The learning curve!

[Strika]

Sorry Tack only juz saw this. I guess it has been answered in another thread now, but for what it's' worth, I usually cannot accellerate through the loop as then it runs wide. That is assuming you are carrying maximum turn speed for the bikes given set-up.

Here is how I do it, which the pro's will proly look at and piss themselves over, but it's good enough for 46's on a road bike.

Turn 1 bang it down 1 gear and grab a handfull at the 100 metre marker and throw it on it's side feeding the power on to balance the bike. You sort of balance the front sliding with the thottle. If you back off too much here the front goes away from you. Not a good place to lose the front

This brings me out about 3/4 to the left on the exit of 1. I bring it back across to about 3/4-6/8ths track and bang it down to 3rd while braking then throw it on it's side. At this point I am carrying too much turn speed to hold the line, but the entry to the loop is actually uphill. So it slows itself down enough just from this. I then balance the balance the bike on the throttle before it falls over About 1/2 turn the loop changes camber, and it is here that I give the throttle a little tweak to get the back a little loose and change the line for the drive out. If you get it right the left knee skims the inside ripple strip and you just miss touching the white line on the exit. HTH

[Maty10]

Well Strika's way is the flat out way.....


I remember from the first lesson of the day on Levels 1, 2 and 3 that the trick was to be conscious of the 2nd(*) apex.

Tip it in really wide at the beginning (where they place the cross down later) and just slowly feed the power on but keep in mind of the 2nd part of the corner. These are supposed to be learning lessons, not 'let's see who can go flat out without using the brakes'. So come in slow and just slowly wind it on through the first part. You could come in much faster, you could wind it on much harder but you won't make the second part so take it slow, much slower than necessary. Then once your really into the second part of the turn you can really begin to wind it on hard. By the 2nd apex I would pretty much be on full noise.

(*) -> I say 2nd apex but really this is first and ONLY apex when your doing these lessons. Flat out its a different story, but for the school there is only one apex. I remember when they first stuck the turn in markers on the track I thought there'd be no way anyone could be that wide at the mid point of the Loop. But that was the sighting lap and once I actually took it at speed I saw the light! (I thought the same of the turn 12 marker, its taken me 3 lessons to get that one right!)

You say you were holding the throtle through the corner, well thats defeating what Brouggy had been saying. You can still roll it on, just not as quickly as the other parts of the corner. Something like.

(turn in) 10% -> 15% -> 20% -> (look to the 2nd apex) 21% -> 22% -> 23% -> 24% -> 50% -> (apex) -> 75% -> 100%



Well all that worked for me anyway.

But again its totally different AT SPEED!!!

[Strika]

Fast way???? nope! I will leave fast for guys like Josh,Krusty et el. My pace is gumby C grade backmarker pace The fast guys classify me as a mobile chicane

But back to topic. Here are some thoughts on right handers versus left handers.


Through a left hander, the rider has a phsycological buffer zone, of the other side of the road. Now although none of us like to run wide, most riders see it as at least a little run off area. As well as having the entire left lane to put the bike. That is it doesn't matter through a left if the tyres are on the left or right hand side of the lane too much, as the riders head will be always out of oncoming traffics way. So mentally you approach a left with more confidence.

Through a right hander the amount of road surface in your lane you can use is greatly reduced, as you pretty much have to stay in the left hand car wheel track to ensure your body isn't hanging out in front of oncoming traffic. Therefore your mental buffer zone is reduced.

Also the throttle is on the right hand side. As we all know, when we turn the bike we apply inside bar pressure to effect the turn. In a right your brain has to concentrate on one more action for your right hand. In a left it is one action per hand.


The thing that really is interesting, is that on a road that you do not know, theoretically a right should be an easier corner for a rider to tackle, as a right hander inherently has more open corner vision. ie- you can see further through a right than a left purely from road positioning.


So how do you fix the problem with right handers??????? Fcuked if i know, I get em wrong all the time too?????

[MadFab]

after readin this thread i feel so much safer !

i just cant wait to unbolt the training wheels from my 12 , i'll leave em on the 9 for now(i dont own these bikes if you look in the list , i dont have a bike , thanks tan ! )

i feel so much safer after reading this .

in that the rides that are not to rigorously policed by the "nana's", where people have a chance to spread out ,there is usually a happy day had.
i have been on numerous rides with another crew ,of up to 60 bikes, and there is usually no aggro or accidents as we ride acording to our own abilities and do not try to keep in a bunch.
we may have to wait up to 5 mins at certain points to let the whole group bunch up again,but then she is a free for all again.
rarely does anybody fall off , all we get is complaints about stone-chips.but then you ride on somebodies tail you get what you deserve !

its is obvious that people have become very quick to point the finger at another rider ,as in, "he was riding too close","he passed me ",
'he rides to fast and scares people".

grow up you morons and take responsibility for your actions !

ride within your own ability!

stop blaming others for your own lack of judgement!

many people seem to judge other riders on their actions , i have been called an idiot because i can fool around on the road !
i ride within my own abilities ,with 1 road accident ,a low side, in the last 18 years.
i personally find road riding boring and slow so i alleviate the boredom however i can. go to a track day , watch the fast guys and realise how slow and untalented most of us are .

if you want to ride a bike ,ride it within your ability,use your headand when you fuck up ,blame yourself .

fab

[MadFab]

before i forget. the last ksrc ride i attended there was a zx12 go bush!

it was totalled i think !

so shit happens even to you clowns !

most of you blokes are very quick to give detailed advice , but cannot ride out of sight on a dark night .

thats what i think !!

fab

[Strika]

Ahh Madfab, you would have a ball on a ride with Dangerous Dave and I by the sounds of your post

When we are out riding together, we generally have a bit of fun too. Just a bit of sport to make the day a little more interesting, nothing too dangerous. Just kill switch, front and back brake and key antics while riding along mixed in with the usual stands and occasional stoppie!!

But as far as KSRC rides and riders are concerned, although I have probably only ridden with 20 or so different members, they all seemed pretty competent to me Maybe my skill level is not up there with yours though Madfab? The Vic riders I have been out riding with have all been top fun, as has the few other interstate KSRC members I have ridden with. A couple have even been a might slippery!!!! Maybe you should get down here and have a ride with us soon. Us Vic KSRC ens' are always looking to learn a thing or two as well.


Keep the thoughts coming guys n gals, everyone has something to offer, even newer riders often come up with little pearls time to time too.

[javaman]

I love seeing neka pulling out those wheelies yesterday. Now that's skill on a 2 wheels (or lack of one) ... pure enjoyment at the legal limits methinks

[Burky]

Hi guys at the end of the day you need to understand your capabilities are and ride at your pace. I have not been riding all that long(about 2.5yrs) and my first off was at a roundabout 5-10ks/hr on the way to work previous car smash diesel all over the place, 300km riding experience in total and ending up drifting sideways ending in the gutter. It took a while before i regained the confidence in cornering. Now on group rides if i can't keep up and they take off so be it, by pushing yourself too much is when shit begins to go wrong. LEARN TO WALK BEFORE YOU CAN RUN!!!

[Tyre Kicker]

After reading this thread in it's entirity, my conclusion is I'd like to become mates with Strika so while he was paying for petrol or something I could set his fork rebounds and compressions to maximum opposites on both sides and piss in his brake fluid.

[Strika]

After reading this thread in it's entirity, my conclusion is I'd like to become mates with Strika so while he was paying for petrol or something I could set his fork rebounds and compressions to maximum opposites on both sides and piss in his brake fluid.

Apart from the pissy brake fluid TK, I think you pretty much have my current suspension set up nailed

[Strika]

I learnt a few more things on Saturday at Broadford. I found a nice pressure setting for the BT014's when tracking them. They worked well all day, with the wear patterns looking really clean. Mind, you had to keep the turn speed down a bit and not paste the rear with loads of throttle. But they did a pretty damn good job considering they are a road tyre.

I altered the ride heights when I re-installed the forks. Lowering the front and the rear. It has reduced clearance a touch, with the pegs and pipe caressing the tarmac through a few of the turns, but not enough to scrape on the road. However, it does make the bike a little less top heavy and a little more settled when on it's side. I liked it anyhow so I'm leaving it that way.

Oh, and I learnt that a ride day with a 20,000k+ chain knackers them pretty much!

[Maty10]

Talk about thread digging

[Strika]

While talking about an idiot I rode with on the weekend, it reminded me of how I started to extend my skill set and confidence.
I was lucky enough to find a guy who I rode with regualarly, who is bloody quick. He never got off the side of the bike, rarely scraped anything on the deck and rarely crashed. So, each ride, I would try as best I could to follow him. OK...at first, I could manage two or three corners before he dropped me off the back. But...with each ride, I started to hang onto him longer and longer. It took two years of doing this, but eventually I could keep up with him. Then I could keep up with him comfortably. Eventually, I could pull out and pass him at will!!!!
But, the point here is that It took time! It took lots of miles! It took riding over the same pieces of road with him, over and over and over during that two years. I would estimate that I would have done at least 30,000klms each year back then. So 60,000klms + was what was needed to get to that point. But, by this stage, it meant that when I did go racing, I was a middle of the pack B grader, not a tail end C grader!

So, for any newer riders out there, try and find someone a lot more experienced and go tag onto the back of them for as long as you can with as regular monotomy as you can! Pretty soon, you'll put your head up and you'll be riding like a proper motorcylist, not a wanna be, try hard!

[javaman]

This advise sounds great until trying to follow someone really quick and crash ... I pretty much don't even try to follow you or Mal it's accident waiting to happen if I do and will end me up as vegetable maybe.... But someone just a bit quicker is really fun. I actually have more confident following someone than riding on my own. Maybe the assurance that the blind corners are "passed", gravel, car spotted, etc.

Insurance assessor is coming this weekend so hopefully I will have a healthy bike sooner. Was a great weekend and no ride

[Stereo]

One comment that a mate of mine made one day when I had only been riding a few months that made a huge impression...

(I am paraphrasing) "The reason you lose confidence when you are going through the corner is because of the way the weight is distributed across the bike, too much in the front, not enough in the back... try this... go into a long sweeping corner and let off your accelerator and see if your confidence goes down or up... It will go down... Accellerate and feel the weight shift to the back and suddenly you feel confident... So.. Next time you freak out in a corner, dont brake you fucking idiot, you are only making it worse".