warregl

Welcome to the forum! Once you get the road racing bug it can be hard to avoid buying a sportbike. And once you ride the track you will be seriously hooked. I took my first CSS class a few years ago to be a better street rider but I have found the track holds a whole new level of attraction! Can we assume from your moniker that you bought an S1000RR?

Welcome to the forum! That is quite a build thread. I wasn't able to see the pix w/o registering but it looks like you have a serious project going. Keep us posted on how it goes. And this goes double for me. All kidding aside, many forums have people that will give you advice but getting insight from a CSS coach is another thing entirely.

Glad to hear you kept it upright Dane! I had a mystery tank slapper on my K1200R last year. It wasn't as dramatic as your sounds and the bike recovered but when I went back I could find no reason for it. I wondered if I could have hit a rock that was thrown after contact. Never did figure out what it was and like Mugget said, that is even worse. I have to admit I don't know much about the Duolever front end those bikes share but I wonder if it would be more or less susceptible to a tank slapper?

You are not alone there. Riding a motorcycle is not exactly a natural endeavor so some fear is to be expected. This fear determines when your Survival Reactions kick in so as you develop your knowledge, skill, and trust in your ride you will see that fear decrease. Your SRs will decrease and you will increase pace. It is cyclic (and incremental), as you increase your pace you will bump up against your SRs again and you will beat them by refining your skills even more.

Clearly we are slipping in our duties as armchair pundits. And I'm with you, I can't wait to see him competitive again! Now what about the SBK/BMW rumors for Elbowz....

I'm with you here Bullet, Rossi competitive is good for MotoGP, I hope the boys from Bolonga get competitive but I don't think Vale can wait, and Stoner may be hard to like but he is nothing if not a pure racer and yes I will miss him for that. But we could sure use som Moto2-esque action in the premier class! And a few more moments like those are definitely worth hoping for Steve!

Brad knows CSS and VIR. There is food unless you are picky (continental breakfast, box lunch, cookie, chips and fruit for afternoon snacks), plenty of great spots to watch the action, and it would be blind luck if you end up on the same bike two days in a row (but Will keeps them all tip top so it's not an issue).

MotoMatters is announcing that this time they are sure: "It is a bit of a risk, announcing that Valentino Rossi will be switching to Yamaha just a couple of days after getting caught out by a hacked Twitter and email account. This time, though, confirmation is coming from multiple sources, including our own. Rossi will be leaving Ducati for Yamaha at the end of this season, with an official press release expected from Yamaha on the morning of August 15th, the Italian national holiday of Ferragosto, and the day before the paddock assembles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP." Full story. You gotta love the silly season.

You all hit on what I saw/heard - if you compare the vid and the stills it looks like he may have been adding lean and throttle but the hard off and on throttle (very hard at 24 seconds) seemed to precipitate the slide. The revs not spiking was a nice catch Kai. I went back and looked at that several times and you are dead on. No surprise this is the first lesson in level 1.

I found this video of an S1000RR crash. It's an interesting mix of perspectives as there is onboard video and then stills from a corner photographer. So I thought I would post it for a bit of accident analysis. What do you see as root causes in this one? Fair warning, while the rider escapes serious injury, his trusty steed doesn't fair so well...

I had been thinking about just buying a 600 for the track but I kept coming back to just what you said. I had 8 or 9 days on the S1000RR so I knew what it was like. And I think you are definitely right, a road test can not tell you what a bike will be like on the track (unless you have a serious disregard for traffic laws) She's awesome Bullet...maybe not as exotic as your Italian lady but probably more forgiving of my ham fisted attempts at making her purr. . And I said the same thing about the spending... but those Sato rearsets I had on the KR were nice, maybe the S needs a set...

Me either! The world's collective attention span is getting smaller than a politician's conscience. We'll wait patiently for the full story when you have time to do it justice.

Carey, I have locked in my place at CodeRACE, I'll undoubtedly be very sore from 4 days of riding . Flight reservation has been done, now's the time to look for rental car and accommodation. Can anyone recommend a hotel/motel near the Willows Springs racetrack? Cobie, Hottie: where do people usually stay? Kai That's awesome Kai. I can't wait to hear about it. And you may be sore...but 4 days at the track would probably have my knees filing for emancipation.

Welcome Diesel! Looking forward to reading your posts. What do you do for a living? And tell us about you riding, is there something specific you are working on? Best, Carey

Hi Trouble, You will love the S1000RR. I first rode one at CSS in 2010 and I've been in love with it since. I even trader my K1200R for one. And you are in for a real eye opening experience with the school. Tell us about your riding. Are you new to the track? Is there anything specific you want to work on? I'll be at VIR both days so stop by and say hi. I'll be in white and grey leathers with a BMW patch on the chest. Safe Travels, Carey

I definitely agree Brad. I think there in lies the rub...how do they maintain the concept of prototype racing but keep it competitive? When I look at F1 it seems they suffer from the same problem, just not to quite the same degree. Most of the drivers in the top 4 teams are capable of winning given the right track and setup and even a few in the next "tier" down can grab a podium or occasional win. But that said there are still several races going on: Tier one racing for the win Tier two racing for the podium (or the occasional upset win) Tier three racing for points I'm not saying its right or wrong, I watch F1 and enjoy it, but it is what it is. Toro Rosso winning a race takes a wet track and a Sebastian Vettel. And his kind doesn't come along very often. Maybe that's just what prototype racing has to be. That with a rule book the size of the Encyclopedia Britannica Great thread by the way guys.

R6 + big rock = bad things. The rnicky mouse vidoes (while being a bit like crash porn - "Lets watch the idiot do something stupid" ) are like a tutorial on SR's. Education is a powerful thing. Most definitely +1. On the plus side he has a nice track bike starter project. And there are less big rocks at the track...

That's a tough question to answer, partially because part of a rider's skill set is how well he helps his team develop the bike. That said, considering what Rossi has done (or more accurately hasn't done) at Ducati, I would be willing to bet if we were watching riders on similar machines (a la Moto2 maybe?) we would be seeing much closer racing. That's not to say which manufacturer is better than another but when millimeters of adjustment make the difference between a podium and an also-ran it's hard to compare the rider's innate abilities. It would seem that gone are the days when a rider like Hailwood or Ago could throw a leg over almost any bike and dominate.

Good catch Dane. I was wondering the same thing but hadn't had time to watch it again. Thanks for the clarification guys.

Good point. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part. After what he did in AMA and SBK I thought that at Assen last year we were seeing the coming of age of a new Alien. With Casey going fishing and Vale looking to rekindle past successes we need someone who can beat Jorge and Dani. I do like the idea of Vale back in Yami blue...my apologies to Dovi. And I could see Crazy Joe on the Duc. That actually might be fun. I should have been clearer on this; I meant political dominance. What adding the CRT's has done for Dorna (theoretically anyway) is take political power away from the factory teams (and satellites). Now that there is a non-factory dependant group of bikes on the grid MotoGP could (again theoretically) continue to race if the factory teams decide to go home (how the fans would take that is what makes it "theoretical"). In the past if they went so did MotoGP. That was their "nuclear option" so to speak. That gave the factory teams undue influence on MotoGP when it came to many things. With less dependence on the factories Dorna will have no one to blame but themselves. Personally I love the idea of MotoGP as a prototype series. Unfortunately, I have found the actual racing in several other classes more entertaining. More sugar and more caffeine on the way. Starbucks loves me.

I'll play Kai (but please see the qualifier in my signature). I believe Vale is too deep in his career to wait and hope the changes at Ducati will make the difference. At this stage he has earned his money, and made his mark. Now he wants to put an exclamation point on it (and have some more fun before riding off into the Italian sunset). For that same reason I don't think that Suzuki is a good fit (unless they are ready to return in 2013 instead of 2014). My prediction is Yamaha (yes I'm crazy). He left on good terms (reasonably – compared to how he left Honda) and even though he knows Lorenzo is their man of the future, he also knows he could be competitive on the Yamaha. Add two seasons of mid-pack results and the fact that he is in the twilight of his career and maybe he can make paddock-nice with JL…and then get back at him by beating him. Or maybe that's just my wishful thinking. As for Ben, I don't see him riding off to SBK just yet. I think he can win at the highest level and I think he wants to prove that. I see him taking the Suzuki seat. He has been cagey about next season and maybe that's him being prepared to take a year with them getting ready for 2014. Cal has had some bad luck, if that worm will turn I think he can be competitive in MotoGP. Tech 3 should stay with him for another season, if they can stand a couple of Brits in French livery. If not he'll end up in SBK and I'll gladly pull for him there. Dovi…hmmm. If Rossi fails to take my sage advice then the other Yami goes to him. Otherwise he could end up at Ducati. Gesini could be looking for a ride but somehow I don't see him riding for a Honda satellite team. No matter what happens MotoGP is still trying to find it's way in this new world order. I know a lot of folks (Casey) don't like the CRTs saying this should be a prototype class of racing, and while in a perfect world I agree, the truth is Eirik hit it on the head: And unless Dorna makes some changes it will be a prototype class that no one is watching. The CRT's are the beginning of the end of the factory influence dominance. Will that be a good thing or a bad thing? I'm not sure. But I am glad they are trying. Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong....

Hi All, I'm doing my usual post up to see if anyone will be headed to VIR for the August 13 & 14 one day classes. If so, let me know and we can put a face with a user name. Maybe grab a burger at the Oak Tree Tavern. Ride safe, Carey

Your brother seems to be a natural. I know its been mentioned in threads here before but I'll also throw in the tank grips as a suggestion. I know they are very useful for me, especially under heavy breaking. I've used Tech Spec and Stomp Grip. In my experience, the Stomp Grip is more agressive, so more grip, but potentially less comfortable on a street bike (they don't bother me but I don't ride in shorts). The stomp Grips are the first thing on order for my bike.

The CSS coaches have you pick one thing to work on in a session. If you get it nailed down you move on to the next one. If it helps the order CSS teaches the skills you mentioned is: Throttle control Quick turn Rider input (loose on the handle bars) Two step Body position (setting up early) Good luck and let us know how it goes!

That track is on the wish list for sure. A friend rode it this year and he is a big fan. CSS at NOLA next year...hmmm....