FieryRobot

A friend of mine got the MotoD and it has done nothing but not work properly. These days I've been looking at the XTRacing stuff lately. The Zed is 425. http://www.xtracing.com/en/products.php There is also QStarz: http://www.qstarz.com/Products/GPS%20Products/BT-Q1000EX-10HZ-F.html I had an AIM logger in my 2013 S1000RR that worked well, but getting the data off was inconvenient and the software was definitely lackluster. It was also $$$.

Yeah. I'm just figuring that going Ohlins and new wheels + whatever else to make it comparable is going to actually end up costing more in the end than buying a new one and selling off mine. Maybe I'm wrong. I'll have to add it all up. You mentioned there's an auto-blipper out there? Any links? EDIT: the other thing about getting the 2015 is that even though I could add some parts to get to the 2015s niceness (or a bit beyond), that would make it 100% track. I do like having the option right now to street it. Otherwise it kind of seems like a waste to make it sit all alone in between track days. EDIT 2: I found the blipper on the interwebtubes.

So I got a chance to ride the new 2015 bike at CSS a week or 2 ago. Wow, what a difference from my 2013. Amazing torque curve, and don't get me started on the clutchless downshifts. Now I am thinking about upgrading. Am I crazy? Otherwise, I figure it's a lot of work and $$$ to replicate the difference I felt. At least if I get a new bike I know it was all tuned to be exactly right. If I play with things.... who knows.

Ah yes, TechSpec is what i had. While they didn't wear down, per se, they did get pretty slippery.

I use stomp grips. I first encountered them at CSS and so far they are the most consistently sticky grips I've used. I used some other brand I can't think of before that and it got really smooth pretty quickly. But the SG are still going strong. Only downside: they can actually hurt your leathers a bit. But it's all worth it.

Looks like weather will be good for Mon/Tues in Sonoma. I just hope I can beat back this cold I'm getting :-/

Maybe. Which is why it would have been not so good to add lean while OTT.

Really the answer isn't just stop pushing as I was thinking about it—it's let off all pressure completely (i.e. let the bars return naturally to pro-steer angle).

In a quick view, it *looks* like acceleration while leaning.

Put your foot down? Haha. Just kidding. Stop pushing would be my answer.

I use SharkSkinz and they have a belly pan that fits with the cat. Basically, you get the race upper and the street lower and they fit together perfectly.

Yeah. To rchase's point, it's true that if the diameter is larger you will affect geometry possibly making the front turn better. But the 200s as I understand it aren't as crowned and that is what makes it a bit harder to get them over onto their sides. I decided to go to the Dunlop site and look at diameters because they, unlike, Pirelli's site actually tell you this stuff. It seems their 200s are actually *smaller* than the 190s in terms of diameter. I'd be curious to know what the claimed diameters are for the SPs. In fact, the P site doesn't even list a 200 as a size for the SP. Just 180 and 190.

I think this largely depends on the particular tires. They aren't all that way, and if they are, it's usually by a lb. or two max compared to rear. I think part of it is that you need the front tire to not push when you turn—you need it to turn. An under-inflated front is going to make turning... interesting.

A bigger tire should make it harder to turn, no? Dave Moss recently came to where we work to talk about tires and that's one of the takeaways.

No additional benefits that I'm aware of. But they give you the times at the end of the day so you are not constantly trying to beat your best time. In fact, I had a timer on my bike and the coach told me if he found I was paying more attention to it vs. the lessons he'd have me remove it. I ended up just removing it after that session because in the end, it's better to not focus on that if you have other things to work on.

I think they are using a SmartyCam for the bike these days. I'm basing this on the video overlay I've seen from some other thread here. You can plug it into the bike's ECU. But it's $$$.

Yeah, our track providers out here warn everyone on the cold days about this. You might think you have all the grip in the world the first couple of laps, but it's downhill from there.

2014 Duke 690

I got the powerparts seat for my Duke and like it much more than the stock one. Much easier to move around if you need to, and still comfy to me.

I'll likely spend the better part of next month: - installing new wheels with some new rubber (or i might just wait for 1st track day to get the tires). Might get new rotors, etc. too so I have two complete wheel sets (1 for rain, 1 for dry). - might install new Ohlins on both ends. Do I need it? No. But I like to tinker. - install new BMW HP seat that just arrived. - change oil, coolant, and brake fluid. - disassemble to some degree and clean brakes, frame, engine as best as possible.

What do you mean by extreme angle? Where is your head when in full tuck? I would not touch the front end yet. The bike in fact should be harder to turn at those speeds. Are you on or off the gas when you are turning. When are you braking? I think step 1 should be to make sure you are turning the bike correctly and then later on worry about changing geometry. I think depending on the riding position, some strain might be unavoidable, especially when in full tuck or aggressive hang off. But it's hard to say without seeing you on the bike. It's also possible you're holding your neck too stiffly. What kind of strain are we talking about? Being in a sport position will definitely require your body to adjust. If it's muscle strain, it will usually disappear quickly. If it's more of a pain in upper vertebrae, then your body really doesn't like the position you are riding in and that would be bad for you. Interestingly, Gymkhana uses a lot of counter-steering as the speeds they are turning are actually pretty fast. Yes, if you go super slow this isn't going to work (just doing super-slow figure 8s etc.). But I think doing these sorts of control exercises are a good thing to do. I used to go up to a local college every week and work on slow-moving exercises because turning faster is easier, turning slow and getting good control is not. For the slow stuff, just do figure 8s and circles, going as slow as you can possibly go. Using the rear brake and some gas is a good way to help stand the bike up a bit to gain more control. That's what I had read at the time and it seems to work.

I have Attack Performance rearsets on now and the seat is on order. Been on order for some time now.. hmm....

Locked and Loaded for 2-Day camp in Sonoma. Let's hope it sticks this time. And doesn't rain :-/

Thanks! That's what I figured.

From an instructional/learning point of view... what's better, Laguna or Sonoma?