Hit the track Saturday
 

Couldn't have been a better day, weather and riding-wise. Learned something new that allowed me to carry more corner speed. What I do is study the pros and practice it on the track to see if I like it. I've liked everything except hanging my upper body way off like some people do. I just don't like the feeling from it.

I wish I had finished painting my bodywork, lol.
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And I was on the street version of the BT003 running 30/30 cold. Love 'em. Not one moment of slippage, very confidence inspiring. And I was trail-braking pretty deep in some corners.
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Looking good out there! What is this something new that you learned?

sweet, nice pics

Nice D... the second to last shot is sick... bike looks GOOD!

Looking good man. I love the look of a rear tire after a TD. :dthumb:

Sweet pics, brother. What track?

nice....

sweet pics!

Dont' paint it, looks great as is. Plus the asphalt gods will become jealous and want to scuff it.

You know the fast racers dont hang their bodies to far out there. Seems to me the GP and WSBK boys stay pretty tucked, over the tank, and just slightly off to the side.

This.

Body position is subjective - it's my opinion that as long as you aren't using your upper body to hold onto the bike, just let it flow... then why is it a problem? You look great :)

Oh, and you didn't HIT the track - that is something entirely different and it involves static to the plastics :wink: Glad you had a really great time! What track?

Pics look good man.

Great pics. Looks like a fun time

At 60+ degrees of lean, there ain't much room to hang out there very far. :lol

In the 1st and 2nd pics you are hanging off plenty......A full one cheek off. Only posers hang both cheeks off......It's usually the guys who are trying to drag elbow in order to score a "sweet" track photo.......Then when they pull themselves back up onto the bike they upset it and highside. :lol:

You can see where I started to paint it. I haven't finished the tail or upper. But just looking at the gray/white combo on the lower/middle, I can't wait to finish it!

That track's in Pahrump, NV...Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. My 4th track day on that track, I've done eight days now, this one was my best to date!

Oh, and here's what I learned...

You see what their outside foot is doing? That's all it took. I got it to be consistent after 3-4 sessions. A lot of guys ride around with their toes on the pegs all day. Putting the peg up against your heel reduces the fatigue on your feet and legs. And it gave me a sense of stability through the corners for some reason. I was entering and exiting with noticeably more speed than I ever have. I was hitting the apex of turn 3 at 50mph (not important if you haven't been there). They say smooth is fast. All these years I thought I was being smooth, I wasn't...until Saturday.

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you can put a lot more pressure on that outside peg by moving your foot forward to, which can translate to more grip.

It's a little difficult to learn...for me anyways. I would be braking for a right but moving both my feet up when it should only be my left. Maybe I was just thinking about it too much, as well as doing all the other things that happen right before a corner.

Kyle took a Ed Bargy racing school a few years ago and he was told to put pressure on that outside peg. I have tried to work with it and notice a difference, but it definitely takes a lot to get comfortable doing. Don't really need to anymore now that I am without sportbike.

Keep up the good work, betcha that bike is a blast with all those suspension goodies.

I was trying that too. I would do it but wasn't really sure about what difference it was making. They say it's good to weight the outside to help flick the bike up faster. Maybe I wasn't doing it right, or too busy trying to make the new foot position feel more natural.

I really need to invest in a school though. A proper racing school.

Nice... next work on dangl'n the foot like rossi does going into right handers.... :lol:


cool shit... so what's the finished product gonna look like (your plastics I mean)

The upper will be the same color as the lower and the walls of the intake will be that white. And the tail will have a patch of white and the same color gray. Keeping it simple.

Great pictures!

Ahhh...that's Rump. Nice pics. Your BP looks good, but put your head up more and look more into the corner.

You say you've only done 8 trackdays? Fast learner for sure or you're young. lol

Hey, I was out at that trackday with you. Dirt-colored Avalanche, black 675, blue Teknic leathers.

I must've gotten some bad 003s because I absolutely hated them at the track. They slipped so soon they felt like touring tires. I couldn't even get them hot enough to look like yours.

Not much to look through at the exit of 1 and the begining of 2. Most of the turns, like 3, 4, 5a/b and 8 I'm looking through pretty good. You ever run LVMS? My best is 1:26.4 there.

I was on the street versions. I only used warmers before the first session. I was running 30/30 cold. Maybe you might have a suspension issue?

Nice shots.

I use the outside peg method, my "coach" preaches it to me alot and I've found it really helps to keep me seated and smooth and as an assist with the exit of a turn. Helps me to keep from leaning too far over as well.

I agree. It really is the little things that help a ton.

Yup. So you ever making it down this way? You've got a place to stay for a Jennings weekend. I'm hoping to visit Vegas in the next year or so, but Im pretty sure it'll be bikeless. :lol:

GA? Probably not. Or even Florida for that matter. The job we went there to do absolutely sucked. When we hung out, that was the first or second day of a six-day bender we did to forget all the bullshit we went through, lol. I'll see you in Vegas before you see me there. Maybe we can work on getting you on a bike.

Hrmmm, now that sounds like a good way to go. I'll let you know.

Sounds good.

Handles fine on GP-As. :shrug: I've had Dave Moss / Cyclemall set it up and there's no better guy for a 675.

Hmmmm. Maybe because mine were brand new that day or something. Because street tires turn to shit after being rode hard for a track day or two.

Yeah I am sure there is a way to get you on 2 wheels out here Rae. I do have two bikes ATM...You can always take the SV.

Dlit, does your wife still have the 250 and is she still riding?

That bike is long gone. I have plenty of buds that have never even been on a track. I could use that as a bargaining chip when trying to convince them to let her ride it, lol.

:lol: I'll agree to that if it gets me a ride (on the bike). Tho you might not want to tell them I might outride them. :wink:

Nah, I would never. I'd be like "Ya, man, she's good. She's got some track days under her belt and I rode with her in Florida. And she'll be more than happy to pay your deductable."

Worst-case, you can ride mine if your feet can touch the ground. Hopefully I'll have two in the stable by that point.

Perfect. Now, one foot? or both? :lol:

One's fine. I'll just call you Dani Pedrosa all day.

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Hahahahahaha!!

Ah shit, then you had to go and post the second pic. Nice man. :lol: He's about my size, I dont mind.

He's 119 lbs. Rediculous. That tiny man can ride the shit outta that thing though...until late in the race and as long as nobody challenges him.

Well, they do say smaller riders have an easier time of it as we have less bulk to move and less weight over all around the track tho I havent gotten good enough to put that to use.

Sadly, with the 6-7 I have under my belt I've just now reached intermediate speeds. Im hoping to run Memorial Weekend, at least 2 days and work on lowering my times. I know I need to work on my braking to carry more speed, and maybe a lil less time spent scraping myself across the pavement, I know it slows me down, I just cant seem to help it tho, still makes me giddy.

lolz.

:lol:

Poor Dani

Haven't been to LVMS yet..but was planning on this year.

Sean were the 003s brand new? If so they tend to be like that until a few sessions. They are not slipping, but moreso feel that there is not on-center feel. So when you go to turn it in it kinda moves around. Once you get some laps the tires squares off in the center a little.

What pressure did you run?

So given I weigh 3 times as much as you do I am going to use that excuse for being slow :lol:

I'm pretty sure I'll be doing Chuckwalla on the 29th of this month.

Just did it today with the Pridmore school. I have one pic of him and me riding. :lol Don't laugh until your ridden on the back of an AMA pro rider when you tell him to haul ass. He was passing people in the Advanced group like they were standing still. You just have to experience how fast he can go with 2 people.

You will absolutely love the track. It flows so smoothly....about a 45-90mph track, minus the front straight here I can hit about 100 (Pridmores best was 134). I only used 2-4th gears, but rarely 4th at that. Def. my favorite of the three tracks I ride. Will ride again soon.

Sounds fun.

Word. I had a couple buds that did the ride with Pridmore. Basically the same stories too. Passing advanced group guys 2-up with ease. Rediculously smooth, too!

Set it up or rework it? I hear the 675s are hard to get setup correctly.

Setup. I think it handles pretty great. I could use a revalving on the forks (too much stiction means I have to run them soft) but on the track it has never bugged me other than the occasional mild headshake. The GP-As are great (190), and I have some 003 DOTs (180) I'm going to try next time I get out to the track.

Yeah they were almost brand new. I spun up the rear a few times and the front just had none of that "planted" feel. They inspired no confidence. I did a full day on them at Pahrump before pulling them off. I bet the ones I got were old because I haven't had that problem before or since. I did okay on 016s too. I think I ran 32 but don't remember. There was a Bridgestone rep there at that trackday that advised me on pressure. He said the 003s were only good for so much.

Bike looks nice, D. Sweet pics.

I too need to work on the outside foot shit, I'm in a habit of doing the balls/toes on both sides and I can start to get some calf cramp

I've heard that as well, they need more trail... unstable.

Definitely try it. It's the little things. I wasn't referring to your stature either.

This and this! I was always crapped on about body position but as I've been teaching my gf, it's more important for your body to be in line and for you to be smooth and in control.

Im thinking about buying those bt003's to replace the corsas i've got now, either those or the bt016's... talked to quinten the bridgestone rep up at the track today, he was saying good things about the 003's (street version) but they're pretty worthless until they get a fairly high temp.

I only had 'em on warmers before the first session. They were brand new so I took the first session fairly easy. Never used the warmers again, just took the first two laps slower than normal. They felt great all day long. I ran 30/30 cold in 'em.

The bridgestone rep told me ideal cold pressure should be 26-28 on those, bring it down a notch next time and see how they feel.

Why? They felt just fine.

why not try what a factory rep would suggest to see if they feel even finerer. He knows his shit back and forth. Just sayin.

A factory rep suggested 30/30 during my TD. Had no issues whatsoever.

Ideal pressures vary depending on the track surface and temperature. What works at one place won't work at another. Sheesh!

Lets just argue some more. for arguing's sake.

Well...ya.

I imagine it gets pretty hot in Nevada, how do you deal w/ those black leathers?

Keep moving.

:lol:

Good leather isn't hot. The D Leather is good shit. In this heat, anything is hot as shit once it's the summer time. And my leathers are very breathable. Once I sweat and start rolling, it cools me off because of it. To me though, summer is off season here, lol.

Im so jealous right now... summer is off season. god.

Cool you mentioned the foot position. We were just talking about that this weekend. But I'm only in level 2 and, for this last td, I was at a new track and had lots of other things on the mind as well. Definitely want to try that though.

I happen to run the 003's too and have never had a problem. I run 27/25, but as was mentioned, depends on track and geography. I'm in TX.

Where'd u guys pick up those 003rs's? im looking at a pair from iron pony for like 225, and have to see what type of price my buddy can get.

Got mine from Competition Accesories for $250 shipped. It was during a sale, I don't think it's their everyday price. But they have those tire sales a lot. And it's for various tires too, all $250 shipped.

I'll sell you mine, one track day on 'em.

I got mine off motorcyclesuperstore.com for $225 shipped. Lucky to have a friend that could mount and balance for free. Not sure if they're that price any more. I should clarify they are the RS version not the pro.

I've loved them, but I'm on a 750 and have had a couple of the guys on liter bikes say they slip a little too much for them. Personally, I don't mind the drift that much, just reminds me to freakin' go. And since I'm lighter, how they feel to me differs as well. I've done 4 td's on them now and they've held up well, without warmers. I've done a couple street rides in between as well (and bump up the pressure to about 32/32).

Probably will get another set of them next time, or thought about the Q2's. Anyone running those?

Ah, well i may just get em from iron pony, since they're only 2 hours away and i usually get the package next day. shipping should be free over 100$ anyways.

I've heard good things at the track about those Q2s

and yea, i'd take those tires off your hands if i didnt know how you rode.

Me too.