Oct 4, 5 - Last NH trackdays

[OreoGaborio]

He said he had brand new brake pads that bit more than he expected... and cold tires.

Ah damn... that sucks. I suppose it just goes to show ya how important it is to ROLL off and SQUEEZE the brakes to set that front end

I'm glad to hear that it was only a shoulder injury though, especially after seeing how long he was down for. Best wishes to the rider!

And the bike was in fairly good shape, too. The only thing I noticed while riding it back to the garage for him was the missing foot peg and a few scratches. Other than that it did alright.

[TTD]

Thanks for a great 3 days all. Just getting re-acquainted with life outside of the track, but will be touching base with everyone via email/forums.

Would have been nice to end on a dry note, but we had about 18 trackdays this year and only 2 were wet, so that's pretty good.

[rolker]

That'll buff right out....

That's what I'm hoping, but I get the feeling I need to get buffing right away if I want to be ready for next season's opener...

[rolker]

Is your 250 set up for the track or for the street?

The 250 is currently missing a few lights to be street legal, but I haven't turned it into a dedicated track bike yet.

Here's what I did to improve the bike a bit when I first started track riding.

Tires: Switched from the crappy stock Dunlop rubber to Pirelli MT75's. The MT75's were cheap (about $100 for the set) and had good reviews (including decent wet performance). Just changing the tires made a big difference at the track. Made the bike want to turn where before, the bike felt like it wanted to go all over the place while cornering.

Forks: Spent about $100 on stiffer springs (for my 190 lbs weight) and heavier fork oil. This was done to prevent nose diving at the slightest touch of the brakes and get a usable suspension for a novice track rider.

Ergonomics: Woodcraft rearsets and clipons. These were done to help encourage a more aggressive riding position. At the time I made the switch, I was still figuring out body position so I don't remember these making a dramatic difference.

So to answer your question, the tires and fork springs are upgrades I should have done for the street anyways, so I wouldn't say the bike is setup for the track. If you define a track setup as having a full Peter Kates/GMD suspension, removing all the unnecessary street components to make the bike lighter and doing other track specific upgrades, then my EX250 is definitely a street bike, not a track bike.

[Phalanx]

Thanks for the info Rolker.

[Lxpony]

The 250 is currently missing a few lights to be street legal, but I haven't turned it into a dedicated track bike yet.

Here's what I did to improve the bike a bit when I first started track riding.

Tires: Switched from the crappy stock Dunlop rubber to Pirelli MT75's. The MT75's were cheap (about $100 for the set) and had good reviews (including decent wet performance). Just changing the tires made a big difference at the track. Made the bike want to turn where before, the bike felt like it wanted to go all over the place while cornering.

Forks: Spent about $100 on stiffer springs (for my 190 lbs weight) and heavier fork oil. This was done to prevent nose diving at the slightest touch of the brakes and get a usable suspension for a novice track rider.

Ergonomics: Woodcraft rearsets and clipons. These were done to help encourage a more aggressive riding position. At the time I made the switch, I was still figuring out body position so I don't remember these making a dramatic difference.

So to answer your question, the tires and fork springs are upgrades I should have done for the street anyways, so I wouldn't say the bike is setup for the track. If you define a track setup as having a full Peter Kates/GMD suspension, removing all the unnecessary street components to make the bike lighter and doing other track specific upgrades, then my EX250 is definitely a street bike, not a track bike.

That 250 of yours can definitely rip around the track. I was amazed at how fast that could be ridden....

[rolker]

That 250 of yours can definitely rip around the track. I was amazed at how fast that could be ridden....

Yeah, and I'm only a semi-competent rider. Image what that thing could do when piloted by a competent rider!! Last year, kbroderick was faster than I was on his EX250.

A lot of people seriously underestimate the little ninjette!

[scottfromboston]

Thanks for a great 3 days all. Just getting re-acquainted with life outside of the track, but will be touching base with everyone via email/forums.

Would have been nice to end on a dry note, but we had about 18 trackdays this year and only 2 were wet, so that's pretty good.

It was fun nonetheless. Sorry for "interrupting" the first Intermediate session. Your suggestion of staying in third all day worked well for me (after that)...

Thanks!

[Phalanx]

What kinda of times were you guys running on the 250?

[rolker]

What kinda of times were you guys running on the 250?

I believe I was running 1:40's Tuesday afternoon. My personal best on the EX250 is 1:39.something.

To put things into perspective, my PB on the RS125 is 1:29.something which is a beginner's pace on a 125. This leads me to believe that the EX250 is capable of going quite a few seconds faster than my 1:39's at Loudon.

[Phalanx]

I believe I was running 1:40's Tuesday afternoon. My personal best on the EX250 is 1:39.something.

To put things into perspective, my PB on the RS125 is 1:29.something which is a beginner's pace on a 125. This leads me to believe that the EX250 is capable of going quite a few seconds faster than my 1:39's at Loudon.

Nice... yeah, theres probably better times to be had with more practice on that particular bike.

I didnt get a timer, but when I went back and looked at the video I took with my gopro, i hit about a 1:50 for my fastest.

Im still going to have to fight the internal battle of weather or not to bump up to a 600.

[TTD]

It was fun nonetheless. Sorry for "interrupting" the first Intermediate session. Your suggestion of staying in third all day worked well for me (after that)...
Thanks!

Glad it helped!

We have the same problem in the dry (meaning people shifting gears way too much), but as we all know, you can get away with a lot more in the dry.

In the wet, there's no need to be doing all that gear shifting while you're still getting the hang of things.

A major thing with new track riders is they are afraid to use the bikes entire powerband. Short shifting everywhere just wears out the rider and the transmission

[Phalanx]

Glad it helped!

We have the same problem in the dry (meaning people shifting gears way too much), but as we all know, you can get away with a lot more in the dry.

In the wet, there's no need to be doing all that gear shifting while you're still getting the hang of things.

A major thing with new track riders is they are afraid to use the bikes entire powerband. Short shifting everywhere just wears out the rider and the transmission

I was in 3rd or 4th the entire day. hardly any shifting

upshift into 4th on the front straight, downshift into 3rd into the chute... then upshift again in the front straight, rinse repeat

[clyons]

LxPony,

You were running the gsx-r there right? and at the end of the day were helping the one with the yellow 750 who low sided on T4?

Rolker were you running the 250 in intermediate and had blue taped the lights?

I'm amazed how many people from nesr were there and how many people I talked to weren't actually from this site.

[rolker]

I didnt get a timer, but when I went back and looked at the video I took with my gopro, i hit about a 1:50 for my fastest.

First time on the track right? That's a very respectable time for a first timer on an EX250!

In the wet, there's no need to be doing all that gear shifting while you're still getting the hang of things.

In the wet, I probably only use half my shift points and to keep things as smooth as possible, I even use the clutch to upshift (on the EX250).

I was in 3rd or 4th the entire day. hardly any shifting

That's the way to start! You'll gradually add shift points as needed as you gain experience.

Rolker were you running the 250 in intermediate and had blue taped the lights?

Yup that was me!

[clyons]

aha! you're in the video that garandman took, last bike that passed. I remember seeing you a bunch of times on the track and could recognize the blue tape as I passed.

[Phalanx]

First time on the track right? That's a very respectable time for a first timer on an EX250!

Yes, first time ever on a track... I also only started riding at the end of July, so a little over 2 months of experience riding. Ive done a looooot of reading and really tried to employ what we learned in the classroom sessions.

I even use the clutch to upshift (on the EX250).

Chris (Nazo) told me about this when I returned his trailer last night. I was having some issues with the tranny getting stuck between gears on the front straight. Ive actually had it happen on the street before, too. Somehow the discussion got to how he doesnt even use the clutch to upshift.

I hadnt heard of that technique before.

[rolker]

Chris (Nazo) told me about this when I returned his trailer last night. I was having some issues with the tranny getting stuck between gears on the front straight. Ive actually had it happen on the street before, too. Somehow the discussion got to how he doesnt even use the clutch to upshift.

I hadnt heard of that technique before.

Clutch-less upshifting is a useful technique for a few reasons. It allows you to minimize the time not at full throttle while accelerating down the front stretch and coming out of corners such as 4 or the bowl, it allows you to minimize the impact on the bike due to "unloading" the suspension by pulling in the clutch and disengaging the power. By shifting without using the clutch, the bike stays planted during that drive out of the corner.

The technique can be practice and used on the street. While accelerating, you simply need to apply some pressure to the shifter to "preload" the shift and "blip" the throttle when ready to shift. Blipping the throttle is simply reducing the throttle a bit (not fully chopped) and returning to full throttle very quickly. That momentary drop in power allows the gears to smoothly slip into place.

This is an example of a technique shown at the ARC course that is sometimes offered in conjunction with TTDs at Loudon.

[Lxpony]

LxPony,

You were running the gsx-r there right? and at the end of the day were helping the one with the yellow 750 who low sided on T4?

.

Yup- that was me.. We should probably all be wearing NESR name tags going forward..

[KB]

Clyons I think I remember the bike from your avatar pic. I think you asked me about the front end chattering down in jersey no?

KB here. I was in yellow group mon and tuesday.

KB

[Rada]

Yup- that was me.. We should probably all be wearing NESR name tags going forward..

That would help.

I shot the shit with MellowYellow a bit and didn't even know it.

[rolker]

Yup- that was me.. We should probably all be wearing NESR name tags going forward..

We actually did that a year or two ago. Jane might have been the one who organized it and gave us "Hello my name is..." stickers.

Another idea might be to start a thread next time we show up at the track and post our garage number. That would give us sort of a map of NESR members... Oh, I might be able to write an Android app to help with that...

[MellowYellow]

That would help.

I shot the shit with MellowYellow a bit and didn't even know it.

You did? Who are you again? Really need name tags. It would be huge I swear!!!

[clyons]

I'm sure anyone in the yellow group saw me pass them a bunch, I was running the maroon, silver yzf600r with a blue stripe.

Picture from NJMP:


KB which one were you again? I only asked a few people about the front chatter, that said I also didn't notice it at loudon but I made a slight adjustment to rebound dampening.

[clyons]

Also, anyone know how long it usually takes for photos to come online?