Hotfoot
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Posts posted by Hotfoot
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. I had come to the point that Keith noted in the introduction to Twist 2 under the heading 75 Percent Perfect (page xiv) where the panic button..."ruins self-respct, confidence and trust in oneself, and the process". I don't know if you've ever crashed and come to the point where you felt this way.I have certainly felt that way and I suspect that MOST of us have! Not necessarily from a crash, just from trying to work through the challenges of riding a motorcycle; there are great days where barriers are overcome and you feel like a hero and lousy days where you wonder what the heck happened to your confidence and control. A day at school where you can get classroom education and then go straight out to the track and specifically practice each drill, with personal coaching, is the best thing in the world for increasing your understanding of how the bike works and improving your control of it. It is admirable that you are making such a study of the books and I commend you for that, but having some individual coaching makes it a lot easier.
For what it is worth, as I got more and more educated on CSS material and got more coaching, I got much better at recognizing the panic buttons, how to avoid the situations that push them, and how to overcome those survival reactions... so those days of frustration are mostly a memory. Of course with each new level of riding there are new challenges, and new barriers; the moments of panic are history but I still get that amazing "hero" feeling that goes with overcoming barriers and reaching new goal.
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This rider does not appear to blink very often, I wonder if the rate of blinking changes when riding compared to just sitting around? I have wondered that before, since I notice that when I am trying to ride fast I don't blink as much as normal and my eyes tend to feel dry afterwards - but I don't have that issue when riding at a more relaxed pace. Not sure if that is a just a concentration thing or if it is a negative thing, and indication that I am "trying too hard"; it seems like it happens more when I am "trying to go fast" and working on something, instead of when I am ACTUALLY going fast for fun or while racing.
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I like a helmet that is lighweight and not too LOUD inside. It's a tough tradeoff between good ventilation and low noise. I wore Shoeis for years and they were a very comfortable fit, but I have a KBC now and was very pleasantly surprised to find that it was as light or lighter, and considerably quieter than the Shoei I had before.
I haven't used a carbon fibre one yet but I look forward to getting one, they are super light weight.
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Ok, good - if your post was all about enthusiasm for doing the school and CodeRace and just wishing it was easier financially, I totally get that and I misunderstood your post. I apologize for my response and I'm glad you will be coming to the school to learn - if you show up mentally and physically prepared to be a good student, I'm sure you will make oodles of progress and have a great time. Seeing fellow students have their own successes adds to the fun of the whole thing, I bet you'll enjoy that as well.
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So let me get this straight, you'll be disappointed if you find out there are things you can improve on, or learn, at the school?
If you call the office and tell them that, they will probably be willing to refund your money right now.
You might want to go ride an open track day soon, and get a realistic gauge of your riding compared to other track day riders. After that, if you really don't feel you have anything to learn from the school, don't come. If your expectation or hope is to come to the school and have everyone admire your amazing skillz, you are coming to the wrong school, it isn't that kind of place. It's all about making improvements, whether you ride a Harley on Sundays or race AMA, if you aren't there to improve your riding you are wasting their time and your money.
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Wow, I'm with Benny on this one. I saw your post last night about 11:30pm (after just getting home from a weekend of racing) so I tried to read that article. I couldn't tell what the author was trying to communicate, but chalked that up to fatigue and went to bed. Then I tried to read it again this morning, and STILL found it to be convoluted and hard to follow. The author seems to be trying to take on some really big subjects, but deliver the explanations in just a few sentences, so he brushes over a lot; some of what he said sounded "off" to me, and like Benny, I started to wonder if there were some terminology issues. Overall it felt like someone trying to explain something by using a collection of information gleaned from multiple sources, and as far as I could tell, the ultimate message of the article is that motorcycle steering is extremely complex! That is not very useful information when you are trying to pilot a bike around a road course, and could in fact create anxiety and confusion.
To add to Benny's comments above, one of Keith Code's great strengths as a coach and author and speaker is that he is able to communicate useful information about how a motorcycle works in a very clear and understandable way. You can watch him explain something to a rider and SEE the expression on the rider's face as he/she comes to understanding of something that used to seem really complicated (like steering!) and all of a sudden becomes clear, attainable, and within his/her control - and then the rider can hardly wait to go out and apply that new information!
I'd agree that it is probably best to just set that article aside and find something that is more clearly written, I think any debate on what is right or wrong in it would eventually boil down to confusion on terminology and vague wording.
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+1 on adding a battery, ventilation fan and LED interior lights, so on nights when you don't need A/C you can still have lights and some cooling without having to run a generator, and so you can run your interior lights (or loading lights) without draining your truck battery. Plus add a 12V round outlet (cigarette lighter type) so you can plug your phone in to charge overnight using a car charger, and you can use it to run one of those small air compressors for tires, those are handy.
Of course then you might want to add a solar panel to keep that battery charged...
Should we keep coming up with more ideas on how to spend your money?
'Cause you know you need fuel can racks, and a shower (having a shower to cool off on a hot day is AWESOME) and a water heater and folding chairs and an easy fold up bed that latches against the wall and a canopy and heater and a microwave and a fridge and... ok I'll stop.
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We have one of those portable A/C units; it works but it is more of a spot cooler - if you stand in front of it, it feels good but it really doesn't cool off our garage and I don't know that it could adequately cool a trailer. It is a 9,000 BTU, I think. It is very quiet. Having to run the vent hose is a bit of a hassle, and we only tried taking it to the track once - it turned out to be too hard to transport, it is heavy and hard to tie down for hauling. Also with some models there is condensate water to deal with - ours evaporates it without having to empty the pan, but we are in a very dry climate. Keep in mind, to get it to cool the trailer you'd have it keep the trailer totally closed up and any windows shaded - which can certainly mess up the social aspect of a trackday. We gave up on the portable and ended up just carrying a good portable fan for use outside the trailer.
Our toyhauler has a roof mounted A/C unit, it works well and is not loud from the outside, although is rather noisy inside. On a hot day (100+ degrees) if we start it early, keep the trailer closed and run it all day, it keeps it below 80 inside. But Brad makes a REALLY good point, which is that it draws a ton of power. A portable 2kw generator is not enough to run it, we have to use the toyhauler's built in generator, and if we try to use the A/C plus two sets of tire warmers it overloads even the toyhauler generator, which is at least a 4kw. From the outside, the generator is louder than the A/C unit.
Also great information. I did not really consider transport at all. At the moment I have plenty of room inside the trailer but considering most of these are on casters that's a thought as well. An A/C unit rolling around is not optimal. I only plan on running the A/C at night really for sleeping. It sounds like I really need to just buy one of the spot coolers and do some testing before I head out to the track. Make sure it can actually cool the space in a reasonable time frame. The last thing I would want is a last minute surprise of a hot humid trailer to sleep in. If I go looking at roof top units I might haul the generator with me to see if they will let me try running one with my generator. A big RV supply house probably has a toyhauler or RV with one of those units on it and it might be a good test to do before I invest a huge amount of time into getting one installed and then discovering I don't have enough power to run it.
You should be able to compare the max power draw on the A/C to the max for the generator - that is a common question and any RV supply house should be able to answer it easily for any A/C units they are selling. It's the initial startup of the compressor that is the max load. Come to think of it, if you google the quesiton of what is the max size A/C unit your specific model of generator can run, you might find the answer online since that is a popular model of generator.
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We have one of those portable A/C units; it works but it is more of a spot cooler - if you stand in front of it, it feels good but it really doesn't cool off our garage and I don't know that it could adequately cool a trailer. It is a 9,000 BTU, I think. It is very quiet. Having to run the vent hose is a bit of a hassle, and we only tried taking it to the track once - it turned out to be too hard to transport, it is heavy and hard to tie down for hauling. Also with some models there is condensate water to deal with - ours evaporates it without having to empty the pan, but we are in a very dry climate. Keep in mind, to get it to cool the trailer you'd have it keep the trailer totally closed up and any windows shaded - which can certainly mess up the social aspect of a trackday. We gave up on the portable and ended up just carrying a good portable fan for use outside the trailer.
Our toyhauler has a roof mounted A/C unit, it works well and is not loud from the outside, although is rather noisy inside. On a hot day (100+ degrees) if we start it early, keep the trailer closed and run it all day, it keeps it below 80 inside. But Brad makes a REALLY good point, which is that it draws a ton of power. A portable 2kw generator is not enough to run it, we have to use the toyhauler's built in generator, and if we try to use the A/C plus two sets of tire warmers it overloads even the toyhauler generator, which is at least a 4kw. From the outside, the generator is louder than the A/C unit.
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You might be able to find something the RangeRover would tow. There are lots of options out there. I did a quick search and found these:
http://www.livinlite.com/vrv-floorplans.php
that page shows weights and floor plans. I don't know anything about that brand of haulers but they are definitely lightweight.
Don't let me talk you out of tricking out your regular enclosed trailer, if you really like it. It is a fact that many toyhaulers are rather cheaply made, to keep cost and weight down, but I must say they fit a remarkable amount of conveniences in a small and relatively inexpensive package, we have been VERY happy with ours.
I agree with you 100% about the convenience of staying at the track - it buys us at least one whole extra hour of sleep in the morning.
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Food for thought - if you are going to do this very often, pretty soon you will also want a small refrigerator, and a microwave, and a more comfortable sleeping arrangement, etc. etc. - so before you put too much effort into trying to add A/C to your enclosed trailer, take a quick look around at toy haulers. Since the "economic downturn" you can sometimes find GREAT deals on used ones, and a toyhauler would have all the conveniences, including a bathroom and shower. We went through the whole progression of hitch-rack hauler to enclosed trailer, to adding a lot of things to the enclosed trailer, and eventually got a 23 foot toy hauler and I gotta tell ya, it is TOTALLY GREAT, immensely better than the enclosed trailer; it has heat, A/C, inside and outside lights, generator, built-in fuel and water tanks, etc. and I know I would have ultimately spent more trying to fix up that enclosed trailer than I spent buying the hauler.
Just something to consider. Oh, and here is a tip from the RV service guy - if you buy a toyhauler or RV, get one made before 2008, apparently the ones after that were built more cheaply and the quality is not as good.
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There may not be many other students wearing an oversuit like that (just because they don't own one) - but I don't think anyone will be laughing at you, if they are cold and wet and soggy and you're not!
Typically if it is raining HARD, course control will delay until it lightens up, so you don't necessarily need to be prepared for riding in a downpour. But, you might very well be riding in light rain.
An oversuit like that will keep you warm and protect your leathers; they work well but they do look a bit funny and can be hard to take on and off quickly. If you have a waterproof jacket that will fit over your leathers, fastens securely, will not rip at high speeds and does not have any strings, snaps or fasteners that will flop around and distract you, course control will probably let you wear that on track over your leathers. (Make sure there is nothing in your pockets!)
The coaches at the school have access to oversuits like that but in most cases in light rain we just throw on a jacket over leathers. Or you can do what Cobie does, and just wear a trashbag under leathers like a vest. Doesnt keep the leathers dry but it keeps the wind and water from getting to your underlayer.
Also there are rain jackets made for touring that might be more usable in other applications in the future; I have a Tourmaster PVC oversuit that is nice and was not expensive.
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I have been working with a rider for about 3yrs now. I have tried everything I know to get him to get his head lower.
I personally was never willing to get my head down low until I took CSS level 2 and learned good visual skills. Reference points especially. You might want to ask some questions to dig into WHY that rider doesn't want to put his head down - he may be keeping his head up in an attempt to solve some other (and to him, more important) problem - like a body position weakness or a desire to see farther ahead.
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Shakabusa, have you considered starting your own blog about riding? That would give you an excellent way to share your riding experiences with others, and allow you to attract followers (from your motorcycle club, for example) so they can read your journal entries about your rides, and your riding experiments, and follow your journey as you explore various riding techniques.
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Should read "Can you LEARN this safely on the street".
Going back to your original question at the start of this thread, this question is posed in Twist II in the section about steering the bike quickly. Assuming good traction, good tires that are up to temp, and suspension in good working order, what do YOU think? Any reason why you couldn't practice increasing your steering rate on the street?
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Hey Steve,
Someone asked in another section whether it is recommended to use warmers with Q3s if you are racing on them. As I recall the Q2s didn't much like tire warmers. Do the Q3s work well with warmers, for track days or racing?
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Lots of good answers to this question - I especially like Benny's post, lots of good info and advice there. The only thing I would add is that sometimes when you change tires, you may find that you have to adjust suspension a little also, especially if the new tires have a much stiffer carcass - if the new tires aren't wearing properly or if they feel really harsh, take a look at the suspension settings.
Regarding runnig Q3s with warmers - we should post a new topic on this in the tires section to ask Steve. I know the Q2s weren't so great on warmers but I'm not sure that is still true with the Q3s.
Good topic, YellowDuck!
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Thanks for the updates, I am enjoying reading these, keep it up!
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Thanks Dylan! This is a great post, it's well written, understandable and helps bridge the gap between what makes sense from a physics standpoint and what makes sense from a practical standpoint.
Thanks for taking the time and effort to get that info, this was a very interesting read!
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Hey, that is an excellent idea, having the AMA teams there will make it a particularly fun day.
I'll be there racing that weekend, so I'll be there for sure.
Anybody else going to be out there? It is easy and inexpensive to get into Auto Club Speedway to watch the WERA races. I'm not sure if the gate fee will change with the special series, but probably not and it is normally only $10 per person.
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Per the post above, we do need more info, to help determine if this is coming from your tires, your suspension, or something you are doing in controlling the bike.
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I didn't see mass of bike and mass of rider on the list, those would be factor for sure.
Proportion of unsprung weight would probably figure in, at some point, too...
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Amen to that, Tyler!
Spherical chicken. Hee hee hee.
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There is a limit to available traction. Whether you hit that limit before you run out of ground clearance on your bike is going to depend on your bike, your suspension settings, your tires, rearset position, the track, your body position, and a multitude of other factors.
A better question might be: how can you explore the available cornering speed of your new ride without wadding it up in a corner in the process?
The best thing would be to get to a school and work with a coach and sort this out; but in the meantime, there is a very useful exercise in "A Twist of the Wrist II" in Chapter Six, in a section called "Discharging". It gives a straightforward process to appoach a corner, bringing the speed up gradually, so you can feel out the bike's limits (and yours) in a systematic manner. With this approach, assuming good technique (good throttle control, no unwanted bar input, etc.) and an absence of SRs (the drill helps with this part especially), it is possible to explore the limits and start getting feedback from the bike to warn you when you are getting close to the limits of the tire.
Newbie's Guide To Surviving The Cornering Forum
in New Members Area
Posted
Welcome to the forum and have a GREAT time next week! Was MotoWest GP your first racing experience? If not, what did you do before that, and if so, what got you into racing?