Questions for Keith Code - Round Two

[Keith Code]

react/respond

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.

Alexey,

Now that I said what I said, you can also look at it from the physical reaction or response time of your body. I'm not so sure that the dropping of the bill test is going to be the ultimate measure of your riding ability but it can poke holes in your confidence.

Let's say a rider makes a big error and crashes and thinks, "If I could have reacted quicker it wouldn't have happened." It would be easy for the person to go into a sort of apathy about their ability to cope with riding situations. In this case it would be more brought on by the mental aspect of losing and getting stuck with it mentally.

Riders can rip themselves apart by thinking like that. It is only productive to look at what did happen and try and sort that out, never look at it from the could have, would have, should have perspective.

Most bad situations happen at the end of chain of events but we all too often just look at the end result without seeing its cause. Finding the right error is like striking gold. Trying to repair the wrong one is bad news.

Keith

 

[Keith Code]

Riding Barriers--How do you overcome them?

I was just thinking about a couple of racers I've had the honor to work with over the years and I was really struck by how different they are in their approaches to their racing.

I've been asked the question, "What do the fast guys have in common"? and honestly I've never been able to answer that except in very general terms. It is like asking someone how they feel about seeing a sunset or eating a good meal, I won't use the other obvious analogy...

There have been moments of deep understanding, moments of realization, moments of breakthroughs I can recall with many top fast racers I've trained. Those are the moments that were very real to these guys.

So this is what I'm wondering: Does anyone have some other ideas about what it takes to break through some of the obvious barriers they have encountered in racing or at track days? What were they and what seemed to make them disappear?

Keith

 

[Z3n]

Another question, Keith, cross posted from a different thread...

My understanding was that pushing down with your knee can actually contribute to a lowside...

I've also heard that it's possible to save a lowside by pushing the bike back up a little with your knee...

So which is it? Can someone who knows a little more on this subject chime in?...

I spoke to Lee Parks about this recently:

- Extra weight on the tires increases traction linearly.
- Extra weight increases inertia exponentially.

This is why a lighter vehicle usually has much higher cornering speeds than a heaver vehicle; more weight causes inertial forces to increase faster than it creates extra traction.

Your knee puck will support your weight, much like a tire can. However, unlike a tire, the knee puck does not provide any resistance to inertial forces (lateral movement.) Therefore, when you put a lot of weight on your knee, you are reducing the weight on your tires (and thus available traction) without reducing your cornering loads.

In simpler terms, the knee puck adds no cornering grip, but it does reduce the weight on the tires, resulting in less traction.

Based on what I've experienced and read, the knee puck should be used in the following ways:

- Feeling your lean angle (and improving confidence.)
- Helping to push the bike up once it's already sliding.
- Pushing your body onto the bike once cornering is complete.
- Looking bad-ass.

So...is this correct? Obviously, using your knee isn't an on/off switch, and i'm in the habit of pulling it up once it hits the ground, but how does the unweighting of the bike effect traction as a result of "holding it up with your knee"? Are you using it to simply avoid lowsiding until the tires regain traction and the minor loss of traction is basically not significant?

Edit: I don't really feel like i'm a skilled enough rider to address your question...Any issues i've had with my riding have been dealt with by simply working hard at a problem, getting numerous opinions on them, and making progress through thinking critically as best i can until I improve. Sometimes it's quick and easy, or a lot of puzzle pieces fall into place at once, and other times I work my ass off for what feels like little gain, only to have it pay dividends later. Nothing ever really disappears...i still deal with the same fears every time i get out on the track. I just get better at handling them.

 

[NorCal Factory]

Hi Keith,

Your continued involment here is appreciated by many people. I posted the exact question on SBR and got a lot of answers like "more tracktime" which may help one feel comfortable at speed but IMHO does not help with a breakthrough.

Here is what worked for me:

I took a track day class and reviewed your books beforehand. I broke down the track into segments and identified a few key weak points that were then observed by an instructor.

Then:

1.) Having an instructor give me 2-3 specific things to focus on (more specific braking marker in T10, See how much extra time you have after braking hard into T1 and then move the marker 30 feet and try again) and writing them on a piece of tape on my tank. That way I was not just riding around.

2.) Working on consistent hard braking at a given marker, THEN moving the braking markers VS trying to do both at once. (Got that from Soft Science IIRC). This was huge! I broke it down into components Vs. just "trying to brake deeper into T1"

3.) Getting a tow from an instructor who was willing to go slightly faster than my normal pace. Vs. a buddy that would fly by with very little towing at a gradualy faster speed.

4.) Riding in the A group rather than the B groups.

Others: What did it for you?

 

[kxmike]

I was just thinking about a couple of racers I've had the honor to work with over the years and I was really struck by how different they are in their approaches to their racing.

I've been asked the question, "What do the fast guys have in common"? and honestly I've never been able to answer that except in very general terms. It is like asking someone how they feel about seeing a sunset or eating a good meal, I won't use the other obvious analogy...

There have been moments of deep understanding, moments of realization, moments of breakthroughs I can recall with many top fast racers I've trained. Those are the moments that were very real to these guys.

So this is what I'm wondering: Does anyone have some other ideas about what it takes to break through some of the obvious barriers they have encountered in racing or at track days? What were they and what seemed to make them disappear?

Keith

The one thing almost all fast racers have in common is.....confidence.
Without confidence it's difficult to overcome barriers.
What I do to build my confidence is...
1. set lots of realistic goals (acheiving them bolsters one's confidence)
2. study/analyze (learn all that you can from bike set-up to to riding technique)
3. practice (quality practice makes the difference here...don't just ride around)

4. and last but not least...physical conditioning.
Riding mountain bikes has made a big improvement in my ability to overcome barriers. When I ride bicycles I push myself to extremes and constantly challenge my skills/endurance. It has taught me to be mentally tough, improved my reflexes and improved my ability to focus. In turn, this made me more confident and relaxed when riding the motorcycle.... and being able to relax is a key to going faster.

 

[Keith Code]

the tires

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?

bikerdr,

I so totally lost my train of thought on this that I'm going to put it to a vote, can we do that?

If the forum members who responded could be put on a survey thing then I will send the set of tires to whoever wins-anyone know if we can do a survey like that?

Keith

 

[Keith Code]

knees down

Another question, Keith, cross posted from a different thread...
So...is this correct? Obviously, using your knee isn't an on/off switch, and i'm in the habit of pulling it up once it hits the ground, but how does the unweighting of the bike effect traction as a result of "holding it up with your knee"? Are you using it to simply avoid lowsiding until the tires regain traction and the minor loss of traction is basically not significant?

Z3n,

You can reduce the weight on the bike's tires enough to cause the bike to slide.
You can sense and gauge your lean angle quite accurately with your knee down.
You can get very accurate prediction and consistency with your lean angle provided you hang off the same amount each time. Racers say they "flick it to their knee".
You can pop yourself back into the seat, even after leaving it, with your knee in a low side situation when losing the front or the rear.
You can make the bike unstable if your leg is too stiff when your knee is on the floor.
You can make the bike's rear "come around" (oversteer) by selectively putting the knee into the asphalt hard and pivoting at your butt in contact with the back of the seat.

Those are the things I've seen done and experienced. Anyone have anything to add?

Keith

 

[Z3n]

Z3n,

You can reduce the weight on the bike's tires enough to cause the bike to slide.
You can sense and gauge your lean angle quite accurately with your knee down.
You can get very accurate prediction and consistency with your lean angle provided you hang off the same amount each time. Racers say they "flick it to their knee".
You can pop yourself back into the seat, even after leaving it, with your knee in a low side situation when losing the front or the rear.
You can make the bike unstable if your leg is too stiff when your knee is on the floor.
You can make the bike's rear "come around" (oversteer) by selectively putting the knee into the asphalt hard and pivoting at your butt in contact with the back of the seat.

Those are the things I've seen done and experienced. Anyone have anything to add?

Keith

Thanks! I wouldn't have thought of some of those.

I use #2 extensively, and am working on #3. The rest of them will take a little more time to develop, i think!

 

[Keith Code]

breakthroughs

Ya NorCal Factory and KX Mike

Those are great bits for sure. Coaching; Quality practice time; Understanding; Setting goals; Breaking it down into bite size chunks: This is top stuff but not always easy to do on your own.

For myself I need to find the perfect balance of focused but not too focused. Aware of what I am doing but not pushed into it like with your face up against a glass window.
I have to be more focused on a result than on the skills or technique I need to get the result.
I have to be willing to crash but not have any attention on crashing.
I have to keep my expectations of how well I'd like to be riding on the backburner.
I have to take little errors in stride and not get stuck with them.
I have to have enough attention free to identify the errors and make some decision on what I can do about it so it doesn't happen over and over again.
I have to be willing to make changes but always keep in mind that sometimes a very slight change can make a world of difference and that means not to be greedy for change.
I have to realize the instant that my focus is broken and either put it back in immediately or go back to the pits.
I have to separate what a practice session is from a go for it session.
I have to be willing to go slow to learn something new.
I try to give any new change a fair chance of success by trying it enough times to know if it is something I can or cannot do.
I always accept coaching that I trust.
I know that self coaching is difficult and is different than trying to work out a change or improvement I'm already aware of.
I try not to feel weird about it when someone passes me going quicker.

That's a short answer and is just me and the way I do things. Every now and then I get a breakthrough and learn something about riding.

Keith

 

[Keith Code]

knee on the floor

Thanks! I wouldn't have thought of some of those.

I use #2 extensively, and am working on #3. The rest of them will take a little more time to develop, i think!

Ya well, I might not have thought of them all if you hadn't asked, so there...

 

[Keith Code]

My 2008 calendar

Happy New Year to all BARFERS.

I'll be spending some time at tracks this year. If you want to come and say hello, here is where I'll be for about 75 days of 2008.

We did our first track school at Riverside Raceway in 1980. Now, twenty-nine years, over 10 million track miles and 150,000 students later we're operating the school in twelve countries and on five continents with well over 100 school days per year.

The USA calendar will be run at 11 tracks this year (see schedule). It has been rewarding to create the first step by step, high performance rider training program, being the first and number one at anything in motorcycling is good. We still guarantee improvement and I think the lessons learned from training so many pro riders is where that confidence comes from. Learn the skills and discover the art of cornering.


2008 California Superbike School Schedule

February 2/3 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NV 2-Day Camp
March 20/21 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NV 2-Day Camp
March 27/28 Streets of Willow Springs, CA 2-Day Camp
March 29 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
March 30 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
March 31/April 1 Streets of Willow Springs, CA RACE Program
April 17/18 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NV 2-Day Camp
April 24/25 Streets of Willow Springs, CA 2-Day Camp
April 26 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
April 27 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
April 29 Laguna Seca, CA All Levels
April 30 Laguna Seca, CA All Levels
May 12 Pocono Raceway, PA All Levels
May 13 Pocono Raceway, PA All Levels
May 14/15 Pocono Raceway, PA 2-Day Camp
May 16 Pocono Raceway, PA All Levels
May 19 Virginia Int’l Raceway, VA All Levels
May 20 Virginia Int’l Raceway, VA All Levels
May 21/22 Virginia Int’l Raceway, VA 2-Day Camp
May 29/30 Barber Motorsports Park, AL 2-Day Camp
May 31 Barber Motorsports Park, AL All Levels
June 1 Barber Motorsports Park, AL All Levels
June 5/6 Streets of Willow Springs, CA 2-Day Camp
June 7 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
June 8 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
July 1/2 Miller Motorsports Park, UT 2-Day Camp
July 28 Loudon (NHIS), NH All Levels
July 29/30 Loudon (NHIS), NH 2-Day Camp
August 4 Mid Ohio, OH All Levels
August 5 Mid Ohio, OH All Levels
August 6/7 Mid Ohio, OH 2-Day Camp
August 11 Thunderbolt Raceway, NJ All Levels
August 12 Thunderbolt Raceway, NJ All Levels
August 13/14 Thunderbolt Raceway, NJ 2-Day Camp
August 23 Barber Motorsports Park, AL All Levels
August 24 Barber Motorsports Park, AL All Levels
August 25/26 Barber Motorsports Park, AL 2-Day Camp
September 1 Virginia Int’l Raceway, VA All Levels
September 2 Virginia Int’l Raceway, VA All Levels
September 3/4 Virginia Int’l Raceway, VA 2-Day Camp
September 20 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
September 21 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
September 22/23 Streets of Willow Springs, CA 2-Day Camp
October 11 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
October 12 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
October 20 Sears Point (Infineon), CA All Levels
October 25 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
October 26 Streets of Willow Springs, CA All Levels
October 27/28 Streets of Willow Springs, CA RACE Program
November 2/3 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NV 2-Day Camp
November 11 Sears Point (Infineon), CA All Levels
November 22/23 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NV 2-Day Camp
December 1&2 Sears Point (Infineon), CA 2-Day Camp
Fall – TBA Laguna Seca, CA All Levels


More info at www.superbikeschool.com or call toll free: 800-530-3350

 

[Lazerus]

I am giving some very serious thought to attending your April class at Laguna... Just have to sell the old lady on the notion

Question: I was reading your article on CSS's forum about throttle control. I stumbled across one point that troubled me. I wanted to get your confirmation as to wether I misunderstood the point, or discovered a personal barrier. The statement is

"7. Maintaining progress with the roll on despite distractions. This is a general point. Whatever unpredictable thing comes up like seeing a patch, seam or any rough pavement, you maintain your roll on because it is correct."

Does this mean continue your roll on in all pavement conditions, both on and off the track? Or only over chip repair type irregularities found on track surfaces?

I have had the rear step out violently as a result of following this while riding over questionable pavement on the street. (mt hamilton, light sprinkles of gravel). As a result, when I spot an unavoidable section of imperfect pavement, I have a tendency to maintain throttle position untill I am close enough to better assess its condition. If it is wet, sand, salt, or gravel, I roll off and transverse it with as little lean angle and throttle as possible. Contrarily, at a familiar track approaching patchwork etc. on warm tires, I continue to roll on.

Also, I roll on progressively faster as I stand the bike up off of the corner. For example, approaching apex, I have the throttle at 5 percent, by the time I hit apex, I'm at about ten, looking to the exit im up to fifteen. There I just covered say 100 feet and only increased by 15 percent... but once the bike is pointed and its time to stand up, it is a much more rapid succession from say 20 to 100 percent, as the available traction of the rear is being quickly increased as the bike stands up. The roll on is smooth, just becoming exponentially faster as the corner unfolds.

That said, would you condone staying committed to roll on during both "steps" of the roll on?

 

[Keith Code]

roll on

I am giving some very serious thought to attending your April class at Laguna... Just have to sell the old lady on the notion

Question: I was reading your article on CSS's forum about throttle control. I stumbled across one point that troubled me. I wanted to get your confirmation as to wether I misunderstood the point, or discovered a personal barrier. The statement is

"7. Maintaining progress with the roll on despite distractions. This is a general point. Whatever unpredictable thing comes up like seeing a patch, seam or any rough pavement, you maintain your roll on because it is correct."

Does this mean continue your roll on in all pavement conditions, both on and off the track? Or only over chip repair type irregularities found on track surfaces?

I have had the rear step out violently as a result of following this while riding over questionable pavement on the street. (mt hamilton, light sprinkles of gravel). As a result, when I spot an unavoidable section of imperfect pavement, I have a tendency to maintain throttle position untill I am close enough to better assess its condition. If it is wet, sand, salt, or gravel, I roll off and transverse it with as little lean angle and throttle as possible. Contrarily, at a familiar track approaching patchwork etc. on warm tires, I continue to roll on.

Also, I roll on progressively faster as I stand the bike up off of the corner. For example, approaching apex, I have the throttle at 5 percent, by the time I hit apex, I'm at about ten, looking to the exit im up to fifteen. There I just covered say 100 feet and only increased by 15 percent... but once the bike is pointed and its time to stand up, it is a much more rapid succession from say 20 to 100 percent, as the available traction of the rear is being quickly increased as the bike stands up. The roll on is smooth, just becoming exponentially faster as the corner unfolds.

That said, would you condone staying committed to roll on during both "steps" of the roll on?

Lazerus,

You answered your own question above. The article talks about pavement imperfections not slippery stuff. If the pavement is wet but not slimey, like oil or some other foreign substance you still maintain a clean roll on to stabilize the bike.

Look at the alternative: if you chop the gas in the middle of truly slippery stuff you have increased the chances of losing the front. Having the rear step out is usually far better than losing the front. Neutral throttle with little or no acceleration works well in those situations.

You nailed it again, as the bike comes up the roll on can be more aggressive, it's everything that happens before you begin to bring the bike up--when it is at max lean--that we are solving with our excellent throttle control: traction, compliant suspension action and holding our line.

Does that ring true for you in your experience?

Keith

 

[Lazerus]

It certainly does, and thank for a quick response I just couldn't wrap my head around gassing it over zero traction surfaces... which is a good thing, because that is not the correct thing to do.

On another note, I think that your lean/ slide bike could dramatically decrease my fear of losing traction at high lean. I feel that identifying the symptoms of a tire that is at its limit, and adjusting accordingly without the fear of crashing could move my corning skills forward by leaps and bounds. Not to mention helping get a more accurate sense of correct entry speed, by gaining a better grasp of when I've nailed it, vs. could have been going 40 mph faster.
Is there an additional fee to use the lean/slide bike if I sign up for 2 back to back Level 1 and 2 days in april?

 

[Keith Code]

slide bike

It certainly does, and thank for a quick response I just couldn't wrap my head around gassing it over zero traction surfaces... which is a good thing, because that is not the correct thing to do.

On another note, I think that your lean/ slide bike could dramatically decrease my fear of losing traction at high lean. I feel that identifying the symptoms of a tire that is at its limit, and adjusting accordingly without the fear of crashing could move my corning skills forward by leaps and bounds. Not to mention helping get a more accurate sense of correct entry speed, by gaining a better grasp of when I've nailed it, vs. could have been going 40 mph faster.
Is there an additional fee to use the lean/slide bike if I sign up for 2 back to back Level 1 and 2 days in april?

Lazerus,

There are a few different exercises we do on that Lean/Slide bike but they don't start until Level 2. If all there was to riding was learning how to slide then that would be our Level 1 focus...but it isn't all there is to riding.

It's interesting to watch the World Superbike guys and notice that there is very little sliding going on. Riders are back to focusing on maintaining traction. The romance with sliding comes and goes, it's like fashion. Riders slide the back end for a couple of years, look great, find out it is counterproductive for the most part and quit.

Same with the back end. Now what you can do if you have little or no experience with sliding motorcycles is go to some small bike dirt riding or go to a school like Rich Oliver's Mystery school.

Another route is to ride on old tires, takeoff race tires, crossover tires that aren't super grippy, take your choice, any of those will work. We use Dunlop Qualifiers on our school bikes. Last year when one of our Brit students came over for his annual training up at Sears Point he went a few seconds off AMA Supersport pole times on a stock ZX 6R with Qualifiers.

Don't get into the stickier is better--more expensive is better--frame of mind.
Go with less grippy tires until you have some feel for traction and exit drive tire spinning.

Make any kind of sense to you?

Keith

 

[Lazerus]

Definately makes sense. I rode dirt at a young age, and continue to do so as opportunities present themselves. I have considered riches' school as well, and may well one day take it. Most likely when I am much more affluent than I am now . I also used dunlops on my rf 600, and have touring rubber on a ninja 250 I own. All of these have taught me a good deal about controlling wheel lock, both front and rear during breaking. Where I know I can stand to improve the most is predicting these things during cornering. I just dont have the gall to overcook a corner intentionally, and trail brake until the front tucks. Or begin my roll on early or heavy enough to provoke a slide at apex.

The distinct difference that I see between sliding on a dirt bike, and sliding on a sport bike, is the body position that you are likely to be in at the time that the slide occurs. Additionally, the speed at which you are likely to be traveling is much higher on a sport bike. I feel that these differences are part of the source of my fear. Also, I have noticed traction loss to be fairly sudden and violent on pavement, whereas on dirt I have felt the slides to be predictable, and correctable.

I am not interested in using sliding as a means of going faster around the track. Contrarily, like most riders I want to keep my tires hooked up. My interest in the slide bike is to form habits to calmly identify that I am nearly sliding, and comfortably correct a slide if one is to occur. Repetition on a bike that keeps me from falling if I slide too much seems like the perfect rig to build these good habits... both how to manage the controls, and how to do so while remaining relaxed. This I feel would go great lengths to increase my confidence about approaching the limits of traction, and thus of myself and my machine.

Again thank you for your time and thoughts, and sorry for my long winded explanations.

 

[Keith Code]

traction

Definately makes sense. I rode dirt at a young age, and continue to do so as opportunities present themselves. I have considered riches' school as well, and may well one day take it. Most likely when I am much more affluent than I am now . I also used dunlops on my rf 600, and have touring rubber on a ninja 250 I own. All of these have taught me a good deal about controlling wheel lock, both front and rear during breaking. Where I know I can stand to improve the most is predicting these things during cornering. I just dont have the gall to overcook a corner intentionally, and trail brake until the front tucks. Or begin my roll on early or heavy enough to provoke a slide at apex.

The distinct difference that I see between sliding on a dirt bike, and sliding on a sport bike, is the body position that you are likely to be in at the time that the slide occurs. Additionally, the speed at which you are likely to be traveling is much higher on a sport bike. I feel that these differences are part of the source of my fear. Also, I have noticed traction loss to be fairly sudden and violent on pavement, whereas on dirt I have felt the slides to be predictable, and correctable.

I am not interested in using sliding as a means of going faster around the track. Contrarily, like most riders I want to keep my tires hooked up. My interest in the slide bike is to form habits to calmly identify that I am nearly sliding, and comfortably correct a slide if one is to occur. Repetition on a bike that keeps me from falling if I slide too much seems like the perfect rig to build these good habits... both how to manage the controls, and how to do so while remaining relaxed. This I feel would go great lengths to increase my confidence about approaching the limits of traction, and thus of myself and my machine.

Again thank you for your time and thoughts, and sorry for my long winded explanations.

Lazarus

Take a look at this article and see if it brings you any new ideas on what you are dealing with on the subject of traction.

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/index.php?showtopic=877

Keith

 

[Archimedes]

So this is what I'm wondering: Does anyone have some other ideas about what it takes to break through some of the obvious barriers they have encountered in racing or at track days? What were they and what seemed to make them disappear?

Keith

For me, other than reading your books and implanting those ideas in my brain, the biggest thing that has helped me break through barriers in my riding is simply gaining the confidence to relax and let my brain process stimuli without necessarily having an accompanying physical reaction with my hands/body. The best thing I think I've learned is that sometimes the best response is no response, or at least a very measured response. I think your earlier comments about reaction vs. response hits home with me.

John Wooden once said of basketball, 'be quick, but never hurry', and I think that adage applies to sport motorcycling as well.

 

[Lazerus]

Lazarus

Take a look at this article and see if it brings you any new ideas on what you are dealing with on the subject of traction.

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/index.php?showtopic=877

Keith

A few. The biggest one being that time spent sliding tires= increase in ability to identify and compensate for it. Good read, thanks for the link

On the topic of sticky tires vs. street: I am just BARELY fast enough to reap the benefits of a warm DOT race tire. At turn 8 at thunderhill, I moved to pass a rider that I had been following for a few laps. I noticed that he had been staying away from the inside curbing on his apexes. Set him up on the way into 6, moved to pass on the inside of 8. As I did so, he made a very "unsmooth" transistion from the far right curbing to the far left as I came along side him. I saw him coming, and squeezed the front, having to hold my line so as not to close the distance between us even sooner. I would estimate that to "lose" a bike length in that span of time, I had used about 45%-50% of my breaking ability. The turn is high speed, but fortunately at may pace not high lean angle. I feel that in this instance, superior grip was able to compensate for my poor judgement about the pass. Although the braking was smooth, I feel that I would have exceeded the limits of my street tires at that moment.

As a result of this instance, I made the rest of my passes for the day on the OUTSIDE. I will save the inside passes for a time when I am surrounded by riders capable of consistent lines, and close passes.... at which point, in all likelyhood, I will be the one BEING passed

With the exception of this instance, I agree with your point. I would be much more familiar with traction limits if I had been riding street tires at all of my trackdays... although at my current pace I would consider myself a greater liability to others. I think for my next trackday, I may drop back to C group for a day to test your theory on street tires

 

[Keith Code]

quick

John Wooden once said of basketball, 'be quick, but never hurry', and I think that adage applies to sport motorcycling as well.

I couldn't agree more, there is a delicate balance between the two ideas but when you hit it--it's a magic moment.

Keith