ktk_ace

I'm pretty surprised to hear that! What kind of situations put you in danger? I think this comes back to the point that electronic aids are just another control that need to be used properly. You can't blame the TC for limiting your speed on corner exit, that's like getting mad at the bike because you have a limited top speed when you only twist the throttle to 80%! If the TC is limiting you, the solution is to change the setting, or just turn it off. The TC is not faulty in any way, it's acting exactly as it was designed to. Strange that you don't trust the aids, it seems like they have been behaving predictably and remained constant for you (for example rain mode limiting your drive out of corners)? You can trust it to do the same thing, every single time. You can't really ask for more than that, can you? You can if you spend time and money on aftermarket programmable ones... heheheh or get a S1000rr HP4

I'm sidelined for the moment, broke my leg. I was NOT on a bike, which proves that walking is more dangerous than riding a motorcycle. About four more weeks in a cast... Get well soon Hotfoot!!

Im glad 2 stroke is gone... very polluting in normal commuters hands.

its a 4 stroke 150cc domestic bike~

Nah , but I wanna best 90% of road users in nearly every aspect (pretty easy imho in my area) If racing is actually profitable/ can be a career , i'd bite more , but being annual region champ , the prize is a pathetic 350 USD...

Besides whats thaught in the book/video, how do you guys practice the gear shifting on a motorcycle? I practiced the other parts on a scooter with no clutch lever so i would love to know. Tips wull be welcomed too, Im starting from near scratch . I do mostly Suburb (60%) , CIty (30%) and canyons(10%) PS. Wanna get ready for school in 2014/2015 so I'm honing my skills on a light bike from scratch. Riding in a desolated stretch of road so anything I can practice ?

err... shouldnt that be the other way around? I think it is important this question gets cleared up because there is clearly some mis-perception on this subject so here goes... 1) What gives you a wider radius through a corner... an early turn in or a late turn in? 2) If you can steer faster (i.e. quick turn) can you turn in later? 3) So, what effect then does quick steering have on your line choices... more choices or less? Benny So IMO this is a rather tricky issue to give a definitive mathematical answer for and heres why if you look at the corner as a whole, the quick flick technique means you could use a later turn point, be leaned over for less of the corner. This would straighten out the corner due to the line choice over a earlier turn point with a slower steering rate. In this regard the quick flick line could be considered to have a larger radius because of you have straightened out more of the corner. BUT if you look simply at the inputs, same entry speed, same turning point, the quicker steering input would achieve full lean angle sooner, apex earlier and exit tighter, while the slower input would apex later and run wider on exit, In this example the quicker steering rate would give you a tighter line and smaller overall radius for your line then a slow steering input. So I believe a quicker steering rate will always result in a tighter line, therefore a smaller radius, when compared directly to a slower rate of steering, however relocating your turn point in the corner based on that quicker steering input can result in a larger radius for your line through the corner when compared to a earlier turn point with a slower steering rate. Tyler Tyler, You've got it exactly right in your analysis. If you use your same (earlier) turn point and quick turn, you will be tight. If you choose to quick turn you MUST do it later. It's that later turn point that you're now ABLE to use because of the ability to quick turn that gives you the wider arc. That wider arc allows you to either go through with the same speed and less lean or with more speed at the same lean. For all, So to follow up on the original question of trailbraking versus quick turning... I couldn't agree more with Hotfoot. There is a time and a place for trailbraking where the amount of our $10 worth of attention it takes to execute well is worth the benefit (as she addressed). However, I think most riders will find that the quick turn technique costs less attention which allows more focus on the foundation of every good corner which is proper entry speed. If you get that wrong, the whole corner is blown. Now, to further follow up on the benefits of quick turning... when we approach a corner too fast, we fear running wide (or, not being able to get on your line). Conversely, if you're confident you can get on your line you're not worried about your entry speed. So what's the real problem... your speed or your ability to get on your line? If you can effectively quick steer will that help you get on your (wider) line with a higher speed? What happens to your line if you increase your entry speed but steer at the same rate as before? How does this apply to a series of corners (s-curves) that you're trying to go faster through? In other words, what must you do to be able to go faster through a series of corners? Benny I extend my thanks to you, Tyler and Hotfoot for such wonderful explaination!

err... shouldnt that be the other way around? I think it is important this question gets cleared up because there is clearly some mis-perception on this subject so here goes... 1) What gives you a wider radius through a corner... an early turn in or a late turn in? 2) If you can steer faster (i.e. quick turn) can you turn in later? 3) So, what effect then does quick steering have on your line choices... more choices or less? Benny 2) yes 3) more

http://web.archive.org/web/20070428171900/http://world.honda.com/HRC/tech/result/all_s02.html IF this article is true, the air spring might only be accountable for the last 1/5 of your spring travel imho. (ie diminishing returns) imho 1000 USD can be used on other parts besides the forks to cut down on laptimes ?

I carve my backyard mountainside roads nearly exclusively at night so my 2c: you see less = less visual processing (less noise to process in computing terms) = more free cpu cycles for other stuff... You also seem to "feel" that it is slower at night (i feel it was 50 km/h but the odo says its 65Km/h at night) another advantage at night : near immediate and safe distance recognition of incoming vehicle (headlights) VS daytime

Yup thats why there is the no brakes drill~

the quicker your steering input the tighter your radius will be, on the overall topic of is trail braking faster then not trail braking you simply cannot look at a single corner, you have to look at a minimum a segment time, one technique carries more speed into the corner whilst the other carries more speed out of the corner, depending on the exact nature of the track / road you are on one may be faster than the other through a section of track, and depending on machinery one may result in a better overall lap time. The " Best Technique " changes constantly depending on a number of variables, it's actually part of what makes being on the podium in MotoGP so difficult now, you can no longer ride with a single technique around the entire track, but have to tailor you technique to each individual corner Only applies to motogp. try it on much lesser bikes with small lean angles (try a 10" scooter) ... which technique comes out becomes very clear... one more second scraping the sidestand / center stand = one more second endangering oneself and others around you as you up your risk of running out of lean angle/ exposing yourself to danger .

err... shouldnt that be the other way around?

It (CSS materials) made ME quicker. thats all that matters to me.

Nice bike!

Absolutely. The new Dunlop Q3 uses carbon fibre inside to reduce weight. One important thing to keep in mind. One of the bikes I own is an MV Agusta and many of the owners of those bikes go absolutely bonkers trying to shave weight from them using exotic components. There's a huge point of diminishing returns on weight savings even in the unsprung weight category. I have watched people go absolutely insane spending 50K just modifying their bikes for weight savings. At that point the bike becomes so expensive it haunts you out on the track. You can certainly stack the deck in your favor by hitting the "big things" like heavy rotors, fuel tanks, batteries and other big stuff to save weight but don't worry about the small stuff. You pay a lot for the small items and don't get much return for your investment. Probably one of the easiest and logical weight savings things you can do is to get rid of your heavy lead acid battery. Not only can you shave almost 5lbs off the bike you don't have acid that may corrode your frame in a crash and have a bike that you can leave for almost a year without starting. Shorai makes a lithium Ion cell that I have in both my MV and my FZR. My main interest was getting the acid away and being able to have extended storage time but the weight was a nice plus as well. Im not sure about weight savings on the Q3; im only sure that its more supportive in the corners while loading up the sidewalls, the CF is there for tuned rigidity~ I'll go look into the batteries , kinda missed that one! (YIKES!)

How does the fuelling affect engine braking? It's basically the restricted airflow caused by the closed throttle that causes a vacuum effect in the engine, causing more resistance and slowing it down. If you change that, wouldn't it mean you would still have some drive where there used to just be idle? Try upping the idling speed (very easy for a carburated bike) from stock to +/- 500 RPM and chop the throttle. Its gonna feel very different.

motogp has very hi end hardware to "solve" this problem decelerating from high speeds to turn 1 : carbon ceramic brake rotors cuts alot of unsprung mass http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsprung_mass the brembo, ohlins and electronics help too, but before all that, it still can be emulated to a degree with enough practice PS. if you up the fueling so much that engine braking is almost nonexistent (its a common setup for racing here) , you can technically chop the throttle straight up and not upset the bike, leaving you with more of the $10 of attention to do other things beneficial to turning I personally use both the front and rear brakes to prep for entry speed You don't have to use the super exotic stuff to save on unsprung mass. I upgraded my FZR400 to more modern EBC contour rotors and while probably not even close to being light as MotoGP rotors made a massive improvement on the bike. I chose the EBC rotors because of their aluminum hubs and less rotor buttons and their Xdrive system. I purchased a set for my R6 as well and am considering some Titanium Rotor bolts to save a little bit of mass there too. Compared to stock steel rotors and their design you can shave almost a pound of weight. With the EBC rotors on my FZR it actually stops like a modern bike now. I used to be big on the rear brake myself as one of my bikes is a big heavy 800# Harley Davidson where it's super helpful to use the rear brake at low speeds. I'm slowly breaking that habit as they don't provide much braking power considering the risk and moving your feet off the correct position of the peg and then back again is distracting to me. Occasionally I'll use the rear to settle the bike but that's becoming less and less frequent. One area where the rear brake is super helpful though is if you have to get off the track in a hurry and head into the grass. I broke something on my FZR the last track day I was on and had to exit the track with a lot of excess speed. I scrubbed off a lot of speed on a chicane and then switched to the rear brake once in the grass to stop the bike. Googled the xdrive and... I can say its an interesting system! Lots of ways to shave unsprung weight thats for sure some others i have seen: analog> digital speedometer , magtek/carbon wheel hubs , ceramic bearings air shocks :(Showa SFF Air ) kevlar pads instead of sintered metal pads for short races tires (michelin has that on their website) aluminium air nipples (the stock ones on some are brass) lightened racing calipers (GP grade stuff is EXPENSIVE!)

motogp has very hi end hardware to "solve" this problem decelerating from high speeds to turn 1 : carbon ceramic brake rotors cuts alot of unsprung mass http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsprung_mass the brembo, ohlins and electronics help too, but before all that, it still can be emulated to a degree with enough practice PS. if you up the fueling so much that engine braking is almost nonexistent (or setup a slipper clutch for such) (its a common setup for racing here) , you can technically chop the throttle straight up and not upset the bike, leaving you with more of the $10 of attention to do other things beneficial to turning I personally use both the front and rear brakes to prep for entry speed , use vision to find the turn in point and the 2 step for accelerating out of the turn. I practice until its 2nd nature.

1) when I bankrupt my $10 dollar worth of attention AND dont crash. (more like near total reliance on reflex and muscle memory) Happened last year thou; was cornering at 60KM/H (speed limit wasn't set as its a private road) incoming BMW X5 illegally overtook a bike and cut into my cornering line (hi speed right turn for me) e-braked the rear brake while easing the throttle to 1/2 position and let the rear tire skid out while hanging off to the right with ONE buttcheek. when i saw a line , I let go of the brake, let momentum set in briefly and knowing the rear has regained rotation, positioned the throttle for 40 KM/H acceleration and zipped off the small space the BMW has created trying to avoid me. I was sweating when i reached home, very close call... if any SR sets in then, Im toast , either with the other bike or head on with the SUV... 2) slightly outside my comfort level (81-85%) and I dont crash as above. I run a set mountain road once a month to evaluate my bike and my abilities with a timer. This isnt trackday/track riding as i dont have access to a track within 100KM of where I live.

You have a very good modern sportsbike imho...

I believe that requires independent rider sampling as the rider weight/skill level and some specific conditions need to be addressed too. Its in the Twist 2 book and DVD. Read it alot of times, im not brainy so i have to re-read it at least 20 times +

err... I'll try . for example , if you have a bike with cr@ppy compression and rebound damping (think stock scooter with stock tires and suspension) , and you modify the CVT for extreme high acceleration 0-80 Km/H AND a very low "slope" (non roll on speed that the engine runs on for ex stock is 1850 RPM, you adjust it to 1500 RPM) you create a recipe for extremely high loading of the front tire if you just chop the throttle at 50 and above as the clutch will only let go at 2500RPM+ (50+ with acceleration will be at least 6500 RPM and above) as the centrifugal dry clutch coupled with the low slope setting will cause immense engine braking ... which loads up the commuter grade front forks and might overload the commuter grade tire if coupled with quick flicking... this is an extreme example fyi same applies to fuel mapping for EFI bikes ; you map your fuel too low , it will engine brake like crazy (cough euro4 cough have to pass emissions ... ) theres why there are slipper clutches to modify the amount of braking and slip for modern sport bikes, you cant account for everything using fuel mapping alone... Bikes with better mass centralization also tend to "pogo" less hence load up the front less during engine braking (example: NC700X with underslung exhaust + longer wheelbase ) Bikes with worse mass centralization also tend to "pogo" more hence load up the front more during engine braking (example 2011 R1 with dual underseat exhaust + shorter wheelbase ) GPS and TC comes in here too, but its a pretty high end solution which can 90% be sorted out with... education.

Depends on bike setup (front/back suspension,rider weight,engine fuel mapping,slipper clutch) and wheelbase length imho.

I can only think of keeping the throttle flat while steering the bike when -going UPHILL -engine braking to slightly load the front tire before the turn point (no brakes drill? )