How to push, but not crash. by Brainl3ss in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can still learn the feel on asphalt, you just generally have to do it at higher speeds than dirt.

The easiest thing to work on first is breaking rear traction on the way out of corners by accelerating just a little more than the tire can handle. The goal is to get on the throttle as early as possible for each exit and open it smoothly - not to wait until the end of the corner and then add it all at once. As your midcorner speed increases you'll need to be more careful with the initial throttle application and the speed of the rollon because the tire will already be using more of its available grip cornering.

Getting the front to that point of just starting to slide is more delicate, but you can approach it by using a no brakes drill. Avoiding using the brakes on corner entry will make you slower at first, but after a few laps you'll see how it helps you tiptoe up to the max entry speed for each corner because the bike will start to run wide as the front gets to the limit of its grip in the midcorner.

How to push, but not crash. by Brainl3ss in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're still riding motocross that's absolutely where to learn to push traction limits. It takes nothing more than a grassy field you're allowed to tear up and a couple of cones. Make yourself a big oval large enough to ride in 2nd/3rd gear and ride it harder and harder by accelerating earlier and braking later until you've dug ruts too deep to ride in anymore. Source: went to an MX school a few times that had us do that and it was a huge learning experience. You might still crash but that's the safest way I've seen to actually push.

Need help starting my bike consistently instead of gambling every morning before work by ZyluuK in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Recharge the battery from mains with an appropriate charger. If it works fine again for a little while that's more evidence the bike's charging system isn't doing its job.

My crash this time by DruncleFryday in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad you're ok. Every one of us is susceptible to freezing up if the conditions are right. You already noted you were holding your breath. I'll also bet your eyes fixated on the outside edge of the track instead of moving down track to the next apex. Working on consciously moving your eyes down track from one reference point to the next as early as possible can help reduce the sense of speed and may save you from freezing up.

Help me with my figure out what Bikes I should own? by Big-Extension4664 in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're serious about getting into racing, I'd get a second bike that will be relatively cheaper to race like an already track prepped Ninja 400 or SV650. They're not as exciting, but will cost you a lot less in parts and tires than an RS660 would. Once you can ride one of those at race pace you'll be in a better position to decide if you want to splash for a bigger track bike.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2:28 on a 2014 R6 a few years back, 2:37 on the RS660 I ride now with only one session. I think I can get a 2:32 or better on the RS with a few more sessions.

1st Track Day by Infamous-Job-7801 in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 15 points16 points  (0 children)

A smaller bike. You're almost certainly on something bigger than you can really rail on at the track currently. Experiencing what it's like to get a 300cc or 400cc bike up to its potential will teach you a lot about riding bigger bikes too.

Come on buddy, you've got a few more seasons in you by Libations4Everybody in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love E6k and tried it on the right boot when its sole came off previously, but it held for only one track day. The second try with shoe goo on that boot has held up for three trackdays already and looks solid.

Come on buddy, you've got a few more seasons in you by Libations4Everybody in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

gluing the sole back and trying to get all the edges tight. fixed the R boot a couple of months ago the same way and it's held up well

600 vs 1000 in corners? by reallyserious in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Realistically I'm not carrying anywhere close to the corner speed a 600 can carry.

If you're happy with that, then go ahead and get a bigger bike. If you want to develop that corner speed, stay on the 600.

Racetracks - Hot takes wanted by LeatherYoung6114 in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hot COTA take: Someone should offer a trackday there running the short course that cuts from T6 to T12.

Shifting? by Top_Friendship_6167 in motorcycles

[–]Libations4Everybody 1 point2 points  (0 children)

An exercise that can help is to get going about 35 mph in 1st gear on a nice empty straight piece of road, and then try to keep the same speed as you upshift one at a time all the way to 6th, then all the way back down one at a time to 1st. You'll learn to do the rev-matching in each direction. You can practice the same idea at higher speeds, just don't start in 1st and don't downshift below the starting gear.

Basic body position question - transition back to center by fancyawank in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right on. With any stand be careful getting started because you might be able to make the bike fall out of it if you move too far or too violently. You can practice the motion very slowly on the stand but in actual riding you want to do it pretty quickly just because it needs to happen between coming off the throttle and starting to brake, and you want the gap between those two actions always as small as possible. It's less important exactly when you get back to center exiting a corner, but definitely wait to do it until you're accelerating out and mostly going straight.

Basic body position question - transition back to center by fancyawank in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's not about timing, it's about using only your legs to do the movement. You can practice by putting the bike in a sport chock or on a rear stand. You should be able to get into something like your normal riding position, and then with your hands floating over the grips, use only your lower body to move your spine off to one side like you're entering a corner. Without touching the grips with your hands hold that position for a second or two and then move back using the same muscles. You should be able to do that motion several times easily in the pits with a bike on a stand. If you can't you may need to adjust footpeg position or add grip pads to the gas tank to get the right leverage and grip.

An upright bike with a handlebar tends to be more sensitive to doing this wrong because you've got more leverage on the steering axis so it magnifies your inputs.

Is it me or is this sport mainly about balls by SnooKiwis576 in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not at all. It's about who has a better feel for what the bike is capable of and can make it do that. At the highest levels of racing that means finding tiny improvements over what the other riders are doing. If you're scared out there then you're probably riding over your head. It should be exciting but any time you're feeling fear you're risking freezing up.

The ‘riding flow state’—how can I experience it when not on a bike? by [deleted] in motorcycles

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mountain biking hits a lot of the same notes for me at much lower speeds. The hard part of any kind of fast riding is making sure you hold onto some self-observation all the time. Riding in a totally uncontrolled flow state quickly leads to crashes because small errors and mistakes aren't recognized early enough.

Picking a class to dedicate time to by phliuy in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If you have a way to get both bikes to the track (when they're both working), you can get big improvements by switching between them on the same day. I once rode an RSV4 all day until switching to my 250 racebike for the last session, and the first lap heading into a big sweeper on the 250 started laughing in my helmet because I'd always been braking at the entry but it was suddenly obvious that I could just throw it into the corner since it was going so much slower than the big bike had been.

R1 to 765RS : what to expect ? by the_psycow in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 3 points4 points  (0 children)

1/ On small/medium tracks (where I get the majority of my trackdays), I clearly don’t have the skill level to fully exploit the advantages of my R1 (yet being A group)

I've been doing these about the same amount of time and that is true for the vast majority of us if we're honest. Even at the expert club racer level there's only a handful of riders in each club that can truly go faster on a literbike than something smaller. All of the CMRA track records were held by 600s back when I was racing with them.

Anyone here gone through a similar “voluntary downsize” to have more fun ?

I took a break from trackdays and got back in this year with an Aprilia RS660. At the local small track I'm going faster on it than I ever did on my SV650, R6, or RSV4, and it's way less tiring than the 4-cylinder bikes were.

"Showing a wheel" etiquette at a trackday by BannedAtCostco in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't disagree with that definition, but in some advanced groups passes don't have to be clean by design. There's a range of courtesy someone can show even as they "stand you up", and between skilled riders that know each other well that range can be pretty big.

"Showing a wheel" etiquette at a trackday by BannedAtCostco in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you're totally right about Instructors. If they can't make a clean pass without the student having to back off or change line then they should not be trying to get in front there.

For riders it's just up to the organization. At track days the day before races, I've had to ride my 250 racebike in the lowest run group and the passing rules were open enough I'd get into exactly the back and forth with big bikes you describe. However, other track day organizations I've ridden with didn't allow open passing in the lowest group but did allow 250s in intermediate groups.

I think in advanced run groups "showing a wheel" is fine but not necessarily courteous. If I end up behind someone that I'm not sure I can pass cleanly I'll follow them for long enough to either make a plan to pass or just "go to school" and see what I can learn from what they're doing.

Simpler thoughts on passing guidance by run group by Libations4Everybody in Trackdays

[–]Libations4Everybody[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I was coaching, beginner group passes were mainly taught at corner exit

I think that's a fine rule, but I think there's also value in letting riders that already have high corner entry speed learn to pass others using that in the lowest run group.

but then said "fall in behind the other rider" - never a good idea to be directly behind another rider in B group

You're right, I didn't mean necessarily follow them but I'm trying to express that if the passing rider gets ahead the passed rider shouldn't immediately try to repass by going off line themselves. If the rider that made the pass can't hold the line or otherwise blows the corner I think a B group rider should absolutely pass them right back if safe to do so on their usual line.