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Kevin Kane

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Posts posted by Kevin Kane

  1. This getting kind of silly but I'll keep checking back and see if anyone really wants to learn a few things about the Hayabusa. In the meantime I'm having a splendid time going over all of Keith's articles and after that working my way down the chain of command.

     

    Shaka;

    I think this topic has "Jumped the Shark". After 6 pages of point - counter point we're back where you started this so it's time to close it out.

     

    Kevin Kane

    One of the Forum Moderator

  2. Wow Lyster, what a loaded first post. The easy answer is attending the California Superbike School will improve your riding skills sets. I say that as I have attended so many Schools over the past 12 years that I can't count them. Along with that I began Corner Working for the School about 6 or 7 years ago where I "watch" students for two sessions and then ride with them for the third before repeating the cycle. Without a doubt, virtually EVERY student makes measurable improvements by the end of the day.

     

    I am bi-polar when it comes to motorcycling. I have a pair of Ducati’s one of which is a competition only bike that I have raced a few years ago that I still use on the track. I absolutely love riding it and have been on a 15 to 20 different tracks (many times) since I bought it 8 years ago.

     

    I also have an old Triumph Bonneville that I fully restored 15 years ago that I love to ride exactly the way you described in your post. I take it easy, go out into the country and just get lost in the ride. I even changed the gearing on it to reduce the revs when I am on these rides trading off the quick stop light take offs they used to be somewhat famous for back in the day.

     

    So IMHO, it would come down to what you want to get out of attending the School. As an aside, don't worry at all about your speed although with your experience you may surprise yourself when you get on a track with a properly prepped full on track bike. I have seen loaded Harleys and Gold Stars at the Schools without a problem as every School at every venue has first timers and multi-timers with measurable variances in abilities; the School manages that disparity EVERYDAY!

     

    Others will chime in here and you should get some good advice for you to help make your decision. The fact that you joined us and posted this suggests to me that you may have already decided but what do I know. ; )

     

    Rainman

  3. Eirik;

     

    Our resident video Jedi; how do you find this stuff? BTW, great summary on how to not do this. You can see the rider running out to the white line and the question I have is did he target fix on them or was just going too quick for his personal skill set (sic) and just ran wide inadvertantly cutting these unfortunate riders down.

  4. Kumar;

    I have attended CSS at Laguna Seca and at Sears Point (Infineon) both in the rain and with clear skies. They will run Laguna in the rain but Sears Point is too slick to ride safely when wet. It's a big disappointment but look at it this way, you live in NoCal, imagine if you flew in from NY and it rained - DAMHIK. Regardless, I think Sears is so much more fun than Laguna, even with the Corkscrew that I would encourage you to keep signing up for that location.

     

    Rainman

  5. Brad;

     

    I can't speak about WERA but when I started at CCS/LRRS (Loudon NH); to get a Novice Competition License you had to attend the Penguin School the day before to "learn" about flags, protocol and then a half a day of track time with their instructors. Midafternoon the track converted to Race Weekend open practice so you had track time with all of the competitors who were there to race that weekend. This was pretty eye opening because it gave you a keen sense of how much quicker things were going to be on Saturday and Sunday.

     

    On Saturday, you still didn't have a racing license so you weren't allowed on the track for any of the practice sessions leading up to the first race of the day; The Rookie Race. You had to finish this race upright to qualify for your Novice Competition License. Only then you could grid in any of the other race classes your bike was approved for (supersport, thunder bike, etc.) The Rookie Race was gridded randomly and we were released in three waves to make the dash into T1 a little more tolerable.

     

    Hopefully some WERA veteran will chime in here to help you get a lay of the land and whatever you do - Let us know how it goes. We all build on each others experiences here.

     

    Good Luck!

     

    Rain

  6. anthem;

    I did that on a School bike (standard shift pattern) at Laguna right on the main straight where Will could hear my "mistake"; I dodged him the rest of the day. Ironicaly I came out of 10 carefully (remembered the pattern going from 2nd to 3rd) but as I accelerated toward the bridge my torso was down on the tank and my foot pushed down to click into what I thought was 4th...

     

    Rain

  7. Cobie;

    On the track I think it becomes more intuitive. You exit a corner and as you accelerate you also lower your torso down as low as you can and begin to upshift. Your foot moves down (as you did with your upper body) on the lever so your moving body parts in the same direction.

    When you decelerate you may begin to rise up to better see your RP's and having your foot follow in the same direction with your downshifts becomes second nature.

    At least that's how I see it.

    Rain

  8. Shadow;

    I'm not sure there is a specific definition (now that I typed that someone will post it for sure) but I believe it to be anything that causes a rider to come off pace prematurely and at times abruptly. Whether it is for a slower rider(s) in a tight section of the track, oil or debris on the surface, an animal (yes, they do sometimes appear at tracks) or a bike malfunction. Technically a red flag causes everyone to check up but not abruptly of course.

     

    Rainman

  9. Cobie;

    This is a good topic to explore. As a multiple school student, day two of any School has been a real test of my own stamina. Something I thought was unique to me but as a multi-time worker in the garage with Will however, I saw that I was not alone, especially at every two day camp I have worked. If there are some training techniques we can utilize to better manage our energy, I'm all in on learnig them.

     

    Rainman

  10. Lessons I learned from racing this bike....Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of skinny tires. Apply what you have learned no matter what you are riding. Trust your ability. Trust your tires. Ride within yourself. I enjoy recounting my experiences racing, CSS helped me develop the skills I use today. Hopefully you will find an anecdote or experience that helps you...

    D;

    AWESOME! Simply Awesome.

     

    Thanks for sharing this and congratualtions on your successes.

     

    Rain

  11. How does one get good at anything?

    Cobie;

     

    There's a joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall in NY, the punchline is "Practice, Practice, Practice."

     

    Malcolm Gladwell wrote about this concept in detail in his book Outliers. He says that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a task. His models include The Beatles, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

     

    Rainman

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