rchase
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Posts posted by rchase
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Start marking your calendars. Just got an e-mail that the schedule is out.
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Is there anything like a power commander for suspension? That is, something you can program per track to adjust itself depending on where you are?
EDIT: Hmm. I swear I read that a PC can change its power delivery on the fly based on the track. Am I crazy? I read too much stuff... If it doesn't do this, it totally should!
BMW has the Race Calibration Kit that allows you to go in and change TC, DDC and virtually any other setting on the bike to an amazingly anal level of granularity. That's about as close as you can get. The RCK can only make changes on the bike while it's off the track though but since DDC is a dynamic system you can probably do a lot with it. They have had that around for a while and even the first gen 2010 bikes can use it. If BMW's past performance is any measure it will be interesting to see how they respond to some of the new stuff out there.
I have heard Aprilia is doing something with a smartphone app that interacts with the bike in real time to tune it for specific corners. I'm not sure I would want to trust my phone that much though. Imagine the edge case of two completely opposite setup corners and your phone locking up in between them and leaving the bike poorly setup for the corner.
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Judging from the Ducati 2015 product launch, they seem to have taken a step beyond BMW's DDC - if it works. The DDC reacts to what it feels is happening to the suspension without any consideration to what the rider is doing to the bike (braking hard, accelerating, turning in, etc). The Ducati system is reported to be event based (derived from their MotoGP technology) and takes into account that the rider is on the brakes hard and proactively adjusts the suspension instead of reacting to the result of hard braking. That was the gist of it that I gleaned from the announcements. If it works will it be better? Who knows - they seem to think so. I'm looking forward to the supersport shootout articles comparing the new R1, H2, BMW, and 1299 Panigale. I love all this new competition and looking forward to some good times ahead!
I'm also looking forward to the shootout videos. As an Italian bike owner myself I know "if it works" is a big question. The Italians are hit and miss with new technology. Sometimes they even get really simple things wrong like the hub bearings on my MV Agusta. Sometimes however they REALLY get it right.
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When I was setting up my FZR400 I lowered the front end as well and experienced the "too much of a good thing" myself. The FZR400 has a unique geometry from the factory with a 17inch front tire and an 18inch rear tire for great turn in. Lowering the front end made the bike really unstable. My test ride was very short.
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Not so sure I agree with you there. How many other bikes have an active suspension as advanced as BMW's DDC? There are others but how many of them are able to adapt to in real time 100x a second? Heck for that matter how many of them have active suspensions at all?
DDC is far from outdated. On the HP4 it was BMW allowing the world to see a glimpse of the future.
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Thanks Hotfoot. I did some research earlier and ended up with more questions than answers. That's more useful than what I found.
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Hotfoot. That's some great insight I have never really considered myself. Different riding styles require different setups. Of all of the times I have had suspension setup work done nobody has ever asked me anything about my riding style or skill set. That's almost as important as your weight in riding gear.
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Ok. Now I'm curious. What does that do to the handling?
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To be entirely fair if you are really basing this on science you would need to isolate the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, wind) perfectly and have a rider that could give you the exact same lap each time. You would also need to make the test double blind with multiple test riders so that the rider's perception of the changes could be effectively isolated. Testing to that level is rather difficult. That's the bar in the scientific community.
The reality is most of these test are "good enough" but still have human factors involved. Because of the human factors alone there's a bit of "art" to this in my opinion at least. I have been wrong before though.
I think it would be an interesting experiment to have two identical bikes with identical suspensions and settings and paint the suspension on one a different color with a different manufacturer's logo on it. Have riders ride both bikes and see which one they like better. You might get some very interesting results based on the human factors and their perception of the "upgrade".
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I don't have a lot of info on the bike since I only spent a short time with it. From what I understand there were geometry changes and it was equipped with Ohlins suspension. I don't know any specifics about the suspension setup such as models or tuning. The bike was equipped with the Akro TI race system and BMW HP race ECU and had the RCK2. It was putting out well over 200hp. Setting it in rain mode (yes I was pretty intimidated) was like setting it to Race mode on mine. The bike was on carbon wheels and Pirelli race slicks. I have seen the bike before at the track on forged wheels so I'm sure they get swapped depending on need.
I had always been of the school of thought that only professional racers could take advantage of the "little differences" that you see on a bike like this. I was completely and absolutely wrong on both of those views. Even a regular rider like myself can feel the changes and they aren't subtle differences. Something to keep in mind though is even with a well tuned bike putting a rider like myself on it is not going to win you any races. It's not just the bike. It's the combination of bike and rider.
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I recently was able to experience the race vs stock thing myself. The difference is pretty mind blowing. I rode all day on my stock 2014 S1000RR and someone dropped a race prepared S1000RR off at my pit and insisted I try it for a few laps. I made the mistake of previously saying "I would not have the skill to notice the differences" when they suggested upgrades for my bike, and they got a kick out of proving me wrong. I was EXTREMELY nervous heading out as it was my first time on slicks and the bike was not mine. I certainly noticed on the first corner and all of the "be careful this is not your bike" flew right out the window by the 3rd corner. It was awesome in every way but turn in and cornering was mind blowing. Getting back on my bike was a bit of an adjustment. A bike that had amazed me with it's handling previously seemed to be heavy and hard to steer after the ride on the correctly setup one.
Stock bikes are setup for street use and a wide variety of rider skill. Race prepared bikes don't have to make those street and rider skill compromises. One of the things I really admire about my 2014 is how you can ride it fast at the track and how absolutely composed and sedate it is on the street. Going to a full race setup you would loose a lot of that street composure.
I read that article as well and it was interesting to see how the different setups changed the bike so dramatically.
If someone gives you the opportunity to ride a bike that's been correctly setup do it. It's not only a lot of fun but it's a huge learning experience. Be warned though it's an expensive ride. You will instantly want all of that setup work and special parts on your machine.
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Congratulations Laura!
Not only is Laura one heck of a racer she's one heck of a Superbike School coach too! How many people on the race grid can go from full speed down to a first timer's pace and have the personality skills to coach?
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Has anybody seen the new 2015 S1000RR? It's making me jealous. 199hp, shift assist that now works with downshifts and automatically rev matches, DDC and ABS pro. Lighter, faster and meaner.
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Yes the school has a specific rig designed to allow you to practice holding constant brake pressure while bliping the throttle, it's a a neat set up, while I haven't actually been coached on it, I have sat on the thing and played around with it
I know one additional thing I'm going to do next year at Barber if it's available.
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One part is many try and downshift too early. Brake first, scrub some speed, then downshift (the blips won't have to beas high for one). Take any unneeded throttle cable play out, that can help. With a slipper clutch, and relying on it, one can still overrev the engine. False neutrals can be a symptom of mis-adjusted gear lever.
Been there. Done that. One on of your 2012 BMW's none the less. Never overreved it but it certainly screamed at me doing it the wrong way. It was really distracting. I have heard as well you can easily get sucked in if you get a false neutral by downshifting first.
Lately for time management purposes I have been using the brake first technique. It's not the best way but it works quite well. Going back to braking and downshifting at the same time is on my list. I find at least for me doing both at the same time eliminates one thing I have to think about on corner entry. With one less thing to check off the list I could wait later before the entry into the corner.
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I have heard him say some interesting things on Youtube that were opposite to what I have heard others recommend. There's always multiple ways of approaching problems and solving them. What's absolutely wrong for some is absolutely right for others.
When I first started learning about riding I looked at some information in absolute's as in correct vs incorrect. Over time I have found that it can't really work this way and having an open mind and embracing other ideas works better (at least for me). Watching someone do it "wrong" and getting great results is sometimes a quite compelling argument.
If you really stop for a moment and think about some of the science it's based on a lot of unknowns with a huge human variable inserted in there to further muck around with the results. For those areas artistry can really fill the gap.
If it works. It works. You never know if it will work for you unless you try it at least once.
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I picked up a MotoD tire pressure gauge at the track from one of the vendors. It was about $60 and it's a digital gauge. From what I understand from the guy selling it to me the internals are very similar to the more expensive motion pro digital gauge. I checked it against a known accurate gauge and it's pretty close + or - some error for the pressure escaping during tests. It's a cheapie but it's better than the one I bought from Cycle gear for $25. It's also better than double the price for the Motion Pro I had my eyes on.
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Awesome video. The new camera bike makes cheating difficult with the brake indicator.
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It was his classes that got me wondering.350 bucks it seems....care to try Robert?
Something to consider in the future. At the moment I need to learn some of the basics before I would get a lot of benefit out learning from a guru like Dave. I have a feeling I would be totally lost in one of his classes. I have only tinkered with one suspension and that was out of need and desperation.
Max from Traxxion Dynamics has a book about suspension that I have been meaning to buy and read. Perhaps something to look at over the winter.
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Dave Moss run's a suspension class with Sportbike Track time. It's reserved for Advanced riders only but from what I understand is pretty involved for a full understanding of suspension technology.
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I have a secret formula I don't normally share but you guys are friends and have helped me a TON with riding questions so I'll share...
My Range Rover has original Connolly Leather inside. When I bought it the leather was nearly ruined. I used a product called Leatherique and afterwards it looked like I had gone to an interior shop. I have used it on my suits with pretty decent results.
There's two products a cleaner and an oil. You can probably get away with just the oil and use detergent and water as the cleaner. It's expensive but it's worth it. It's a pretty "committed" treatment process with a long soak time. You can't just use the stuff and go out on an afternoon ride afterwards. It's pretty amazing stuff though as it soaks in and "feeds" the leather. A friend bought an old 1990's vintage suit that had been sitting for years and was pretty "crispy". We used Leatherique on it and it brought the suit back to presentable useable condition.
For day to day stuff I use ZEP leather conditioner and cleaner. It's Silicone based and is a good protector and brings shine back. It's quick and easy to use but it's not a deep conditioner. It's great for gloves and other stuff.
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It's held up pretty well. I have had them for about 6 months or so. Just be sure to zip it up before washing. It gets a bit tangled with other laundry otherwise. Having more than one is helpful too for multiple day events. A fresh clean one for every day.
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Any tight fitting lycra based garment. For a while I wore some inexpensive two piece shirt and pants that I obtained at a local sporting goods store for about $30. I saw 1pc lycra undersuits at a track day vendor and bought one. I prefer the 1pc garments because they don't move around as much as a separate top and bottom. Here's the one I bought at the track. I liked it so much that I bought a second one after the first day riding in it.
http://www.motodracing.com/coolmax-motorcycle-undersuit
As Hotfoot mentioned this does a few things for you. It keeps sweat away from your suit. It helps you cool faster and helps the sweat evaporate. It also makes your gear "float" on top of the undergarment avoiding a lot of the pinching and bunching when you are actively moving around on the bike. Staying cool and eliminating distraction helps immensely.
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That's what I noticed last year as well.
Pro tip. Book early. I almost did not make it last year because I waited until Feb.
2015 S1000Rr
in School Questions/General Discussion
Posted
That's a good question. Typically I have noticed they get ordered with "all the extras". The school bikes I have ridden have always had the quick shifter. An interesting question is will they be ordered with DDC. DDC could potentially save some tire wear.