Blackhawk Farms 9/26 Track Day Recap

gt_turbo · September 27th, 2012, 06:53 PM

3rd time at the tracks, and i finally got a gopro2 to record myself. so if you track guru's can watch my video below and help give me any tips on how i can improve my riding technique please let me know. please be gentle i'm still a noob

. also i apologize for the shaky video, might have to try it mounted to my solo cowl next time. this is one of my better runs during the last session of the day. i also linked a map of the track, video starts on the home stretch heading into turn 1.

Link to original page on YouTube.

negative track day highlights:
-almost high sided once, ran in too hot on turn 7 and had to apply brakes during mid corner
-more than once, shifted into false neutral while preparing for corner entry, when kicking it back into gear received some nasty rear wheel kickback. pretty scary. not entirely sure if my clutch/tranny got messed up from all the hard shifting and bouncing rev limiter. hopefully it's more of user error aka sloppy shifting.
-track has a lot of right turns, need to improve my left turns.

positive track day highlights:
-passed a 600cc on the home straight, he wasn't pushing it, but it still counts.
-chased down a CBR600 and a ktm RC8 in a couple turns, almost felt kind of like rossi until they exited the turn. lol
-finally got my knee down during the 2nd last lap of the day. kind of startling experience, didn't even realize what had happened. thought maybe i was dragging my rear sets. funny because i had tried so hard to hang off all day and got nothing, but it happened unexpectedly when i wasn't even trying to hang off hard.

csmith12 · September 28th, 2012, 05:41 AM

Always shift up when your mixed up
Your a tad crossed up on the rights
Did you notice you trailbrake pretty deep? Even if it is with engine braking.

On your gopro mount, did you use the little rubber piece that kinda looks like a U? That will cut down on the vibration when mounting it up to the tail.

Looks like your doing quite well for 3rd day on the track. Did you have a killer time?

bruce71198 · September 28th, 2012, 08:02 AM

It looks like you had an awsome day for track riding. I've been racing that track since the late 80's. Started out in cars and then bikes in the early 90's, bikes are 100 times more fun than plowing around in a car. Where the orange paint marks left on the track from the CCS event last weekend? Those are always useful to check to see if your on the right line. Although your racing lines looked pretty much spot on. Did you check you lap times? even though you were probably just out there to practice riding technique tracking your lap times is the best way to gage improvement. Ok, as for areas of improvement corner 1, don't let off the throttle till your past the bridge !! Brake at marker 3 or 2 and you will be fine, you'll scare the crap out of yourself the first couple times but underware is cheap ! I hold the throttle til 3 drop 2 gears from 6th and brush the front brakes at marker 1 and go through the corner on the gas. Corner 2 you dont need to slow down for. The carousel you can accelerate through. The dog leg after your wasting your time leaning to the left, stay on the right side of the bike then you'll be ready for the bus stop (3d) (who named these corners?). The bus stop you'll just have to get used to. After that you can run full bore till 6, brake at marker 3 and turn in back on the gas over the entrance road and full throttle all the way to 7. Setting up for 7, let off after the dog leg before it, brake while dropping 2 gears and turn in. From your video I can tell you you have a long way to go before your in to hot. If you ever feel like your in to hot try not to panic, look through the corner, try not to target fixate, (your bike will ussually go were your looking) hold your line, neutral throttle and ride through it, 99% of the time you'll be fine and dont use your brakes mid corner !! Also when it comes to braking,as a beginer, do all your braking from the upright position in a straight line. Astablish your corner speed before the turn in. You can work on trail braking as you skill level increases. I am assuming you are on a Ninja 250, correct? The above examples are me on a Ninja 250. These examples I listed should be worked up to slowly and safely if you try this next time out you may end up on your lid. You look smooth on the vid now its time to add speed. Have fun, maybe we'll see you at BHF some time.

gt_turbo · September 28th, 2012, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by csmith12

Always shift up when your mixed up
Your a tad crossed up on the rights
Did you notice you trailbrake pretty deep? Even if it is with engine braking.

On your gopro mount, did you use the little rubber piece that kinda looks like a U? That will cut down on the vibration when mounting it up to the tail.

Looks like your doing quite well for 3rd day on the track. Did you have a killer time?

i had a blast once i got my rhythm going. yes, i noticed that i am a little bit crossed up on the rights. how would i correct this? try to kiss the mirror more? i think i have to relax my non-steering hand more and probably point my elbows down more. i will have to try using that rubber piece next time. thanks for the tips.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruce71198

It looks like you had an awsome day for track riding. I've been racing that track since the late 80's. Started out in cars and then bikes in the early 90's, bikes are 100 times more fun than plowing around in a car. Where the orange paint marks left on the track from the CCS event last weekend? Those are always useful to check to see if your on the right line. Although your racing lines looked pretty much spot on. Did you check you lap times? even though you were probably just out there to practice riding technique tracking your lap times is the best way to gage improvement. Ok, as for areas of improvement corner 1, don't let off the throttle till your past the bridge !! Brake at marker 3 or 2 and you will be fine, you'll scare the crap out of yourself the first couple times but underware is cheap ! I hold the throttle til 3 drop 2 gears from 6th and brush the front brakes at marker 1 and go through the corner on the gas. Corner 2 you dont need to slow down for. The carousel you can accelerate through. The dog leg after your wasting your time leaning to the left, stay on the right side of the bike then you'll be ready for the bus stop (3d) (who named these corners?). The bus stop you'll just have to get used to. After that you can run full bore till 6, brake at marker 3 and turn in back on the gas over the entrance road and full throttle all the way to 7. Setting up for 7, let off after the dog leg before it, brake while dropping 2 gears and turn in. From your video I can tell you you have a long way to go before your in to hot. If you ever feel like your in to hot try not to panic, look through the corner, try not to target fixate, (your bike will ussually go were your looking) hold your line, neutral throttle and ride through it, 99% of the time you'll be fine and dont use your brakes mid corner !! Also when it comes to braking,as a beginer, do all your braking from the upright position in a straight line. Astablish your corner speed before the turn in. You can work on trail braking as you skill level increases. I am assuming you are on a Ninja 250, correct? The above examples are me on a Ninja 250. These examples I listed should be worked up to slowly and safely if you try this next time out you may end up on your lid. You look smooth on the vid now its time to add speed. Have fun, maybe we'll see you at BHF some time.

yes, they have orange markers on the road indicating the ideal line. as noob these are super helpful! my lap times varied from as much as 2 mins to 1:50. curious what kind of gearing and chain setup are you running for BHF? on my 250 i am on stock chain and 15T up front and the rear is stock gear forgot what that is. i don't think i ever made it up to 6th gear, but then again i still have a lot of work to do. next spring when i go out there, one of my goals will be to add more speed in each turn and also set the entry speed better for turn 1. gotta quit being a chicken.

thanks for your input!

csmith12 · September 28th, 2012, 04:32 PM

Yep you got it yo, just kiss the mirror more and be loose, don't sweat it to much though, let it come of practice and not because one may try to hard or forcing it, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't even worry about where you elbows are pointed either, just find your comfortable spot on the bike and get used to going fast, entering hotter and learn to control that trailbraking your developing naturally and make it work to your advantage because you are ahead of the game there.

If you lap times are varying by 10 seconds that tells me that your lines and reference points are off a bit or non existent. While one may not need a reference point for every corner, especially when you got the rhythm of the track thing going, but consistent lines and good visual skills are one of the biggest factors of going fast and are a requirement to ride in the upper skill groups, especially the advanced/A group.

Your doing great brah!

gt_turbo · September 28th, 2012, 07:25 PM

gotcha, definitely will got my work cut out. will do it a little bit at a time. thanks.

bruce71198 · September 28th, 2012, 07:32 PM

[

yes, they have orange markers on the road indicating the ideal line. as noob these are super helpful! my lap times varied from as much as 2 mins to 1:50. curious what kind of gearing and chain setup are you running for BHF? on my 250 i am on stock chain and 15T up front and the rear is stock gear forgot what that is. i don't think i ever made it up to 6th gear, but then again i still have a lot of work to do. next spring when i go out there, one of my goals will be to add more speed in each turn and also set the entry speed better for turn 1. gotta quit being a chicken.

thanks for your input![/QUOTE]

I'm running a 17-57 sprocket combo with a 415 non oring chain. This gives me a 3.35:1 final drive ratio. I think the stock rear sprocket on the ninja is 45 teeth, that's probably why you never saw 6th gear. Your combo gives you a 3.00:1 final drive. Great for Bonneville bad for BHFR! On my GPS lap timer I can hit 100 mph at the end of the straight if I get a good drive out of 7.
If you are from Northern Illinois or Wisconsin there's a track up in Shawano Wi we will be running at next weekend with the North Woods GP. They offer a touring class for beginners if your looking for track time.

gt_turbo · September 29th, 2012, 06:55 AM

that sounds fun, but due to my wallet i am done for the season. i gotta start saving and preparing for next season.

September 27th, 2012, 06:53 PM	#1
gt_turbo ninjette.org sage Name: L Location: WI Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): '09 250R, '13 CBR500R Posts: 709	Blackhawk Farms 9/26 Track Day Recap 3rd time at the tracks, and i finally got a gopro2 to record myself. so if you track guru's can watch my video below and help give me any tips on how i can improve my riding technique please let me know. please be gentle i'm still a noob . also i apologize for the shaky video, might have to try it mounted to my solo cowl next time. this is one of my better runs during the last session of the day. i also linked a map of the track, video starts on the home stretch heading into turn 1. Link to original page on YouTube. negative track day highlights: -almost high sided once, ran in too hot on turn 7 and had to apply brakes during mid corner -more than once, shifted into false neutral while preparing for corner entry, when kicking it back into gear received some nasty rear wheel kickback. pretty scary. not entirely sure if my clutch/tranny got messed up from all the hard shifting and bouncing rev limiter. hopefully it's more of user error aka sloppy shifting. -track has a lot of right turns, need to improve my left turns. positive track day highlights: -passed a 600cc on the home straight, he wasn't pushing it, but it still counts. -chased down a CBR600 and a ktm RC8 in a couple turns, almost felt kind of like rossi until they exited the turn. lol -finally got my knee down during the 2nd last lap of the day. kind of startling experience, didn't even realize what had happened. thought maybe i was dragging my rear sets. funny because i had tried so hard to hang off all day and got nothing, but it happened unexpectedly when i wasn't even trying to hang off hard.

September 28th, 2012, 05:41 AM	#2
csmith12 The Corner Whisperer Name: Chris (aka Reactor) Location: Northern KY Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250 (track), 1992 250, 2006 R6 (street/track), 2008 R6 (track) Posts: Too much. MOTY 2015, MOTM - Nov '12, Nov '13	Always shift up when your mixed up Your a tad crossed up on the rights Did you notice you trailbrake pretty deep? Even if it is with engine braking. On your gopro mount, did you use the little rubber piece that kinda looks like a U? That will cut down on the vibration when mounting it up to the tail. Looks like your doing quite well for 3rd day on the track. Did you have a killer time? __________________________________________________ Goal: Shake A Million Hands \| Look through the corners \| Track Day Prep \| Closest track? \| The Mid-Ohio School

September 28th, 2012, 04:32 PM	#5
csmith12 The Corner Whisperer Name: Chris (aka Reactor) Location: Northern KY Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250 (track), 1992 250, 2006 R6 (street/track), 2008 R6 (track) Posts: Too much. MOTY 2015, MOTM - Nov '12, Nov '13	Yep you got it yo, just kiss the mirror more and be loose, don't sweat it to much though, let it come of practice and not because one may try to hard or forcing it, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't even worry about where you elbows are pointed either, just find your comfortable spot on the bike and get used to going fast, entering hotter and learn to control that trailbraking your developing naturally and make it work to your advantage because you are ahead of the game there. If you lap times are varying by 10 seconds that tells me that your lines and reference points are off a bit or non existent. While one may not need a reference point for every corner, especially when you got the rhythm of the track thing going, but consistent lines and good visual skills are one of the biggest factors of going fast and are a requirement to ride in the upper skill groups, especially the advanced/A group. Your doing great brah! __________________________________________________ Goal: Shake A Million Hands \| Look through the corners \| Track Day Prep \| Closest track? \| The Mid-Ohio School

September 28th, 2012, 07:25 PM	#6
gt_turbo ninjette.org sage Name: L Location: WI Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): '09 250R, '13 CBR500R Posts: 709	gotcha, definitely will got my work cut out. will do it a little bit at a time. thanks. __________________________________________________ Mods: 636 front suspension conversion, wc clip ons, bohemian rear sets, FP jets, k&n filter, and AP full race exhaust

September 29th, 2012, 06:55 AM	#8
gt_turbo ninjette.org sage Name: L Location: WI Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): '09 250R, '13 CBR500R Posts: 709	that sounds fun, but due to my wallet i am done for the season. i gotta start saving and preparing for next season. __________________________________________________ Mods: 636 front suspension conversion, wc clip ons, bohemian rear sets, FP jets, k&n filter, and AP full race exhaust

September 28th, 2012, 08:02 AM	#3
bruce71198 ninjette.org sage Name: bruce Location: northern illinois Join Date: Jan 2012 Motorcycle(s): Race bikes:08 Ninja 250,11 R6,16 ZX6,SV650.3 HD-1947,2-2003,2010. 1946 Indian and a lot of dirt bikes.2 Posts: 999	It looks like you had an awsome day for track riding. I've been racing that track since the late 80's. Started out in cars and then bikes in the early 90's, bikes are 100 times more fun than plowing around in a car. Where the orange paint marks left on the track from the CCS event last weekend? Those are always useful to check to see if your on the right line. Although your racing lines looked pretty much spot on. Did you check you lap times? even though you were probably just out there to practice riding technique tracking your lap times is the best way to gage improvement. Ok, as for areas of improvement corner 1, don't let off the throttle till your past the bridge !! Brake at marker 3 or 2 and you will be fine, you'll scare the crap out of yourself the first couple times but underware is cheap ! I hold the throttle til 3 drop 2 gears from 6th and brush the front brakes at marker 1 and go through the corner on the gas. Corner 2 you dont need to slow down for. The carousel you can accelerate through. The dog leg after your wasting your time leaning to the left, stay on the right side of the bike then you'll be ready for the bus stop (3d) (who named these corners?). The bus stop you'll just have to get used to. After that you can run full bore till 6, brake at marker 3 and turn in back on the gas over the entrance road and full throttle all the way to 7. Setting up for 7, let off after the dog leg before it, brake while dropping 2 gears and turn in. From your video I can tell you you have a long way to go before your in to hot. If you ever feel like your in to hot try not to panic, look through the corner, try not to target fixate, (your bike will ussually go were your looking) hold your line, neutral throttle and ride through it, 99% of the time you'll be fine and dont use your brakes mid corner !! Also when it comes to braking,as a beginer, do all your braking from the upright position in a straight line. Astablish your corner speed before the turn in. You can work on trail braking as you skill level increases. I am assuming you are on a Ninja 250, correct? The above examples are me on a Ninja 250. These examples I listed should be worked up to slowly and safely if you try this next time out you may end up on your lid. You look smooth on the vid now its time to add speed. Have fun, maybe we'll see you at BHF some time.

September 28th, 2012, 07:32 PM	#7
bruce71198 ninjette.org sage Name: bruce Location: northern illinois Join Date: Jan 2012 Motorcycle(s): Race bikes:08 Ninja 250,11 R6,16 ZX6,SV650.3 HD-1947,2-2003,2010. 1946 Indian and a lot of dirt bikes.2 Posts: 999	[ yes, they have orange markers on the road indicating the ideal line. as noob these are super helpful! my lap times varied from as much as 2 mins to 1:50. curious what kind of gearing and chain setup are you running for BHF? on my 250 i am on stock chain and 15T up front and the rear is stock gear forgot what that is. i don't think i ever made it up to 6th gear, but then again i still have a lot of work to do. next spring when i go out there, one of my goals will be to add more speed in each turn and also set the entry speed better for turn 1. gotta quit being a chicken. thanks for your input![/QUOTE] I'm running a 17-57 sprocket combo with a 415 non oring chain. This gives me a 3.35:1 final drive ratio. I think the stock rear sprocket on the ninja is 45 teeth, that's probably why you never saw 6th gear. Your combo gives you a 3.00:1 final drive. Great for Bonneville bad for BHFR! On my GPS lap timer I can hit 100 mph at the end of the straight if I get a good drive out of 7. If you are from Northern Illinois or Wisconsin there's a track up in Shawano Wi we will be running at next weekend with the North Woods GP. They offer a touring class for beginners if your looking for track time.

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