Sof

It was totally awesome and thanks for letting me join in the fun on Monday. Hey Cobie, what tires were you running if not the Q2's?

Totally right Sleepr. I will be trying it at my next track day, although I'll probably be the only one doing it Tweek, if you had a good brake marker that you could set your speed the same each time you take the turn, and aim to get off the brakes and feel your way into the corner before you start the turn so you never get in too hot. This is easier said than done. I listened to a high level CSS coach talk about why you would want to use the brakes into the turn simultaneously, and he said that in racing, you are braking so hard on approach to your turn point that you also might have to brake into the turn to pass someone (or if you overcook it) ; but when you're not under any pressure, the faster line is to calculate all your braking before you initiate and complete the steering and get on the gas sooner to maximize the speed and stability of the bike. There is always less available traction when trying to brake and turn at the same time. The more you have to brake, the more upright the bike has to be. I watch the GP guys trail braking all the time, but then, they're always on the razor edge of traction limits, and I'm almost certain that they are not braking very heavily once they've started the turn if they have to brake at all.

I bet if you worked on your Quick Turns too, you'd increase your entry speed without having to brake as much. Put them together and you'll get a repeatable line you can fine tune. Hope you have fun And good luck breaking the 2 min barrier

Hey Tweek, One of the things Keith talks about is our sense of speed when we're braking hard, and how it is more difficult to judge our corner entry speed accurately when charging into a corner. I saw that you did level 1 back in 2007 and do you remember the 2-step drill? This might be what you need to practice.

You're welcome. Always a pleasure to help a fellow rider

Yeah Man. When I get back, you got it! I asked Keith yesterday about the photo of Elias though, and he said he didn't even know about it. I guess the editor put it in there.

Hey R1DER. I just fitted some NGK Iridium plugs in my 06 R1, but they really don't make that much difference. I just like knowing that they're Iridium! The same plug will fit your 2000 (Part number CR9EIX). They're cheaper online, but I bought them from a dealer because I was in a hurry.

Hi Ryan, Not sure how old the Ninja's are but they are definitely taken care of well by the chief mechanic Will Eikenberry who is very knowledgeable and knows how to light up the slide bike like a pro! I think they may be a year or two old, but I'm not sure...I'm sure a staff member will respond to your question soon or I will find out for you tomorrow. I hope you have fun at Laguna! That's where I did level 1. Have you been there before? You're in for a real treat. Cheers, Sof

Hi Guys, I just wanted to say that I read the 1G club article by Keith, in the November issue of Motorcyclist and loved it. It reminds me of something Keith mentioned, at a school day, about guys like Melandri who had raced the 125cc and 250cc GP classes where they got accustomed to the 45+ degree perspective from quite early on, hence have a kind of advantage over the others. I am curious though about the photo of Elias because my personal opinion of his riding style is that he is not "with" the bike as much as the other MotoGP riders, mainly because his head stays close to the bike. I wonder if this is why the picture of Elias was used? Also there is a mention of the steering drill and the 25 correction points, but I was only told about 1 (not to crash!). Is it possible to go into more detail about what these 25 points are? That would be great! Cheers, Sof

I was thinking about it and I was wondering if Pete hook turned the second apex of turn1-2 since that would be a perfect place to get the elbow nice and low and keep the corner speed constant. It would explain why he skimmed his elbow on the ground perhaps.

I'm sure your wife would disagree with you on this point. So do I man. Plus, I like "Boss Hog" or just "Boss" is pretty good. Come to think of it, saying "boss" on the radio would be quicker than saying "course control". Both versions have less syllables.

Hey Dylan, I hope you're well. From what I understand about setting the rider sag, 30mm is pretty much a standard number used for the spring to feel not too hard and not too soft, but it's all personal preference. It might be 25mm for a rider who likes it a bit harder for the track. The bike's preload settings to get the rider sag to 30mm will be different for each person because the weight of the rider+gear. If the rider sag is less than 30mm, then the spring will feel harder, and if more than 30mm, it will feel softer. So if your bike is set up for a 60kg racer and the rider sag is 30mm, when someone 100kg sits on it, I'd imagine the rider sag would increase quite a bit to say 45mm (just a guess) because of the extra weight. So the preload would have to be increased to get the rider sag back to 30mm for the 100kg rider. If the preload is at its maximum setting, but the suspension is still too soft, you would need a harder spring to get the desired 30mm. Did I get it right and does that make sense? Once the preload is adjusted properly for your weight to get the standard rider sag of 30mm or thereabouts, you can play with the other settings like rebound and compression. I hope you have fun with it

Congratulations on your accomplishments Mark and great to hear you got so much out of level 1. Imagine where you'll find yourself after level 4! Your body position looks really good in your photo. Excellent work.

You're very welcome Trev and it was a real pleasure being part of the team. We had so much fun working and riding. I certainly learned a lot! I am definitely up for next year if I don't make coaching right away, and happy to be a backup cornerworker for the rest of the year. Feel free to contact me if you find yourself short staffed. See you soon! Sof

Hey Jason, I only ran a couple of sessions on Saturday clockwise, but I ran quite a lot anti-clockwise on Sunday. My beast is the R1 with a blue front end. Hard to miss! I saw you going through turn 3 on Sunday quite nicely

Hey Douglas and welcome to the forum, I would have liked to have met everyone, but I was trying to keep a low profile as a corner worker. You guys looked great out there track-side. Well done for following the drills and having fun. Sounds like you had a special anniversary this year See you on track again soon!

Hi Jay, I've been at the track in about 60 degree Fahrenheit weather and it was really fun! Tires can still get up to a decent temperature even though it takes longer, and I didn't use tire warmers. It was a brisk sunny day in March at Reno Fernley and I had the whole track to myself because most people thought it would be too cold. I even rode there and back because at the time, I didn't even have a car . I think I had a scarf around my neck to stop the wind chill, but it was actually quite pleasant to not be sweating profusely like normal at the Streets on a 100+ degree afternoon! I've also ridden in heavy rain at Phillip Island on regular Michelin pilot powers also without warmers and that was a blast. It must have been about the same temperature that day and I wasn't about to waste the opportunity to get some wet weather track riding experience. In my opinion, there is always so much to learn especially with reduced traction. I hope you have fun at NJMP if you go.

It's a small world . Pete was my coach too back in level 2 and also level 3 off track coach at the Streets of willow. It's no surprise that he's featured in the pic on this site since his body position is really quite awesome. What is the mid-ohio track like? I haven't been yet.

Hey Stuman, Great thread by the way. Do you play any of the MotoGP games? They help me learn the track and the 2008 game on simulation mode is really challenging. You can ride Donington too which is amazing how narrow it feels in the game. Playing online is also fun especially around the time of real MotoGP races which gets very competetive. Regarding practicing skills while driving my car, I find myself doing what you do in shifting my attention without moving my eyes. It's amazing how all the (visual) information is there all the time and we just have to learn how to process it. Takes a lot of patience and practice! Another thing I like is to brake hard when nobody is behind me so I can feel where the limit is in case I need to brake hard. It has helped me avoid skidding during heavy braking even in the rain. I like to know where the limits of traction are!

I just bought some this weekend since CSS were selling them at the track. I don't know how I managed without them. I'm able to completely let go of the bars every turn now which has reduced the lean angle required and allowed me to carry more corner speed. Also, I was much less fatigued surprisingly enough. Much less fighting myself and the bike.

Good work Pete. I do love the pics at the top. Lyle thinks you look like Rossi when we see you barreling through the corners at the Streets all tucked in. Where are the pics taken by the way?

Howdy Pete. Was good to see you on the weekend. My AUD$0.02: Get everything done before you get on the plane! Then watch lots of movies and sleep if you can without taking pills. Have those wipes close but make sure pack them in your hand luggage just in case. Yeah, the "troughs" are funny in the toilets. There just ain't no privacy there..

Great to meet you guys too! Will you be doing a school day? I'll be there both days at a yet to be determined corner

Hey HF, I met you a couple weeks back with your husband I believe doing a track daZ day at the Streets of Willow. Hope to see you soon and I'll be cornerworking this weekend. Thanks for posting the info. I will have to check them out. Cheers, Sof

Great thread Cobie! My parents were crazy enough to buy me a scooter back in 1990. I rode the wheels off that thing for a year until I got a car, but my parents somehow thought a real motorcycle was out of the question and too dangerous. If only they knew how I rode that scooter! So I waited a long time later, 10 years actually until in 2000 I got a Kawi ZZR250 in Melbourne, Australia. I remember that while doing my test, I was scraping pegs and the instructor was laughing! I had a lot of experience on that bike until it was stolen and decided to get an Aprilia RS250 that I rode on the street and did my first track day at Phillip Island. That was when I met Steve Brouggy for the first time. Before the track day, I had been practicing on the xbox playing motogp (i had the lap record at phillip island on xbox live for a long time) and blew my friends away on R1s! They couldn't understand how I could do a 1:55 on a 250 at the island the first time I'd ever been to any track. It was a blast and I managed to get my times down into the 40's before I ended up getting an R1 in 2004. Since then, I've had 4 R1s of which I ride now. The reason I love the R1s is that I'm continually intrigued by them and there is so much room for improvement. I have to be very disciplined in my riding/throttle control. That may be the same for most superbikes, but I do love the shape of the 04-06 R1s which is what I've stuck with for a while. So if you count that first year on the scooter, it's been about 10 years of solid riding.