JeF4y

Welcome aboard Steve. It's a lot of really mastering the basics...

Even with the slipper clutch you still should use the lever to go down. Hell, if the moto-gp guys use the lever to go down, that's excuse enough for me. And as for clutching, go down one at a time. With a slipper clutch you can get away with banging off 2-3 downshifts as fast as you can work the controls, but still do them one at a time... Just my experience... And yes, I have a slipper clutch as well...

when I first started racing, I would early apex every corner. It was horrible. It takes a bit of understanding and practice to learn how to turn quickly and correctly, but once you do, you'll be surprised how far into a corner you can go before turning. The other beauty to it is that it's self-serving. If you go DEEP into a corner, you *HAVE* to turn quick, or you'll completely blow the turn. I wouldn't recommend shooting in deep to perfect your quick turns though or you may find yourself on your head...

Thanks Stu. Road A is a LOT of fun. I just wish we ran it in Jul/Aug like many years ago...

http://www.cbr600rr.com/pages/042505.htm First race of the season. It was a great time. My last race was definitely the 'one that got away'. It was nice to get 'back to the basics' in most all aspects of my riding. Really looking forward to sorting out some of my body position issues in level 3 & 4 this year...

SETUP SETUP SETUP... THROTTLE CONTROL THROTTLE CONTROL THROTTLE CONTROL If you're sliding before you get on the gas and before the apex, the two pieces above are your issue... I went through this as well years back. I didn't really understand how/what was happening until I started ice racing. On the ice, I'm on a CRF-450 which has a TON of suspension travel (like 14"). When you go through the corners, you can feel everything and it's very pronounced, and can show you what is happening. If I come into a corner on the brakes and pitch it in, the rear end will come around on me and then I can get back on the gas and slide it out. This is simply because there's no weight on the rear end. However, if I come into a corner ON the gas, the rear end holds perfect traction (unless I ham-fist it to break it loose). Throttle control is the key to your success here. I'll bet you a crisp dollar that if you go into a corner where you've been sliding - ON THE GAS, you will not slide. Obviously you can't fly through it with no brakes, so slow down while upright, then accelerate THROUGH the turn. It's a common mistake that's addressed in all of Keith's books and level 1 schools...

There are many things that can cause a rear wheel slide. Too much lean angle, too much throttle, poor setup, bad tires, tire pressures too high. Most of the time it's a combination of the above. I'd tell you to do a couple things. 1. Make sure you have some static sag in the rear end. In a corner, under acceleration, the rear end will lift, and if it reaches the top of the shock, it has nowhere to go and can induce a slide. 2. Pick the bike up a little before getting hard on the gas. Be very careful on corners that crest hills or have bumps. They unload the suspension and will have the bike wash out from under you. An inline 4 will be an entire different animal from your big twin. The handling on most modern 600's is better than the TL out of the box. A GSXR-1k would probably handle a lot better, but your throttle control better be spot-on, as they have GOBS of power. Yes, I realize your TL has massive torque, but again, it's different, and the 1k inline 4 can be a monster...

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/articl.../?article=22458 Read about some of the successes of other CSS riders...

I'm glad that my comments are helpful. Ponder this... My comments are based on the following: Riding for +25 years in one fashion or another Reading TOTW-II probably 50 or more times Racing for the last 5 years Attending Level 1 & 2 in a 2-day camp last year The comments I make here are most strongly influenced by what I learned from the book and the school, and my application of them. I know that some people don't like the book and some people probably don't get what I did out of the schools, but I can't speak highly enough of it. If I can make constructive comments after reading a book and going through 2 days of school, imagine what the person who WRITES those books and the people who instruct those classes can teach you...

The class will help you out greatly. While tire wear is an indication of how far you've leaned the bike over, it's not an indication of how quickly you got there, or whether you used the correct amount of lean angle. The goal is to get the bike leaned to the necessary angle as quickly as possible. The goal (well, ultimate goal) is to use the least amount of lean angle necessary for a given turn. So... How do you do it? Turn quicker. Really, you should go through the school or at least read TOTW-II to get a better understanding as I don't have time to type what I know, and certainly don't want to do any unjustice to Keith on this (which would likewise be a disservice to you). Here is a corner by me... I stopped and pondered everything I do while coming into say, a turn 1 situation after a long straight. Some of this won't be entirely applicable to the street, but all of it can be applied with reasonable results. Now mind you, this is done in about 2 seconds..... Some of it are my own little mental reminders, but anyhow... See the turn Stay tucked and on the gas Wait for your braking point You have more than enough time Slide into position Pop up as little as possible Hold the bike with your knees Squeeze the brakes. 2 fingers Drop down through the gears quickly Stay at the edge of the track Move your upper body out Drop your chest to the tank Find the apex leading with your chin Remain at the edge of the track Do not drift in Wait for your reference point to turn in Do not turn in early Release the brakes Push the bar with one quick, concise movement Fall over with the bike, as one happy little mushroom Roll back on the gas Focus your vision down the track Hard on the gas at the apex Pick up the bike while remaining off the side Wide open throttle Slide back onto the seat in a full tuck

wow.. where to begin... To avoid carpal tunnel, I'll try to be as brief as I can. Racing is not something that is just 'jumped into' and all fun, etc. It's more of a lifestyle than anything. Most people cannot handle racing for more than 2 years. At that point, they're fed up with the unGODLY expense, and tiresome effort required to run a season. I've seen people lose homes, spouses and sometimes lives (on and off the track) due to racing. The best possible advice I could give you would be to start as small as you can. Throwing around the comment of buying a GSXR-1000 and removing all the street parts to go racing, is not a very wise move in my personal experience. 3,4 or 5 years from now, if you're still racing, then, sure, go buy a new bike to race. This is what I do, but I've been racing a LONG time, and I'm well sponsored. Pick up a used RACEBIKE. A used racebike will already have many necessary modifications already done, and you will save and benefit from this. Personally I would not recommend ANYONE "Start" out on a 1000. Start small, learn throttle control, enjoy the fact that a smaller bike uses less tires and is far more forgiving. A used 600, or better yet, a used SV-650 which you can run lightweight classes with would be a very wise choice. Here's what I whipped together in about 90 seconds that it will take to get you TO the track. This is "out of the gate, 1st initial costs". There are MANY other costs which I've left out (dzuz's fasteners $3/ea, safety wire, etc etc etc). This takes into consideration your 'new' bike. Bike $9,000 (I gave you the benefit of a good discount here) bodywork $600 paint $200 clipons $125 rearsets $300 damper $400 brake lines $100 exhaust $800 rear shock $1,100 fork work $500 power commander $300 dyno work $250 frame sliders $75 tires $350 fluids $200 gearing $100 Chain $100 Bike Total: $14,500 helmet $300 leathers $1,000 boots $200 gloves $100 back protector $150 Gear Total: $1,750 Tire warmers $300 Stands $250 canopy $200 tools $500 Misc Total $1,250 Grand Total: $17,500 And that's assuming you have a truck/trailer/van to GET to the track with. Again, this is day ONE. You haven't even touched the track yet (yep, that will cost you more). Here's a MODEST race weekend: Transportation $200 fuel for weekend $150 tires $350 entry fees $200 gate fees $50 practice day $100 food $100 Total: $1,150 This doesn't account for ANY repair or crash damage, or basic consumables (oil, brakes, coolant, gearing, etc etc). If you've gotten this far, good, you're paying attention... Now that you're turned off and scared, let me go back to my original statements: START SMALL!!!! A used racebike already prepped should run you around $3-7k depending on how new, what work and how many spares/etc come with it. Run 1-2 races per weekend and LEARN... Learn everthing you can, and make decisions from there. Listen to people who tell you to spend money on suspension, and riding schools. We know what we're talking about and we've made the mistakes. Too many people jump into this, dump a wad of cash which they don't really have, and then give up because they crash a couple of times. The sport can be incredibly rewarding and a great "lifestyle", but again, it truly is a lifestyle change which needs to be looked at carefully before making a serious plunge into it. Hope that helps! :-)

Congrats Bill! I know the guy you finished right in front of. Kevin Gordon. He races the midwest (or at least did race until he took about 1.5 seasons off to start a family). Kevin's a very fast rider, so if you're beating him, you're doing well! Not to mention the lead riders in that group... Job well done!

Gino. I would tell you first off to invest some money in suspension. Suspension is very easy to skimp on when you start racing, but that is the wrong move. Get together with a GOOD suspension tuner who can work on your bike and provide you good setup information. From the sound of your problems here, you shouldn't be experiencing what you are, when you are. If you're on the gas, your bike should be fairly settled, and you shouldn't feel front end chatter. Obviously riding style is extremely important, but I think that suspension will be just as good an investment for you as the 2 day camp...

Excellent read Keith. Ironically there were a couple of questions there that I've wondered about for a while. Glad you had the opportunity to share. Looking forward to another year working with you and the crew...

+1.... the answer "too damned" came to mind when looking at the question... So if anybody reading is on the schedule going to Blackhawk Farms, using their own bike, please come down with something (non-life threatning)...

hehe... it was years ago, so I couldn't tell you exactly what happened. But yes, I do employ a professional suspension tuner in my efforts and understand the value of fresh tires.

Not to mention that Gary McCoy is on a bike that weighs nothing and has more HP than the van that tows my 23' trailer to the track.... I find traction works to my advantage personally... Sorry, I know I'm not helping..

in my experience, no, you can't turn while the rear end is hopping around. A tiny bit of upset in the rear end, yeah, I suppose I'd turn in. However, you need to stop the chatter. If you're coming in and the rear end starts hopping, let off the brakes and give the throttle a twist. It's worked every time for me... Letting the clutch out slower won't really do it. It's matching the engine speed to the wheel speed for the select gear. The way to do that is via the throttle..

Absolutely agree. Good point Will. Really, it comes down to how you're riding, where you're riding, your experience & risk-taking level, and how quickly you need them broken in.

Huge congrats Bill. It took me 3 years and a room full of 2-5th place plaques for my 1st 1st... It's a wonderful feeling...

I wasn't on the gas when I lost the front. At least not enough. I had terrible form back then and ate up a TON of lean angle, so it was pretty common.

Kevin, my first lowside was the same way. Now it seems that unless I hit something unexpected (oil/water/etc), I have a lot of indications that I'm losing traction and have enough time to react. Time seems to stand still at that point.

So after much ado, I came home with the body solid GS-3 (buff dude not included) I've been assembling for 2 hours now. Probably about 1/3 of the way there. But taking my time and for the first time in our 15 year marriage, we're doing this together without fighting How you may ask?!?! Simple. I'm following her *every* direction... We looked heavily into the bowflex, but after using two of them, I didn't like the style of the resistance. The bows seemed to shake as you use them. Plus, the time between exercises is FAR greater than a decent plate gym. In the end, it came down to the types of exercises, speed of change between them and a complete lifetime warranty on *everything*... Definitely not the cheapest on the market, but I'd say it's a good solid middle of the road gym...

Heat is obviously key here. A lower pressure in the tire will allow the tire to flex more and heat up quicker. If you're talking riding on the street, I would say run your tires kinda low for a ride (like 32/32 or so). Go for a ride and be CAREFUL. Ride like it's wet and you're on bald tires. Give it 50 or 100 miles and you should be well. From there, adjust your pressure as required. Disclaimer: this is my method, it may not work for you. You may fall. I find it works quite well for me.... On the track, a tirewarmer to FULL operating temp, and then hard gas/hard brake while vertical. Go VERY easy through the turns, going a little lower on each corner. Within 1-2 laps they'll be scuffed all the way. If you don't have tire warmers, figure 3-4 laps, and you can't do hard accelleration or braking for at least 1 lap.

This was a topic on one of my forums recently, and to share my humble opinion on the matter... Go in with an OPEN MIND. Do not try to ride at 100%, or it'll end up being a danged expensive track day. Ride 50-70% and LEARN. The open mind piece... There may be things which you think just don't make sense, or are mind-wash mumbo-jumbo. Do yourself a favor and TRY it... You may be extremely surprised.