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Hawt Motorcycle Talk
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Thanks for the insight, @1to392831. I'm planning on attending California Superbike School sessions and I'll rent their S1000RRs. I'll never take my own bike to the track again. I crashed my Ninja a year ago almost to the day. Luckily, it was only about $800 worth of damage, parts and labor.
My goal with track days is to become a better rider. I don't see myself taking on this expensive hobby. My buddy Ron does it, mostly because he used to race cars and was a race car instructor. He has a lot of experience and really digs being on the track. My goals are strictly academic. My Ducati riding buddy, Pablo, just did a class last month at The Ridge. It was through Track Time. I couldn't go with him because I had to work. (Side note: @Swaye - Pablo has a 2015 Diavel and it's a sweet machine.)
I'll definitely PM you if I change my mind and become a track junky. But, I'm on the hook through the end of 2023 to pay my ex big sums of money each month. I'm looking to sell my house, downsize, and possibly move out of state. On top of that, I'm focusing on saving money for another expensive hobby... owning an airplane. I want to buy a Vans RV8 for general dinking around doing some aerobatics. -
BTW, I just got a text from Ron. He has a 2018 Triump Street Triple RS in Seattle (he lives in Nashville) that he wants to sell. If you know anyone who might be in the market for something like that, let me know. The bike has only 1200 miles on it.
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You assholes zooming around out here in Granite Falls drive me fucking crazy.
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Doing the school with a rental bike is definitely the way to go. Modern traction control makes a bike almost uncrashable, and Kieth found his crash rate went way down even as the power of their fleet bikes nearly doubled.
I met Kieth Code once. Weird dude. Fancies himself a bit of a guru. That being said, his books are both great, although his methods are dated. If you've read either Twist of the Wrist book, there's a ton of great information, but his cornering method is all about braking straight up and down and then gassing through the turn to use the fatter rear tire for traction. Modern bikes are designed to bury the fork to the apex, flick over, drive out. Trail braking. I'd be curious to hear if his training has changed to reflect this new paradigm.
I do almost all of my track days with Track Time. Great organization. It's the most costly local group by far, but they limit their group sizes to the perfect number, so it's never a shit show like it sometimes is with OPRT or 2-Fast. The Ridge is such a fun track to ride, and we're really lucky to have it here. Pacific is fun in its own way, but there are a few corners you just don't want to crash in...
No matter what, you will absolutely become a better rider at a track day. It took me until the second turn of my second lap on track to have my world turned completely upside down. I went out for a warmup lap, and as I returned to the front straight for the first time, a control rider passed me (effortlessly...) and tapped his tail to tell me to follow. I told myself, "This is going to be scary, but if he can do it, you can do it," and I nutted up and followed him right through the big Turn 2 left sweeper. Mind. Blown. Found out I'd only leaned a bike halfway over up to that point, much to my surprise and embarrassment. Later lessons I learned on track all involved how stable a bike can be if you trust it: Tail wagging on the brakes? No big deal. Tail wagging AND front end hopping on the brakes? Just stick with it, no big deal. Clip a curb at Portland International while leaned over and have your whole bike thrown a foot to the side underneath you? No big deal, just stay on the gas. It really is a whole 'nother world. -
Only did that once before hanging up the street riding. Amazing road! My buddy and I, he on an FZ1 and me on a CBR1000RR, once tried doing the whole Mountain Loop Highway, only to find it turned to extremely potholed gravel with a lot of downed trees. After several miles of standing up on a CBR like it's a motocross bike and railing through the dirt, weaving around downed trees, we finally came to a downed tree that blocked the whole road. We'd been having so much fun on this unexpected adventure that we actually scouted the bushes on the side of the road to work our way around, then briefly considered lifting each bike over the logs and carrying on our way, but sanity prevailed and we turned around.GrundleStiltzkin said:You assholes zooming around out here in Granite Falls drive me fucking crazy.
Granite Falls is an area I take people who are new to Western Washington just to blow them away with the views. Cool fucking city!° -
Thanks for sharing your track experiences. I'll keep in mind to post here after my California Superbike School sessions. I think Keith's son, Dylan, really runs the show now. So, maybe they are teaching more modern techniques.
I have definitely read "Twist of the Wrist Vol 2" as well as "Total Control" and "Sport Riding Techniques". Based on what you wrote above, these are all probably outdated.
Certainly, I want to learn to lean more and to trust my bike. I don't want to overreact to the bike sliding under me, etc. I don't aspire to ever be as proficient as you. I started riding late in life and I just don't have the muscle memory and feel that you get from starting out younger. -
You keep waking up my llamas. Without well-rested stock, I can't transport my meth out.1to392831weretaken said:
Only did that once before hanging up the street riding. Amazing road! My buddy and I, he on an FZ1 and me on a CBR1000RR, once tried doing the whole Mountain Loop Highway, only to find it turned to extremely potholed gravel with a lot of downed trees. After several miles of standing up on a CBR like it's a motocross bike and railing through the dirt, weaving around downed trees, we finally came to a downed tree that blocked the whole road. We'd been having so much fun on this unexpected adventure that we actually scouted the bushes on the side of the road to work our way around, then briefly considered lifting each bike over the logs and carrying on our way, but sanity prevailed and we turned around.GrundleStiltzkin said:You assholes zooming around out here in Granite Falls drive me fucking crazy.
Granite Falls is an area I take people who are new to Western Washington just to blow them away with the views. Cool fucking city!° -
A lot of whining from @GrundleStiltzkin in this thread.
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I'm out
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GrundleStiltzkin said:
You keep waking up my llamas. Without well-rested stock, I can't transport my meth out.1to392831weretaken said:
Only did that once before hanging up the street riding. Amazing road! My buddy and I, he on an FZ1 and me on a CBR1000RR, once tried doing the whole Mountain Loop Highway, only to find it turned to extremely potholed gravel with a lot of downed trees. After several miles of standing up on a CBR like it's a motocross bike and railing through the dirt, weaving around downed trees, we finally came to a downed tree that blocked the whole road. We'd been having so much fun on this unexpected adventure that we actually scouted the bushes on the side of the road to work our way around, then briefly considered lifting each bike over the logs and carrying on our way, but sanity prevailed and we turned around.GrundleStiltzkin said:You assholes zooming around out here in Granite Falls drive me fucking crazy.
Granite Falls is an area I take people who are new to Western Washington just to blow them away with the views. Cool fucking city!°
https://youtu.be/GMC3DjAFQEs
