Quote:
Originally Posted by adouglas
TL;DR summary:
Let's discuss how being more assertive with the throttle affects the bike... benefits/hazards and getting past the fear of highsides.
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One of my 2018 resolutions is to revisit my track education in light of what I've learned over the last year. That includes re-reading TOTW II and thinking a lot about how it maps to my experience. This exercise has got me thinking about having greater faith in grip levels and what I can do to get more comfortable out there.
One of my biggest challenges is timidity. More than anything else I fear losing the rear, highsiding and sailing off into the wild blue like Superman.
In practice it means my roll-on is slower and weaker than it should be. It's a very real mental block, related to the "finding the edge" discussions we've had here.
I don't have a specific question in mind, but I'd like to spark a discussion about this. I'm thinking that there's a lot more of a traction margin than I believe there to be, especially in the rear tire.
I say this because my rear -- a Pirelli SC2 slick -- is still in fine shape even after a WHOLE SEASON at modest intermediate pace (~7-8 track days in the middle of the TTD yellow group; groups are black-blue-yellow-red, fast to slow). That has to be evidence of something...most likely that I'm babying the throttle too much (right?).
So if I can move past my fear of corner grip shortcomings and get it on more assertively, what can I expect?
Speculation:
- More feeling of stability and a more settled chassis because the bike "likes" to be accelerating through the turn (throttle rule 1). Thinking that the bike will feel more planted, not less, because more load is going into the rear, where most of the rubber is. Fear of spinning the rear up and losing it is keeping me from feeling this, I think....
- Smoother flow because the bike is carrying more speed through the corner; less need to climb up out of a bucket. (I recently saw a video of a TTD instructor lapping Palmer in the 1:42 range, which is darned quick -- it's in the NE Trackday thread. The bike stays up on song most of the lap, which gives an overall impression of greater smoothness.)
Discuss. Thanks!
@ Misti @ csmith12 @ Ducati999 |
Awesome thread!!! I love reading these great discussions and the questions and the very thoughtful answers and OH the joy of it all!!! People actually seriously talking about riding technique with the hopes of improving their own riding! It's what I wish to encourage everyone to do. YAY!!
That being said, I love the original post (quoted above) and I think adouglas has put a lot of thought and effort into the comments. You have the sequence correct and everything sounds great, it's just a matter of actually getting it done. Rolling on the gas harder and taking away that FEAR.
So let's figure out what is causing the fear. You said you were afraid of sliding the rear and high-siding but that you hadn't really ever gotten close to feeling the rear slip at all.
1st things first. Do you understand high-sides completely? How they occur, what the slide will first feel like, why riders get high sided? I have a feeling you do, but understanding the why and how first will take away SOME of the fear.
Second of all though, we need to figure out what is preventing you from rolling on the gas harder on exit. You know you should, you probably try, but no matter how much you tell your right hand to roll on the gas harder it just won't WHY.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?
Think about it this way, if you are certain of exactly where you are, and where you want to go, and you can see it ahead of time, do you have more confidence? If you have confidence in where you are and where you are going, can you roll on the gas harder through a corner?