tmckeen
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Posts posted by tmckeen
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Isn't it going to be a little awkward at the dinner table if we generate more votes for Laura than Mario
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Welcome,
The school goes to "The Ridge" up in Washington once a year ( in the past, no idea on next years schedule ) , which would be much closer for you, it is a rather long track but its really quite amazing. I'm not a huge fan of Vegas as its VERY flat but its not a horrible layout aside from that, and they run it both directions so you may get to switch up on day 2. Streets of Willow however is one of the best tracks they run from a instructional point of view, and if you can ride fast there, you can ride fast anywhere
Tyler
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It doesn't matter what Airport you fly into in Southern California, you're going to be stuck in traffic.
I believe the closest airport with commercial flights to the track would be Burbank, then LAX,
Personally I find the easiest airport to fly in and out of SoCal is Ontario, but its usually more expensive and requires more connecting flights than LAX
unless you're taking a charter flight in which case you can just fly directly into Rosamond.
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My bike with it's electronic assists and carbon wheels would never make it past tech inspection for a race.
That's not true at all,
You wouldn't make it past tech for a Stock class, but you'd have no problem competing in "Open Formula" type classes, or really just any class that allows you to change the wheels from stock.
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I think its a result of Lorenzo's riding style working best when he's got open track in front of him , if your behind someone who's holding you up mid-corner you lose all your advantage. so if your out front and can capitalize on your strength you're virtually untouchable, but if your stuck in the pack battling with and held up by riders with different styles you lose out on all your added mid-corner speed
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I believe the term " the aliens" came about in MotoGP when Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo both moved up to MotoGP and were succesfull right from the start of their rookie season, both finishing second in their first ever MotoGP race and getting their first win's in their 4th and 3rd races respectively. And Casey Stoner, while not overly succesful on his rookie season ( not on a factory bike either ), has a very dominant second season winning 10 / 18.
I think the term is not so much about their being overly more skilled than the rest of the riders in the series, but more about their coming into the series and raising the bar for everyone. In much the same way that Marquez has raised the bar for the entire field.
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Given that this is a photo from a public roadway I think your body position looks pretty good,
Using aggressive track BP on public roads can result in very little lean angle for a given corner, and a lot of extra effort for minimal gain.
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They have professional level post production so that helps,
I'm gonna guess they use some kind of stabilizing software that reduces the FOV as part of the process to eliminate the flicker and distortion you get with the YouTube or iMovie one. Reduce the visible part of the frame and you can shift them into alignment without skewing the picture to make it fit
I'd also be very surprised if the cameras weren't solid mounted to frame and other hard parts
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Welcome.
I'll second what Robert said about looking pretty good for your 6th TD. Little hard to tell from the angle, but it looks like your getting off the bike fairly well and staying low over the tank.
Quality on track coaching will make a world of difference though, so best of luck saving all you pennies
Tyler
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Are you talking about the profile when its new, or when I'm done with it
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the vibration in the bike and from the wind is really unavoidable, keeping the connecting pieces between the mount and the camera to a minimum helps.
Have you tried using You-tubes stabilize option ? makes the videos much smoother, but can cause the picture to distort slightly in some places
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Great choice there,
Which track will you be attending the school at ?
also I don't think anyone mentioned this but if you opt for a 2 day camp, using your own bike isn't a option, BYOB is only available at the single day schools,
I have seen a few students at 2 day schools get to use their own bikes for one or two sessions at the end of the day, but it's rare and not something I would count on being able to do.
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I dunno about the quality but I like the K&N filters cause they have a nut on the end for easy removal and are pre-drilled for safety wire / clip's
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+1 on the brake lines, though that's a great upgrade for any bike track or otherwise,
To add to what KHP said about the track bodywork,
A very minor low-side or even tip over in the pits or back of your transport vehicle can result in extensive damage and repair bills to the stock bodywork and headlight package. Track bodywork is considerably more resistant to damage and combined with the right kind of frame / axle sliders / case guards can provide significant protection to the bike in a crash. Also since it's made from fiberglass its easily repaired with some materials from your local auto parts store. Saving all the stock bodywork in like new condition can make the resale value of the bike considerably higher later on, or you can sell the bodywork and cover the cost of the track fairings and some other small upgrades if you don't plan on returning the bike to street legal status
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Level 1 if memory serves me is primarily focused on visual skills. There will be a class room portion where there's a presentation and then an on track portion where you apply an on track drill directly and see some amazing things start to happen to your riding. You get to meet your on track coach after the first session who will be the person who you will work with for the rest of the day.
I'm afraid Robert's memory isn't what it used to be
You won't really delve into the visual skills until level 2, Level 1 is focus'd around the basics of motorcycle control, throttle control, line choice, steering inputs, not being tense on the bars, and looking where you want to go ( small vison teaser for the end of the day )
Welcome to the forums
Tyler
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I somewhat agree with what KHP has said,
#1 Get track body work / lose all the street parts on the bike. IE the headlights, blinkers, tail light, passenger pegs etc. etc. Personally I would leave the kick stand on unless your going to be racing, it can be a pain needing a rear stand/assistant/wall to lean up against any time you wanna get off your bike.
#2 Get some traction pads for the gas tank, best bang for buck upgrade you can get anywhere, I personally like Stompgrip™ but some people find it too "aggressive"
#3 Clipon's and rear sets, set up the ergonimics of the bike to your liking, improving your comfort and fit on the bike is a huge upgrade.
At this point, upgrades really kind of depend on your skill level, right out of the box sport bikes have MASSIVE performance potential and you need to be a fairly skilled rider before you really need to upgrade anything.
if your fairly new and still at a relatively slow pace your not going to get any improvement out of and engine or HP upgrades, re springing the suspension for your weight is a good early fix, but you still need to be riding at a certain level before you'll even need to worry about this.
That money would be much better spent on some classes and riding instruction than on a shiny new Ohlins shock or a full titanium exhaust system. As your skill level improves you can address what on the bike you need to improve to match the needs of your skill set. Stands and Tire Warmers are nice, but not needed until your using Slicks or DOT-Race tires, and if your new to track riding I can't recommend starting out on tires that require a specific pace just to keep them at operating temp.
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Actually that article is about a possible new law which would remove the murky limbo status of lane splitting here in California and make it 100% legal under certain conditions,
I'm pretty much for that, but I think the max limit of 50 MPH it proposes needs to be changed to max limit of the posted speed limit.
Interestingly enough though the AMA is actually against this bill for being to restrictive with its new regulations,
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I'm certainly not advocating for grinding your knee into the pavement at every chance and burning through knee pucks faster than tires. I personally use more of a touch and go style with my knee puck, ( except when I know the Photographer is lurking
)But I stick by my comment. Look at the pictures of Rossi, RChase, Myself, and "The Dude" on the R9T. Now compare the location of the inside elbow and inside leg. The elbow is about mid thigh or higher ( R9T Guy is almost elbowing himself in the groin ). In all the other pictures however the inside elbow is considerably close to the knee. The difference isn't the lean angle or massively hanging off the bike, its just sticking your leg out like 10° more and feeling where the pavement is. #255 could easily be grinding away his knee puck there, but he's choosing not to. My guess is that he uses his knee puck like a warning light, if he feels it make contact then he know's he has just about used up all the lean angle he has.
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I believe the jurispridence that came out of some trial in favor of motorcycles lane splitting was done to offer more safety to riders under heavy traffic. It's easier to dodge cars splitting lanes than standing behind them. Then it became a traffic beater and now apparentley we're down to painting new lanes for scooters.
My guess is that the scooter was not legal to begin with (it should have moved to the center of the lane in absence of traffic, aka regular riding in those conditions) but then, no I don't think you can pass a vehicle within the same lane, even though it wasn't obvious which lane it was occupying.
I'm not entirely sure what your talking about, but there aren't specific lanes for Motorcycle's or Scooters here in California. There are some freeways with some space between the carpool and #1 lane that is commonly used by motorcyclists, but it is most assuredly not a motorcycle lane.
Lane splitting is a common everyday and accepted part of life in California, however the actual legality of the practice exists in a sort of nebulous limbo, I would liken it to the decriminalization of some recreational substances. Not outright legal, but you've really gotta push your luck to get in trouble for it.
I'm fairly certain the status of lane splitting here in CA comes down to the fact that the C.H.P. and other assorted Law Enforcement officers need to be able to move about on highly congested roadways, and they can't just lane split on their motorcycles if its explicitly forbidden by the C.V.C. so there is a statement on the C.H.P. website that makes it "permissible" but the lack of any specific guidelines give officers a WIDE band of discretion for ticketing "unsafe lane splitting". Good luck arguing in front of a judge that you're definition of "Safe and Prudent" was more applicable to the situation than that of the Officer who wrote you a ticket.
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As for sticking my knee out more I'll persevere but I like to stay relaxed if I can.
You're already using over 50° of lean angle in some corners, the reason you're not knee down is quite simply that your not sticking you knee out far enough. In RChase's photos ( which are much better than he gives himself credit for
) and mine you can clearly see both of our inside leg's is stuck out way more than your's. IMHO you need to bite the bullet and get some kind of tank grips, then find a better seat position that lets you rotate your hips into the turn and lock on with your outside leg. This will let you pivot your inside leg out to almost perpendicular to the bike and you'll be dragging you knee with ease. -
The problem with that question is that technically speaking lane sharing isn't "legal"
there is nothing in the California Vehicle Code that allows it,
just this one statement on the CHP website
Lane splitting is permissible if done in a safe and prudent manner.
so if you could pass the bike in a safe and prudent manner, and you can convince a CHP officer or judge of that fact, then your good.
My question is why was he riding on the double yellow ( which is also not legal ) if he was going slower than traffic, he should have a lane position firmly inside the carpool lane at the point
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Half a cheek is plenty, the real weight in the equation is in your upper body,
based on the photo's you posted, your not really sticking you knee out at all, it might feel like you are, but the inside and outside knee's look almost identically positioned to me,
compare to these, I've tried to find similar shots where the lean angle is pretty close to what you're using. You can see my knee is stuck out considerably more. Also the first to pictures it looks kinda like your crowding up on the tank, is that the case ?
Based on the location of your knee in the 3rd picture I'm pretty sure you'll drag hard parts before your knee makes contact.
Is your bike GP shift ?
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My understanding of the current MotoGP situation is that Honda has screwed themselves with a new Engine design that mostly suffers from too small a fly wheel and produces to much engine brake. They cannot fix this mid season due to the Engine development being frozen.
I believe they have fallen for the age old trap of adding more horsepower and getting slower lap times as a result
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I ended up liking the 1 gear approach so much that I continued to ride using only 4 and 5 gear the next few sessions even after my shifting issue was sorted.
IMO the "One gear No Brakes" riding format is one of the best kept secrets of the CSS school.
Congratulations on "First Contact", sounds like you made so major breakthroughs
)
) and mine you can clearly see both of our inside leg's is stuck out way more than your's. IMHO you need to bite the bullet and get some kind of tank grips, then find a better seat position that lets you rotate your hips into the turn and lock on with your outside leg. This will let you pivot your inside leg out to almost perpendicular to the bike and you'll be dragging you knee with ease.
[Spoiler] Phillip Island - Again, The Best Race Of The Year
in School Questions/General Discussion
Posted
I believe you're math is in fact incorrect. With the current 11 point deficit Lorenzo and Rossi finishing 1 - 2 in both of the final races will result in Rossi winning the title by a single point. ( 25 points for 1st, 20 points for 2nd, Lorenzo recoups 10 points total )
His championship hopes now are quite literally out of his hands and he is dependent on other riders beating Rossi to help him make up the points gap.
Watching the first half of the race I was certain Iannone was doing his best to help Rossi by pestering Lorenzo and passing him on the front straight, giving Rossi time to recover from his poor starting position, then it looked to me like he was helping drag him along to the front by giving Rossi a draft on the straight to help make up time on Lorenzo, but that theory was debunked when he beat Rossi in the end