racer

OK...perfect example of why one should pause to proof read, re-read or just meditate and think before hitting the old send button. This is embarassing, but...upon further consideration, I need to add a caveat and perhaps a retraction. "Essentially parallel" means like, less than say maybe roughly 15 degrees out of phase or away from parallel with the bike, and perhaps the bigger that angle the more "weight" will be transferred to one side (peg) or the other? ie. the more you hang off, the more weight you transfer to the outside? Anybody feel free to comment on that one. I'm just tryin' to cover my butt here.... Since switching to 2-stroke GP bikes I hang off much less than I did when I raced four strokes. And on a 125 I hardly hang off at all, so forgive my alzheimer's. I'm so confused. I'm thinkin' I might be havin' a bit 'o weight on that outside peg, mate. But, dudes, that's just me. I do recall weighting the inside peg to help initiate a bit 'o slide, or weighting the outside peg to correct said slide but that was lifetime's ago. And WAY more attention than I have to spend these days. This is why I stick to the technical stuff. It's safer. Nobody can argue with a calibrated micrometer.

I'm very reluctant to "weigh" in on riding technique...however... What exactly are we talking about? First, snow skis....it's all about the edges. In the middle of a GS turn ALL of my weight is on the outside ski's inside edge...if it is my intention to keep turning. My inside ski has NO weight and actually does not even touch the snow. If it does, it is a distraction as I might "catch an edge" or cross tips. Bad deal. Turning is accomplished because of something called "sidecut" in the ski which allows the ski to "flex" as it is rolled (as in yaw, pitch and roll) (or rotated around the z-axis) onto it's edge creating a curved ski/edge aginst the surface of the snow. Now the bottom line here (ha ha) the foot bone's connected directly to the ski bone by boot and binding. Though there is some cushion in the boot, and some give in the binding to absorb a certain level of shock (shock absorber) hence why more advanced (read faster) skiiers adjust their shock absorbers tighter to avoid premature release. And we all want to avoid ...that. However, relatively speaking, it's a fairly direct connection. Foot to ski. Weight is transferred directly to one ski then forward or back/left or right by a triangular base of the foot. Great analogy for more lean angle, more curve, more turn. Sounds like a tire to me. Except my foot's not in the tire. While turning, the analogy is about inside/outside edge vs inside/outside peg. Ok, here I go out on a limb. I am NOT a cornering guru. First, I want to define a difference between weight and pushing. My definitions for my post. Weight is a condition of mass plus force. ie. gravity and centrifuge. Pushing is an ACTION for which we all know there is an equal and opposite REACTION. QUERY: If you push against something do you not need to be "braced" aginst something else to counter the reaction? So, if you're pushing on the outside peg, what else are you pushing against? I gotta go with Willie, et al on weighting the outside peg will tend to "stand up" the bike or decrease lean angle, etc. Weight is being created as a condition of centrifugal force and gravity. Centrifugal force creating lateral gravity or G's. Mass is divided basically between down and side creating an angle of force (or weight) to the ground essentially parallel with the bike. (I hope) (I can't think about factors of acceleration, center of gravity, center of mass or angular momentum. Or why gyroscopic precession works...it just does. Which is really cool.) After I have initiated a turn and am back on the gas and the bike is tracking a curve. I attempt to keep my weight evenly distributed side-to-side through the middle of the bike whether on the pegs or the tank or the seat unless I want to change what the bike is doing. None of my weight is on the bars, none of it ever was. But that's me. Forgive my long windedness but it all seemed so unclear to me.

And bring a friend to load and drive the van home...just in case you can't.

Oh, not to plug the editor, but...Roadracing World will be an invaluable source and a good place to find where the @$^#! the nearest racetrack is. There are lists of clubs, organizations, and schedules. Check out the website... www.roadracingworld.com. It is our bible of who, what, where and when. just kidding john (u should have published my last story.......)

here's the worst case scenario i've seen SOO many times... Joe turns up at his first race weekend, takes the local school one time, gets his provisional license, and spends his last dime entering races and buying new tires and race gas cause he knows he needs them... fast forward to Joe getting bumped off in turn one, on his way to the hospital...his truck, trailer and stuff 300 miles from home and a cornerworker cruising the paddock with joe's keys asking if anyone knows this squid Joe well enuf to drive his stuff home. Poor Joe. Broke, broken and bummed. Maybe he gets it all together to try again...someday. Maybe. Don't let this be you, DUDE! 1. Must have insurance! 2. Must have friends at track! 3. Must have crash plan because it ain't a matter of if, it's a matter of when and how bad. Sad but true. Actually, I'm the only person in the world with a wall of trophies who never crashed in a race. But that's me....for mere mortals...be prepared. 4. Must cornerwork! 5. And at the very least, buy, read and memorize Twist of the Wrist. BEFORE you go to the track. And pay attention while you cornerwork. Actually, if memory serves, there were some clubs making cw'ing mandatory to get a license....hmmm... what a capitol idea! Go do it.

Dude! Welcome to the family! Wanna learn a buttload of info, save yourself buckets of crash damage and be right on the ball, as well as making friends with a whole bunch of people you'll wanna know for all sorts of reasons? (places to sleep, food, free gate pass, all sorts of inside info and if they like you favors you can't imagine (and YEAAAH, all sorts of favors (oh, the stories i could tell!)) ....... Pull on some whites and GO CORNERWORK!!! In fact, spend a year doing Keith Code, cornerworking, and maybe a track day or three. THEN spend money on race entries and you will be miles ahead of the pack. And a MAJOR DUDE on the community scene. And yes corner workers pick up other corner workers faster and help you bump start, first dibs on the ambulance and course control will look the other way....no, not really. but...(yeah, really).

some other things to consider when making even the slightest changes to tire profile/measurements... first it helps to know what the heck we are talking about... in this case, the metric measurement of 180, 190, 200 refers to the width of your tire measured in millimetres (mm). just as important is the next number such as 60, 70, 80, 85, 90 etc. which is the height of the tire expressed as a percentage of the width. this percentage can be expressed as a fraction which we all know is a ratio ...aspect ratio. too much info? ok. bottom line, how tall your tire is has a BIG effect on how fast things are turning at a given speed. taller tire equals bigger circumference equals less revolutions per given distance. ie. you will need to change your gearing to maintain redline at a given place and gear...i'll let you extrapolate as to all the permutations of that fact. and as mentioned previously, big changes in geometry will result from seemingly small (8.5mm) change in height. also, different brands, different models with same numbers will NOT measure the same. maybe different profile, maybe, maybe, maybe... when changing tire style or brand of equal size (supposedly)measure for yourself. the molded number ain't the reality. now, it is possible to calculate all sorts of things with basic math here. and whole new worlds open up with a little right triangle trigonometry. i'm sure everyone knows that the circumference of your tire divided by (fraction/ratio) the diameter is one of those beautiful transcendentals...um...tmi again. anyway, tune in next time for the secret code to figure out everything from the brew date, to compound, to what country your tire may have been molded in....

air is compressible. oil isn't. (relatively speaking for our intent and purposes) just a thought. good luck.

how much oil or rather what is your oil level in the front forks on the honda's? how much do you weigh and what is the rating of the springs? the folks that taught me about suspension believe that the ideal spring rate requires NO PRELOAD to acheive the desired sag. (for starters). but i'm nobody and there are plenty of "guru's" in the suspension biz.

I've raced Grattan both directions, I believe they still do. Favorite track...hmmm. What day of the week is it?. They're all good, mate. For surface quality: Putnam Park. For layout: Mid-Ohio, Grattan (before they widened it, heh-heh), anything very technical, off-camber and with elevation changes.(advantages for the thinking man) For outright adrenalin/speed rush: Daytona, Pocono highbanks clockwise, Bridgehampton, Road Atlanta with gravity cavity intact (trying to carry the front wheel out from under the bridge and down the hill like Keith on a 250) For the "This is SO COOL, I can't believe I'm on course with Pierfrancesco Chili, and my girlfriend is watching me on the jumbotron" factor: Definitely Laguna Seca. For sunsets that last forever and just to claim the southernmost ride on the planet: Teretonga, Invercargill, NZ. (unless there's a track on Tierra del Fuego) For the best miniature golf course walking distance from the track: Ruapuna, Christchurch, NZ. OK, it's late, I'm getting silly. Tracks I'd most like to race or even ride: Brands Hatch (on a duc) Catalunya (on a GP bike), Suzuka (on anything). And the full length version of Manfeild, NZ that was run for the world superbikes (just for posterity). How can I pick just one? Oops, I didn't mention anything in OZ. Of course, Monaco in a F1 car sounds pretty cool, too. Oh... how could I forget the Isle of Man?