Bullet
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Posts
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Posts posted by Bullet
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Thanks very much for the warm (worldwide welcome), especially from the once conquered colonies. I wonder if I leave the wife for a period of time, she'll invite me back with such open arms? Worth a shot...? Who am I kidding.
Great to be back.
Bullet
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Over here in Aus we provide electrolytes on trackdays in the form of potassium and salt tables, if the day is hot, think Hydration,
Jason,
Ace lives in Scotland. At trackdays there, they provide you with sleeping bags and thermal blankets after each sessions to keep you warm. The only fear he has of loosing any water is because he's freezing his nuts off, you know that feeling (well you probably don't with living in Oz), where you get so cold you just can't stop peeing, then, and only then will that be a big part of his problem.
When you come down to warmer climates Bobby, then you really need to give this some consideration.
Bullet
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Work on everything at once and try to go fast right from the start.
I think this is a stunning plan, and one I see so often at trackdays and racing practice sessions. Often seems to end in crashes though for some reason, can't for the life of me think why.
Bullet
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"But most funny was that i woke up in the middle of the night actually hanging off of my bed!"
That's awesome, even I've never done that, and I've done some odd stuff in the night.
Bullet
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So, quick couple of observations. (for the original poster and others).
Do you find your knees (on the inside of the turn ache)? If you carry all/most of the weight on the inside peg, your knees are way past where they're effective, and if you have ever tried to squat weights, you try to never go past 90degrees. Imagine squatting down on one leg, all that weight down on your leg, then extend yourself back up from that position, is it easy? How much effort does it take? Is that any different than what you're suggesting on the bike?
Second point, if you recognise that your not very effective/efficient doing this, imagine the scenario where you need to quickly transition from one corner to the next, how are you going to leverage that weight across the bike? Your legs don't work to well, so what levers will you use instead?
If your leaned off so far that you thigh is leaning against your calf muscles, is it possible you have too much of your body of to the inside of the bike? How much of your ass is on the seat?
Final point, if more of the weight is on the outside peg (you cannot carry all of it on your outside leg), what benefit might that have with respect to traction and feeling for traction limits? ever ridden an off road bike?
Bullet
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Hi guys,
So, I've been away, had lots of stuff going on at work, and just been too busy to coach at school or spend much time on here. Anyway, boring as that all was, I'm over the very worst of it now so I'm back.
I'll be about on the forum much more, will be answering your questions/posts about general bits and pieces, helping out in my usual manner, and will be back at schools in the UK, (though I'll only be doing the last couple of the year).
Missed all the banter, fun, and posts, even though I've popped by now and again.
Just wanted to say, it's "Great" to be back.
Bullet
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Just popped on the forum for a visit, and saw this, couldn't help myself.
Well, my list goes like this: -
- Ascari resort Spain, (incredible place, bit dangerous, and very challenging. Is very long, but incredible.
- Nurburgring, great circuit, poor surface, and way too dangerous to go mental at, but still amazing that it's even allowed.
- Brands Hatch GP, stunning circuit, great mix of fast and flowing cicuit.
- Oulton Park, my local circuit, (we race here), stunningly fast and very technically challenging fast circuit.
I'd probably have Portimao on my list, as Adam said, it really does look incredible, unfortunately I only got spectate due to my shattered shoulder. (How gutted). It really does look like nothing else though. Never ridden in US, (will fix that one day soon with luck).
Scarriest circuit goes without doubt to Kacergine (neumo zidas), in lithunia, poorest surface I ever rode, and near to zero run off. Check out this video,
and see the telegraph pole in the barrier at exit of turn 3, (i kid you not), (around 46 seconds in) and the run off at the hairpin (i.e. none, at 1:10), then just to finish you off, look at the speed in the final uphill turn, flat out, 4th gear (zero run off, nice link fence to fall into. That aside, it really is a great track.
Bullet
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Guys,
Just a quick note, as I'm on here quite a bit answering your threads and posts, that I've got to take sometime out for a while. I've got a lot going on in my personal life at the moment so I'm going to be taking some down time for a little while, but I assure you all "I'll be back". So in the meantime, if you have any UK questions on schools, if you post and don't get an answer from others in the forums, just ring into the office and ask.
See you all soon, stay safe, smiley and keep practising.
Bullet
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Kai has an excellent reason on why to use tyre warmers really, and I agree with his point entirely. If you buy very sticky track tyres or you race, you really just don't want to warm them up and down (heat cycle them), as it is this heating up and cooling back down and not wear that ruins the tyres.
The other point on lost time per session is also relevant and if you work out the cost of those laps lets say for example 2 laps x 1:30 mins (per lap) = 3:00 mins per session. x 6 sessions = 18 minutes. Your total tracktime is 6 x 20 minutes = 120mins. so basically you're wasting almost an entire session of your day warming your tyres up. £150 pounds per trackday / 6 is the equivalent of 25 pounds. doesn't take many trackdays to warrant the cost of your tyre warmers does it..?
Bullet
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I enjoyed your company and you had one of the best lines through the last turn of anyone i saw all day.
What about my line and my big darkies from the R1.. LOL...
I do have a question though.
In 2 corners that string together, where the second starts and changes direction as the first ends (like the 'S' bends before the last corner at stow), what's the best throttle control technique at the transition between the two?
Russ
The same rules apply. As this sequence of corners doesn't actually need any brakes in most cases you just need to roll out of the throttle, turn and apply the rule.
Bullet
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OK this must seem like a weird question but I have been rebuilding my trackbike and have fitted a race fairing mount, this is the first time I have used one of these and I have noticed it has lockstops on it that seriously restrict the steering lock compaired to the standard road mount! Now I know you dont need so much lock on a trackbike but just how much do you need, and why do the manufacturer's of these mounts do this?
Bobby
Hi Bobby,
I'd say as long as you have 4 inches of movement in either direction, that's about enough. The reason they do is to try and stop the bars smashing into the tanks in a fall, (should such a thing ever happen)..
Bullet
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That track looks way too dry, and the sky way too blue for a UK track day
Lookin good mate!
Ha Ha.... What can I say mate, It was one of those lucky days...... wind blowing in the right direction, I had my lucky heather with me, and I'd pray to the rain gods.
Cheers for the comments, whilst I'm not in the best physical shape of my life at the mo, I'm riding ok it seems.. We're racing there again next weekend, hoping for a good result, and oddly, rain. As I go ok in the rain, and everyone's scared.
Hope life's well with ya brother?
Bullet
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All different types of tyres have different operating temperatures, i.e. where they're desinged to operate. Tyre warmers (certainly mid range and lower run at a pre-set temperature, and regulate this up and down a little, so they heat up and cool down a little. You'd need to check your tyre warmers to check what they operate at to be honest.
Do full on race tyres have full grip straight of warmers, (they kind you're likely to buy), no, but it still plentiful. If you then take this point onto road/track based tyres without warmers you've got to get them to their operating range and pressures, so you can expect that to take more than a couple of corners to get full grip. Different tyres warm at different rates basically, but it's a reasonable good rule of thumb to build up your speed over 2-3 laps, (more perhaps if the ambient is very low like it can be in the UK from time to time.
)Bullet
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I enjoyed your company and you had one of the best lines through the last turn of anyone i saw all day.
What about my line and my big darkies from the R1.. LOL...
Seriously though guys, really glad you had a great time, was nice to meet you, see everyone improve so much, and for my personal enjoyment of working with you chris, was a pleasure mate.
Keep working on your drills guys, and of course, if you have any questions, just ask.
Bullet
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Can you lean all the way over (mind you, I don't drag a knee) before the tires are warm?
No, not without warmers on tyres before, and even then, they're never quite the same operating temperature as really running. 2 laps is ok if your gradually build up your speed, but first corner max lean/cold tyres = crash typically.
Bullet
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Great videos Bullet, really useful to watch.
How different would your lines be on a 1000cc bike?
Thanks very much, they've proved very useful for being able to review. On a modern 1000, well, it would depend i guess on suspension, tyres, etc, etc. As you can see from the video, the biggest difference apart from the couple of superbike race bikes that blow past is that 1000's just fire of the turns, so probably wouldn't be able to drive as early as that, but once driving, you'd easily pull out a lot of distance on a 1000 as you're talking about 60hp more at the back wheel than my 600, and they're much lighter and stiffer (so they feel a bit sharper).
In essence the same principles apply much the same to be honest, it's about the gas that's the main difference.
Bullet
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Hi all -- My name is Dan, I'm new to the forum, and I ride a 2010 Aprilia RSV4 Factory which I absolutely love. Maybe this summer I can use it to do Level 1.
Hi Dan,
Nice bike, and welcome to the forum.
What's your story my friend? Been riding long? What's your riding history? Ride on track, if so, which tracks?
What's the bike like, it's beautiful thing, and sounds incredible with race pipes on it.
feel free to ask questions, share your experiences, I'm sure others will pipe in, share their own too!
Bullet
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I am curious, thanks to this excellent fourm and Twist of the Wrist II, I have gotten my rear chicken strip down to about a quarter of an inch, but my front tire has a two inch strip. I don't ride that hard, I must maintaint the "reasonable and Prudent" speeds on public roads. I am wondering what my tires say about my riding and how I might improve?
Nothing to worry about here my friend. In most cases you'll use more of the rear tyre than a front. It does depend on the tyre, what it's designed to do, for example some race tyres are very sharp profiled, and you can get to the sides, some road tyres are generally a little more rounder in profile, better suited to rolling into turns, etc, etc.
Hope that allieviates your fears on that one? The only strips that anyone seems to care about is the rear, and as Elrik says correctly, technique can vastly affect that as well, so really don't worry about it..
Bullet
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Hi Everyone,
I'd heard of and had seen the CSS stand at many Bike shows (NEC). But not really paid attention to what is offered. Last year I went to spain with a group of others and rode way faster than I should. I learnt a bit (well a lot) and luckily got back in one piece. I've now decided to start really doing some learning and I am halfway through reading TOTW2, which I will read several times before signing up for Level 1 soon.
I am sure there are many out there like me, who could easily make a bad riding decision without realising it. I now know I've got a lot to learn. But have ridden for years (only for recreation) not knowing how much I had to learn.
Cheers
Andy
Hi Andy,
Great to hear about your journey and what's brought you to consider learning a bit more about what makes a bike go around corners. You're right though, many think they don't need to learn, it's easy and what could they possibly need to keep working on when they've been riding for years right...? Well, as I'm sure you're already learning, riding a bike is complicated, very technical, and gets more and more complicated the faster you go, which is the attraction and the challenge right.. ?
Now you're officially a member of the clan, feel free to share your problems, questions, we're a friendly lot, some are even quite knowledgable too!
If you've any questions about schools, please do ask.
Bullet
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For your comfort, I think it is better to live "unhealthy" and be happy than live "healthy" and be miserable
Amen to that ! Life is no dress rehersal.
Bullet
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it's not always wet in the uk KHP, just when you visit.
Well, it was dry when I did Level 3, but not the day after, when I did (my first) Level 4.
Are you coming to Sweden (Gälleråsen) this year?
I'm in for two days of Level 4 on July 9th-10th. My photo-trigger-happy friend who took 5000+ pics in two days will take Level 1 & 2 on the same days. The plan is to hang around and just shoot pictures on the last day (11th).
Cheers,
Kai
My friend I would love to be coming to Sweden, but I only get so many holidays from work and cannot out. I look forward to seeing your onboard vid and pics, and hearing about your improvement and breakthroughs.
Bullet
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second observation, again very good. it almost looks like i don't hang off the bike, but if you look very closely you'll see that i do but when do i move?
Your body position movements are very subtle for sure. On reviewing the videos again, i would say you get your body position moved just before you start braking for the turn?? The only obvious change of body position is in the chicane.
Chris.
very well spotted chris. you'll also see that if i am doing several corners in a row that go in the same direction i just remian hanging off to that side. again, most noticable inthe corners after the chicane. It's all about stability. :-)
Bullet
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Hi, and thanks for the welcome Bullet .
I have only have 1 small concern for the school day,
the info-pack i received recommends lowering tyre pressures to 30 - 32 psi for the day. I have my tyres set at the recommended pressures of 42 rear & 36 front ( cbr600rr - pirelli diablo) and this seems to be a big drop in pressures.
Will my tyres be ok at these pressures?
Thanks,
Chris.
hi chris,
You must consider that your tyres will get worked much, much harder than they ever would on the road and basically you can expect the pressures to rise by around 4-5 psi in the front and more in the rear, thus why we suggest you lower them. don't do ths till you get to school though as these pressures are to low for the road, We have prssure gauges and compressor to do this at the track.. Will it damage your tyres, nope, not at all, its the extra work and loads you put on them that destorys them. you won't destory a set of tyres in 1 day either!
Any other questions, please do ask, if not, see ya Monday.
Bullet
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Great video's Bullet. The track looks really good. Must put it down as a track " to do"
Two things that i noticed were
1. the amount of times you had a quicker & tighter line coming out of the corners
and passing other riders on the inside. Is this a benefit of turning later &
quick turn???
2. your body position always parallel to the bike, compared to quite a few riders
you passed with a crossed up body position ( hips over into the turn, but the
head/shoulders still in the centre).
Chris.
it's not always wet in the uk KHP, just when you visit. my friend hasn't done the school, he's someone i've met over the years on trackdays and without doubt his lines are much worse when he isn't right behind me following, his throttle control also isn't great at times too. perhaps watching these may convince him to come? lol
chris, good observations. my lines are all about drive off the corners really, so that i ensure i don't compromise my drive. this requires a good quick turn and a consistent apex for sure. you should also notice how close i get my wheels to the white lines, not my knee on the lines, as it makes for an even better line.
second observation, again very good. it almost looks like i don't hang off the bike, but if you look very closely you'll see that i do but when do i move? the back of the race bike is old and is very wide, so it masks the hangoff more so than a slimmer modern bike. i do though make sure i keep my back parallel with the bike, ensures weight through legs and not in bars.
i will be going through with the guys next week, looking for refinement and improvements. am about 2-3 seconds of lap record pace for my class at mo.
Bullet
Shifting Poll, How Do You Do It?
in Cornering and Techniques
Posted
Very normal here I'm afraid. Clutchless up always, regardless of speed, and sometimes down, though only when going moderately quickly. When racing or when undertaking some enthusiastic riding, I use the clutch for downshifts.
Bullet