tmckeen

Stroker, If you're looking for somewhere to practice your starts, try your local drag strip, the should have a "Test and Tune" night. The strip here at Irwindale has it on Thursday nights, 20$ to race, runs from 4 - 10 pm, 6 hours worth of timed drag runs, all the practice starts your Clutch can handle Tyler

At one of the school's a while back there was a board with all the lvl 4 drills listed on it, and man there was about 100 of them , so whatever you could possibly want to practice, there is a drill for it

It's like the saying goes, The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel

The less power the bike's make , the bigger the difference aerodynamics make, it's pretty common when watching moto 3 for the lead pack to swap places down the straight every lap due to drafting, the effect it has in MotoGP is considerably less pronounced

For track use only Antigravity Batteries makes a pretty tiny 4 Cell unit that weighs a claimed 16 Oz for 600cc, and a 8 cell for 1000cc at 1 lb 9 oz , no personal experience but researched it a bit a while back, seems to be decently reviewed. I know a few years ago, CSS actually had a lightweight battery for sale on their table of goodies at the school, can't remember what brand it was though Tyler

You're correct, that website only staffs the schools at Willow Springs and Las Vegas, the school does use corner workers at all of the tracks they visit, I'm only familiar with the group here in SoCal, For information on corner working at a CSS location closer to you Trevor would be the best person to contact at trevor@superbikeschool.com, I'm pretty sure theres someone on here that cornerworks at NJMP, I cant remember who atm tho. Tyler

For what its worth, the school breaks in their bikes pretty much non stop over the course of a single day at the track. Theres really no reason you can't take a bone stock S1000RR to a CSS school, I believe the schools bikes are pretty much stock, with the exception of the bodywork, some sliders, case guards and stomp grips. All the other trick bits and performance upgrades are nice, but not required.

Nic, one bit of advice, if you haven't gotten it already from some of the school reviews posted here on the forums. Be the first person to Hot Pit Lane for each session, I'm not saying speed through the pits or anything like that, just be ready to go when your group is called and be one of the first riders there, it will get you a extra lap or two every session which by the end of the day is almost enough laps to be a entire extra session Tyler

Not to contradict the head guy around here but The best person to contact about this is most likely Lead@socalcornerworkers.com and you can head on over to http://www.socalcornerworkers.com and sign up there, the application is under the "Contact Us" drop down. You can view the posted corner working dates and availability there as well and yes we do have a bizarre shortage of corner workers, we really don't understand why its hard to find responsable people who want free track time if you have any other questions feel free to shoot me a PM Tyler

Bet you can't wait, I'm not attending the school, but I'll be out there corner working that weekend. Make sure you're plenty hydrated cause Willow Springs in June can be HOT !!

DOT 3,4,Super 4, 4 Plus, and 5.1 I believe are all the same basic thing with differing boiling points, Better Living Through Science and all that. Dot 5 is a silicone based fluid that is hydrophobic and shouldn't be mixed with any other kind of brake fluid, and is not recommended for "performance" situations. My understanding of using grease on the brake seals is that it cannot cause the rubber seals to swell, thus petroleum based greases are not recommended. It also needs to dissolve into the brake fluid so as not to clog any of the little passageways inside the caliper itself. Withstand the extreme heat that brakes generate without breaking down and possibly contaminating the braking surfaces themselves. From what I've read the advantage of using the correct grease on the seals over just brake fluid is that it creates a hydrophobic barrier on the seal preventing contamination of the fluid and corrosion or damage to the inside of the piston. and makes installation of the pistons easier.

I remember reading a interview with King Kenny where he said he see's a lot of similarities between his riding style and Marquez, and his success stemming from his ability and willingness to steer the bike with the throttle Tyler

Rebuilding my front brake calipers and getting ready to reassemble, do you recommend using some kind of lube on the seals or just brake fluid ??? My searching on the internet has been inconclusive, lots of people recommend using Castrol Red Rubber grease, which is water resistant and DOT 4 compatible, but apparently not sold in the USA, and none of the specific brake lubes sold here in the US mention DOT 3 / 4 / 5.1 compatibility on their label's or data sheets. Service manuals don't seem to say anything on the subject, but small packets of lube are included in a number of caliper rebuild kits, I believe Brembo sends it out with their rebuild kits. Tyler

Don't forget that a bike on 2 wheels accelerates faster than a bike on 1, thats why millions of R&D $$'s have been spent on electronic systems to prevent wheelies

off the top of my head that list includes King Kenny, Fast Freddie Spencer, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Marc Marquez I'm sure that list is far from complete From Casey Stoners Wikipedia page "He competed in his first race was when he was four years old, in an under-nine years old race at the Mike Hatcher's dirt racing track on the Gold Coast of Australia. Between his very first race win at the age of six and the age of fourteen, Stoner won 41 dirt and long track titles and 70 state titles."

Once you get used to taking turn's with good body position, not using it can really mess with your head, I've experienced this several times while returning to my corner after a school session, I'll take a corner at a "Slow" pace and not set up for it and need WAY more lean angle than I have anticipated using due to my lack of body position. Also on the street I "set up" for every corner, shift my but over in the seat and lock on with my outside knee, even if I don't intend to hang off it leaves me the option of using body position should I suddenly need it mid corner when debris or something forces me to change my line. I think of it as having more options on the table should I need to use them , I will also occasionally try to navigate freeway interchanges with the bike vertical and use only "body english" to steer the bike, but thats just for kicks Tyler

Kai, yes braided steel lines is the first upgrade I add to any bike. I've decided to go with Vesrah "SRJL-17" pads for now, I've also got seals for the pistons so I can rebuild both calipers, and purchased a "Flex Hone" to clean and resurface the rotors which have a fair amount of pad material and some slight glazing on them. I'll be sure and post some before and after pics of the rotors.

KTK, at some point the skills and techniques you need to practice for street riding and for pushing the absolute limit of machinery around a race track start to diverge from one another. the thread is about practice and training for a "Racer" not a average rider, also there can be a world of difference between doing figure 8's in a parking lot or confined space and doing them on a real 1/2 mile dirt oval. Also just about every motorcycle shootout article I've read has had skilled riders stop faster with the ABS off than with it on. I would gladly remove the ABS from my new FJR if it were a option. Tyler

to truly push the limit on a street bike you have to be comfortable with it slipping and sliding around, and theres no better place to practice that than on a dirt bike, or flat track. The results of riders who grew up riding dirt and flat track since they were 3-4 speak for themselves IMO

I say go for the 600 and work from there, when your abilities as a rider have progressed that the bike's performance is holding you back then move up to the 1000, as a track dedicated bike , a 600 will be cheaper to purchase, less abusive on tire's, and probably cheaper to maintain than the S1000RR. If the lack of electronic aids is truly a issue, you can add TC to any bike with a Bazzaz Z-FI kit. Even the fastest guys in the world leaned to master their abilities on much much smaller machinery before moving up Tyler

I believe what pro racers need is not so much raw strength and muscle mass like a bodybuilder or say a linebacker , but endurance to be physically active and wrestle the bike around for 45 min non stop. You dont see many racers talking about doing squats and the gym or bulking up, its long distance bike riding for tone and endurance

Bump for Racing at Fontana this weekend

What brand / level of brake pads do you guys use for your track / race bike ??? This past weekend my R6 was experiencing pretty massive amounts of brake fade , so in addition to new fluid ( Motul 600 RBF ), I think its time for some upgraded brake pads. I'm torn between full on superbike race spec pads, say EBC GPFAX or Galfer G1300, or the less aggressive EPFA / G1375 options Thoughts ?? Tyler

I read a interview a while back , i wanna say it was Crutchlow, where when asked about improvements or changes to MotoGP the rider suggested a minimum weight regulation for the riders so that tiny riders like Pedrosa didn't have the weight advantage over ones who just naturally have a larger body type

I believe in that era due to the unpredictable nature of the 500cc 2 stroke engines that body position was beneficial to help save a possible highside