Hotfoot

Riders are running up on me before the turn point. I can usually exit equal or faster. Actually, the idea of adding trailbraking might be helpful to me, I haven't been doing that - it may not be the fastest way but it may help me in judging the speed or making smaller adjustments. Regarding the idea of increasing speed until it feels a little bit too fast - that is what I am trying to do, but having a little trouble judging it, so I make too big a change and blow my line, then on the next lap I am back to my original speed again. In re-reading my OWN post, something jumped out at me - I said I could judge RPM differences better in the higher speed turns, so it occurs to me, maybe I am taking these turns in too high a gear, so the RPM is low. I only have trouble with tight turns that come after a high speed stretch, so I am dropping multiple gears. I haven't had the nifty slipper clutch so I've been a bit careful with downshifts, but I am approaching my first track day on my NEW bike, which does have one. Maybe if I can make the turn at a higher RPM I'll be more able to hear or feel a small difference in RPM, and since my next upshift point will come a lot earlier, I might be able to also use THAT to judge whether I made it through faster - I can find a reference point for when I have to upshift and if I have to keep moving it closer to the turn I'll know I am carrying more speed through. Does that makes sense?

I am looking for some ideas on making small adjustments to entry speeds on sharp corners. I'm a Level 4 student, and I do a good job (I think) of practicing no-brakes drills and doing everything early to avoid being rushed when approaching a turn. Now I'm trying to start creeping up my entry speed but I find that on tight corners, mainly sharp corners after a fast straight, I have trouble judging small differences in entry speed so somewhere in the middle of the turn I realize I just rode it at EXACTLY the same speed as before. On high speed turns I find it much easier because I can hear or feel the difference in engine RPM, plus I can make a larger incremental change withour triggering SRs. Any specific tips on ways to get comfortable with sensing small changes? Obviously looking at the speedo (or even the tach) is not my preferred approach. I do recognize that very little gains in lap times are acheived by working on tight-corner entry speeds, however the reason I am concerned is because it is limiting my speed on the fast straight PRIOR to the turn, which definitely affects my laptimes, and also because in turns of this type I am getting riders running up on me at the end of a fast stretch, which I don't enjoy. Those riders are not riding faster then me elsewhere, ergo SOMETHING is keeping me from riding through these corners up to my own ability. How do YOU do it? What concrete, measurable data helps you tell if you did make a real change in your entry speed? What senses are you using? I am considering adding some pricey electronics to my bike so I can measure this, but I would much rather use my own built-in sensors.

Great feedback, thanks. Being able to reposition the Tech-Specs more easily is a big plus. I guess I'll put them on my Christmas list!

Any input from CSS staff comparing the Stomp versus the Tech-Spec or why they changed from one to the other? I had Stomps on my previous bike but I'm wondering whether to switch to Tech-Spec for the new one.