aslcbr600

I haven't seen anything like this posted so figured I would throw this up on the threads and see what questions/ answers we can all come up with. So you have two different temperatures, ambient temp and track temp. 1. At what point is either the ambient temp and track temp too cold/ too hot for maintaining grip? 2. What tire compound would be most preferred in these conditions if the track isn't wet? 3. What changes would need to be made in how you ride the bike around the track? Ex. slower turn in instead of harder quick flicks, braking earlier then normal. 4. How do tires wear vs cold conditions and hot conditions? I will pitch my thoughts on some of these: 1. not sure. 2. I would assume soft compound for cold and harder compound for hot. 3. In cold conditions I would think it's a little like rain where you are more smooth and technical vs aggressive around the track. 4. In cold conditions the tires wouldn't wear as much but rubber quality wouldn't last as long. Hot conditions the tire would wear faster but the compound could get too hot and start to lose grip. These are just my thoughts and answers, curious to see what everyone else comes up with!

Just adding this into the equation here: Since it's a new track for you, do you think your visual skills are hindered from maybe some SR's? You mentioned going through the corner and not finding or "forgetting" to find a RP. You could also look at that as being possible tunnel vision or spending too much attention money? At what pace around the new track are you riding at? Have you tried slowing the pace down enough to be able to focus more on your RP's vs trying to keep pace and trying to log everything in your memory at the same time?

I will do this one day! I may not be the fastest guy but to even say you raced in the TT is one heck of a bookmark in anyones personal or professional career.

lol alright I will be on the lookout for it!

Cool, see you out there!

I have 5 1/2 months until levels 1 & 2, I am way excited! I wish I could do the 2day camp but this is going to be an expensive year getting setup with 2 race bikes, a trailer and all new gear. Anyone else from here going to be there?

A small beater isn't the right tool to pound in a nail but if your hammer broke the beater will still get the job done lol. In other words prevention is the way to go but it's also nice to have more tools in your toolbox because you never know what type of situation you could end up in on or off track.

I love the triple personally......great power all the way through the rev range, probably the closest thing you can get to a liter bike that's still in the 600 class category as far as how the power is delivered. My next two race bikes are going to be a 08 CBR1000RR and a 09 Daytona 675.

Figured I would give an update on my progress thus far: I am now down from 185lbs to 178lbs, I weigh myself consistently and I have not had any variance in my new weight for the past week and a half or so which is nice because it proves my efforts really are paying off and not just having a "light day". I have been working 6 days a week 12hr shifts with a 2hr roundtrip for work commutes so essentially you can call it 14hr days 6 days a week. I haven't been able to really hit the gym except on my 1 day off a week so I knew I would need a drastic change in diet in order to continue losing weight. My job is on my feet all day doing various types of work but it's not intense all day long. We take 3 half hour long breaks every 3 hours, how does a guy lose weight with this type of schedule? Well I bring 4-5 bottles of water with me and 4 nature valley protein bars. I eat one protein bar every break instead of chowing down on full fledged meals like the other guys do. Each bar is 190cal, I also eat fruit on occasion but not always. I also bring some chicken or some type of carb meal like spaghetti and split that 1 serving size to 50% each break so I am not intaking a full serving favoring 1 break. I eat the slightly heavier serving with carbs at the 1pm break when I still have 6hrs left of work so it has a much better chance of burning all of the carbs as energy instead of being stored as fat at a later break we take at 4pm. At the 4pm break I will eat a protein bar and continue drinking water, I excercise when I can but right now it's very difficult to do when you need good sleep. I have been doing this routine for 3 weeks now and have lost 7lbs. The results aren't amazing but considering the conditions I think it's working very well for me! Rumor has it we may be switching to 6 10's so at that point I will actually have time to go to the gym

Went back through the book and what I ended up realizing is the more corner speed you carry the less you "have" to use the throttle for acceleration and speed just more for keeping the suspension compliant. Trying to "balance" the two seems counter productive because trying to make up speed by using less lean and more throttle only means you could have taken the corner faster as said above.

I know what you mean, are you in Minnesota by any chance? lol Those types of turns are a regular occurance around here and it's very annoying. Makes it hard to hold a good line when the turn strays out and then decreases radius with no bank and using the 2 step drill is impossible because every turn has such a long curve on it. I have played around with this a little bit around here (I am on a 600CC sportbike mind you) using the 2 step I pretty much wait until I come as close as possible to the yellow line on the turn entry and then using quick flick getting the bike leaned over just in time BUT the trick is to not over steer the turn. This is where I realized I was making a critical mistake. I did everything else right, I used the throttle control rule, visual skills, body positioning, 2 step and quick steering but my steering input was too much! I came from riding in CA mountains where you have to quick flick and use somewhat aggressive steering inputs based on your riding pace because the turns are tighter, sometimes blind corners and whatever else goes along with it. Up here in the north its pretty much just put one finger on the bars and give it a push lol

Some good points, but more specifically what I am looking for is the balance between lean angles. Just because you drag your elbow on every corner doesn't mean it will give faster lap times. Now one indicator I can come up with is if it feels awkward, like in TWOTII stated that excessive lean angle in a corner is slower, unstable and awkward. Of course that is one extreme to the other comparing too much lean and using max lean around a corner due to high entry speed. Looking to fill the gap on that middle ground.....does it just come down to more of bike setup and rider style then it does balancing lean angle and how aggressive you can get back to the gas? I have the science of riding book but I will have to take a look through there and see if I can find anything on this.

We know that a good line is one that allows you to use the throttle control rule correctly and hit all of your RP's. We also know that the less lean angle you use the more throttle you can use because of the added contact patch of the rear tire. What I don't know is how to balance the difference between using lean angle and throttle, example you have a 90* elbow style turn and you take the turn with a little more lean angle due to a little higher turn entry speed. You know that the more you are leaned over the less aggressive with the throttle you can be right? So for just the sake of throwing out a number say you took the turn entry at 86mph with say 55* lean angle and less throttle. Now you enter the same turn at 75mph with say 45* lean angle but due to more tire contact patch you can be a little more aggressive with the throttle then you could in the first turn scenario.....how do you balance those two out exactly to find the quickest way around the track? I know not every turn is the same dynamic but what leaves me scratching my head is in KC's books it doesn't give you the "how to exactly balance the two" instead it's kinda left with some cloudy water and could be misinterpreted.

Just to be clear that was because it was a left turn right?

Hmmmm......there is a break in communication somewhere then because I was told I needed the 1250.00 deposit prior to class and that this was not a imprint of your card.

Yup same for me as well, this is what happened to me last time I was supposed to do the 2day school back in November of last year. Had the 2days covered but the cost to rent the BMW for the deposit 1250.00+400.00 (plane ticket)+120.00 (car rental)+130.00 (hotel stay) made for another 1800.00 roughly give or take some with the already cost of the camp. I know it costs to play but man were talking 4k for 2days, granted you get the 1250.00 back if you don't crash or break something but you still have to have it on hand in the first place. This is just a question, if say you brought a track prepped bike that would pass tech inspection if they are refueling the bikes why can't they just refuel yours? Pop the cap and fill it, it's not like the S1000 uses special blended octane that no other bike can use. If your bike breaks down then it's on you, a chance you take for not paying to rent the BMW. It sounds like I am not the only one in this boat, would this be something the school would consider? I understand having the deposit for the BMW bikes but the reasons I am seeing to have to rent the bike doesn't seem like using your own would be a total breach of time. I am sure some of us would rather use our own bikes in the first place especially more so at the 2day camp because you are paying more so you expect more results. Granted all skills applied to each bike change very little but comfort and confidence play a much bigger role, I am 100% more likely to learn more on my track bike because it's specifically sprung for me, it's what I am comfortable with and I don't have to worry about dumping a 1250.00 deposit if something were to unfortunately happen. Not saying on my personal bike I would out ride my limits but I think I would certainly learn a little more on a bike that is confidence inspiring to me. Just seems a little odd that a person pays more for a "private lesson" but is forced to rent a bike.

Yeah those were the ones I was referring to, think that would really help or would I just be wasting my money at that point?

That's not a bad idea, good tip!

Nice bike, I wish I could even do a test ride right now....stupid winter!

Yeah I can see how natural reflexes would throw you off, I am glad to see there are clear benefits though and specific reasons why the GP pattern is preferred for racing or trackdays.

haha yea I could see that happening, well maybe since I haven't been able to ride all winter it will be easier to adjust to the GP shift pattern if I switch it on the bike right away. Thanks for the input!

I never thought of it that way, in those RH turns and trying to shift it is a little funky trying to wrap your ankle around to get under the shifter. So if the bike is in neutral would 1st gear be "up" and then "down" for 2, 3, 4 ect...?

How many of you guys that are frequent trackday or racers use or prefer the GP shift and why? From what I have read it really depends on the track that depicts whether it will help or not. Also from what I have read from other various places is that the main benefit of the GP pattern is so for when you are leaned over in a LH turn that you can still upshift without risking your foot hitting the pavement or worse. Here is my question, upshifts especially with a QS are pretty quick and you have more time to upshift then you do coming into a corner downshifting. I find it from a mental aspect that downshifting for a corner from say 4th to 1st would take more time since you have to click it up instead of just pressing down. What do you guys think?

I feel you there, I am by no means a rich man. I scrape and save pennies to make my way to track days and races.I always explore adjusting the rider before I buy. That is just plain smart. Would be nice if we were factory supported wouldn't it? lol "eh I don't like those gas charged ohlins forks, test out something else"

Wow thanks for breaking that down for me! I am not a big fan when it comes to numbers but I see your point, the change in confidence could do worse for me in an awkward BP to achieve one thing. I suppose I could always just get thicker knee sliders..... csmith12: True that their are a lot of adjustments you can make for the bike to fit you better, I haven't explored all of these options yet simply because the rider is easier and cheaper to adjust lol.