Discussion aboout headphones on-track & now..Trail Braki

It's cool Jig.. Don't sweat it. Something tells me that you're not a complete dumb@#!# like that one guy I know. It was just my .02 cents. Know what I mean. It wasn't exactly the best example, but my point was pretty much that it might not be the wisest on the track. So in that aspect I actually agree with you. 8)

 

I think it's time Monte chimes in and gives us Sportbike Tracktime's stance on this issue. I for one feel that if Sportbike TrackTime is not looking out for my safety by outlawing headphones then I'll probably just take my business to another organization that is concerned. I know this takes away my chance to ever ride Mid-Ohio but oh well, safety of ALL must come first.

 

i think you're an idiot to say that monte's entire feelings about being concerned about safety can be summed up by his policy on headphones at the track. regardless if he allows them or bans them.



i know he has the utmost concern about safety. so pipe it.

 

An idiot? Isn't that a bit harsh?



Pipe it? Aren't I allowed an opinion or is only yours important?



Let me see, I NEVER said Monte wasn't concerned about safety (at least not yet). You say Monte has the 'utmost concern about safety' and it's MY opinion that if STT allows riders to use headphones and listen to music then he doesn't have the 'utmost' concern for safety. That's not saying he isn't concerned about safety!! Just in my opinion you can't use the word 'utmost' like you did.



Now, back to the idiot part.....................

 

yes it was harsh. intentionally. because your implication was harsh and out of line.



of course you're entitled to an opinion. just throttle back the judgments on somebody who has probably written more about track safety on bar napkins than you have ever even known.



keep that in mind.



water under the bridge.

 

Resident Dork -- it actually fits you pretty well. Or maybe it should be ' Monte's PR Dork'



Water under the bridge? Now it is (lol)

 

uh...yeah. good one.

 

Just my .02 cents, but I think Monte and Bonnie are doing a fine job with safety. :wink:

 

Besides the tunes, I've found that a blindfold does wonders for reduceing visual input. The combination of both makes me a smoother and faster rider, both on the track and on the street.



Since I believe most handling problems are caused by the rider, I am working on handlebars that are attached to the frame. This along with padding at all contact points with the bike, should eliminate all visual, aural and tactile inputs and elivate my rideing to Moto GP level.



Hey, don't laugh. I'll NEVER need to slow down, because I won't know how fast I'm going.

 

on my first overcast day at pocono i thought i would use a clear visor. being able to actually see that track scared the bejeezus out of me.

i went back to the pits and put on my darkest visor. :lol:

 

ummm. how is that obvious?



__________________

I know riders who race with music. It has not caused any issue yet that I'm aware of, they like it and they are not unsafe because of it.



But of course none will bother with this trainwreck of a bullshit thread to post their real world experiences because of the dickheads trying to prove how smart they are.

__________________

---



Sean P. Clarke

WERA Motorcycle Roadracing

 

i was thinking the same thing....but thought maybe i missed something since i'm not over there very much (not).



either way...have your opinion. chose who you want to race/trackday with. but just be careful who you accuse/imply of not caring about safety.



peace.

 

This is awesome! The STT board is about to have its first flame war! And over what may be the silliest topic ever!

I wonder if the guy who thinks worn out street tires are just like slicks also likes to ride the track with headphones on?



As a coach who teaches Novices in the classroom, I often describe (to my student's great amusement....) what things are going to sound like if you do a corner correctly. Hearing is a powerful monitor. To obscure that with music would be like unplugging one of your data aquisition devices, wouldn't it?



Now, I can almost relate to someone who wants to listen to music as he rides. I have raced and even won while listening to music. Of course those tunes were being replayed by the part of my brain that has nothing else to do when I'm focused on the ride. Usually that happens only when I'm really "In the zone." When I'm absolutely red-hot ON, I just start to feel so relaxed that the music switches on softly in the back of my head. When this happens, the rythm of the track tends to choose the song for itself. Not lyrics or gituar solos, but mostly just a base riff that flows with the track. Ironically, even though I'm a certified metal head, the rythms that the track selects for me are usually pretty mellow.

This doesn't happen often, but when it does, it usually means that I'm flat FLYING, passing everything in sight, and so relaxed that I'm hardly trying and almost falling asleep from the pure pleasure. Have you ever noticed that when you're doing everything right, the ride becomes leasurly and almost trancelike?

(FYI, Mid Ohio seems to really flow with the gentle beat of the first 20 seconds or so of Led Zep's "Ramble on.")



Personally, I sure wouldn't put in earbuds and try to run laps. I want to hear every little noise around and beneath me. If I'm being overtaken, my first warning will be when I hear an engine besides my own. I've also shut off a few motors that were five seconds from grenading, because I heard that faint tap or flat engine note and hit the kill switch before the motor began losing power and spitting shrapnel.

Ever notice that when you're REALLY on the edge, you can hear a skidding tire before you feel it?

One final observation. I can't stand riding a track bike that has a stock muffler. I just don't get enough aural information if the motor is too quiet.

 

Sounds almost like the "Red Mist" from you're book. :twisted:

 

what does it sound like?

i can't stand a loud muffler.

different strokes.

 

Holy MP3 plaer Batman!! You can't listen to music on-track!!

Pretty much sums up my opinion.



ANYTHING that is a distraction or potential distraction (read SAFETY) item on the track is not going to fly.



Music has its time and place. If you have listened to one of my riders meetings (I know.. don't even start!!) then you have heard me say;



"when you are heading down the straight humming a tune or thinking about what you are going to order at Outback tonight, you've checked out mentally and it's time to come in for your and everone else's safety"



Why would someone want to actually induce a distraction when we already have a full load of sensory input to deal with?



You guys and gals are like my kids and brothers and sisters and I am very sincere when I say that Bonnie and I care deeply about EVERY one of our members and in my experience it is not OK to lsten to music on the track.



Have any of you ever heard the sound a Pilot Power makes when trail braking at the very threshhold of traction??? How about th faint screeeeeeeeeech that a brake pad makes at the end of its life and JSUT before it kills your rotor?? This is important stuff and it's hard to hear this over AC/DC "Back in Black" or "You got another thing coming" from JP!!! How about if your trusty mount is about to toss a rod (KNOCK....KNOCK...) but you miss the warning noise and dump 3 liters of Motul all over the track and me or someone else wipes out in you debris field...???



I actually thought this was one of those common sense items. I am not taking a shot at those who supported the "music while riding" side, but whatever your reasons and rationale for doing this please be aware that it is not allowed at STT events, period. If you have anything but wax and/or earplugs in your ears you will be viloating a (new) rule.

 

Well Mr. Spencer, that's really more of a demonstration thing than something I can write, ya know? But picture me standing in front of a class full of novices, hands and body doing the "Language of Speed" thing. Meanwhile, my mouth is making the sounds of well-executed downshifts, followed by a slight positive throttle at turn-in, building progressively into more throttle toward the corner exit.

(If you haven't already heard your own bike making these crisp, contented sounds on a regular basis, I'd be happy to have you in one of my classes.)

Hey, it's OK if you don't like a loud muffler. There's a limit to how loud I want a bike to be, and these sawed-off MotoGP replica mufflers exceed that, as do unmuffled Buells. But I've been in a crowd with a stock muffler, and suddenly I can't hear what rpm I'm running because everyone else's bikes are all louder than mine. There are times when you're just too busy to look at the tach, and you can't shift by ear if you can't hear your bike.

 

I do have to agree that hearing on the track is very important. I crashed one time last year, because I missed a gear and I knew what it was as soon as I did it too. I didn't feel the pull I needed to slow down for turn 1 at Gingerman and the RPM's sounded really low. Hearing is one of you're senses that are very important. I know alot of people like to wear earplugs,(Which is smart if you're hearings good.) but I can't stand to wear them because I'm already half deaf to start with.(Literally, I was in Iraq cut me some slack in that area.) When I put earplugs in I could probably be considered legally deaf in one ear. I really didn't feel in tune with my bike when I couldn't hear crap. I'm never wearing them again.

 

jeez k3, i can't tell...is that sarcasm? :?

i'm slow like that.

i guess maybe i should take you up on your offer to school me then too? :roll: