Bullet

sweet move mate. they were both luck that the guy following the camera bike the Suzuki didn't take them both off. Nicely setup though mate, really nice. Bullet

god that's terrible to watch, really, really saddening to see. I'd say either a stuck throttle, or brake failure. a rider at that level wouldn't get it that wrong, and so must have been a mechanical of some form. Bullet

It's hard to tell of what the rider was actually doing on the bike with bar input, but you can tell what he's doing with the gas, so as Hotfoot said, what did you hear? With rebound, that looked to me like not enough rebound damping. The rebound damping controls the return of the compressed spring. if it's too much it keeps the forks/shock too deep in it's stroke, gradually winding down the bike lower and lower (at it's worst). With too little damping as we have here, you get the spring just ping back quickly and you can get chatter. it effectively can induce this resonance to the bike (though tyres can do this a bit too). A spring in it's natural state as you'll probably be aware, will contract and expand and bounces either end of it's travel, gradually reducing the energy put into it. The dampers job is to control the rate of this action, you ideally want just enough to control the spring, but not too much. It can also be further confused by low and high speed damping, which many shocks have, (i.e. small little shocks or big ones). That help? Bullet

god that wasn't pretty was it. Hotfoots covered a lot of what's going on above, definitely rebound damping needs improving a lot, but it could also be the camera is mounted somwhere which is exagerating the motion. Unquestionably when he crashed though, the chatter was worse and could be improved by technique. Bullet

you my friend, are a legend. Big thumbs up for that report. Bullet

Hi mate, Welcome to the forum. Your English is great, don't worry about that at all. Don't worry about going to the states, come to the UK instead. Our weather is much more like you have in Sweden, so you won't be overwhelmed with all that sun. What bike do you ride? Bullet

Too early for turning in, that's what an overloaded/locked front tyre does if you don't release the brake pressure quickly enough. Come and have a go of the brake rig, feel and experience it for yourself Bullet

great job guys, you got it. You'll have heard slow in, fast out before no doubt. In actual fact, you want fast in, fast out, but if you have to trade one over the other, you'll always compromise in/mid turn to ensure you get that fast out for exactly what the reasons we've discussed in the thread. Bullet

which do you think is most important? Fastest in the middle of the turn? Or fastest at the end of the next straight? thinking about these points, is it possible to define? Bullet I would think more speed through the turn is most important, you can always brake a little deeper at the end of the next straight instead of relying on how much ground to make up pinning the throttle on the drive out of the corner? I think the other factor would be the layout of the track, if you have really tight turns you can only carry so much speed before running wide or off track so that would make you want to be faster at the end of the next straight. so, if you've a bike at huge lean angles, (I.e carrying maximum speed possible), how much hard gas can you roll on? Given speed carried off a turn is multiplied down the straight, would it be possible exit of a turn is more key for great laptimes than rushing into the turn as hard as possible? What do you think given this information? Given the compromise, which would you trade Bullet

They do get their bodies off, you just don't see the riders pushing to 100% of mid corner speed, (margin for error and all that), and they also have to race for a long, long time. these guys that do this are exceptional riders, and it's incerdibly difficult to be that good, and that fast for so long. it is however, a different skill to short course racing, and just as short course racing takes years to develop, it's incredibly competitive now and these guys focus on being amazing road racers. Dave Jefferies was a great short course and TT Racer too. Bullet

some bikes are a little more succeptable to side winds than others, you'll also discover certain circuits are worse than others too. The problem is also magnified by speed too. I don't believe there is a magic fix to be relaxed with respect to this problem, but I'd certainly suggest building up your speed down the straights gradually if you know it's a very windy day. the gradual increase in performance will aid the minds ability to feel more relaxed, rather than trying to go as fast as possible straight away. Beyond that, all the usual drills we apply to being relaxed apply still. think about how you're supporting yourself, could you do more to remove that grip on the bars? Are you checking to see if you really are elaxed? are you breathing properly (you'd be amazed how a bit of anxiety can cause havoc with this problem). Hope this helps, Bullet

hi mate, (nice to see you here). I'm with Neil, i think that bike would be terrible on a track, and I think you'd find it incerdibly hard to get witin 20 seconds of a MotoGP bike. Bullet

which do you think is most important? Fastest in the middle of the turn? Or fastest at the end of the next straight? thinking about these points, is it possible to define? Bullet

Hi Guys, Glad you enjoyed the Black Flag, heard it went well indeed. I'll pass on your comments to the powers that be, and I'm sure they'll be happy to run another. I believe there was already an intent to run another off track skills day anyway in the New Year, but I'm sure this positive feedback will most definitely help make up their minds. Bullet

Hi mate, Thanks for the update, sounds very promising indeed. I race a Ducati, it has about 195bhp, (which has had quite a bit of engine tuning work and racing gearbox, suspension, etc). We don't run a PCV on her, she has the Ducati racing ECU reflashed, as this allows us a lot more options (though of course it's more complicated and expensive route than a PCV). I do understand, (not having had mine fitted yet), it will cause some issues with dash lights (due to control of coils), but we can resolve that if I also get the nemesis ecu (which is available for Ducatis). We're going to have her updated and installed over the winter, and I will update you on what I find, (which incidentally), we'll be endurance racing on Dunlop slicks and wets (not sure what you're using). Thanks for the note, Bullet

Haha, yeah, didn't quite get that 100% right. The bike in the hairpins is in 1st gear, (it's got a racing gearbox and 1st is tall), and the bike has nearly 200bhp and 100lb ft of torque, so has to be respected, also the throttle is quick action. As discussed earlier, technique is entirely the same, it's all just smoother. Even when it's dry, you shouldn't have to make the bike feel like it's trying to throw you off at every turn. Sure you can be a little more positive, turn quicker etc, but it's much the same. Glad it helped. Bullet

How much turning are you doing of the bike when it's at high lean angle in the middle of the turn? Bullet

Here's a very wet session at Donnngton Park, skip first couple of mins Bullet

This is Jerez, check out the short shift 2-3 as described. Bullet

To add to this thread (not sure if it's been covered), I often use short shift if I'd otherwise have to shift mid turn when the bikes at big lean angles. Whilst it's ok to do this with moderate lean angles, at high lean, long turns where you're still winding the throttle on, I'd always short shift to remove that instability. It's rare, but at Jerez, turn two into 3 is a short shift because of this and also because you turn quickly from the right to the left hand side. Bullet

Sorry about the delay in this. So, the biggest difference is of course the tyres are different, and have a different compound to deal with the rain (they're very soft), and get warm even in the rain. The applilcation of the brakes is more gradual, but still very hard braking in the rain is definitely possible. I generally use exactly the same braking markers when racing in the dry as the rain, though of course you approach the turns a litle slower in terminal velocity. Trail braking, all other usual braking techniques are still available, but the margins for error and feel are definitely reduced. If you want to see some video of it in the rain, let me know, I'll post some up. Bullet

Yea I just hate having to be on the bike so long to get a good workout in. 4mi of running gets done in less then an hour and in that time you are burning way more calories. What about leg workouts, say squats for example....do you want to do more muscle building or more cardio type lifting such as lighter weight but with more reps? Being a sportbike rider you want to be fit but not big. yeah, I understand about time for fitness, running is certainly better value in time terms for sure, though still believe cycling is better for motorbike racing. perhaps I'm old, and i just prefer being out on my bike (pushbike for a few hours), more than pounding the street with my old body? :-) Squats are good workouts anyway, gets a bit boring though. Press ups too, good for resisting braking pressures, though of course you're legs (should), be taking some of that anyway. Definitely more cardo is of help, so reps rather than weights. Bullet

Hi mate, not sure where you are in the world, and different countries and organisers do them differently, but I'll share what I know as I've raced endurance in the UK, and will be doing a full season in 2013. in terms of tracktime vs sprint racing, there's no denying, you just can't beat endurance racing, certainly in value for money terms. When I sprint raced, I was doing 10mins qualifying/practice, then 2-3, 8 lap races a weekend, yours for around £200 entry fees, plus all your costs.Essentially, you're getting about 35-40mins of track time for your money. For endurance racing, we pay around £500 per event, and we get 30mins practice per team, and then a 3 hour race split between two riders. Clearly it doesn't even compare. What I will say is that endurance racing isn't as cuthroat, and ultimately not quite as fast as sprint racing. I can't ride for 30 minutes at 100% pace for 3 sessions, so what you end up doing is riding at about 95% and being consistent and not making mistakes. With sprint racing, you've got to get to it, and get to it quickly. There's no time for being nice, or making sure your overtake is corteous and acceptable. You see a gap, you think you can make it, you take it. With a 3 hour race, it's not neccesarily the end of the world if you don't do it in that corner or that lap. The endurance racing we do requires two bikes, and you swap the timing transponder. It's a great team effort, and you and your crew ( you need helpers for endurance), have a real sense of achievement and fun when you finish. Personally, whilst I enjoyed the real selfish buzz of sprint racing, overall I prefer the more laid back and fun approach to endurance. Will it make you quicker, sure. Riders will be there whom are quicker than you no doubt. Bullet

cycling is better suited to bike fitness than running. You can beat bike miles/time on the bike though for sure. Bullet

how do you find the TCS Nema? Just aqcuired one of these pieces of kit for my race bike. Bullet