PaulG

Mate, You live in the UK, course there is a good chance it'll rain. Seriously though, we usually get no crashes on a day when it's wet allday, (changeable conditions are where we have issues normally) and as Cobie and Rainman put across, we get just as good results in the rain as we do in the dry. Think of it this way, you might be out oneday when it rain,s doing a school will give you the confidence that you can ride around without a problem and get home safely. Am sure you'll get some students chiming in at some point. Bullet I don't mind riding in the rain - I ride all winter long through choice, not necessity! I suppose if I'm really honest I'm thinking, 'I'm on a track, I want to see what the bike and I can do, I want it hot and dry '. I know this isn't the right approach and so therefore the rain shouldn't be an issue... Thanks all for your replies See you in May!

Hi mate, I'm thinking of doing level 2 on the 11th. Did my L1 at Rockingham last year (great track but sooo slippery in the wet), can't wait to do some more. Had an off at Mallory a couple of weeks ago, crushed my fingers between the clutch lever and handle bar, so hopefully will be back to full fitness by May... I'll see you there!

I did Level 1 at Rockingham last year which was fantastic. The morning was just a revelation (in the dry) and the afternoon was good, but the rain (torrential) dampened more than just the track. I've realised the only thing holding me back from immediately booking my Level 2 at Brands in May is the thought that it might rain for the whole day. Now I know you guys are good but even you can't control the weather! What are your guys thoughts on doing the drills in the wet and in your experience, how does this affect the students? If any of you guys have done CSS in the rain, what did you think of the experience - good? Bad? Thanks in advance, Paul

Wow, those pressures are a lot lower than I would have used... I'll pack the pressure gauge next time... Thanks for helping me through this, I guess I knew the answers but not the right questions to ask myself in the first place to get to the answers... I was a bit down about my off at first, mainly as I didn't know why it happened, now I do I can't wait to get out and practice Bullet - might see you at a School soon! Thanks everyone for replying or just for reading this thread - nice to know you're all here! Paul Ok, normal track pressures we'd reccomend would be around 31F, 30R, which are a good rule of thumb. If you'd done a good few laps, they would have come up very high at 41rear, (think a bit like a balloon), and your contact patch is greatly reduced for sure. so just for clarity, try and stabilise the bike when you're bike is on it's line, by applying throttle rule No.1. Anything less than, i.e. too hot in, too hard an application is less than optimum, and relies pretty much solely on tyre grip and suspension at one end more than another. Hope this makes it clear for you now. Understand it, modify your riding behaviour and get back on it (your bike), practising correct application. Oh, and dont' worry, we've all done this, I did it last year on my race bike on slicks. too much lean angle in to hot, to hard an initial throttle on an off camber turn, result, me on my arse. Bullet

I did think about tyre pressures, but thought it would be too cold... Stock mine are 36/42 - what would you drop them to as a rule of thumb? Thinking through your points, I may have gone in a little hot, leaned further than I was comfortable with and then rolled off the gas - SR1, this put too much weight on the front and so when I added throttle the back was unweighted therefore spun out. OR I turned in, rolled on the gas, was uncomfortable with the lean angle and rolled off the gas (SR1), only to reapply it a little further on. So, very unsmooth and really unsettling the bike. Either way, totally at odds to rolling the throttle on evenly, smoothly and constantly... I should have approached turn in point at a reasonable speed, put the bike smoothly but quickly over and then used a maintaining throttle through the turn. I think I'm starting to understand my problem...

Thanks so much for the quick replies! It's really good to talk to people who know what they're talking about... In more detail; I had apexed the first right of Charlies then flicked it the other way for the left. I leaned in and as I was apexing I thought to myself wow, I'm over a long way. I think it was as the bike was starting to come upright that I increased the throttle slightly, but the bike was a long way over, by that I mean more than I'm used to on the road. I'm sure opened the gas really gently and the bike was at low revs, so not much torque or power (in 3rd for the lesson, but probably a 1st/2nd gear corner) It felt to me that the front just gave up and I ended up on my side, but my instructor (Crispin, ACU I think) said it was a classic low-side. He was right behind me, was surprised at my lean angle, and then he heard the engine rev (tyre loose traction) and then the bike was over. He said it was definately the back that went, not the front. Our little group had just been passed by 3 other bikes (they were doing a different lesson) and Crispin said I was chasing them... Maybe I had a little red mist... I was just too enthusiastic on cold tyres, cold track etc, but what's really annoying me is I thought I'd have had a chance at feeling the slide start or closing the throttle in time.... There was just no warning (to me) and it happened so quickly. Paul

I've been riding for years, I ride an old BMW all winter long for commuting and I did CSS Level 1 at a soaking wet Rockingham last year. I am also practicing for my IAM test. I've always prided myself on being smooth, keeping the bike balanced, slow in fast out etc etc.I also really try to keep a light touch on the bars and try to feel what the bike is doing... Anyway, I did my first bike trackday on Thursday (apart from CSS last year) at Mallory Park. It was actually an IAM organised day, rather than a free for all. It was dry, but cold, probably about 7C. My 954 Fireblade was on sports touring tyres <1000 miles (Roadsmarts), road tyre pressures and stock suspension settings. Probably because I'd done a CSS course, they put me in the intermediate group. After a couple of siting laps, we took it in turns (4 of us) to follow the instructor to get the right lines. It was pretty slow... On our second 20 min session, it was 3rd gear, no brakes (sounding familiar?). I was getting a bit frustrated with how slow people were (and I'm not quick) so when it was my turn to lead I went a bit quicker..... Coming out of Charlies in 3rd (extra bend at end of Gerrards), which would normally be 1st/2nd gear, I was over quite a way and the next thing I know I'm sliding my pride and joy along the ground I had opened the throttle whilst banked over and just low-sided it. Obviously I was too enthusiastic, the tyres were not warm and the track temp was probably only 4 or 5 degrees. What I'm frustrated about is that it happened with absolutely no warning. I'm fairly used to feeling the back move sideways a little, you know, when you know you've accelerated a little too hard or the road is greasy and its not been a problem. Is it because of the type of tyres? Is it because I was so far over and literally ran out of tread? Is this more normal on very cold tarmac? I've lost my confidence a little because I now don't know how close I am to the limit when I ride. I wanted to do the next session to regain my confidence as the bike was ok, but I crushed my middle two fingers between the handlebar and clutch lever so no more riding... I had planned to do my Level 2 (probably Brands) this year, but I'm now a little unsure... Any advice?? Sorry it's such a long post