First track day at SMMR

[SES2009]

So here is a video of my first ever track day *that was this weekend. I went for two days at SMMR in Pahrump, Nevada.*

I learned so much in two days, I can't wait to do it again. WHAT A BLAST!!!!

Feel free to give me input, I know I need to lean off more (butt off of seat *& lead with
My shoulders) now that I look at the videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWBwd...e_gdata_player


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ24i...e_gdata_player

[Malicious Logic]

Nice vids! I'm actually kinda interested what others here will have to say about your leaning. From everything I've tried to learn/pickup, you didn't look like you were doing that bad....from what I think I know, more butt off would just get you closer to the pavement and not necessarily your bike, wouldn't it? I mean, I've seen tons of people claiming 'got the knee down' and the bike itself is barely leaned over, they're just hanging off of it with no real control.

[csmith12]

Aren’t first track days great?! Looks like you had a great time and that track looks pretty cool too.

Free pointers;

Bike:
I know that 675 makes a lot of lower end torque compared to the lil’ ninja but keep those rpms up, especially in the corners, it helps smooth everything out.

Track:
Use the entire track's width and have a strong commitment to your line. Look up the 2-step to help you with that or ask someone about finding lines on the track that may work for you.
This track also has a few back to back corners that one can take "one line" through both if you can hook them (tip: go wide). What I mean is, if you commit a wider line though the first corner, you can continue that line through the second. But… on the second corner you have to drop your head and shoulder farther down and out. Really get you head down there too. It will tighten your line for the second corner.
Hard to say without riding the track myself but looks like you were braking a bit early. Though it’s better to brake to early than too late! Along that same subject is a smoother transition from braking to roll on.
With more laps and time you will find you can counter steer a bit harder for some of those turns and dive right into the back to back tight corners. Take your time and build your confidence up to it.

Rider:
Body position on left is better than on right but both are pretty good. You know what you need to do already. When you do get off, get off in one smooth motion.
A lot of riders focus on getting a knee down. Let it come on its own and don’t try to force it. Dragging is fun and all… but “touch and go” is even more fun because you focusing on going faster rather than looking cool. I like to pass knee draggers.

Looks like you were keeping your cool and staying within your limits. Great videos and awesome riding! I am also jealous of your leathers. I bet those feel great.

[burningscooter]

Nice vid man. looks fun!

[SES2009]

Thanks for all the comments!

cssmith12 thank you for the in depth explanation, what you say really makes a lot of sense and i can't wait to work on improving my riding.

Here are some pics:

[HKr1]

Looked like fun!
Nice pics!!

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Malicious Logic

Nice vids! I'm actually kinda interested what others here will have to say about your leaning. From everything I've tried to learn/pickup, you didn't look like you were doing that bad....from what I think I know, more butt off would just get you closer to the pavement and not necessarily your bike, wouldn't it? I mean, I've seen tons of people claiming 'got the knee down' and the bike itself is barely leaned over, they're just hanging off of it with no real control.

^^^ Yea getting to far off or "stretching" just to drag knee it does more harm than good.

Have a look at Sean's second photo. (he would drag his toe ) It's a "near" perfect example of why getting off the seat helps the rider know where they are at with lean angle. Visually measure the distance from knee puck to tarmac. Now compare that to right rearset to tarmac. See how that works? Scraping pegs is cool but if you scrape em to hard it can lift the rear and cause a lowside or worse. In the end, assuming he keeps that good body position and toes out of the way, he knows if he is touching knee, his rearset will soon follow. Once he gets that far, it will be time to adjust those rearsets to keep em from scraping. "Knowing is half the battle." "Knowing ahead of time wins all battles." Make sense?

Another great thing to see in that photo is how good of a job he is doing keeping his body in line with the bike, even though he is half off of it. All the while in complete control of mind, body and bike.

Great pics!

[Malicious Logic]

Nice pics! and yeah, I see what you're saying Chris. The pics really serve as a good reference.