Ok maybe less about taming and more about 'understanding'!!
And hi all, I've just registered
I’ve been nosing around a bit seeing if I could find some answers before asking questions that have already been asked but I cant really find what I’m after, which is more specifically regarding 2 stroke riding.
So… basically I’m riding a 2 stroke Honda RS125GP. I’ve only ridden it once, on track @ CSS Level 1, and I highsided in the last session. Not entirely sure what happened, but one instructor who saw it believes I hit the powerband while cranked over on the edge of the tyre, rear wheel spun up, skidded, gripped, somersaulted etc… someone else noted my rear slick had a lot of oil on it as it turned out I'd sprung a bit of a leak, so I think it was a combination of both those things – though mostly the first.
Anyway, this is a very different animal to my road bike which is a grunty Ducati V twin with oodles of engine braking, so I’m trying very hard to understand the way I should be riding the 2 stroke and what keeps it happy. Its extremely light, and I'm barely 55kg myself. Its also just sheer bonkers by comparison, I do love it.
I was watching Simon Crafars motovudu film the other day and noted he said he always shuts of the throttle off going into a corner after working down through the gears at high revs and hard braking, and then very gradually rolling it on again as the bike has completed more of the turn and you're getting it more upright again. Since the 125 is happiest in high revs and inside the power band, is this irrelevant to me? Do I want to be in the high revs with a constant throttle on while cornering, as opposed to shutting off completely?
I guess I’m trying to understand this as its clearly where I went wrong last time, I came up behind a cluster of bikes as I was coming out of a corner outside the powerband; saw a gap, gave it some welly (probably abruptly as opposed to gradually, though I don’t remember)…and landed on my head. So I either want to be in the powerband and giving it the beans, or not in it and winding on very gently…. Is that correct?
One other thing I’d like to ask is about body positioning in corners – as I understand it the CSS method is to get your butt right back in the seat, while I’ve heard this contradicted and that you should have your nuts (if you have any), up against the tank and pivot off the seat. By default I seem to slide forward to the tank, but whats the correct way so at least I know what I should be trying to do? If its to stay back then I may get some grips for the tank to keep myself in the right place under heavy braking; usually I brake and slide forward and cant do much about it!
Advice appreciated, and any other tips for riding this bike would be great. I’m not planning on giving up… thanks in advance.