benhamf15

At my last base, we had a girl on a group ride who had a bumble bee fly into her helmet from underneath and was buzzing around trying to get out. She was so distracted by it she ran off into the gravel on the shoulder and crashed. She was apparently waving both hands in front of her face at one point trying to shoe it away. She wasn't hurt so I can laugh now, but I can imagine what that whole episode must have looked like from behind! And my favorite squid excuses for crashing at a track day are "my suspension settings were wrong", "my tire pressures were off" or "I'm on cheap tires". These might be a somewhat reasonable excuses if you're a second or two off the lap record pace but certainly not when you're 45 seconds off of it. Benny

Definitely true. I had to expand my channels to get BeInSport channel so I could watch WSBK. Not cheap, but at least their coverage is commercial free. Benny

I agree Cobie, but good luck with that over here. They don't even show the podium ceremony after a MotoGP race, much less Moto2/3 races except on rare occasions. At least online you can usually see the whole race without commercial interruption. If you hook up a device like Apple TV you can stream it to your TV and even watch in hi definition. It can be a pretty good way to go. Benny

Don't thank me yet. Let me know how it goes. Benny

Ironkiwi, Your issue may be as simple as the timing of WHEN you look. A few questions... 1) According to the 2-step drill, when should you spot your apex? 2) According to the 3-step drill, when should you spot your exit point (i.e. vanishing point, widest point at exit, etc.)? 3) When ARE you spotting the points in each? Benny

If you were to try a good calf raise on your right leg before moving your left foot would that improve your lock on? Would a better lock-on allow you to downshift without putting pressure on the bars? Benny

FieryRobot, A couple of questions... 1) Are you familiar with the calf-raise technique to help drive your knee into the tank (in this case, the right knee)? 2) Do you have Stomp Grip on your bike? Benny

Benny. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not one of those tire pressure nuts who want to tinker around with pressures all day. I would rather "set it and forget it" as it's one less thing to deal with. The riding is much more interesting to me. I'll check out that thread and see if it's a better resource. The big problem I have had in the past is most of the tire pressure discussions I have seen online have been "do this do that" rather than fully explaining end to end the underlying science. I'm hard headed and need to understand the "why". There was no accusation there... just thought it would help keep things from getting overly complicated. There's some other really great stuff in that thread too. I'm very much a "why" guy myself. Benny

Hey That's an awesome idea Jeff! The other "problem" is I'm running completely stock suspension and I have yet to start tinkering with tire pressures. The Asphalt got to 140 degrees both days and I set the pressure in the morning and never revisited it. As the day progressed I could "feel" a lot of unhappy behavior in the back especially over the bumpy bits. I'm going to start reading up on the whole hot/cold tire pressure adjustment stuff soon. There's too many schools of thought in regard to that and it gets confusing FAST. Robert, There is a great thread in the topic on Tires from Steve Brubaker (Dunlop RTS) on tire pressures that may be relevant to you. "I am going 15 seconds off the track record. I am running the recommended PSI that is on the dunlopracing.com website. but I think I should be able to go MUCH FASTER if I change my tire pressure. Should I lower the pressure to get more traction and faster lap times? NO, NO, NO! At those lap times, varying from the recommended will not gain you what you are looking for. Stick with the recommended till you get within 5 seconds of the track record, then start making small 1 psi changes. Only make more changes if you can feel the difference in 2 psi up or down. if you can't feel that change, then that change is not helping you, go back to the recommended." The full thread is on page 3 (currently) of the Tires section and it's called "What is the right pressure?" It's full of great info. One of these days I'll figure out how to put a link to other threads in here. Cheers, Benny

Hugh, I'm way bummed to hear about your injury. I would imagine that's a pretty horrifying experience but I'm glad it wasn't even worse. On the upside, chicks dig scars so... you've got that going for you. If nothing else, you now have a future as a shop teacher. Are you gonna keep on racing? Out of curiosity, did you have a lever guard on your bike? Manufacturers claim that in addition to guarding the brake lever, they may also help prevent hand injuries. Not sure how true that is but I guess it seems plausible... Best of luck, Benny

Hawk862, To the previous point of turning your hips & upper body into the corner... when you ride, are you right up ON the tank or do you leave some distance between your wedding tackle and the tank? I suspect from the picture that you're right up on it. Benny

Hi Benny, Thanks for your feedback!. I think you refered to RP drill. I'll review my material. One thing I noticed viewing my recording laps is what when I carried more speed than others during curves I kept stuck into the same line of them so I had to break to avoid hitting them. What is the best way to generate different lines and avoid get stucked? For what I saw, I believe the 2-step more specifically addresses the inconsistency of lines. That is it's purpose. Of course, reference points are part of that, especially your turn point and your apex point. Do you have a turn point and an apex point picked out for each corner? If not, would doing so help you be more consistent with your line through each corner? Can you apply the 2-step drill if you don't? As for multiple lines through a corner, would you need to adjust your turn point and apex for a different line? How would you adjust your turn point if you were forced to enter a corner closer to the inside of the track (passing into a turn for example) than you wanted in order to get on the same line from that different entry? Benny

Congratulations Fernando! That's great progress. I watched some of the video and noticed a couple of things. First, I noticed you are inconsistent at getting all the way to the inside edge of the track at your apex. Thinking back to your level 2 training, do you remember what drill you can apply to make your line through the corner more consistent and precise? Benny

Thanks for all the great info everyone. I'm defintiely going with the replacement option. Will, what do you recommend for cleaning the deposition layer off the rotors? Is that something I can do on my own or does that require special equipment/training? Also, which brake pads are on the coach bikes? Are they stock? I like the initial bite and the fact they don't need to warm up. If they're stock, what Galfer pads would you recommend for a track only bike. I'd prefer not to have to warm them up but am willing to if they're that much better. I also don't want to go through rotors every season... tight budget. Benny

http://wikimapia.org/2188390/Dunlop-Proving-Grounds As a matter of fact... Dunlop has one near you in Huntsville, AL. Give it a shot. http://wikimapia.org/2188390/Dunlop-Proving-Grounds

Thanks all for the feedback. I went with the Shorai with no complaints so far. Benny

I did not remove the pistons, just the pads and gave everything a good scrub with brake cleaner, including the pads. I also flushed the brake lines (to include pushing the pistons back), put in fresh fluid and used the zip tie technique after bleeding the lines initially. I'm not getting any air out of the lines now & I have a very firm feel at the brake lever but still very minimal braking. Good info on the rotors if I go the new pad route. Any other informed opinions on that subject? Benny

While going over my bike after returning from my deployment I found a leaking fork seal which has allowed fork oil to leak on to my brake caliper, pads & rotor. After cleaning it all up with brake cleaner to include dis-assembling the calipers, I've noticed the brakes are still minimally effective. My understanding now is that if you ever get hydraulic fluid on a brake pad, it's done. Time to replace it. Is that, in fact, the case or is there a way to clean them to make them effective again? What about the effect on the rotors or calipers? Benny

Cobie, If you jump it in the garage, won't you hit your head? Sounds dangerous. Benny

Exactly. Using the pick-up body position coming IN to the corner will help you keep the bike more upright throughout. This is a good technique when traction is an issue. Relaxing lets the steering head adapt to all the bumps, preventing small plows in the contact patch and maximizing traction and stability. Remember, the key to being able to relax on the bars is having a good lock-on to the bike with your lower body. If you're not stable on the bike with your lower body, you have a tendency to hold yourself up on the inside bar, especially if you hang off without that good lock-on. Relaxing is also an absolute key when you get a head-shake. The stiffer you are on the bars, the more it upsets the bike. Most of us have a very difficult time relaxing in that case, but grabbing the tank with your knees as hard as you can and removing pressure from the bars is your key to recovery. Benny

Robert, Throttle control is certainly one of them. Proper throttle control can help prevent slides in the first place and, as you say, rolling out in a slide is a great way to get it to hook up too quickly and throw you off. I'm thinking of a couple of others as well. How could you apply the pick-up drill to a low-traction situation? How about relax? Benny

Robert, I know you're a repeat offender at the school so I'm guessing you've ridden the slide bike at some point. If so, do you remember what CSS skills/drills you can apply to either help prevent a slide or, if necessary, recover from one? I suspect you may already be able to answer your own question, at least a bit? Benny

If he has all of his teeth, I can confidently rule him out right now. Benny

Oh good... now I can tell everyone that Billy Joe Jim Bob won the local bar stool race here yesterday. I was having a hard time sitting on that one. Rumor is he's been working on some butt-crack aerodynamics which are apparently paying off. Big news here in the Redneck Riviera. Benny

Thanks much Tyler. Benny