Rifleman

I think the sidewall states the recommended tire pressure when the tire is cold. The manufacture takes into account the pressure increase as the tires warm up. A lower pressure might give you a slightly bigger foot print but would cause more heat as the rubber bends and moves more. All gasses have a thermal expantion coefficien. Oxygen, Nitrogen, and air (80% nitrogen 20% oxygen) are all about the same. The lowest TEC for something you might be able to lay your hands on is Argon gas. Argon gas is also three times as dense. We're splitting hairs at this point though.

Strong sunlight is amazing, even better for street tires that are thicker and will hold more heat as well as take longer to heat up to begin with. Worst case senario is weaving and thinking that your tires are warm and then wadding it up in turn 1 because they are not. Rman

Wayneman, The two step turn process is decribed in Twist of the Wrist II in great detail. The basic idea is that you pick two points for each turn. 1) the entry point and 2) the exit point or if the turn is a hairpin or up hill, apex or another reference point (RP) The idea is to limit the things you are thinking about so you don't waste your attention budget. Aim for your entry point, as you approach it (don't focus on it, just know where it is) shift your field of vision to include the second point (once again don't focus on it, just know where it is). there are things that need to be done before the entry point, things between the entry point and apex, as well as the entry point and exit point. This helps set up the physical areas where these actions should occur. With pratice it helps you to set your order and urgency for those actions, for that particular corner. You can check out TOTW 1 & 2 at your public library. It is explained with much better detail and I may have left things out that are important as well. Silly as it may sound I couldn't put the book down once I started. If you are a sport biker you won't be able to either. Rman

When you say Neglecting the corner do you mean you may want to start making a mid turn correction (big SR no no) or chop the throttle? I think that perhaps the way TOTW 2 deals with this is by asking the question, If you are looking 3 inches infront of your front wheel and a brick wall magically materialized right there..... would there be anything you could do about it? At some point there isn't anything the pilot can do about something on the track. So why look at it, why fret about it, why spend any of your attention budget on it. Even worse is that corner you just finished, why would you think about it, there isn't anything at all you can do about it. If you keep the picture big, out far, you can see the things with enough time to make a decission and act upon it. Keep the picture big, and you won't need to sweat the small stuff. You asked if we "feel" like we're neglecting, maybe we all do but the question is does the lap time show it? Run a few looking down at your front tire, run a few pushing the picture out good an far... which ones were faster? Does it matter if you're "neglecting" if your going faster and not feeling so rushed? The idea of looking where you want to go has alot of merit, looking through the turn moves your attention away from the many attention robbers around your wheels, pegs, etc... so of course when you push the picture out far the "in near" suddenly feels more firm and hooked up. Look far, go far, look down, go down. Yes, when you're tired you are more likely to revert to the SR's. After all that is what they are, Survival Reactions. As you become physically exhausted, mental exhaustion also occures. It is natural to find yourself slipping back to the normal "reaction" rather then sticking with the proper learned technique. Proper hydration seems to be the biggest key to holding the proper mental state for the longest time. Diet, alcohol/hangover, sleep deprevation are all contributing factors as well. Rman

Understand that I'm no expert (I've made enough incorrect statements on this board to discredit just about anything I could say) but the real question at hand is about steering the bike. How does the pilot make it lean so as to properly navigate the turn in question at or near the highest speed possible. Just looking at turning the bike, counter steer is the answer. Now body possition and weight distribution are extreamly important when we discuss how the suspention works to keep the rubber in contact with the tarmac and give back maximum traction. How the pilot is possitioned on the machine so that the control inputs can be performed quickly and in the most effective way. Don't just throw out body possition and weight distribution because it has a minimal effect on how fast, accuratly and effectivly you can turn the bike. It's still important, just not germane to the "turning the bike" discussion. knowledge is power Rman

Every demonstration of body steer that I've seen has been done at very low speeds (idle speed in first or second) At this speed the gyroscopic force developed by the rotation of the wheels is almost nil. The front wheel actually turns toward the turn, not away from it as is the case with counter steer. The big variable is speed. At low speed the gyroscopic force generated is small and can be overcome by moving the body weight off center, thus causing the bike to lean. At higher speed the gyroscopic force generated is much greater and moving the center of mass to one side or the other has a very limited effect. this is the reason for the contravercy over this topic. CS controls the bike for all real world applications. Street, track, obstical avoidance. Body steer can be use but only in very specific exibition examples. So one side makes the brash statement that body steer doesn't exist, the other side produces a picture of a stunter draggin his fingers on the ground from the back seat of a leaned over bike or questions how a mile long wheel stand can be driven on anything other then an arrow straight piece of tarmac. This forum is devoted to better, faster, effective, and reliable cornering on the track and perhaps translated over to the street. Those are real world conditions. To accomplish these goals the proper use and understanding of CS is absolutly necessary. Body steer simply muddies the waters for the stated goal. Rman

yep, going to school would be best. There might also be things that you don't see in yourself that an instructor would see with their trained eyes and help you fix the entire enchilada. I'm saving my money, soon, very soon. I can hear Blackhawk farms calling. Rman

Sure it makes sense. I assume when you say "failure" you are speaking about a tie rod or an exhaust valve giving it up, comming through the valve cover, fuel cell, and winging off to parts unknown. That nice new Dunlop delaminating under a ton and a half of centrifugal force. Nothing quite gets your attention like a tach tickling the red. Ok, here is the deal. If it has worked properly in the past and you haven't had it apart, it most likely will work fine in the future. Wear takes a long time and gives you lots of warning before failure if you make a point to watch for it. A trans doesn't just up and out of the blue decide to eat itself. It will bark at you, it will get cobby, some guys will force it and it will bite them. The smart ones take it back to the padoc and find out what is wrong. If you have had something apart or worked on, then certainly shake it down before grabbing a fist full. Get your warm up laps in, look, listen, and feel for something different. Does it sound different then before? Should it? Does it move different then before? Should it? Bring it back to the padoc and look for loose bolts, oil or other engine fluids, things that don't make sense or look right. Hey, that chain was perfectly tentioned when I got on this thing, two laps later it's all streched out? No, the axle nut wasn't tightened to the torque spec. If something doesn't look right, sound right, feel right....find out why. Now if everything is as you expect it to be, good sound, good throttle feel, good crisp brake response and feel, shifts smooth, turns quickly and crisp....... ... then there is no reason the machine shouldn't run to it's limits and even just a tad beyond and be ready for more of the same. Do be careful if you are making high speed runs on the street. Conditions on a track are controled, people or wildlife can't just wander onto the track during hot laps, rain doesn't wash out part of the track without anyone knowing about it, a telephone pole or tree limb doesn't fall on the track and wait for you to come zipping along. You can make a slow speed pass to check for road conditions and debris but nothing ensures a 12 point buck hasn't wandered out of the corn field and into the middle of the road between your slow speed and fast speed runs. Keep it sane Rman

what is it about speed that makes you anxious? Not being able to get back down to your proper corner entry speed? Catastrophic mechanical failure of the bike due to everything spinning/firing/operating at the max?....... You need to know why the top end bothers you and then you can develope a plan to over come that servival reaction (SR's) If you're in a long straight and you have alot of spin up before you even need to think about a turn perhaps you need to push the picture out, bigger, longer. Look all the way down the straight as far as you can see. Let your periferal vision catch all the ques around you but keep the bulk of your field of vision looking long and big. See the big picture and it will help you not sweat the small stuff. Mr. Code says that this technique not only helps calm the perceived speed SR but also produces an overall better feeling, sort of a zen thing. Looking big helps reduce the gajillion little things that rob your attention budget. (you only have so much attention, spend it wisely). hope this helps. Rman

Ok, maybe now is the time to ask this question. I understand that the many and varied refrence points (RP's) are what every pilot uses to judge their line, the apex, their turn in point, etc..... for a given corner, curve or esses. If I understand things correctly TOTW 2 attempts to help the pilot condence down all of the thousand RP's into two simple points. 1) the turn in point and 2) the apex or "where you want to go". Mr. Code's "two step" turn process. This make the thought process much more simple and taxes the $10 a great deal less. Each pilot uses different RP's and thus selects a different turn in point....... ..... however what are the RP's that all pilots use to select their optimal turn in point? curve radious, up hill / down hill, decreasing radious, next corner entry point..... How do you go about determining where to paint your big white "X". Rman

This is sort of a side bar but often when "how important" a certain aspect or skill is discussed the more general terms, and less qualitative terms are used. Very important, kinda important, should spend some time on that...... etc. Mr. Code uses the "$10 of attention" axiom in TOTW 2. You only have 10 bucks, how are you going to spend it? Perhaps posters could show their attention budget as a means of the rest of us understanding how the poster pilots. $5 Throttle control $2.65 quick turn/flick $1.35 body position/weight distribution ......... ...... ... $0.17 umbrella girl outfits just my .02 Rman

I didn't think there was such a big deal about this. I took two MSF courses over 15 years ago and one of the first things we learned was obstical avoidance... done by using counter steer. The demonstration was simple even back then, get the bike up to 15 mph in a straight line, a quick firm push on the left bar, be amazed at how fast the bike pitches over to the LEFT and avoids the 2x4 obstical. I don't even know why it's such a big deal, even if body steer worked well, if someone offered me a better, faster, smoother, more reliable, more efficient way to do something... wouldn't it be foolish not to test it and use it if better? silly as it may sound, perhaps it is a good thing that the competition remains firmly planted in the ideals and principals of body steer. Rman

*chuckles*, not here to argue, you are fully entitled to an oppinion, good or bad. Maybe the way to look at it is that everything body steering is doing to control the machine can be done by CS, faster, safer, quicker, more efficiently, with less mental strain. Don't get me wrong, body position and weight distribution are very important to sucess just not in the "steering" portion of the formula. sounds like we are on the same page. so now that you are using the techniques your old haunts arn't exciting enough. *S* ah, the door has been cracked open. I am in the same boat, not enough coin to go to the class so I don't have access to the secrets either. A number of people on this board will try to explain specific drills for specific problems but what would take days back and forth here would take minutes with a CSS instructor. It's like cutting your lawn with sissors, yes it can be done, however it would take forever and drive most people crazy. I spent two weeks on this board trying to figure out what was ment by "pressure on the outside peg". Finally figured out it was pressure, not weight, push from the outside peg with your leg, through your core, out your inside arm. You think you can quick flick now, *S* lets just say the SR's kicked in big time the first time I quick flicked properly, the bike screamed instantly over, YIKES!.... KEWL!!!....... Not to sound like a spokesperson for CSS but save the money and go, if you have taken the step to posting here, yack'in about it on line just isn't going to get it done for you. Rman (who is putting his change in a jar marked "CSS fund")

Maybe the real question isn't does body steering exist or not. We know that you can get the bike to lean/turn/circle/weave slightly by moving around on the bike. The real question is how effective such activity is. Is it 50% counter steer / 50% body steer? Is it 60 / 40? Is it 99% / 1%? Does this change as the speed increases. Does body steering become less effective at high speeds? Does counter steering become more effective at high speeds? I think what we find is that body steering becomes difficult/impossible as the gyroscopic force increases (wheel RPM increases). Counter steer actually gets better and better, more predictable as wheel RPM goes up. Of course you will have to put in more force on the bars to get the torque from the gyro to lay the bike over (turn) but the faster the gyro goes around the more available torque there is for these manuvers. At some point (very early on) the body steer part of your control inputs becomes immaterial and thus useless. How much of your 10 bucks are you willing to spend on this means of manuvering your machine, especially when there is something much more effective at your disposal? Your tests should show how slow the bike responds to body steer, how much lag between your "control input" and when the bike actually moves (turns). Do you think you could get the bike to turn enough to make a corner on the high way, in traffic, on the track? Then it is useless and it's existance is a moot point. Counter steer effectively, quickly, accuratly, precisely controls the lean angle (turn) of the machine. Understanding how this works means you can effectivly, quickly, accuratly and precisely control your machine. The No BS bike isolates the body steer inputs from the counter steer inputs, I.E. the movement of the body from pressure being applied to the bars. Some people who think body steering plays a part in the process would move around on the bike and it would turn and they would claim that the body movement was the cause even though they were putting small, but very important, CS inputs into the bars. The No BS bike simply prevents a person from putting CS input into the bars while moving around on the bike. It is a piece of analitical equipment designed to prove or disprove a hypothisys. If we want to nibble Brie', quaff a Chateau' La'Feit, and ponder the universes' many facetts such as body steer by all means cogitate to our hearts content. However if you want to turn quick, lean hard, and go fast... understand countersteering and worry not about the BS (yes both BS's). Rman

In TOTW 2 Mr. Code simply uses his knee and toe sliders as a guage. If you are in the same position, a$$ half off, foot on the peg in the same place, ect.... then when the knee touches the lean angle should be the same every time. now of course it looks kewl and the men are distinguished from the boys in a number of different ways, this being one of those way in many riders eyes. Rman

choping the throttle during a rear wheel slide will activate the ejection seat (high side). Throttle control is the answer, it shifts the weight to the prefered 40/60 set up. TW2 tells us this is accomplished by about a .1 to .2 G acceleration. getting greedy with the throttle may break the rear loose. My understanding is that the steady rolling open of the throttle should then just be slowed a bit. That is that you keep rolling open just not as much or as fast until the rear wheel RPM and the tarmac feet per second are the same Maybe it is a mental thing about fighting the SR's. Chopping the throttle isn't the answer to any of the problems so we set our mental state up to think more throttle, maybe softer or lighter but still more. There is a significant difference between rolling on / pausing the roll on (holding at the same throttle position for a moment) and rolling off. SR's tell you to roll off, and that is what needs to be avoided. More throttle in a slide will prevent a high side, may cause a low side but it will prevent a high side Hope this helps and I got it right Rman

Just finished TOTW 2 and then went back and re-read all the posts in this thread. Thanks for all of your help. To look at it now the problem was that I was being given perfect directions to a goal, I just didn't have a map to follow those directions on. Thanks for putting up with questions that could have easily been addressed simply by getting into the book. Two eyes, one mouth. That ratio exist for a reason.

I'm thinking that if I find the proper lenght lever and run it as a direct drive (right of the shift spline) rather then any linkage (stock set up) it should be cake to convert. Just got to find the right length lever. thanks for the input. Rman

*chuckles* yea, right, piece-o-cake NOT!!!

I was down working on the greasy side this weekend and found that the side stand mount is in the way to simply flip the collar. Not quite ready to take a P-grinder to the mount just yet. There are still other ways to "defur that feline".

maybe I'm the one screwed up but if I put the ball of my foot on the peg the shift/rear brake levers are an inch an a half in front of my boot. To shift or brake I have to slide the boot forward to the heal grove. are the race setups made so that you can shift or brake from the ball of your foot? wouldn't the shortened levers steal away some of that leverage?

Yea, that is basically what Motoman was saying. "Break in" isn't just mating in the rings, there is a break in period with the pilot as well. I suppose if one could conduct a through pre "blast" inspection and make sure that things are ready for the run then you could do a fairly safe blast break in on the street on some nice straight untraviled tarmac. I would guess that an experianced pilot isn't going to be suprised by a new bike. Yes the clutch may start to catch just a tad sooner, sure that suspention is going to feel "different" but nothing that will dump you in the ditch just from goosin it good a few times in a straight line. Don't slap the throttle open to the stops and hold it there, but a smart acceleration up to red line and 20 or so seconds at the high R's a few times should be able to be accomplished with out undue danger. Motoman likes to think that the reason for the factory recomendation is the care and consern for the pilots safety (honorable) but there is an evil side to the recomendation as well. If you don't do consistant preventive maintenance you will wear out a power plant sooner if it was broken in using the "gentle" technique. The oil picks up more acids and contaminants from all that blow by on improperly seated rings. More acids and contaminants means more repairs and a sooner transition to an updated modle. All good for the factory and dealer, all bad for the bank account. I've kept mine road worthy for 13 years but the day will come with it will br bones for the bone yard. It would be nice to know that I can put that day off a few more years with the new one with a proper blast break in at the very beginning. Rman

I read somewhere that often race bikes are equiped with a reversed shift pattern. That is increasing gears is done by pushing the shift lever down and dropping gears is performed by toeing the lever up. My understanding is that this is accomplished by simply removing the shift collar from the shift actuator spline, turning it over, re-install and adjust the linkage for proper lever position. Is this true? What are the advantages/disadvantages of such a setup?

first of all get some more time on the bike before trying to stunt unless you like buying parts and having your bike in the shop. that said, Gary Rothwell is quite possibley the world renound master of the front end loft. 12'o'clocks, stops and starts, etc. this will give you the basics. Becareful, this is how you can get hurt, break your bike (even if you don't dump it you can blow a clutch basket, twist a swing arm, break off your tripple tree), or worse, hurt someone else. http://www.cybersportbike.com/stunts/wheelies.htm Mr. Rothwell does recomend a firm grip on the bars when landing as well as trying to keep the front perfectly straight at touch down.

Work on the timeing and try to avoid the slipper clutch if you can. Ballistic had a few words on this topic and they were spot on. I have the same problem from 1 to 2nd because I don't pull the clutch in all the way (speed shift) Pulling the clutch in more and letting the engine rev down a tiny bit longer will make the shifts smoother.... but slower. One of the drills mentioned on this board is to pratice shifting where you try to approximate the engine RPM between two gears. That is to say from 2nd @ 6K (49mph) to 3rd @4.2K (49mph) Twisting the wrist up or down as you shift back and forth between the gears at the same speed, trying to "catch" the gears with out being tough on the tranny. Listen to the engine as you let out the clutch, does it speed up or slow down. This is easy to do in the upper gears (4 to 5 or 5 to 6) so if you want to get the feel for it, pratice the last two at the top until you get the feel for it and then work down into the lower gears. this just may be a need for more experiance is all