Jump to content

dbtriple

Members
  • Posts

    57
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About dbtriple

  • Birthday 01/16/1968

Previous Fields

  • Have you attended a California Superbike School school?
    yes

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    wollongong australia

dbtriple's Achievements

Cornering Expert

Cornering Expert (4/5)

  • First Post
  • Collaborator
  • Week One Done
  • One Month Later
  • One Year In

Recent Badges

0

Reputation

  1. G'day all, I had similar concerns in level 4 - I raised my issues of turning wide with my coach, and after reading the long notes I had prepared, he informed me that it would be about vision - getting the turn in, mid point and particularly end point really sorted! I was shown a detailed circuit map (hand drawn) for eastern creek that another level 4 participant had prepared (he was a landscape designer) and it was incredible how many reference points this fellow had on the track - obviously his vision was working pretty well and he was acutely aware of when and what he was doing at various points around the track! So I went out and did some of the level 2 drills that were recommended, and focused on getting my vision, particularly at the end of the turn and driving out, fixed up, and would you believe the old adage is true, you go where you look. This helped me greatly on turn 12 (focus on the dangly building thingy) turn 9 (flag marshal on turn 10) turn 7 (the middle of the overhead sign) and turn 2 (the portaloo on the hill). Interestingly, I hadn't really been pushing it too hard through turn 7, but it is a legitimate corner in its own right, and deserves respect. It can really get you through that section of track a lot quicker, which I guess is the point. So there's my two bob's worth. Nice to be back. db
  2. G'day, Returning from world superbikes at Phillip Island on Monday, I had 900km to get home, and it was raining with some great roads (in the dry!) ahead of me. But you know the rain.....takes the edge off! So I wasn't enjoying it much but using several techniques helped. 1 - Relax. 2 - Sit the bike up onto the fat part of the tyre by using better body position. 3 - And most crucially - the 3 step technique. By focusing more thoroughly on turn in, mid point and vanishing point, it just became so much easier, and despite my soaked gear, foggy visor and associated rain like dramas, the ride was turned from an ordeal into something resembling a challenge! Yes it was wet for all but 50km of that ride. There's always a sting at the Island - if you escape the rain at the track and campground, you WILL pay the penalty on the ride home. But the CSS techniques showed theie mettle once again. db
  3. Hey Stuman, for me the best thing which made so much else that I had learned click in was the hook turn. It gave me the tools to tighten the line in an easy way, which then allowed me to relax so much more, encouraged me to concentrate on my turn points and crack the throttle on, since I no longer was concerned about running wide so much! This applies to both track and road riding. That's the brief version anyway. db
  4. Dave, I think it gets down to peak piston speed. Eight cylinders with a relatively short stroke and wide cylinder diameter has less distance to travel to make a revolution, hence can do it at less speed. Whilst engine dimensions are important in formula one they have more flexibility in this area than motogp. A 4 cylinder motogp bike has to have a relatively long stroke in comparison to its bore, as part of the packaging of the engine, and this is what eventually will limit the rpm, when combined with the new engine replacement limit of 5 per season. Formula 1 has these constraints also, but with the abovementioned limitations. If motogp had 8 cylinders then it could too, but the rules say 4. Take for example the v8 250cc honda gp bikes of yesteryear - if you throw enough cylinders at it the piston speeds can be kept under control, using less mass in the pistons reduces the g forces, and mad rpms were available even then. But today, even with much better metallurgy and design, there are still limits, at least currently, when you consider the rules. There is a whole world of mad engineering in this, but suffice it to say that at 18000rpm a formula one motor piston, at the end of its stroke undergoes 17000g deceleration. So it is all pretty damaging to conrods to say the least. Being unaware of the stroke and bore of the engines concerned it is difficult to speculate on what the precise motogp peak velocities would be, but someone, somewhere, probably in Japan or Italy, knows what the story is. db
  5. What you just described is affectionally known as "the gorilla factor", since you get this slightly hunched over position while off the bike I couldn't agree more. I had a set of leathers made-to-measure in 1998 (for road riding) and it was just fantastic. My current Dianese 1-piece that I use for track riding is a standard size 56, but it's 4" too short in the legs and 2" in the arms. I guess that at 6'6" and 190lbs, I'm just not measuring up to EU-standard sizes After 12 seasons of riding the leather on the tailored suit is deteriorating and the colours doesn't look as nice, so just before Christmas I had measurements taken for both a 1-piece (for the track) and a 2-piece (for the road). Christmas 2010 should arrive around February 1st I think the Dainese suits, without wishing to reinforce any ethnic stereotypes, may be suited to your shorter southern European style of person, that being a bit shorter in the arm and leg per waist size than your lanky northern european... Roll on Feb 1 for you, nice going! regards db
  6. I would think to make it viable for others to be able to supply bikes, and competively so. CF Here's some food for thought...... You know what Jeremy Burgess said about all this? That it isn't going to return to the old back end sliding around type of thing that we had before.....because traction control would have led to this high corner speed path with either 1000cc or 800cc. The fast 4 are still going to be that much faster than all the rest. And I also wonder what happened to the original reason for the switch, which was that the tyres couldn't cope with 340kmh plus speeds with any degree of safety, a la Shinya Nakano's rear delaminating at high speed. Given that the 800s have started nudging 340 on occasion, what will these latter day 1000s start to top out at? Dorna are idiots, they've given us a couple of forgettable seasons of processions, and now have changed just about the only thing that will have no effect on competition. They should have got rid of traction control, given them as much fuel as they liked and put a restrictor plate on all air intakes for the class and then you would have seen some competition like the old days. So there's my two bob again. db
  7. Dear Nobody, Disregarding turn one, where it was obvious there was something distracting you, the only comment I'd make is that you seem to be off the throttle throughout most of the corners, until really late, then you give it a late hammering. This puts too much weight on the front tyre for too long, which isn't the go. Throttle control rule number one - once the throttle is cracked, it should be wound on evenly, smoothly and consistently until the end of the corner. as Keith says, repeat it to yourself 1000 or 2000 times! And the throttle should be cracked on as early as you can after turn in. A couple of times you could kind of hear the throttle being cracked on, but not wound on in the right manner to get the necessary 60/40 rear/front weight balance. Bike sounds awesome though! BAck to turn one, you got a fair bit of bar shake under heavy braking, which could indicate that you have too much weight on the bars eg straight arms.....you could need to lock onto the tank a bit better and let the front end do its thing without too much interference. And relax those arms! Hope this is helpful. Good on ya mate! db
  8. I can't speak for dbtripple's version of "Long Leg Syndrome", but since I'm 6'6" as well, I can at least add my own perspective: when you have (very) long legs, you tend to have very sharp angles in the lower joints (knee, ankle) and the bike dimensions can make it difficult finding a good, stable body position on the bike. All this can also make it a bit awkward moving around on the bike and cause fatigue on longer drives. WRT your own vs a school bike: I've done all my levels (1-4) on my own bikes. Yes, you may be a little bit more cautious about dropping the bike, but I think that's just a good thing since charging around the track will most likely lower your learning during the day(s). Hope this helps, Kai Kai mate, I can certainly relate to what you are saying regarding cramping up of the joints. Long rides, such as the 1000km trip to see the Motogp at Phillip Island can leave me somewaht crippled after a stint, and that is on the luxurious (by comparison to "real" sportsbikes) Speed triple. Moving around on the bike......wasn't so bad. I mean I was fairly well prepared, but was sore for 3 days after, I'll try again next year at a track day after more thorough preparation and see. Ideally I'd like to try a proper sportsbike someday, but for now the dollars just aren't there. db
  9. Dear JTNYC, I have done all levels on my own bike. After all its the one I'll be riding! Just being silly about having long legs (LLS). Level one and 2 I did in the "normal" position, starting a bit of body leaning in level 2. Level 3 has shown the importance of using the body position more fully. In fact level one and two would have been better this way too, but it wasn't happening for me! Regarding getting the knee down...I was disappointed it didn't occur for me at level 3 but it's not the end of the world. It will come if I get a better lock on to the tank - the photos from the track day showed me I still have some work to do. I've seen plenty of photos of blokes with the knee down since I did level 3, and good on them, they've got the knee down - but they're all crossed up and the bike is leaning way too far, which is the reverse of what you want....its about standing the bike up to the fatter part of the tyre, to get better drive out. If it happens for me some day, it will be for the right reasons, not just for its own sake. I think the length of the legs is irrelevant, it puts the knee further into the air as well as further out, the angle of the leg is probably more critical than the length. I am aware however that I may just be a pussy who is afraid of leaning it far enough! cheers mate and go the mighty Triumphs. Actually, I was watching some Aussie BEARS racing the other night and one of the commentators said of Triumphs "they're like HArleys, you either love them or you hate them"! Well what a load of rubbish that is, they're nothing like harleys, they stop, go and handle for a start, and you don't need to be pretend to be hard as nails to own one either! I should complain to the biking gods I suppose, but you'll have to do. cheers db
  10. JT, just done level 3 on my 2006 speed triple. My thoughts are that you could do level 1 and 2 on your bike, as there is not a great deal of hanging off the bike. I mean, this is the bike you'll be riding for a while presumably? I don't think you'll miss suspension adjustment too much on level 1 and 2, you'll be concentrating on other issues. Level3 - up to you. I'm 6'6" tall and 240lbs, I've had my suspension uprated and it has a fully adjustable front end on it. If you're comfortable with your bike, be happy and use it for level 3. I have a few issues locking on to the bike due to LLS (long leg syndrome) but I'm working on it (locking on that is - I think the LLS is permanent - at least I hope it is!). Suspension adjustments can lead you astray, they shouldn't be the focus...throttling on can cure most of an evil handling bike's ills. In TOTW2 it is mentioned that John Kocinski won a championship one season with no suspension adjustments to his bike between tracks. It was all about his throttle control making the bike stable, albeit from a pretty good initial set up. So that's my two-bob worth. 1 and 2 on your bike, 3 if you want, if you fit the bike real good, don't blame the suspension, use the throttle to keep it in the sweet spot. Happy Festivus db
  11. Level3......what can one say? Started the day having never hung a cheek off in anger, admitted as much freely to my coach Al, but then the transformation began.....the hook turn - you could ride your whole life and not jag one, but once you're told - whoa! In fact the first time it happened I was going too slow coming out of turn 4 (had yet to find the sweet spot) and did one....nearly turned sideways! Some control came after that and immediately noticed a far tighter line than ever achieved previously, of course with much greater corner speed! The pivot/power steer.....I thought this one was a filler to make up the 5 topics for the day. How wrong I was! Immediately achieved far greater lean angle than previous - I suppose that the opposite, un-power-assisted hand had been resisting the countersteering attempts via my SRs and subconscious. Now that is the tool to overpower that evil opposite hand! At least that's how I read it for my case. Not long after scraped a footpeg for the first time (turn 12)and it wasn't a worry. Knee to knee, hip flick.....I tried them but truthfully there were that many things changed and going on by this time I wouldn't claim to have mastered them, but I did them a couple of times and bloody hell it makes the transition from side to side a lot smoother and faster! The attack drill....well it was fruitful to say the least, and I think that this is going to be a major benefit on the road, those few degrees of entry angle change certainly have a profound effect on a set of corners..... Never scraped the knee which was a hope, but looking at the photos on line, I think I have locking on issues which I will address when next I go to the track. Was really happy to outpace the guys doing level 2 on much madder bikes than my speed triple, in particular a 1098s which should really have hosed my bike in all respects. This proves the efficacy of the techniques contained in level 3 - at my last track day the only blokes in my group overtaking me were using hang off techniques - now I have joined them, it is a quantum leap. On the downside....by heck I was sore in the legs for the next 3 days. Still am actually.....I tore a calf muscle pursuing my son on the beach 3 days later and I don't think it was unrelated. I expect this means that I will have to get fitter if I'm going to use this on the track - either that or get younger...... I'd say that if you are in your twilight years like myself (41)and thinking about Level 3, I would consider doing a lot of core stability work and leg work leading in to the day, and even then I don't reckon you'd come out of it scot free. Anyway big thanks to Al for session 1 and being my coach for the rest of the day, and also to Steve Brouggy who took all the other sessions in his inimitable style. I reckon I'll have some things for my level 4 coach to cure come next year! db
  12. Greg, i appreciate you taking the time to respond on the thread but im finding the approach you are taking is a bit frustrating. I appreciate the whole "ask questions to stimulate thought" approach but i would appreciate straight answers or opinions if you could. If you are getting frustrated with Greg asking questions.....look out Bullet hasn't started on you yet!!! lol
  13. Touched on in someone's soliloquy, here in brief. If 2 gp riders are dicing, their lap times get slower.....and the bloke behind them catches up. Because the fella in front is protecting his line, riding defensively, trail braking to the apex to stuff the guy behind him. Because if he doesn't, the guy behind him certainly will stuff it up the inside, on brakes, slower lap time but position gained. Case in point, Rossi's overtake on last corner to defeat Lorenzo at Catalunya....Lorenzo believed if he led into the last turn that he was that fast through there that noone could take him.....Rossi showed him that the slow way can win you races. I rest my case. db
  14. Just chiming in..... It just drives me mad to see blokes on sportsbikes in short tshirt or singlet, with runners on or even thongs (flip flops for the seppos). They ought to take a visit to the burns unit and check out what gravel rash looks like after 4 weeks of agony. Might make the old "its too hot" or "uncomfortable" excuse seem pretty weak. I just laugh at the fresh crop of scooter riders who think they are bulletproof too. Do they really think that 6 inch rims are going to be that stable through a pothole, and if you can't get away from traffic, you're probably going to get caught under it sooner or later. It's lucky that Harley riders are so tough, they won't cry when the skin is peeling off. Back Protectors are compulsory. You don't wear protection for when things are going well, it's for that time when you don't have time to think and the laws of physics take over. that's my 2 cents worth db
×
×
  • Create New...