Questions for Keith Code - Round Two

[Keith Code]

coaching

I just wrote a piece on coaching that can be found at:

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/index.php?showtopic=785

Take a look and see if it makes sense.

Keith

PS:

I send out these articles to our e-mail list first so if anyone wants to get on just shoot out an e-mail from the site and I'll put you on the list.

 

[kxmike]

The article on coaching goes along with something I've been thinking about recently....I was watching the C group at a local trackday and wondered why some of them aren't faster??? They were on the same equipment using the same lines with good form even dragging knees...yet their lap times were much slower
(than A/B group).
What do you suppose is the main reason?

I think it may have to do with confidence, and knowing how to set and achieve the proper goals.

 

[Keith Code]

The article on coaching goes along with something I've been thinking about recently....I was watching the C group at a local trackday and wondered why some of them aren't faster??? They were on the same equipment using the same lines with good form even dragging knees...yet their lap times were much slower
(than A/B group).
What do you suppose is the main reason?

I think it may have to do with confidence, and knowing how to set and achieve the proper goals.

Sure but CONFIDENCE is a big, big word. What does it mean to be confident? You can't just hope for it or put on your lucky socks and have it there on demand can you...

Goals are good as well but what are they composed of? You could set a lap time goal but without some idea of what you were going to do to get it, you'd just be hoping for inspiration.

I don't think there is a shortcut. One of the things that puts people onto dead end paths in trying to go quicker is watching others do it and deciding that they can as well.

Backed up by an actual plan that might work.

Provided that the "plan" took into account real factors like a particular turn or series of turns where the rider saw they could change their line or have better throttle control, get on the gas earlier, turn the bike better, use their visual skills in a more efficient way--specific targets with specific results in mind could make it happen.

Keith

 

[LlanoSV]

Hey Keith, Thanks alot for helping with the questions.

My question is. I've been tossing around the idea of doing a track day at Laguna, but am a little worried about ' being too slow'. Or getting in the way of other.

I was wondering what advise you could provide for a first time track day rider?

For example: should I just get use to the track, or practice lines, braking, etc. etc.

thanks

 

[Keith Code]

Hey Keith, Thanks alot for helping with the questions.

My question is. I've been tossing around the idea of doing a track day at Laguna, but am a little worried about ' being too slow'. Or getting in the way of other.

I was wondering what advise you could provide for a first time track day rider?

For example: should I just get use to the track, or practice lines, braking, etc. etc.

thanks

LlanoSV,

The best way to approach this is to get in touch with the track day provider you will ride with and ask them how they handle riders who are new to the track.

My only advice is, "DON'T LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER WHILE YOU ARE ON TRACK" This is a big error and is more dangerous than just riding at your own pace and riding on your own line.

Don't worry about the riders behind, is another way of saying the same thing.

It might feel spooky at first but don't look back.

Best,

Keith

 

[spddrcr]

im not a pro or evn close but one of the things a friend suggested to ma at a track day is to wear earplugs, as riders coming up behind me was always a problem for me when starting out on the track, i thought id throw that out there for LlanoSV, but since this is a question thread, keith do you wear earplugs on the track and/or do you recomend new riders do it.

thanks again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer all these questions.

 

[spddrcr]

i thought id add one more thing.

as much as i cant stand all the arguing and bickering on barf somedays its nice that i can come to a thread like this and gain some great info to help me be a better rider and tips on how to coach my son.
thanks again budman and keith

 

[Z3n]

Ok, it's been awhile since this has been bumped but i got into a massive arguement with a number of people over the nature of getting on the gas increasing cornering clearence, due to stiffening the rear suspension.

How, exactly, am i supposed to explain this to them? They're the super physics-y sort, so i need some sort of explanation of how and why the back end stiffens when you get on the gas. I tried making the statement about putting the bike up against a wall and letting out the clutch as mentioned in TotW2, but they claimed that that would introduce a force that wasn't present in normal riding.

I suppose the difficulty in it stems from the fact that while i can see it taking place while watching other people ride, i don't have a good understanding of why this is.

Thanks!

 

[Alexey]

Ok, it's been awhile since this has been bumped but i got into a massive arguement with a number of people over the nature of getting on the gas increasing cornering clearence, due to stiffening the rear suspension.

How, exactly, am i supposed to explain this to them? They're the super physics-y sort, so i need some sort of explanation of how and why the back end stiffens when you get on the gas. I tried making the statement about putting the bike up against a wall and letting out the clutch as mentioned in TotW2, but they claimed that that would introduce a force that wasn't present in normal riding.

I suppose the difficulty in it stems from the fact that while i can see it taking place while watching other people ride, i don't have a good understanding of why this is.

Thanks!

Show them this diagram. The importance is the relationship between points A, B, C, and D. Particularly the swingarm angle (CD) and angle of the chain pulling on the rear sprocket (AB). No complicated math here.

But additionally, you gain ground clearance because the torque on the rear wheel picks up the front some as well.

 

[Z3n]

Show them this diagram. The importance is the relationship between points A, B, C, and D. Particularly the swingarm angle (CD) and angle of the chain pulling on the rear sprocket (AB). No complicated math here.

But additionally, you gain ground clearance because the torque on the rear wheel picks up the front some as well.

Thank you! I was thinking about something along the same lines last night but wasn't sure.

 

[bikerdr]

Keith,

Excellent feedback and thanks for having the heart to respond to all of these questions. It's fun to go through these threads because it's like I can hear your voice in my head as I read your responses (I was at the July 4th Laguna Seca school).

FYI LlanoSV, my first time on the track was at Keith's school and I had a blast -- it was a perfect intro to the track (and now I'm hooked, thanks Keith! ). If you're looking for a "first time on the track" experience go to Keith's school, you won't regret it.

My only question right now is... who won the tires?

 

[half breed]

Hey kieth

Im a pretty new rider with only a few track days under my belt . I've been able to apply the techniques I've picked up through books & friends & try them out a little at a time . The one that continues to baffle me is trailbraking . I understand the concept but have no idea how to begin learning / using this technique . Is this something I should start learning now ? ..... or a few turns up the road .

Thanks much

big time rookie

 

[Keith Code]

trailbraking

Hey kieth

Im a pretty new rider with only a few track days under my belt . I've been able to apply the techniques I've picked up through books & friends & try them out a little at a time . The one that continues to baffle me is trailbraking . I understand the concept but have no idea how to begin learning / using this technique . Is this something I should start learning now ? ..... or a few turns up the road .

Thanks much

big time rookie

jimbei,

Trailbraking is a good skill to have whether it is street or track. "Trailbraking" as a technique has come to be known as the brake release that occurs while the rider is leaning the bike into the turn. The braking itself may begin before the rider starts to lean the bike over or it may begin after he begins to lean the bike over.

If you add the fact that the brake should be "trailed off" (the gradual lessening of the pressure on the brake lever) even when you are finishing your braking before you begin to lean the bike, you would have covered most of its areas of application. There is one more which you could call "reverse trailing" which is what you would do if you had to use the brake in a corner after you had already leaned the bike over, like for an emergency slowing in a turn.

"Reverse trailing" (my name for it) of the brakes is the idea that more and more braking can be done as you bring the bike up towards vertical (this is the reverse of regular trailbraking where you are lessening the pressure as the bike is leaned over further). This is a very handy skill to feel comfortable with, street or track. Street because S**T happens and track because sometimes you blow a turn and don't want to test the runoff areas for traction!

The people who focus heavily on this and I'd say the experts on Trailbraking are at Freddie Spencer's school. Nick Ienatsch has quite a bit written up on it in his book "Sportriding Techniques", you can find it on Amazon.

I brought up the technique of trailbraking and showed how it should look and how to do it in my first "A Twist of the Wrist" book but I'd say that it has been taken further and no doubt refined by the above gentlemen.

Keith

 

[silverbelt]

Keith, at what CSS level is this covered in?

 

[Keith Code]

trailbraking

Keith, at what CSS level is this covered in?

silverbelt,

That is an interesting thing because it doesn't often come up until rider's get to Level IV. The 15 technical riding points we cover in Levels 1 thru 3 seem to hold everyone's interest. In Level IV the students can request help with anything.

At our RACE program, we go through all the different kinds of lines and braking exercises to see what works and what doesn't work for the individual rider. For example, making a low/inside line work can definitely require a different brake release than a corner where you can get the bike flicked and back to the gas early. When we measure the exit speed on our radar, the rider sees for himself which line and which braking technique works best for them.

The direct answer is that trailbraking is an elective subject at CSS.

Keith

 

[MrBeckman]

Hi Keith,

Lately being relatively new to riding the track, I have been able to concentrate and analyze a lot more aspects in relation to a corner. One of them that seems to pop up is favoring a left turn over a right, or in someone else's case vise versa. Is this a common factor in the earlier stages of riding where it gets overcome after repetition? Or does it tend to linger...

thanks
Craig

 

[Keith Code]

athe Bad Side

Hi Keith,

Lately being relatively new to riding the track, I have been able to concentrate and analyze a lot more aspects in relation to a corner. One of them that seems to pop up is favoring a left turn over a right, or in someone else's case vise versa. Is this a common factor in the earlier stages of riding where it gets overcome after repetition? Or does it tend to linger...

thanks
Craig

Craig,

See if this helps out and let me know.

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/index.php?showtopic=111

Keith

 

[Alexey]

reaction time

Keith,

A few years ago I came across a kind of simple skill/talent check list for those interested in getting into car rallying. I was curious how it compared to what I felt were important skills in bike road racing. One of the things mentioned was reaction time with a test one could perform to see how they measured up. The test involved a friend holding a ruler by its end and the test subject placing his or her fingers as close to the ruler as they wished without touching it. At a random time the friend holding the ruler lets it go and the test subject catches it as quickly as they can by squeezing their fingers (no vertical movement of the hand is allowed). The place on the ruler where they actually catch it is then compared to where they were originally holding it. This is supposed to give a decent perspective on physical limitations of said individual in terms of how quickly they can respond to a visual input with their hands, which is understandably important for rallying.

I tested myself and found I scored quite poorly (don't remember the actual numbers, but it was somewhere below average and way way worse than what would be considered good enough for rallying). This got me thinking about my strengths and weaknesses on the track and appeared to explain some things. For example, I tend to do fairly well in situations I plan out, like executing a pass on a rider I'm somewhat familiar with. And conversely, I am usually quite lost in the chaos of a large group of riders going into T1 at the race start and tend to lose positions in those situations, while I'm watching others react faster than I. Some other things don't seem to fit well into this theory, such as that I usually am able to get pretty decent starts and feel quite comfortable in congested and aggressive urban traffic (think NYC).

What is your opinion on the importance of reaction time and other things that are somewhat biologically predetermined? Does anything help, such as street riding for those that don't see as much track time as they'd like? Are there other similar biological factors you can think of that may or may not relate to track performance? I'm of opinion that, even if it is a limitation, I'm able to work around it and still enjoy myself out-there (I won't be vying for Mat Mladin's job anytime soon though).

 

[Keith Code]

reaction time

Keith,

A few years ago I came across a kind of simple skill/talent check list for those interested in getting into car rallying. I was curious how it compared to what I felt were important skills in bike road racing. One of the things mentioned was reaction time with a test one could perform to see how they measured up. The test involved a friend holding a ruler by its end and the test subject placing his or her fingers as close to the ruler as they wished without touching it. At a random time the friend holding the ruler lets it go and the test subject catches it as quickly as they can by squeezing their fingers (no vertical movement of the hand is allowed). The place on the ruler where they actually catch it is then compared to where they were originally holding it. This is supposed to give a decent perspective on physical limitations of said individual in terms of how quickly they can respond to a visual input with their hands, which is understandably important for rallying.

I tested myself and found I scored quite poorly (don't remember the actual numbers, but it was somewhere below average and way way worse than what would be considered good enough for rallying). This got me thinking about my strengths and weaknesses on the track and appeared to explain some things. For example, I tend to do fairly well in situations I plan out, like executing a pass on a rider I'm somewhat familiar with. And conversely, I am usually quite lost in the chaos of a large group of riders going into T1 at the race start and tend to lose positions in those situations, while I'm watching others react faster than I. Some other things don't seem to fit well into this theory, such as that I usually am able to get pretty decent starts and feel quite comfortable in congested and aggressive urban traffic (think NYC).

What is your opinion on the importance of reaction time and other things that are somewhat biologically predetermined? Does anything help, such as street riding for those that don't see as much track time as they'd like? Are there other similar biological factors you can think of that may or may not relate to track performance? I'm of opinion that, even if it is a limitation, I'm able to work around it and still enjoy myself out-there (I won't be vying for Mat Mladin's job anytime soon though).

Alexey,

When I think of reaction time I think of handling an unexpected situation. I prefer to think of it as response time. It might seem like a fine point but look at it this way: when we react to some set of circumstances like a surprise loss of traction for example, we tend to just stiffen up on the bike as a reaction. Response time to me would be the time it takes to assess the situation and do something about it or not do anything about it.

I can react to a situation or I can respond to a situation, to me they are different mainly because our "reactions" are generally ruled by our survival instincts and are a known source of making mistakes while riding like reacting to the unexpected loss of traction by chopping the throttle instead of responding with something that works to improve the situation like rolling it off or picking the bike up, both would be correct "responses".

When all is said and done, you can train yourself to respond correctly to cornering situations, I won't touch riding in traffic type situations right now.

The most effective training is to know what the bike is likely to do in all situations and train yourself to respond to them correctly. Going to a school like Rich Oliver's Mystery School is great training to know how to respond or not respond to sliding.

When Wayne Rainey was racing we went out on small dirt bikes (XR 100s was the bike of choice at the time) and slam them around because they are short wheelbase bikes and everything happens so fast you build up a tolerance for quick changes in traction and start to discover what to do or not to do about them. Not responding can, especially when it comes to losing traction, be more productive, read safer, than responding.

Keith

 

[Alexey]

Not responding can, especially when it comes to losing traction, be more productive, read safer, than responding.

Thank you for the response (no pun intended). This is kind of the gist of how I've been dealing with a lot of unexpected loss-of-traction situations and more or less getting good results: rolling on and staying loose usually allows the bike to recover before I'm able to consciously "do" anything. You've reaffirmed my intent on getting a small dirt bike next year.