Nov #358 Round 2

[DZircher]

Racer Practice and Group 3 Practice

May 17th & 18th

The bike was brought to the track by Kyle from Seacoast Cycles after they diagnosed and fixed my reversal of the exhaust valve. They took the power measured at my rear wheel from a wimpy 42 HP to a roaring 126 HP. That's an enormous amount of power. A 300% increase!! While they had it they also adjusted my throttle plates and tuned it on the dyno. In addition to this they fine tuned the adjusters on my brake and clutch master cylinders and generally went over the bike. The bike felt incredible before I even started it. I must admit that there's something very comforting about having master mechanics work on your bike who are expert racers too. It's a form of mutual investment, an understanding of consequence. Above all that, there's a common passion for every dimension of racing. Like I said earlier, I like that.
After Kyle dropped the bike off, I ran down to Miles over at Street and Comp and picked up a set of tank stompers I ordered the session before. I got them mounted and I suspect that they will really help me keep my distance from the tank correctly when breaking.
During my first practice session I really took it easy on the throttle and I spent some time getting used to all the new power at the wheel. The entire time, I practiced finding my lines, good markers and getting a little bit of a sing song counting rhythm going on in my helmet. I've found that I've been rushing transitioning from the throttle to the brake, knee clamping to learning and quite a few other transitions. Having a rhythm that I can use to pace myself in these transitions is helping my be a lot smoother. By the second set of riders practice, I was able to brake a little deeper into the turns and set the front wheel without having to shave too much speed to the apex. Good improvements!! My practice lap times were a pretty consistent 1:32.
I tried a new method off pitting in and getting into the paddock and it really proved perfect for me. I bought an inexpensive floor wheel chock stand and brought my MotoMFG center stand. Getting into the paddock after a session was much easier to manage.

1. Pit out and drive into the garage straight into the chock stand
2. Dismount the bike and take off boots, gloves, helmet, loosen crash suit
3. Check tire temperatures and log them in my journal
4. put helmet, boot and gloves on the dryers
5. slide center lift stand to bike on chock and lift bike out of the chock stand
6. wheel the bike away and rotate so that it's pointed for the next tract session.
7. tire warmers on
8. drink a ton of water
9. sit down and shut up (enter race notes into journal)

Performing these pragmatic steps allows me to pit in and treat myself before I have to try and balance the bike in some form of exhaustion. It really take the pressure off too.

Novice Formula 1 (Race 6)

Saturday, May 18

As soon as they released us from pre-grid I went to do a moch start. I've been practicing oscillating the throttle between 5000 and 7500 RPMs and I think this is a decent sweet spot for me at this time. I progressively released the throttle and got a really good launch, when I twisted it to get to the rev limiter my front wheel came up how I had to roll back on the throttle to rejoin the other riders who were entering the track on pit road. I completed my warm up lap while keeping that rhythm I had developed firmly planted in my mind. I'm sure anyone who was listening in my helmet would think I was nuts.... or a drummer
It was a clean sighting lap and I felt confident that it was going to be a good race.
I was gridded on Wave 1, 4D. Besides being at the rear of the fast bikes I was also in a position from which I couldn't see the number boards nor the flag. I used the sound of the other engines as my indication and got a good launch in spite of the fact that my focus was not on my bike's RPMs. Got a decent shot and passed 1 rider on the way to turn 1.
I'm still braking a little too early on most of the really hard break turns: 1, 3, 6, 9 but I'm getting much better about not shedding too much speed. I've been getting some really good lines back through 11, 11a and 12 which has allowed me to get a pretty good projection for the straight away. The bikes front end was feeling light and nimble under throttle so I shifted my weight over the tank to try and plant her down for a good straight away run. I was able to hit uppers of 100 MPH before I started rolling off for turn 1. This is likely on of the places that I can improve the most. I'm not confident being full on when turning in slightly on the back straight away and I brake way too early setting up for the apex of 1. Even though I've got those issues, I'm still driving through 1, 1a and 2 approximately 50 MPH.
Coming out of turn 12 in lap 5 I got a really good flick out to the straight away and really got on the throttle early in 2nd gear. The bike flew down the straight and I grabbed 3rd, nailed the rev limiter and then grabbed 4th. Oh wait, I'm still at the rev limiter shit, blew the shift!!; try again... nothing I'm stuck in 3rd gear and approaching marker 5. I started my turn in, planted the front wheel and reached for an up shift and still nothing. I completed the entire last few laps with only 3rd gear.
Ironically, these were my best lap times to date. 1:31's I believe this is an indication that my braking is still not right. My hypothesis is that when I have more speed I'm over breaking and shedding way too much which lowers my pace through a turn.
Touched left knee 5 times, right knee 0 - definitely an indication that my body position is inconsistent between the two. Saw some photos of my position and my left looks good, I'm twisting my body when turning right. I need to practice that a lot more in the future.

Novice Formula 3 (Race 9)

Saturday, May 18

Did Not Show - Repairing the bike. It turns out that when I lost the ability to shift that my carbon fibre shift linkage broke at the metal connector near the ball joint. Goosh over at North Garage #2 loaned me a replacement shift linkage and saved my weekend. I will definitely start carrying one of those in my parts box from now on.

Group 3 Practice

Sunday, May 19th

The weather was pretty cool Sunday morning with ambient temps in the low 50s. I put the tires on the warmers set high early, around 7:00am. Not sure if this was the right thing to do or not but I wanted to get as much heat into the the wheels as I could for practice. Got the pressures warm set to front 29, rear 26.
I did moch starts on each of my practice sessions and I feel like I'm getting a decent rhythm for easing the clutch out progressively while maintaining an increasing throttle rate. In practice session #2 I hit a false neutral heading into the bowl but I recovered my letting the bike roll high and then went for an up shift. Unfortunately, my up shift muscle memory has not quite learned that it's GP shift now so I would up with a downshift and found myself in 2nd gear heading towards turn 7. I was able to power through and get a short shift too recover. Other than that bad lap my times were ranging between 1:32 - 1:30s. I felt really good about that.
After I pitted out around 11:30, I put the bike back on the stands and set the warmers to 'warm' and waited for race 8 to be called. At 1:45pm, I went to flip the switch my warmers and noticed that the front tire had already been switched to 'hot' I felt the heat on the tire and there was no way it had been turned up like that for 2 1/2 hours. I suspect that a visitor or track kid may have played with it. I think that this is something that we should keep a watchful eye on.

Novice Rookie 1 (Race 8)

Sunday, May 19

I was gridded at 3A and had great visibility to the flag. I had an excellent launch and wound up tight in the pack in position 9 through turn 1. I stayed in 9th position as I approach lap 5 and passed a rider heading towards the apex of turn 1a. A red flag was then thrown on the track and we enter pre-grid.
Did a very slow practice lap because I didn't want to push myself and headed back to my position on the grid. I got a great launch this time at the flagged and shaved 3 seconds off my first race start lap time. Driving out of the bowl in turn 6 I felt my rear tire drift out a bit while my knee was planted on the drive out of the apex. I reduced the throttle slightly and the bike recovered perfectly. I feel like I was very light on the bars and listening carefully. Great drive down into 9 and my best left hand turn coming out of twelve onto the straight away.
I cycled through 4th gear and took a short shift to 5th while I was turning in a little for turn 1. Got solid on my front brakes and shed my speed from 123 MPH to 62 MPH by the time I was getting ready to carve right for turn 1a. I felt a little bit of walk on the rear tire as I was learning the bike in and I assumed it was because I didn't achieve a low enough combined center of gravity. I tried to push with my outside (left) leg to get down on the bike a little further to balance it out and let it stand up a little however I'm pretty certain that I inadvertently blipped the throttle in the process. Looking at my telemetry data, that's pretty much what it reveals. Unfortunately, my rear tire lost traction and I had my first low slide. Thanks to the corner workers who help get me and my bike sorted out and evaluated!! I remounted the bike and pitted out with a 'signal' until I was off the race surface.
Back at the garage I evaluated the damage and it was very minor.

From this angle you can hardly notice.Hand guard completely saved my hand and leverWoodcraft engine gaurd save my case and brake leverTail only got a little scrapeFoot peg was grinded to a stump!!

Only took about 1 hour to put her all back together, if I had more races that day - I'd be back on the pony.


Here's a glimpse at some of the telemetry data I used...



Learned a lot this week and for what it's worth, my lap times were consistenly in the 1:30s for the first 5 laps. Nobody likes to crash but I'm glad I got this behind me and I was able to learn a number of items to concentrate on.


If you're gonna ride, remember to twist it!!
-DiZ

[Chippertheripper]

Being so methodical in your habits will pay off. Keep marching.

[tsorfas]

What chip said! I wish I had all that data from my progression then I'd new exactly what to fix to go the next level! You are definitely moving much better out there. Good seeing ya

[Kurlon]

Glad to hear your first trip to the pavement was somewhat polite. Good progress this weekend also!

[carsick]

Great job out there! Your detailed analysis leads me to believe I may not be aware of most of what's going on out there. I'm very glad you (and the tank) came out of your lowside unscathed!

[carsick]

I wish I had all that data from my progression then I'd know exactly what to fix to go the next level!

Dude, you're going to next levels rather quickly. Put you on a Harley next round...

[Chippertheripper]

Dude, you're going to next levels rather quickly. Put you on a Harley next round...

I would love to ride one of those things except braking into 1,3,6,&11. Fuck that.

[tsorfas]

Dude if you see the line he takes in 3 it's nuts. Legit all the way to the left all the way up 5

[Kurlon]

Dude if you see the line he takes in 3 it's nuts. Legit all the way to the left all the way up 5

He's doing that on Pirelli SPORT DEMONS. Fricken bias ply touring tires, trying to keep up with a Sportster being roadraced?! I talked to him a bit Saturday, guess he ended up flat tracking 9 once because he was cooking the poor tires turning them to grease partway through the race. The guy has got some serious skill, and GIANT brass ones.

[CBR929RE]

are you getting those speeds from looking at the speedometer or from your data logging?

[MarkMarine]

Just a piece about launching the bike for starts. You want to modulate the clutch, NOT the throttle, to keep your wheel down and get the most power out of it. In first gear with the engine cranking, and you trying to hold on during a wheelie, the clutch is much easier and more instinctive to pull in than it is to roll a little throttle off, especially in first gear on a twin.

Hold the throttle at one RPM, I'd start your bike at 5K (but I've never ridden an 848, that's just a guess) and at the two board I'd let enough clutch out that I can feel the bike tense, at the one board breathe in and relax, then modulate the clutch out at green. Pull in a little bit to keep the wheel down, but hold your throttle hand steady (for now.) then you can feed in more throttle, but keep your fingers on the clutch to soften the pull if it tries to lift on you.

Sounds like a lot, but after tons of practice (I used to run 1/8 mi drags every Friday) it becomes second nature, and being in front for turn 1 is a lot better than fighting the pack for position.

[DZircher]

are you getting those speeds from looking at the speedometer or from your data logging?

data logging

[jwm2k3]

I was watching you in your race then realized....hey wheres Diz? I did eventually see you pit back in under your own power, so I figured you were at least somewhat ok. I know I didnt come and say hello, its a stressful time around the garages during races, so.....next time.

Great job!

[eforer]

Another great weekend Dana, great job. Big gains!!! See you next time.

[CBR929RE]

data logging

cool

you looked much better in race 5 on sunday. I didn't even hesitate to pass you unlike rd1 where you had some funky line through 11. not sure where I passed you this time but if I don't remember its because you did everything right. in fact all the novices in that race, which was a lot were doing very well. all of you held your lines well even when there was a large group of you jammed up dicing with each other and I was in a fight with someone in my own race while we were trying to get by everyone.

[DZircher]

I know I didnt come and say hello, its a stressful time around the garages during races, so.....next time.

Great job!

Totally agree, looking forward to yapping. I think I saw your bike over near the north garages.

[DZircher]

I didn't even hesitate to pass you unlike rd1 where you had some funky line through 11. not sure where I passed you this time but if I don't remember its because you did everything right.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback, it's good to hear that I'm becoming more predictable. Making significant improvments there was my #1 priority for rd2. I really want to be the kind of rider that would be trusted to battle for a position with. In time and more experience. I got a lot of saddle time this weekend and it really helped, especially with all that new found torque at the rear.

-DiZ

[Degsy]

Wirelessly posted

Just a piece about launching the bike for starts. You want to modulate the clutch, NOT the throttle, to keep your wheel down and get the most power out of it. In first gear with the engine cranking, and you trying to hold on during a wheelie, the clutch is much easier and more instinctive to pull in than it is to roll a little throttle off, especially in first gear on a twin.

Hold the throttle at one RPM, I'd start your bike at 5K (but I've never ridden an 848, that's just a guess) and at the two board I'd let enough clutch out that I can feel the bike tense, at the one board breathe in and relax, then modulate the clutch out at green. Pull in a little bit to keep the wheel down, but hold your throttle hand steady (for now.) then you can feed in more throttle, but keep your fingers on the clutch to soften the pull if it tries to lift on you.

Sounds like a lot, but after tons of practice (I used to run 1/8 mi drags every Friday) it becomes second nature, and being in front for turn 1 is a lot better than fighting the pack for position.

Thats a great explaination.

[Gecko]

Hold the throttle at one RPM, I'd start your bike at 5K (but I've never ridden an 848, that's just a guess) and at the ONE board I'd let enough clutch out that I can feel the bike tense, as the one board starts to tip breathe in and relax, then modulate the clutch out at green. Pull in a little bit to keep the wheel down, but hold your throttle hand steady (for now.) then you can feed in more throttle, but keep your fingers on the clutch to soften the pull if it tries to lift on you.

The only thing I'd change is in red. I just think slipping the clutch at the two board is too much wear on the clutch, but ymmv. For me, in gear and rev's up at the one board, start slipping the clutch as the one board starts to tip.

[Kurlon]

I don't think the idea is to keep the bike fighting you at the line, I think the idea is to get the lever to the start of the friction zone and have it perched just before. When the flag drops, there is no guessing where it's going to start grabbing, no delay waiting for the lever to swing out through the excess travel, etc.

[MarkMarine]

I agree once the rider is comfortable, that is the best way. More setup time can't hurt when you are learning though, IMHO.

[The Snowman]

Congrats on the 1:30 barrier. Bummer about the off, but like others have said, at least is was an "easy" one.

[PainfullySlow]

Dana it was great meeting you this past weekend. I watched you race and was impressed with what you were doing out there. Your attention to detail and data reminds me very much of myself =)

I have no doubt that you will progress quickly but as someone of a like mind, I will share with you something that I have learned during my time racing. Do not OVER think things. Scrutinize your data when you are off the track and come up with a plan, then forget all about the data and just execute the plan when you are on the track. It will free your mind up for more important things in the moment.

Sorry about the lowside, sadly it is something that every racer will encounter (multiple times) throughout their career. Learn from it and move forward. If you are still struggling with starts feel free to toss me a PM and I will share with you what I know about launching wet-clutch twins =)

[nhbubba]

[DZircher]

I will share with you something that I have learned during my time racing. Do not OVER think things. Scrutinize your data when you are off the track and come up with a plan, then forget all about the data and just execute the plan when you are on the track. It will free your mind up for more important things in the moment.

Thanks for the advice! I'll do my best not to do that but being an engineer it's sometimes really hard for me not to take too much an analytical approach. I really feel like I made very good progress over the 3 riding days of round #2. My lap times, race lines and level of relaxation all seemed to improve.

I posted some pics on my blog that I really like, I'm mostly pleased with my body position but I think the next steps for me is to focus on consistency. I can't wait for the schedule to be released so I can pre-reg for round #3.