long before getting back on the gas?As a comparison, here's a video of a former world championships rider (not sure if it's SBK or SSP) running in his new ZX-6R, at the same track - doing 1:01.1 laps
(there's also a
). -
Had another fix of track riding yesterday at Ring Knutstorp. Cut out a massive 1.65seconds out of my best laptime - yay! Now down to 1:10.14
Kai
-
Q2, 32 front, 32 rear cold. which would be 34 front, 34 rear cold.
Did you mean 34 front, 34 rear hot? Just want to clarify.
The answer to that must be a yes, looking at Steve's info in post #2:
Generally, you will see 2 psi rise from cold to hot off the warmers.Kai
-
Here's the next installment of my tire wear story.
After putting the D211 GP Racer on fresh for Autodrom Most, and seeing some tearing on the right side after 4 hours of riding (as discussed above), I was a little concerned about how long they would last next time out.
I went to a trackday on Ring Knutstorp Thursday & Friday. Thursday we opted not to ride due to a slight drizzle (too little for rain tyres, too much...) but Friday was dry. We had about 1h30m of effective riding time and in that time, the rear tire healed up so well that it's a small miracle - it's hard to see that had been tearing previously. See the attached pics (all of the right side, which is the side getting punished at Knutstorp).
What was even more surprising to me and my friend is that his Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa rear, started to tear up quite a bit at the same time - and he had no tearing problems at Most!
We tried a couple of different changes to suspension, until we figured out that he was seeing a cold tear caused by over-inflation. We let out a bit of air, and his tire started to heal up again.
This caused us to wonder about what we had just witnessed: at Most, my GP Racers were tearing, while his Diablo Supercorsas were fine. On Ring Knutstorp, the situation was the opposite - his rear is tearing, mine isn't.
The only explanation that we could come up with is the difference of the tracks: Knutstorp is small and with a lot of esses, while Most is big with a lot of long high-speed turns - and this has an impact on what is demanded from the suspension and tires. Oh, and Most seems to be more bumpy than Knutstorp
Steve - what's your opinion/input on this theory?
-
Damn Kai, that is an awsome video. Does your mother know you ride like that?
BTW, tell us did you catch that guy at the end? You passed everybody else!
Thanks Rain. My mother doesn't like bikes in general, so we indulge in the "She doesn't ask, I don't tell" dance
Oh, she knows I ride on the track and as long as I don't hurt myself, she's happy.
But did I catch the guy at the end? Frankly, I don't recall. While it looks impressive in the video, I got passed by several other riders, including 2 swedes on their 125cc 2-stroke bikes. I think there was a span from just over 1:50 to just under 2:00 in our group.
While comparing laps with the GPS based laptimer, I've found that even my "consistent" laps (in terms of lap times) aren't that consistent after all. But that's subject for a separate thread later.
Kai
-
I have some video + GPS/laptimer footage that I'll put up on UT soon(ish).
Aaaand ... finally the promised video
- 2 laps, taken on the third day. Laptime around 1.58.50, which I improved by almost 3 seconds just 1-2 sessions later -
Kai;
Awesome my friend; which one is going to become your new avitar?
Rain
Thanks Rain.
Maybe this one
Kai
-
Those are French made. They are not considered UK made.
I stand corrected.
I would not be too overly critical about the PSI. 1-2 lbs is not going to part the red sea.
There is a small amount of tearing on the side, but nothing to be overly concerned about. Maybe a little less rebound dampening might clean that up.
The UK and USA versions of that tire are higher performers. If you are happy with the level of performance on that tire, it will only get better if you use the other lines Dunlop offers.
All in all it sound like you had a good ride.
Thanks for the input. I actually did try to play with less rebound, but it was getting too quick so I was advised to go back 2 clicks. I can see that I forgot to mention that the Most track is really bumpy in the final two (right hand side) turns leading out onto the straight - I guess this could easily affect the wear pattern.
So all in all, I had a good & fun ride, and I have been satisfied with the Dunlops. Now I just need to find a couple of more trackdays to put on the bike
That, and maybe some "mid-grade" Dunlops (D211 GP).
Kai
-
So you ran the same rear tyre for 3 days?
Yup, you got that right. Effectively 2½ days, since we cut the last day short (didn't want to wait out 4 hours during the races to get our final session + an hour of open pitlane).
I have to say, I ran the GP racers with a slightly higher pressure last year, after advice from Dunlop UK, though I cannot tell you what it went upto because it's all in my book I make notes in, and it's just got to Jerez for my 3 day blast over next weekend, so I'm sorry about that fella. I think it was more like 26-27 Hot, but I'd like to check to be sure.
Oh, isn't that that awful for you that you have to go the the hot GP-track of Jerez instead of coming playing with me on the rural Kinnekulle Ring in cold & wet Sweden?
I don't think the wear looks that bad, though of course it's hard to say from a picture. You also can't realistically say that just swapping to brand X would resolve it either because you've seen another rider doing that on them, it could depend a lot on your bike's setup and your technique, so you could only realistically asses that by doing your own back to back comparison really on your bike, with you riding.
The wear does look worse in real life. Fortunately the tears don't appear to dig deeply into the tire.
As for changing back to the Supercorsas, do remember that I've been running them quite happily for the last two seasons - so I do have some experience in them and how I wear them. I did get the Ohlins shock serviced this winter, however.
You may actually find a softer tyre is better for higher temperatures than an endurance tire, which would be better when it's colder, as it won't cold tear as badly.
I would have thought it's a Hot Tear from what Dave Moss is saying (tear line goes up into the center of the tire & you can't get a nail into the tears), but I could easily have mixed things up.
But I do take your point on the softer tire. Too bad I don't have a tire sponsorship so I could have just dived into the van and grabbed the right compound from my stack of tires
Have fun and ride safely on Jerez.
Kai (suitably envious)
-
In the quest for trying something new and possibly better, I switched from running Pirelli Diable Supercorsa's to Dunlop D211GP Racer this year.
For the Easter trackday/training camp at Autodrom Most, Czech Republic, I put on new tires front & rear for the event. On the recommendation from Steve and Bullet here in the forum, I went for the following combo for my 2008 model YZF-R6:
D211 GP Racer (DOT, ie not Slicks). Tires are marked with "MT", "JLB" and "NTec".
Front: 120/70 Medium compound
Rear: 190/55 Endurance compound (date code 10/week 35)
BTW: these tires are "Made in France" - I guess this makes them "UK spec" according to Steve.
I followed the advice from the Dunlop Racing webpage (repeated here by Steve): 33 psi front/23 psi rear, hot off the warmers (I used a laser/IR temp gun to verify that the temperature was OK). Tires were warmed for an hour in the morning, and for the last 20 min prior to each succeeding session as advised. Upon returning to the garage after a session, I measured around 65C on the rear and 50-55C (hazy memory here) on the front.
Air temperature was 20-25degrees C, all three days - no rain
. I didn't check the track temperature though.
I experienced no or little traction problems during all three days - except a single very small slide exiting the hairpin when pinning it in 2nd when leaned way over (hey, gotta try find the traction limits, right?
). Combined over the 3 days, I rode approximately 4 hours according to the laptimer.My laptimes dropped from 2:05's on the first day to 1:55:45 in the 3rd & final session of the 3rd day.
I must be catching up, 'cause I'm now less than 15 seconds behind the fastest 600cc guy (who's on a Supersport prepped Yamaha-Denmark backed bike, which is wickedly fast), who did 1:41:xx laps
The front tire looks excellent, with very little wear. The rear, however, is a different story that I'd like some input on.
As it turned out, I did an error on the morning of the first day when setting the pressure on the rear: instead of setting the pressure to 23psi, I set it to 25psi. When the tire started to show significant wear on the second day, we diagnosed it as over-inflation (confirmed first by a suspension/tire expert from one of the bigger race teams, later also confirmed by the pressure gauge). The pressure was then reset to 23psi on the morning of the third day.
On the third day, my laptimes continued to drop from 1:57 to 1:55, but the wear pattern did not change.
I've attached 3 pictures of the rear. On all three, a band on each side of the tire can be seen where the tire is much more worn (the wear is more easily seen on pics 2 & 3). Also, it seems that the tire likes to have an "edge" or ridge in the wear-band where the wear-pattern changes. In real life, the wear looks more dramatic than in the pictures and I'm wondering much much more life there is in the rear tire.
Another guy on a 2008 R6 was running 180/55 Medium GP Racers (yes Bullet, you can get them!) was underwhelmed by their grip and complained about wear, which looked similar to mine. He was running 1:46 laps though
The Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC1/SC2's run by other riders on R6'es did not exhibit any wear problems.
My questions are:
Is this wear to be expected? - is the wear "just normal" or caused by the 2psi over-inflation? Are the GP Racers really that sensitive to (incorrect) pressure? Should I be running a different compound?
What is that ridge in the wear - compound change?
I'm wondering whether a return to the Supercorsas would make good sense from a tire wear/expense point of view, if I'm able to get less/better wear on the Pirellis than on the Dunlops.
And a final bonus-question to Steve: a third racer told that she is getting 6+ days out of a Soft compound front tire, which apparently is quite normal for the GP Racer's. Any good reasons to choose or not choose the soft front, if it really lasts that long?
I still have a set of Pirelli's with reasonable amount of thread left, so I'm considering to mount them on my rain-wheels in order to do a back-to-back test during a future trackday.
Thanks for all and any input,
Kai
-
Pictures from last week at Autodrom Most, Czech Republic.
Most is a rather technical, although high-speed, track with lots of turn combinations. What surprised me is that it has a height difference of just over 12m (40ft), something I hadn't noticed on the videos I'd seen posted on youtube.
#1 - first day, hence the "3" sticker (I would continue in the "C" group, as there quite a lot of racers at the national level using the event as their training camp). I think this picture is taken in the 2nd chicane, just prior to the hairpin (T7).
#2 - the photographer had some fun with placing a camera on a (very) small tripod and remote control it with a laptop. This is T15, starting blindly (the apex is obscured by the armco) and descends - and makes an double-S combination with T16 and T17
I have some video + GPS/laptimer footage that I'll put up on UT soon(ish).
Kai
-
Looking real good. Your photographer over there is awesome.
Yeah, Gary (aka "picman") is not only a great photographer, but he's also very nice guy.
Kai
-
As an opposing view:
I am a fan of the ratchet straps and I primarily use the inner lower triple clamp to secure the bike against the interior of my van (wall and cabin). Yes, I could probably blow a fork seal this way but I've done it this way for the last 8 years and never had a problem.
As for the ratchets, I switched to them after having a bike almost fall over using a non-ratchet strap. I ditched all my non-ratchet straps after that and never looked back.
-
Okey dokey,
It has been sniffed out that the schools in Denmark will be held in cooperation with RacingEvents.dk. Price is 3150DKK/level.
Kai
-
Any news on the thread for clutchless shifting? I'm happy upshifting without the clutch but am having trouble getting my downshifts smooth.
Ollie
Ollie,
If you type in "clutchless downshift" the the Search box there in the upper right corner, you'll get 13 threads.
The thread Clutchless Down Shifting? should give you what you're looking for.
Kai
-
I do fart a lot. All the pro riders do it.
Ah! that's where the extra propulsion is coming from
Kai
-
Cobie, I was pondering whether you wanted complimentary or complementary activities (Contraria sunt complementa)?
Kai, in the philosophical corner
-
-
M & P brands make a 180/55 to fit 600cc class bikes with 5.5x17 rims, and do not recommend using their 190/55.
Just a sidenote here on the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa 190/55 vs 180/55 size on a 5.5" 600cc rim: if you put a 190/55 on a 5.5" rim, you will be unable to use the very edge of the tire: Danish racer Thomas Rebien (whom I'm talking to from time to time) tried this on his YZF-R6 2008 last year in search of higher grip when fully leaned over, but found it did buy him anything.
Thomas is a former winner of the German Yamaha R6-Cup and was by far the fastest Supersports guy not on Dunlops last year (only two other were faster than him by ~1-2 seconds; both on Dunlops NTecs).
-
Mine was measured at 122dB @ 3/4 rpm, including a dB-killer that took 10dB out
.The guy measuring it said he wasn't surprised, as most Yoshi's he had measured was significantly louder than, say, Akrapovic's.
Like I said, I replaced it with stock and haven't looked back.
Oh my god, really! That must have sounded amazing!
Hmmm maybe the bike hire will be the only option then....
Don't give up yet - find someone who can do a correct noise measurement and get a reading. Maybe a trackday vendor or someone at the local racetrack?
Bullet: yes, it sounded awesome going down the start/finish line at Lausitzring with the big stands echoing
:D:DKai
Santa Came Early
in School Questions/General Discussion
Posted
Congrats Tharkun,
Remember to keep her pretty side up at all times!
/Kai