Please Critique My Riding (Video Embedded)

[jeffb502]

Originally Posted by alex.s

my opinion on your latest video:

1. don't touch the paint. ever. its slippy. randomly so. you can be going along fine on lots of paint with no slip then all the sudden one spot of paint has something on it even though it looks exactly the same and it starts a slide and you get bucked just right now all the sudden you're steering off the side of the road down the canyon.
2. you are making several steering moves. including steering corrections after you're down. make fewer steering changes. it looks like maybe your tires are causing the bike to not want to follow a line, forcing you to constantly correct steering like you're fighting the bike on where you want to go. so maybe check tire pressures and profiles. maybe time for new tires.
3. more gas. gas makes the bike stable.
4. go to the track. it's funner.

Thanks for the feedback! Sorry it took a while to reply, been busy. I read the post shortly after you posted it and I was thinking about it on my ride yesterday.

1. I do make an effort to avoid the paint...I'm not sure if the camera angle (mounted on the left fairing and leaned over) makes it looks like my tires are on the line or if my tires were actually on the line in the video, but I was pretty sure at the time that my tires were still to the right of the line.

2. I have the stock IRCs, approaching 3000 miles on them. They seem to be fairly even, but may be wearing a bit more in the center. I'm trying to wear out the edges more by turning more .

Sometimes in corners I will make intentional adjustments when I see what may be a hazard (towards the end of the video I made some conscious decisions like "lean more now while the turn is clean so I can pick it up and lean less when I'm passing over that suspicious dirt mark further into the turn." Is that a bad idea?

Other times I will lean too much entering a corner and start going for an early apex, I don't want to speed up enough to compensate because I don't want to be carrying that much speed without knowing where I'm going, so I'll make a correction to lean less. Obviously the better solution is to not lean more than I need to in the first place, so there's something to work on.

I've been riding lots of rough roads. Maybe I have some bearing issues? I don't know if I'm getting more sensitive to what the bike feels like as I ride more, or if it's actually getting looser up front, but to me it feels like as I put more miles on the bike the front wheel is starting to wander back and forth just a little bit without any intentional input from me, and I'm making small inputs trying to correct the wandering in corners. I noticed this on my ride Saturday.

3. I'll try that. I think in the video above I was riding a bit closer to my personal limit since I was having fun, and I was entering the corners at a bit higher speed than usual. Normally I would enter very slow then accelerate through. This time I started entering kind of quick (for my skill level at least), and especially in the slight decreasing radius right hander I didn't feel comfortable giving it more gas. For now I need to remember enter slower to give it more gas in the turn.

4. I really want to do that. I want to take a school since I have lots to learn. I'm about ready to put down a deposit for the CSS level 1 class at streets of willow in June. Anybody talk me into it?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

[alex.s]

just go to a novice track day. it's cheap.

[CycleCam303]

Jeff if money is tight just do a regular track day and have an instructor go out with you for 90% of the sessions. You get instant feedback and one thing to work on every session. Plus its going to help you improve since it is essentially one on one training. Everyone in the beginner group is going to be in the same boat as you.

[jeffb502]

Originally Posted by alex.s

just go to a novice track day. it's cheap.

Originally Posted by CycleCam303

Jeff if money is tight just do a regular track day and have an instructor go out with you for 90% of the sessions. You get instant feedback and one thing to work on every session. Plus its going to help you improve since it is essentially one on one training. Everyone in the beginner group is going to be in the same boat as you.

Thanks for the advice. The closest track is 114 miles away. I'm thinking ride to a nearby motel the afternoon before, get a good night's rest, then ride to the track for the morning of the track day, tape up the stuff that needs taping up, ride around the track all day, un tape stuff, then ride home. Is that too much riding for one day? Maybe spend another night at the motel before riding home? Is it normal for people to show up riding their bike, not having it in the bed of a truck or on a trailer?

[alex.s]

you'll be dead tired. renting a trailer is only like $40

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by jeffb502

Thanks for the advice. The closest track is 114 miles away. I'm thinking ride to a nearby motel the afternoon before, get a good night's rest, then ride to the track for the morning of the track day, tape up the stuff that needs taping up, ride around the track all day, un tape stuff, then ride home. Is that too much riding for one day? Maybe spend another night at the motel before riding home? Is it normal for people to show up riding their bike, not having it in the bed of a truck or on a trailer?

Well it was me I'd turn that 114 miles into like 150-200 miles of in twisty roads on the way there in the morning then be all warmed up for the trackday. Log in another 200 miles or so on the track then ride the twisties all the way home. But then I'm the guy who rides his ninja 200 miles to a 50 miles trail running race then rides back home the same day so maybe I'm a little odd.

Riding to the track on your bike is never a good idea just because **** happens when your least prepared. You don't want to be that guy who rode his bike to the track, crashed it, and now has no way to get home. If you must ride you bike to the track you better damn well have a backup plan just incase **** hits the fan.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

If you must ride you bike to the track you better damn well have a backup plan just incase **** hits the fan.

You think AAA would come to the track to pick your bike up and get you a ride home?

[jeffb502]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

Riding to the track on your bike is never a good idea just because **** happens when your least prepared. You don't want to be that guy who rode his bike to the track, crashed it, and now has no way to get home. If you must ride you bike to the track you better damn well have a backup plan just in case **** hits the fan.

I was thinking about that...

Originally Posted by alex.s

you'll be dead tired. renting a trailer is only like $40

I'd have to pick up the trailer the evening before. I think the latest pick up time is 5:00pm, which is the time the track day would end the next day, so I'd have to rent the trailer for 2 days. The one with the ramp is $40/day. They have smaller ones without ramps but then loading/unloading would be a bit of a challenge.

Either the trailer would be an extra cost above the motel room, or I'd have to leave my house at 5:30 in the morning to get to the track on time, probably be tired all day on the track, then still be tired driving home.

Originally Posted by csmith12

You think AAA would come to the track to pick your bike up and get you a ride home?

I guess I could drag it to the side of the road next to the track and just say I crashed it while I was passing by on the public road and staring at the track wishing I was riding there. I do get a free day rental car with a tow, but in the past I've just ridden in the tow truck while my vehicle was being towed.

I searched and there are multiple threads on different forums where people talk about having their cars towed from the track after breaking down (and it being covered by AAA), so I guess it's fine.

Also, I have "trip interruption coverage" that says if I'm more than 100 miles from home on a planned leisure driving trip with a planned overnight stay that is interrupted by an accident, mechanical breakdown, or other covered reason for delay, I am entitled to up to $1500 reimbursement for covered out of pocket expenses including meals, accommodations, and substitute transportation to continue my trip. A track day is a planned leisure driving trip right?

I guess before I go I'll have to call AAA and my insurance company to see if all the money I'm giving them means anything once I'm out on the track trying to improve my riding skills to make it less likely I'll need to use my coverage in the future.