Jump to content

Thumper748

Members
  • Posts

    33
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Thumper748

  1. Yeah, but I'm only as fast as the guy in front of me. I need to learn how to pass better. I'm okay on an open lap in qualifying but racing is more difficult.
  2. I'm bike 62 - it was pretty much this close lap after lap, race after race. All 650 twins (sv engines)
  3. Sorry for the delay, I've been away. First I presume you got it was just a little tease. Your SV looks very naked to me as I'm not used to seeing them without one. A belly pan, case covers, frame protection and nuts amounts of safty wire are required by most racing org's I'm aware of here. I'm a little shocked you don't have a pan requirement. Here if you don't have one, you're not racing. Which makes complete sense as one bike tossing it's oil load onto the track can pretty much screw up an entire race day schedule. Interesting... Yes! Little tease! However, you're right – I agree a belly pan should be requirement. Spilling oil behind you for everyone else is not a good thing.
  4. MrSlow, on 12 October 2011 - 04:29 AM, said: Here's my little sv. I do believe you be needing a bellypan! The sv didn't have one from factory so in Australia we are allowed to race without them. Only if the bike came with a fairing do you have to run a belly pan. Strange rule I know. But then in US you don't need case covers on the SV but here we do.
  5. Thanks for your replies Jason and Cobie. I do plan to do a course this year. You've given me some tips to exercise at home and on track.
  6. I was going to post a similar issue regarding weighting / pressure on the pegs – but will just add to this one. I've now been riding my SV650 track bike much more smoother and my laps times seconds better. I'm no where near setting lap records but I'm feeling better on the bike and getting close to being able to do some club level bracket racing. Last track day I noticed that once I'm in the corner and at my desired lean angle and slider on the ground – on a few occasions I noticed that alot of weight (or maybe pressure?) was actually on the inside peg. Is this normal or incorrect? On another lap I attempted to keep some weight on the outside and relax the inside leg / foot (knee sliding) but struggled to release the pressure and weight on the inside peg.
  7. Thanks Cobie, I found dates for next years courses in Australia – and I plan to do the Philip Island L1 course in May next year. Going to be a bit of a drive loading the bikes down to Victoria but from what I've read on this forum it should be well worth it.
  8. Thanks for this info. I've not ridden the bike but just having a look and sit on the bike the front end seems like it's going to be too soft for the track – so yesterday I spent the day taking them out and replacing the 'filthy' fluid with 15w fresh stuff. I also swapped the pads for sintered metal gear ones. I quickly tool the bike for a spin around the block, bit hard to test anything but I think I'll need to get the stiffer springs like you've just mentioned. The brakes aren't the best either, but I'm not the best rider so I'll upgrade these areas as my riding improves. I've heard that a '04 ZX6R (636 model) is a good replacement for the rear shock and isn't too hard to do. Just need to slightly lift the battery box. I'm no professional mechanic but I've enjoyed working on the bike, although I (and my mate) triple check everything and probably spend longer than we need to everything has ran relatively smoothly and nothing too difficult... yet
  9. Thanks guys, I ended up buying a 2000 model SV650. Can't wait to take it to the track – even with it's front poggo sticks
  10. Hi Stevo, I posted a similar scenario on a tight right hand corner after a fast straight. I took a different bike (naked bike) the following track day with flat/upright bars and the corner was much less of a concern. Why I think what may worked for me was: 1. The seating position on the naked bike put less stress on my wrists 2. Less stress in my wrists meant I was more relaxed 3. Being more relaxed meant I could turn in quicker and with more confidence 4. Being more relaxed on the bars also meant for me that could look into the next corner better opening up my vision After a few session on improved my lap times by 3 seconds – on a bike with close 30hp less. So, this doesn't mean I'm now going to swap bikes but it has helped me work out what works best for the particular corner and now all I have to get this technique right on my regular ride. I'm not at all fast or a pro-rider but maybe some of this can assist with any similar scenarios other riders are also experiencing. Mr. Slow.
  11. Cobie, Do you mean 'If and when I get the DVD' or 'if and when I get to know how to ride properly?' You'll be waiting a while for the latter.
  12. I think I get what I should be learning from this... I think... 1 Body position is important to help the bike and it's suspension do it's thing better. That position could be different for different types of bikes but remaining relaxed is the key – keeping my back inline with bike and elbows dropped down could help with this? Which in the photo is roughly how I felt. I have more issues when I ride my Ducati so perhaps I should re-evaluate what I'm doing and what I should be doing to get a relaxed feel 2 But body position won't turn the bike any quicker? 3 I think I better go get that DVD before Christmas and have another read of TOW II I've seen the trailer to the DVD and the more time I spend on my bike and this forum the more I feel like one of those two blokes!
  13. Thank you for your replies Jason and Cobie – much appreciated. I understand with out being there or knowing the corner and the bikes speed etc. it's a little hard to point out any 'obvious' right or wrong signs. The biggest concerns I have (which I'm sure will be answered through tuition once I book myself into a session at the CSS some time) is the position of my outside knee, elbow etc and general body line and where it/they should be as the bike leans into a corner, once it's at my maxium lean angle for the corner and then as it exits the corner. I lot to ask from a one picture I know! Sorry! I have read articles (which I could have misinterpreted) on suggesting the outside knee should push against the tank and the inside elbow tuck more in so it pushes the bars(opp. direction) rather than pull etc..?
  14. Hi there, I'm new and have no idea what I'm doing I've read Twist of the Wrist II but still need to book myself into a CSS to get the most out of my riding – I even think there's a DVD I think I should be buying myself for Christmas Anyway, I've found a picture of myself online. I want to learn how I should be sitting on the bike, where my arms/elbows should be and where my head should be looking etc... so please feel free to blast me with plenty of constructive criticism and tips to help me improve. This photo was taken earlier on in the day, and later on I recording some better lap times as I felt more comfortable on the bike – but hopefully I could pic to start from – see what I should be doing etc. http://www.atkimages.com.au/champions%20Ride%20Day%2007%2008%202010/slides/sized2_IMG_0371.html Thanks, Mr. Slow.
  15. Hi everyone, I only do a few track days per year on my road bike. I'd like to do few more and even get into bracket racing. I've ridden any types of bikes and must admit I prefer twins over inlines – however I've never ridden an inline on the track before – only road. Basically I have a very small budget of $3000 max. The best laps I've set were actually on a...don't laugh... Hyosung 650. Which is possibly the slowest bike I've ridden on a circuit. The friendly power delivery and flatter bars meant I just had more confidence cornering and braking latter. basically I held much more speed. However, this bike did have better spec suspension upgrades than anything I've ridden. The bikes I've found so-far that fit within my budget are: 99 SV650 $2200 06 SV650 $2500 (needs slight repair but this I can do) 93 CBR 600 $1900 99 R6 $3000 (full track ready – but I have no idea of it's history) Most importantly I want a reasonably reliable bike that I can find parts for - genuine or aftermarket - and a bike that I feel confident on power-wise. Something that's not going to intimate me as I feed power on. I'd appreciate your thoughts and comments. Thank you.
  16. I've just read every post and can relate to everything that has been written about track days. I've only ever done a handful of track days with two different providers. They have all been very similar. The more bikes that turn up to the event the worse it is. I ride in the intermediate group and could maybe move up to the fast road group but I have a good method that can be applied to any group you ride in. I start at the back of the group and let them all do half a lap. This gives the main group/huddle of excited riders time to open up a bit and it also means the really fast riders or the guys on litre bikes who just nail the straights will only pass me on the last two or final lap of the session. It also means I may only have to pass one or two bikes myself. Throughout the session I'll get many clean laps just learning and enjoying the open track. A friend of mine noticed what I was doing and joined me. This method made the entire day much more enjoyable and I was able to improve my lap times without feeling like I was caught up in a full-on race . Another issue is I think that the providers don't educate and assist the riders enough. They should at least email out notes on how to pass a slower bike safely, what lines are suited to the track, not to push your limits straight away, what the flags mean, why to run lower pressures on the track compared to the road etc.. Then they can go over it all again in the morning rider briefing. For me there was a quick brief at 9am, I was still asleep, everyone was rushing signing forms and still tapping lights and then they hit the first session and nail it from the start... having never ridden the track before! Scary.
  17. Congrats, you probably werent trying to do it That's right!
  18. Is there a right and wrong here? I got my knee down at my local track the last ride day and don't know how I did it! haha My lap times were significantly quicker too, but I think that was due to getting on the throttle earlier and riding a less powerful bike than I normally do. Funny that.
  19. This was hard to work out, but now that I think about what i should have been doing, I don't think I was pushing on the inside bar to get bike tipping into the corner. I look froward to re-visiting this track and thinking about my technique and what is required to do things properly and smoothly.
  20. Is there any chance you could run the school down at Mallala (South Australia) one year? It's not the best track but it's all we've got
  21. The track is actually Mallala. Thank you for your reply, and I am very keen on doing level 1 at Philip Island as soon as I can. I made an error in my original post which may have confused you 'turn one' is actually a right turn, not left which I've now corrected. Turn 5 is the right hand hairpin.
  22. Dear Keith, I have just joined this forum, read your book 'Twist of the Wrist II' and my riding has improved – thank you for this contribution. I feel smoother and safer. I'm an inexperienced rider and have only ever rode two track days. Both this year. The first track day I was nervous and every survivial reaction you can list came to my mind and effected my riding. Even my level of excitement was a distraction! The second track day, was a great improvement for me. I exercised less braking and gear changing. In fact, one session I planned to just concentrate on being smooth, brake less and not bother going as fast as I could in the straights. It felt dramatically slower, but I was happy with what I was learning by being out on the track at speeds that didn't increase the chance of any survival reactions. When the session was over and I pulled into the pits, to my surprise, I actually recorded consistent lap times that were 3 seconds faster than the previous session, and 7 seconds faster than the times I was lapping on the first track day. Incredible. Now, these better times were still well off the pace of the fast group, but they were quick enough to have me moved up to the intermediate group. So for me, this was a successful exercise. Turn one is a long right hander and by the end of the day I was just slightly holding the throttle to slow the bike down and then gently applying power through the turn – compared to previous times where I was hard braking and even down changing. Spectators said I looked noticeably quicker, even though I felt like it was much slower on the bike. This for me was a good thing! Problem: However, after a long kinked straight there is a very hard right hand hairpin. It's difficult to apply the 'no brakes' exercise without being a bit of a hazzard to riders behind me. Obviously the ultimate goal is to be smoother for the corner and find a line and turn point where I can comfortably power out of the hairpin but I am unsure. What I do know, is I add valuable time on this haripin and it's the one part of the track I feel least confident on. These are what I think could be my issues: 1. Because the the straight is the fastest section of the track and the hairpin is slowest, I feel (panic?) I need to get on the brakes hard just to make the corner and not go off the grey stuff. 2. Because of this, I think I maybe be braking too early, washing off too much speed 3. Once I'm ready to tip in, the bike (and me) feels extremely stiff and hard to turn Keith and any other forum members, do you know why I might be struggling with this hairpin? It's interesting, because I also struggle with similar corners on the road, especially down hill tight turns. Up hill, I never have an issue. I somehow feel these two road and track scenarios are because of a related issue I need to work on? Look forward to your reply. Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...