Which Gear To Bring, Which To Borrow?

[Redshift]

Hi all:

 

I'm signed up with a few friends for the special one day school at Barber on June 7. I have some pretty good street gear but am not sure wha tis appropriate to bring with me or what I should simply borrow. Safety is my main concern.

 

I use T-Pro upper body armor (full arm, shoulder, back, and chest protection) plus armored shorts and wear all-weather BMW "all around" boots with summer mesh-style gloves. Would I be better off bringing my armor but borrowing Keith Code's gloves and boots and leathers, or should I simply show up and borrow everything they offer? Obviously I will bring my own helmet.

 

Thank you for any advice you can offer. I asked registration but they were unclear on which option might be best for me.

 

Can't wait for the event!

[khp]

Hi Redshift,

 

Welcome a-board!

 

If the BMW boots are designed for motorcycling, they should be just fine. I would be rather wary of bringing a set of mesh-type summer gloves to the track, so I'd suggest that you rent gloves from the School.

I'm not familiar with "armored shorts", but they should cover all the way down to your boots and zip together (all the way around) with your jacket/upper body clothing. If they don't zip together, there is a risk of the pants and jacket exposes a strip of flesh in case of a spill - don't do that, and I believe that the school insists on jackets & pants zip together for that particular reason.

 

All that being said, I'm not an employee of CSS, just a student.

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

Kai

[AQAJR]

I think the armored shorts that he mentions are the under-suit type of gear. I agree about the summer gloves. If you don’t have the gauntlet style leather gloves, I would recommend using the school’s gloves. Also, as an fyi, the school rents helmets as well.

 

 

[the razor]

Hi all:

 

I'm signed up with a few friends for the special one day school at Barber on June 7. I have some pretty good street gear but am not sure wha tis appropriate to bring with me or what I should simply borrow. Safety is my main concern.

 

I use T-Pro upper body armor (full arm, shoulder, back, and chest protection) plus armored shorts and wear all-weather BMW "all around" boots with summer mesh-style gloves. Would I be better off bringing my armor but borrowing Keith Code's gloves and boots and leathers, or should I simply show up and borrow everything they offer? Obviously I will bring my own helmet.

 

Thank you for any advice you can offer. I asked registration but they were unclear on which option might be best for me.

 

Can't wait for the event!

 

 

Now that you brought the question. I have an Alpine star leather Jacket with the elbow, shoulder, back and chest potection. An alpinestar leather track pants with kneed pads shin gards, etc. It does zip together, but it does not zip completely all the way around. There is a gap at front, which is not big. Which begs the question. Do the 2 piece suit has to zip all the way around completely?. My school day is in August 2nd. Thanks for the clarification.

[Kevin Kane]

Now that you brought the question. I have an Alpine star leather Jacket with the elbow, shoulder, back and chest potection. An alpinestar leather track pants with kneed pads shin gards, etc. It does zip together, but it does not zip completely all the way around. There is a gap at front, which is not big. Which begs the question. Do the 2 piece suit has to zip all the way around completely?. My school day is in August 2nd. Thanks for the clarification.

Razor;

I have used both two piece (Joe Rocket) and one piece (Dainese & the School's) many times and never had a problem with tech.

 

Rainman

[warregl]

Hi all:

 

I'm signed up with a few friends for the special one day school at Barber on June 7. I have some pretty good street gear but am not sure wha tis appropriate to bring with me or what I should simply borrow. Safety is my main concern.

 

I use T-Pro upper body armor (full arm, shoulder, back, and chest protection) plus armored shorts and wear all-weather BMW "all around" boots with summer mesh-style gloves. Would I be better off bringing my armor but borrowing Keith Code's gloves and boots and leathers, or should I simply show up and borrow everything they offer? Obviously I will bring my own helmet.

 

Thank you for any advice you can offer. I asked registration but they were unclear on which option might be best for me.

 

Can't wait for the event!

 

 

Now that you brought the question. I have an Alpine star leather Jacket with the elbow, shoulder, back and chest potection. An alpinestar leather track pants with kneed pads shin gards, etc. It does zip together, but it does not zip completely all the way around. There is a gap at front, which is not big. Which begs the question. Do the 2 piece suit has to zip all the way around completely?. My school day is in August 2nd. Thanks for the clarification.

 

 

Razor,

 

I just completed level 1 at VIR on 5/18 and my two piece Firstgear textile suit passed with the short connection zipper.

 

Cheers,

warregl

[Redshift]

Hi all:

 

I'm signed up with a few friends for the special one day school at Barber on June 7. I have some pretty good street gear but am not sure wha tis appropriate to bring with me or what I should simply borrow. Safety is my main concern.

 

I use T-Pro upper body armor (full arm, shoulder, back, and chest protection) plus armored shorts and wear all-weather BMW "all around" boots with summer mesh-style gloves. Would I be better off bringing my armor but borrowing Keith Code's gloves and boots and leathers, or should I simply show up and borrow everything they offer? Obviously I will bring my own helmet.

 

Thank you for any advice you can offer. I asked registration but they were unclear on which option might be best for me.

 

Can't wait for the event!

 

 

Now that you brought the question. I have an Alpine star leather Jacket with the elbow, shoulder, back and chest potection. An alpinestar leather track pants with kneed pads shin gards, etc. It does zip together, but it does not zip completely all the way around. There is a gap at front, which is not big. Which begs the question. Do the 2 piece suit has to zip all the way around completely?. My school day is in August 2nd. Thanks for the clarification.

 

 

Razor,

 

I just completed level 1 at VIR on 5/18 and my two piece Firstgear textile suit passed with the short connection zipper.

 

Cheers,

warregl

 

I'm back from the Barber event. It was great, but I crashed during the end of the 3rd session. I'm not sure why - the bike was leaned over nicely, but nowhere near the pegs, and in mid corner I decided to add a tad more lean angle to allow myself more space on track out, and then bike slammed me down to the pavement. I was very smooth with the counter-steering and had no indication that anything was about to go wrong. The bike tech thinks that perhaps the tread at that outer section was not warmed up enough for that lean angle, but I'm not sure I'm buying that after thinking it over since the incident.

 

I would highly advise wearing their leathers rather than textile. In the off chance you crash, you'll be very glad you had leathers on. My back protector saved my back from burns and scrapes so I'd highly recommend one of those also. Wear their boots and gloves if you can. I was sore, but nothing permanently damaged.

[Kevin Kane]

warregl

I crashed during the end of the 3rd session. I'm not sure why - the bike was leaned over nicely, but nowhere near the pegs, and in mid corner I decided to add a tad more lean angle to allow myself more space on track out, and then bike slammed me down to the pavement.

W;

If you check Forum posts about crashing, a good portion of them warn against adding lean angle after turn in, especially if coupled with any additional throttle roll on. You didn't mention anything about the throttle but additional lean could have been enough to take the tire (and you) over the edge - literally.

 

Rain

[Redshift]

warregl

I crashed during the end of the 3rd session. I'm not sure why - the bike was leaned over nicely, but nowhere near the pegs, and in mid corner I decided to add a tad more lean angle to allow myself more space on track out, and then bike slammed me down to the pavement.

W;

If you check Forum posts about crashing, a good portion of them warn against adding lean angle after turn in, especially if coupled with any additional throttle roll on. You didn't mention anything about the throttle but additional lean could have been enough to take the tire (and you) over the edge - literally.

 

Rain

 

I'm aware of those issues, but I did not add any throttle. I've added lean angle in the middle of a corner plenty of times on my street bike and have never ever had an issue. This time the bike was nowhere near max cornering angle. I'm not that good! I honestly do not know what happened.

[Kevin Kane]

warregl

I crashed during the end of the 3rd session. I'm not sure why - the bike was leaned over nicely, but nowhere near the pegs, and in mid corner I decided to add a tad more lean angle to allow myself more space on track out, and then bike slammed me down to the pavement.

W;

If you check Forum posts about crashing, a good portion of them warn against adding lean angle after turn in, especially if coupled with any additional throttle roll on. You didn't mention anything about the throttle but additional lean could have been enough to take the tire (and you) over the edge - literally.

 

Rain

 

I'm aware of those issues, but I did not add any throttle. I've added lean angle in the middle of a corner plenty of times on my street bike and have never ever had an issue. This time the bike was nowhere near max cornering angle. I'm not that good! I honestly do not know what happened.

If you didn't add any throttle after turn in the next question is: did you roll on the throttle after your turn in? If you didn't, the lack of throttle would have loaded the front tire right? Isn't that what we learned in Level I about why the need to roll on the throttle after we complete our turning input?...to shift the loading more to the rear tire to that 60/40 ideal? So if you add lean angle without any throttle then couldn't that have overwhelmed the front contact patch as well?

 

I am offering these as possible reasons why you crashed but it is all speculation. Did anyone see what happened? a corner worker or another student or a coach?

Clearly there was some input made that caused the bike to lose its stability; maybe it was oil or gravel on the track; unfortunately it is usually pretty difficult to sort these out without witnesses or some on board telemetry which most of us don't have?

 

RM

[Redshift]

warregl

I crashed during the end of the 3rd session. I'm not sure why - the bike was leaned over nicely, but nowhere near the pegs, and in mid corner I decided to add a tad more lean angle to allow myself more space on track out, and then bike slammed me down to the pavement.

W;

If you check Forum posts about crashing, a good portion of them warn against adding lean angle after turn in, especially if coupled with any additional throttle roll on. You didn't mention anything about the throttle but additional lean could have been enough to take the tire (and you) over the edge - literally.

 

Rain

 

I'm aware of those issues, but I did not add any throttle. I've added lean angle in the middle of a corner plenty of times on my street bike and have never ever had an issue. This time the bike was nowhere near max cornering angle. I'm not that good! I honestly do not know what happened.

If you didn't add any throttle after turn in the next question is: did you roll on the throttle after your turn in? If you didn't, the lack of throttle would have loaded the front tire right? Isn't that what we learned in Level I about why the need to roll on the throttle after we complete our turning input?...to shift the loading more to the rear tire to that 60/40 ideal? So if you add lean angle without any throttle then couldn't that have overwhelmed the front contact patch as well?

 

I am offering these as possible reasons why you crashed but it is all speculation. Did anyone see what happened? a corner worker or another student or a coach?

Clearly there was some input made that caused the bike to lose its stability; maybe it was oil or gravel on the track; unfortunately it is usually pretty difficult to sort these out without witnesses or some on board telemetry which most of us don't have?

 

RM

 

Yes, I always roll on throttle after corner entry, just as I was doing here. Its possible I didn't roll on enough - it's hard to say without the data. The guy behind me saw the whole thing and said it looked like everything was well under control and was surprised to see the bike let go. I don't think there was anything on track and feel confident it has to be either my error or something to do with the bike itself. Most likely something I did, but what is the question. It certainly won't stop me from riding, but in order to turn it into a positive experience I feel like I have to learn something from it and not knowing what happened is the unfortunate part.

[the razor]

Hi all:

 

I'm signed up with a few friends for the special one day school at Barber on June 7. I have some pretty good street gear but am not sure wha tis appropriate to bring with me or what I should simply borrow. Safety is my main concern.

 

I use T-Pro upper body armor (full arm, shoulder, back, and chest protection) plus armored shorts and wear all-weather BMW "all around" boots with summer mesh-style gloves. Would I be better off bringing my armor but borrowing Keith Code's gloves and boots and leathers, or should I simply show up and borrow everything they offer? Obviously I will bring my own helmet.

 

Thank you for any advice you can offer. I asked registration but they were unclear on which option might be best for me.

 

Can't wait for the event!

 

 

Now that you brought the question. I have an Alpine star leather Jacket with the elbow, shoulder, back and chest potection. An alpinestar leather track pants with kneed pads shin gards, etc. It does zip together, but it does not zip completely all the way around. There is a gap at front, which is not big. Which begs the question. Do the 2 piece suit has to zip all the way around completely?. My school day is in August 2nd. Thanks for the clarification.

 

 

Razor,

 

I just completed level 1 at VIR on 5/18 and my two piece Firstgear textile suit passed with the short connection zipper.

 

Cheers,

warregl

 

I'm back from the Barber event. It was great, but I crashed during the end of the 3rd session. I'm not sure why - the bike was leaned over nicely, but nowhere near the pegs, and in mid corner I decided to add a tad more lean angle to allow myself more space on track out, and then bike slammed me down to the pavement. I was very smooth with the counter-steering and had no indication that anything was about to go wrong. The bike tech thinks that perhaps the tread at that outer section was not warmed up enough for that lean angle, but I'm not sure I'm buying that after thinking it over since the incident.

 

I would highly advise wearing their leathers rather than textile. In the off chance you crash, you'll be very glad you had leathers on. My back protector saved my back from burns and scrapes so I'd highly recommend one of those also. Wear their boots and gloves if you can. I was sore, but nothing permanently damaged.

 

Red

I am sorry to hear about your crash. I am taking the Level 1 in August. Thanks to all the people that post all their experiences good or bad.

Because your experiences make me be more aware of how I approache and enter a turn, also the line I need to keep through the turn until I exit the turn. Hope we (novices) learn a bit.

Regards

The Razor

[Cobie Fair]

Hi Red,

 

OK, we can sort this out and figure out what happened. The best thing will be to talk with you on the phone, so I can get the questions answered, and get very specific. It's arleady after closing, but can we talk on Monday? I'll be afternoon, just call the office and ask for me: 800-530-3350.

 

A couple of things in the mean time: what lap was it in the session? What turn? You added lean angle, and in another post you said you normally roll the throttle on after turn entry too? Could there have been a little, tiny bit of throttle coming on? Also, which end did you loose, the front, the rear, or both at the same time?

 

I might not be able to get to the forum over the weekend, so let's talk for sure on Monday.

 

Best,

Cobie

[Redshift]

Hi Red,

 

OK, we can sort this out and figure out what happened. The best thing will be to talk with you on the phone, so I can get the questions answered, and get very specific. It's arleady after closing, but can we talk on Monday? I'll be afternoon, just call the office and ask for me: 800-530-3350.

 

A couple of things in the mean time: what lap was it in the session? What turn? You added lean angle, and in another post you said you normally roll the throttle on after turn entry too? Could there have been a little, tiny bit of throttle coming on? Also, which end did you loose, the front, the rear, or both at the same time?

 

I might not be able to get to the forum over the weekend, so let's talk for sure on Monday.

 

Best,

Cobie

 

What time? I'm on the east coast, and taking Monday off to watch my daughter. Maybe during her afternoon nap which normally is around 3-4pm EDT? I'd love to speak with you.

 

It was probably lap 8, 9, or 10. I have footage from the entire session but somehow my camera quit recording a few minutes prior to the crash. That would have been helpful, but alas I don't have the footage. It was between turns 2 and 3. Yes, I added lean angle, but at mid corner, after already adding throttle. Everyone has guessed that I was leaned over further than whatever lean angle the bike will disallow throttle to be added and they were pretty adamant that throttle was not to blame. You could see the slide marks on the tire - I would estimate they began probably 1/2"-3/4" away from the tire's edge where you'd still expect to have traction. Could there have been a little bit of throttle? Sure, I don't see why not. It certainly was not intentional - I had everything just right and was not in need of any more throttle, and I'm not in the habit of adding both at once, but is it possible, sure, I don't see why not. But everyone tells me the bike's sensors would have disallowed it given the extreme lean angle. I don't feel I was that far leaned over, but I guess anything is possible.

 

I'm 98% certain that the rear is what came out from under me. I didn't inspect the front tire, but the mechanic did and he only pointed out the sideways scrape marks on the rear tire when we were discussing the cause. One second everything was fantastic, and felt just right, and the next the bike and I were sliding on the pavement. I had enough time to think "uh oh, I'm going down, I hope this doesn't hurt much!"