pete

I threw myself out at the age of 19. I took me way to long to get a bike - age 23. I was actually in the hospital recovering from a spontaneous lung collapse. My Mom was definitely not happy to see me on a bike after the surgery.

I agree with Cobie here.

Wait.... Is that Cobie at the handlebars?

No and I don't think I got that joke.

My Mom wasn't even old enough to drive then.

So what your saying is the grip is better than Mid-Ohio in the wet?

Seems like a theme might be starting - parents said no, boy got a bike.

At some point in our life we decide that we wanted throw a leg over a bike and give it a try. There was something that inspired us to ride. When I was about 4, our neighbor had a Harley and it was just fascinating to me that he could just get on it a drive away. Yet when I went somewhere with my parents, we had to buckle down in a seat, or even worse a car set. Then when I was about 10, I heard a guy on a "crotch-rocket" rip up a road nearby, and I asked my friend: "What was that?" - as I wasn't used to that kind of sound. He said it was probably a Kawasaki Ninja. At 10 anything with Ninja in it sounds pretty cool. Not too long after I saw Top Gun and decided that I wanted a bike. My first experience on a bike was a mini-bike (later that year when I saw Top Gun), and on my first go at it, the throttle stuck open, where I then crashed into a pile of garbage cans in an old barn. My parents then told me I wasn't allowed to have a motorcycle as long as I lived under their roof. Ironically, I get paid to ride them. What was it for you?

Wow..!! I was just learning how to say Da Da, and Ma Ma.

Wasn't even driving a car yet - in fact the only bike I had was a Schwinn.

My two cents: We are essentially talking about ability. What monitors that? Willingness. Cheers,

Just read this thread and there is a lot to be addressed. I'm going to start with this one. You can turn quickly in the wet. Can you turn it as quick and to the same lean angle you do in the dry? NO. Keith is comparing apples to apples on the video. If you are at a track and it is a perfect day for quick turning (conditions are good, tires are warm, fairly new, etc) and you have success with it, yet it starts raining and the pavement gets slippery, then you can't turn it as quick as you did when it was dry. But you can still turn it quicker - there is a scale or degree of quickness here. The rule is straight from Twist II is: "As quickly as possible in every turn.", "as-quickly-as-possible means: for the demand of the turn".

Great idea. I'm game to help!

Great story! It is one that could be told by many of the coaches - helping someone and seeing the progress is most enjoyable.

Didn't even know how to ride a bicycle or pee on my own in 82.

Starting my 5th season next year. Another detail that could be added to the question would be if a coach was full time or part time. A full time coach of 2-3 years might do more coaching than a par time coach of 5-8.

Bullet always beats us to the welcoming. Welcome to the forum from us here in the US. Cheers,

Yup.

Y4C4, Welcome to the forum. "the razor" said it. Do one thing at a time. The best is to follow the Twist book, or even better the Twist II DVD. I recently had someone follow the DVD one step at a time and practice each until the noticed a nice improvement. Also, if I did have to choose one thing to work on (with a newer rider) it would be steering. Cheers,

Stu, Do you always use the clutch when downshifting or where you doing that for the video? Something else that I think is notable about this video is how there is no instability or use of the handlebars on any of the transitions.

It sounds like several have already responded with the most obvious tech points. BUT, how is the front tire? What kind of shape or profile does it have?

That document should work. There is also a short video on the Twist II DVD. Cheers,

The stock setting might be a bit too soft. Setting sag would be the first step. Are you familiar on how to do that? I could help you along, and give you some base settings. Also, which tracks are you looking to do? If it was a fast smooth track, you might want it on the stiffer side, or softer on a slower bumpier track.

The Hip-Flick is a LV3 technique. It's a body positioning element when transitioning from one side to another. If your already working on body position (as you mentioned) then I recommend getting up to and completing LV3.

Hi David, Welcome to the forum..!! Some tank pads or grip would be beneficial as well as case covers. R&G make some really nice case covers, and they've been holding up well for us. http://www.rg-racing...00_RR/2010.aspx I've also found that the stock suspension works okay, but a little soft at speed (I'm 150lbs). Definitely ensure you setup the bike for your weight, also known as "rider sag". Do that first before you decide to spend $ on suspension changes. Cheers,