faffi

I find it easy to do (with the front brake and throttle) on the road, but not sure my brain could cope when riding at the very limit.

One of my current bikes is a 1999 Honda NT650V Deauville. I have put the rear preload on max, which raised the static ride height by 40 mm. Up front, I have raised the oil level by 5 mm to 115 mm from the top and raised the front 20 mm through extra preload. It handles like a bike much lighter than its 530 lbs wet weight would suggest - I will claim that it steers quicker with less effort than my MT07. After raising it, the 150/70-17 Michelin PR4 will erase any trace of chicken strips before anything touches down. The 110/70-17 Michelin Pilot Street front has about 3 mm of chicken strips left, at which point the short peg feelers scrape hard enough to fold the pegs noticeably upwards. Still, by looking at the tires and also judging the sensation of lean, I would say that the bike heal over satisfactorily for a street bike. However. Cornering speed is unusually low. As an example, today I went through a long sweeper with the peg feeler screeching while doing an indicated 55 mph. As a comparison, the MT07 will take the same corner at 70 with nothing touching down. Same with the GSX600F Katana I owned some years ago. In fact, I could do over 50 mph on my Intruder 1400, a bike not famous for its cornering abilities. This repeats itself around just about any type of corner. And before I upped the preload, it would scrape doing 40 around a corner my CB400SF take at 65 mph with seemingly tons in reserve, although I had reached my personal limit. Finally, the question; what in your opinion could be causing this bike to lean far and corner slow?

Makes sense.

Rob, the bloke in the green leather suit with IXS on the back, was 56 when this video was shot.https://youtu.be/HawNynxsn7Y?t=146

They even do it in the wet 😱 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXjdMESA4w0

For me, it's roundabouts, because I always fear a lack of traction, plus studded tires dig tracks that usually must be traversed. Other than that, I agree with Vic above. Of the more impressive stuff I see regarding cornering at the upper level is the final two corners of Le Mans taken as one by MotoGP riders.

Interesting! The third video may also show why quick steering is so beneficial since it allows the choice of a more efficient line. It also explained how one rider could corner at a given speed around a corner, fully decked out, while another can go faster and barely graze a peg feeler; different lines around the corner that require different amounts of lean for the same speed. Thanks for clarifying that. BTW, you may want to check your tags as I get a lot of animal video suggestions when watching yours, but nothing relevant.

Trying to find whether the smaller bikes corner faster - or not - I found this: https://www.cycleworld.com/sport-rider/motogp-extreme-lean and

It may be that I am confusing things here, and if so I apologize, but I do not see anything in your explanation that counter what I wrote? But since tires have width, bikes (combined with rider) must lean further than 45 degrees in order to obtain 1G. The wider the tire, the more extra lean is needed. Also as a result of tire width, center of gravity comes into play; the lower it is, the more one must lean for any given cornering speed. Finally, again due to the tires, length matter, with longer wheelbases needed extra lean. Finally, since a rider can influence the combined lean, the influence will be greater the lighter the bike and the heavier the rider. So a very light, short bike with narrow tires and a rider hanging well off to the inside can reach this 1G limit at a shallower bike lean angle than a heavy, long bike with wide tires. And I would expect the Moto2 to sit somewhere between the MotoGP and Moto3 bikes, albeit closer to the former, meaning bike lean should end up somewhere between the two for a Moto2 bike.

Some say that in racing, the ideal is to just crack the throttle as you are easing off trail braking, with a short overlap period where you still have a touch of brake applied when you start opening the throttle ever so slightly. And that you can benefit using this technique also on the road, but of course at a much slower pace. The theory I was given was that this keeps the chassis settled due to smooth transitions of forces. If we brake, coast, then gas it, riding will be less fluent. Personally, I have never tried this, and I must admit it feels a bit daunting. What does the coaches and racers say?

I could be wrong (again), but isn't actual cornering speed also a part here, not just lean? If you lean out you can lean the bike further than if hanging off to the inside, for instance, but cornering speed will be lower. A Moto3 bike/rider combination will corner noticeably faster than a MotoGP bike, bit with quite a bit less lean. I would expect the Moto2 machines to be somewhere in between. I would imagine this is the result of overall weight, rider-to-bike weight ratio, CoG and tire width, but I am not sure.

Could getting an extra set of wheels be an option? You could have one with track tires and one with road rubber.

He talks about racing lines, braking, battling vs riding alone and more https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/915429/1/vinales-alone-i-can-make-lap-time-then

Recently saw a video with Ken Condon about street riding, where he suggested you should practice exploring and widening your limits frequently on the track and ride far from your limits on the road. The reason for the practice was to ensure you do not freeze up when entering a corner much faster than planned, or that you run off the road not because the corner could not be taken, but because you feared to lean the bike far enough over. I guess that's where schools like CSS come in and do their good, by teaching riders to expand their personal limits in a safe environment and with the proper tuition.

I dig massive engine braking, the ultimate being electrical cars (bikes may be the same, but have never ridden one) where chopping the throttle is like applying the brakes. All one need to do then is to use the throttle to adjust the amount of engine braking desired. Riding two-strokes, with next to no engine braking, makes me feel very uncertain indeed, and I end up riding very tentatively, braking too early. Others feel the other way around, preferring to use only brakes (and throttle) to modulate their speed. I guess there is nothing right or wrong here, just preferences.

I hope the current D208 are something else than the Sportmax D208s I had on the CB400 back in 2013! Most slippery rubber I have ever ridden on, by a big margin. They were original equipment on the DRZ400 motard allso, and may have worked on 100F sunny days, be we do not get those here. Ever. Sport touring tires work quite well when cold, and also warm up much quicker in my experience, compared to sport rubber. Even touring type bias ply will out-perform sport rubber under some conditions. I'll bet that on a day with 20-30F, something like a set of Metzeler ME77s will offer a LOT more grip than any modern sport radial made. At least with street tire pressure. In short, there is nothing wrong with sport rubber, but they are made for a purpose. Riding on public roads at respectable (as in legal) speeds in chilly temps are not such a purpose IMHO. In fact, even on a hot day, at a sensible pace for public roads, I doubt any pure sport tire will offer the grip of a sport touring model.

I think it is essential to try the garment on, as you have found. When I needed new waterproof winter gear, I went with Rev'it via mail order because there was a huge sale on last year's models. Since I wanted to be able to wear several layers of of clothing underneath the GoreTex cordura(?) suit, I made sure I ordered the pants and jacket large enough. Or so I thought. I am 5'11'' / 180 cm, 200 lb net, 32 in inseam. I ordered and XYL jacket /60/62) and XL pants (54/56). The jacket is pretty narrow around the arms and only just big enough around the shoulders (expected more room), while the waist is humongous (as expected). As long as I don't pack on too much clothes underneath, though, it works well at keeping me warm. The pants are seriously tight around the thighs, however, and I can only wear one thin layer of clothes inside. And even then there really isn't enough air inside to fight the cold properly. Other than that, the quality seems very good, with strong fabric and well sized zippers. Wents works well when it is warm (provided the insulated inner layer is removed first) or when riding off-road and fighting off the sweat. Plenty of pockets also that keep the innards dry.

And look at the massive field compared to today 😲

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/motogp/how-i-ride-andrea-dovizioso

Do not let the snow keep you away from our sport, lads and lasses! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJessYxu8CE

I would expect it to be more than just the angle between the road surface and machine/man that comes into play since you are now also facing gravity in a negative manner; it's like standing on a slope. Hence you cannot just use your knee as a guide to how far you can safely lean. Perhaps it's a case of going faster until you crash and then back off a little 😄 Personally, I treat them as I would a surface with less grip, but I only ride on the road. On a track, if you want to find the limit, I would suggest being smooth and add a little bit of speed while feeling for the tyres starting to slide. It may also be wise to square the corner off a little more than typical in order to keep apex speed lower and also the period of maximum lean shorter. All that said, you really should not listen to me because I do not actually have a clue 😔

Finally found an almost perfect helmet - for me. I ended up with an Arai Axces 3, the cheapest in the shop. If you can call a USD500 helmet cheap. Pinlock not included, another 40 bucks. Unfortunately the cheap one, I may add; I wanted a higher level helmet with a sun visor. But those had a slightly different shape that was narrower. My head is probably of a rather unusual shape, because even the model I got should ideally have been 1/4 inch wider and a 1/4 inch shorter - and it is the widest and shortest helmet I have ever tried. Anyway, I bought one size above ideal for this very reason. The helmet is still very snug, but easier to put on and remove than anything I've owned or tried before. Also a plus is that while the head moves with the helmet, I do not bite my cheeks when I close my jaws. With the perfect size, M (57 cm or 22.45 in) the helmet was just tight enough on the sides that I knew it would feel uncomfortable after an hour or two. The L (59 cm or 23.23 in) just sits snugly with no pressure, but if I pull the helmet firmly forward, the sales-woman could get 4 tiny fingers between my forehead and the liner. However, since the helmet didn't drop down over my brows, not even when pulling on the chin bar, the sales-woman agreed to sell it to me, although she would have preferred me to go for the smaller version. I told her I would be more likely to crash if I was in pain, to which she agreed, and also since the helmet sat firmly in all directions it was deemed safe. The Arais, all of them, also work splendidly with glasses. I also tried a Shubert, and while not as painful as a Shoei, it felt "bony" like a Shoei. And the ear cavities were placed too low for my ears. So what I have learned is that Arai helmets fit me the best, with AGV helmets a clear second. And that Shoeis are still the worst for me, both in fit and also comfort; the interior feels harsh to me. Also, there are differences between one Arai to the next, and that goes for every helmet brand out there. Take your time and you should eventually find just the helmet your head need. BTW, the costliest Arai helmet on offer was the RX7V Carbon with a sticker price of NOK 31.999, or 3800 American dollars 😲

Not detailed, but I still found it very interesting. May also explain why succeeding in one class doesn't automatically guarantee success in the other. https://www.crash.net/wsbk/news/911327/1/debutant-bautista-riding-ducati-world-superbike-250cc

It's what I've been doing instinctively since I first began riding in 1980, and I find it difficult to push - or pull - only. I believe I did it like that from day one because it must have felt balanced when riding ultra-light 100cc streetbikes of the day; with no place to really anchor oneself against the forces going through the handlebars, pushing and pulling - albeit gentle - would ensure a fair balance of forces reaching the body.

Original topic altered after I was made aware that it may not be PC. On another note, there will be new FIM regulations for helmets from 2019: HelmetsThe Commission approved the new FIM helmet standard established by the FIM for all circuit racing disciplines. This means that there will now be a single, enhanced standard for helmets, replacing the various international standards used before (ECE, Snell and JIS). Helmet homologation tests are ongoing with some manufacturers having already concluded the tests and some planned within the next weeks. It is the intention of the FIM to publish by the Valencia GP a list of the helmets manufacturers that have been approved through the FIM Racing Homologation Programme and of those which are working to achieve this.