JeF4y

Tires are a lot like cookies. When they're hot, they're soft. When they cool, they harden. You can only do this so many times before the cookie (or tire for that matter) does not get soft when heated. Street tires are different from race tires primarily in construction. A street tire has a much softer and lighter construction (carcass) than a race tire does. This is done to provide/promote heat generation. Heat = traction However, overheating a tire is as bad as underheating it. Heat is primarily generated by flexing a tire, which happens during accelleration, braking and cornering. Obviously a tire in a street environment experiences much less stress than it does on the track, so a street compound tire is made to flex more than a race tire. The street tire is also softer to provide a more comfortable ride. A race tire is made to regulate heat through the stiffer construction. It allows less flex, which helps the tire from overheating. Now that you know that... Onto your question! The bluing you see is due to the tire getting VERY hot (perhaps overheating), and then cooling. Some people REALLY shy away from blued tires, but I've run them in the past with comfort. Personally, right now, at the level of competition I'm at, if I had a tire that blued, I would not run it. However, that same tire would be fine for a novice racer or in a street environment. It all boils down to how hard you are going to push that tire. In your instance, you pushed the tire obviously quite hard during the school. It cooled and now has blued. I'd really doubt that you're going to push the tire that hard again on the street, so I would believe the tire should be fine for you. You just need to ride it knowing that you don't have the amount of grip that you did at the track during the school. Again, the bluing is just a result of the tire getting quite hot and then cooling.

It's a reason to get you into Level III...

Hammer(s) Sliding & spinning up are some of those things you really have to get used to. There are times for more gas and times for less. First off, sliding & spinning up are 2 distinctly different things. Sliding can be caused by a tiny contact patch, reduced surface friction (read traction - from sand/oil/etc), and can be caused with NO throttle input. I can induce a slide easily by hammering the front brakes and throwing the bike into the corner with the rear end very light. Spinning up is completely and totally a product of contact patch and throttle input. When you're at FULL lean angle and it starts going (we'll address spinning here, not sliding), more throttle is only going to make it worse. Likewise, a dramatic cut-off of throttle can either push the front out, or flip you off the high-side (less likely if at extreme lean angle). If you're at an extreme lean angle, the contact patch of the rear tire is quite small, so spinning up is pretty easy, especially on big HP bikes. To control it, you need to increase the contact patch and reduce the spinning by easing off the throttle. This is not as difficult as it seems. Simply keep yourself off the bike, and pick the bike up a tiny bit. A single degree will result in a dramatic increase in contact patch without terribly affecting your cornering line (which is already screwed up since the rear end is coming around on you). To address your 'getting beat, losing the drive out of corners', when you're in a corner, you should be on the gas. Period. Now, you can maintain at an even speed, or feed a touch on. My personal preference is to feed a touch on. I've made GREAT strides with this. And in instances (such as the last race weekend), greed has caught up with me. The throttle input while leaned over has to be extremely fine. If you get ham-fisted or greedy, you will start spinning and can lose it pretty easily. However, on the EXIT of a turn (read - after the apex), you should be in the position to accellerate. Assuming you've been thorough level 2, you should be using the "pick-up" drill for your turn exits. Getting the rear tire on some decent portion of rubber is your prime objective. It will allow you to get back on the gas faster. Also, the corner itself plays a large part. Are you uncomfortable and/or getting beat in long sweepers, or tighter corners? Long sweepers are corners where you can play with the throttle more than tight corners. Again, it's a matter of very subtle inputs and much discretion. Obviously, suspension and tire wear come well into play here, as well as understanding how big of a bike you're on, but those are not things I can really address here. So... The points to take away from here... 1. Throttle control is KEY 2. Turn as quickly as you can, to get back on the gas much quicker 3. Strive for a larger contact patch when you're hard on the gas Just my $.02

Link: http://www.cbr600rr.com/pages/05wrapup.htm Text: 2005 Race Season Wrap-up: A year in review I can't believe this season is already over. While it was here, it seemed to last forever, but now it's just a blip on the radar screen. There and gone... Although this is my 5th season racing, this year seems like it was the biggest year of advancement since 2002 when I ran as a top amateur. I didn't believe a season as good as the one I have had in 2005 was possible, but looking at it now, I am confident that 2006 will be even better! It seemed strange to run the year without my teammate Anthony Connor, his wife Kathy and their little one Ciaran, since they moved back to Ireland. We did manage a respectable and FUN pit though with the fantastic company of John & Jesse Petta, and Greg Langman. I look forward to John and Greg entering the expert ranks in 2006 so we can all race together. Coming out in the snowflakes of April at Road America, for the first time on the brand new 2005 Honda CBR600RR, I figured with the amount of changes I had made, it would take several weekends before I was comfortable. Happily I was wrong! Within a mere few laps, the massive changes we induced for 2005 proved unbelievably successful. The ultimate result was a bike that can literally do anything. It inspires confidence on every inch of the track. You ask, it delivers, over and over again. In the multiple changes, we swapped out the Dunlops we have run since 2000 for the new Bridgestone BT-002 tires. This proved to be a tremendous difference. We will definitely be back in 2006 on the 'Stones once again. Other items which we couldn't have done without would be the Yoyodyne Slipper Clutch, Translogic Quickshifter and Trackside Engineering suspension services. These investments paid back at every track in broken personal track records almost everywhere we went. 2005 was also another year with the guidance of the master, Keith Code. Keith reinforced all of the things I had been doing right, and provided simple and sensible instruction for new techniques which made all the difference in the world. If you're riding or racing, you should be working with Keith to get the best out of yourself and your bike. Memories of 2005 Best moment: Running 1:27's at Gingerman 10/09 weekend Worst moment: Breaking the shift rod right off the line in Middleweight GP on the first double-points weekend 5/07-08. Scariest moment: Having my bike die right off the line while gridded on the front row at Mid-America 7/1-3 Best weekend: Very tough, as almost every weekend was an absolute treat. The last weekend at Gingerman was definitely a great weekend though (despite the destruction of my bike) 10/09 Worst weekend: Without question, 7/1-3 at Mid-America Worst crash: Most annoying crash was the 7/1-3 weekend at Mid-America Most destructive crash was the 10/9 weekend at Gingerman Injuries: None requiring doctor attention or hospital visits, but my ass still hurts from the 10/9 Gingerman fall. Track Ranking (Most Favorite to Least Favorite run this year): 1. Gingerman Raceway (3 years running now!) 2. Autobahn North (if we would have run this course twice, I think it would be in the #1 slot) 3. Blackhawk Farms 4. Road America 5. Autobahn South 6. Mid-America Consumables & interesting facts of 2005: Miles traveled 5024 Gallons of diesel consumed 558 Vacation days used 9 Laps Ridden 880 Bike miles 1936 Gallons of Race Gas 215 Tires 16 Gallons of Silkolene Racelube 7 Pints of Silkolene ProRace 2000 Brake Fluid 2 Carbone Lorraine Brake Pads 6 Frame slider caps 2 Races Planned 39 Races Entered 42 Team Challenges 1 Races Run 39 Crashes 3 DNF races (did not finish) 4 DNS races (did not start) 3 Top 10 finishes 25 Top 5 finishes 7 Podium finishes 2 Trophies 7 Season standings Midwest Region: Heavyweight Supersport 4th out of 51 Middleweight Superbike 6th out of 66 Middleweight GP 9th out of 61 Overall finish 18th out of 206 New personal best laptimes: Track 05 time diff from 04 06 Goal Road America 2:34.5 -1.5sec 2:32.0 Blackhawk Farms 1:14.00 (ugh...) -1.1sec 1:12.0 Autobahn North 1:06 N/A 1:04.0 Autobahn South 1:32.1 N/A 1:29.0 Mid-America N/A N/A unknown Gingerman 1:27.6 -1.6sec 1:25.5 CBR600RR.com Racing was sponsored in 2005 by: Moto Liberty - Sliderwoman - Silkolenestore Moto-Heaven Yoyodyne Lithium Motorsports Trackside Engineering EMA-USA Helping Hands: Action Powersports MD Racing Revlimiter Racing Solo Moto Parts Spyder Leatherworks California Superbike School Track Addix Jeff Wood Thanks List: Obviously I want to thank our sponsors and helping hands as listed above. Your support throughout the season was key to making this happen, and making it successful. You folks are the best around! Jennifer, Tori & Queue - My wife, Daughter & Son. Thank you so much for everything you continue to sacrifice for this. You do so without complaint (most of the time), and even enjoy yourselves sometimes. You know I couldn't do this without you there helping me. I thank you and love you from the bottom of my heart. Mom & Dad - Thank you for all your kind words of encouragement, coming out to see me race, and understanding when we couldn't make it up for various family events. John, Jesse & Greg - Thanks for the friendship in the pits. It was a great year sharing the group successes and failures. I don't think there was another pit around where somebody snorted pop-rocks! Johnny Moore, Edgar Dorn & Deni DeBuhr - Great racing guys! You all made the weekends worth coming out. The personal sponsors from my forum and other acquaintances. Thank you so much for your generosity. Every dime was greatly appreciated and definitely needed! YOU, the readers of my reports, and people who frequent the website. You are all appreciated, as you keep my sponsors happy, and you keep my spirits high with your words, thoughts & prayers for success & safety. I've been doing this for a long time now, and have been very recognizable to the public, but I still enjoy it every time I stop at a gas station and someone says "Hey, I know you, you're that guy from the website!". Yep, that's me! The smallest famous guy I know. :-) But you make me feel like a million bucks when you say HI and every now and again, throw me a few bucks and ask me to run a race for you. It's one of the neatest things that a person can experience. And last in text, but first in thought, I have to thank God for keeping me safe, married and out of bankruptcy court! I'm not really a religious person, but I'm definitely a faithful one who believes that God continues to show me the way through the opportunities placed in front of me, and enjoys watching me triumph as well as fall. I continue to live a life that others can only dream of, and I am thankful for every last bit of it. In constant and eager anticipation of 1st call, sometime in April 2006... #42 - Jeff Kufalk

Link with Pics: http://www.cbr600rr.com/pages/100905.htm Text: 2005 Race Report 11: 10/8-9/05 - Gingerman Raceway, South Haven, MI Bitten by the ones I love It's win-it or bin-it time again! Yep, the last weekend of the season is upon us. I did have a few things going for me this weekend though: 1, it is a Honda Money weekend, so I stood the chance again to take home some substantial prize money 2, it's at my favorite track... Friday 10/7: We met up with John & Greg about 10:00am and set out to South Haven, MI. About 7 hours later we completed our journey traveling a good 5 inches across 3 pages of the ole Rand McNally atlas. Setup went relatively quick, and I fired up the heater in the RV for the first time. It was cold outside, but the heater did its job well beyond expectation. Saturday 10/8: Today was a practice day, with races late in the day that I was not in. I mounted up an OLD set of tires, which had seen better days, but would get me through practice. I skipped the first half of the day as it was still in the 40's. The afternoon wasn't much better, only getting into the low 50's, with NO sun to be had. Practice went fairly well, with me ultimately dipping down to a 1:30.00 for a fast practice lap. The last weekend here, back in July, I set a new personal best with a mid 1:28 laptime, so running within 2 seconds of that in COLD conditions on shot tires was good enough for me. I called it a day after 4 sessions, and swapped out my old tires for a new set of Bridgestone BT-002 soft compound tires (normally I run a soft front, medium rear, but with the cold temps I went for soft/soft) Sunday 10/9: 4 sprint races today, I was pleased to wake up to a cloudless sky with a lot of SUNSHINE. Temps were rising rapidly, with a high expected of 60 (but we made it to about 65). I skipped practice as the track was full of dew. My first race would not be until after lunch. Heavyweight Supersport: I came into this (double points) weekend in 4th place, with Johnny Moore & Deni DeBuhr tied for 2nd/3rd 53 points ahead of me. In order for me to make up that gap, I would have to finish VERY well, with one of them finishing VERY poor, or if one of them crashed out I would be in 3rd. My launch was absolutely terrible. I was gridded on the front row, and should have run away with the lead here, but I managed to keep pulling wheelies that I had to get back down. I don't know where I ended up after turn 1, but it wasn't anywhere near the lead. I started running hard. The bike felt good, the track felt great, and I started making my way through the pack. I ended up 4th, running solid 1:28's, which was good, but not good enough. Johnny & Deni finished 7th & 8th respectively, so I ended up 4th for the region, 35 points behind Deni in 3rd and 39 points behind Johnny who finished 2nd for the year. Back down hot pit road, I only had about 2 minutes of a break before my next race which immediately followed Heavyweight Supersport. Unlimited Supersport: My only purpose in running this class today was to try and land some Honda contingency money. I entered late, so I was gridded on the back row in a pack of 10 or so bikes. My launch was great, but some freaking lunatic did his best to take me out in turn 1. Knowing that I'd get no money for falling down, I gave him the line and stood the bike up onto the outside skirt of the turn. I was DEAD LAST through T1. Coming off a good race right before this one, I poured it on as best I could and worked through the pack. By lap 2, I was back in 3rd place and running hard with the leaders in sight. Unfortunately I was not as consistent as the last race. Fatigue was taking its toll and I began making mistakes, backing me into the high 1:28, low 1:29 range. Realizing I was still in the money, I just set out to finish the race. On lap 5 or so, going into T1 (90 degree left hander), I set up to make the turn and a guy on a GSXR-1000 flew up next to my 600 on the outside. Not a big deal, but at our speeds, only one bike will make it through that turn at a time. In retrospect, I could have held my line and forced him into the dirt, but I gave up the spot to him. In my opinion (and that of a dozen or so people who watched it), it was a cheap pass. The guy stuffed the hell out of me and if I didn't give, one of the two of us was going down. It kinda ticked me off, but I guess that's life. I chased him back down and caught him on the last lap, but did not have enough power to hold a pass on him, and crossed the line again in 4th for another piece of wood and another $500 from Honda. I had a break of 3 races before my next race, so I relaxed and got some fluids back into me. The weather was now absolutely perfect for racing. Middleweight Superbike: I came into this weekend in 6th place in points, with little chance of overcoming the 35 point lead that Jeff Purk had on me, as he is simply a faster guy than I am. The best I could hope for at this point was to have fun and run some smoking laps. I did both... This class (in case you haven't been following my race reports), is the toughest class I race. It has the greatest competition, and I generally run my hardest laps in it. I was gridded on the outside of row 1 (exactly where I wanted to be), and got a fantastic launch. I was 3rd through T1, and lost a spot in T2. However, I held onto the first pack of 3. This was the first time I've EVER held onto these guys. It was strange. Either they were running a little slow, or I was running VERY fast. Turns out it was a bit of both. I held in 4th for the first few (perfect) laps, and then I began making tiny mistakes. The first mistake cost me a spot to Dan Ortega (who is normally WAY ahead of me). A lap later, I nailed a bad line through the VERY important T2, which prevented me from getting back on the gas when I needed to. Jeff Purk and Scott Ryan came around me. I followed them and felt I could get past the both of them, so I kept running hard, waiting for my chance. That chance came on lap 5. We got into lapped traffic and both Jeff & Scott got hung up. I don't know what the hell I was thinking, as I could have taken them both, but I fell in-line with them and made my way around the lapper, still behind them. We instantly flew back to lightning pace, pushing harder and deeper into the turns than I ever have before. However, I did it with confidence, not fear. It was exhilarating. I was asking a LOT from the bike and the new Bridgestone tires, and they were both delivering at every turn. Lap 6, I'm on the tail of Scott & Jeff, we come through the two LONG sweeping turns, 8 & 9. Turn 8 is a HUGE, high speed right hand carousel. There's a small bump near the exit, but if you place your tires on the inside 18" of pavement, dragging your knee in the grass, you will miss it. From T8 you're thrown directly into T9 which is a left-hand sweeper with rough pavement on the inside, and some big bumps toward the middle. I tend to ride the inside with little problems. Coming through T8, I'm gaining on Scott & Jeff. I realize that if I can get a good drive through T9, I can at least take Scott into T10, and maybe Jeff too. Throwing into T9, I fed on the gas. Gaining a touch of ground on Scott, I dialed on a bit more gas. (Looking at my gearing chart now, I was between 98-106mph.) I felt the rear end push. Being as far over as I was, more gas would be bad. I tried to back off the throttle and pick the bike up a bit, but no dice. It just kept coming around on me. Sliding across the pavement basically on my back/rear, my left palm again felt the burn of friction. I left the pavement and hit the very rough grass. I took a hard beating right to my butt, and then started the tumble. I stopped, and took the physical collection of myself (arms-check, legs-check, neck-check, ass hurts but I think we can stand). I stood up, and wanted to lay back down, but figured I would manage fine. I moved out of the impact zone and looked back toward the bike. It laid there, lifeless on the left side. It didn't look bad at 150 feet. Then I saw the trail of debris.... After the race, the corner workers came over to pick up the bike, and said we'd need a truck. I laughed and said "bring a box too". Apparently while I was rag-dolling through the infield, the bike performed a spectacular infield crop-dusting of thousand dollar titanium, aluminum and fiberglass bits. My day was done. As the corner workers were tracking down my transponder and gathering up arm loads of other bits, I asked if they saw my lap-timer. "Found it!" was the reply of a guy 50' from the bike. He tossed it over, still attached to my gauges. I clicked it and started smiling... 1:27.66. The crash truck came and we shoveled in the bits & pieces of the bike. Had I made the pass, I would have wound up in 6th place for this race. It wouldn't have been enough points to move up my standings for the region. As it stands, I had a large enough points lead coming in to this race that I held onto my 6th place season finish. Middleweight GP I came into the final weekend in 7th place in this class. My only hope in moving up would be a no-show, or a crash of another rider ahead of me in points. My race buddy John Petta would have lent me his bike for this race, but I didn't see the point to it. I sat back and watched it complete without me. Based on the finishes, I lost 2 spots overall, and finished the season out 9th for the region. We left about 6:00pm for the trip home. I was (and still am) walking a bit funny. It seems mostly to be a good muscle bruise. I was concerned that I might have cracked my tailbone, but it doesn't seem too bad. Just the muscle. I definitely feel like a fresh cute inmate at a large prison though. During the 6 hour ride home, all I could think of was Morgan Freeman in the Shawshank Redemption talking about Andy Duphrane "it was the longest night of his life"... Indeed Morgan, it was... Wrap-up: Is it wrong of me to still be jazzed, even though I've destroyed my bike? I hope not. I'm still just thrilled that I ran as good as I did. Sure, the crash sucked, but I didn't get hurt, and at least it didn't happen earlier in the season. Now I have a chance to take my time in repairing it (as well as waiting until I have a few bucks to get things back together). 1:27's... I never thought I'd be there. I can't wait until next year to best that down to a 1:26... Stay tuned for the season wrap-up! This weekend's Thanks List: Thanks to everyone who reads the reports & sends your encouragement. It means a lot to me, and has definitely helped me through the season. Look for a full "Thanks" list in the season wrap-up.

I couldn't agree more! I've been through *EXACTLY* what you're describing. It turned out to be additional inputs to the bars after the initial turn. As recent as this last weekend, I went through it, but at least now when I do it, I KNOW what is happening and why...

The clutch should be engaged unless you're downshifting, launching, or controlling a slide/wheelie (if you're proficient enough with the clutch to do that). Coming into a corner, braking, you want the clutch engaged (out) as much as possible, to allow engine braking to help you. Additionally, the only way you can really stabilize the bike is through the throttle, and the throttle will do you no good without the clutch out/engaged. Going through a corner with the clutch pulled in (disengaged) is a BAD idea. You have no control over the weight balance of the bike, and you're likely to overload the front end. Downshift ONE gear at a time, letting the clutch out after each gear change. If you jump more than one, you're likely to lose stability/traction in the rear end, which can get ugly.

You have the right outlook... Keep working on it and you will be amazed at the results. It does take some time to overcome fears and gain a real trust for yourself and your bike. Once you get there and build that relationship, you will progress quite a bit.

Me 4 years ago: Me now... 3 CSS levels later:

Link w/pics (you really have to see these pics) http://www.cbr600rr.com/pages/092505.htm Text: 2005 Race Report 10: 9/24-25/05 - Blackhawk Farms Raceway, Rockton, IL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Racing gets me all wet! With the final Blackhawk weekend of the year upon us, I had 2 lofty goals. 1) Run at least 1 - 1:12 lap. 2) Bring home some Honda contingency money! Looking at the weather, it was going to be "iffy" at best. When we got to the track on Friday night, I had a shot set of slicks mounted up on one set of wheels, and a brand new set of DOTs on the second set. I had ordered a new set of slicks which were going to be for a couple races this weekend and next weekend, but I didn't have them to put on yet. This also happens to be a Honda Money weekend, so 5th or better will pay out cash for me, so doing well was more of a mandate than an option. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sat 9/24: The day began cooler and overcast. I wasn't sure what the weather would hold for us. I went out for practice on the old slicks, hoping I could just run a few nice & easy laps. Well, the track was a bit slippery due to the lower temps, and those slicks were beyond shot. I couldn't hardly run a 1:20 without sliding like mad. Coming in from the first practice, I pulled the slicks and put on my new dots. That shaved an instant 5 seconds off my times. I was confident I could run 12's today in a dry race... Shortly before the races began for the day, the skies opened up and it began raining. It did not look like it would stop, so I mounted up my rain tires on the spare wheels and put them on the bike for the only race we had today. I have been procrastinating buying new rain tires for several years as they still look good, but being 5 years old, I don't know who I was trying to kid. They're SHOT. Middleweight GP: I came into this class today in 5th place, -36 points from 4th place, with little chance of moving up, but I really like racing in the rain, so why not give it a go. It requires a smooth touch and good form. It really makes you work. My launch was not bad. I got into my rain riding mode and by T3, the race had 3 distinct groups. Group 1 which had 3 guys in it, group 2 which I was the 2nd bike in, and then there were a handful of riders after us. I felt pretty confident after the first lap and needed to get around Simon (who was leading me and keeping me from the front pack). I made my way around Simon pretty easily and instantly had 2 goals. 1, open a gap on Simon so he can't get me back; and, 2, gain ground on the lead pack. The tires were holding well, and I was smooth as silk. I came through turn 4 quite well, and tipped into the faster turn 5. I was very neutral on the throttle, but as I hit the apex of the turn, I saw the lead group just a second ahead of me, going into T6. Having this overwhelming need to gain ground, I fed a bit more throttle into the bike. Bad move... I was instantly on my back, sliding off the track. 3 thoughts hit my mind at that point. 1 - I've got to stop sliding QUICK so I can get back on the track. Can't lose places!!! 2 - Damn, this pavement is making my left hand HOT!!! 3 - Oh man, I'm gonna hit the bike I finally stopped about 150' from where I touched down, 50 or so feet of pavement and then the rest was short grass followed by 4' tall weeds. I had a complete face full of sandy dirt which filled my eyes & mouth. I was spitting like mad as I ran over and picked up the bike. A quick check of levers, make sure there are no cracked cases, pull off wads of weeds and then 30 seconds of spinning and rocking to get the bike out of the weeds. I finally got back on the track, and I found out later that they were throwing the debris flag for me as I was still dropping sod & ###### all over the place. I managed 9th out of 11 in this race. Back in the pits, I was (and still am) absolutely amazed at how LITTLE damage the bike sustained. After this sizable slide, there was literally NO damage to the bike. The frame slider cap was worn down, and the swingarm spool (slider) was also worn. The rearset shows NO damage, as if it didn't even touch down. I bent a part of my clutch lever (still usable), but oddly enough, there isn't so much as a SCRATCH on the clip-on tube (handlebar) which extends about 2" further out than the clutch lever!! I also bent the adjuster pin for my brembo master cylinder which was a 10 minute replacement. Everything need a good hosing off (including me!), but that was it. As far as crashes go, I'll take one like that ANY DAY over the alternatives. I've sustained more damage in a 0-mph tip-over than I did in this 60mph or so crash. As the day wore on, my right knee got a bit tender, but I don't think it's anything serious enough to warrant a trip to Dr. Twist-N-Poke. Saturday night, we had a great track-side feast. Steak, Chicken, Ribs & all the fixins. John's sister came down with her 2 little ones, Mike (Sindarin) stayed over for dinner, and shortly thereafter, my parents arrived with my niece. We hung out and chatted until about 11:00pm and called it quits, hoping for a dry Sunday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday 9/25: The clouds broke and sun shined through. I pulled off the rain tires and slapped on the DOTs in preparation for practice. The second I plugged the warmers in, the downpour began... I really hate changing tires, so by now I'm cussing and throwing things. I slapped the rain tires back on for the first of 3 races today. Middleweight Superbike: I came into this class in 6th place, with a 36 point gap on 5th place. This was the first money race of the weekend, but I didn't realize this class paid until Monday! I thought Heavyweight Supersport would be my first contingency class, but I was incorrect. Still a bit jittery about the amount of traction available on my ancient rain tires, I tiptoed around the track for a mid-pack 11th place finish. The finish didn't hurt me in the points though as I finished 1 spot in front of the guy ahead of me in points, so I now still remain in 6th with new 35 point gap on 5th. Heavyweight Supersport: This is my best class so far this year, and I was in 5th place trailing 4th by a seemingly impossible 45 points. The grid was small, around 15 people registered, but only around 10 people came out for the race, so hitting 5th or better would be pretty easy so long as I stayed upright. After launch, I was in 4th place. 4th to 3rd was a pretty decent gap, and I didn't want to get greedy and land on my head, so I ran as comfortably as I could. Around the 3rd lap, Johnny Moore passed me on his SV-650 (a bit easier to ride in the rain due to a lot less power). I followed him around, knowing if I was close to him, I could shoot him to the line at the finish for 4th. That's exactly what I did. Last lap, last turn, I took the outside of him and shot him to the line for an additional piece of wood for the "wall of fame". My finish also bumped me up in the standings to 4th place trailing 2nd & 3rd who are tied 53 points ahead of me, and leading 5th place by a small gap of 8 points. Unlimited Supersport - Sponsored by Sindarin: Mike (Sindarin) was out snapping pics and lending a hand this weekend, and offered to sponsor this race for me. I had never run Unlimited Supersport before, but the grids are traditionally small, and it would be a good shot at the contingency money, so I decided to give it a whirl. Last race of the weekend, last race of the day. It was a MONSOON out on the track. An absolute downpour. By lap 2, my soul was wet. At about 110mph, rain pierces leather like needles. God help you if you stuck your neck out. It felt as if I was under a 15 minute firing squad of pellet guns. I was again, 5th out of turn 1 behind Johnny Moore. I made quick work of him and tried to creep up on 3rd place, but just couldn't comfortably do it. I held my own in 4th and completed a fairly uneventful race which netted $500 in contingency bucks. Huge props out to Johnny who did show me a wheel in turn 6 on the last lap just to let me know he was still there! LOL. We had a good after-race laugh about it. We packed up and made it home, all soaking wet with a ton of cleaning and drying out to do. Much work before the final race of the season on 10/8-9 at Gingerman. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wrap-up: Another reasonably decent weekend. I am disappointed that I have to end the season having only run a 1:14.0 as a best lap here, when I know I can do 12's, but there's not much I can do in the rain. I also have discovered the age limitations of rubber, and the consequences of such. With the points game still on, I'm now: HWSS - 4th place trailing 2nd & 3rd who are tied 53 points ahead of me, and leading 5th place by a small gap of 8 points. MWSB - 6th place, trailing 5th by 35 points and leading 7th by 18 points. MWGP 7th place, trailing 6th by a mere 4 points and leading 8th by 8 points. This weekend's Thanks List: Mom, Dad & Lexi - Thanks for coming down in the rain to cheer us on. It's always great to have a crowd. Sindarin: Thanks for your race sponsorship and for coming out again to shoot pics and cheer us on as well. And as always, thanks goes out to all of you who read the reports, donate to us and support us with your words of encouragement and congratulations!

Quite simply, you can attend Level III of the California Superbike School and have Keith explain and demonstrate all of this to you... The riders you see hanging off all twisted up (not parallel to the bike) have found some other way to lock themselves on the bike, and use that. They also eat up additional lean angle because of it. Is this a bad thing? Well, they're all a hell of a lot faster than me, but there are examples (don't have them off the top of my head... ask Keith) where you will find riders with the crossed up form who drag the hell out of body parts and eat through tires much quicker than riders with better form.

There's absolute truth to altering setup/geometry to deal with a different size/shape/profile tire. I do it all the time. Now, whether the previous owner of your bike made these adjustments, and made them correctly, is something I cannot answer...

Changing a rear tire size from stock without analyzing and having GOOD data on the entire chassis geometry AND making appropriate changes, is a BAD IDEA... If the bike was not engineered to run a 200 (or in some cases a 190, 180, etc), you're not going to benefit from slapping one on and doing nothing else. Instability can/will result, as will crashing when you run out of front tire long before you're over to the edge of the larger rear...

First off, pick a spot and STICK WITH IT in a corner. Don't try scooting forward/backward while you're turning or you're gonna end up with a VERY unstable combination. A lot of it depends on your size and fitment on the bike. I'm 6'2" with a 36" inseam. I can't be forward on the bike while in a full tuck or my head would be over the windscreen. I have to be mashed back against the rear. For braking/turning, similarily, I squeeze my stomp-grip tank pads (huge kudos to Keith for introducing me to these) with my knees and the lock myself onto the bike before turning. My personal position in turning is about 1/2 way in the seat. Any further forward or back and I can't lock my position onto the bike...

Link: http://www.cbr600rr.com/pages/091105.htm Text: 2005 Race Report 9: 9/9-11/05 - Autobahn Country Club (South Course), Joliet, IL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A game of numbers... I'm not sure why I do this to myself, but this year I decided to chase points again, and see how I could do in the Midwest region. Late in the season, we always have a couple of double-points rounds which are absolutely critical. This was one of them... The weekend was going to be an interesting one as it was combined with the national Formula-USA series, which had a whole new level of competition show up. It was also at a track which we had never run before. I had the privilege of running this track about a month ago with Keith Code, so I know the layout and also realize how incredibly rough this brand-new track is. Friday was a 75-lap, 250KM Team-Challenge endurance race which I decided to run with my two buddies, Johnny Petta and Greg Langman. We ran it on my bike, so John & Greg took my bike down for practice on Thursday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday 9/9/05: A touch hot for a long race, but at least it's not raining. For the Team Challenge, we shod the bike with a new set of Bridgestone Slicks from Lithium Motorsports. The plan was simple. Run consistent laps at about 85% of sprint pace, no crashes, no mechanical problems. We would each run 25 lap stints, with John starting off. Since he has an 03 CBR600RR, he should feel at home launching my 05. Greg would run the middle session since the tires should still be pretty good, and I would bring it home with hopes that I could run lap times at least as fast as the first two riders with tires that may be fading. In practice, John felt that a 1:35 seemed to be a good race pace, as they were running 37's - 38's. Once the green flag flew and John took off though, he instantly began clicking off 1:35 laps. He ran STRONG, only dropping the pace when coming up on a lapper. With his 25 laps down, he flew into the pits, we dumped in about 4 gallons of fuel and Greg was at the controls. John was quite pleased to boast that he landed a 1:34.00 lap, and that the tires were excellent. Greg ran laps a touch slower than John, but still very consistent and above all, upright. I ran back to the RV and changed in preparation for my session on the bike. At the time I took over, we were in 3rd place. Greg in, fuel dump, I'm out. I was concerned about the tires, but by half a lap, I was sold on them and they were still PERFECT. The brakes on the other hand were almost gone. They still had a very good bite, but the lever was coming in QUITE far, telling me the pads were almost done. No time to think about it, just ride... I got into a groove and started clicking off 35's and 36's with an occassional 34. Not to be outdone by someone else on my own bike, I had to wick it up and run a 1:33.6 just to shoot Johnny down. About 15 laps into my session, I started having problems shifting. The quickshifter didn't seem to be working, and my gauges would reset every now and again. It was VERY disconcerting. I wasn't sure we would finish the race. I figured I had 8-10 laps left and was going to push it as far and hard as I could. I had one terrible lap (1:38) because I couldn't shift, and thought of coming in. Then I saw the white flag. One lap left, I'll push this S.O.B. 2.1 miles across the line if I have to! I made it around with just a couple of gear shifts, knowing we were well ahead of the 4th place guys. We crossed the line an astonishing 3rd place!!! We were 2 laps down on the 1st and 2nd place guys, but 4 laps up on the 4th place team and rest of the pack! This was too cool!!! 3rd place at a national event. I pulled into the pits and jumped off the bike. I was absolutely shot. I'm not sure if it was the heat or what, but I got terribly sick immediately after getting off the bike. I almost passed out a couple of times and then started getting very nauseous. I was still sweating, so it wasn't dehydration, but I definitely was not well. I laid down in the air conditioning for about 1 1/2 hours and felt MUCH better. Checking out the bike later that evening, I found that the pressure sensor for the quickshifter was pretty dirty and was not coming back to reset itself after each shift. (Perhaps if I read the manual that said "this part must be cleaned at least every 6 months to ensure proper operation" I wouldn't have had this problem). After I cleaned it up, I was in business for the rest of the weekend. I also swapped out the slicks for a set of DOTs which still had some life left in them for Saturday's races. In doing so, I got a glimpse at my brake pads (thank GOD I did). They were DONE. As in, I've never run a set of brake pads down this far! A quick trip over to Lithium Motorsports and Rob hooked me up with a set of Vesrah pads as he was out of the Carbone Lorraine I normally run. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday 9/10: The points game is on... Before this weekend I was: Middleweight Superbike - 6th, trailing 5th by 14 points and leading 7th by 3 points Heavyweight Supersport - 5th, trailing 4th by 31 points, and leading 6th by 25 points Middleweight GP - 8th, trailing 7th by 30 points, and leading 8th by 46 points 3 weekends left, including this one. 2 double-points weekends (this was one of them). It's anybody's game... Middleweight Superbike - Sponsored by Sindarin: The race was fairly uneventful, but a huge 30' slide through the long right hand turn 2 told me the rear tire was done. Unfortunately I wouldn't have time to change it between races, so I would have to make due. I ran as best I could, and came across the line 12th out of 30+. I ran a new fast lap time, at a 1:33.1, but I needed 2 seconds more in order to be real competitive. After this race, I still stand overall in 6th, trailing 5th by 36 points now, and leading 7th by 13 points. I increased my gap on the guy behind me, but have even more catch-up work to do to get up to 5th or better for the season. Heavyweight Supersport: A short break of 2 races and I was back out for HWSS. I desperately needed to beat Dennis DeBuhr and Johnny Moore in this race to move up, but the tires on the bike simply wouldn't allow it. I ran the entire race in the 1:33's, but was sliding in every corner trying to hang onto the both of them, who finished directly ahead of me pushing me to 10th. This keeps me in 5th place overall, but the gap to 4th has now widened to 45 points. I also increased my lead on 6th place to 27 points. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday 9/11: I only had one race today, and I could run slicks in it, so I decided to see if the Team Challenge slicks had any life left in them. Middleweight GP: The grid for this race was HUGE. I was on the 2nd row. I realized it was all about the launch and lead lap, so I gave it all I could. I shot through the first 7 turns in 4th place, right on the tail of 1-3. Into T8, Jeff Purk (who I needed to beat) slid past me. I did what I could to catch back up to him, but again struggled with traction. The rear would hold me down to a new personal best of 1:32.10, but no more. I ran the entire race out in the 1:32.10 - 1:32.30 range, and ended up 8th place. This was incredibly frustrating because the race was WON by a guy running 1:31's... Just unbelievable that the race was that tight from 1st to 8th place. Normally there is a much larger gap. Oh well, I stayed upright, beat a couple of people I needed to and ran my fastest laps of the weekend. My finish pushed me up into 7th place overall (from 8th), now trailing 6th place by 34 points and holding a tiny 2 point lead on 8th place. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wrap-up: It was a fun weekend. I had a great time getting 3rd with John & Greg in the Team Challenge, and was pleased to run some very respectable times at the track. I keep slicing and dicing my points up and go back to the beginning of the season when I had a mechanical problem that cost me one MWGP double-points race, and then the crash at MAM which basically cost me 1 1/2 races in each class... If it wasn't for those events, I'd be in 3rd or 2nd in my classes now, but considering some of my past seasons, I'd gladly take these 2 minor events over the multiple crashes/mechanical problems I've had. Right now we have 2 weekends left, one being a double points weekend. If everybody shows up and stays upright, I'll finish out the midwest region HWSS - 5th, MWSB - 6th, and MWGP - 7th. However, one mechanical problem, one no-show, one crash, has the potential to put me up into the 2nd - 3rd place slot. Right now, a mere 56 points separates 2nd from 5th in Heavyweight Supersport. Considering 65 points for a win on a single points weekend, it's a tight race, for sure... Thanks List: Sindarin: Thanks for your race sponsorship! Lithium Motorsports: Thanks for the Bridgestone Slicks & Vesrah Pads Rob! You're the best, as always! John & Greg: Thanks for the smoking laps & bringing my bike back to me upright & in one piece! The team-challenge was an awesome experience. Jessie & Jen: The wives (no, they're not both mine. I live in WI, not UT!)... Thanks so much for putting up with all of this and helping us out along the way. And as always, thanks goes out to all of you who read the reports, donate to us and support us with your words of encouragement and congratulations!

ummmm.... Slide back? Seriously. That's what you should be doing. Grip the tank with your knees as you brake, and you'll be further back, where you should be...

Grant, Suspension wise, the suspension you have stock on the bike will be WAY too soft for anything competitive. Suspension work doesn't have to be expensive. Talk to my suspension tuner, Ed Kwaterski from www.tracksideengineering.com He can rebuild your forks and shock for less than a replacement shock all together. I've been working with Ed for 6 years now, and his work is great. Likewise I've referred near to 100 (if not over) cbr600rr riders/racers to him. He knows what he's doing and is very familiar with your bike. As for schools, look at the schedule and go to some of them! I have been through many schools, one piece of advice I can share with you is to "pick your master". Find a school, go to it and see how you feel. If you don't feel very pumped, enthusiastic, and feel that you have learned something which you will benefit from, find another school! I took a lot of different schools before I got into Keith's schools. None of them really clicked with me the way CSS did.

Link: http://www.cbr600rr.com/pages/082805.htm By my calculations right now I'm placing: Middleweight GP 8th place, about 20pts from 7th Middleweight Superbike 6th place, about 10 pts from 5th Heavyweight Supersport 5th place, about 30pts from 4th With 3 weekends left, 2 being double-points, anything can happen... Text: 2005 Race Report 8: 8/27-28/05 - Blackhawk Farms, Rockton, IL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's good to be back! Our last weekend was at Gingerman on 7/31, so this was a LONG break and was much needed for the mind, body & soul (not to mention checkbook!). Following the Gingerman round, we headed down to Autobahn and met up with Keith Code and the California Superbike School for a day of Level III. That was a fantastic experience, and will serve me quite well. Following the Code school, we had basically 4 weeks off until this race weekend. I spent a good bit of time freshening up the bike. Changing the oil, cleaning & going through it tightening bolts, etc. I pulled off the forks and shock to have my suspension tuner Ed Kwaterski - www.tracksideengineering.com - go through them, make a few valving changes and freshen them up. Ed had been out of town, so it came down to the last week when he was able to get at everything. Remember that crash back in early July at MAM? Well, the little ding that was in the right fork that I THOUGHT wouldn't be a problem, turned out to have destroyed the bushings inside the fork which REALLY affected the travel and operation of it. I managed to have a new outer fork tube rushed to me and Ed worked through the night on Thursday to finish it up so I could have everything back together for this weekend. I also took the liberty of having Alexa Krueger from Spyder Leatherworks go through my leathers and reinforce a few seams that were starting to come open due to stress and the MAM crash. Getting everything back together, I was definitely ready to race. We pulled into the track shortly after 6:00pm and got everything set up quickly. My buddies John & Greg showed up shortly thereafter. I ran out of energy pretty early and wound up falling asleep on the couch in the RV around 9:00 while everyone else chatted for a bit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday 8/27: A GORGEOUS day for racing... Sun out, 80 degrees. I hit the track for practice and immediately knew that some major suspension changes would need to take place. Each session, I would make another change and come back in with that data for the next change. It's all about getting the bike at LEAST as stable as it was before we did the rebuild. Middleweight GP: I intended to have a lot of fun in this race, and did not hold high hopes for a great finish. I just wanted to get the bike at race pace and see how the setup was. I quickly found that I needed a LOT more rebound damping in the front end. Going through turn 5, it was like I had a pogo-stick up front. It would chatter like MAD. The rear end was just as bad, spinning up and throwing me around a bit. I ran consistent 1:15-1:16's, about 2 seconds off where I need to be, and crossed the line in 10th. We made a few more changes to get things back on track and I put on a new rear tire for Sunday's races. Saturday night we spent at the 19th annual Wegman Benefit Auction. The Wegman fund is a nonprofit organization which provides financial assistance to injured roadracers. The auction is always a LOT of fun, and the money spent is well spent. I had many compliments on my Repsol Honda team shirt (button up, embroidered), and had an extra one that I had never worn. I brought it over and donated it for auction and it landed $170!! Later in the evening, as I walked over to get a soda, a fellow offered $100 to buy the one I was wearing off my back! I pulled it off and raised another $100 for the fund. That, coupled with the sizable chunk of change we dropped at the auction made a pretty good donation for the Wegman fund. When all was said and done, the auction raised $29,000!!! Absolutely incredible... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday 8/28: Another perfect weather day. A lot less humid than Saturday. We continued to work on dialing in the suspension, and the bike is beginning to get its old feeling back. I ran a low 1:15 in practice with little effort, so I figured the bike was pretty good. Middleweight Superbike: It's funny. This is the class that I tend to run my fastest lap times in, but the competition is so incredibly strong that I can never manage a REAL good finish. So, for this class, I shoot for top 10. The race was good. The bike was feeling better, but is still not 100%. I was sliding the back around a LOT. I ran the race, trading places VERY closely with #30, Don Rankin on his new GSXR-600. Don would make a mistake, I'd pass him. I'd start spinning the rear end, he'd come around me. We traded spots probably more than 10 times. Ultimately he won the battle between us and put me down into 10th place. Coming off the track, I was BEAT! I don't know that I've ever ridden a bike that physically hard before for 8 laps. Riding the bike is physically demanding, but unless you're battling a setup issue or have absolutely poor riding techniques, you shouldn't be this tired. I looked down at my lap timer and noticed another new record for me at Blackhawk. 1:14.11 down from 1:14.3 set here the last weekend. Still, not good enough for my satisfaction though LOL. A few more changes and we'll see how the final race of the weekend goes... Heavyweight Supersport: Probably my favorite class... I started on the middle of row 2, and had a great launch, getting into T1 in 3rd place. Outside of T1, a couple of people got past me, and I immediately put my head down and got on it to see how the changes felt. The bike felt much more stable as I began gaining places back. By lap 2, I had no idea where I was in the running, but watched my lap-timer continually click off very low 1:14 laps. My buddy Dennis DeBuhr #506 on his GSXR-750 came around me, but I would come right back around him at the exit or at the next turn. Trying to crawl under the paint, I stretched the throttle cables for all they were worth to get a lead on him, but each lap, I could hear him behind me. Riding hard, the rear end was sliding a bit, but not as much as the last race and certainly not as much as yesterday. Deni came around me in T1, but was so out of shape that I passed him back. We continued to trade places at almost every turn on the track for the next 2 laps. On the 5th lap, Deni came around me again in T1, this time even MORE out of shape than usual (rear end sliding and wagging all over the place). I could have stuffed up underneath him as I had more control, but was concerned that if I did, he would crash. I really didn't want my bud to crash trying to pass me, so I gave him the room he needed and figured I'd get him back. Sadly, I figured wrong. He maintained a couple bike lengths on me for the rest of the race, but was cool enough to turn around down the back straight and give me a thumbs-up as I was right on his butt. LOL... I continued to ride the wheels off the bike to get him back, but just couldn't do it. I crossed the line not knowing where I had placed, only to find out that I was 5th place. This is very cool. Another piece of wood for the Wall-of-Fame! Apparently, Deni and I were the race to watch. The leaders checked out and were 15 seconds ahead of us by the finish, and Deni and I had a 15 second lead on the guys behind us. But we were the only ones trading places in the race, making it fun to watch. Not only was it fun to watch, it was an absolutely fabulous race experience. Dicing with a buddy, riding the WHEELS off your bikes, trading blows at every turn, THAT is fun... After the race, Dennis and I were both grins from ear-to-ear as we recounted the entire race. Looking at my timer, the ENTIRE race were lap times of 1:14.1 - 1:14.3. That consistency is fantastic for me. What that tells me is that my new race pace as of today is now LOW 1:14. When you set a race-pace that can be sustained, there is something slight that has to be changed to drop another 1/2 second or more. Feeling the bike out, I'm pretty sure I know what that change is, and can't wait for the next weekend to get back on it and see what I can do as I continue the quest for the perfect setup. Also, after the race, a fellow named Mike (Sindarin on the forum) came up and introduced himself. He's a lurker (mostly) on the forum. He congratulated me on the race and we chatted for a bit about the race, the website, etc. He also threw me some $$ in sponsorship for a race, which is GREATLY APPRECIATED. Since it was after the completion of the races, I won't dedicate a race to him this weekend, but will definitely run one for him at Autobahn in 2 weeks. All the pics contained in this race report are also courtesy of him! (click here for all the pics including ones not shown here) Speaking of Autobahn... I'm teaming up with buddies John Petta & Greg Langman as "TEAM MEOW" for a 75 lap endurance race (you really have to watch the movie Super Troopers to understand how funny that name is). That will be a GREAT time. With 3 weekends left, Autobahn is one of two crucial double-points weekends. These double-points weekends can DRASTICALLY affect the outcome of season standings. They will be exciting without a doubt... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks List: This weekend's Thanks List is big! Ed Kwaterski - Trackside Engineering. Thanks so much for the last minute work on the forks and all your help this weekend getting things sorted out. Audrey Menarik - Moto Liberty. Thanks for the continued support. You definitely helped out with this weekend and the rest of the season! Rob Oliva - Lithium Motorsports. Thanks as always for your support and flexibility Rob. Alexa Krueger - Spyder Leatherworks. Thanks Alexa for stitching me back up and keeping me safe!!! Fred Renz - Yoyodyne. Thanks for the quick ship on the Brembo rebuild kit. Gotta keep my spares kit stocked up! Keith Code - California Superbike School. Keith, thanks for the work and personal attention. Level 3 shaved a few tenths off, and increased my comfort. I'm confident that I can drop down another second or even more! And as always, thanks goes out to all of you who read the reports, donate to us and support us with your words of encouragement and congratulations!

Makes total sense... It's just expanding visualization which is HIGHLY effective... (just don't tell the other people on my grids)

The Keith Code "Twist of the Wrist" I and II books will help you immensely. Pick them up, read them and practice them. It will give you a great start...

Personally I'd say no. I don't think it would be possible to transition so fast that it would throw the rider. Watch a video on how new riders turn/transition and you'll see how god-awful slow it is. Then watch a club racer, a little faster. Then watch Rossi or another MotoGP champion. Still faster, but nowhere near fast enough to eject the rider.

hey thanks! Learning is a fantastic thing... As for the bike, what are you considering, and what will be your main purpose?

Personally (having a good deal of experience and having gone through levels I - III), I would say you're the PERFECT candidate. It's easier to instill proper techniques from the start than to re-train years of bad habits...

When I start sliding, if it's long enough that I need to provide an input to the bike, it's in the form of picking the bike up a bit. This is done by simply lifting at the bars. My outside leg is already locked at that point. I guess I probably push down on the outside peg a bit to do this as well, that sounds logical, but consciously I'm not aware of doing it. As for racing the 636, yes, in most organizations you can run the 636 in the middleweight class with the rest of the 600's. Sliding the rear end is pretty easy. It's getting it back under control that can be the difficult piece. If you hit ice/dirt/oil, at that point, the slide can/will usually be so abrupt that there is little you can do about it. However, if it's clean pavement and you simply run out of traction, you may very well be able to control it and regain stability.

I'd say "define turn" Could you change direction at lower speeds on a bike without direct input to the bars? Sure. Can you do it effectively or at high speeds? Not really... Yes, I've seen the video of the Brit who rides the Duc no handed at about 8mph and does figure 8's while dragging his hands on the pavement. Very cool, but he's one out of about 10 million bike riders who can do this to that extreme. The point is to illustrate that for an EFFECTIVE turn, you absolutely need an input to the bars. While Keith doesn't really mention "turning with your feet", your legs are a very integral and active part in making a turn. They lock you on and provide the BASE for your power to generate from to input on the bars. If you're turning at any real speed, you're doing it with the bars, plain and simple...