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Hotfoot

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Everything posted by Hotfoot

  1. I'll be there! Looking forward to it. I haven't looked at the weather yet, have you?
  2. OK, I just have to ask, did you MEAN to write "oblivious" instead of "obvious", or was that just a really, really terrific Freudian slip? It cracked me up, that's for sure!
  3. Great to meet you guys too! Will you be doing a school day? I'll be there both days at a yet to be determined corner Cool, that's my FAVORITE corner! Yes, I'll be taking Level 4 - not for the first time. No matter how many times I come to CSS, I get just as excited every single time. It's a few minutes to 4pm and I am sitting here at my desk, watching the clock, feeling like a kid waiting to be let out of school for the summer! Come say hi on Sunday - blue bike, really fast-looking.
  4. Mine showed up at my house this weekend! It's fantastic, way beyond my expectations. I 've read and read the books and been to lots of schools but still got plenty of new information from the DVD. And it's entertaining enough that it's easy to watch straight through... which I did... but now I want to go back and watch it again because I know there is more to pick up from it. The animations are incredible, gives you a perspective you could never get from a book or from watching someone ride. After seeing the DVD I am astounded by the scope of the project, what an impressive undertaking, and what a spectacular result!
  5. Yes, it was great to meet you and if you're working this weekend you will indeed seem me soon! I'll be there Sunday, and my husband will be there both days. Wheeee, I can hardly wait to get out there!
  6. If we can't use Flash for Cobie (although Flash Jr. is pretty funny) maybe it should be Streak. I hear he has earned that one.
  7. Hey there, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but there are FIVE short video interviews with Keith Code that have been recently added to the www.twistofthewristDVD.com website. The interviews are terrific, they have a lot of information about the making of the DVD (including clips from the movie and photos of the sets and locations), and some history about Keith and the school, and discussions of Keith's coaching techniques, etc. They are really interesting! They are on: www.twistofthewristDVD.com One is on the Home page, two are on the "Making of" page, and two are on the "About the DVD" page. They all say "On the Throttle" so you can probably find them on the On the Throttle site too. Be warned - I was just going to watch a little bit of one, but I got hooked and watched all five in a row!
  8. I'm eyeing that Nov 21-22 Vegas date myself. I like Vegas, very flat but I like the series of left-right-left-right turns, each getting faster than the last... wheeee!
  9. Oh boy! The asking questions routine again! I've read the section in TOTW II, where it talks about pushing on the pegs and other parts of the bike to get leverage on the handlebars. Obviously you can't push on the bars unless you are bracing yourself against some other part of the bike. Where I find it most difficult to implement is the full transitions from one side to the other, where ya gotta make the hang off position change nearly simultaneously with the push on the bars, hard to be locked onto the bike in that scenario. I've messed with the goemetry/suspension a little here and there. So far I've never found it to make that much difference in steering feel. For the moment I'm convinced its overrated, but I've never had the help of an experienced suspension tuner. In the end it's always a compromise between one advantage and another, and no matter how light you get the steering, you'll always want to push as hard as possible to go as fast as possible in chicanes, and that will take as much physical effort as you can put into it. In other words, if your goal is to go as fast as possible, a quicker steering bike would allow you to go faster, not push less. If it were a magical setting that allows you to turn with so little effort, why are the pros tired after a race? Are they doing it wrong? Have the wrong settings? No, they're just going as fast as they can! Bike settings might make it easier at any given speed, but that then just allows you to push it to the next level, either way you've got to expend the effort. All I'm say'n is, while we can make some improvements in technique and suspension settings, in the end it will take some serious physical effort to go fast. Maybe I have a basic misunderstanding on this, but is seems to me that you want to push FASTER, not harder. And intuitively, it seems like the more effort is required, the SLOWER you'd be ABLE to make the motion. Imagine trying to quickly push open a really heavy door versus a super-light one. So I think finding ways to reduce the amount of effort required would help you quicken your steering. So I think there is value in either making the bike easier to steer OR finding a way to change your body position or steering motion to require less muscle! Regarding fatigue, when I am riding as fast as I can go, I get tired from holding onto the bike during braking, and from the cornering forces, but not from the steering. I don't think I've ever worn out my arms from steering, even in endurance races. I certainly do not have exceptional arm strength! I found that steering got a LOT easier for me when my coach at a school worked with me on quick turns, and I learned to steer with a fast and very focused, deliberate movement, with a STOP point. One quick motion, then relax. Before that, I would push the bar and then remain very tense, stopping my arm motion by unconsciously resisting with my other arm or my shoulders, and wasting effort throughout a lot of the turn. Now, it is a much smaller movement, it has a MUCH more dramatic steering effect, and it's not tiring. For sure as the entry speed comes up in a given turn, it takes more effort to turn the bike, but for me this is still a relatively minor effort compared to holding on during really hard braking, or hanging off in general!
  10. Just to add another angle on this, have you taken a look at your bike setup? I've got my bike set up a bit lower in the front and higher in the back than stock, and it is VERY easy to turn. By comparison, my husband's Ducati takes a lot more effort - but it's also more stable through the turns. I think his bike is hard to ride, he thinks mine is scary as hell. Even set up this way, a suspension guy watched me going through a chicane, told me the bike was wallowing in the middle of the transition, made a change to keep the front more stable through the chicane, and WOW did my transition speed improve. The first time I tried it, it flicked over so much easier I nearly ate the inside curb. So if you are finding it takes a lot of effort to turn or you aren't getting through transitions quick, you might try steepening your steering angle or adjusting suspension settings.
  11. I vote "Flash" for Cobie, partly because he's fast, but mainly because of his tendency to change clothes in full view of classrooms full of students. Oh wait, is that one already taken by a UK coach? Darn...
  12. Like lwarner said, Level 2 sorted me out on this, too. I'm curious, what particular sights or situations seem to make you target fix? Someone about to turn left in front of you, or change lanes into you? Holes in the pavement, or slick spots, or curbs? Or does it happen when you are trying to go fast? Do you notice it happens more when you are tired? A little more detail on when it occurs might help us give you more input on this. The best way I know of to manage this is to make sure you are not tired, and not riding over your head. Target fixing is the FIRST thing that happens to me when I am tired, overheated or dehydrated, and often happens when I am 'trying too hard' to go fast, or ride a certain way. As far as exercises... if there are particular things that make you worried, like pavement snakes or the edge of the road, it might help you to intentionally (and slowly and safely) ride over or close to them to take the mystery and fear out of them. Acknowledge that it's there, you know what it is and how it would affect the bike. Then the worry about what "could happen" usually goes away. Same goes for hard braking; try it, safely, a few times and then when you really need it you won't have to stare at the pavement in front of you, as we all tend to want to do. The Twist of the Wrist II DVD might help with this, too, lots of info on survival reactions. Of course it's all in the book, too, but it becomes really, REALLY clear when you see it on film, especially with the on-board camera view.
  13. Go for it on the nickname thread, that might actually get Pete up on the forum (I work him too hard to get up here . Here are some of the names: James Toohey: Hammer Lonnie Etter: Dawg Kristi M.: Hot Laps Pete: Wipes I don't know that all of these will stick, we are trying them on, but another thread, get your "suggestions" sound good to me! CF OK, where's the nickname thread? I'm suggesting "Shades" for Dylan, cuz he always seems to have to funky sunglasses.
  14. Hi Dave, Welcome to the forum, glad to see you found it, I'm sure you'll have a great time cruising through all the great info on here! Did you order a Twist of the Wrist II DVD, too? I ordered mine a few days ago, I'm pretty excited to see it released. It was nice to meet you and Sof, and it's a lot of fun to exchange ideas with other CSS students - talking with you reminded me to use my two-step better, and after I followed your line once through Turn 7, I happily adopted it for the remainder of my day. So, glad I helped you out, and you helped me too. Hope to see both you and Sof again soon, I'll be at CodeRace in a few weeks if yer up for a challenge!! Hotfoot
  15. I would think that if you are way leaned over and had a bump, dip or change in camber in the turn you could have ground clearance issues, like unexpectedly scraping a peg, that might not have happened at your previously lower speed. Is there something specific (other than running wide) you are concerned about happening, if you go in faster?
  16. If you ride track days there is often a photographer tehre, so you can see how mmuch you are leaned. I was looking at my photos and saw some bike parts pretty darn close to the pavement, decided I better work on body position and quick turn a little more!
  17. Conversation overheard between my 3 year old son and his babysitter: Babysitter: "What's THIS in the picture?" My son: "It's a Duc!" Babysitter: "Nooooo, honey, it's a MO-TOR-CYCLE." Sigh. Some people just don't get it. My son likes tractors, too, so I anticipate some confusion when he identifies a Caterpillar, or a Deere.
  18. Wow, 30/30? My Michelin guy is recommending 29/21 for the Power Ones! That's an awfully big difference! There are two different types of Power Ones available, the "retail" ones that you can get in a motorcycle store or from a Parts Unlimited type distributor, and the track version that is only available from trackside suppliers, which come in Hard, Soft, Med Soft, etc versions. Which ones are you on? I am running the track version, V front, Med Soft, and they are telling me 29/21 cold. I asked about hot pressures and he said the same thing your guy said, 'don't bother, just set them cold.' I did run the 'retail' version a few months ago, and actually liked them better, they were not as stiff and I thought gave better feedback, but they had a little less grip. I think they were set to more like 30/30. Isn't it irritating that they sell two totally different types of tires under the same name?
  19. Oh, there are some dangers in getting your wife involved - here's a few: 1) It costs twice as much now 2) You talk each other into even more track days and bike parts and lastly, nightmare of nightmares, 3) She MIGHT GET FASTER THAN YOU.
  20. Well, I did it, yesterday, first WERA race! I was definitely nervous but the idea of embracing it as a thrill helped me a lot. I made sure I was very, very prepared, and organized, and early with everything, which made things a lot calmer. I kept it together well through practice, warmup, and the start of the first race, but it was a crowded grid and the scramble through the first three turns definitely got my heart rate up. After that, I started driving so hard out of the turns that I hit my rev limiter in a couple of different places, since my normal shift points were suddenly too far down the road! I lost some time with that, but was able to get refocused and run a good race. I ended up with a third place (I got a TROPHY!! YAY!!!) and I was thrilled with that. I did a second race (went up a class), and wow, what a difference in my riding. I knew what to expect, rode a much calmer first lap, then got into a groove and ran laps that were 3 seconds faster than the first race, and much, much smoother. AND I beat the person that got second place in my first race. Hot damn. We had a blast. There were three of us together that were all racing for the first time (a nice example of the blind leading the blind!) and one pattern that I noticed - we ALL made shifting errors in our first race. Either missed shifts or poor timing. I wonder if that is typical? I know I saw some other Novices having some shifting issues. Anyway, we all stayed upright, placed reasonably well and had a great time. I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with WERA. Everything was organized, on time, well-run, well-communicated, safe, and friendly. Thanks to all of you for your comments on this thread, ya helped me a lot!!
  21. Hmmm, VIR on Monday... Guess you better sign me up for Group Therapy, cuz when I read that I started wondering if I could fit that in my schedule.
  22. Thank you, this is helpful. It seems obvious now, but it had not occurred to me to measure the actual temp the warmers are maintaining. I will check it out. I think I remember hearing that the one setting on them is 180, and relative to your Chicken Hawks, that certainly does sound high. Your suggestion of running them just 20 minutes is a good plan, I'll give that a try, and if keep doing this racing stuff I guess I'll have to get a better set of warmers. My little third place trophy from yesterday is good encouragement to spend more money!
  23. I realized recently that I have an uncertainty on quick turns, hopefully someone help me understand this better. I noticed in some turns (for example, Turn 4 at Streets of Willow, or Turn 9 at CA Speedway) many riders will approach the turn on a bending line to get to their turn point, then turn it more when they actually reach the turn point. I am comfortable quick-turning the bike when it is stood straight up, but a little unsure about quick turning it if I am already leaned over. So, I guess my question is this: if you are already leaned over some, like when you are entering a long decreasing radius turn, is there a limitation on how fast you can then quick turn the bike? Can you quick turn as aggressively when you are leaned over, say, 1/3 of full lean, as you can when you are fully upright? I am assuming, of course, that traction is good and you are off the brakes. I think I am a little confused on this concept because I know a "mid-corner steering correction" is a bad thing, and this seems like a variation of that.
  24. Those tires will be great, they have plenty of grip, warm up fast, and last a long time. I would not recommend switching to the Power Ones unless you are riding REALLY, REALLY fast. They are super stiff and hard to warm up if you don't use warmers, and if you are doing the school you won't want to use warmers. Plus they cost more! IMHO, the Pilot Powers are pretty similar in grip and handling characteristics to the Dunlops that CSS uses on school bikes.
  25. Recommended pressure for the Michelin Power Race from the Michelin distributor at the track is 29 front and 22 rear, cold pressure, which is why I run at those pressures. My tires look like your Dunlop photo, not like the Michelin photo. I would definitely think, if I saw that kind of wear, that something was wrong, it looks like it is melting! The only time I have ever gotten that sort of wear was on my 636 when my rear suspension settings were WAY too hard, on a really hot day, and I overworked the tire so much that it got way too hot and I got streaks and globs like that. I was sliding, because apparently the rubber was melting faster than it was shedding off. I have been running at these same pressures for a long time - both before and after I started using warmers - but the problem of the tires getting slick is new, since I started using the warmers.
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