ozfireblade

Yeh the interview is pretty crappy....nice how when he lets the bike do its thing it becomes stable even when hes hanging off the side. That Juan guy sounds like a candidate for level 1

Thanks for the response guys, Everything that you have said has confirmed what I thought, gripping too tight with the hands not letting the bike sort its self out. I suppose that even with a dampener on that we still need to maintain a nice relaxed feel on the bars. I had omething similar a few years ago riding on the road in the wet, I crossed over the white lines to overtake on the highway and as I accellareated I had the, felt to me, like the biggest tank slapper in the world. The bike bike was going to stops on either side. I sort of reacted the same way and went to let go of the bars and it sorted its self out

I was trawling through you tube looking at bike footage and came across this clip a very nasty tankslapper, so I guess I have these questions, what causes them and what do you do when they happen? and if this thread has been done before my bad!!

Welcome mate maybe see you @ the Island

I ride because I love to ride, being by myself and concentrating soley on my riding and nothing else......Oh and going really fast in and out of corners is pretty cool too

Yep that came straight from Jeremy Burgess' mouth when he was being interviewd by Steve Parish before the race

After watching the gp at Mugello, I had a thought. Why was Lorenzo so far of the pace? I mean 7 seconds is a long time. It seems funny that the weekend that Rossi crashes and doesnt race that Lorenzo is suddenly way of the pace of Dani Pedrosa and Dovisioso right up his backside for practically the whole race. So I pose this question. If Rossi had raced and completed his bike set up would Lorenzo have been closer to Dani? Would he have had all Rossi's set up data? Just seems to me that something Valentino mantioned a little while ago that if he wasnt circulating his set up data would Lorenzo be as competative as he is? Guess we'll find out over the next 3-4 months.

+1

Im a honda man myself but I use the qualifier and they're bloody awesome, so I'm thinking the Q2 should be great aswell. I do heaps of road and track days aswell and they are wearing quite well, well worth the money

Dont worry too much mate, just work on one thing at a time and take it slow. The tyres should be ok depending how worn they are i guess. Just remember its a school environment for learning new things and not a ride day or race day.

Good question, I have found I need a few sessions to "get back into it" if I hadnt ridden on track for a few months. I guess also that theory can be applied to when you last rode a specific track aswell. Do you find that if you havent ridden a track in six months or so do you have the whole day remembering it and then being back up to speed? I know that recently I have been sticking to one track, its cheaper, and went back to my favourite, Phillip Island, and I was no where near as quick. I had been away from it for to long this may also be cause my bike want running very well. But I would be confident after a day or so that I would be back to my normal times. Guess this may be why pro riders have a day to remember the track,then qualifying and then the race.

Hey Ace, Thanks mate and if you sort it out maybe I'll see you over there, or if I visit the family in Scotland might nip down and do a UK school aswell....now I'm thinking about a UK stopover and a school prior to Disneyland!!! And my wife thinks motorcycles rule my life

If you are coming to Disneyland in California (versus Disney World in Florida) there ARE tracks close by. California Superbike school has a lot of dates, including 2 day camps, at "Streets of Willow" which is in Rosamond, CA (close to Lancaster), roughly an hour and a half drive from Disneyland. It's a terrific place to take a school. Next closest CSS track location would be Las Vegas, you can fly there on Southwest Airlines in less than an hour and the flights are really cheap, or drive it in about 4 and half hours. Laguna Seca is probably next, drive it in... uh... I think 6-7 hours? Other tracks that are close to Disneyland (but not used by CSS) are Auto Club Speedway in Fontana (Fastrack runs track days there often) which would be about 45 minutes away or the brand new Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, which is in Desert Center and roughly an hour and half to two hours away. Streets of Willow with CSS would be the best option, it's pretty darn close. Bloody hell theres TWO!!! I think we we re looking the one near Anaheim, sorry if I spelt it wrong, thats Califorina? Thanks for the info guys and gals, think I'll take Hotties advice and do the Streets, might want to rephrase that lol! And when I get there put some faces to names ... I just thought I dont want my first American school to be in the wet! Guess another questionis when are the seasons in California? Australia is different, ie June is winter December is summer Thanks for the help

Hey I might be coming to the US to visit Disneyland with my family in the next 6 to 12 months...sooooo i was wondering what tracks are nearby? thinking maybe a 2 day camp. Be nice to have an idea when the 2 day camps are just so I can book the holiday around the track dates Family first of course Cheers

Hi Carey, Nice to hear you had heaps of fun on Level One!! Now prepare yourself for even more fun on Level Two. One of the coolest things about riding a bike, well its not really I'm just trying to sound cool!! Is that you get to wear a full leather one piece jumpsuit without anyone the piss out of you!! Seriously though I found that when I changed from textile to leather my confidence factor in having a prang and surviving increased. Personal preference though.

Welcome Dan , Maybe when Im in the UK i can borrow your awesome bike ....yeh ok didnt think so worth a try

It's funny but I used to have that same problem. I'd use 1 finger for turn 1, my whole hand for 2 and then 2 fingers for the next. All over the place. Ty got on to me about it so I settled on always using 2. No matter what 2 finger. I don't blip the throttle. The ZX6 has an ok slipper and I feather the clutch out to help it. I use two fingers as well, using the ring-finger and the pinkie to blip the throttle (both on the street and on the track - I don't feel my R6's slipper slips). However, be warned that if you run into a situation where you suddenly need to brake very hard (e.g. an emergency braking manoeuvre on the street), you tend to use all four fingers. I would have sworn I'd never do that, due to 10 years of 2-fingered practice on street and track, but when came to showdown (had to brake for a car in rush-hour), I grabbed the front brake with the full hand. Cheers, Kai I used to use one or 2 fingers when braking but now I use all 4. I have found I have more control when braking hard and I dont have to squeeze as hard as I did with 2 meaning I'm not as stiff through my hands, plus if its good enough for Rossi to do I'll do it as well

Troy, Remeber that the Tech Spec grips are reusable so you can remove them and change position to suit your riding, it took me a few goes to get it right and Mikey(US coach) helped me put them in the right spot..Good one Mikey!!!. You will still need to grip the tank with your legs just in case you ride a bike with none on it. This gets you in to a habit/ routine that will relax your arms for riding, so practice one thing at a time on your track days and by the school you should have a firm knowledge for the coaches to build on. Dylan

Gday Dale, Enjoy the forum heaps of info in here, maybe catch up @ The Island or maybe Eastern Creek if I get back up to NSW. And we all know that Melbourne is the real capital!!! Take it easy Dylan

Nothing new to my ears here, the harder you ride it the quicker the oil thins. Obviously if your putting around the local streets you will not have to change your oil/fluids as someone screaming around a track. As to Moto GP I would say that they drop their oils after each session so I dont think the oils they use would have changed too much and this would decrease engine wear with more oil changes due to the limited engines. So if we are dropping our oils after every couple of sessions does it really matter what oils your using?

Im learning alot about oil in here at the moment, but if your racing or doing track days shouldn't you be regularly dropping your oil, like every 2 or 3 at the longest. So I ask this question does the quality of oil really matter if you are regularly dropping your oil? I myself think it would which is why I choose to use Shell 4T ultra advance. Not sure if this is in line with the thread but just wondering Dylan

No probs mate, the school will definately help buddy. Take it easy

Gday Troy, Like the others have said tech spec tank grip or stomp grip will help grip the tank with your legs, thereby providing you with more stability and enabaling you to loosen up the arms and let the bike control itself. Im unsure of how your fitness is but i would also suggest trying to build the strength up in your legs, like riding bikes etc, this should help you with leg strength to grip the tank. I notice you say you have regular crashing is this because you are riding @ 100% and adjusting body position whilst turning? If it is I would suggest for you to slow down to 65% and practice sorting your body position out before braking. Try one thing at a time mate, pranging is an expensive way to learn. All the best

I'm really not sure why Shell wouldn't just go ahead and release a motorcycle specific version? They'd probably make a fortune! Shell does its the Shell Advance Ultra 4T 5W-20 and the 4T 40W-60, They've been designed specifically for 4 stroke motorcycles http://www.shell-racing.com.au/shell_advance_4T_5W-20_racing_engine_oil.html

Hi buddy, not sure if you get this in the US but I use Shell advance ultra 4T awesome stuff I wont use anything else now