I heard someone much faster and experienced then myself say once on here... Racers don't go 100% at track days because they understand that going fast is expensive whether that be tires or crashes you will invest more riding at your limit. Now I'm sure in the later sessions they put in a few flying laps or a blazing session but being smart enough to understand that limiting your own pace doesn't mean your not learning but it does mean your saving money. Which seems to be a concern of yours....and mine :lmao:
Kind of a negative analogy, but it gets the point across. The reason why I usually like to go 100% is because that is when I am challenging myself the most. It's not because I am suicidal or a masochist but to push myself to improve. I got the bike to kick some butt, not to "harley davidson" around. I wanted to learn to be good on the street, so I started track days. Being in the advanced group, I think is more than sufficient to be very good on the streets. Now that I have gotten a taste of track days, i want to be faster, and start racing. Also, going 100% and getting used to the mentality makes for a better prepared for future planned races. I am no Valentino Rossi, but I am sure when the best riders in the world race, they push the bike and themselves as much as possible. The mental state can be extremely stressing, but if you constantly do it, it becomes easier. The risks might be greater, but when passion or sheer stupidity trumps the risks, then there's not much I can do to resist to be better and faster. :first:
Well then dont complain that your bike is beat up or that Advanced guys are not comfortable with you trying to collect the bike up before every corner. Sure Vale and all the professionals go 100% but they are also injured regularly and have a brand new bike waiting in the pits after they stuff the primary one. In a weekend you will see atleast "3-5%" of those guys going down also and they are way better then any of us at 100%.
I get your point....somewhat... I think you are missing ours though. Yes, "RACERS" push 100% and more at times. but they have all had to build up to that. You have not really built up to that. you have 20K plus miles this year... good for you, but you still lack the experience, patience and maybe talent to push yourself or a bike 100% all the time. When we say work on fundamentals, go slow to go fast, etc.. we are all speaking from experience. When I first started doing TD's I too wanted to smoke the field... but I was lucky to have some great coaching through that org. and was shown the light.. I refocused, slowed down my mind/movements and really took in what was being taught/told to me.. Sometimes you just have to resist that tendancy to want to go fast 100% of the time, your crashes should be an indication you're doing it wrong... No disrepsect meant, just speaking from experience..
When your bike looks like Newleaf's (John's)....time to let it GO ! P.S. Riding "sober enough to pass" and "drunk passenger" are not exactly the greatest idea(s) on the planet....
We all push beyond our comfort zone, I have. I have chased a faster rider and been at what I say was my 100%, but I learned and asked questions to that rider.. And that helped raise my ceiling of speed/knowledge. When I have felt fast and actually been fast, I felt I was riding at 85%-90%.. Because I slowed my mind down, it was a GREAT feeling/experience..
If you are pushing @ 100% at a trackday......you are risking your own and everyone elses safety.....and that is unacceptable.......This is not race practice..
JBuzz, maybe you're mixing the terms "giving it 100%" and "pushing it 100%" I give 100% of me and my attention to every track day, but i dont think ive ever pushed the "riding" or the bike over 70% (as some coaches would certainly attest to. lol)
very true ... i was towed in novice at grattan on 7/7 running ccw by a coach and followed by another .. i somehow kept up with the cr the whole time .. we went about 3-4 laps without him lookin bak to see if i was still there and finally he did and put his thumb up and shook his head in amazement that i kept up and the coach behind me said i was running low 32's in novice ... i didnt feel like i was pushing it 100% either just mimicking the coachs lines and bp improved my own
I got the same experience my first day running I at ACC North. Eyes focused on the cr, world slowing around me and laptime drops of 3-4 sec on my typical and even frantic solo laps. I could have ridden like that until my legs fell off without a hint of pucker. Sucks that it was my last day out this year because it opened my eyes to so many things.
^^^That! There was a lot of good advice given but I dont think jbuzz was really looking for that kinda advice. So here is my suggestion: if the bike is beaten up too much for you just get a new one! I also would suggest you should get a dedicated track bike if you have the funds for it. All of us ride on the limit of our abilities every now and then or even a bit above. The trick is to realize it! BUT: Crashing 6 times is not normal! Coming with a bike to the track that is not well maintained and as you said not really track ready is not normal! Drinking and riding is not normal! (at least for me and the people I know but we might be a minority. I dont know. We always drink after the track day) Having a even more drunk passenger is not normal no matter how much armor you put on her Running in the 1:22's at Grattan after a couple weekends as JT did is NOT NORMAL! :bounce: I would say he is not your average Joe rider! If you have the bike sliding all over the place and running 1:31 to 1:30 is not normal. Your running Shinko tires by chance?ound: Riding on the street is not normal! Just kidding! I dont ride on the street no more since it is boring especially here in MI. It is also dangerous in my eyes since there are to many SUV's and trucks with drivers not paying any attention. And on top of that you cant go really fast without risking to go to jail. That been said you have to take care of the bike if you want to get the best out of it. The more of a race bike you get/built the more attention it will need during and after every track day. Try to ride with a little room for error left! Might help the crash rate and still be fun. Rossi wrote in his book that in the beginning of his career he crash all the time and very often and he couldnt figure out why until he realized that he went too quick to the absolute limit of him as well as the bike. So he learned to dial it back a bit and make some room for error. As we all know that worked pretty well for him!:thumb: So good luck with whatever you decide to do. Just dont kill yourself in the process! I see you at Grattan next Season!:wheel:
This is what I meant. I was writing this post before a meeting and I didn't really think about the wording. For example, when it's raining during a track day, I don't ride the bike 100% Great anecdote by the way "furytom." Lessons learned. Great advice too! Thanx.
Its been said a million times: Go to a track day and concentrate on one maybe two things. Be it body position, your line, braking points or throttle control as examples. Some people pick ONE turn or section of the track to work on for the whole day or weekend..... Make whatever you are working on "Instinct" or second nature and make it consistent and repeatable over and over and over.... DONT WORRY ABOUT LAP TIMES OR BEING FAST! As you work to improve YOUR skills, the "Fast" comes as a by-product...... back by popular demand: "Smooth is fast, fast is smooth" Enjoy!!!
Awesome advice since I can relate to a few topics in this thread. J, I think I met you over the 10/12-13 weekend up at Grattan? I was the slower Asian running in I. :lmao: