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Acknowledgements Editorial Assistance BillStermer MichaelChurch Help and Encouragement Cort Sutton KawasakiMotors KawasakiMotors Corp.,U.S.A. Corp., U.S.A. MotorcycIist Magazine Cycle World Magazine fornia SuperbikeSchool SuperbikeSchool Design and and I ustrat io n CameronAshby CameronAshby Associates, nc. Jeff Skrimstad Lessonsand Friends lmportant Lessonsand Bob West Mel Dinesen PierreDes PierreDes Roches R i c h a r dD dD a v i s G r i f f i t h Park L.RonHubbard Judy Code
Photography KevinAshby, KevinAshby,page80 Patrick ehar, ages , 74,75,79, RichChenet, RichChenet, MushEmmons, MushEmmons, Freud,page42 MaryGrothe, MaryGrothe,back backcover coveraction actionphotograph Motorcyclist agazine, ag 14 Riles, ages 56, 88 JohnUlrich, JohnUlrich,
School, Inc. CaliforniaSupertrike California SupertrikeSchool, 80 530-3350
Copyright1983-2002 Copyright1983-2002Code Break, nc I S B N :O - 9 1 8 2 2 6 - 0 8 - 2 Libraryof Libraryof Congress dN u m b e r C a t a l o gC gC a r dN 82-7 3771 part this book may be reproduced All rights reserved. m e a n sw sw i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o n n w r i t i n g rom the author.
an form or
ny
Printed n the United Statesof States of America
Warning: The riding echniques ontained n this book ar ntended or racingpurposes n bodily esultingn o r anyaccidents anyaccidentsesulting publisher ccept responsibilityor he author only. heauthor iderability ncreased peeds nd iderability mightoccur rom he ncreasedpeeds amage ha mightoccur harmor harmor property amageha ro not g u a r a n t e e m a t e r i a l . a u t h o r n d p u b l i s h e ro gained y y a p p l y i n gh gh e s e others degree riding kills readers attain s a m e haveused have used hese y noted iders hat nd endorsementsy techniques.upplemental techniques. upplementalotes ndendorsements guarantees guarantee competencyhat might s o safety r competencyhat ny be aken techniqueshould techniqueshould required,he services f a gained, mprely s personal xperience. expert ssistances required,he state icensed gency hould e sought.
Foreword Even hough I've only been road racing or two out of the twelve years of c a r e e r . t seemsa s h o u g h I've beend o i n g a l l a l o n g .E v e r y t h i n g g o i n g rights m o o t h l yn o w . f t h e r e ' s p r o b l e m , h a n d l e t r i g h t a w a y .T h i n g s they must be. I find myself n the winner's circle almost every race. Of course my dirt track racing helped,but believeme, t wasn't always his easy. My first time on the asphalt-for more than a couple of laps-was at the California SuperbikeSchool. t was really good experience. wasn't the fastest gu ut there but it gave th idea what to do and, more importantly, ha want to do it. Kawasakihad been helping me with my short track program. There re some great people down there who believed had some promise,so they gave bo stock racer and hired Keith Code o work with me for one year. Here s the part that reallysurprised We spent days going over stuff that Keith w r i t t e n d o w n a b o u t ra c i n g . t h o u g h t w e w e r e g o i n g straight o the track, here a c t u a l l y o o k i n g w o r d s i n h e d i c t i o n a r y n d a l k i n ga b o u t r i d i n g . to the track w h o l e h i n g u r n e d a r o u n da n d h e r e I w a s , w r i t After d o w n e v e r y t h i n g hat I was d o i n g o n t h e t r a c k . K e i t hm a d e m e t h i n k b e f o r e to the track. while I was on the track, and after ff he bike. don't know if everyoneca ge into the winner's circle fast did, but I know t h a t b e i n ga b l e o t h i n k a b o u ty o u r r i d i n g s m p o r t a n t .G e t h a t part d o n e i r s t . This is where I started. hope it works for you. Wayne Rainey
Gontents Foreword Author's Note lntroduction CHAPTER The Road You Ride The Mysteries Asphalt Revealed CHAPTER
What Become Scientist CHAPTER
THREE
The Product Developing recision ith Understanding CHAPTER
FOUR
What You See Programming CHAPTER
Computer hrough he Eyes
FIVE
Timing Putting hings n Order CHAPTER
SIX
Decisions Decision aking: ecipe CHAPTER
Skill
SEVEN
Barriers Keys o lmprovement EIGHT CHAPTER Braking RegulatingSpeed CHAPTER
NINE
Steering It HappensBackwards CHAPTER
Slipping and Sliding Traction: ow o Lose
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Hanging It LooksGood CHAPTER
t Works TWELVE
Passing Who WasThat Just Passed? CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
Supervise Yourself Yes,Homework s Necessary CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Advice Ask YourBestFriend-You! CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
to Fall Relax-You're CHAPTER
Road-Testing
Leathers
SIXTEEN
Sponsorship Free unch There s
117
A Parting Word Appendix
Comments trMarginNotes EddieLawson SpecialN ote: Extrawidemargins
provided
your notes.
Author's Note nformationontained his book s ntended be used y rider o investigate master he basic iding kills overed each this nformations magic. t hasbeendeveloped uring chapter. getting esults more han years trainingmore han2,5OOiders thateither mprovedap imesor ncreasedider onfidence. information orks f it is applied. There s a certainmagic, owever,n using nformation bestway o do it is stepat a ime. over understood, by bit. apply information nd eally nderstand pointwill establish certainty Mastering
The things that Keith goes over in hlssemrnarsan book are things do all the time. You can learn the same thtngs.
lntroduction going o begin his bookwith littleconfession. never really een wanted ride. hroughout nterestedn racing-l my racing areer regardedhe other iders rackas mostly nuisance. of theobservations making imes hey about riding, bout how hat c o u l d m p r o v em y i d i n g information ould presentedo m students. always ad much un riding long ymyself race s have ompeting other riders. M y r e a s o n i n go r h i s s i m p l e - n om a t t e r many ther your riders muststill he rack, ability. he rack s e v e r - p r e s e nht a l l e n g e - n o t o t h e r i d e r s . h i s de a a sb e e n strengthenedver he years hroughmy observationhat he mostsuche race. hey cessf l racers nearly s ast n practice o u s e h e i ru n d e r s t a n d i n gn h e r a c kw h e n h e yp l e a s e , i t h o u t h e pressure f competitionorcing hem ast."
Play the Game Well Riding ast n motorcycles a tremendouslyxhilarating gamehas ules challenging ame. barriers. here's omething plays win,somethingo lose, nd purpose each ndividual game. t demands attention. consequences a majormistake severe-severenough o make he gameworth playing ell. p u r p o s e f t h i sb o o k o d e s c r i b e e c h n o l o g yn d h e r u l e s r i d i n g you'llapproachhe barriers fastso hat every s "win," purpose confdence understanding, can urther riding racing, hatevert may overall pproach rider mprovements :To simplify actions of riding by defining the basics, and investigating the decisions must make to ride well.
What'll lf your face shield leaks air, tape it up Th al won't come through and ge your attention.
Cost?
Attention, where spend t while idinga motorcycle, elementn howwell willfunction: ttention has ts limits. Each erson a cedain mount w h i c h a r i e sr o m n d i v i d u a l individual. have ixedamount attention have fixed amount f money. et's have ten-dollar ill'sworth attention. spend vedollars aspect f riding, ou have dollars or all he otheraspects. pendnine have nly dollar eft, probably pentninedollars When irstbegan o ride yourattention how o let clutchwithoutstalling. ow hat you've idden years housands miles, ou probably pend nly nickle rdime t . R i d e r s m e h a ts o m e o m m o nm o v e m e n t s ,
l e s s t t e n t i o n t . R i d i n gs i k e h a t . more perations educe c o s t f n i c k e l r d i m e , h e m o r e y o u r e n - d o l l a r s o r t ho f a t t e n t i o n is eft or he mportant perations riding racing. m u s tm a k e u n d r e d s d e c i s i o n s h i l e i d i n g f racetrack r onestretch road-especiallyhen iding ast.Hundreds! understand nough bout iding o have orrectly ecided probably how o handle of those ituations, ider. things that do not understand are the things that will take up your attention. Whenever situation rises most do not understand, attention ill become xedupon t. often situationwhen panic osts$9.99-you cannotpredict outcome, even ecome verdrawn. hecourse f action have lready d e c i d e d p o n h a n d l e p o t e n t i a l a n i c i t u a t i o no s t sm u c h e s s h a n this and eaves plenty attentiono sort youroptions. On he positive ide, odingout he actions ridingbeforehandbuys and reedomo become reative ith he activity riding, as having otsof change n yourpocket llows a certain freedom f movement. n he race rack, hat eft-over ttention llows o experiment d improve idingability. High-performance i ding acing emand otonly hat able o perform he necessaryctions, utalso hat able o observehem.Making ccurate bservations yourperformances ke o beingable o improve hem. f ou know what have doneyo know what can be changed. lf ou did not observewhat yo were doing, hechanges ecome aphazardnd naccurate. gree? he next hapters e'll game where attentions being ocused r spent.W e'll nvestigatehe barrierso riding well action he steps ou'll ake o bringhome "win" every time. And inally, et'snot osesightof the basic easonwe started riding-it's un andmakes s eelgood.Here's eadily vailablereedom, an al takes s A Twist of the Wrist.
What ls
Rider?
Beforeaunching anything eavy,et'sagree hat he rider person ontrollinghe motorcycle, passenger.he iderworks brakes ndclutch, he hrottle steering. edetermines hether
might only use one-tenth of a cent on some thtngsthat cost another nder $5 00, but you spend something on everythtng You do on a race track. Thebetter yo ge th lessmost thrngscost.
action take, arries out, a n d s h eo n l y n d i v i d u a l h od e c i d e s worked. well t h e nd e c i d e s t's rue:What almost ounds simple, don't do-doesn't happen. Motorcycles what happens; what don'twin races lose hem; don'tdo anything y hemselves. d o n ' tm a k em i s t a k e sr d o a n y t h i n g i g h t .E v e r y t h i n g h a p p e n s u r i n g rider. r i d ed e p e n d s o l e l y he rack roadstruggling ider Have ever een operate machine? basic ontrol peration, rack nd being mysteryo him. honestlyeels is n relationo these hose eelings.ine;even xpert iders ave ride. you've taken imes. felt his born T h e r e ' s na c t u a le c h n o l o g y r i d i n g . e o p l e r e good bad iders-riding kill earned. rider is person who can know slow, lap a race track or ride down the road, fast what he did and how to change
AITilI$OTIHE ilRI$I
CHAPTER
Road Mysteries
Ride Asphalt Revealed
Ridersnvariably heir avorite ections road, parts a dancewhereeverything appens that low ogether knowwhich it'ssupposed with no surprises. n street r rack, want o knowwhy hey're comfortable. ow ones are-but ride?Whichaspects re mpormuchshould knowabout he road which not?Why aresome ections roadhardero ride tant thanothers? First, background. ighways constructed o hat motorists an ravel rom PointA to PointB veryeasily. highway ngipiece. make t in want o see neers revery houghtful; turns orners re are.S eldom oftengentlybanked. ecreasing-radius a straight tretch road.Off-camber here hairpin t he turns avoided henever ossible. orners reconstructedn predictable straight-forward anner.
Designed to Fool You A racetrack another ort beast.N ot much anything purposely onstructed done or yourconvenience. designers w i l lc o n t i n u e c r e a t e h a n g i n g i t u a t i o n s r i d e r ,o f o o l course m o s td i f f i c u l t e c t i o n s , Hairpins challenge turns,or chicanes. ftenhave allyafter he astest traight, baff with several amber nd slower entry.C orners orce unusualituations. r a d i u s h a n g e so b r e a k aster he urns negotiated, morediff cult hey always, major hanges become. here re,however, be designed into an asphalt road. Have ou noticed his?
Types of Road C h a n g e sn C a m b e r : A i e c e r o a d
have positive
inside the road s higher han he outside. r, road be at.A turn designed ith combination f these ambers. 2.Changes Radius: single a c o n s t a n ta d i u s , perfect circle. t maydecrease radius,ightening oward e n d , r t m a yh a v e n c r e a s i n ga d i u s , p e n i n g p a t h ee n d . r hree. a combination 3. Series Turns: a series interdependent urns, he will partly etermined a k e h r o u g hh e n i t i a l where want o exit t to setup or he next urn. series f turns have o r a l lo f h ec a m b e r n d a d i u s h a n g e si s t e d b o v e . U p h i l l , o w n h i l l n dC r e s t e d r a c kC h a n g e s : l e v a t i o n added t anypoint o any of turnor change roador rack. Straight ections:hese e c t i o n s h e r e i tt l e urning s required.n creasesor decreases n elevation may be added. These re he major hangeshat canbe engineered piece f asphalt.With he addit.ion bumpy ections, hichwere planned he designers, have possible ituations. order o mustunderstand characteristics. understand roadortrack, your bike's rogress these hanges a direct nfluence through he corner. order ridequickly safely, mustunderstandhow hese hanges ffect besthandle hem. Banked turns are comfortable for most ridersUnderstanding them allows to take the full advantages they offer.
Positive Gamber or Banking Mosteveryones comfortableiding section f road hat has some anking positiveamber. banking effect holding u p b yc r e a t i n g " w a l l " p u s ha g a i n s t i t h y o u r i r e s . bank lso slows bikedownevenmorewhen enter he urn because f the increasedesistancereated y hiswall.Gravity working you.pullwall, ounteracting outward-bound a n d h em a c h i n e cornering orces. Some xamples? t
v e r yd i f f c u l t o
b a n k i n gw h i l ey o u ' r e i d i n g
On banked rackyou don't enter lo and come out htgh
rode t.On highbanks t Daytona, fter iding everal outsideri-oval n record ttempt,he banked ections ctually ppeared 2O-degreengle. t is easy f at o area ooked ilted deceived y even smallamount banking ecause ou're eaned the road.A lso, he banking ecomes don'thave straight noticeable ncrease speed. banking Always esign approach yourbestadvantage. ow n he bank, lose o the nside the rack, your p o i n tw h e r e h e b a n k i n g e g i n so f a t t e n T h i sg i v e s o f f e rb e f o r e b i k e h em a x i m u m o l d i n g d v a n t a g e b a n k i n g he orces atter ection bikebegins o swingoutward n generated y acceleration. swing i k e h ew e i g h t a urn. bike aster swing t, he heavier head n rubber and. around orce,and he more tries o swing weightbecomes centrif atter moveonto until the outside. hebanking holds" section f road hat ollows. seems banked urns aster f rom pastexperience. banking when sizeup he urn willprobably nto t much ooslowly. will oolyou nitiallynd Also.when exiting banked ection road o a latter surface, muststraightenhe bikesince t will dragmoreeasily eaned banked ection banking gone.Example: pegs, ou must ean he bikeoverevenmore n relationo the over tracksurfaceo keep hat degree turning adiuswhen he bank gone. the bank s 1Odegrees, must ean he bikeover east en more degreeso keep hat urning adius n he atter oadsurface. does moreground learance banking ives could un ap imes racetracks section track. have nown iders had aced hat same ourse thatwereveryclose o record imes nally iscovered section track or 40 times, n hat part.Afterknowing, banked-that as could theywenteven uicker. don'tdiscoverrackangles, might getting shouldn't withouteven with ridingmaneuvers abilities, e a s o n se h i n d knowing discover Once begin to use the track to your advantage. Witt hi mprove ou iding?
Off-Camber
Negative-Gamber urns
iderswho regard ff-camberturns s heir don'tknow nitely o not nspire favorites. heseurns eaveess oom error conf dence. endsoff-camber emands A turn hat beginswith a bank m o s t h a n g e s a d j u s t m e n t sn e a n n g l e s . o r d e r t o o n t i n u e eaned ver arther. heeffect s much around t, he bikemust surf ce.Gravitys nowworking a bankedo a same s going y o u rb i k e pulling ou outside. ou ose round against are n he off-camberurns clearance.herefore,
''rffil
partsof the rack hat a bankedurn. straight ines off-camber ecause don'twant o becommitted yourmaximum leananglegoing off-camber ection.deally, wouldonlycomyourselfo the maximum angle t hevery section. yourgreatesteaneffective lternative o set occurs n he middle off-camber ection.t hasbeen alled "squaring ff" a turn "goingslow n slow parts." t refers o the ype handling allows s t r a i g h t e nu t h en e g a t i v ea m b e r s m u c h p o s s i b l e . a s i c a l l y , e n t e r sv e r t i c a l l y p o s s i b l e , make m a j o r t e e r i n g h a n g e n de x i t s t r a i g h t s p o s s i b l e . Riders o see he basic urnmoreclearly ecauset moreobvious han he camber hange. his s deceptivericks racetrack esigner. he ider sucked he urn because e basing is idingactics what he urn ooks ike nstead takingnto account changes camber s o s e r i o u s l yf f e c t i m . m u s t realize gravity pulling bike n heopposite irection i n t e n d e du r n ,a n d h e e n d e n c y f t h eb i k e o o w a r d h eo u t s i d e camberurn s dramaticWitthis etp?
Flat Turns Turnswith no negative positive amber-flaturns-will
As speed increases, centrif ugal forces genefated by the bike/rider combination widen cornering arc. The line must change as the speed goes
Daytona greatexample constant adius r constant peed. f basicallylat urnwith no radius hanges, most astriders refer ride t on he nside.n urns thiskind, he astestw ay hrough s at urn straightesti ne-it'salso he shortest istance round he urn. n there s attempt foolthe ider nless radius hange r i d e r o h i sm a x i m u me a n n g l e n d v a r i a t i o n .h e s eu r n s o m m i t h e o n g e s t e r i o d t i m e .S i n c e o u ' r e o i n g o be maximumpeed max ean ooner r ater, r i d i n g r o u n dh e n s i d e t m a xs p e e d at he beginning. aking wideentry well down t u r no n l yg i v e s o m e o n e c h a n c e p a s s o u . Constant Radius
Of Camber
---=-'-t-
Gamber changes dramatically aff ect ho be ridden. turn
,--F1
Camber
Ghanges n Radius additionalw ist Designershange radius a urn o how o handle action. ere re hebasic inds f radii the rack. neither Gonstant-RadiusTurn: constant-radius hrough As menincreaseswidens) decreasestightens) camber a i r l y o n g o n s t a n t - r a d i uC s R)turn t i o n e d b o v e ,f t he nside he urn or most c h a n g e s , w i l le v e n t u a l l y up he have theroptions s o how o lf it s shorthairpin, r e a l l yi g h th a i r p i n m u s tm a k e a b r u p t u r n i n g entry exit. point which most onfident. change-it hould done There no rule o how t should done. has amber hanges, a constant-radiu n c r e a s i n g - r a d i ul R s )turn. example, decreasing-radius r attens ut on he exit t will have the urn s banked n he entry decreasingadius.f it is lat exactly sameeffect yourbike t very ncreasing-radius. banked n he exit, acts entry common or amateurs-and rofessionals well-to ride he urns he way hey reallyare. t is veryeasy have theyappear t speedan he camber yourattention tuck don't radius f a urn changes. hus, nowing he ocation f the camber hanges ill help
The notorious decreasing radius turn. Designed to invite yo in faster than it lets out-
Increasing Radius
Decreasing-RadiusTurns: This a turn hat ightens hrough t. decreasing-radius urn, he designerries trick nto reating t as a constant-radius,ingle-apexurn. f hat, mustdo oneof three hings:1 Runwide at he exit,2) Lean the bikeovermoreat he of the urn,or 3) Back so hat and wo above on'thappen. decreasing-radius urn has east wo apexes. ry o cheat the urn out of oneapex nd t will backwith he other. n DR urn must idewhat here: on't o make he urn something not.Somemisleadingnformation been irculating yearswhich "lateapex" says urns.This be rue n a very ight DR urn, larger mustdouble-apexhe urn. make he urn onger yourself y akinga wide entry ine. hiskeeps speed p cutsdownon he abruptness actual teering hange. urn hat s on he entrance banked t exitwill as an or CR urn,depending he severity banking. a urn s constructedo hat t forces slow somepoint, ou mustdecidewhere slow nstead letting designer ecide or you.By iguring turncorrectly, ride he rack-the trackdoesnot rideyou. makea big mistak ine, haveprobably been ucked iding he rack heway t looks ather way t Increasing-Radius Turns: This widens-its ngle becomes go through t. An lR givesyo he safest eelsevere-as because have oom he end o make hanges corrections. can easily ecover om going nt an R urn too fast because have lenty f room. lR urn changed ramaticallyy camthe road, as he DR urn be. f it is banked oing and at or off-camber exit, t will s or DR urn,depending much negative amber t has.Th radius the turn usually second in importance to its camber. Are waref his? Series Turns: Twoor more urns inked ogether such as o influence other called series turns.T hey're sually
Usually oasy to rlde, the increasing radius rn can be made difficult with camber changes.
Some places you have to use a real wrde line so you don't scrub speed off, but not always.
aster han he exit' f the a wo-turn example.he entry exit. f the entry possible.t will spoil entry s aken i d e rw i l ls a c r i f s o m e p e e d o i n g a p p r o a c h e di t h h ee x i t n m i n d , s a better trategy urn.Often in or moreconstant rive again or he exit. than having back second verydistracting make his kindof change n must slow series. ennyRoberts oftensaid turn ast n others-his slow,"of course, ould someplace order most us ntocardiac rrest.H ere gain,he designers ttempt o lull i n t o a k i n g c t i o n i t h e r o o s o o n o o a t e . s o m e i g h - s p e e dh i c a n e s , way n andsetting p a smooth hrottle being emperate hose Pocono, ime.Chicanes exit worthovera second n good examples- an ou pplvhis? Daytona nd SearsPoint Uphill, Downhill and CrestedTurns: Whena rack t must exciting hanges create changesn elevation, particui d d e n . p h i l l n dd o w n h i l l e c t i o n s a r a c k o n ' tp o s e problem nless conjunction a ricky amber hange, d o w ns e c t i o n s s u a l l y r i s e r a d i u s h a n g e r b o t h .D i f f i c u l t i e s ollowed y a downhill. this point where here s a crestor sharp pavement. raking ver will actually e ight bikewillfeel ight s rickybecause downward ressure the bike a crested esultsn ess raction. lessened. middle also rickybecausehe bike A turnwith crest n loss tends o standup and toward he outside. gain, here traction. has he sameaffectas a short patchof off-camber oad. t is xamples? vertically possible. overa crested oa best have he advanmustbrake, uphill ections here downhill bike aster han stopor slow tage hat 5-degree lope, he orce sections.f the hill hat you'rebraking centbetter topgravity ulling down gives back centharderwithoutocking ping actor. usethebrakes adownhill ection situation reversed; hat's them uphill, ownmore asily. other ossibleroblem brakes bikesend o wheelie ver hem. his sn't hill c r e s t e do a d s s have makea turnwhile he rontwheel really problem nless air. still n Straight Sections: These restraight ortions trackwith greatplace o relax Straightaways no urnsor changes affect breathingegularly. iders for a second wo. Check oftenhold heirbreath uring ntense iding,w hichslows heirefficiency. cause muscle ramps hile iding. Lack f oxygen public racetrack,s made ride,w hether t components:amber, adius, levation,eries f turns up of approach straights. ow hese omponents combined etermines safety's consideration, o n l yw h e r e p e e d s to ridinghem. iding etest purpose racetracks test sake well. diff cult.Your ask s unravel ntended y he designers skill; t knowledge youradvanmysteries f the construction y using
amount f suspensionhanges ill entirely vercomehe orces generated y hese vecomponents. ou et
Note: Track Surfaces Most race racksand canyon oads constructedro asphalt ompounds. sphalt often s,mixedwithvarious stances o createdifferent ypes roadsurfaces.R ace racks, or i n s t a n c e ,f t e nh a v e r o u n d - u p h e l l s r g r a n i t e h i p sm i x e d n t o h e asphalt give iresa better urface bite and herefore etter raction. compoundings oftenverydifferent rack track to road,w hich s of the reasons choice asbecome verycritical e l e m e n tn r a c i n g . Otherfactors, speciallyeat, a huge ole n determining what irewill be he best day. overcast ay does allow tracksurfaceo heat may equire differentire han sunny air emperatures same. sphalt urfaces darker color heatup more han ighter-coloredections. his s he caseat SearsPoint Raceway Sonoma, alifornia, here he rack s composite f three four different sphalt ompounds. ires hatworkverywell area tend o slidearound n others. nd ires workwell n he morning, before he rack heated sometimes ill not provide ood raction in he afternoon-and versa. amount f rubber n rackalsomakes difference traction. haveheard t said raction s betterafteran auto cewhere of rubber asbecomembeddedn he asphalt; alsoheard iders t wasnot as good. My own observation hat lap imesare aster good ayer rubber after he rack especially an automobile ace-providingherearen't oose ieces f rubber n he rack surface. Tires asphalt entire echnology nto hemselves l w i l l n o t y d e a l w i t h h e m n h i sw r i t i n g . y h e i m e his, he technology ill already hanged nd herewill compounds-better what now have.
You've got to be able to "read" pavement. can tell whether I want to push ritor not. Thereare a lot of klnds of pavement. Sometrmes he ones that look lrke he ar really gorng to be strcky are lust th oppostte.
CHAPTER
What You Become
Scientist
ider's ltimate eapon riding, nd o be able to observe key o improvement. done. This
ability perform actions remember what he has
Don't Badmouth Yourself Many iders ave badhabitof talking n negatives bout hardenough," shouldhave otten better their iding. didn't well," need he brakes he corner," don't drive hrough his urn."Didn't.C an't.S houldn't ave,D on't, better often. enough.M ost iders se hesenegative ordsmuch much, were nformation boutwhat he didn't right, hings iding? person s riding quite-done, mprove almost-or s o add o those e a l r e a d y o i n gm o r e i g h t h a nw r o n g . correctactionsand drop he incorrect. yo o his?
You Gan't Correct What
Didn't
o n l yw a y o m a k e h a n g e s y o u r i d i n g o c h a n g e have knowexactly done. o ye5; one. what thingson hat ast ap-youdidn'twashyour didn't o Was!:! abouteverything didn't o church, didn't car. nto he rap d i d .D o n ' t what n ife. only there This eaves didn't ooking t what iding trying o correct e n o u g h T u r nT w o , " o u n d s n o t h i n g c h a n g e . d o n ' tb r a k e improve? contain innocent nough, what nformation before he asphalt atch nstead, started raking t brake ven ater han hat"'you know numberhreemarket now have omething change. done knowwhat d o n ' th a v e I t ' ss i m p l e - t h i n k y o u r i d i n g n n e g a t i v e s have omething t was anything change.
thing didn't do is impossible. Thinking egatively bout puts a maze. mirrormazeworks ike hat-it gives nowhere start hinking rom, disorients covering where ou've where haveno reckoning oint. pointof direction opening p maze ries o make f manypossibilities. have rm deaof where came always back o that point race startover. he same track. know what have stable ase romwhich o did. makecorrections n the next Wiltt work you?
Riding Thing-Riding Plus Being Aware What You Are Doing Ouite Another have muchattentiono spend what doing, en-dollarill. iding spend none n quite ast.But f observing hat you're oing, spend dollars n riding on observing ourself what you're oing, have omething lookat andchangewhen return o the pits. don't have o hopeyo an work yourself to feverpitch go fasterfaster iguring ut ca o do it better. develop wonderf l ability o ride observe whatyou're oingat he same ime? You make simply ecide effort to look at what yo ar doing while yo are doing it. Try it. lf already ave record your ap imes he rack, make n effort observe ourself. he irst hingyou'llnoticewill be that wentslowerwhiledoingboth he riding observing. costs attention do both hings once. won't willing o ride hard.Don'tgive You're pending on ooking nda little ess doing.
/ know what I look lrke gotng through the turns lt might look ugly, but it works
go slow tn the first practrce. look at the track and ge th ieel of the btke.
An accurate mental recording of what yo do the track is invaluable.
Take
as a Whole
Now, entire ractice ession he rackand ry pits observe verythingou'redoing.Come ack hink t over. Then, nextpractice ride.You'll otice of two things: went aster, riding work hanbefore. also possible both hings happened-youwent asterwith lesseffort. Ridingwith esseffortmeans hat you're pendingmore yourattention n what's mportant being eady or surprises. don'tknowwhat'scoming p a urn, will ense. f have aken observe happening, have pent lessattention possible urprises.
Costs More Attention Happening Than lt Does
Keep Something From Make Something Happen
you're irstbegin o observe anything, doing t will cost of attention. fter yo becomemorecomfortablewith will spend attention t. t may ake rider year more o decide okay slide he rear ire bit on certain arts track. mightpick fiveseconds doing t. Butbefore oming that decision. hichmay akeonly splitsecond n he rack,he might have een pending lmost attentionn rying o keep he rear w h e e l f r o m p i n n i n g n ds l i p p i n g . Observing here what happened n rackwill make something little earwheel lide predictable riding.A rider observes drop ap imes, alsonoticeswhere sliding what brought t about, somethingo base decision pon-he decide f the slidingwas helpful r if it didn'twork shouldbe stopped altogether. Does make sense?
Observing ls the Basis for Change Wheneverythings rightyou can tell exactlywhich laps were good.
you go out on he rackand una better ap ime,but have observed cause t, will not able strengthen ride actions worked.R iders ho don'tobserve elieve thateverything happened must reproducedxactly nd sameorder or hem o repeat goodperformance. of the ways idersbecome uperstitious. ecause hey don't know what helped, riders keep all factors the same as they about trying were at the time they rode well. oucan keep hings he same,bu onlyby observing hat decidingwhich actorsworked best.Observing what do is the key learning by your mistakes. easily heat ourself of the knowledgeo b gained mistakes. et's ay ou got a urn a little hard wentwide your ine.Normally, would ry back that good
mistake," will earn ow hatdifferent works.T rying esperately anything back the deal nce ou'vemade mistake on't ell you'vemade mistake. iding ut hat mistake ill give except v a l u a b l en f o r m a t i o nb o u t o w o h a n d l s h o u l d e v e r a p p e n g a i n . littlewrong,but at east ou'll Everything do may knowwhat happens-andhat's he starting oint change.R iders method f ridingaftermakingmisbeen nown o adapta completely see what happens. lt will cost takes.R ide mistake happening moreattentiono try o keep omething through with what yo
have started. Do yo
By the Time You Notice To Gorrect lt
hink t witt work?
Mistake lt ls Too Late
have eard his before-it'srue.Oncea mistake asphalt back clock urn, can't occurs n any ap have o make he best it. Figure ut what went to correct You'll next ap. wrong correct
ls the Last Thing You Did That Got Yo lnto Trouble control hange r decisions The oot the mistakes before problem ccurred. made actedupon goodexample f this going a urn oo witJe. he ider herebecauset waswherehe had pointed he bike he ast ime soon madea steering hange.M ost iderswouldsay, didn't enough." hat sn't rue.Actually, kept t pointing traight long. t happenedf he begins rider o realize will ake lot onger problem when noticedt than f he goesback looking steering efore began he urn.He has earlier oint where realize that he was operating from an earlier decision straight, not the later on to turn. Doeshi pply you?
Wrong Explanation for a Decide Upon It Will Also Be Wrong Mistake, Solutions what
This s another asic easonor beinga careful bseruer
Being able to ride is impottant, but riding and observing leads to understanding.
CHAPTER
THREE
The Product Developing Precision with Understanding What s he ine hroughTurnThree?What best through nycorner?Why s one ider's ine differentrom another's?
Years of lmprovement Lines o be easier figureout.A lot racing heory beendevelopedn he last50 yearsof racing, nd hat'sa lot history back deas hat stillhauntus rom he 1950s earlier. n motorcycle, reckoned,h e straightest hrough he urnwas he fastestw ay, "line." hingshave hangedoday. t was rue hen, it's necessarilyrue oday. Physics ndnatural havenot changed-tires ndsuspensionshave. n he earlier,iderswere imited y he sophisticatedechnology. heyhad o take he smoothest, traightest, shortest hrough urnsbecausehe hard-rubber compounds madeabrupt hanges non-compliantuspensionsf the early direction, raking rough rippled urfaces. ver-enthusiasticraking while eaned othercurrent-dayidingpossibilitiesimply ut of State of the ail? Good enough to win laconia in 1965.. . .
question. D u n l o p p o r tE l i t e sn 1 9 5 O owned probably gone the sle f n 198Os awasaki PZ wouldhavewon he race. hat's street ikewith street ires oday. Tire s u s p e n s i o ne c h n o l o g y m a d e p o s s i b l eo r i d e m a k e t w o r k .R i d i n g t y l e s more han ine hrough urn r a m a t i c a l l yi n c e e 9 5 0 s , changed o u t d a t e di d e r n f o r 80s.A fresh ook mation rom hosedays tillconf of us echnology help rider nformation ridebetternow. Definition: A product something that is produced; it is the end result when all the work is done. A product is what your mind. You can turn over hold in your hand-or to see if it can be produced better or differently, corrected or left alone.
Product of the Turn "product." t is hat pointwhere A turnor series turns say, donewith hat urn now-here's did his ime, here'swhathappened. whatcan do improve simplest ay recognize spot s o remember here werebrave nough o think, could quicker." hrough Wlren yo have enough attention left to reviewyour progress, nd the turn is no longer affecting you, !hg! is when you're done with
it. Haveyo experiencedhis?
At that point, otal everything he urn is neatlywrapped know what eitherworked didn't.Somepartsof the productw ereassembledorrectly-maybe w e r e n ' t . h i sp r o d u c t location rack, hich example ight point hree eet rom he outside dge next "that patch" a s p h a l t . h i sp o i n t he rack e m i n d s o f e x a ct l y h e r e o u ' r e nished ith he urn or hat ap.
Other Factors Other actors, esides ocation n he rack, mportant partsof the product:w hat gear ou're yourspeed t hat point, our b o d yp o s i t i o n n h e b i k e .U s u a l l y o m e m o u n t l e a n n g l e . h ea m o u n t control have ver he bike. steering ction are-or nottaking. hrottle ction. raction. our mpressionsf what did and well t workedout.And a comparison this pass hrough he with yourearlier asses. of these, ndmore, part yeqrproduct for that turn. he quality your product is determined by all of what happened and how it worked.Any thoughts his? Note: You use that product develop a set known circumstances that can be thought over and changed when necessary. sub-product a definite set of known circumproduct for that turn. stances that lead to
tionon tion on he rack. here s no universal roduct sub-product-they will slightly ifferent eachbike and ider. our product known eachbikeand destination along a known route. knowwhere supposedo supposedo knowwhere you're oing product place going. rack, product with he bestproduct wins. sub-products are he result f pre-determined pre-decided action, ased your knowledge f the parts that urn, yourknowledge f y o u rm a c h i n e r o u n d End back to beginning.
Pavementpatch
Product s where yo are done with the turn. t is place ou know.
A Sub-Productalerts Sub-Productalerts that yo your Product. the right trac
Rough
are on see t.
ot
RP eads o another going o there.
Yo ocateanother ocate another Sub-Product Referhrough he turn. e n c eP eP o i n t o g u i d e
Each know
gw h e r e Y o u b u i l dc d c o n f i d e n c e k n o w i n gw o n t h e t r a c kw kw i t h t h e R P s .
You becomeable become able to "see" the turn before through e v e nb nb e g i n o
David Emde performing pounds bike. 6'3" tall, his "plan" is different than yours.
Your Line ls Your Plan From alking o most iders,t iders,t easy o believehat believehat once find r i g h t l i n e " f o r a t u r n .e .e v e r y t h i n g m a g i c a l l y o u t O K your imeswill imeswill mprove ecause this knowledge.t isn't rue. I onceexperimented onceexperimented showing thers he "right line" through he urns f race rack. hadstudents had studentsollow ollowme me apafter ap after ap moderate peeds s did precisely same hing precisely same place n he rackeach rackeach ap. student asked o repeat procedure been hown o him. him. never ound student could exactly. ddie awson bserved same hingwhile hing while nstructing Galifornia Superbike School students t LoudonOnly iderout of 25 was able o reproduce is afterbeing afterbeing hown. Actuallywo riders wereable wereable o do t. other 12year son,who son,who Eddie ffered to sponsor fterwards. l've placedmyself n the samesituation samesituationand and askeda askeda better rider show his "lines" around he course. he course Ontario M o t o rS p e e d w a y ,.,. 1 m i l e s urns;herider hen-25Occ champion, avid mde, ho unbeatable vear n 1/q-liter machines. e went around he rack goodpractice goodpractice ace s caref llyobserved llyobserved doing n hopes f f nding somedeep, somedeep, dark iding ecrets. I did ind out. oundout oundout hata hat a rider's line is plan going through turn. Hisplan based ponwhat ponwhat doeswell doeswell what doesn't well. observed, now, rider's will be based strengths weaknesses. he result f how strengths weaknessest weaknessest together. example,iders example,iders he maximum mount lean a n g l e h eb e b i k eh eh a s o o f f e rw rw i l l u s u a l l y e s i g nh nh e i r l i n e " t o u s e e a n angle o theiradvantage. theiradvantage.heir heir line" often ight o the nside f the turn. contrast, rider does of the ground learance a v a i l a b l eo h i mw mw i l ld l d e s i g n i s l i n e " ( p l a n )s o h a t d o e s haveo spend much eaned ver o themaximum. will nish steers o o n s p o s s i b l e ,t r a i g h t e nh e m a c h i n e m o v e t u r n v e r t i c a l l y p o s s i b l e . r i d e r s i l ld l d e s i g nh n h e i r u r n sa sa r o u n d
When the Superbike School was at Loudon I let 24 riders follow me around the track so they could se my line. Then /followed them to frnd out how they were dotng. Twentythree of them go it wrong from what I could see.
The thing about riding on the back of a motorcyc/e wr:th someone else drivrng drivrng rs that thev never do it exactly like would and it scaresme scares me
lf someone pulls me I change my line tn that turn and see it works / have films of me racing wrth rrders and I'll pull them five bike lengths off turn and still he us keep on doing th same thrng lf the other guy's plan rs better you can fit it rnto yours and beat him
Learning a Line very nstructional Following nother ider watching im. f his plan is better esigned determine plan have it is better. handle turn hanyours, racksituayourown abilitieso better andle ome racksitualearned ow t i o n s . h e a l u e o l l o w i n g n o t h e ri d e r - i f h e r e a n y - i s n u n d e r s t a n d iding ecause plan b e i n g b l e t oe oe x p a n d tc o u n t s . i n e a r n i n gh gh e i n e ; i t s e a r n i n g p l a n t h a tc
Basic Goal turn with Yourbasic Yourbasicgoal n any urn s getting through increased rnph, decreased time spent in it and adequate control will carry ooking or drive out of of the bike. timewith shortest mount timewith straight n the next urn down n control f the muststill muststill greatest mount f speed.Of O f course. bestproduct. actors f speed nd ime balance bike. ndstill comeout of urn aster han before ndstill Yet it possibleo comeout m a k i n gm i s t a k e si k e h a t ' nS u c k i m e .T .T u r n s a nS decrease
Turn Balancing balrom a urn requires Getting he bestproduct f roma against speed balance where ancing: mostcommon mostcommonmistake hrough amount f time t takes them come into he urns aster nd aster, ridersmake ridersmake s into turn faster than it easier at he same peed r slower. is to come out faster. Going in too fast ca Gost you your drive asterentrance peed o b able carry asterentrance coming out. You've ast, imes.Going imes.Going n through he exit the urn o improve e x i ts ts p e e d . m i d d l e f h e u r n ,w i l l o w e r n then ouling worth of attention. dollarsworthof Turn balancing hour MPH) o spend manymiles have Figure particularine. f spend particularap or any particularine. on anyparticularap end. d o n ' th a v e h e m b egi nn ingf the ur n, unwiselyt ime.Don't cost Excess peed he wrong exit have ncreasedpeed ncreased peed aster. chance way o the next.Don't carry turnwill turn will be added o the speed ;u s e u r n b a l a n c i n g p r o d u c e b e g i n n i n g h e u r n ;u burn yourcorrect roduct: Increased MPH, decreased ime spent turn and th bike still under control at the turn exit.
Find
Product Let'sassume ind he product? Let'sassume
have idden
piece f tarmac. ouhave tudied he radius hanges neered ChapterO ne, Road Ride"). ou're camber hanges picious know hey'remeant o challenge urns n race rack you.With his nformation have good every your bike. product affects become ware f what yourmachine y applying nformation experience riding. have starting oint, place n he rack o workwith, correct ndchange,o makedecisions bout. Having a product mind for a turn is like having road map and destination for a trip. You'dhave veryhard me getting yourdestination didn'tknowwhere t was. can't from NewYork o Kansas ityunless knowwhereKansas ity Obtaining precise roduct urn s he rststep product.H aving no product is like o improve deciding having destination. Do ou gree? Having your nd point (product) well known, even in wide open sweepers, creates confidence.
'@
'**
.-ltt ,|&r,
'."6
End to Beginning mustwork rom he back o beginning f the urn product. Deciden advance, efore nto he urn, to establish product going exit. must able o "see" where pieces o keep enter Thisenables turn n yourmind parts the urnworking oward hat product. overview allows product r destination. f gure each tepnecessaryo arrive become opelessly by continuing "look" t
go out and set my plan an a lot of trmes he ftrston ts the best. f lt doesn't feel rrght I change rt maybe every ap
attentionmore spend knowwhere ou're oing, ou Once he urn,such slippage problemshat come wisely passing. ou'llhaveplenty spare hange eft o handlehem.Otherwise, destination, will always spending much without product of the urn.Keeping attention n what going o happen product in mind h eu n c e r t a i n t y . have product, whether t is perfect not, Once progress. changes make n use t as yardsticko measure the urnwill change product omewhat. will beable o tellwhether ncrease speed hrough thosechanges working not. product will change lightly-or erhaps greatdeal you're turn. s hree eetback makea change beginner. experiencedider previous roduct MPH aster. beginner's roduct from gearhigher nd iveMPH asterduring change O eet, somethingo shoot he rack. product gives course always back blow he urn, for-somethingo change. h r o u g h t w e l le n o u g h . g g r e s s i v er s l o w e r r o d u c t
Locate the Product Where and enter a turn is totally decided urn he what where the product is. Only arelywill well n he end. way t ooks he approach ndhave t work nexperiencediders ommonly egin he urn oo earlybecause have o product in mind.Even seen oing Thisopens mistakes uncertainty. door product is made stages, one step at a time. These development marked y sub-products. Sub-products stages f similar a l s oh a v e l o c a t i o n h e r a c k n do t h e r a c t o r s position, mount f control, overall roduct. Lean ngle, peed, ndicators tell steering ndmoreare he sub-products product. you'reprogressingoward Medium-speed slower-speedurnswill producemore don'thave he ime o make sub-products than aster urns. mustmake hem simple s possible changesn aster urns, nd leave ourself nough ttentiono do t right.Usually,a st urns d i d h e yw o u l d n ' t e h a v em u l t i p l e a m b e r r e le v a t i o nh a n g e s - i f f a s t u r n s .S l o w m e d i u m - s p e eu d r n so f t e nh a v e h e s e i n d s changes, often equire ramatic teeringhanges.oryouo reach he desired roduct, these hangesmust made precise laces he rack.These sub-products-places that require a change order to reach your product for that turn. Changes gears, teeri n g , h r o t t l e , r a k i n g , o d yp o s i t i o n n d h e p o i n t sw h e r e coursemarkers sub-products. Any xamples?
Point
Entry Just as
product
preciseocation
he rack,
change he urnoccurs. his s sub-product. bankedurns, entrypointshouldalways e designedo use he bankingo bestadvantage oming ut u r n .W h a th a p p e n s a n d h e b i k ew h e n h e bankinglattens always sub-product, change. reciselyocate he p o i n t y o u rm a j o r t e e r i n g h a n g e o i n g he urn have something adjust, point o think rom. e m p h a s i ss o u s e h e b a n k i n g y o u ra d v a n t a g e . a n h i n ko f t a s c o n n e c t - a - d o ti"d i n g . nto" urns soon, a r e o m m i t t e do m a x i m u m speed nd eanangle or a greater ortion f the urn,which eaves feweroptions corrections, can'tor shouldn'tm ake p a s s i n g ,r o u n d i n g o n bu m p s , t e e r i n g , changes your ine. gear hanges ll becomematters great oncern throttle smoothly. oing urns oo soon your becomemoredifficult product well you're ned, indicator do not have slightlyost.Not knowing where you're going in a turn invites nto idinghe urn i n t o o s o o n . T h e r a c k e s i g n e ro o l s way t ooks t b e g i n n i n ga t h e rh a n h ew a y t w i l lw o r k end. Working ut he product sub-product provides map hrough the urn.
Faster s Deeper looking : make major Here's nother a urn-and ncrease s t e e r i n gh a n g e t h es a m e o i n t o i n g pointyou passed n point-youwill wide speed n c r e a s e c e n t r i f u g a l f o r c ef . b i k e a bit oo b e c a u s ef wideat he exit, believe went oo ast.Actually,he remedy wish deeper eforemaking steering hange. he faster have to enter it to increase through a turn, the deeper your
speed at th
exit.what will change yo do this?
n deeper nd aster, steering hangewill need o be moreabrupt, nd he bikewill notwant o turn aseasily sbefore. pointwhere a bit slower ight trick o going n deeper must earn o restrain ourself. s Kenny make steering hange. Roberts ays, Learn ast." f it right, ou'll able slow a s t e rr o m h a t p o i n t hroughhe urn. bike an straighter down, ommittedo maximum angles speed, o p product moreeasily. he mpoftant adjust speed part knowingwhere went nto he urnso hat have omething mportant c h a n g e n da d j u s t . h i s s a s u b - p r o d u c t ,
Racer's Tale Another mpoftant oint he alse dea must all he rack have o not.Perhaps exit a urn,whether comes he old corneringheory hatsays begin he urnwide exit t aswide possible.Wherever comes rom, t notonly sn'talways
How? ou let the bike wide at the exit, iust because there is give track left over, a false impression you're going fast as oolyourself can. believingt can't done f a s t e r . y o u ' r e g u r i n gh e u r n s product,you dialing informationou've toredup rom he o decide f anychanges be made. your information says yo went all the way to the edge the track last time through, it makes it diffieult to decide faster this time. Youknow bikewill wider f aster, you'll track.Yourproduct will change. ouwon't conf dent hat it can be done.wiil t work vou?
Hold That Line emedy or his commonerror s hold the bike tightest line possible on he exit so ou ca an accurate idea where that speed takes he track. Where he product of you. thatspeed holdyour down of a urn there s stilleight of track eft, couldsafely ssume faster. the next ime keepeverything samegoing he urn, u s i n g h esame but ncreasing speed, nd s t i l lh a v e v e e e t track eft, point don't ool yourself even aster by usingup he rackwhen isn'tnecessary. By handling exits most urns n hisway, begin to establish veryaccurate roduct an good sub-products. you're engineering y o u r i d i n g n de q u i p m e n t ,e c i d i n g n he urn product, thenmaking djustments improve being taken n by he rack,making seless hanges becausehere's opportunityo do goodexample f being ucked n entrance f a urn old rapof thedecreasing-radius urn. because can, t h e nh a v e p l a y p o i n t t b e g i n so t i g h t e n . erious atch-up t Holding speed he entrance give exact nformation need o possible. hat's aster-if hinkingnow, sucking ourself making error.W here ry t?
YourResults products sub-products give a destination accurately ark he placeswhere make hanges road. hey process ar your ay breaking ow smallerparts understand change. dence smoothnessncrease knowwhere ou're oing what when here.Y our basic equirements a rider products observe here subproducts are,what do at hosepoints remember make them.
Most riders se whole track upon exiting turns.
Holding a tight line, still having track left over, lets yo know it can be done even faster.
CHAPTER
FOUR
Programming Your ComPuter Eyes Through much smoke-tinted shield hrough What well ride. can'tcount he number objects to do with countwhat more he rack, spot ook, he more more staring t he back yourhand. stopat any alsoapplieso the race rack. see. whileyou're acing r ridingdown look or hours what's be seen. can'tstop gaze. road, decidewhat look what s mpoftant ndwhat help what what see? is not? iding? hinder chapter s about eeing orrectlyo improve riding.
Where Ar
You?
to learn The reason yo look at points on the track going' On any pieceof road are and where yo where obtain nformation boutwhere look n ront aid, with he nformation. any iders decidewhat o where don't ailed ook."What where rider s more roll the hrottle irst."Let's estate look, want to where control:
Reference Points where use eference points find already know point a spot or obiect of which track. efer o this location. lt is something hichclearlymarks place. object or information. wo reference points present betterpictureof yourexact ocation. xample:ou're your Ocation.hree r moregive MainStreet-that's looking a store MainStreet.
numbers whichdirectionhey un-that's hree. decidewhich side street he store on-that's our.You ollow numbers reach store. hat's iveor more eference points that would use n nding address. n race rack r road d o h es a m e h i n g . don't have enough reference points to know where are-you're
lost! Any examptes?
Reference Points {RPs)certain reminder where are; basic your building blocks plan.
"{
nts yea h. you Reference might not thtnk about them bu You'vego to us them. Just little things on the track remember-rt helps to pu it all together.
situation a motorcycle t speed, nd Thingshappen road s very mportant ecause changes onstantly. here ale, don't know where course action. determines also don't know what you're supposed to be doing. Your ocaplotted n nches nd eet-no city tion n race rack road decide he rack. t's up street igns blocks-and here what o do when yo reach hem. what reference points to use mustdecide.
allow Familiar look "around" turn, well ahead of yourself
What to Use as Reference Points
An RP givee yo information. lt signals where, much, change what
,W
l,''
:#
l&ir
YourbestReference oint something ither he rack orveryclose o it: patchof asphalt, painted ine,a spot,a crack, urbar rom he racksurface ing,anythinghat doesn'tmove.O bjects must easy find o takeyourattention way rom he rack.Your usable. t times mustuse he edge the rack,but a point hat's foot n rom he edge better ecause keeps attention n he rack. i m i tw i t ha n R P h a t ' s edge, s t i l lh a v e over.G oing o the edge the rackmeans oing o the imit o theedge leaving ourself margin or error. isn'tnecessary the rackwhenever ossible ntil comfortable oing must hangoff" bike that must all he rack s ike -only do t when becomes ecessary comfortable. vision choose o lookat should e your pathof travel.D on'tchoose omething s reference oint along just becauset's here be he rightRP or easy see. t might your doesn'tw ork or he speed ou're becauset's oo i s i o no o m u c ho r y o u ' l l o t h e r a n d , o n ' tn a r r o w traveling. n where are. the racksurfaceo have wideenough ocation directly n your travel stablish ocationn relation track engthways. Ps long hesideestablish the width the rack. bottom ine or an RP does it work?
to Use A Reference Point A reference oint s not merely omething easily near track, he reference point must mean something to when passor approach it. Every point mustcommunicate message you, ike, This where begin ooking for my urn marker," l'm o the right this oo much a bump, This where begin o the eft it I'm alright." urn."Reference points are reminders where what action must
take. Canyo apply his?
You'llneed wo or more eference points accurately yourself n he rack.You've o knowwhere he RPs relate p o s i t i o n t h e m .T h i s sound imple-minded, narrow attentiono oneobject, t becomes only become victimof target fixation. You the RPbecause don't h a v e n y t h i n g l s e o d o .T h i so c c u r s panic ituation nd happen anywhere n a race rack. musthave nough o hat arget fixation oesn't ccur. When have ufficient a urnor on rack, he scenemoving n ront appears move moothly, wide-screen 70mmmovie. oo ew he scene ooks old-timemovie, ouncerking long.Having Ps watching slide frame-nicepicture,but where you go from there?
f'
Having too few RP causes target fixation. Enough Ps "open up" track, making it appear larger, costs your attention. less
road down must doubtyou'veheard are.This s good nformation-you where where ou're oing, rack.Looking close thatsecondRP o locate ourself ind t. bikewon'thelp
Look Ahead fo Reference Points second; At 60 mph you're raveling t 88 feet second icks second. you'rehurtling hrough pace 176 eet he nextmove, head time, you're ready veryquickly, you'llmake mistake. ooking head your eference points prepareor he nextmove here sub-products gives smoothly. surprises so everything however. seen iders ooking aken This dea an were r o a dw h i l e o u n d i n g i g h t4 o - m p h u r v e . 1 5 0 e e td o w n holes.S till, curbing o be seen n ront them, ignoring holes, were ooking t he curbing same other iders n 2O eet n rontof them.Bothof theseextremes until heywere slow produce ncertainiding hrough unworkable; cornering.
Where to Look determine here o lookwhileyou're actorswill help riding rracing. believe ook, slower urther head speed, believe ou're ook, he aster you're oing; he closer yourself going.Look fa enough ahead to avoid accelerating the scene, the track. that yo lose your feel for where ou re so where tolook.wittyou t? have a choice Wath Ps effect opening up the Having noughRPs as oo far ahead track, making it appear larger. When ou rackseemso narrow. f this begins appening,t is close o the bike, more f them hat urn y o u rs i g n a l e i t h e r h a n g e r section f track. T h e s e g u i d e l i n e s .d j u s t h e R P s o h e s c e n e m o v i n g enough o keep he rack the rightspeed you, "opened car. f it breaks having nly Ps Having easily have nother don't anywhere. doesn'tw ork, works.W ith onlyone eference point' or car, use he yourattentions ixed necessary. becomesoo valuable rack road, t's because don'thave nother on one point over-use valuable becomes ready o use.That much nformation nd mightbegin taring t depend knowwhere onger ets when t become lightly yourattention ecomingixed what o do.
Stepping Stones yourstepping tones o the products Reference points will produce sub-products series f urns. hese ittle steps ead o the major hanges will make he bikearound urns f a s t e r w i t hm o r e dence. i g n a l p o i n t s n h e r a c kw h e r e w i l lm a k e h e s e h a n g e s .
Concentration On he trackor road,concentration a smooth low, or chain of events hat moves rom one o anotherwithout a break.Reference points parts thatchain, ne inkdepending pon he next strength nd continuouslow. f one inkbreaks,he entire hain tays broken ntil t canbe repaired replaced. have section f the trackwith oo ew RPs, chainof concentration ill break. Reference points are the building blocks concentration. Let's back o the dea yourattention muchof it have, en-dollar ill.Whenyourconcentration good, ou spend just enough f it on each so hat knowwhere what o going.W hen Thiskeeps steady have oo ew RPs n an area,m ost yourattention ill spent n rying o fix his situation. points places the track that yo do not know, or underyour attention. Having noughRPs ets stand, will occupy most spend r i g h ta m o u n t attention neach ne o nformation need. ouhave nough over o buyother hings, make mall hanges your iding willhelp a bit aster leanover st a bit more.Everything do on the track takes some attention. When don'thave nough attention right o that area will-or can-break concentration. Someof the strangesthingshappenwhen have break yourconcentration. ider old me hatevery ime concentration b r e a k s b e g i n sh i n k i n g f a e a k i n ga u c e t h o m e . o u rm i n d wander leakingaucet, whenyour concentrationreaks will notice otherthings ome ntoyour mind.Oo o his?
Concentration -The Twist There's twist to this subjectof concentration; en you've you're ooking anything particular. doesn't eem o reference points just blend nto he scene n ront you.Whenasked, "What at n urns?" wo or hreeof the op riders n he world have aid, don't eally at anything." ut his reallywhat hey mean? Whenyourconcentration good, ou spend nickels dimeson he RPs none themcaptures attention. n example this majordifference etween iders heirability o learn
It's mportant to prck up good RPs.especially on the exrt
I like to go ta new tracks-rt's fun. The irstyear I raced we went to the tracks that everybody raced and ljust drd OK At the new tracks though. was right there frrst or second
it in ive aps, thers an'tdo t in 5OOaps.Bothguys Some iders o by reference points; the op riders have o learnwhere hey your avorite oad he second beat riders rom he rest actor hat separates them here!! a c c u r a t e l yo t h e p o i n t h e y a n f i e l d h a t h e yp i c ku p R P s u i c k l y "whole cene" ithout aving pick he ndividual Ps.
Enough Reference Points ca see he "wholescene" Onceyo haveenoughRPs, comfortably ithouthaving o stare he RPs ndividually.his s your g o a l , n d h e n d i v i d u a lu i l d i n g l o c k s scene RPs. your relocate back will have o centration ecomes yourself ith he amiliar you. restore concentration sool3bs ossible: That's pick up he thread back to the reference points ou know RP n the area, t'll cost ou don't have concentration. hrottle. hesitate nd back rack
Not Read Past This Next Paragraph Until Yo Have Completed th ExPeriment Find a stopwatch or wall clock with a second hand try this eye-opening experiment. Do it again have ridden the after track looking for RPs.
a stopwatch. 2. Sit down n comfortable hair. hink a race rackyou're amiliar Now,close eyes he rack. un hrougha complete watch with.Start did he ast ime hrough t exactly from memory.Try rack imingyour memory f rode here. rode again. Now,close eyes
Memory you're
most iders,
memory
ime"will be either
30 seconds, added or 30 seconds youractual ap times, means he same hing-notenough eference points. slowi d e r ' s m o v i e " n c o m p l e t e h e i n d sh i m s e l f t a r - g a z i n g places no RPs. attention areas f the rack does know. ln he very ast apsituation rider tillhasn't enough RPs, o he lits rom one o the next quickly ecausehose what doesknow.Having sufficient RPs gives a better sense time because no have points mark your motion around track. Yourattention oeseither o the places knowverywell, to the place don'tknowverywell. t becomes plitbetween two.Thiscosts a lot of attention can'tspend other hings.
Find he Lost RPs Here's easymethod o find where don,t have noughRPs. ou anytime. Close eyes. "movie" the rack s 2. Caref lly un hrough were iding. "Ride" hrough your memory. complete 4. Openyour eyes nd draweach on a separate heet paper,m arking he reference oints ou're each urn. 5 . M a k e n o t e w h a te a c h m e a n s y o u . i k e : , B r a k i n g Point," Steering hange,"Location Track." Bump,,,,ExitMarker,,, "Product," ,movie,,, Close eyes gain backover
noticing places ou hesitate. blank,w here scene oggy, where hurry hrough too ast.Each these ituationsndicates have few reference points at these ocations. 7. Nowmake note your drawings eachplace have blank otherproblem ituationrom No. 6 above. 8. FindmoreRPs or hoseareas next ride track. his method o f nd yourweakspots-and trong points well, t is your memory f the urns rely when ride. This s how knowwhere ou're oing.Knowing here going part
he thread of concentration. Wi t work?
That's the Twist must o the pointwhere see hewholescene in ront withouthaving spend lot of attention point. You're uilding scenewith ndividualeference points. yourconcentrations ost, back o the RPs hat know build he scene
The Big Twist A lot of guys I see out there seem to forget about the whole rest of the track. They ar paytng to much attention to that one line.
Goncentrationand ReferencePoints
gaining oncentration The rick o using have to look at something. Youreyeswork ocusing n someobject plane s n ocus, ike n movie someplane, everything ooking t only screen. area f screen, ut he entire screens n ocus. Anotherpoint s that when your eyesmove, hey do so short object another a butterfly. stoppingmovements.hey lit from without n anything, sweep the scene ecomes blur.Try t. he rack n ront A rider's roblem s hat wants o of concentration, lowing a wholescene,o maintain steady eyes on'twork hatway. f hestares t one eference u n n e l i s i o n . u tb e c a u s e f long, e'll xperience wist. eyeswork,he has o lookat some pecifiching!There's
Good RPs help keep a steady flow of concentration for a rider. Yo spend (use) RP to save attention.
rr-rl' "-
:
,ilt *:t*-"
.-,.,. '..1*',,-:4:.
"ffi
Se Fast withoutexperido he op ridersmanageo ride will help ou practice encing roblems seeing? ere's drill proper eeingechniques. 1 Find wall hat s entirely isible o you. your head. eyes, corners y moving wall. middle 2. Focus eyes n a spot n move attention, Remainocused hat spot, youreyes,o the upper ight-hand orner f the wall. Still ocusingon that spot,moveyour attention o different other places he wall. ooking t spotbut areaware wall. areas f attentiono the 5. Still ocusing hat spot,move
The Whole Picture can see the whole scene while still looking place spot! probably oticed hat during his experiment wanted o moveyour eyes spot were ocused spot whichyour attention gone.T hisexperiment ecomes asier ith practice. practicemoving attention round, hile ooking spotor area, you're riving o the races sitting a chair. skill hatcan ake ime o develop haven'tm astered already. Now,when wholescene n have o points n realize scenemust wellknown you. need the reference points he scene o make scene. don'tknow the RPs eyeswill hunt or somethinghat s amiliar nd ose wholescene ffect. Being ble o see he rack n ront a whole cene m a k e s i d i n gm u c he a s i e r n db r i n g s oncentration f t alters. see n he drillabove,t is where attention directed, where ou're pending e n - d o l l a ri l l , h a t ' sm u c hm o r e m p o r t a n t thanwhatyou're ooking Yourattentionmust spenteconomically, ooking t whole cene ather a t o n e h i n g s s p e n d i n gt v e r y getting nterest ackon your nvestment. wisely, us have practice. Will yo
This s the way see lt most of the time-the overall scene That's when things are gorng nght everything is worktng nght
ry t?
Yo begin to understand a turn with RPs. Then pieces turn become clearer. Finally, the whole scene is viewed a steady flow of action. spend least most.
,",.. '!
CHAPTER
FIVE
Timing Putting Things ln Order
The first couple of practice laps eel fast, oo fast.an then it slows down from there.
Timing really asnothing o do with yoursense f time. t has do with taking the correct action at exactly he correct place the track. Thewhole dea timing s pull ogether eference points, products on he sub-products so hey're sefulto track.Doing he correct hing wrongplace n he rackproduces poor esults. nowing hat o do, but notexactly here o eally foul up rider.
Timing Lesson I learnedmy esson bout iming from riding kateboards. was ryingdesperatelyo make "kick" urn,which s he 8O-degree yourself ramp make o downafter iding side f pool. fell least hundredimes rying t. Finally,discoveredhat he boardwould unlesst was going t certain lowspeed. f I ried ast-tooearly-lcouldnot make he urn. slow-too ate-and he b o a r dw o u l db e g i n l i d i n g a c k w a r d s e n o u g ho m a k e h e u r nv i r t u margin f speed wouldallow he ally mpossible.here a very he momentum couldstay board o be urned, stillkeep down. continue
How You Let Of my motorcycleiding, eeping Itook a veryclose basic mindwhat 'd earned skateboard, discovered mistakes making sa rider.M anyother idersweremaking he same mistakesor he same easons. he brakes, xactlywhere ln turnswhere make greatdifference your them when begin teering smoothness.hough could make hatchange n manydifferent ays,
urn, eaving can inish he braking nd throttleoff. 2. You begin he urn,with inish he braking fter th rottle. apply hrottle. can inish he braking,hen urn Y o u a n i n i s h h e b r a k i n g , n d h e nc r a c k h e h r o t t l e slightly. 5. Youcan nish braking fter apply begin o turn hrottle. 6. Youcan nish he braking fter crack throttle
What Happens ln Number above, orks almostbottomed braking, when up on he brakes orksextend nd bike stands" bike he urn, cornering forces ompress orksagain. t nto he urn hard, he orks little. compress ery ar, hen comeback bike going down, hangingraction angle. changes steering nd reduceshe stabilityof the bike. In Number above, down, when the hrottleback comes backdownagain he urning forces.H ere's same ituation gain-loss traction stability. ln Number hree, compressedrom he braking, thencomes when release brakes, downagain c o r n e r i n go a d s , upagain a p p l y h e h r o t t l e . h eo t h e r examples rovide imilar ossibilities. nto he correctly, must ime he braking nd turning o hat he bikestays ven, going point down, le brakes. oumust et th brakes t the exactmomentyour fork s compressed enough speeds ndcorneringoads will undergoinghrough he urn.Apply he hrottle extension doesn't hange, changeshe east mount ossible. will allow he urnwithout up and downmotion. f your iming'soff, omplain b i k eh a n d l e s o o r l y , o s s i b l yh i n k i n g shocks gone.Somexamples?
Your Timing Target Your arget, r sub-product n which brake succession,s iming the braking, steering and throttle that fork and shock extension are kept as even as possible. Fast "esses" compound turns. When wo or more turns strung ogether cannot akenwide open, iming is quick ight/left left/right ombination,i me he steering important. change o hat he hrottle s rolled ff rightbeforehe ransition side
slightly,m aking steering asier oversteer) ront change ips because f decreased angle rake).Making hat steering hange urn keeps compressing suspensiono its maximum oint done ight,even downexcessively. the bike rom bobbing W h e nd o n ew r o n g , h eb e s t b i k ew i t h p o o r h o c k s h a n d l e handling ike n he worldwill handle oorly.
Roll-Off Time ride, he harder steering ecomes, speciaster getsteering, ally high-speedesses." ollinghe hrottle middle f two turns, anactually again n ting backon he "push" hrough have roll at the exit through aster han more han back nagain hould the wo urns. he olling ff onlya small raction that completely second, iming until a l l .A v o i d n a p p i n gh e h r o t t l e n a n d time, is perfect.
Tiredness
Loss of Timing
lose is your become tired, the first thing When eference timing. This s another easont's so mportant have major teps products wellestablished.ub-products, points timing (POTI. alsopoints changesn a urn, timirlg. Someonly ellyouwhere Not all RPs repoints are, ignaling upcoming hange POT/sub-product. won'thave o slowdown what o d here, knowwhere probably on't willing becomeired. muchwhen his pply you? wait untilyou're harpagain. faster, ut
Timing
Road
Ride
only roadaffect iming dramatically. changes camber have o fit that nto controls orrectly, have o work w e r ec o m i n g p nstance, adius hanges well. changes should would have use he brakes rst, where banked n hat urn han twill suspension compress know hat perfectly, would banking. with hat s similar suspensions aking he banking he brakes you go he smoothest ntry. the oad rom he centrifugalo rce.T hiswill give turn takes over You back out of the brakes iust as he cornering brake oo hard suspension. compressing banking, suspenbikewill riseup when speed down, bankhe brakes oo soon sionwill unload. ing, he suspension compress. second these he better evils t offersa better ractionSituation. oing t right, course,
ln off-camber turns: little time in 1. Spend them as possible. 2. Design your plan forces pullaround yo outside the turn.
Off-Gamber Timing t is better o have he bike off-camber ight possible n wheels o keep t moving o the outside f the urn oo yourcontrol perations you're n much. must he east camber amount n hat part urn.Traction eterioratesapidly sections, ompared ith ator banked ections. olling ff he hrottle veryhard n off-camber an effect imilar o that rolling n hard.t oads w h e e lm o r e h a n h eo t h e r - i n h i sc a s e h e r o n t - a n d c a u s eh e r o n t slide ut. i d e rm i g h t p u z z l e d - h eo l l e d off he hrottle still hrew away.R olling ff usually elps through urnswhenhe'sbeengoing oo ast.Keepinghe weighteven n wheels y cracking pen he hrottle, ot accelerating slowing, ives camber urns. bike ts best raction n your off-camber, o b i k e s a c c e l e r a t i n gr s l o w i n gh e e a s t m o u n t o s s i b l e . will preventransferringoo muchweight eitherwheel.
Ghanging the Track with Timing a section trackwherea dip compresses suspension, it is sometimes ossibleo timeyour oll-on point.Ground learance ncreases b i k e s a c c e l e r a t i n ge c a u s e s u s p e n s i o n extending; actic stopsome the bobbing p anddown hat occurs dippedparts the rack. iming canchange he rackconditions or better r worse. he POT ight work-if don't,
Products
Timing
y o u rg o a l s t i l l K e e pn m in d h r o u g h l l h i s overall product urn. stillwant he maximum peed, drive oming out, want o be up or he next urn. makeparts the urn battle he war. work,but ose he drive omingout,you've Atlof he RPs ndPOT/sub-products mustmake he product etter fancy iding hat'sslow iding.Sometimes better have one shape directlyhrough roughsection f trackwobbling than o figurea smoother-but lower-way round t.Yourmeasure progresss whether r yourproduct is mproving. this is where Points timing are sub-products, kindof action changes are made. Every lacewhere you're n a urn.Upshifting n point timing, especially where straight-away,lorn stance,s POT,hough t's ess mportant products allows steer n a urn.Becomingamiliarw ith your understand here loafon he rest the rackbecause hese actsdown where don't. have workhard having paper, rwell memorized, won't besaying hings ike, which trouble n he esses." ou'll eewhichPOT reworking fouling
your product.
Whatwill change
do this?
Timing in Perspective Riverside perspective,et's ook Turn iming goodexample ecause undreds f Raceway Riverside, alifornia. t's he mostcomplex urn know riders restillbaffled Each change in the track requires the rider adjust his bike at exactly right place. lf not, the handle bike will seem poorly,
7h
'%t
7h ztiziit) 'q// Viiti4
Turn Six, Riverside TurnSix s partof a series eginning ith TurnFive diagram). Five aster han Six, most iders rake down gear oming ntoFive.t looks erynarrow approach, ut as they're oming of it,most iders hey've one hrough slow. c o m e s n o r a n n s t a n t s h e y i d eu p h e h i l l Turn where have he brakes gain.M ost iders verusehe brakes here, hey're oing slow, hen on he again. thatpoint, seems he oo muchagain, o off. Now seems slowagain, o hey back gas. of the urn,but he bike'sheadingo the outsideoo ast,aiming dirt and heArmcobarrier. ere's nother oil-off.N ow he bike's straight-away backonto he gas.This roughway o hrough urn! Here's happened-coming TurnSix, he rider irst notices hat he hasoverbraked d going slowbecause has ailed he rack banked t his point. he has advantage banking, whenhe begins o rollon, he rack lattens ut and oses he banking. new oll-on eginswhere he rackpicksup he banking gain bout wo-thirds f the way hrough. inal oll-off beginswhere he banking oesawayagain exit urn.That's four camber hanges one urn! other factorsaffect his turn.At the beginning,w herewe lose banking he roll-offbegins,here s a creston he rack. onlydoes he banking aperoff,but he bikebecomesight goesover this crest. suspension nloads,raction oesawayand he bikewants go toward wall-very ast! bikesettles at he banked exit rider eels e going slowagain. takes ime or notice that raction s betterhere backon he again. then, he banking egins awayat he exit he bike going fast. ast oll-off ccurs. headditionalwist o that astpartof the turn hat t ightens goes ownhill bit. This has our camber hanges, radius hanges, e l e v a t i o nh a n g e s n da h u m p n middle camber hange! make t worse, he pavement's oor. rackdesignerm usthave really with his urn.
Find
Timing
There nothing eallywrongwith riders olling off the throttle. problem s hey're doing he rightplace n rack. Their iming wrong.This because, of all, heyhave ooked rackand oundwhere changes. emember; cannot hese changes wellwhen ou're iding. econdly, points of timing established signalthe hanges. a result, braking nd hrottle responseso the rackoccur n hewrongplace. hird, establish
bankingwhen eaving Fourth, should at he owest oint previous xperience. beendetermined overall roduct mightsound My description f riders oing hroughTurn like drama, watching hem worse. heirworried xpressions up anddown rozen ttitudesell hewholestory. heirbikes the hrottle hanges f theirshockswerebroken. fter idingTurn begin feelverystupid. s result,m any iders like his while, with no real pretend alljust choose constant-radius camber r radius hanges. Riders ake his turn manydifferentw ays, ut th astestones consistently hree hings:1 Theyuse he banking oing rying o fight he middle maximum dvantage. Rather et he bikedriftout,whichallows turn,where t flattens ut, exit takeadvantage the ollowing oint. Theyuse he banking n to its bestadvantage.his inecouldbasically called double pex, urn.Keep mind hat he imingmust which s gooddescription correct or it to work right. Turnswith ewerchanges be equally affling,f the very hrough timing wrong.Some iders, f course, feverpitch concentration nd cat-like ef exes, ut hey keeping past, riding understands someone won't ware f his? your CgngentratiOn e dlinewearsyO utSOOner.
Shaving th
Track
a razor edge of concentrakeep don't have the track. You've till go that ten dollarsworth of tion everywhere continue pending attention ou're rying spendwisely. down dollars t up.spending he whole the ime,you'llsoon the straight waste.P ut t savingso draw nterestn attentionwithdraw again or he next urn. saving, hey're ability o concentrate Yourattention betterat some imes han at others. spending your attention only This s another need when necessary, it will be there when have o d he rghtwork, part timing, recognizing here cooling t the rest. six-hour nduranceaces haveheard number f
riders ay heywere pacing hemselves last he whole ace trying o relax-and wentquickerhan hey n sprint aces! hey orced themselves smart. attitude or sprint aces, ca be evensharperw hen have be Just gurewhereyour OT whatyou're upposedo b doingat eachone.Relax hilegoing down straight-it's un to fast. set up a reference point to tell ou when start payingattention.M ake work or you. ou always et up signal coming, nd hiswill help relax. readywhenyo ee t, not before. Spend attention when necessary bu save it where yo can.
Rhythm
Timing
Riders about he rhythmof a race rack pieceof road, getting he low of the road. his s iming. ider s ittinghimself equipment he rack actions e has takeon t. basisof timing is understanding-not uper-fast eflexes. reflexes are not a substitute for good timing. he speeds ttained n road-racerack,good or even ncredible exesdon't wi races. ou plan road acingbecause have ast reflexes,igureout how long have makea changeat mp when you're raveting feet second! here substitute understandingn a race rack. You've ot o haveRPs, POT, sub-products nd products guide around. ast eflexes elp,but iming is he unlocks mysteries he asphalt.
Note: Some of the problems of timing that a? part of going into turn have been helped by th various anti-dive devices no available on stroet bikes an more widely applied to GP racing machines an superbiker.
Timing Involves Both an ldea and an Action Yo mustunderstand ot he trackan your ow actionsso you're ightingeachother. knowingwhat where do t. 'm sure can ookbackover idingand ecall ituations where, ecauseourtiming off, experiencedncomfortable situations. second s goingout andactually oing
lf your timing is right you can make tt smooth. lf I make change lust before the matn event and tt doesn't work out. lJust have to make it work wtth good timing.
CHAPTER
Decisions Decision-Making: ReciPe I'm always talktn'to mvself outthere on the track. ca get outside of mYself and look at what l'm dorng an sometlmes, if what is going on rsn'1 us right, ge ma at myself.
Decisions in motion. Eddie Lawson's f lawless hunthe result style made of correctly dreds decisions. Making decisions puts you in control.
Skill
riding motorcycle mounts putting whole make a bike stringof decisions into motion. Everymovement past, making havemade n decision based without making anything automatically don't ride. shiftgears autoiders example, gain, decision. spend rue.They matically" ithout hinking bout That's hey're pending nickel r dime theirattention his decision, something. ou study you'llsee hat many ittledecisions go into engine spinning gear hange. decide when making decide make gear hange. decide right much hrottle place s better another shift, that again.N one these hings "automatic," applywhen That's attention havemadea decision, it costs once the magicof decisions.
Must Make
Decision
decisions, whether hey're At all imesyou'reoperating out he clutch n severalways. past present. example, you're amiliarw ith hesedifferentm ethods, stillmustdecidewhich to use. still mustmakea decision. work at th ways. can arrive a decision problem ntil havenarrowed downby he process elimination, earn o clutch above xample,his s Trial Error T&E). n bikes. secondmethod arriving t a decision s think hrough ask, henmake hedecision. We'llcallthismethodThinking Through TlT).
"- Spe@ojected Speed
-..,s
Force
Traction Lean Angle
irst method,T rialan Error, rT&E, depends essupon probunderstanding moreuponpractice. don't hink hrough works. f come with he lem, keepperforminghe action correctm ethod, ou'realright.B ut he drawback making ecisions must hrough wholeprocess hat f changehem, have iders earned again find another ay.Really gone hrough he manypossiblemethods riding motorcycle o often that hey of them will.Theyhave n entiremental ibrary T&E decisionso draw
TI MethodTwo,Think lt Through. orTlT, also drawbacks. arrive a correct decision yo must start with correct information. The iderhas o be goodobserver,e has reviewhe nforide, t has o be correct mation rom he useful nformation. Daytona A wild example ould decide hroughTurn earns TtrE probably ouldn't wideopen n sixthgear. person thinker," f course, ouldonlymake hat make mistake.
Decisionr are the detaals your overall "plan.' Making a decision gives place to start, and yo something to change, stop, if it doesn't work out.
A Drawback serious drawback to Thinking lt Through making decisions based upon other people's information. rider ellsanothero ride n certainway, hen he second idergoes and ries o fit riding tyle what was old. f the nformation accurate work. example, rider he reasonmy eft cramping because using clutch upshifts, hich sn't necessary.s topped sing t to upshift my arm onger ramped. This great-itworked! Another xample this, grim one, when ider toldanother could over he crest TurnSeven t Riverside bike latout n ifth gear. ctually, a 60-mph urn. iderwentover rst ap. . Need what happened?
proper balance of "Thinking lt Through" (TlTf an "Trial nd Error" can eliminate many mistakes.
The Best Approach Error combination of he two methods, Trial fT&E) nd Thinking Through (TlTl, is the best approach d e c i s i o nm a k i n g . T E E s i m e - c o n s u m i n g .n l e s s o u ' r e u l l - t i m e tory-contractedacer may nd difficult o regularly riding makeevery rip o the rackcount, rent n race rack.You've and hat means ou must return rom every essionwith information hat will usable method. n r a c e r a c kw i l l n o t h i n g u t yourequipment wear don't accuratenformation you'll havea clearpictureof what decisions yo have made what
T&EOnly T&E method only cannot work A rider who uses decisions the track. can'twork riding when o ride asterbecause doesn't ave he nformation tored another isadvantage. sometimes throws himself. &E iders track. These psets an that with us out on upsets at quantities attention-usuallymore han spare. consume have "off" day.Some hings hat hapWhenT8E riders upset affectone'swhole ife, ncludinghe ability o makedecisions. TIT-methodiders re essaffected what happens the rackbecause understand. based n what theirdecisions
Real-World Riding Let's eave world of ideas or a time andreturn o the real road how he decisions e make anaffect world riding o rearbrake s he one rack.T akebrakingor example. overuse f worst.Whenmost iders braking ecision that commonly urns motorcycle. ey learn o ride, hey earn hat the rearbrake an stop he bike, hat.Theyknow he ront brake also decide while hey're earning parking or street upsetting hen he front end the bikedivesdown every ime hey use he front brake. rearbrake s better. decide t hat ime, ight rom he start, Now even fter rider s old o use rontbrake,he rear will be irstchoice ecause e hasalreadymade he decision rear s better. tudies f motorcycle ccidents oncludedhat n most rider s rying o avoid accident e uses he rear cases, ut hat brake. know he rontbrakewill stop much bike original ecision so strong emergency down rider. an emergency, a rider will do what he has already decided possiblymanyothers, hat hedecided will work. In his case, incorrect that situation. his pply you?
Ghanging Decisions order o change decision thatdoesn'tw ork,and hat become badhabit, must back to the original decision and un-learn it. Maybe un-learn"s notcorrect-actually,o u'remaking decision fter he old one been dentified nd hrownout. don't make ne decision over old one, yo erase the first decision before making another. In racing, are creating an almost continuous emeryour limits. Thesame ort thing gency situation pushing applies emergencies.h e iderperforms action hat appeared work n he past n similar ituations. ot knowingcauses nd effects reates he opposite
very ostly. don'tunderstand rontbrake'simits, ou'llspend of attention sing t.That'sbecause know he rontbrake best slowing stopping thatdecision hasalready eenmade), o fall.This don'tknowat what point will ock cause createsndecision. Once rider earns what point rontbrake ocks what do about t, he make lear-cut ecisions on use t. Another ecision-making yth hat a rider an igureout his lines y studying rackdiagram. mpossible decide o ride race rack piece roadbefore haveactually een t. Studying trackdiagram t hat point useless. rying o fit a trackdiagramnto he realworld f riding,w hileyou're tilltrying o learn he rack,w illonly your attention way rom he real gree?
Make lt Happen Deciding to do something he first step to making it happen. Youcan make ots of decisions, but making manyof them will confuse StartWith mportant ecisionsirst.FindReference Points,P oints f Timing,Sub-Products nd Products, decide they it togetherwith the rack. it togetherby deciding how t's going be done, en yo Of course, must have veryaccurate understanding rackchanges. hat ncludes nowing he ocation adius hanges. nformation Chapter camber hanges One, RoadYou Ride,"must be gathered irst.Always ookat the rack ememberhat he who designedt was rying fool makingpoor decisions.
Deciding Deciding how to ride trackby ooking overdoesno always ork,especially aren't iding t.After idingCalifornia'sears Point nce, walked rack o find outwhat could earn. on he ground ooked t each urn rom walked hrough beginning, ooked t backwards.stood n middle. up on he hills. looked every nside doing his, was igurin i d e a l "i n e h r o u g h urn. During ractice rode t as had decided should ridden. went hreeseconds lower han had he ast ime he rack. ideal" didn'twork. account umps, liding nd doesn't speed. I went back o riding t the way I haddecided to from my ap imeswerenow wo secondsaster han hadever earlieride. gonebefore, nd secondsfasterthan "ideal" ine. had earned thata combination f TIT s he key success. can'thave without other, ut t's mportant decide how o do did or did work. t isn't decide
matter how it feels, times. Shouldt be ried?
learning he results
looking
the lap
ap Times deciding lap times are your most reliable method This out and what works. simply ecide what o means eciding whereyour Points of Timing, Products andRefern his practice ession, ence Points are, hendeciding whatyou'll ap imes o decide if it worked not.Did hese then eviewing imesstay he same, ap imes?Did he changesmprove these onclusions valuable. his evel? found easierto yo with decisions at one level th next level. move riding, yo imesmustbe he basis yourdecisions because oo easily. n mostcases, iderswill do what othermethod an around what eels ight not always quickest feels ight, track down he road. learned nother hing rom my SearsPoint ideal" lineadventure. ou can going aster n he entrance nd middlesecexitbecause f it. Gettionsof a urn, but cansacrifice good drive ting out of the turn with a one- or two-mph asterproduct will make greatdifference n the nextstraight. good speed hrough he center easy o fool yoururn, but a poor drive,will be wors or lap imes. way.Here hreepoints o consider: ) Good decisions self good lap times. 2l Good times ar those that improve result he an be done consistently. 3l Lap times are reflection quaf ty of rider's decisions. ny otes?
Go Faster decision-making game There s,of course, twist to with how powerfula decision can be. Sometimes rider which has o overalldecision aster. will apply simply ecides to happen ike hat! t and-bang!-his ap imescomedown manydifferent easons.Watchingother idersgoing astercan sometimes ide. decide mindabouthow ast change sparknew ife nto ired too.Deciding to beat quicker ider times. asterwithoutgaining nough xperience deciding to rouble.O ften, ftera day's ace, fromeither places make ime. hear acersalking bout TurnNine." he racers know can a lot aster n TurnThree performance he hundreds! eating cutting ecord great ewards f racing, ut becareful.D ecide aster nly Simply eciding to cut whenyou've enough xperienceo back work f don'tknowwhere ou're better ap imes practice going pick the decisions that will back ime.Work
Often imes.w hen baby earns walk, decides afterhe's akenhis irst ew steps. he un usuallyasts bout hreesteps; in a racer's ase,m aybe hree aps.Other weeping ecisions that usually no matterwhat," going o out-brake rather oorly work l ' l ls h u td o w n a t e r h a n d o e s . " t 12 0 m p h , a t e r s l o n g road. down
Past Decisions To ride motorcycle, mustdraw yourpastdecisions, yourability o makedecisions in he present. decisions s sort ider's m a k e e t e r m i n e w e l ly o u r i d i n gw i l l and o r a c k ,o k n o w around d e c i s i o n se s u s i n g nes ike necessary. decisions change urn, whilegoing using ess earbrake o prevent heel yourentranceo a he bikedoesn't ndergo be harder find downsuspension ovement. decisions urns soon, common rror,m ight correct. avingrouble oing n highor wide," ather han he based n he decision "not n ight." decision very ricky. rider ouldspend see, another time rying o decide how o entera urn, rying o f gure to do t. discovers e s always oing n low, he hinks hat he has decided go low.His ealdecision wa backwhen, as don'twant o higher decides oo highbecauset's unsafe." higher.W henhe ries o use he againsthat earlier ecision u n s n t o r e s i s t a n c e .h i c h s i k ea m e n t a l a l l , e l l i n g i m higher made t veryuncomfortableor him not o do t. Hisearlier ecision don'tunderstand verypowerf l change. decision mightdiscover ne thesepast n a while Every hink do hat!Whateverm ade decisions nd hink, Hey, suddenly earlier ecision, change couldn't?"When have o realize hen make greatbreakthrough your iding. n better,m oreworkable havemadea falsedecision, then place. Someexamples?
DiscoverYour Decisions past based pon makewhile iding decisions weremade ecently r long ime decisions you'vemade,w hether ago.Here's way o discover your decisions. particular or rack itua1 Think ver actions giving g o i n gw e l l , n d or h o s e sections t i o n .D o h i s rouble. wellyouractionswork. Evaluate clear reall he steps nvolvedn his action? wellyou're oing going? Whatstandardells
or whatdecisions keeping rom reachinghem? 6. Should decide Changehe decision? change C. Checkagain o eewhat decisions yo havealready made? D.Or, ookformore nformation eforemaking new decision? each tem comeup with n 1 hrough6 above, also iming? my Points 2. What Timing? What Reference Points do I use? 4. What is my Product? 5. Howmuchattention am spending? do his each urn rack. t will ake long time,and t isn'teasy do, but will help.Also, t's cheaperhan ires engines.
Some Decisions About Braking ollowing s partial of decisions couldmake aboutusing he brakes. of equal mportance, each them nvolves potential ecision. Take look eachone.Consider ach eryseriously y applying t a situation ou've over or reference nd be awareof them. have he time over he on wintermonths, even make istsof otheraspects riding. nother, or hrottle ontrol, break t down nto decisions actions mustmakewhile iding. Here re 104 possible ecisions havemadeor can make oncerning brakes. of them more mportant thanothers ndsome over he sameground slightly ifferentm anner.Look hrough ref ectbackupon idingwith hese mind. able o thinkof otherdecisions apply o the brakes. ust ooking ver his ist hese help mprove braking. many ngers o use or front brake How much everpressure takes lock up he front brake much everpressure takes o lockup he rearbrake hardyo an he front brakegoing nt slow urns hard braking ast urns hard braking medium-speed hard use t braking series f turns hard brakes he irst series hard brake oing nto he second a series
B r a k i n gn u p h i l l e c t i o n s Braking a banked ection Braking flatcorner Braking an off-camber Braking decreasing-radius Braking ncreasing-radius Braking a constant-radius Braking n a smooth urface Braking n a choppy urface B r a k i n gn t o i g h t - h a n du r n s B r a k i n gn t o e f t - h a n du r n s Braking n crested oads begin o brake Where shouldbe on he rack rack uring raking Where should brakingSomexamptes? Where shouldbe on he rackat he end
More Decisions when o beginbraking eachkind ook or hat ells ook or ells when o end he braking each turn) (The bove wo questions applied particularracks) Timing braking oing slowturns Timing medium-speedurns braking oing ast urns Timing braking oing Timing a series turns braking oing Timing braking downhill ections Timing braking uphill ections Timing b r a k i n g n b a n k e dr a c k Timing braking n lat rack c a m b e rr a c k Timing braking n Timing b r a k i n g d e c r e a s i n g - r a d i u sr n s Timing b r a k i n gn n c r e a s i n g - r a d iuusr n s Timing b r a k i n g c o n s t a n t - r a d i uusr n s Timing b r a k i n g c o n s t a n t - s p e eudr n s Timing braking n smooth urfaces Timing braking n choppy urfaces
What What
turn)
Still More Decisions \Mrat Points of Timing or Reference Points do yo use o tell if the b r a k i n g g o i n gw e l l ? ocation your beginning decide What POT braking oint? braking decide he ocation your What RP do point? use o decide f the braking egan arly nough? What nformation ate? o decide f the braking tarted What nformation
Decisions With Practice Braking verdiscolored r changing avement urface Using he rearbrake conjunction ith he ront Using he rearbrake nly Using he rontbrake What o do when he rear begins o slide How o correct ear-wheel opor slide Locking p he rontbrake Locking p he ront brakesogether Otherpeople'snformation n he use brakes general Otherpeople'snformation n he rontbrake Otherpeople'snformation he rearbrake Otherpeople'snformation usingbothbrakesogether watching ther iders se he brakes Information What s usefultodo with brakes What s not useful o do with th brakes Braking he bike straight Braking hen he bike s eaned Braking only he ront brakewhile eaned Braking ith only he rearbrakewhile eaned How ar ou can be eaned erand still use he brakes Braking steering t he same ime good yourbraking verall? much ime be madeup with brakes? muchdistance make another iderby using brakes Yourseating ositionwhilebraking critical moment decision. How much brake to use while leaned over?
throttle ndbrake t he same off the rontbrake slowly r quickly rearbrake slowly r quickly udgeyourspeed the braking ction Where o position he brake ever Where o position he brake edal muchstoppingorce he rontbrake muchstoppingorce he rearbrake brakes ave ogether muchstoppingorce he ront c h a n g e d h i l eb r a k i n g m u c h h e e v e r n dp e d a l r e s s u r e
More Decisions With Practice yourweightwhilebraking Where o Putting w e i g h t n h e h a n d l e b a r h i l eb r a k i n g weight he ootpegswhilebraking Putting w h i l eb r a k i n g Putting weight n he S i t t i n g w h i l eb r a k i n g H a n g i n g w h i l eb r a k i n g same B r a k i n g n dd o w n s h i f t i n g Passing hileusing he brakes What happenso the steering eometry uringbraking What happenso weight ransfer uringbraking What happenso the suspensionuringbraking muchattention spendbeginning raking muchattention spend uringbraking of braking muchattention spend braking-beginning,iddle r end Which s he most mportant used f the rear ocked much rontbrake good yoursense f tractionwhilebraking good yoursense f speedwhilebraking g o o d y o u rd e p t h e r c e p t i o n h i l eb r a k i n g brakingwittthisetp? Yourability improve Phew!!
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Barriers Keys to lmprovement Barrier:Anything e r v i n g a i m i t a t i o n ro b s t r u c t i o n . acing,ou'll s n o t m p a s s a b l e .h i l e i d i n g barrier bstructs goal lower stantly onfront arriers yourgoing aster. t i m e s y r i d i n g r o u n dh e r a c k t h i g h e r p e e d s n dw i t hm o r e o n t r o l . as barriers, owever, Riders it evels f lap imes hat become tuck here. deally, would able o ride little aster returnedo a rack. improve averageap imeeach good arget or o consider, nd realgoal o set would yourself.
Time Barriers aster, will notice hat hings When begin rying have ess imebetween orners. etween alsohappen lot aster. ime o makedecisions. have Referenceoints. nd here's by compressing ated hisemergencyituation y adding peed, a p i m e sw i l l change, c o p ew i t h time o act. you're panic reaction time, have o put yourself improve. ut f t feels ike o panic. may earn othing y extra peed-except decisions necessarily H a v i n ge s s i m e o m a k e speed.W henever ndicators you've ncreased for t is door your these imebarriers you're nocking n reach nextarea conquer. ridingbarrier is useful ecauset's elling decisionsaster.t your automatic instructor. need o make a new ine hrough urn-you eed figure ut Y o u o n ' tn e e d f controlthem.hese w h a t a c t o r s r eb r i n g i n g n e a r a n i c , handle dashboard your w a r n i n gi g h t s riersare each ne as t appears, ou'll avoida catastropheater.w here oes is pply?
A Riding Barrier Signals Needs lmprovement
Area That
Yo ca recognizehese problemareas n severalways.Th
You'reno beingpushedcompletely eyond ability, enough at yourattention ixedupon problem. examples hat you're ntera urn b r a k i n g n dd o w n s h i f t i n g c r o w d e d c l o s e o t h e goodPoint steering ction hat you'reunable accurately Timing to ac withoutbeingabsolutelyrantic. you're napping grabbing t c o n t r o l s a s h a r k e e d i n gi m e , know omething isn't ight. problems ould affecting In hisexample, approach. ere somepossibilities. lack goodReference Points cause kind panic occurswhenyou're lightly ost. simply downshiftingoo ate crowding t intoyourother goingdown gear oo many actions. ou have atten-
*.s'
r:r';,
Track barriers, or problem areas, are places where your riding is "soft." are either Iate and have to panic, or are waiting for something happen. What doing is definitely unclear.
*,*5',,ffi
engine pinning 13,OOO when should t i o ns t u c k you're osing ight yourentry braking o ate turning. ou speed, esultingn panic ituation. controls your bike quickly. can't each s u c h u n c o m f o r t a b l en g l e c o n t r i b u t e y o u rd i s t r e s s . r a c k o n s t r u c t i o nts e l f offers camber r downhill, example,he entrance potential raking not have product for he surface. knowwhere ou're oing. will bother turn the manypossible roblemsn approaching turn, hese
Other Glues B e s i d e s e i n g r e s s e do r i m e o a c t ,o t h e r l u e sw i l l you're on op of situation. feeling uncertaintyomes above f u l l yu n d e r s t a n d i n g s i t u a t i o n . c o u l d manyothers.W hatever reason, uncertainty ill eat reasons r yourattention-attentionh at couldwell spentelsewhere r higher return. his s another arrier. Go over your decisions. First year road racer, Wayne Rainey, thinking it through iust moments before his first National Loudon. Superbike
Mistakes make s not well when Another reat ndicator make mistake,ind out where rack.when mistakes n he decisioneadbefore t happened. attention as ocused that gets ast hing always the mistake, result, not a cause. This s trouble.R emember, mistake able o remembert in detail. what mustalways did o bring valuable-it'sn remembering Mistakes ren't
ignored in the hope it will disappearwith disappear with practice-it something to be studied and figured out. lt is a barrier to improvement, and herefore key o improvementf handled orrectly.
Feeling Like You Gan't Do lt This s very rustrating o a rider,and rider,and t createsrouble creates rouble or him. Thishelpless Thishelplesseeling eeling ften esultsrom esults rom not knowing he rack ayoutwell w ell enough, not being n ull control f the bike n somesituations. somesituations. c a n ' th th a n d l e o u n t e r - s t e e r i n ga ga u r n , m i g h tb tb e g i n o b e l i e v e can't done heway he way t looks. worstproblemwith his eeling decide t donebecause donebecause omeone s doing t, hen try o do t before have he skillnecessary. skillnecessary. berserk ThisdangerThisdangeresults rom rustration, condition esultsrom anotherndicator another ndicator f a barrier o your iding. Overcoming barrierss barrierss not mpossible-it akes work. do thework the work rack, betweeniding between iding essions yourself ictures f each urn, races. irst, hrough hem, marking own he spotswhere spotswhere ou'rehaving ifficulty r makingmismakingmistakes.Close C lose eyes nd over he urns your mind ry o find problem reas Chapter our-"What ouSee"). ou See"). s you're tudying st rack ro memory, ome partswill be oggy,unclear oggy,unclear here. Markdown Markdown hese pots your diagrams. over entire rack memory markall markall he places barriers you,whether hey're u shed ime,mistakes caused y uncertainty,ushed ime,mistakes r otherproblems.
The Barriers Ghange Ghange Once
have isted barriers, backover backover decide iding overcomehem. change overcomehem.Remember, Remember, the barriers will change as you go faster. There s a wist o barriers. D o n ' t v e r l o o k p o s s i b i l i t yh a t h es esame roblems occur gain, even n he same urn, ncrease speed. Overall, arriers good hings. hey automatically problems They where saying, This your nextarea nextarea expand into, next evel evel f improvement." elcomet elcome t when notice hat something's going ight.Once recognize barriers, won't have o guesswhat'skeeping what'skeeping imesdown-they imesdown-theywill will point your problems.t's ree nstructionlWittyou W ittyouemember his?
l-ook for the other indicators that there is some riding barrier slowing your pfogress. 1. Mistakes. 2. Feeling helpless like yo can't do it. 3. Pressed for time to act. Doing nothing, waiting for something happen. 5. Can't clear picture of some turn or area. Attention stuck some part of the track.
Remember, the track is what yo have to beat. Yo don't beat other racers, yo beat the track better than they did. ',*aiWr
Break he track tions-turns, or turn. Pay parti attention to th are unsure
Handling your riding barriers is another to save, and wisely spend your worth attention.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Braking The Art
Regulating Speed
major echnical undergone Motorcycle rakes have ecome discbrake, advent breakthroughsince other echnoloextremelyff cient.B rakeechnology surpassed a setof brakes gies, as suspension, instance. y o u rb i k e n a f t e r n o o n .u n i n g w o u l d t o pa c a r , n d n s t a l l yoursuspension,owever, be an endless nd painstakingask.This chapter ill discuss purpose brakesn high-performanceiding about he business should racing.heir imits, ndwhat braking.
The Most lmportant Factor singlemost mportantactor o be aware in braking brakes applied. et's ay weight ransferhat occurswhen a 15 O - p o u n di d e r , n d h e i rw e i g h t d i s have 45o-pound ike ront rest. hismeans cent tributed 0 cent ront earwheels ach arrya 300-pound oad.At a normal oulevardtopront cent pingpace, he weight ransfer mounts o about weighs hree imes ront centon he rear. wheel what he reardoes. A t r a c i n g p e e d s s t o p p i n go r c e g r e a t e r t i l l .U s i n g weight cent static stopped) eight-transfergures, 0 will remain cent more ransfero the ront, weighs pounds less, nd he rearbrakemust rear. he ear rear momentum stoponly pounds the bike'sweight, wheelandngine.
Rear Brake Overuse Overusinghe rearbrake so common o be almost life.Many riders and racers have given up using the rear brake secorrectly, nd can hard braking. lt requires muchattention
Braking forces erc aweacceleration some. a 15O hp racebike will it through the 1/4 m a l ea t 1 4 5 m p h . B u t t h e brakes will bring it from n much o less distance!
,"v.Ei
Weight Transfer 5oo/oFront 5oo/oRear
,#,;
Weight Transfer 750lo ront 25o/oRear
Weight Transfer OOo/oront Oolo ea
good hopping enderhe bikeout of control somedegree. can't about eaning bike nto turn f it's basically ut of control. have ground, them s only small ontact atches n when gone d e f n i t e i s a d v a n t a gne r a c t i o n - o n e y o u rm a i n o n c e r n s during ornering. n panic race-speedrakingmaneuver,lmost control will help more harm o use a locked brake. cause the high-beam witch choke ever. weight ront s where stopping owerare-not he rear. the rearbrake equires omebackwardsogic. t seemsogical o use he brakes hardest t he beginning f the brakor he ront brakeaction,w henyou're oing he astest. his he back, owever, se he ightest earbrake t he beginning weight compressed greatest. s he rontbrake s released, fer s weight going o b transfers ack o the rearwheel he rearbrake an-if usedat all-do more the workof stopping slowing t his ime. want o make at all have o smartwith your ight oot f the rearbrake nderheavy topping. hugedisc LightGrandPrixbikes r Superbikes ift off he groundunder brakes ndsticky ires hat he rearwheel heavy raking. esser treet nd bikes same hing.but or differenteason. ardbraking ver ippling avement r bumps an groundbecause f launch he rear unweighted of the bike condicondition. shocks, hich operate nderheavier tions, ontributeo this by notallowing rearwheel o follow he road. net esult betweenhetire and he road-averypoortraction situation. Haveyo experiencedhis?
Purpose lot of rlders don't pay enough attentionto th smooth use of their brakeseven experts.
Braking
purpose th brakes s adjust correct speed of the motorcycle downward, controlling deceleration. know sensitive with he hrottle; omingout of a urn hour working he wist adjust speed n enths a mile grip.Going make hanges accurately a urn brakes. Most iders ave he dea hat brakes resomekindof on/off switch.R each brakemarker nd pullthemon-getdown o another brakesike hat and marker nd off.This sn't rue. can't iding.Y ou're sking oo much yourself. expect improve purpose brakes o adjust speed ownward; overall urpose roadquicker.aking econds racing s around he rackor down ap imes.
One Second Faster Let's nvestigate
partbrakes
going
second
mph faster around trackfor a one-second better lap time. do his must hrough he urns aster, hold hat advantageown he straights. ouwon't asterdown straights don't et out of he urns aster.Yo have to adjust the speed of your bike accurately to around the turns one mph faster. Ho udge hat one accurately ith he bikepitching orward bouncing ver he ripple y compensate brake ade, full ank or an emptyone? oo much o ask. must reat yourselfm orekindly make hat easiero find. Thinkof the brake s reversehrottle. nstead turning controlyou pull press t start brakingaction downward peed change. speed that remains when release brakes th speed will enter the turn with. lf want one mph faster han he ast ap. must faster. oucan'thope o make speed ater n he urn-youmust up right beginning.Whereittyoury t? late braking often does more harm to lap times and corner speeds than good. Se comfortable brake points fo yourself.
Speed djustments costattention.
En braking at 60 mph.
Si
Speed orrectly adjusted.
braking 61 mph.
if icant I mprovements
Yo can't make significant time improvements using the brakes harder or going deeper. You make time with the brakes by adjusting he cornering speeds accurately. Whereand how ff brakes s much more mportant pull thanwhere sets cornering peed. dive into 120-mph urn 25 feetdeeperhan he ast educe timesaboutone-tenth f a second.G oing 50 feet deeperwould mprove it wice much. f your brakingwas ine o beginwith, mightpick wo-tenthso three-tenths second most racks. going that muchdeeper might permanentlynlarge eyeballs, d wouldcertainlyncrease possibility f errors nd p consideraamount f attention-youren-dollar ill-thatmightbe better pent elsewhere. beginninghe braking ction t comfortableocation
upsetting ourhe brakes! going n oo deep every self, ou'llonlymake t moredifficult udgeyourspeed.t is better to back off on your initial braking marker and allow yourself more your speed right than to panic with late braking. time to emptation latebrake n urnswhen t won't bean advanResist passing urposes, must brake oing nto urns. t won't tage. placen pick ap imes, ut u s u a l l ym p r o v e standings. oryourabsoluteatest raking oint practice you'll rack f b r a k i n gs r e q u i r e d k n o w w h e r e o u ' l lw i n du p o n passingituationuring race. imes Look braking rom he standpoint time, yourposition n race elative other iders. you'rewithina secimprovement make the astest ider rack eally he wo-tenths r hree-tenths f second ained braking, winning a second n e e dm o r e some ood. your t with he brakes lone; ou've times, on't ook average peedup n turns.Does makeense?
Th
Product of Braking
the speed the bike The realproduct braking correctly for that place on the track so that no further changes ou in too fast and requiremorebrakingwhen yo are necessary. n slowly shouldbe urning, can hrowyour imingoff. will ake extra peration have increase speed, hat's and effort correct. takes time to realize when something is not right, time to figure out what should be and time to correct by adjusting correctly ith he brakes, radually, Whenyourspeed won't have o make corrections your attention ill be ree ride he urn. will o mark spot Establish Reference oint beginbraking. raking a Sub-Product nd t involves east wo Points beginhebraking ction Timing POT): at hepoint establish a as important have ompleted . where end of th braking as it is to have one for the marker or beginning. Having goodend-braking arker llows o adjust nished ith he brakes ndallows advance here ou'll he bikewill slowdown yourspeedmoreeasily. here s guarantee brake sameplaceeven exactly sameamount ach a constant End-of-Braking Marker will give things hange. to work f rom.witt it work for you?
Braking and Your Sense of Speed Your sense of speed your ability iudge whether were during previous riding faster or slower than
Th brake is used to correctly adjust th speed forthatturn. B e a b l e t o ge it right each tamean then work on late braking to compress the amount of time it takes.
When mV concentratton is good I know dtd everything Trtght. ut it's lke lwasn't really there get tnto that frame of concentrationan mp slower or rf I go faster. / know rt.
a world-classoad acermust calculate mustknowwhat aster speed o withinone-half f one mile hour-andpossiable udge gives ridera onehan hat.Plus minusone-half even allows range f sensitivity. plus minus ensitivity f much.Five might o a 1O-mph ange yoursense f speed. down s really greatdeal-enough mph aster a l l a to n c e . eliminateadicalchanges using he brakes a dialyou sense in he bike'sbehavior make t easiero develop on/off switch,however, reates ramatic speed.U sing he brakes changes he bike'sweight ransfer ndattitude, hichmakes he sensallows reverse peed of speed ifficult.U sing he brakes to reach he speedmoregradually nd becomemoresensitiveo speed quicker able sense peed,he easier adjustments. more o make hese peed djustments ccurately. becomes
Yo ca make accurate speed adjustments. There are tw results from this: 1. You develop a better senae of speed. 2. Yo ca spend your riding attention the turn when you get right the f rst time.
{'
Another Twist to Braking I let it coast a little tn the turn after braking to get everythtng settled and ready for the exrt
can effectivelyncrease Another wist to braking s that se a comfortable rakingpoint your speed etting ff the brakes. going oo slow, of he ou enter urn, sense will be correct25 or more eet down he brakes nd maintain speed ight-a ittle aster han he ast ap, ou probroad. f yourspeed upsetting braking might much ime ablywon't yourself, eaving dooropen r mistake. sense f speed There's greater dvantage f ne-tuning going nto he urnscomfortably, ithoutpanic, sing he brakes adjustment, bringinghe cornering peed p littleat a ime.Control hink willwork? nd conf dence anbe developedro this skill.
The Braking Drills willfind he rearbrake little While t is rue happens find out exactly good braking, under rack simplestm ethod s ridealong sliding. is ocked p
Observe ne mportant autionwhilemaking his est; f the rear of the machine lides linewith he ront up on the rearbrake,t will-or can-snap ack nto inewith he rontwheel. f the front severely ut of line, action so abrupt t could throw and he motorcycle own. Somemotorcycle afety nstructors uggest ou avoid he above ituation y eavinghe rearbrake ocked ntilthemachine stopped, nearly topped. his always e practical olution, especial while acing. practice, guide t possible, wheels alignment pressure n bodyEnglish handlebars, et up brake continue. hebestsituations o not have ocked t up beginwith.Here s drill practiceo learn ock-up oint sensitivity your brake. Step Ride long t comfortablepeed n areawith no traff c r actions. Step2: Apply he front brakeat a steadyand even ate. Step Apply he rearbrake raduallyo learn muchpedal pressuret really akes o lock t Step4: Repeat teps1 hrough untilyouknow when h brakewill ock.Do t at various peeds brakingorces, emembering that he harder he ront, he ighter he rearwill be. In rtralght llne braklng, a locked-up front wheel feels th same at OO ph as it does going 1O mph, but the skid mark longer.
lOO mph
The Front Brake Drill purpose f thisdrill s o find out how much ever ressure is requiredo lock rontwheel, ndwhathappenso the bikewhen wheel s ocked. ithout this nformationou'llalways eafraid front brake o somedegree. Step Ride longat ve mph. Step Lockup he rontwheel, singonly ront brake. will notice he rontwheel urnsunder r urns n when t
keep he brake ocked. simple onlysolutions ever u n t i l t h e l i d e n d s . h eb i k ew i l l s t r a i g h t e n m m e d i a t e l y . s a m e thing that happens mph will happen mph. only mistake makewith a locked rontwheel letting off the brake lever soon enough. pavement At 100 mph he strip rubber down onger will a t 1 Om p h . eave wheel ocked 1 / 1 O t h f a s e c o n d t 1 m p h h ew h e e w l i l ls l i d e o r 1 5 e e t . will slide or nearly feet. bikeof course asmore orces eeping upright t mph, t eels same s does t 10mph.
Cutting Costs purpose theseexercisess o nd he pointwhere brakesock, o become ccustomedo that eeling you'llknow what o do f the brakes whileyou're iding. kind surprise cost ess. $9.00. you're amiliarw ith t, t costs Step Repeat teps and2 above higher ndhigher speeds ntil certainwhathappens, nd certain control machine. You figure ou your brakes, make your decisions on what can be done, nd spend that attention on the turn coming
Braking and Downshifting Downshifting closely ssociated ith braking ecause two almost lways ccurat he same ime.Fromobservation,appears that most iders elievehe engine supposedo helpslowor stop he h e a r ne n g i n e p i n n i n g p o w a r d e d l i n e o i n g bikeW . hen turn,yo know he rider s trying use t as a brake.D oeshis pply you?
The Engine ls Not A Brake! It'ssupposedo increasehe speed the machine-not placewhere brakes nddownshift have o use decrease cient r correct use he engine slowyou. at he same ime, t is not using T h e r es n ' tm u c hw e i g h t n h e e a rw h e e l o b e g i nw i t h , pistons e n g i n em e a n s o u ' r e o i n g o h a v e r e p l a c e c r a n k wish o slowdown he rearwheela bit,use he rearbrake. sooner. crankshafts. econdly, It'scheaper replace rake brake ecausehat'snot he purpose correct o use he engine
7,5OO-1O,5OO
purpose of downshifting is to have power engine when begin to accelerate. Yo could leave it in sixth gear right up to point of acceleration and the bike wouldn't care,
Begin acceleration. Must shift while leaned over.
At redline.
Below redline (in powerband)
Up-shifting while still leaned over costs a lo because it must be perfect.
Shift point with bike straighter, creating asier d r i v eo u t .
With the bike pulling strong off the turn {withup-shifting), spend your attention on
begin to accelerate out of a turn. right rpm range Most iders eem feel t's necessaryo downshift soon possible fter begin o brake. some ases here sn't ime or leisurelypproach-the ownshiftingmust done mmediately. t t more eisurely. there s ime o wait,change earswhen into
Bike Doesn't Gare what gear t's n. a urn, he bikedoesn't Going have thirdbegin o accelerate. rightgearmatters nlywhen part requires gear of a sixth-gear traight, at he hrough c o n s t a n t - s p e eudn n i n g ,h e b i k ew i l l n o tm i n d f t ' s s i x t h that part the urn.Of course impoftanto make he correct irst proper ocation. usuallysn't downshifts b e g i n r a k i n g . b e s tp l a c e s u a l l ys n o tw h e n opportunity, you're n eaned ver-thatupsets bikesomewhat hen he cause he bike o gear hanges made.C hanging ears n steering. up anddown,as he shiftswill affect raction gear hangess oward bestplace o make nto he urn at a steep the braking before he bike actually angle. You'llsave lo of attention y knowinghow manygear don'tknow his,you'll urn. changeso makebefore oming makea mishave o startdownshiftingmmediately case feel take-this why many iders egin he downshifting soon.Y ou don't yo know have to know what gear you're in, so long muchattention have to down. lt's amazing many gears reedup by simplyknowing his, anddoing Shoutd ried? ca
Tallest Gear Possible ln blg sweepers I don't let the bike bog down offthe power -i seems to slrde easrer keep it spinning up tn the power band.
urn,use the down decide ow manygears pull turn in tallest gear possible hat still allows the bike with un he down oo manygears powerband. lf a l m o s t u a r a n t e e dg e a r h a n g e engine pinning o redline, will have o make hat way. while he bike s still eaned need urn-a placewhere middle yourdrive change might concentratingn other hings.Sometimes, f course, you'llhave o change gearing he bike, s have choicewith situation ith he change gearswhile eaned ver.Sometimes overrevs under he nfield urns correct overall earing he straight.f it results n better ap imes-and canrevs little worth t.anv xamptes? then sacrifcing little op
Second Problem second roblemwith goingdown
manygears
Redlining th engine turn gets your attention, doesn't Cut that cost. It also smothers your sense of traction.
iresbiting nto he road. need his vibration tell your raction situation. here a vibration grippingwell ires sliding ecause aking maximumoad.W hen he iresbegin slide vibrations different much iner.A high-rewing engine can' a turn, cause he rider believe tires sliding. Your ense traction llows knowwhat conditions cornering peeds nd eanangles creating he ires-howwell biting nto he asphalt. vibration carries p hrough frame sense at he handlebars, and ootpegs. changes in that vibration give yo picture of the traction every moment. lf the engine ibration "drowning ut,,or mothering that nformation, becomes ifficult sense xactly he ires dOing. nre you aware of this?
GoastRacing "Canyon acers"have greatpastime alled ,CoastRacing.,' severalriders upat he a o n gh i l l w i t h of urns n shut t h e i re n g i n e s b e g i n o a s t i n g o w n . h e i d e r uses brakes leastw ins.Good iders noticed weregoing aster same t u r n sw h i l e o a s t i n g when were iding hrough with e n g i n e T h i sd o e s m e a n o us h o u l d o a s t h r o u g h u r n s n r a c e trackor anywhere lse-you houldhave bike gear control ,read', exit urn.Thisexamplellustrates tire raction muchbetterwhen engine ibrationsn'tdrowning out.Note: don't ecommend oastRacing ecause have number people hurtdoing t.
Rider's ider's s abre o separate engine vibration from the tire traction vibration ca constantly sense
I like to use earplugs. The quieter lt is the faster go.
ot attention n. The combination of your sense of traction your sense of speed will help yo determine the cornering speed Product matterwhat willing use. approach. won't able for a urn, here a maximum peed raction the ires. can'tsense maximum peed can't gnore he otherbasics f downshifting:Throttle clutchactionmustbe correctlyimedwhenchanging ears.D ownshifting he engine rack s mportant, ut ailure he rightplace n rearwheelormake bikewill match he roadspeed chatter. lways ev heengine o the rightspeed etween ownshifts.
Front Brake * Throttle technique Most experienced riders have mastered using the front brake and throttle at the same time. comes use he from practice. purpose this echniques o allow hrottleenough still able o twist frontbrake hard possible engine etween ownshifts. he rick s o beable o keep brake ever ressure onstant, o change whennecessary hile working he hrottle. after ewing he engine an make he clutch difference etween smoothor roughgearchange. ood iders et he he bike. evenly o he shifthas he east ffect smoothly clutch don't ev he engine nough,etting he clutchout slowly Even being ough. save downshift downshift where It mayseem ar-fetched use he methods cornering peeds, I urge mprove sense traction, well overall iding thissection improve to f ree up more of your attention. Will his mprove
iding?
Using th brake an throttle together is an important technique. Performing hn things at once cuts costs, whenever possible.
1. Get th ga off and then the brake on
,% 2. Do as much braking as possible before yo start to downshift.
3. Whilestill maintaining rake fever ressure, rotate the throttle on and off to bring th revs up for your downshift.
Wr
%4. Repeat step thrce for each downshift.
5. Release he brake for
Eddie demonstrates entering the corkscrew, th correct way to end th braking and begin a turn.
Notice the almost unchanged fork extension from beginning end. That's what is ealled smooth.
j,
'1':
Just as the bike is entoring the banked pavement, he begins to accelerate iust enough to ke6p the bike from bobbing down.
CHAPTER
NINE
Steering It Happens Backwards I use countersteering and it lust gets right over wrth very little effort. After I get the brke over then I use the throttle to steer it. l'm drlfttng both wheels. Let off and tt wtll quit driftlng
Many iders ave earnedo steer motorcycle ithoutunderstanding process. purpose f steerings controlthemotorcycle's irection travel. n racing r in any iding ituation, must eel that he steering direction the bike under control. he faster he more want o becertainhat he machine ill what want t to.
Counter Steering Steering simple nough-you bars he opposite direction f the direction wish o travel. hatbegins he urn,and he bike eans turns.Deliberatelyu rning he bars he opposite irection travel s known counter steering. Counterm eans against," and o steermeans "guideor direct." right must urn he bars left-to go left, urn he bars ight.Gounter steering is the only ay yo can direct motorcycle to steer accurately. This, n act, s how you've motorcycle teering ime,whether knew t not. cannot teer motorcycleimply by eaning t to veer either irection eaning weight side speeds, ut hat sn'tsteering. are alking about ontrolling bike, nd hat method ssomethingess hancontrol. onlyguesswhere he bikewill speed can'tdo much anything you're holding handlebars. Let's ake lookat what happens hen steer. e a n i g h t , n d h eb i k eb e g i n s a p p r o a c h i n gr i g h t - h a n du r n . right.Since holding he bars moving o the right your pulling he eftsideof the bar owards which urns the bars o the eft. f ean eft around left urn,you pull rightbar.Thismusthappen f you'reholding bars. you're holding he bars. he bikewill not begin o turnwhere ean. pushing n hold other ar well pulling-it epends n how
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ffiffi :a;r.l: ii:.i ':::i.it::i:.'r:,1 .i.lrri:tir:i..
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Push/Pull pulling long asyou continue pushing the bars, bike will continue to lean over and turn more sharply. When ease he pressure bars, he bikewill stay angle pressure. don'thave o hold he bike reached eased p into he with anygreatamount f force, f at all.On mostbikes, nce have machine t he desired ngle, no onger eed o hold onto he bars.A ctually, were iding60 mph mostbikeswith a p a r k i n g w i t hn o b u m p s , cruise ontrol huge could your hands ff he barsonce had t leaned bikewould c o n t i n u e o i n ga r o u n dn a c i r c l e t h a t gas. ngle ntil yourself olding very ightly n urns, ou're When doing whole ot unnecessaryork.Bumps othersurfacerregularities change he situation f course, do have o hold n makesteering orrections. o ou o his?
Tighten
Turn
tighten up turn and increase your lean angte, must counter steer again. You're n right-handurn,but t's decreasing-radius need tightent m u s tp u l l bars o the again ntil each desired n g l e . h es a m e a p p l i e sn l e f t - h a n du r n ; m u s tp u l l i g h ta n d e a n more o t i g h t e nh e u r n . s t r a i g h t e n b i k e a f t e r n i s h i n gh e u r n ,p u s h bars into d i r e c t i o n t h e u r n .E x a m p l e :o u ' r e a r i g h t - h a n d want o straight-turn bars o the rightuntil he bikestraightens problems ith his especially ast,decreasingRiders radiusurns.They nto rouble,hen ry o force he bars n he direction the urn.The major trouble riders have with decreasingradius turns is in not knowing how to steer. actually ee
Th faster you go, th more precise steering must Products, RPS, Sub-Products, Points of Timing-all become usable with accurate steering.
make urn.Theybecome igidas he bikegoes urther o the outside of the makes believehey're oing oo ast. effort hear he hrottlebeing olled Most urnscan'tbe madewithoutcorrectingor mistakes, camber r radius hanges surfacerregularities.l so, o hold constant radius hrougha turnwhich changes camber, umps, tc.), teeradjustments be made.M ost your steering ccurswith original teering ction oing he urn, must able o correct bike compensate sliding, hanges camber, radius, r other changes. can't corlect the steering a turn, will limit "one line through the turn" approach. your speed progress imited y howwell poorly correct he bike's d i r e c t i o n .n y i n e a maximum peed be idden particularider n particular n particular ay. ny houshtsn his?
Steering Backwards essence, otorcycle teering backwardsrom mostother forms transportation.n automobile direction urn he wheel, do mostothervehicles. problemwe have n earning ride stems a crueltrick layed n by our parents. gave tricycle pedal round. tricycle urns n direction steer when rode bicycleor he irst ime, ell down, everyoneaid t was because didn'thave balance. ctually, was because icycles also ounter teer. B a l a n c e a dn o t h i n go w i t h t l T h ec o n f u s i o n c a u s e d because childexpectshe bike rightwhen urns right. Eventually,u t of sheer urvivalnstincts, goes hrough steering motions ithout nderstanding winds a motorcycle years ater knowingwhat he hasbeendoing around urns. Practice ounter teering ndbecome ware it. Beaware muchattention costs o starta urn. emember whathappened an unexpected hole rockon he road ried o around t. Most riders, in an emergency, try to turn bike in the direction they want to doesn'tw ork f i n d h e m s e l v e so i n g o m e e a l l y t r a n g eh i n g s m a k e h eb i k e u r n . Racing, ecause speed,s self-createdmergency. y hinking practice, ou ower he amouqt time attention ecessary counter teerdown o an acceptableevel. have nownpeoplewho have idden yearswithout having face emergencyituation. hen, a car pullsout n front them.They ry to avoid t but the bikewon't what hey want So hey scared nd quit riding. hey ealizehat he control hey alwayshought here-wasn't. nderstanding a bikesteers an help ormer ider decide riding gain. I h a v e e a r d a r y i n g x p l a n a t i o n sb o u tw h a t s h a p p e n i n g during ounter teering, ut I havenever eard ny wo engineersgree physics f it. Despitehis,everyone grees totally n counter steerings necessary goodcontrol f a motorcycle. tartpracticing
Kenny Roberts, he master of fast an precise steering, sets up fo he right hander n the corkscrew. Notice the wheel sharply countersteered to the left.
CHAPTER
Slipping and Sfiding Traction: How to Use lt and Lose t Slipping and Sliding Your Way to Victory without ome liding V e r y i t t l ew i n n i n g d o n e h e s e want o win,you'llhave learn o do t, oo. around he ires. biggest single breakthrough for most riders occurs that sliding around doesn't always mean when they find they'll fall. The biggest single drawback is when riders become think it is an end in itself. They must fascinated with sliding purpose. Sliding ool, hat ool shouldbecome useful t is K o part your iding. he rststep hardest-deciding o i t a l i tt l e a i m e .D o n ' t slide. sliding, aren't will able ast n hopes m a k e w i l dd e c i s i o n r u n n t o . o r ku p o i t b y n c r e a s i n g s p e e d h a n d l e e x c e s s p e e d s l i d i n gW u s u a l l yi r s to c c u r s h e n begin slide. t h r o u g hh e u r n su n t i l riders on he s l o w e ru r n s . coming Sliding on asphalt distracting when overdone, is useful ridin tool when used moderation.
Three Kinds
Sliding
Three indsof sliding ommonly ccurunder acing conditions: he rear 1 The wheelbegins spin acceleration comes round," r goes more han he rontend. back ront begins pushing"-it sliding, ut is not. bike s n a sideways Bothwheels resliding, r and-slide otion. N o n e t h e s ek i n d s s l i d i n g c a u s e dby braking; from going into or through the turn too fast or f rom u s i n g h e t h r o t t l e oticedhis? breaking raction. Have
Exceeding
Limits
Sliding ccurs ecause have xceededhe imitsof tire adhesion hosecircumstances. muchspeed r hrottle not he only easons sliding anoccur-rough avement rough iding poorsuspensionystem. alsocause t, as "comearound" ll by tself back urn,which ourthkindof sliding.M any imes regarded other kinds f sliding re o the rider's handling urn, whenweight ransfer rontor rear auses end o break way. were o come little example, a turnwith much en roll off speed would become suddenly,he front heavier rear couldstart he ront sliding. hesimple openslightly o helpeven he weight edy s o crack he ront and ear.S omebikes heavier n one have he other. b u i l t - i ne n d e n c y s l i d e h a te n d . urface determine hich the bikeslides.G oing crest, or rnstance, ighter nd-or bothwheels ecause downwardorce s essened-slides.sually, however,h e wheelwith muchweightwill break raction irst.
Another Decision A n o t h e r e c i s i o n u s t m a d e o u s e h es l i d i n g y o u r advantage. good drive coming turn usually involves some rear-wheel slippage. harder accelerate, more ubber have o accelerate ith as he weight ransfer enerated y he acceleration lattens ut he enlargeshe contact atch. holds only o point, f course. wheel egins pinning much oreffective adhesion, will heat rapidly offervery ittle raction. llowing t o spin a b i tw i l la l l o w bike o continue ccelerating maintain nough raction t won't slide completely. even steer he bike your advantage rear slightly oose pointing nside f u r n .T h i s c a l l e d t h r o t t l e t e e r i n g . " bike
l've only high sided once. Itry to keep it slidrng and bring it up with the steerrng. then it quits. especially with a superbike.
w h e r e s l i d e a sb e c o m e i m i t i n ga c t o r use he iding must slideo guide b i k ew h e r e ew a n t s t As he ider decide here when u s e d o y o u ra d v a n slipping round w o r r y i n g " b i k e r o u n dh e u r n tage ather being imited b y h e r a c t i o n . l i d i n g , w i l lp r o b a b l y n d , o s t s amount f your worth attention. et used to the sliding and then begin directing the bike with it. A moderate and effective slide smoothly done. The slide is obvious because the front wheel is not turned in enough to track at that amount lean. Note: The slide is being corrected with Kenny's knee. This technique is covered in the following chapter-
Brake Slide haveentered veryeffective ool to usewhen Sliding at hat point ast.Leaninghe bikeover littlemore a urna little "scruboff" he extra peed. don'thave will allow bike slide simply to use brakes ndchance omething ill upset he bike, continue. raction extra peed turn t in littlemore, crub ncreased mount urnsbecause f becomes notherm atter f hreat o the rider, attention eing pent.Medium peed urns ob i t t l e l i d i n g r o u n d a nw o r ko u t .R i d e r s h e a p i d l ye a r n s more imid traction n aster urns.Also, n medium peed ankedurns, ider s u c h L o u d o n , l i d i n g s m o r ep r e d i c t a b l e e s s r a m a t i c . throttle teering gainst downward balance ff urn.Losing traction can sometimes n the banking holding" be more of an advantage than keeping it. witt workoryou?
Built-ln Safety Valves Tire sliding and slippage are built-in safety valves. h e t i r e s r e a c h i n g t s i m i t s .P r e m i u m t r e e t i r e s They're elling racing ires designed o operate n this area friction and heat. used-up ubber "balls up" and goes away,exposinga fresh rubbersurface pavement. standardstreet ire usuallywill not give up the used
pery. that letting res.
oils" hat areused o keep t resilient been cooked" layer f rubber, ut he ayer tillclings o the ire. f you're a c i n gi r e s l i p , o u ' r e e a l l yi d i n g n d e r a b i l i t y f
Foryour wn nstructional urpose, suggest singa tire combination will allow slide bikearound t your evel riding.B uying racing tires that are beyond your capabilities as rider will not allow ou to experience how tires perform at their limits. Most iders an ind out mor about idingwith a set DunK - 8 1 s w h i c h l i d e e r yp r e d i c t a b l y )t t e d t h e i rY a m a h a Z 2 S O s than heywill by mounting of state-ofthe-art licks. goes otherbikes swell. f used o riding sticky ires,but haven't found heir imitsm , ount of tires ou'll able o slide round. othertypes f sliding hould approachedn same way.Find whatsliding s won'tsurprise when t happens. T h i sw i l l m p r o v e i d i n g , s l i d i n g a nc o s t o o m u c h y o u ra t t e n tion f aren't omfortable ith t.once have lidingunder ontrol another of racing, will able o use t a tool.wil t work?
You can get away with a lot of sliding on small GP blkes that yo can't on a superbike
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Hanging It Looks Good
It doesn't look hk you're going fast when Vou are.
lt Works
Nothing changed oad-racing hotography practice lasteight ears echnique hanging Knee ragging s mostdramatic acers f anykindhave ndulged Spectators it, and iders ren't atisf until hey'vemastered t. Bothcanyon cafe acers re ikely o cast plastic heir pair designereans ouch o th armacwhilehanging JarnoSaarinen as he irst rider o exhibit ramatic nee-out riding. beenan ce acer efore oming o road acing, nd here knee raggings both part the styleand heonlyway o beseriously competitive. aarinen ioneeredt, KennyRoberts efinedt andmost everyone ho races uccessfully picked p knee ragging himself.
Real Reasons greatphotography ossibilities,hereare eal Aside rom reasonsor hanging ut a bodypart s capped y piece boneweak enougho b broken y 4o-poundblow.The first and most useful reason or hanging moving bodyweight the op ower nd o the nside. bike o a position yourweight nf uenceshe bikewhencentrif orce changes begins ushingt toward outside f the urn.Whenyourweight s higher he bike, gives he corneringorces lever o workwith. eaned n he urn. overcome entrifugalforce, bikemust greater he orce, he more must ean o overcomet. By hangingoff, move ower o the ground, weight o the nside f the bike presenting a lever or he orces o act upon.Thisdoes weaken the orce, t simply essens effect.N ow he bikedoesnot have o aster leaned as ar o make he same adius turn, hrough w i t h o u t a v i n go i n c r e a s eh e e a n n g l e . v e n rider itting pright machine, a t h es a m e p e e d straight-up begin a c c e l e r a t i o no o n e r because
Remember,n creasing your speed in a turn effectively decreases th radius the turn. Note:Other uggestions made s why hanging off works. he aws physicsmusthave omethingo do with t but m understanding thosephysicss imited.S omeevenargue hat t is no realadvantage site iderexamples f pastsuch MikeHailwood, not hang must ry t for yourself nd ndout f there advantage not. Th leverage theory. tall mass would tend heve a wider arc than shorterone, in a turn, same speed. Right wrong, everyone who is currently petitive is hanging off. Have you ever tried it?
Another Advantage muchwind resistance a createwhen t i hung side f motorcycle mph? mph, even60 mph? with thisadditionalsail" side, t's easiero turn n hat direction. ou an make quicker easier steering change with a knee ut because the bike will pivot around th point of resistance that it offers.
or th
Records
lfirst noticed effect hanging ff at Daytona hile attempting 24-hour peed ecord or 7Soccmachinesn 1g77 were idingKawasaki zosostreet ikeswith arge anksand aciresaround around outerbanked ri-oval Daytona. oming banking nto he evel traights steering horebecause centrifugalo rcewas rying send he bikeout o wall.we were ning constant peed about mph. m i g h t m a g i n e ,t w a s quite oring iding round hours a l m o s t o u t ,w i t h wind tugging rying o lift your helmet stillhave ermanent
popping knee as madea fairly harp menting nd ound steering hange oming the banksmade he steering ramatically easier-by boutone-third. he ecords ereset, he champagne greatand had earned new ool. An extended knee offers enough air drag to make steering easier,especially in high speed sectaons the track.
Second Advantage So, he second dvantage having knee ff is hatsteering resistance rider pivot around bike is easierwhen offered by the extended leg. Flicking bike rom side side knee is imedwith esses r anyseries turns s mucheasier holds rue or b e f o r e s t e e r i n gh a n g e m a d e . coming wind s i n g l eu r n s w e l l . h e i a b i l i t y o b v i o u s - y o u ' r er e a t i n g bikewill slowdownsomewhat. emember,se his resistance t awaywhen need t and technique a ool; pull t out when w o u l d e s p e c i a l l y w i t hs m a l l e r u n d e r p o w e r e d don't. onlywhennecessary make he steering asier. machines.
Third Advantage with ean ngle. A third eason hanging ff t e l lh o w a s t ndicators angle knowwhere he ires. lets much raction expect speed. i n h ed e l i c a t e a l a n c e l e a n n g l e , t e e r i n g r, a c t i o n costly nstrument; must make t yourbusiness knee s a delicate pavement. knowhow ar t is rom he surface
Th
Knee Gauge knee
n c r e d i b l yc c u r a t e a u g e
ngles-if
knee dragging technique is an excellent "curb feeler," gauge, that is used determine your lean angle from la lap.
s a m e p o s i t i o n n t h e b i k ee a c h i m e . position change rom turn turn,but it should s a m ee a c h i m e h r o u g p a r t i c u l a ru r n .T h e n can use he distance rom ground measure: over his far the first lap next around his turn a little faster." kneedoesn't have o drag he whole arounda turn; drop it now and then to "sample"your leanangle. hink wittwork?
How You Look and Feel Thereare hreegood reasonso master skill hanging off-four count he greatphotopossibilities. o the ifth reason: dragging gives you sense security. lt is strange works, nd don't otallyunderstand somehow eing close roximity p a v e m e n t a k e sa l l i n g f f s e e m e s s a n g e r o u s . Perhaps because have lready ontacted enemy ndknow w h e r e e s . t d o e s n ' t u r t o f a l lw h e n o u ' r e a n n c ha b o v e ground. course, 'm not aking he speed account-justhe all. A fall of the seat s a much onger all, extra istance ould start f painful ouncing.M ost slide-outs don't esult njury hen bouncing udge lipping ccur. safer," t feelsmoresecure. yourself hether not s s
Sixth Advantage not believehis,but riders aved hemselves from alling ecause w e r ea b l e o h e l p b i k eb a c k w i t h h e i r k n e e f t e r t h a db e g u n o s l i d e riend f mine nce ctually b o u n c e d b i k eb a c k o n t o w h e e l s elbow continued
consider understand ow hismightwork f m o m e n t k n e e so n h e bike amount weight hat s aken ff worked-and pushing At any ate,his actic ground doubtworkagain. an advanced ession the California uperbike asked guest nstructor, Schoolw hereEddie awson as his echnique?", often comment n his.Whenasked, "Aboutonce lap."There measure heroics Lawson'seply more ayers f duct apewill helpkeep involved, certainly leathers knee ooking mart. Using he knee an anti-slide evice, r an aid o sliding' p a r t i c u l a ru r n . m u s ta l s o a k e n t oa c c o u n t h e r e s l i d e c c u r s r rn. r e c u r r i n gl i d e e c o m e s p o i n t f t i m i n g P O T )n p a r t i c u l a u becausehere s crest the bike going o slidehereevery make g a s . "F i n e , n o b i g d e a l , u n l o a d s b i k ew h e n knee rmlyplanted keep part yourplan or hat urn.Now, going ace, a on every into he asphalt every won'twork. yourknee r leathers. start duct to run known, ocation n he rack eally W h a tw i l lw o r k s : Y o u he old kneedown.iust efore he slidehappens. POT, nd p a s s e d , u n w e i g h t k n e e n dS a v eh e a p e ' slide he knee wait or he bike o slideevery otherhand, f t happens. anics minor anic down, will cost a ot Here what you'vedone handle situation' he slidearea P o tell l.You've ound approaching. 2. You've gured ut where pu your kneedown' That's your POT. You've gured where o pick up he knee, t the slidearea. hat'sanother predictable drifting sliding 4. You',veurned urn. You've avedmanydollars orthof attention Th knee extended readiness correct fo sliding, should occur'
used
udging peed, djusting ine,passing,hrottle ontrol, plan,getting betterdrive,etc., t done?
Hang Loose Never become rigid while hanging off. Be elaxed s e t t l en t o h e p o s i t i o n n o r m a l l y w h i l e n h i sm a n e u v e r .o u ' v e ob relaxed possible don'tbecome bobbing weighton he bike hat acts passenger doesn't how o relax. encounter krnd roughpavement handle bike roughly,t will move down. f you're oose, willflex downwith t. you're igid, he bikewill ts motion, will, then b i k ew i l lm o v e g a i n , r e a t i n g w o b b l e . Don't handlebars support w e i g h tw h e n hangoff.Thissends nputs steering start wobble well. sideof the bike other. hord with youroutside eg.Then elax. l'll photos. Note:Many iders ave ound little alcumpowder seat s helpfulwhen changing rom side o side. work
Be comfortable ather han sultsn.
Note: don't comfortable anging don,t waste time effort rying work something don'tneed hanging a o o l .w h e n begin o have round leara n c e r o b l e m s h i l e o r n e r i n g ,r a n yo t h e r r o b l e m s c o u l d h e l p e d by hanging do t. rider's tyle ncludes weil accomplishes partsof riding. t what he understands of what he doesn't feelgoodabout olled package. anging ff may part your idingpackage, t may now. rider ells greatdealabouthimself y hisstyre. example,a rider stay uckeddownbehind he bubble nd ow on he bike n ast rickysections nows rack. Rps. oints rimother actors he ider doesn't sitting up rying where e going. style based where rider spending is wodh attention. itting ourself style or no reason cost a lot.
Don't hang off if yo don't need to.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Passing That I Just Passed? |tissometimeseasiertopassarideryouareracingwith' t is pass apped equal similar bility yourown, someone enough other acer your evel s here or slower iders. slower ider iding tyle,w here someaspect make will becomewary these imes unobservedommodity. a lapdown you. t makes riders wonder f they knowwhat'sgoing Passing omes often new-rider iscussions.t is def nitely even only something the crafts nvolved racing mastered' riders, Thegroundru|esinpassingandfo||owingwi||increaseyou a c t i o n sn v o l v e d : understanding
Ground Rules
Passing
track when outside 1. Motorcycles oses directly ehind rider riders. they fall, and time a l m o s t m p o s s i b l eo h i t h i m . alls, control covers there. Aluminum longer witl place fell bike over, t will rapidly airings ffer ittle raction, once travel o the outside. he alls, nside another ider you're ositioned high,banked onlyexception this him. possible it is sliding steep D a y t o n a .h e r e b a n k i n g turns begin i d e rw i l l r a v e l a i r l y t r a i g h t s o m e i s t a n c e , machine rider iterally down urn.Bike nside downward ourse upon onger olding h i l lb e c a u s e c o r n e r i n go r c e ramatic b a n k i n g . e s s e r a n k e du r n sh a v e s i m i l a r s o m e w h a t t e n d e n c y d o h es a m e h i n g . n c r e a s e dia b i l i t i e se c a u s e outside Passing allen ider maneuver akes possible intersect path
the result Often, two-rider accidents rider following the lead rider, the first to fall, where track. One concrete xamples old axiom, ook." ront t veryupsetting have omeone possibly dangerous you. o f t e n ,h e r a i l i n g i d e rw i l l downwith him.Perhaps becausehe allen watch allen r i d e r s n o wh a v i n g m o r e n t e r e s t i n gid e , e r h a p s danger. m o r b i d u r i o s i t y . h a t e v e rh e e a s o n , s i m p l e o l u t i o n o n o t l o o ka t h e a l l e n i d e r . o n t i n u e o i n gw h e r e o r i g i n a l l yn t e n d e d here s ittlepossibility becoming ntangled him. . become involved with watching the rider front of you, passing becomes very difficult. Spend attention rider going-your spending on where O bill not expanded. Also. ooking t another ider using not ooking t knowwill hrough turn. becomeost. Here's om advice. nd an exampfe, riding n traffic om threeAmericanmasters: ennyRoberts, ddie awson MikeBaldwin. I have een achof them unnear-perfecta ps, nly enths a second slower an heir best ace aps, n veryheavy raff c. Baldwin he reatsslower iders ke rees n the woods. considers stationary bjects e s going Lawson uggests correct rocedures not ooking leading ider. AfterKennyRoberts'incrediblepening SearsPoint, where went 32nd sixth rack doesn't eally straightaway,obody bothered him. obviously idn't considerhere anyone here. rysww$i.rn!|ffit
Guys get ln trouble watching the rlder in front. You're aware that they're there, but yo look at the track
Look where yo want to not at the rider yo about to pass. attention spent him is amount need ge by
Following other riders can help learn track layout when it isn't clear to you. Following close a liability, but ollowing a comfortable istance an mprove own mastery a urn.Whena rider s n ront creates "rollingRp." Let's another ider ahead by 25 to OO eet. f the tracksurfaces hard because f elevationhanges r radius changes knowwhere he rack goingby ocating other ider. stays n he rack, presence know here asphalt head you. gives ou better icture f what can'tsee. draw loser must abandon im RP, eeping attention your Product, ub-Product RPs.D oes t make ense?
PassingSignals Californiat is egaltosplit anes-to betweenhe ines practice, aliforniaiders ave earned of cars reeway. rom that he autodriver lways oessomething efore echangesanes. a look n he mirror, witchof the head, houlderm ovement, g l a n c eo t h e r e a r c h a n g e f h a n dp o s i t i o n n steering heel.n racing, rideroftenmakes movement, sually the head, before changing irections.t isn'talways t isn't 100 centeffective seemso b with cardrivers, t doeshappen nd use t if see t. Yourability o "read" other ider's ine where t will o do with passing. riderwho s eaned ver he he maximum imits m a c h i n es n o t i k e l yo m a k e n y a d i c a l o v e so w a r d nside rack.His ineof travel s prettywellset. must able size p his ine, etermine here t will him, decide make pass. Judging he amount f space hat need or pass sn't thatdifficult. only takes a little more space than width ou can see doorway to pass another rider. amountof space, yo et hrough.wittthisetp?
Basics Apply p a s s i n g , b a s i c s r i d i n g t i l la p p l y . o um u s ts p e n d attention getting round he rack. on other iders. ourRPs, Products, roducts, hat imingand he ability o concentrate t h e r a c kw i l lb e h ed e c i d i n ga c t o r s nish ine rst. crosses
width of a common doorway is all the track to pass. that
Th sequence represents tw seconds of time. A well-executed pass ro the set-up through to completion.
ot&*.,
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
SuperuiseYourself Yes, Homework ls Necessary
go into a race. on the starting line, with the attitude that I' gonna get beat-these guys ar gonna smoke me
acing rogram, accurateecords To helpsupervise the rack.This working n someaspect f each your ime,expensiverack way, ou'llbe making best your bike.
Record Your La Times Th irst absolutely ecessaryecord o keep s la imes. times indicate your overall base-line improvement from directlywhat yourefforts to lap and race to race. Lap imes ell he ap ry something bringingn erms improvement. what s not. weeding utwhat s working times a sure-fire Keeping ccurateecordss nothingmore hankeeping diary going o workon and make note your iding.D ecide hat t h e t r a c k w i t h p l a n . T h a tp l a n h o u l d n c l u d e l l o f book. haven't the nformation have atheredhere previousaps. f beginning,earninghe course ridden he rackbefore, tart peculiarities. mightalsostart he beginning f this book pointsmentionedn each hapter. hrough he rack,w orking ikely Notice he construction the rack tself,w hat products doing to have or each urn or section the rack,notewhat each,w hat eference points you'reusing, have vailable use, decisions ou're perating your iming s working each ection, what what o do about hem. where he barriers m o r e o n s c i o u st e e r i n go u l d s l i c k y o u rb r a k i n g s h i f t i n g , ou gree? makeyourway around he courseeasier.
lmprove Problem Areas Pick up your problem areas and try to better them;
person goodstopwatches progress n rackwill require narrow own he areas ou'reworking as imer.Thiswill help p a r t i c u l a re c t i o n . you're aining osing position o see hewhole rack, r eastmost The imershould ecord very variety stopwatches hould imers. use wo hreesingle
Break the Track Break track into sections and time each mighthave imerclock rom, or example, start/ separately. o the Turn finish ine o TurnThree; urnThree o TurnSix, imes or eachsection, imerwill record start/fnish ine. record overall ap ime beside t. Now you'll knowexactly 4q@Ie needwork. haveseen, or example,W ayneRainey-formerly Class dirt tracker-run box-stock awasaki< Zl50 hrougha ight section t Willow nationSpringsRacewayfromTurnThree hroughTurnSix) aster ally-rankediders heirSuperbikes! ainey's equipped streetDunlops, nd he Superbikes slicks wide imsplus ground leara considerably ou also me your competition, may ind where re pickingup ime nd where ou need o get your imesdown. haveand he people ou have Youronly imit s he number watches to run hem.This svaluable, ottom-linenformation work think with. Should be tried? Breaking the track into threo or more timed sections pinpoints your improvement.
Work On One Thing At A Time When superviseourself, out ntendingo improve ne turnor oneaspect all he urns, ikebraking,eference oints points of timing.When do his,don'tchange nything lse.Keep rest the rack what you're oing here he same. hiswill give a better picture f the results. can hink endless'things whileyou're ut on he track,but stick yourplan workon what had ntended
like the big sweepers, ast corners.Somettmes he guys l'm lappinggo through he slow ones aster han me.
also y nothing.H omeworksn't un allthe ime, few apswhen ride.Don'tconcentraten any improvements. most, ry relaxmorean concentrate n your breathing.O ften, haveseengreat orwardsurges n lap imes by riders were nstructed few aps or un.This when can ntegrate ll he hings wereworkingon ntoa smooth flowing ide. and ide knowwhatyou're oing.
Go Faster Freddie (Spencer) s fearless coming out of slow turns.
Most riders try to go faster each time on the track. That a wholedecisionn tself hat shouldbe reserved racing nd or when have good amount f thinking bout he rack.Once you've hrough boringparts looking experimenting whatworks, armedwith enough nowledgeo make decision to faster reallywork.Without solving some your barriers and just make mistakes t a higher rough spots on he track, speed. lt hasbeensaidmany imes by manygood riders:First do it right, then add the speed. "Right" is what worksbest or yo produces best yourplan imes. add he speed. hat's starting pface.Ca ou pplyhis? Us practice your bestadvantage. you're of the astest riders hat day,go out in ront of the practice ession o won't have cut througha lot of traffic. f you're ne slower iders, ou group and stayout of the distracting raffic. towards he endof
Practice
lnformation
Think
Come back from each practice session with information can use to think with. Whether ar workingon some aspect your acing akinga relaxedide,have solid of what wenton during he aps run. have have hard time remembering what ou have just done, your attention so stuck on something that yo don't have enough it left to observe yourself. Thishappensmore hanwe ike, nd makes t difficult precious operate ith understanding. hen can't emember, dollar's orth attentions being pent sucha degree something will eave shoft underelse hat only have operate. whatdoesn't. makes t diff cult o tellwhatworks standing
Waste Paper, Not Track Time Paper cheap-uset makedrawings urns you're oing n hem-make showyourself he drawings o indicatehe RPs, OT, roducts yourplan attack o aroundhe course aster.D raw at a time unless have
rackdiagramsdrawings-don't Make or helpyou. Track iagrams re counts is how the turn looks o the grandstands,ut heydon't nclude heir spectators camber hanges,ough pots, xact ocations uphills nddownhills,
Track Drawings possible, Anyone Make your track drawings as exact drawing f a urn' a motorcycle makea simple who can drawing diff cult o make aftistic bility. doesn't probafter ou've idden he rack, leepinghroughart classwasn't just don't know stillunclear you. turn. Parts lem, real thing. drawing makes your thoughts one step closer to closer o it than he stuff hat houghts Papersn'tasphalt, t withwhat going nvolved verydirect made Drawings whileyou're iding.
TT{g BIKE uINIDADS MUCH WHEN OrJ OvgRHOI-D THE CR.EST Airlltg
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Drawings bring your thoughts one step closer to the track. Work out problem turns on paper. Have you ever tried it?
Fast
Fast
gain more time in the fast turns than will find, asevery iderhas, hat a little aster n he fast slow ones. turns makesmuchmoredifferencehan a little aster n the slowones. covermoredistance he ast urns,whichbrings youroverall averageaster.R emember, takes about mph higher verage second aster A typical urn may e O0- 50 feet n length, hile fast more. hat larger 300 o 900 partof the rack whichyouraverage an higher.
Racer's Tools ntend Look your iding rom he standpoint yourself ap-timeargets improve. he day. Make use. Makeevery ractice come rackwith nformation pafticular ointwhileyou're session ountevenmore working riding. Don'tbecome iscouraged. Read ver he materialn his hen. have idden.t will makemoresense bookagain fter Can you see it working fo you?
page Wayne Rainey'sotebook.
Jilt? ffiP-.s"sN dx,?Eoop SH FT E^gEl,{ Do\N'N :L THEN ff Cor'oe rHe- Re
ovER N\Y-eenr lovirla THEN s-rART 5iiii TF\EN LEFriHE Lr=trT AND"G\N -niE. 151N\RD= \N it oN BA.K t\rRorn:= TH LEtrt i* 3TART Rcuur\JQ iiii cENTER cF'fir€ coR\rER/s-rn.rl-|,ENtts& t-tP>-fR\lGHr' RN\S\NA rft€ gr iiii AND GRADu\LLY 'tHF sHoRT sHurE INTD TURNT1AJO T\it* Bo*lo APPROAC\{ UR\r TWb x: sTART-ro LEAN fii As iu Rrc*Ht \Bcur trlVE F.=gr FRoMTH c!"rrslDE' SDGE OF TH TRACK, RouurNe hE fHRDTTI-E -rHRu r$rz LEANTIsGRrei-l-r Gor\lG cFF/ TURN AtrotlT s/ THRDTTLE ce'uree oF TH ROL\yPr: T\GI-trE\r T0 1i1+En-reN sfARrS AS -11*R,DT11-F B\K-E1OWAKDS T!\Eot uelsl\N& TH A{'\ GolNq' STgqlq*t'
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BAo' T\.1RN, ROuursG FNEreE{pSoMTHg-0\^TSlDEicoRxlE-R" EDGE ot TFtg cE''fiEtc. oF Trtg AxlO f*exr :t AM LEANIINQ rf OVgR \+AR> I=oe, THE- Ex tT OF I_HE \1JRN} liii::::ii:ii:
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Advice Your Best Friend: word advice boutpeople iving ou advice bout your iding-you your best advisor. You're l'm not one for giving out sitting n sadadvice. don't want to give iding. better nformation boutwhat going n away.especiallyat the track your head you. Dealw ith yeg! own decisions, y9!rr barriers, or raceoa wnensomeone has particularquestron.But ysgf products and reference points, yggg points timing and I wont screw gu up and give him wrong or dangerous attention-not someone lse's. advrce.
Sort lt Ou for Yourself your iding ooks o someone eside he rack have nothing o do with are hinking bout t. sort out or yourself. nother ider's ine, ven f h goes aster hanyou, you. nformation mightnot be valuable, ut correct have o watchwhere coming who'sgiving Other iders ,cften perating t up will ry alse nformation. heir to make t work, oo. waste energy. give I have ried advice bout iding n his materialinstead, ried explain hat happens hileyou're n motorcycle, mportant. whata ridermust hink whenspeed nd precision lt's your ob to decide how they apply you.How oyo eel boutt? You are th on wh ha to ride the track. A nickel's worth of bad advice could cost a lot more ($1Ol on the track.
Behind the race face, the glare of concentration. Pumping up the adrenalin or going over his plan?
"w
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Fall
Relax-You're us Road Testing Your Leathers motorcycle Three eally mportant actorsabout alling keep when he imecomes unload-How are:What about he business gettingworse-and situation falling ff.
Be Willing
Fall Off
shouldbe Let'sconsider third factor irst. As a racer, don't have Wan! but beingwilling is very Wt!.!ng fall ride t has o do with yourattitude bout alling. different, activity ou're raceone-falling motorcycle-andspecially likely becomenvolved ith. goeswith he erritory riding. more likely to fall. This s he key-it worksvery resist falling, don't object arget xation. hat'swhere similarly don't ook or hreat xated n want hit, henbecome resist t-or more out and hit t anyway. alling similar yourattention way he dea not alling-themore t will fixate from your riding. oucan spend ou entire en-dollar'sworth of attention operate have attention resistingalling, hen because machine,allfrom a mistake. simplydecide magic the decision. Here gain s ime.anywhere. t can happen. t accept might that these hings. say, okay, have o look doing m i g h tb r e a k b o n e h a v e h e l l a s l i d e , j u s t m i g h t happen motorcycleiders. these hings here. decision making way by akinga look wouldn'tadvise acing o anyone ho wasn'twilling o fall down.
Falling nsurance
earsome nymore.Y our best comes ut alright, alling sn't insurance against falling is to not resist comeout of it with he do fall, however, ere's least mount damage yourbody:
Let Go heavier the bike: lt is much arger road will. you'reholdvery ikely o travel urtherdown want o minimiz onto you're oingalong or he ride. holes round hrough hem.Motormotion yournew eathers on't catchon he hingssticking ut heirsides cycles ave ground rolling nddoingendos. you're tillattached send et difference etween th bike, ou'll do the same.When someotherplace. weight he bike'swill generally relax.D on't anything. 2. Relax: arms bike. extend relaxing usually away will providing ourself ith a pivot legs o try o break all, lying umbling.W henyourbody's igid t'seasier break send doll, t'smorediff cult things. f you're elaxed, kidding long to breakbones. -:Gl
,61
In a fall, let go Motorcycles are out of your control once they begin to slide on the sidecovers. Holding on will extend your trip.
.." ri. ..1"!. r: '$,,i' tu.,' t*'$js
lfl,*,,'**
Relaxingcompletely will spread out any impact and help protect against broken bones. Scuff up a lot of the leatherc a lattl bit, not scuff a little part a lot.
xh
putsmoresurface reaonto he ground Relaxing weigh 1 spreadshe mpact vera larger rea. orexample, pounds nd all yourpalm, hreesquarenches yourpalmwill all alone-the take orce about pounds square nch rom speed. force that mpactwill ncrease reatlywith your back, egs nstead, ou're allingontoa couple quare pound. pound whichbrings he downbelow square dropped n your handwill hurt littlebit.Fiftypounds ropped your h a n dw i l lh u r t i k eh e l l . Relaxing spreads the impact over a larger area. This people o lessen martial stunt echniques possibilities pain damageo theirbodies. Probably veryone heard exceptionalituations here bike to stop. waits the rider lides ut, climbs want o try s unhurt. decide never ouches ground bike s sliding he worstkind fall when this, understand overon he otherside. you're along something atches hich aunched. called high-siding" s t i l lh a n g i n g n - y o u you're hrownover he highsideof a bike n a urn. Low-siding" when bike s eaning verand he ireswashout,dropping straight own.
Stop Before Standing sometimes other mportant spect falling can't ell when you'vestopped.Strange his mayseem, t's rue.When sense f balance nner-earluid hat governs all, t upsets are actually stopped while still and motion.You can think decide mph. lt canmake or exciting ime f sliding along at stopped.t hashappened standup before sliding wind up aking 5-footstrides l'veseen t happen other iders. kangaroo. avoid his,count o three down he track, nd have topped,hen ookaround o see f the when hink ground rewhere hey'resupposed o be.Somexamples?
Practice Falls possibility fallingby As I mentioned, ou prepare hat: relaxing. ere's exercise help Standup n the middleof a carpeted oom,or use hat'sequipped ith wrestlingmats. yourarms o the sides shoulder eight' 2. Extend notice et hem all. o relax nd Command havemade he command, esistance yourmuscles fter lop down yoursides. overuntilyour arms whole command middle f Stand n do t honestly et t fall. body o relax. ust won't all straight orwardor straight ackwardswill buckle irst
yourbody
command. t on soft want be creative ith hisdrill also n rampoline. m a t sw h i l ew a l k i n g r r u n n i n g . importanthing s o relax he bodyon command t willfall relaxed nd spread he impactovera largearea. have oad-testedhis technique ca personallyestify hat or mostmotorcycle cciover hit he dents ou'llhave muchbetter hance f avoidingnjury ground elaxed. gree?
After A Fall lf yo tr dodge oncoming traffic, there s a greater hit. Lookat it from he point viewof the other iderschance you'll stay spot. you'reup and they have chance avoid you're topped, you'll don'tknowwhich moving n panic, theyhave omethingo avoid. lso, t'smuchbetter have leg unover whileyou're tanding anotherm otorcyclehan o be hit by planof action, uch relaxing hen off, s ikewearreally don'tneed t untilyouhit he road, helmet. ground; nowing will helpkeep it. Beingwilling o fall njuries. to do t canminimize
A motorcycle and rider will widen their arc travel after a craeh, except in heavily banked turns.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Sponsorship There
Free Lunch
l'll o the nittyof sponsorshipightaway: need three hings-or hree-to sponsorshipupport. Know omeone ho s n position o sponsoryou. 2. Workhardpromoting ourself coverevery ossible sponsor. goodat racing otherpeoplewant heir carrying stickers
A P.R. World In mostcases, eoplewant o sponsor iders hey ike. yourability o ride,but usually Sometimes,h at'smore mportant just helps lot.Yourpotential ponsor picture ou on he winner's picture stand aying reat about product others. the club aces aying hingsabout kind person hat othersbelieve? ponsor-or otential ponsormustunderstand hing f he o be at allsuccessful. e live P.R. (public relationsl world and good P.R. helps. expect to be club acer nothing urther, doesn't xclude fruits sponsorship.ocal acing asbeen he spawning round some the mostsuccessf product inesevar.H ave ou oticedh is?
His Honor,
Racer
Racers opinion eadersn heir ields. hat ield s motorcycling.T hroughout acinghistory, he majority products hat aresportperformance-related veshown on the race rack, en on many streetbikes. will notice hat your have acedan have rienos, heir riends re credibility as ncreased mong hem.Your riends give even he hot ip on performancearts depending celebrity. whatbike o buy. opinion eaders somewhat
racing, willing o answer ndless uestions boutmotorcycles. willing o promote products. sponsor houldunderstand o do any this great acer, obodywill expect When cocky.N ot really-but because will havebecome verpaid irst priority. winningwill good acer not, basis or sponsorship, hether or him makewith he sponsor.What exchange you? what s he going o do Step One is ge(tlng the sponsor. Step Two is spreading his name around. Step Three win, win, win.
Decide, Plan It's up decideuponand sellto your potential have or getting name nto he world sponsorshe exact the bestpossibleight.Plan or activities uch arrangingor articles, a soft mini radeshow or his products, howmaking area racing sing him hat have sphere influence, ointing dream p been-good romotion, anything lse Then showhim how t will benefit Keep ur sponsor nformed what you'redoing, propose keephim up that will nformhim.Takepictures, rite etters to date. Canyo do t?
Proposals professional. Proposalshould well-organized show with a dirty disoroutline great eason promotion ganized roposal, will see hrough from he start. won't beconf dent hat conscientious,ell-organizederson e needs o do mustbegin o think yourself an employee f company n which ou own shares f stock.
plan write actually arryout. number f comwill stickers t amateurevel s dwindling almost isappeared.on'tbase sponsorship ackage n he act will stickers your bike. many iderswill runstickers quart package un. Design will standon ts whether have tickers n bikeor not.Proposeo make ourself promotional ctivities. ny houghts his? availabf ahead panies
Th YearAhead he most mportantpart of anysponsorship ackage yoursponsorm ustboth wellaware f. have een overthat looked ountlessimeswith unfortunateesults. t beginning year ompanies re ooking round o how heywill spend heir promotiondollars. hey enthusiastic expect hat coming will good.Theyhave ollars hat compelledo spend. advertising eople pumping c o m i n g e a s o n .t w i n t e r grasswill be greener he spring. ou with goodproposal everythingooks ight.You're umped, company going give all he product use. t will a help. $5OO season egins nd aboutpromoting product said would.When season nds, back o yoursponsor o se about nextyearand he says, What do for me his year?" alkedup he product timekeeping yourcommitspent ment,but now slipsaway rom and t seems etty mention each ime alked group riders n he Sunday ide pump product, carefully laced tickers n walls, very time someoneo believe about
Here's
Deal
you, he had better sponsor spends money willing to spend more money telling people about it. Sponsorship a wo-way treet. oudon't somethingor nothing neither he. t takes efforton both yourparts he wordout. club level e should supplying with banners pins stickers giveaway, nd maybean ad Qycte tletySo commemorate our good performance. raceprogram d, or nstance, elps name alsomakes better nown same ime. sponsor uilds product t rider same ime. a P.R. orld,and he more product, eeof betterP.R. t is.You've have year-win, sponsor gree o back hroughout or draw. sponsor on't back way, ind another ponsor.Your doesn't nderstand e sponsoring he irst place, will ose whenhe oses is nitiale nthusiasm. the year, he hasusedhis esources put you product there, won't what or him-hewill know. riders,
with racing. win-or lots of wins-will not anything or the sponsor. wilf be his ollow-up at gets he word out.
Your P.R.Program Evenwithout bunch first places still do plenty make ourself nown.Racing stillsuchan unknown uantity-in U.S. promote ourself ate-nightadio especially-that shows, public-access and akingpart civic-mindedctivities uring he offseason as alking boys'clubs.Start "Get acing streets onto he rack"program hat mightsave life or make racer someone. ou evenplugyoursponsor ere. ocal ewspapers always ungry o fill spacewith stories bout ocalpeople. themwith he same ivic-minded pproach nd t would difficult o turn down.Urgeother iders same. seem you're haring spotlight, ut makes acingmorepopular, which givessponsors better eason participate.Anyxamptes?
Satellite Sponsorship Yourkey arget s onewell-known ponsor. hisallows othersponsors omethingo identifywith,somethingargero be connectedwith Smith, acer. hey evolve round bask the ight better-knownentral ponsoring ompany. possible advantagesf being satelliteinked large ompany a multimillion-dollardvertising udget sveryappealingo the smaller usinessman. doing a favorby inking with yourcentral ponsor. example, a new signed a actory eam, many ases e s stillan unprovenider-high otential bviously, any aces. till, a new eam ider actory littledifficulty indingsponsors will handsomely patch connected actory factory dvertisingampaigns. he ider, case, of secondary importance. sponsor rider$b,ooo pracing patch stickers, he actory photos n millions f dollarsworthof ads, posters tems.S omexamples?
Fish Landing sponsor be useful n helping gather satellite ponsors. oing o a big company small, ut effective thatwill not drain he promotional udget of morevalue going with an expensive rogram be urneddown. t still same above. arge ompanies bargains, and he smaller ompanyeels onnected. emember, contracterms keptconf dential choose o he othersponsors ou approach on't
Where To Fish pond sponsors mportant. size money o largepond,worldwide. heyhave factory s arge sh he best-yet-start shing n smaller buy he best. f beginwith. a set shocks rom your ocalaccessory only appear onnected o something arger. store,bu hat now makes o sponsor swell. a satellite evolve round money he great promotinghe shocks heremight some next o the sponsor. lasterheirnameovereverything pump. makes prime can, even pendmoney your yoursponsor, sponsor look ike ou're ettingmore what he hasseen n he past.)Moveup he sponexpect more adder even tart n large uddle, sizepondat a ime. but at least t is wet. Doeshi pply you?
Over the Limit imitbegin o catchsponsors, on't over Once with 30 stickers n comeout on race throwback smallones. yourbike have o askwhere name eathers, sponsor don'tcrowd makehim he centraligure, Pick bestsponsor your space. sponsors,hree f ve,still alloweveryone also. share f exposure ithout eeling ost.Think your willwith promoting products good won't able o only hree.
That's Show racing ame. t has Sponsorship he business with he riding tselfexceptor onevery mportant little nothing operate your program buys thing:having enough money rider. Spending llyour time to concentrate on yourself veryold,very ast. f makemoney or racing doing your iding kills ather working c o u l d p e n d i g h th o u r s a c h your bikeor at would somedramatic mprovements. original deas f sponsorship as o letskilled yoursponsorists craftsmen ave he ime o createheirwork. ship o create ourselfas better ider. Treat ponsors business-like riendlymanner. your Increasedales heirbottom ine.Keep he business eparate partof the hreemain actors success. riding, don't orget hat equipment nd good sponsors. Theyare:Good iding,
Factory Rides Sponsorship brings bout he possibility f actory ide. people hey isten o, areverygoodat spotting actories, has he potentialto a op-notch ider. A wordof caution: ven hough t become more popularo takedrugs society,his s something smart managers on the lookout or. Riders have reputationor partying being ooked n with avor.Drugs re a decreasing-radius -they going n ast, henmake t veryhard or out. closing n he subject f sponsorship,writtenagreement always order. f obtain ponsorship, erms n writing-at least ntil eachotheroperates. ometimes better o supplieshan o with nvisible trings ttached. erein great ruth: t often costs more to et things free than it does to them. Keep youragreed-uponxchange yoursponsor shouldwork ine.
Taking drugs and racing is crazy. I don't want to nde with those guys and usually I don't have to
From your sponaor yo ge mon6y an stickers, etc. Money is payment fo ho well yo expose the stickers an hi name. Magazine photos really pump-up sponsors.
sFffi 9{tstof $ovgord
d^6
stt$s$s\s\\
A Parting Word Many hingshave been ncludedn his bookbecause do not have o do with he actual iding f motorcycle.rack afety information, achine reparation other aluable not n my publication area.M uch this hasalready een overedn Fly"by JoeZiegler, ho runs he Penguin acing chool t Loudon, Hampshire ndBridgehampton, York. By he same oken,all here s about iding these ages. materialthat ncluded workable will mprove your iding f it'sapplied.t is meant o b applied nd o be used. Spend your $1 wisely, and most of all, have fun riding!
Rider Checklist 1. Oi at Proper Level A. Engine Transmission Chain Forks Line
Wheels
Forks Don't Bind Chain Adiusted 5. Tire Pressures Ar Gorrect RearA. ColdPressures rontRearB. Hot Pressures ront Steering Head Bearings Tight Bolts Tight
Front Axle Axles Tight Wheels O. Gontrols
Balanced Usable
Comfortable
Fork Travel Correct (Forks houldnot bottom
op out)
2. Shock Travel Correct bottomout excessivelyut should (Shocks hould travel.)
mostof the shock
Throttle OPeratesSmoothlY (Doesn't tick,no excessive play.) Brakes Work Well contact A. Pads making binding isc. Pads re Enough material.
disc.
Tires Have Enough Rubber steppedires ancause andling ifficulties' A. Unevenly become greasy'" B. Ol acing ires beenscrubbedn andhaveplenty have c. Raceireswork bestwhen of rubber. Enough Fuel Place Master Link (Master shouldbe safetywiredunless
endless hain.)
Someone to Record l-aPTimes technicalnspectorooks t. They hings Most these tems racer' directly ffectyourability put yourequipmento use items rackwithoutmajormishaps make t around They nsure
(Use hese make copies or your notes.)
Race Day Record Date Track R a c i n gO r g a n i z a t i o n Length
Track
Number f Turns WeatherConditions AmbientTemperature Elevation
Classeso be Ru TiresRun:Brand Compound/Number
Front-
TirePressure: ront-Cold
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
TireMileage: ront
Rear
Jetting Mains eedle
Rear
Pilot
Ai CorrectionAir
Slide
F l o a tL e v e l - O t h e r
Gasoline G a s / O i lR a t i o
lgnition iming Spark Plug Heat Range CamTiming: ntake
Exhaust
Valve Adjustment: ntake
Exhaust
Gearing Countershaft
ShockDampening Front-Compression R ebound
RearSprocket
OverallR atio -Compression- ebou
SpringSettings Front- Pre-Load
Rear-Pre-Load
Lap Times Practice
Races
Position Points arned PrizeMoney Won
Comments
Screws
Rider Ghecklist Proper Level Oi A. Engine Transmission Chain D. Forks 2. Wheels Ar
ln Line
Forks Don't Bind 4. Chain Adiusted 5. Tire Pressures Ar Correct RearA. ColdPressures rontRearPressures rontSteering Head Bearings Tight Front Axle Ga Bolts Tight Axles Tight Wheels 10 Controls Ar
Batanced Comfortable an Usable
Fork Travel Correct bottom (Forks hould ShockTravel Correct bottom (Shocks hould travel.)
ortop out) excessively
should
most
the shock
Throttle OPeratesSmoothlY (Doesn't tick,no excessive play') Brakes Work Well contact n disc' A. Pads making binding isc. B. Pads material' Enough Tires Have Enough Rubber cause andling ifficulties' stepped ires A. Unevenly become greasy"' B. Ol acing iresdry out have st beenscrubbedn and haveplenty C. Raceireswork bestwhen rubber' Enough Fuel Place Master Link (Master|inkshou|dbesafetywiredun|essitisanend|esschain.) Someone to Record l-aPTimes technicalnspectorooks t' They hings Most these tems racer' your equipment ability directly ffect items Theyensurethatyoucanmakeitaroundthetrackwithoutmajormishaps
Race
(Use hese make copies your notes.)
Record
Date Track R a c i n gO r g a n i z a t i o n
Length f Track Number f Turns Weather Conditions Ambient Temperature Elevation
Classeso be Run TiresRun:Brand Compound/Number
Front-
TirePressure: ront-Cold
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
TireMileage: ront
Rear
Rear
Jetting Mains
Pilot
Air CorrectionAir
eedle
Slide
Float Level
Screws Other
Gasoline Gas/Oil Ratio l g n i t i o nT i m i n g S p a r kP l u gH e a t R a n g e CamTiming: ntake
Exhaust
ValveAdjustment:ntake
Exhaust
Gearing Countershaft S h o c kD a m p e n i n g Front-Compression-Rebound
SpringSettings Front- Pre-Load
RearSprocket
OverallR atio ea -Compression Rebound
Rear-Pre-Load
ap Times
Practice
PositionEach La P o i n t sE a r n e d PrizeMoney Won
Comments
Races
Rider Ghecklist Oil at Proper Level A. Engine B.Transmission B. Transmission Chain Forks Wheels Are In Line Forks Don't Bind 4. Chain Adjusted 5. Tire Pressures Ar Gorrect RearA. ColdPressures ColdPressures rontRearPressures rontSteering Head BearingsTight Front Axle Cap Bolts Tight AxlesTight 9. Wheels
Balanced
1O. Gontrols Are Gomfortable an Usable Fork Travel Gorrect (Forks houldnot bottomout bottomout ortop out) 2. Shock Travel Correct (Shocks houldnot bottom travel.)
excessivelyut excessivelyut should
mostof most of the shock
Throttle Operates SmoothlY (Doesn't tick,no tick,no excessive play.) BrakesWork Brakes Work Well contact n disc. A. Pads re making binding isc. Pads re material. Enough Tires Have Enough Rubber cause or steppedires steppedires A. Unevenly become greasy." acingires acing ires beenscrubbed beenscrubbedn and haveplenty bestwhen hey have ireswork bestwhen Race ireswork rubber. EnoughFuel Enough Fuel Master Link in Place iredunless (Master should safety iredunless 18. Someone
endless hain.)
l-aPTimes Record l-aPTimes
ooks They technicalnspectorooks hings hat a technicalnspector Most these tems your equipmento racer. equipmento use items hat directly ffectyour ability majormishaps mishaps rackwithoutmajor around he rackwithout make t aroundhe They nsure
(Use hese make copies your notes.)
Record
Race Date Track
R a c i n gO gO r g a n i z a t i o n Length
Track
Number f Turns WeatherConditions WeatherConditions AmbientTemPerature Elevation Classes o
un
Brand TiresRun: TiresRun:Brand Compound/Number
Front-
TirePressure: Tire Pressure: ront-Cold
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
Rear
Tire Mileage: Front Jetting Mains eedle
Pilot
Air Correction Ai
Slide
Float Level
Screws Other
Gasoline G a s / O i lR lR a t i o l g n i t i o nT nT i m i n g gH e a t R a n g e S p a r k P l u gH
Timing: ntake
Exhaust
Valve Adjustment: ntake
Exhaust
Gearing Countershaft ShockDampening Front-Com pression Rebound Spring Settings
ront- Pre-Loao Times
Practice
P o s i t i o nE nE a c h
PointsEarned PointsEarned PrizeMoney Prize Money Wo
Comments
RearSprocketRearSprocket-
R atio OverallRatio -CompressionRebound Rear-Pre-Load
Races
Rider Ghecklist 1. Oil at Proper Level A. Engine Transmission Chain Forks Wheels Are In Line Forks Don't Bind 4. Ghain Adjusted 5. Tire Pressures Are Gorrect RearA. ColdPressures ColdPressures rontB. Hot Pressures rontRear6. Steering Head Bearings Tight Front Axle
Bolts Tight
Axles Tight Wheels Are Balanced 1O Controls Are Gomfortable an 1
Fork Travel Gorrect (Forks houldnot houldnot bottom
2. ShockTravel Gorrect (Shocks hould bottom travel.)
Usable
or top out) excessivelyut excessivelyut should
most
shock
Throttle Operates Smoothly (Doesn't tick,no tick,no excessive play.) Brakes Work Well A. Pads makinggoodcontacton contacton disc. B. Pads renot re not binding isc. Enough material. Tires Have Enough Rubber A. Unevenly ornor ornor steppedires steppedires cause andling ifficulties. Old acing iresdry iresdry out and become greasy." work bestwhen bestwhen hey have Raceires Race ireswork beenscrubbed beenscrubbed and haveplenty rubber. E n o u g hF hF u e l Master Link in Place (Master should safetywired unlesstt is an endless hain.) safetywiredunless 18. Someone to Record lap Times technicalnspector technicalnspectorooks ooks t.They Mostof Mostof these tems hings t. They items hat directly ffect ability o put yourequipmento racer. equipmento use make around he rackwithout rackwithoutmajor majormishaps mishaps Theyensure Theyensure
Race
(Use hese make copies your notes.)
Record
Date Track Racing rganization Length f Track Number Turns Weather Conditions Ambient TemPerature Elevation
Classeso b TiresRun:B rand Compound/Number
Front-
Tire Pressure:Front-Cold
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
Rear
T i r e M i l e a g e :F r o n t Jetting
Mains
Pilot
Air CorrectionAi
Needle
Slide
FloatLevel
Screws Other
Gasoline G a s / O i lR a t i o l g n i t i o nT i m i n g
SparkPlugHeatRange Exhaust
Timing: ntake
Exhaust
alveAdjustment ntake Gearing Countershaft
ShockDampening Front-Com ression- ebound SpringSettings ront- Pre-load Times
Practice
P o s i t i o nE a c h
PointsEarned PrizeMoney Won
Comments
RearSprocket
Overall Ratio -Compression-Rebou Rear-Pre-Load Races
Rider Ghecklist Oil at Proper Level A. Engine B.Transmission C. Chain D. Forks Wheels Are ln Line Forks Don't Bind Chain Adjusted Tire Pressures Aro Gorract A. ColdPressures rontRearB. Hot Pressures rontRearSteering Head BearingsTight Front Axle
Bolts Tight
Axles Tight Wheels Are Balanced Gontrols Are Gomfortable and Usable Fork Travel Gorrect (Forks houldnot bottomout or op out) Shock Travel Correct (Shocks houldnot bottomout excessivelyut should travel.)
mostof the shock
Throttle Operates Smoothly (Doesn't tick, excessive play.) Brakes Work Well contact n disc. A. Pads making Pads binding isc. Enough material. Tires Have Enough Rubber A. Unevenly or steppedires ancause andling ifficulties. B. Old acing iresdry out andbecome greasy." beenscrubbedn and haveplenty Race ireswork bestwhen hey have rubber. Enough Fuel Master Link in Place (Master shouldbe safetywiredunlesst is an endless hain.) Someone to Record lap Times not hings hat a technicalnspectorooks They Mostof these tems racer. ability o put your equipmento use items hat directly ffect make t around he rackwithoutmajormishaps Theyensure
(Use hese make your notes.) copres
Race Day Record Date Track RacingOrganization Length f Track Number f Turns eather C o n d i t i o n s A m b i e n t Temperature Elevation
Classeso be TiresRun:Brand Compound/Number
Front
Tire Pressure:Front-Cold
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
TireMileage: ront
Rear
Jetting Mains eedle
Pilot
Ai Correction
Slide
Float
Rear
Screws
GasolineType Gas/Oil Ratio lgnition iming S p a r kP l u g H e a tR a n g e
Timing: Exhaust
a l v eA d j u s t m e n t : n t a k e Gearing Countershaft
RearSprocket
O v e r a l lR a t i o
ShockDampening Front-Com ression- ebou d
Rear-Compression R ebound
SpringSettings ront- Pre-Load
Rear-Pre-Load
Times PositionEach Lap P o i n t sE a r n e d Prize Money Won Comments
DISC<3VER
CORhIERINGCHOOL Cornering un...andhe ear Confidence omes exact kills Ride ur ZX-OR's yourbike Learn echniques f Pros Timed aps...gauge rnprovement Full idlnggearavailable
World ClassCornering KEITHCODF'S
CALIFORNIA UPERBIKE CHOOL (818)841-7661
818)841-7019
superbikeschsol.com ffi
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