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Ducati999 · November 9th, 2016, 11:46 AM

Over this last riding season I have increased my skill and speed have increased in the largest amount since I first started to ride!

I am not fast compared to lots of people on this forum but I am much faster compared to the rider I was just 7 months ago and I still have the same level of control as I did back then if not even more. What I mean by "the same level of control" is that I am no more busy or fighting to process and react to what is going on with me or the bike. My mental picture of what is happening is much farther ahead of where I am on the track than it was before and I working on the corner exit while I am braking for the entry! I still have some things to work out in my mind but I do not feel like my risk level has increased much if any but my average speed at any point on the track is much higher. I did crash during my last track day this season (story and video in the North East Track Riders Thread in Ninjette's at Speed section) but I know what I did wrong and that it was caused by my mistakes and not by exceeding any limits of the bike.

I know I said this earlier in this thread but "nothing has increased my skill more than the time I spent at the Mid Ohio Riding School. We all know our limits and what we have done. We know we can go past them but this is where the unknown begins and alone you must slowly move past this point and "sneak up" on the maximum. While following an instructor on the track you are able to make much bigger steps forward as you are following someone who has been into the "unknown" and will help you move closer to the maximum much quicker. A good example of this was with braking, I had done some emergency stops and practiced in a parking lot and the like. Once I followed Chris (CSmith12) down the back straight into turn 7 at Mid O, knowing he would not be at his 100%, I held the throttle as I watched the braking markers fly past and even "MY" marker, then I saw him brake and I had to brake harder than I ever had in my life. After that I was confident to begin moving "my braking marker" closer each lap from then thru the rest of the trip! With just me slowly moving my marker up I would not have made as much progress as I did that trip. I had the same experience with an instructor at Palmer while following him into turns. Since I was extremely new to track riding, I had no starting reference besides my normal "safe" street riding braking and turn in points and knowing he was going in at a faster but still 'safe" speed helped me make leaps rather than a foot at a time.

I have learned so much over the last season that it would take pages just to get the ideas across. I don't want to bore you too much but I would like to make one more point. I found multiple little things that were holding me back from going faster. When you ride a bike daily, weekly.... you get used to how it feels and works for you but what works at (sane) street speeds might cause some form of issue at higher speeds/loads. I had to not only adjust my body position and reaction times but also my suspension pre load, ride height, compression and rebound, foot pegs, shifter and where my butt went on the seat! After several track days making small changes (and documenting them) I finally found the combination that worked well for the speed I was now able to carry and at the same time get the feed back from the bike to allow me to again slowly move all my points (braking, turn in, throttle off/on) forward. I began to go faster and faster (small steps) but I found that I had to slow down from the new faster speed so I could make sure I was as consistent as possible (for me) so I could feel what the bike was telling me it wanted for further changes.

I really hope I did not give any bad information in this post and This is the way I saw things as a semi new track rider. Please--Anyone that sees incorrect (other than spelling or grammar) please let me know and /or correct it, I do not want to mislead any one and I want to know what and why I was wrong

PS: I had a discussion with one of my friends from the track and he seemed to think that crashing is not inevitable while learning to "Find the Edge of Traction" I do partially agree that is not 100% certain but I doubt there are many really fast guys that have not crashed and the faster you go the harsher the consequences for small mistakes. Things you may have had no issue with a 60MPH will put you down at 120MPH but as always I am not an expert and may be very wrong

Please let me know what your thoughts are on this idea!

November 9th, 2016, 11:46 AM	#95
Ducati999 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Ant Location: Wooster Join Date: Dec 2013 Motorcycle(s): Ducati 999 2012 Ninja 250r Ducati748 Yellow finally running 2003 SV650 S (SOLD) Posts: A lot.	What I have learned the Season Over this last riding season I have increased my skill and speed have increased in the largest amount since I first started to ride! I am not fast compared to lots of people on this forum but I am much faster compared to the rider I was just 7 months ago and I still have the same level of control as I did back then if not even more. What I mean by "the same level of control" is that I am no more busy or fighting to process and react to what is going on with me or the bike. My mental picture of what is happening is much farther ahead of where I am on the track than it was before and I working on the corner exit while I am braking for the entry! I still have some things to work out in my mind but I do not feel like my risk level has increased much if any but my average speed at any point on the track is much higher. I did crash during my last track day this season (story and video in the North East Track Riders Thread in Ninjette's at Speed section) but I know what I did wrong and that it was caused by my mistakes and not by exceeding any limits of the bike. I know I said this earlier in this thread but "nothing has increased my skill more than the time I spent at the Mid Ohio Riding School. We all know our limits and what we have done. We know we can go past them but this is where the unknown begins and alone you must slowly move past this point and "sneak up" on the maximum. While following an instructor on the track you are able to make much bigger steps forward as you are following someone who has been into the "unknown" and will help you move closer to the maximum much quicker. A good example of this was with braking, I had done some emergency stops and practiced in a parking lot and the like. Once I followed Chris (CSmith12) down the back straight into turn 7 at Mid O, knowing he would not be at his 100%, I held the throttle as I watched the braking markers fly past and even "MY" marker, then I saw him brake and I had to brake harder than I ever had in my life. After that I was confident to begin moving "my braking marker" closer each lap from then thru the rest of the trip! With just me slowly moving my marker up I would not have made as much progress as I did that trip. I had the same experience with an instructor at Palmer while following him into turns. Since I was extremely new to track riding, I had no starting reference besides my normal "safe" street riding braking and turn in points and knowing he was going in at a faster but still 'safe" speed helped me make leaps rather than a foot at a time. I have learned so much over the last season that it would take pages just to get the ideas across. I don't want to bore you too much but I would like to make one more point. I found multiple little things that were holding me back from going faster. When you ride a bike daily, weekly.... you get used to how it feels and works for you but what works at (sane) street speeds might cause some form of issue at higher speeds/loads. I had to not only adjust my body position and reaction times but also my suspension pre load, ride height, compression and rebound, foot pegs, shifter and where my butt went on the seat! After several track days making small changes (and documenting them) I finally found the combination that worked well for the speed I was now able to carry and at the same time get the feed back from the bike to allow me to again slowly move all my points (braking, turn in, throttle off/on) forward. I began to go faster and faster (small steps) but I found that I had to slow down from the new faster speed so I could make sure I was as consistent as possible (for me) so I could feel what the bike was telling me it wanted for further changes. I really hope I did not give any bad information in this post and This is the way I saw things as a semi new track rider. Please--Anyone that sees incorrect (other than spelling or grammar) please let me know and /or correct it, I do not want to mislead any one and I want to know what and why I was wrong PS: I had a discussion with one of my friends from the track and he seemed to think that crashing is not inevitable while learning to "Find the Edge of Traction" I do partially agree that is not 100% certain but I doubt there are many really fast guys that have not crashed and the faster you go the harsher the consequences for small mistakes. Things you may have had no issue with a 60MPH will put you down at 120MPH but as always I am not an expert and may be very wrong Please let me know what your thoughts are on this idea!
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