Hotfoot

I love my Starlane GPS timer but it is pricey. It stores a lot of tracks and you don't need a beacon. It's super accurate, can can work with a PC via bluetooth, but the PC software is not too impressive. It shows top speed, best lap (on the fly, and you can see it, and it flashes a light at you) and can do intermediates so you can segment the track into four sections.

I think this depends on how willing you are to push yourself in practice, and how seriously you take/set your goals. I can get faster with coaching and serious practicing, but if I'm not motivated I can also ride multiple track days without making any actual progress. Regarding racing - I just started with it, but I am finding that it can force me to take different lines, or change my technique to deal with a competitor, or push me into new situations (extreme braking or turning quickly to avoid another bike) that I wouldn't put myself in otherwise. And, of course, it gives me good incentive to actually TRY to go faster, and to see where others are faster than me. I learn a lot about my own limits or the limits of the bike, in a race. As someone once said to me "You do s__t in a race you would NEVER do in practice!" This helps my lap times because I realize I can push harder than I thought. But I know some people who ride so hard all the time that I'm not sure a race situation would make any difference for them; calm, goal-oriented practicing might be more productive.

Wow, really? I never would have thought of that. It definitely meets the requirements for small, quiet, portable and inexpensive. I guess I'll have to try it at home and see how high the effort level is - if it's pretty easy, that sounds like a great idea. Thanks! Hotfoot; I cornerworked at NJMP for the School yesterday and one of our CW's used a bicycle pump to adjust his tire pressure. Even though I offered him air from my small compressor, he was more comfortable with his pump. It worked...go figure... Kevin Thanks guys, you gave me a great solution, and probably saved me a lot of money and effort trying to get a tank or compressor installed. Terrific!

Well, the "cool" factor IS a little low, but it certainly makes for a practical solution and I think I'll go with it! I already gave up on being cool anyway. And yes, Jaybird, I've destroyed one of those foot pumps, too, so I learned that lesson firsthand, but thanks for the warning!

Wow, really? I never would have thought of that. It definitely meets the requirements for small, quiet, portable and inexpensive. I guess I'll have to try it at home and see how high the effort level is - if it's pretty easy, that sounds like a great idea. Thanks!

Hello track day addicts, I have a question. I am trying to get my trailer set up better for track days, and I want to have some sort of on-board air in case I need to adjust tire pressure. Currently we carry a 7 gal refillable air tank, but it's heavy and seems much larger than what we need. Any clever ideas out there for a better way to do this? Things that have occurred to me are: mount a small refillable air tank permanently somewhere on the trailer (how small can you get?), or get a small air compressor (but then I need power, don't always have it), or try to find some sort of disposable canisters (CO2? Nitrogen?). I'd love to hear any recommendations for anything that has worked well for you. I DO have a small compressor that runs off the cigarette lighter but it is SLOW and noisy and cheap, so we never actually use it, I want something better.

Having ridden the no BS bke more than once, I can attest that you cannot turn it. "They" (an instructor) told me that another instructor was able to make it turn gradually in a very wide open space but it was useless from a cornering a motorcycle perspective. There are no corners on any track that are that big where you could turn the No BS bike. OK, so just the one. I agree that there is no corner on a track that can be taken at speed. I was able to get my bike to competently corner at approx 15-20 mph around a "bend" I guess you could call it. I had my hands on the tank, close to the bars, and I assure you the bike was able to turn with leaning and peg pressure. I'll try it again later in the week if the parking lot is cleared, and give you my results. I have a camera that I'll mount, if I can get it to work. Just another variable to consider, it seems that it would be a LOT tougher to force the bike to lean with body weight at higher speeds. We know that the bike is designed such that when it is leaned over the front wheel will then turn into the lean (becuase of the trail) and balance it. It's possible to lean the bike at slow speeds by throwing your body weight over, but at high speeds I think you would have to use counter steering to force the lean.

I rode an old dual sport a little bit, had fun, then ran across a little Ninja 250, the only sport bike that seemed small enough for me. After a year or so of riding that occasionally, I watned to learn to ride better so I called up the Superbike School and asked if I would be able to handle the 636, since I knew I couldn't reach the ground even on my toes. Sure, they said, come on out! So I did, and I clearly remember being terrified of dropping the bike in the parking lot! Stu was my coach, he was very patient and I had a blast. Riding on the street lost all its appeal after trying out the track. It was so much more fun and so much safer! Now, OMG, I am a track addict and even starting to race. Thanks to all the CSS schools I've been to, the difference in my ability, my confidence, and my laptimes is staggering. I betcha no one that saw me at that first school would EVER have picked me out as someone who would take it this far, least of all me.

I had to read this like 200 times before I got it. This is confusing to me, probably because dropping weight doesn't REALLY change your horsepower (the engine makes what it makes), it just means that you can get more speed from the horsepower you have, because you are pushing less weight. Here's where I am getting stuck - in the equation above, HP = (force x velocity)/33000 (this is using ft/min not ft/sec). It looks like you are using weight as the "force" in that equation, which makes the math seem pretty simple - but I'm wondering if you can really do that, since we are talking about pushing a rolling bike instead of lifting a weight. For example, wouldn't the Force vary with speed, because of wind resistance? I'm not arguing the 7lb= 1 hp estimate, nor do I really want to start a physics discussion, but I'm just not convinced that doubling the speed would equate to cutting your weight advantage in half. I'm just not sure it would be directly proportional. I tried to find formulas for "horsepower gained by reducing weight", but had no luck, I just found rule of thumb estimates, which implies to me that the the calculation is either really complex or that hp and weight don't directly relate to each other. I did, however, see calculators that would give you your new top SPEED for a given horsepower if you reduce the weight, which made a LOT more sense to me. For fun, I ran the calculation for my bike, which was just repaired, taking the horsepower (measured on the dyno) from 93hp to 112hp. The math says I should get about 10mph additional top speed. I'll be taking it out Saturday and I have a GPS laptimer, which has my previous top speed stored. I'm going to measure the new top speed and see how close it is. So, for the sake of science and supporting the Forum, I'm planning to go out and ride the thing as fast as it will go. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it...

Just so I understand, with the new sequence you are trying, are you pulling in the clutch before you brake and holding it in the whole time you are braking?

Ummm... forgive me, but I don't really watch racing - what did you actually see them doing, moving it back or not?

Not laughing at all, that sounds pretty uncomfortable! Something to think about - I occasionally get motion sickness on boats or in cars or buses, and there are two things that make it happen - diesel fumes, and staring at something that is not moving the same way I am. So if I try to read a book , or play cards, on a bus or in a boat I get nauseous. If I am also in a place where I get some diesel fumes it happens much quicker and it's much worse. Diesel fumes alone will make me nauseous and dizzy even without any motion. So I can see how the back of a truck taking up most of your field of vision AND poisoning you with fumes could make you feel lousy. I can't imagine that would EVER happen to you on the track, because what you SEE will relate properly to what you expect to see, and the fumes from race fuel from other bikes smell pretty damn good, actually, if you ask me! Definitely don't take any medicine. Please. It will impair your riding. I am confident you won't have any motion sickness problems. If you are new to track riding, you'll probably have some butterflies in your stomach - don't confuse that with motion sickness, I think EVERYBODY gets a little nerves the first few times out, it doesn't mean you are getting sick and it goes away once you get a few laps in. Um, since we are talking about illnesses here, did anyone warn you yet that track riding is extremely addicting? It has side effects like extreme expenditures, shortness of time, malaise at work, and can cause radical rearrangement of your priorities...

I guess I'm a bit late in giving my own 2 cts about Laguna Seca, but I had a terrific time too. Thank goodness I brought some warm clothes, and my old leathers are loose enough to wear with layers underneath! Terrific time at dinner, thanks SO MUCH for that, FossilFuel! It was a great way to kick things off, and it was great to meet you and your friends, and Domina. I've been neglectful of the forum... because I was busy preparing for an epic 8 hour endurance race on a rented NSR50. If you haven't ever raced one of those little buggers, you are missing out. It's about as fun as it gets, and certainly feels a lot less life-threatening than the big bikes. What a blast. We had no idea how competitive the race would be, we just did it for grins, but in spite of our inexperience and complete lack of practice, we finished with a pretty decent 8th place. My school at Laguna was good preparation, I was able to take some of the things I learned there and apply them in the race - better use of reference points is one example, that certainly helps enormously in a long race, it takes a lot less energy to get around the track when you know exactly where you want to go. I did this race last year, too, and one of the most satisfying things of all was to see some of the people that were faster than me last year - because THIS year, I was faster than them! Hallelujah! Thank you California Superbike School!

I'm starting to shop for new leathers. Who do you know in Southern CA that makes custom race leathers? I am female, and would love to find someone that can make a nice set of women's leathers. I know about Z Leathers, that's what I have now, and I may very well go to him again, but I want some other options, too - my Z suit is great, but it looks like a man's suit. So, if you have a hookup on someone who does women's leathers well, please let me know. Thanks for your help!

A quick turn in esses can sometimes lift the front. Say a left-right. Come out of the left hard on the gas and start your flick before you roll off the gas and viola - wheelie. Another situation is just banked esses where the left and right banking forms a crest in the road or track. If your flick is timed at the top of the crest you can get the front wheel off the ground. If you do this, just right, in the Corkscrew at Laguna, you can get both wheels off the ground. The interesting thing to remember is the bike has the momentum of the steering input so it continues to lean while one or both wheels are in the air. If there's enough front brake drag, the front wheel slows down enough to slide when it lands but it quickly gets back up to speed and traction in that situation hasn't ever been a problem for me. Of course I'm not talking huge, stand up and wave at the crowd, wheelies either. I think there's a picture in Twist I of King Kenny wheeling in the middle of the Corkscrew right on top of the left/right crest. OMG thank you for posting this, you just cleared something up for me!!! I did EXACTLY what you just described at the Corkscrew last year - quick turned at the top of the crest and the front wheel came off the ground. For a year now I thought that I had caused that by pulling up a little on the bars when switching from one side of the bike to the other. But I don't actually REMEMBER doing that, which was bothersome. After reading your post, the whole thing makes way more sense to me. So what actually causes that lift, the suspension rebound?

I agree with Kevin, this is too theoretical to have any practical significance. Because, after all there is STILL some friction between the tire and the ground. Maybe not enough to complete the desired quick turn, but still enough to make the bike lean, at which point gravity would take over and make you fall down. And momentum would take you forward or to the outside of the turn (depending on how much the bike turned before the front started to slide). The only case I can think of where front wheel traction goes to zero is a wheelie - so, go try a quick turn in a wheelie, I bet you WOULD go straight and remain vertical!

I am not MIA, I am ON MY WAY. See you tonight or tamale.

Just finishing off the LAST WORK DAY before school, YAY!!! Let's see, I'll be on the road most of the day Monday, so that leaves me the weekend to fill out my Level 4 questionnaire, track prep and load the bike, gather my gear, re-read Twist, and start my workout program to get in shape. Two or three days of exercise ought to be plenty of preparation, don't you think? Hey FossilFuel, will you have internet access to continue the countdown right up until Monday?

Someone on this thread mentioned something about designing some infinitely adjustable rearsets - there is something pretty close already, Gilles makes some that adjust by rotating then sliding. It's hard to describe, but here's a link to a picture: http://www.hardracing.com/GILLESRS.htm The combo of rotating and sliding gives a tremendous flexibility of adjustment, but more importantly they LOOK AWESOME. Therefore I have them on my bike. So if you are part of the elite, special group headed to Laguna Seca next week feel free to come over and admire my sexy and well-adjusted rearsets. Truly these are WAY better looking then the normal type with the big screw plate, they are very lightweight and extremely easy to adjust. I like the pegs, too, very grippy and rounded. My only very mild complaint is I couldn't get them quite as high and forward as I wanted, but I'm pretty short. Incidentally if I had it to do over again I'd buy the ones that are black with a gold inset. The ones I got are plain black, which is so subtle that they look like regular stock rearsets, but they are so neat I'd actually rather they stood out a bit more. They came with carbon fiber heelguards but I don't use those because they are slippery - I am using the stock metal (heavy) heel guards.

Wow, sorry, did I miss a day? I was busy all day yesterday sitting in meetings trying to pay attention. So, let's see - to get caught up... yes, I am Level 4, but I've learned that even though I learn the awesome techniques taught by the school, every time I pick up my pace significantly I run into the same barriers again and have to address them anew - quick turns have to be quicker, wide view has to be wider, hip flick suddenly becomes really important, etc. So yes, Cobie has taught me tons of stuff, bless his generous and patient heart, whoever thought I'd be racing a motorcyle or going to shooting matches? Good grief! Can hardly wait to leave on Monday....

Omigod you are TOTALLY KILLING me now. I've been making a reasonable effort not to get too wrapped up in anticipating the school, then I read this. NOW I'm not only dying to get to a school, you made me want to send in a coach application! CSS creates an environment unlike any other and you provoked such a vivid recollection of it that I felt the track-day butterflies in my stomach. Well, if I am worthless at work, or can't sleep tonight, I'm going to blame you. And here you go, just to get you back for that - imagine sitting on your school bike in the line-up in hot pit, hearing the rumbling of all the bikes, smelling the exhaust and seeing the plumes in the cool air, waiting for your coach to come find you (wonder who it will be? Is he/she fast? Friendly? Easy to follow?), wondering how that school bike will handle, waiting for Trevor to let you go... and then he does, with that friendly reminder, no-brakes and warm up your tires... And then you're off, cool air and a big, wide expanse of empty track. Just look at all that room to ride... no race tension, no wild start, just that exhilarating moment of the start of a fresh new day, with a fast bike underneath you and all the potential in the world... and a crew of wonderful people, the best in the world, all there to help you discover what you can do out there, how good you can really be. I can hardly wait.

First, the sky would fall. Then there would be crazy German hardcore with bagpipes. And creepy looking guys in long leather skirts beating each other bloody. Just so you know..... I just don't know what to say to that... Wow, you covered a lot of ground to get from Sesame Street to THAT!

Yes they are. There is a noise meter on the track. I did a school there last year and there was a guy there whose bike tripped the meter, really early in the day - I think he got warned once, then when he tripped it the second time he was told (by the track, not the school) that he couldn't ride anymore. He spent the remainder of the day trying to find some way to get a quieter pipe bought and installed so he could ride the next day, not sure if he got it done or not. I felt sorry for the guy, that would be hugely disappointing. I know CSS sends a reminder out to anyone signed up for Laguna Seca about the noise regs - I got mine a few weeks ago, which is why I was joking about stuffing steel wool in my exhaust pipe. Just last night I put the sliencer insert back in my aftermarket pipe to make sure it will be stealth quiet. Is it true that the track is very abrasive and a slightly harder tire might be a better choice than, say, PowerRace PR4s?

Sorry, Cobie. Missed this earlier as I'm sure all the girls did. Maybe Hotfoot will come over and show you some love now that she's revealed her true identity, or, at least gender. (We really don't want to have to go looking for our keys!) Don't have time for a full response now as I feel I may need to include the before and after details. But, before I'm interrupted by this pesky day job, I'd like to test a theory. (This is for all of you.) Sit cross-legged on the floor and tell me which knee is higher. (Yeah. Go ahead and try it with the other leg in front, too.) Thanks!!! I haven't spoken up much on this thread because I don't have much helpful advice on conditioning. Cobie already gives me cr*p about what I eat - he seems to think that Mc Donald's cheeseburgers and Cokes are not a good diet, so I figured I just wasn't the right person to answer his request for fitness ideas. For me, being relaxed on the bike and being hydrated and eating adequately on the day of the event seem to be more important than fitness level or strength. Certainly even the most fit people can exhaust themselves with tension in just one or two sessions, and dehydration will ruin anybody's ability to concentrate. That being said, I do think leg strength, especially quads, is helpful for hanging off and hip flick. I ride horses and an exercise bike, both of those are great for that. Incidentally, I haven't exactly been hiding the fact that I'm female, it just doesn't always come up. There are some other threads where we've had some discussion about women and riding or racing, I'm always happy to share my opinion. OK, I tried your experiment - when I sit cross legged my left knee seems a little higher, but not by much.

Fantastic! Sounds like a great trip, and cool that you are coming with friends. My husband and I will be there the 14th and 15th, riding Level 4. My first time at CSS was also my first time on a 600 cc bike and my first time on the track. I've come a long way since then (and done lots of schools) but I probably don't ride at the pace you do... yet. Sounds like there will be a pack of Level 4 riders, should be a BLAST.