rchase
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Posts posted by rchase
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Interesting quote there.
I had a similar experience myself. Not chasing Rossi of course but with a 2 up ride with a much faster rider. My comprehension of traction and braking were never quite the same. Imagine a 2up ride with Rossi. Most people would not be physically strong enough to hold on.
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So. I had trouble with the Knee to Knee myself. I was just putting too much thought into it. As Hotfoot mentioned the whole point is to stay anchored to the bike the full time as to not put pressure on the bars.
It never hurts to work on your lower body strength and core strength. Some great suggestions on that.
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Thanks for joining! Don't worry about the amount of contribution. Even a small observation can be amazing and ground breaking for someone.
BTW. I got the pun you put in the title. I can tell you have been lurking for a bit.
Welcome to the forum! Ask away with the questions. I can't tell you the number of times I have understood something better just by seeing a post with someone asking the question from a different point of view.
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Yeah. Manufacturers have to tune their ABS for street use and sometimes that leads to compromises on the track. A lot of people disable the systems. There are several manufacturers that allow you to tune your ABS system. Sounds like Triumph has considered this too with their modes. You may find that Triumph has some kind of calibration kit that allows you to further alter settings in their race parts division. BMW offers a similar product for the S1000RR called the Race Calibration Kit.
It feels good to realize a performance issue is due to your outgrowing some of the tuning modes of your bike.
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Oooh. I like the way you think Spaghetti!
This year's fleet was mostly premium package bikes with DDC and Forged wheels. For a mostly stock bike I was really impressed with the fleet bike that I rode.
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That's awesome. Certainly sounds like you are going about things the right way. Every time I ride with the school I learn an incredible amount of stuff.
Since your plans are racing you should also consider the school's Code Race program if you haven't already.
When you start building your bike you should share your experience with us. It's really fun to be able to see someone getting "moved in" to a new machine. Back when I bought my bike I had a lot of fun sharing the process of getting my bike track ready. Here's a link for you.
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Absolutely. I was pretty neutral on DDC until I rode one of the 2015 bikes that the school had. Trevor got me at start finish and said "Robert are you actually going to ride the 2015 that you have reserved today". I took the bike out expecting the bike to not be as good as my bike. Boy was I wrong. At the end of it I was cackling like a madman and riding like a hooligan. I would say that for my level of riding the DDC system was equal to my Ohlins system. If not slightly better because it seemed to adapt to things my Ohlins system did not. A friend of mine has a DDC equipped bike and he demands a lot out of a bike. It's yet to slow him down. He's even made comments that DDC helps soften wheelie landings that are part of his riding style.
The reason I would recommend it for racing is because of the agility it offers. I have heard of racers having to tune their suspension for the cold mornings when the oil in their forks is heavy and viscous and then tune it again mid day once the fluid has had a chance to warm up. The problem with this of course is getting out on track and discovering that you may have gotten the adjustment slightly wrong. DDC does this all by itself 100x a second and eliminates the opportunity for error. Being able to focus on the riding could provide some pretty big advantages to some riders. I know it would help me immensely because I get uptight any time I even have to think about breaking out the sockets. I often bring a spare bike just in case I wear out tires or have any kind of mechanical issues at track days. I just want to ride and not deal with anything else.
Hotfoot. Do any of the coach bikes have the 2d sensor on the front fork? It's an expensive upgrade but from what I understand it gives the DDC system more data and a lot more adjust-ability. I don't have a lot of details because I don't have a DDC equipped bike myself to experiment around with. From what I understand it also can feed additional data into the Data Logger so you can see suspension travel in the data.
The really exciting part of all of this new technology is even though it's in it's infancy in the consumer market this stuff has been around for years in the pro market. The 2d software that I use to access my data from is very similar to what a MotoGP engineer would be using to look at the data on one of those bikes. The only major difference being of course way more data points and resolution for the pro systems and the ability to see that data in real time while the bike is on track.
Ok. I need to stop. I could bore you guys for hours talking about DDC, DTC, RCK2, Cornering ABS and all the other technological innovations that are coming onto the market. It's an exciting time to be riding at the track though for sure.
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That could be cool. You should stick a go pro on there for us too. I know video does not interest you that much but think of your fans.
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Ah Ha!
That explains the trip through the grass and the ride through the wall. Some mega tight apexes with the tail literally right over those parts.
It would be neat if they measured the length of the average superbike top to bottom and gave the pointer some wings to estimate where the wheels might be.
Really super cool data overlay though. Gforces would be awesome too. I have been tempted try that myself with a smartphone app just to see what the range is.
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Thanks guys. Hotfoot you do realize it's the school's fault. I loved #25 out of the school's 2012 fleet so much I ended up losing my mind a bit.
4erramses One thing you may want to focus some research on is suspension. My suggestion is for a DDC equipped bike but most racers prefer conventional suspension. I'm a bit biased towards DDC because I know an amazing rider who is very fond of the system. My 2013 is equipped with an very well setup Ohlins system but if I were doing a new bike I would go with DDC for the flexibility. It's a slight compromise but it gives a huge amount of flexibility in rapidly changing situations. If you have the knowledge time and patience though it's hard to beat a good Ohlins setup.
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That's actually a quite neat way of displaying the data. Thanks for sharing that.
I have seen GPS data on static google maps but never a nice moving one like that.
I have a feeling there's some GPS error though. I saw the bike go through a couple of walls and the grass.
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One last tidbit. As you can tell I'm pretty passionate about my BMW's.
BMW does have a race contingency program. I'm not sure about Germany but it's available here in the USA market. Here's a couple of links that give more information about the program.
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Great video and awesome story. Just a plug for the school store. Twist of the Wrist 1 and 2 are available on Audio CD. It's quite awesome to hear some of the story from the book as well with Keith narrating it on the CD.
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One other thing. It's worth mentioning that the 2nd generation bikes despite being older are still great. It's really a question of your preference. The 2015's are faster but the 2nd generation machines are well known and are still relevant. I own a 2013 model bike equipped with every HP race part and carbon wheels. It will outrun stock 2015's. I even equipped my 2013 with a rev match downshift unit just like the 2015's.
Many people like the HP4 because it was a special edition bike with most of the HP race options as standard. The HP4 has an X factor because of it's standard equipment and limited production. The S1000RR and the HP4 are quite different and the HP4 was a discount on a lot of HP race parts. To equip a standard S1000RR to the level of an HP4 cost a lot more money.
You can get 2nd generation bikes cheaper now because of the 3rd generation bikes being on the market. There's a lot more parts availability at the moment for the 2nd generation bikes but that advantage likely will go away in the future as the 2015 bikes become more common.
I'm keeping my 2nd gen bikes around but the 2015 is the best option if you are starting with no bike.
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Interesting question. Here's my spin on it.
First a bit about the bikes.
The HP4. Production from 2013 to 2014 and based on the 2nd generation of the S1000RR. Two models. HP4 standard and HP4 competition. The HP4 has DDC and a number of the BMW HP race parts as standard to the bike. The HP4 competition added a number of carbon trim parts in addition to the standard HP race parts. All the bikes are numbered and are limited editions. Both bikes offer Forged wheels as standard. The HP4 is no longer in production.
The S1000RR. Production from 2010 to 2015. The 2nd generation bikes were mechanically the same as the HP4 with standard suspension and cast aluminum wheels. The 3rd generation bike has upgraded geometry and electronics. DDC is an option on the 3rd generation S1000RR. Forged wheels are also an option.
If I were building a bike to race with I would start with a 2015 S1000RR (remember the HP4 does not exist anymore). I would go with the HP race ECU + RCK3 and the factory Akrapovic evolution TI exhaust. I would opt with the premium package bike with DDC and forged wheels and add the 2d sensor for the front suspension. I would want the HP rearsets and levers as well as the datalogger.
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Just voted again. Don't forget. Your smartphone, work computer and home computer all have different IP addresses.
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Go Laura!
I have already voted but I'll probably vote again soon. I have to say though. Nobody deserves a cool little KTM more than she does. It would look awesome parked next to her other super cool lightweight bikes.
Laura is an amazing rider and a great coach. She's helped me in person and on the forums to do things I never thought were possible.
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That one is awesome too!
Thanks for sharing both of those photos. Seeing someone accomplishing something that is difficult with ease is very inspiring. I also struggle a bit with right turns vs my left turns.
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Csmith12. That's an awesome photo!!! Very relaxed looking. It's ironic that you have speed written on the side of your helmet. You look like you are casually adjusting the speed knob!
If I were writing a book on riding I would totally steal that photo to demonstrate the screwdriver grip.
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The right hand turn issue is common. Honestly I have trouble with it myself from time to time.
There are two important controls on the right side grip of a motorcycle. One's the brake. The other is the throttle. Brakes and throttles require a lot of fine motor skills to operate. Big heavy handed inputs on either of these controls have major consequences and we all subconsciously know that. On the left side you just have the clutch and nothing else. A small mistake on the clutch is not that big of a deal. A small mistake on the throttle or brake can crash you.
The "screw driver" grip hand position works if you use it but it feels different. It takes time and practice to develop the muscle memory to feel 100% comfortable. I had it down for a while until I started heavier braking later into right hand corners complicating the control and grip action on that side.
Just keep practicing. It will feel awkward for a while and then one day it will just click.
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Don't they require you to drag them behind the bike as part of the race licensing process? At least that's what it looks like sometimes.
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Awesome pix. Looks like someone was having a LOT of fun.
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It very well could have bent or broken something depending on the design of the master cylinder.
For example this brembo unit has a shaft that could easily be bent if the lever was hyper extended. A bent lever might not give you all the travel you want. I would get it checked ASAP.
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I saw this video and wanted to share it. Dr. John Hinds did a presentation about his experience providing medical care to Road Racers and spectators in Ireland. Some good information for understanding some of the accidents and risks involved in our passion.
Just Bought A New S1000Rr
in School Questions/General Discussion
Posted
OOOH! I came to check the forums and I found this awesome topic!
If you have the funds all of the upgrades you mentioned are worth doing. With one exception. The quick turn throttle. I agree with Hotfoot. You don't really need it on this bike. It's amazingly easy to pin. I have a friend who holds a few lap records and his bike has stock throttles and brake pads.
One other thing. The RCK2 is for Gen2 bikes. If you are going with a 2015+ model you would want the RCK3. The dealer would likely pick this up but it was worth mentioning.
The HP rearsets are worth every penny in their quality and range of adjustment. They are made by Gilles tooling and the foot peg itself is quite similar in design to other Gilles Rearsets so you may be able to go to them for a replacement peg if needed. For racing it would be worthwhile exploring replacement parts ahead of time in the event of a tip over.
Here are some other things to look at.
Bike Protection. Case guards, Frame Sliders and Axle Sliders. I went with Woodcraft for both of my bikes. High quality stuff with amazing support and replacement parts available. Their rear axle sliders double as swing arm spools and they are nice and chunky and make it easy to get the bike on the rear stand.
Racing Accessories. You were probably going to do these anyway but it's worth a mention. I was going to go out and spend big bucks on the Chicken Hawk warmers and Pittbull stands that are popular here with the racers. I had to swap out a set of wheels at the track and picked up a set of MotoD stands and was impressed with their quality and price point. They actually make it easier to lift the bike and take up less space in the back of my car. I have two sets now and don't even want Pitbulls. Their tire warmers are also a great value for what you get. Go with all of their Pro line stuff. It's not that much more expensive than their economy stuff and it's all great.
On the Calibration kit and Race ECU. I would suggest you do the following for your own understanding of the system. Take delivery of the bike without these installed initially and go do a track day with the bike. Ride normally until you get your bearings and try all the modes. One mode in particular I find super helpful and you will be really surprised to hear what it is. Rain mode. It's the most restrictive mode the bike has. It's a great way to understand how the system works and to "feel it" interacting. I did a track day where I intentionally stayed in Rain mode and started riding beyond the limits of the mode. It provided me a lot of insight as to how the system worked when I reviewed the data. Make sure you have warm tires for Race and Slick. Once you get the feel for the bike with it's standard configuration in all the modes then get your Race ECU installed. Just a helpful warning. Be cautious. I borrowed a friends Race ECU equipped bike and was riding cautiously because it was not my bike. I was really surprised when the front wheel jumped off the ground. The Race ECU is not just about the power. It allows the electronics on the bike to be less restrictive.
Here's a video you will find helpful. This is for Gen2 bikes but the Gen3 bikes are the same only better.