Jasonzilla

Howdy. Welcome to the forum.

Howdy. We're just starting our race season in Az, and we are in the middle of our trackdays. We have more time off the track because of the heat than you have because of the snow, though.

The pics can be summed up pretty easily. On the top two you'll notice that the first one is a trackday rider. He has decent BP for a trackday rider. The second is an old pic, and that's initially how they looked. He probably has tape on his knees. Proper BP progressed to the bottom two. Those are both GP riders, and they have nice, general BP. The best standard BP you'll find, oddly enough, is Rossi. Fantastic. Then you have Pedrosa and Spies, Lazcorse and Shaky. They all have a twist. Leaning farther, elbows out, laying in the side of the bike, etc. With the top two, they're probably not going to be able to get their arms aligned to where we want them today, they definitely can't open their hips to the corner, and can't keep their spine straight. The guy on the upper right definitely isn't getting all his weight over the tank. The trackday rider is probably inconsistent (like myself) and won't be able to get a definite trust in his tires, because the sliding will always feel different. Consistency is the key to gaining true trust in your tires. Byrne (Shakey), by the way, has the worst BP in WSBK. Good rider though.

If you're still looking, and can find one, Cycle Gear is having a HUGE close-out on their one pieces. They're good, simple suits.

I thought trail braking was more a racing technique, which when entering a corner, is slower than a proper turn when you use the proper brake point, TP, apex, and exit (given, of course, good throttle control). I think it's slower to brake brake brake, turn/brake, turn/trail the brake, get on it, than to brake brake brake, turn, throttle up. I do it for fun and because it's a good technique to be familiar with, but it's a lot easier for something to go wrong while trail braking (run wide, become nervous and look who knows where, slide, etc).

I don't ride hard enough, even on the track for the most part, to have problems with the slipper clutch. Even before I started coming to this forum, when I was engine braking HARD, I didn't have problems with the slipper clutch. I've since had my tranny rebuilt (funsies). I've never ridden a bike over 60% on a track (they weren't mine) that doesn't have a slipper clutch, but while I was in the carousel on East (it's a decreasing radius) taking photos, there was a guy who came in to it every time kicking that rear out. He scared me EVERY TIME he came through. When I spoke with him, he said he doesn't even notice it. It was crazy. I'm keeping my bike for some time, but my next bike, once I buy one, will have a slipper clutch, no question.

Howdy, Chilli. Even with the rain I'd trade you any day for that view. I look at dirt. All day every day. I live in a desert. It sucks. Welcome to the forum.

They're a multi-compound also. I never thought of the multi-compound being an issue with traction. I'm dying to get some Q2's on my bike though.

Congratulations Jay.

Does this happen at various speeds, or certain corners (particularly slower ones)? Slower corners can do that. As soon as you've made the turn, and you're going to make the apex, it should be perfectly fine to get back on the gas without difficulty unless you crack it too much, brake or sit up while in the corner, or make another steering adjustment after you get on the gas. If your tires are still in good shape, you're going to feel the same thing from the same type of tire. If you haven't done it yet, save your money for now.

Here is something you might try: when you brake, scrub off a bit of speed first, then make the downshifts later--this way you never have to blip it as high. CF I get the speed down before I blip to match RPM's, but the engine just wouldn't crank (only after going down 3 gears without letting out on the throttle). I can try some other things, but even giving it a good goose got me nowhere.

I don't know if you have a Cycle Gear around, but they sell a brand called Frank Thomas. It's really inexpensive, and most of the quality is good, but you may as well buy a new zipper for it as soon as you buy the suit. They also have some deals on other suits that are close outs.

I've spent the last few days seeing what the downshift 3 is about, and it's pretty hard. I can, and habitually do, downshift 2, give it a good blip, and am back to work. I tried downshifting 3, and when I blipped, I couldn't give it enough of a blip to get the RPM's up. It was crazy. I had to let it coast for a second, then it would allow me to crank the throttle and get some RPM's. I wonder how that works.

I haven't spent much time on the internet recently, and I haven't seen quite a few of the pics. All of them are great. Nostalgia, great BP, and sparks. Incredible.

Howdy. Good to have you.

Howdy Molamphy. You're time off the track is almost an adult. Way too long. I've been laid up for 1 1/2 months, and am Jonesing the get back out there. I don't know how you did it. The books are helpful, and the new video will allow you to visualize a lot of things you read about.

The blip will not last long enough to make the "rev matching" effective after banging 3 gears down; but let say you did managed to bang 3 gears down for the blip, you will also render the concept of "rev matching" useless as now you will for sure over rev the bike and lock the rear up (no-slipper clutch bike) I thought it wouldn't matter as long as the RPM's match the engine speed. If you haven't decelerated enough after shifting down 3, you'll have the problem of the engine seemingly locking up. It won't change the way a blip affects the engine.

I don't know of a bike that won't let you shift down as much as you want. I only do two gears at a time, but could do more. That goes for any bike I've ridden. Even on the track I'll downshift two at a time, then one good blip before letting out on the clutch, and it won't engine brake.

From what I've read, and this was a long time ago, is that FIM is one day looking into merging the two, or making the bikes much more similar. MotoGP is too expensive, and they lose lots of potential sponsors because of the price.

Alright, that's just awesome. I've never seen that.

Jesus. You guys plan way in advance. I make sure the weather is going to be alright, and usually sign up a day or two before the actual trackday. I do know I want to do a couple Total Control Riding Clinic's, maybe another CSS, and the Kevin Schwantz school looks interesting. I won't be able to do them all because I want to get plenty of track time in. There are two new tracks within a 3 hour drive from me, and they are really nice looking.

Wow, good luck with that. I'm starting to think it takes a lot more than a year to learn suspension! It's like pulling a thread on a sweater, you just keep finding out there is more to it, and more to it, and more to it... I've got three things going for me; books, a video, and you guys. I think I can do it. It's on the back-burner because I have to fix some stuff at work, but I can squeeze in some studying here and there.

Funny. I've been wanting to get the book, though. I've got too much going on, and I promised myself I'd learn suspension this year, so that's my next goal.

I brought my back protector to the school and used it, but I honestly don't remember anyone else using one. I didn't pay attention to the instructors, admittedly.

When I started doing track I had Pilot Powers, and have used them since. I didn't want to use anything else, because I trusted those, and didn't want to risk ending up with lesser tires. When I did the school, it was on the same type of bike I own (ZX6R) with the Dunlops, and I'm trying as hard as I can to wear down this set of Pilot Powers so I can get some Dunlops. The Dunlops we were using at school were insane. I've never had the amount of trust in my Pilot Powers as I had in the Dunlops after the first few sessions.