benhamf15
-
Posts
139 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Posts posted by benhamf15
-
-
Klavdy,
The CSS levels are the same world- wide so yes, your U.S. Level 4 is valid at CSS in Australia or anywhere else. Although, you always have the option of repeating a level if you desire. Many students find it beneficial to really hammer home the drills and put a fine point on the skills taught in a particular level. Have an awesome time, whatever you decide.
Cheers,
Benny
-
Stroker,
I've used both. Tech Spec got too slippery over time so I went to Stomp grip. Stomp is way grippier and better for high performance riding in leathers, but if you ride mostly in jeans as you say then Stomp can be too harsh, so for you I'd recommend the Tech Spec. For installation follow the directions and have the tank warm. Using the sun for heat should suffice. Also give it a day or two to set before using it if you can, but light riding should be fine if necessary. I hope you & your bike are healing well.
Cheers,
Benny
-
Robert,
Sounds like you have a good plan to discuss with your level 4 consultant. ? I have no doubt we'll be able to simplify matters for you in short order.
One other thing to think about... If you are able to spot your turn point before you apply the brakes, will you have the info you need to know 1) how much speed you need to scrub, 2) how much distance you have to scrub it? With that info, is it easier to judge how much brake pressure you need to hit your turn point at the proper speed? Is this a bit simpler than what's been going through your mind? In some cases you can't see your turn point early enough (like approaching Charlottes Web at Barber) so a beginning braking marker becomes absolutely necessary but most often for me I can brake very effectively using only the turn point as a reference. I find most of my students are able to as well so hopefully it can help you too. Good luck my friend.
Benny
-
Robert,
I know what you mean about the sound but in my experience, the sound live is not the same as what you hear on TV. I was at the race last year in Qatar and was surprised at the difference. Don't let the sound hold you back from going my friend. It's a great experience. Make sure you catch the other races over the weekend too. Even the Air Asia Talent Cup race was good.
Benny
-
This may seem like a slightly goofy question, but I am curious - what sort of motorcycle seat do you prefer, and why? Do you like a seat that has some cushion, or one that is thin and lightweight? Do you like the seat to be very grippy to improve your lock-on, or slippery so you can easily move from side to side? Have you added a "stop" in the back to support you during acceleration? Made any other modifications for comfort or security? Do you use a stock seat or a race seat?
Let's hear about your seat setup, for whatever types of riding you do!
My old trackbike has a superbike tail with just some 1/8" foam on it. I never realized how much information it transmits about what the back of the bike is doing until I rode a friend's R6 with a supersport tail (that uses the stock seat). I wasn't pushing it to where the back end was breaking loose, but I never had a good "Feel" for what the rear of the machine was doing.
Now that I own a R6 as well, I'm trying to find a superbike tail for it (it came with Sharkskinz bodywork, but a supersport tail), but may end up taking apart the stock seat, stripping the foam out, and putting a thin bit of foam on it, to get that feel back.
I had never used StompGrip until after taking CSS and experiencing the advantage, and wow.. I can't even ride my streetbike spiritedly without the stuff now! Because of it, I don't feel the seat should be grippy - just enough grip to let your butt stay planted with the one cheek on, but not so much that it grabs your leathers during transitions.
Armor Bodies makes a nice superbike tail for the R6. It fits right up nicely.
Benny
-
Eh...in a full tuck? Or in jeans?
In a way that punishes your nuts...
-
Being a Tirumph, they're in the transmission case all the time anyway..
Seriously though, watching what people do with racing machines (of 2 or 4 wheels) and applying that to a machine you don't want to tear down on a routine basis isn't a good idea.
Eskimo,
As long as you don't try to force the shift lever when it doesn't want to go, you won't be harming your gearbox. It will slip into gear easily with little pressure when your timing/technique is right. If your timing/technique isn't right, it just won't go. You can only hurt things if you force the lever. If anything, clutchless shifting results in LESS wear and tear on the machine because you're not wearing the clutch so don't be afraid to experiment with it in the right environment (like an empty parking lot). Once you figure it out you'll spend almost zero attention on shifting/downshifting so learning it can pay huge dividends.
Cheers,
Benny
-
Any workaround to this problem?
Stroker,
Don't sit that way...
Benny
-
I'm a bit biased, but I don't think you can find a better do-it-all well tire than the Q3, especially for the price. Tons of grip in all conditions and good wear to boot. And like rchase said, they warm up quickly. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Cheers,
Benny
-
So would it make sense during my level 4 day that I could use the break to get on the training bikes?
Absolutely!
Benny
-
Maybe we need to add a new "Jump Bike" to the lineup of specialty training bikes/devices.
Benny
-
All,
Although we certainly appreciate everyone's loyalty to the teachings of CSS, let's be careful about being too hard on Troy Corser. After all, he IS a World Champion. He has proven to be an amazing rider that very few will ever be able to match.
Although he talks about a lot of things all together that made his teachings a bit difficult to follow, he actually seems to be mostly in line with what CSS currently teaches in most areas (except maybe body steering). Keep in mind that TOTW 2 was written back in 1993 and encompassed the best technology that Keith had discovered at the time. But make no mistake that he hasn't quit discovering new riding technologies and you get the most up-to-date technology when you attend the school. For example, although TOTW 2 only talks about locking on to the tank with your knee, CSS doesn't teach there's only one way to lock on to the tank (not sure we ever did but I'm a new guy). We work with students to find a lock on position that works for THEM. It may be the knee on the tank or it could be the thigh on the tank method that Troy talks about which has evolved since TOTW 2 was written. We normally start with the knee method but if it doesn't work for a student, we'll try another way that does. What he said about that and about pulling his inside toes up on the peg, as well as what he does with his outside foot are all valid for him, and potentially valid for you too. The bottom line on these particular issues is this: does the way you lock on to the tank effectively allow you to keep you from having to hang on to the bars in any way? That's what really matters, and however you can achieve that for yourself is the right answer... for YOU. Leading students to the discovery of their OWN effective riding techniques is where CSS is strongest, in my opinion.
I wouldn't want to take on Troy in a race, but I'd confidently put my students up against his in one.
Benny
-
I've listened to about the first 10 minutes of the Corser video. Thanks for posting it Eirik. It's tough to hear well but here is my interpretation of what I heard:
I believe Troy is talking about moving your body early, before having to steer the bike, so you don't move and steer at the same time which introduces instability. I agree with this and we teach that as well. However, I then think he's saying that while you are moved over to the side approaching the corner the bike will lean in the direction you are hanging off (basically what CSS calls body steering), and THAT is what he is saying you have to counteract with the bars. In my own personal experience, when I set up my body early (before getting off the gas & on the brakes) I don't feel a tendency for the bike to begin to lean in. Perhaps it does a little bit and I just automatically compensate without noticing. Maybe I'm not as far off the side as he is. It would be interesting to get him on the No BS bike to see if he would still think the same way after riding it. Myself too, for that matter.
If anybody understood what he said differently or if the issue you're concerned about arises later in the video, please speak up.
Cheers,
Benny
-
Are you able to post a link to the video?
-
This is such an interesting discussion guys.I wonder if u could have like a " Steering meter " just like you can see how much throttle and brake is applied in the CSS coach videos for example or the lean angle meter in MotoGP.
I just got me a new bike and have to work a good deal on my steering.The toolkit arrived and i will get around to setting up my handlebars and position of the levers etc.I want to try different positions and settle on the best.Any guidelines for this [ sorry if this is hijacking the thread ] ? I want to make the steering process as easy as possible.Shall i put the bars as wide as possible for the best leverage?
Just set it up for what's most comfortable & easiest to work the controls without having to contort your wrists/hands, or anything else. Anything else won't much matter until you start approaching track records (unless something is completely out of whack with the bike, in which case, see a reputable mechanic). -Benny
Benny, you mentioned you have to push HARD to steer the bike at higher speeds.I guess this is my problem.I could steer the bike fine at 60 KPH and was doing the same thing quicker at 100 KPH.The bike would change direction quick but less.Could you explain how to correctly practice pushing harder on the bars? I fear it could upset the bike.Can i practice while the bike is stationary to get a feel of it first? How do i progressively learn to steer the bike accurately and quickly?
I guess the simple answer is attend a school if you can. The bottom line is you lean the bike by counter-steering (pushing forward on the inside bar). The harder you push for a given speed, the faster the bike will lean over. The faster you go, the harder you need to push to get the same rate of lean (to overcome the greater gyroscopic forces of the wheels). Conversely, as you observed, if you use the same force at a higher speed, the bike will lean more slowly. As soon as the bike is at the lean angle you want, all you have to do to stop it from leaning further is to STOP pushing (nothing else), relax ALL bar pressure & begin your throttle roll on. If you do anything else, you can add instability and the bike won't go exactly where you want. To practice it, you just have to go do it until you can consistently get it right. From there you can start trying to do it quicker. -Benny
Also you spoke of maintaining pressure on the inside and even outside bar.I have heard you maintain pressure on the inside bar to keep the bike turning and maintain pressure on the outside bar to keep from crashing.I did not understand this fully.Can you verify this statement? Can you explain how what exactly maintaining pressure is, it's uses and how to cultivate this?
To clarify, I didn't speak about MAINTAINING pressure on the inside & outside bar. I was talking about a brief moment during the steering phase (while making the bike lean over) when I used both bars (push/pull) to get more counter-steering force because I wasn't able to get enough force by just pushing on the inside bar in that particular case. Once the bike was leaned and on line, I did what I said above... relaxed and rolled on. It sounds like you are confusing the steering/leaning part with the rest of the corner. I don't know where you heard to maintain pressure on the inside bar, etc. Read the section in Twist 2 about "Relax" and this should clarify. -Benny
Thanks
Stroker,
My replies are imbedded above. I hope they help.
Benny
-
SO, if you can change the leverage by extending or re positioning the bar's, that means the pressure applied at the bar is a variable in the system, but not the "answer"
The real data you want is the actual torque applied at the steering stem, where Torque = Force x Distance, so the pressure or force applied to the bars x the length of the lever arm it is applied to. The transducers and electronics to measure this are a bit pricey, but the design of the system would be rather simple actually.
Tyler,
I completely agree with Eirik's answer to your earlier post... leverage. I think from a technical perspective you're exactly right about torque. However, I wouldn't necessarily know how to translate a torque number into something my brain could translate into useful data. Given that we're not normally changing the geometry (distance) of our bars, at least during a ride, I think that being able to know how much force/pressure goes into the bar to get a given steering result for a given speed is much more easily translatable into data most of us can relate to.
For example, if I were told it took 400 foot/pounds of torque to get that particular steering result on that ride it would mean very little to me. If I were told it took 250 pounds of force on the bar, I could relate to that.
Cheers,
Benny
-
still can't see the countersteering, especially these hard inputs we are discussing here.
hey, I'm not arguing the only way to steer (countersteer, always, off course) I just don't see this huge amount of force applied to the bar.
The bars don't move a whole lot but there is a LOT of pressure on the inside bar when they're going in to fast corners. At speed, it doesn't take much front wheel deflection to make the bike lean quickly so you'll barely see it. A couple of months ago, I went into a 120 MPH 45 degree kink and I slipped a little bit when I moved my lower body setting up for it. I didn't have time to re-adjust before having to push on the bar to turn it in. That little slip affected how well I could lock on to the bike and when I pushed on the bar, my lower body just slid backwards preventing me from getting the bike steered as quickly as I needed. I ended up having to keep pushing and also pull on the other bar to make the corner. I was able to stay on track but it completely blew my exit on to the straight. It felt like trying to push a brick wall and all it did was push me back. It's not as dramatic at lower speeds because the gyro forces are less. I think you'll discover this on your own if you experiment a bit. Obviously, start around 25-30 MPH as Hotfoot suggested.
Cheers,
Benny
-
rikker,
Your concerns are common, don't worry. You couldn't put a specific number on the force required because it would be different at different speeds. As you go faster, the gyroscopic forces of the wheels turning increases, increasing the steering resistance. How much force does it take to quick flick the bike? It depends but probably much more than you'd expect. If I had you as a student at a school I'd demonstrate how much force is required at higher speeds (60+ MPH) by pushing on your shoulder with you leaning against it. I have yet to see a student be able to resist being pushed back quickly when I push, even big dudes. Keep in mind it's not how FAST you push (don't punch the bar), it's how HARD you push. The harder you push, the faster the bike leans over.
I recommend you find a controlled environment like a clean/dry parking lot, set a constant speed and push a little harder each time you steer. This will give you some feeling for how much bar pressure it takes, and will build your confidence in the traction the front tire has when quick steering. Let us know how your exploration goes!
Cheers,
Benny
-
Robert,
When you check them, do so in the middle and on each side. The temperatures will very likely be different for all three readings. Let us know what you learn.
Benny
-
Relax!!! None of this is a massive flaw. Not by any stretch. But I'm detecting a few small misunderstandings that are causing some barriers to improvement. It's not going to be possible to cover all of this in this medium (the Forum) but we can get some of it anyway. I normally prefer to lead students to their conclusions through questioning, but that's going to be too cumbersome here so first, let me address the initial subject of throttle control.
The throttle should be cracked open as soon as the steering is complete and the bike is on the line you want it to be on. Any earlier would tend to make you run wide. Any later and you have unnecessary instability and less traction for part of the turn.
For you, It sounds like you get on the throttle at the correct time relative to completing your steering, but that doesn't generally happen until later in the corner. You say that it prevents you from being fast or smooth in a double apex or decreasing radius corner. Well, could you treat either of those scenarios as two separate corners? For example, you could turn in early to the first part of a decreasing radius corner then run it out a bit wide at the end as the first corner, then steer again into the second part (at an obviously steeper lean angle)? You could even be slowing down through the entire first part (trail braking to the second turn point). A double apex can also be treated as two separate corners. If you treated them as two turns instead of one, do you think you would be able to steer later and quicker for each one, allowing you to get back on the throttle sooner, at least out of the second part?
It also sounds like there are some visual issues that are affecting your ability to get on the throttle sooner. Based on what you said above, it sounds like you look too far ahead too early. This can make you feel lost and not confident you're on the line you want, which will keep you from getting on the throttle. Does this sound like something that's happening to you? Think about the 2-step... step one is spot your turn point. What is step two, and most importantly WHEN do you do it?
Any chance we can get you to a school? We could easily sort this out in levels 1 & 2.
Cheers,
Benny
-
Hmm... I've gotta get my hands on my book again and re-read that section...
But I've always taken that 6th gear roll-on as the type of acceleration that would happen when the throttle is re-applied on corner exit (or mid-corner or whenever the throttle is re-applied). With that "6th gear" roll-on being almost a base level acceleration that increases from there.
1) I would begin the "6th gear" roll-on basically as soon as I re-apply throttle in a turn. And as a general rule I only apply throttle once I'm sure that I will make my intended exit line and not run wide etc. For instance when I "crack on" the throttle I would aim to go straight into that 6th gear roll-on feel (generally speaking).
2) Once the throttle is applied it should be rolled on smoothly throughout the remainder of the turn.
Your are correct in that the "6th gear" roll on is the baseline (minimum/initial) acceleration, but it is at the beginning of the turn, not at the exit. The "exit" technically begins as you start to pick up the bike and begin your "drive" throttle as you bring the bike more and more upright (more and more throttle).
Your answer to #2 is essentially correct (smoothly, evenly and constantly is exactly correct). Nice job! However, it appears that your understanding of WHEN that should begin may not be. Let me see if I can lead you there... If rolling on the throttle makes the bike more stable (locks you on the line you're on) and gives it more traction, would you want that to happen as early as possible in the corner or later? Given that it locks you on your line, how early is too early? I'm a little confused about what you mean by "re-apply" the throttle.
For the moment, in order to keep things simpler, let's forget this thread started by you asking about going into a corner under wide-open throttle.
Benny
-
Next question - I was just thinking about how acceleration out of a turn can be described as similar to the acceleration if you roll-on 6th gear at 100km/h or 60mph on the highway. Is there a similar description for acceleration through a turn, can the same apply? Or maybe it's quite a different feeling because there's more cornering forces involved and lots of different factors like the speed, lean angle etc.?
Mugget,
I detect a mis-understanding here... the "6th gear" acceleration that Keith describes in TOTW2 is the acceleration necessary THROUGH the turn to shift the weight backwards enough to stabilize the bike and maximize traction. Once you start to pick the bike up as you begin to exit the turn, you can add more throttle than that (and should). How much depends on how upright the bike is. The more upright it is, the more throttle you can apply. Make sense?
Also, I want to check your understanding on this...
1) Exactly WHEN should you begin that "6th gear" throttle roll on?
2) What is throttle control rule #1?
Cheers,
Benny
-
Another point to add to what Hotfoot said is that it can be very easy to get a headshake when steering in this situation (forks extended, little weight on the front). It is really important to ensure you have a very stable base/lock-on BEFORE you steer (i.e. pivot steer). If you have any unwanted pressure on the bars you are much more likely to get head-shake which can run you wide. That unwanted pressure can be caused by pulling yourself up/forward with the bars under acceleration, moving your body while steering (not locked-on), or having to re-adjust your lower body again when trying to steer because the force required to push the bar moved you away from the bars (poor lock-on). It takes a tremendous amount of force to steer a bike at high speed and even more if you are on the throttle while doing so. Moving your lower body and locking on to the tank with your outside knee BEFORE you steer, then using a good pivot steering technique is key to keeping the bike stable while you steer. Then don't forget to completely relax on the bars as soon as your lean angle is set to keep it stable. Good luck in your trials!
Cheers,
Benny
-
It sounds like you're making progress. At least you can get it sometimes so we know you can do it. You'll get there. The blip is very much a muscle memory/habit thing. Does repetition help that? Could you practice that singular action just sitting on a parked bike a couple hundred times to get it down a bit better before your next ride?
Also, I wouldn't expect shorty levers to help this. If anything, the shape of a different lever might help, but not necessarily the length. New levers cost about as much as some track days. Practice in the garage is free. You choose which would be more helpful to you.
Cheers,
Benny
MotoGP Qatar, March 26
in School Questions/General Discussion
Posted
Having watched the Qatar testing in person... (bragging, yes). Vinales definitely looked fast at the Qatar test and he has yet to crash on the Yamaha, definitely the early favorite. Ducati will be competitive at many tracks and it was visibly faster on the straight than the rest, but will Lorenzo figure out how to ride it? Rossi will figure it out & be in the hunt. The weight balance on the front of the Honda appears to favor Pedrosa so keep an eye on him early in the season. Marquez could figure out how to win on a moped. My dark horse is Iannone... fast as hell & still a little erratic but getting better, but when he adapts to the different braking on the Suzuki, he'll be a contender
Bottom line, expect another fantastic season. Best racing of any kind right now.
Cheers,
Benny