Let's dissect my T6 crash...

[Tricky Mike]

First of all, MANY thanks to Ken Condon for not only getting the shot, but posting it up... hopefully I can learn something from it.

Well, here it is... Tony's on the 18th:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkPzBqBJfTo


Now...
What I think I did wrong...
Not enough gas early enough... I should have been rolling on much sooner.
Cold(ish?) tires? Not sure... I don't have warmers and it was pretty early in the session. I thought they were up to temp

What really gets me though, is that I really don't know what I did. Everything felt good. I THOUGHT I was running at about 80%. Never felt like I was pushing it at all. Come into 6, lean it over and down I go. I dunno...
What do you guys think?

[Crash Dummy Denno]

early in day = cold = cold tires

[DucDave]

How many laps into the session? What was the temp? If this wasn't your first lap, and it wasn't really freezing out, then the tires should have been up to temp. But it sure looks like your tires just let go. How worn are the tires? Maybe they were just finished?

Cool video though!

[Tricky Mike]

Can't remember for sure... 4th lap into the session?
It was after lunch, too, so it had warmed up pretty nicely.
Tires are new-ish... Pilot Power Race (soft) One day with Penguin, 1/2 day with Tony.

[Evil_Weasel]

looked to me like you were running wide and added an extra steering input to tighten your line for the exit to 6. asked alittle too much of the front end, and woops there she goes.

of course this is just a guess as i am neither fast nor smart.

[s a x m a n]

tires would have been fine after 4 laps ...

like ken said that day, it was most likely being alittle to tense on the bars, so any movements that the front tire made where made bigger because you were tight on the bars.

Turn 6 is one of the spots where the pavement is not smooth at all, and if your tires hit some spots they will move (lower point to high point). Any tightness in the bars is going to magnify that, and just like in your case sometimes put you down

[bostongixxer]

looked to me like you were running wide and added an extra steering input to tighten your line for the exit to 6. asked alittle too much of the front end, and woops there she goes.

+1 You were looking good Mike...it does seem that perhaps you were harder on the steering than you should have been. It was a while ago, so it's probably hard to recall. Hope that you are healing up well.

[Evil_Weasel]

ahhh, i knew it wouldn't be long before a profesional crash analysist came along.

on a side note there was a point in the afternoon where i went into six, alittle too wide and with alittle too much trail brake. apparently the SV i was on disagreed with my course of action and the front end started doing a wierd shimy dance up the track. nothing horrifying but it completely botched my already slighty botched line. i never had that o shit gonna crash feeling but i deffinatly remembered not to do that again.

[s a x m a n]

there is a part in turn six where the pavement is very uneven and if you go over that there it makes the bike "walk" ... so staying loose is VERY important in that case to let the bike sort itself out.

I've gone over the spot on the power and had both wheels kick out ... kept it on two wheels, but learned to make sure I hit the apex of 6 every time (=

[Evil_Weasel]

so staying loose is VERY important in that case to let the bike sort itself out.

....also one of the benifits to weighing 108 lbs...the bike doesn't even know i'm there, as long as i don't tense up and do something dumb.

[Tricky Mike]

it does seem that perhaps you were harder on the steering than you should have been.

I agree...

[gmdboston]

You turned in way too early and ground the peg into the pavement. It picked up the rear wheel and spun it around you. Then the front let go. Go in deeper, and more toward the middle of the road. I could tell you were going to crash as soon as you crested the hill.

[bump909]

damn.. sherlock gmd holmes.

easy to see how your forearm got rashed up there, mike.

[Tricky Mike]

You turned in way too early and ground the peg into the pavement.

You're right.
I tried to freeze it and get a couple screen shots...
You can see the tape X in front of me... Is that where I should be on the track or is that my turn-in point?


Split second later:




Just before the peg hits:

[gmdboston]

Those tapes "X's" are way off in many locations. Your problem started with the turn in for three, but that is another story....... You should be at the top of the hill, pointed down into the bowl. You were pointed to the out side and have to go right first, then left, making the corner much too tight. Take the Penguin advanced school some time. Your line around the whole segment is very sloppy. I don't have the typing skills to explain it in a short time. I'll have to do it in person.

[Crash Dummy Denno]

crashing stinks

[Tricky Mike]

Take the Penguin advanced school some time.

Thanks for the advice, Pete. I do plan on the advanced course... Maybe first thing next season (can't make the one on the 5th).

It's not that the peg hit... it's WHY the peg hit. Poor line, bad body position, ham-fisting, etc, etc...

[Awesome]

I can't see the video but I'm sure it's a complicated case, lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.

[Tricky Mike]

The plane has crashed into the mountain. This is our concern, dude.

[TTD]

Those tapes "X's" are way off in many locations. .

We try to put the X's in a "safe" spot, meaning that they will leave room for error, rider preferences, etc.

We try to tell people that you should be close to the X's... not 10 or 20 feet away.

We welcome your input at the track as to which ones you feel are way off.

[KB]

I was watching that video on tuesday night in the garage and didn't even realize it was you.

The problem is you're on a motard. Turn six doesn't like motards, you upset it, it threw you.

KB

[bostongixxer]

We try to put the X's in a "safe" spot, meaning that they will leave room for error, rider preferences, etc.

We try to tell people that you should be close to the X's... not 10 or 20 feet away.

We welcome your input at the track as to which ones you feel are way off.

I understand why you put the Xs where they are. You are not setting up the race line. I took the Penguin Advanced School a couple of weeks before the 9/18 TTD so the comparison was stark in my mind...but I knew why it was different. As I was running blue, I found myself adhering to the Penguin lines more so than the Xs.

[lee955i]

looked to me like you were running wide and added an extra steering input to tighten your line for the exit to 6. asked alittle too much of the front end, and woops there she goes.

of course this is just a guess as i am neither fast nor smart.

I vote for this. Why you ask? Because I did the same freakin' thing in the same spot. Super hot day, little brain fade on the next to last lap of my LWSPM race, got in a little too high and tried to tighten it up just a tad. Boom, down she went...
Cheers, Lee S.

[WOTEugene]

You tucked the front end by the look of it. You can see the wheel jump to full lock left before you wash out.

Talk to Peter Kates about adjusting the bike's geometry or something. Perhaps lower the bike a bit in the back to get a slightly less aggressive rake/trail - but that's just my wild-ass guess, I'm no expert.

[nerijusj]

My lowside on T6 looked very similar as in that vid. I went in a bit too fast and let off throttle, maybe turned in too early. Or maybe was too stiff on handlebars as I was leaning the bike wayyyy over to the left. Well, at least your bike didn't flip like mine did. That's were the most damage happened-on a right side.