Turn 7

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by NewbieNinja

You could talk about the roaring of the engine as the bike pushes you threw the apex as you hold on to the edge of the bike with full trust.

A bead of sweat begins its lifecycle just above my left eyebrow as I work the last remaining bit of the keyhole. Raising the bike more toward an upright state, I see the last remaining red and white bits of rumble strip go by out of my peripheral vision as the last few millimeters of throttle is turned. With the bike completely upright, I slide my bum back onto the seat and square up my torso to be in line with the bike, buckle down with the hammer dropped. This is where the R6 shines. Near 14000 rpms of pure terror to the faint of heart.

The tuck is thrilling and relaxing at the same time. It offers a few moments of rest where the bike does nearly 100% of the work. All you have to do is lie down and keep out of the wind. As the rpm’s climb the white light lights up on the dash screaming it’s time to upshift but it goes ignored. As the rider, I will shift when I am darned well ready, thank you very much. After the front wheel lifts a bit over the little bump about 80 or so feet down the back straight that is my queue and marker to shift just before hitting the rev limiter. After the head shakes a bit, she settles in just as my left foot clicks the next gear solid, this is no time for a weak shift.

As the speedo ticks over triple digits, the bead of sweat blazes a trail to near the corner my eye. I feel it; it’s part of this and offers no relief to the 106 degrees of tarmac temperature. I upshift again to 4th gear as well into triple digits on the speedo. I am tightly locked onto the bike but open my nose to intake a large breath of oxygen. 5th gear comes and I begin to lean into the kink at 140mph and I begin to see my next adversary turn 7. Time for one last exhale….. For the next casual exhale will be a long time coming and I have a lot of work to do. 6th gear and approaching 155mph and the bike glide over the little bumps just before steering the bike toward the left side of the track. The throttle has been pinned the entire time and passing 500ft braking marker offers no queue to let off now. At this time the R6 is topped out, she has nothing more to give aside of a few bounces off the rev limiter. This sends info straight to my SR’s to bring it down a few notches. My finger starts itching to meet up with the brake lever but the urges have been beaten into submission from hundreds of laps before this one. The 500ft braking marker does alert me to get my bum off the seat though. So it begins here…

Turn 7 is a right hander, it’s fast, tight with a hint of downhill slope to it and it’s just how I like them. As I roll past the 400ft braking marker I lay my fingers on the front brake lever and roll off the throttle as my torso pops up from the tuck. About half way through the roll I begin to squeeze the brake. My bum is already off the seat and I flex my left quad and calf for leverage and to dig my knee into the underside of the lip of the tank. I have my turn in point on lock as my mind addresses the other track occupants. Any last minute adjustments need to be made? Negative. With a progressive squeeze the speed comes rocketing downward and the forces are pushing me forward on the bike. My knees solidly dug into the side of the tank deny all forward movement as I continue toward my corner entry speed. The front of the bike dives down and plants itself securely into its stance to shave off the remaining speed that would put me and the bike in the dirt. I blip the throttle to bang out a couple of quick downshifts until that last set of cones. The last set of cones is my marker for hitting 3rd gear. The last 150 feet of straight is bit of super hard braking. The rear of the bike begins to talk and what she has to say is typical of a complaining drama queen. It chatters a bit, wiggles a bit more and floats up and down. She wants to step out but not this time, it’s not in the cards. Being able to ignore drama is a quality that any rider needs to possess. So while the bike complains a bit, if offers you a bit of time to find an apex that is in agreement with the other factors flying around inside the riders helmet. Approaching slightly faster entry speed now and big head turn, with a soft hand and smooth touch the beast is calmed into submission and ready to be commanded. With both wheels firmly on the ground and the feeling of strong traction in place it’s time to make this corner my bitch. This is another place where the R6 shines for riders that can deal with a wiggly rear end. It feels like going in hot and late is what this machine was designed for.

Subtle are the riders actions during this time. Much like an archer lines up his bulls eye or a sniper takes care to ensure an accurate shot, a rider targets his corner much the same. Sight is laser sharp and the earplugs are a filter for noise that is just not important to the task at hand, besides, you’re out of time anyway. The world stops this instant in time, nothing else matters. This is "the zone".

The 100ft braking marker goes by its turn in time and I hold my breath for moment. The bead of sweat has made its way to my cheek. I think it’s in search of a way out but now is not the time. A two-step effort is required to get the bike turned at this speed; laziness at this point is not tolerated. Quick flick is made up of 2 parts; a slight push of the inside hand and a push of the foot on the opposing side of the body. With a little additional flex of the calf and quad and a push of the right hand the bike begins its decent onto its line. How deep you dive is dependent on how long you hold the push. It doesn’t take much or long to get you knee on the ground. When you push with force the bike will fall, and fall over fast it will. You have to be on your toes and 100% in your commitment to the corner.

The path to apex is what everything builds to. It’s my main focus for the time being. I begin by slowly releasing brake pressure as the bike progresses to max lean. I can feel the tiny bit of throttle slack tighten as the last bit of braking is complete. My line is set, let’s feel it… My head drops near my right hand and I feel the first bit of acceleration from the throttle roll. If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get there. So where is my exit? There it is, right where it was last lap. At this point I feel a tickle on my knee as the tarmac tugs at my slider. I largely ignore it as my main goal is to ever so lightly bump the chin of my helmet on the back of my wrist. At this point my line is solidified and the rumble strip checkers start to go by. It feels somewhat slow as these painted checkers on this strip are very large. Maybe I could have gone faster? Let me ask the bike…. With a bit more throttle, she answers by talking to my back side. A slight skip out of the rear tire is the response I am looking for. Ahhhhhh…… she is happy with the speed it seems. Maybe next lap, I can ask her to go a bit faster. With even more throttle the bike begins to come back to life as I pass the apex which looks to be about 3 inches below my helmet. But deep down, I know she has some lean left in her. Either way, no sense in grinding away a slider, so I pick up my leg a little, you know… Touch and go.

With the apex out of the way, my goal is to get to the exit with as much speed as possible. I move my head over farther to right just a few inches, which feel like miles at this point. The bike completely disappears from my view as I stand it up just a little bit to be more aggressive with the throttle roll. She responds with another little skip of the rear and locks onto the pavement like super glue. With a bit more throttle she is fully alive, wanting to leave the corner just as ferociously as she entered. 11000 rpms is music to my ears and plays like a symphony written by Ludwig Van Beethoven.

The bead of sweat has made it to the corner of my mouth. Let’s finish this job. A push of the outside peg and a light counter steer lifts the bike back up near its center patch of tire compound. You know…. The one where you pin it! Bearing down on the exit offers me the chance to make up some ground on the rider ahead of me. He waited too long before pinning it and I gain what looks to be about 2 bike lengths. The bike is fully stood up now and yet I am still hanging off the bike and head is still near my right hand. It’s time to climb back on. With a flex of my inner left leg muscle I pull my bum fully back onto the seat. My torso follows in orderly fashion as I feel a light touch of my chest on the tank. My mouth opens just a little as I exhale, the bead of sweat tastes a bit salty and I wonder how a drop of sweat made it down that far?

1 corner down, only 12 more to go this lap! I love the track.

[Motofool]

I love it, Chris !!!

You should be writing for some sport riding magazine.
It felt like being in that R6 !!!

[rojoracing53]

Cool story bro and since I've riden T-7 on an R6 it was all the more real

I should write one of these for ride the 215hp R71 FX bike or maybe one for the Daytona banking. So many stories so little motivation

[csmith12]

I could have used the RC8 too. Right nasty machine that is, had me staring at the sky at 100mph.

[NevadaWolf]

Awesome write up! Thanks for expressing so nicely what goes on in your head.

[choneofakind]

bookmarked for later when I have time to read an inspiring essay.

[JohnnyBravo]

Sounded like one of them naughty books at the beginning. After that it was a great read

[csmith12]

Next topic? Make it something challenging but not drama filled.

[NevadaWolf]

Ok. Since that beautiful essay was on one turn, how about at the start? Or just before?

[NewbieNinja]

Wow, awesome write up.. I felt like I was on the Goliath at six flags.. lol... nice..

[csmith12]

Bump for riding inspiration!

I will be taking on turn 7 again in near perfect weather again in less than 24h.

Happy riding ya'lls!

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Bump for riding inspiration!
.......

I have been missing those write ups of yours !!!

You have much to teach other riders.

[csmith12]

Ikr, it's been too long. Lemme see what I can do.

[snot]

How about turn 8 thru 10?

[SLOWn60]

Classic Target Fixation!

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by snot

How about turn 8 thru 10?

With or without the jump over the crest? I ask because the ending is different with the jump.

[snot]

The correct line ...I like the 7-9 turns but don't know the correct way to execute the turns.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by snot

The correct line ...I like the 7-9 turns but don't know the correct way to execute the turns.

k, I will do this for ya. Lemme type it up.

[snot]

Originally Posted by csmith12

k, I will do this for ya. Lemme type it up.

Thank you, I still plan or trying to get there this season.