Any Questions....dumb Or Otherwise...

[banditg2000]

I am gathering as much info about racing as possible. I have just invested a considerable amount of money and free time getting ready to get on the track. I have a few questions for those of you out there that are more experienced than myself.

 

1. I weight 220lbs and I'm 6'0 tall. I am in decent shape but most of the guys that I see succeeding look half my size. I will obviously try to lose some pounds but my question is, I need to set my suspension on my 03 CBR600RR to prepare for track days in the future. I believe it is set up pretty good right now for the street, there isn't much sag and it never feels loose. Could anyone give me an idea of how it should be set before I make a costly mistake. Can someone tell me how to look at this bike and tell how soft or firm it is set? I understand what rebound, preload and compression is but how to apply them to me and my bike is still a mystery for me.

 

2. I live near Houston Texas so I assume Texas World Speedway is the closest I have to learning on a track. I am willing to pay the money and commit the time to a good instructor like Keith. HOW DO I GET STARTED? WHAT DO I NEED? WHAT ARE THE RULES? I am just wondering about some of YOUR experiences of how all of you experienced riders got started so I can minimize the learning curve.

 

I understand that most of these questions have been asked before but if no one minds please humor me. A message from Keith would be greatly appreciated as well.

 

Thanks and happy riding,

 

Grant

[JeF4y]

Grant,

 

Suspension wise, the suspension you have stock on the bike will be WAY too soft for anything competitive. Suspension work doesn't have to be expensive. Talk to my suspension tuner, Ed Kwaterski from www.tracksideengineering.com He can rebuild your forks and shock for less than a replacement shock all together. I've been working with Ed for 6 years now, and his work is great. Likewise I've referred near to 100 (if not over) cbr600rr riders/racers to him. He knows what he's doing and is very familiar with your bike.

 

As for schools, look at the schedule and go to some of them! I have been through many schools, one piece of advice I can share with you is to "pick your master". Find a school, go to it and see how you feel. If you don't feel very pumped, enthusiastic, and feel that you have learned something which you will benefit from, find another school! I took a lot of different schools before I got into Keith's schools. None of them really clicked with me the way CSS did.

[racer]

It's my opinion that the best source of riding information is Keith Code's schools, books, etc.

 

Best source of racing info...clubs, schedules, news is Roadracing World magazine and website.

 

When it comes to info on suspension/bike set-up.....I go by the old wisdom...

If you wanna be a winner....ask a winner. Or a pro. Everyone has their personal guru for tech info but chances are instructors/technicians at the school are a safe place to start. You know they aren't looking to sell you a new shock absorber.

[Funkytime]

Try to search the internet and get a guide on setting the suspension on your bike. There are loads out there - written it up twice myself. There is probably even a thread on this site.

 

There are only 3 things to adjust. Preload, rebound and damping. Preload on the forks goes to about 25 - 30mm with about the same on the back. If the track is bouncy, more to 30mm. If the track is as smooth as silk then go for 25mm. Rebound and compression adjust the rate of movement - up and down - and not the amount. That's preload.

 

How you do it is all about getting some mates in, cable ties, sitting on the bike going 'brum brum', adjusting and testing.

 

Ft