Owens pics 8-23 Track Day

[OreoGaborio]

Originally posted by Rice-rocket1
Which "vintage yamaha" are you refering to?

There were a couple there......

I think he means your classic fully restored antique vintage piece of ..... art

[Paul_E_D]

Yeah, I meant you Rice-rocket. No offense meant I did like that RD we had there too though!

Seriously, your body position looks very good.

[OreoGaborio]

Paul... so you're saying you want to keep your inside elbow relatively low, unlike Spies? Just kinda hang it down & keep it relaxed? had to kinda re-read your post & look at a picture to get an image of what cha meant. Wanted to make sure I got what you were saying.

I find that w/ all the highspeed left turns at NHIS that my left arm especially gets really friggin dead towards the end of the day... I've been experimenting w/ different arm positions lately cuz the last few trackdays i've found myself having to slow down a little especially in all the hard left handers.... I just can't physically push the bike over more with my arms or even hang off more.... I think that's one of the reasons why i've been slacking in my bodyposition in right hand turns, cuz i haven't had to hang off to compensate for a dead arm

I gotta start doin pushups

[Paul_E_D]

Yeah, that's right. Spies is a bit of a freak. I wouldn't emulate his style, but that's me. His elbows are out, but still parallel to the bars. What you really want to avoid is having the outside arm bent, and the inside arm straight.

I know it's hard to explain this stuff, but my teammate is diligently creating some graphics to help people understand what we mean.

If your arms are really spent, it may be that you're pushing down on the bars to steer. If you push forward, it doesn't take that much effort, especially if you push from your outside foot.

Another common thing is to tighten BOTH arms, so one is pushing against the other. I know this happens to me when I get tired. Even makes the 125 very hard to steer.

[OreoGaborio]

Yeah, try as I might I just CAN'T weight that outside peg.... I've discovered it's cuz the footpegs on my bike are just too low. When i'm hanging off the bike my lower leg isn't long enough to reach over the seat to the footpeg & firmly plant my weight on it. Ken C kinda helped me discover that for myself... I was talkin to him about it (or was it Derek) and then it occurred to me that i really can't REACH it when i'm off the bike on the other side. I'm gettin some adapter plates to raise em up & pull em back a little... that should help.... it might help if i pull my outside knee back a little so it's a little more above the peg...

I'm also tryin my hardest not to push back w/ my outside arm & THINK I'm usually pretty good about that, cept for sometimes in turn 3 and 10. (I really need to spend some time on a track that has more rights than lefts ) but that SHOULD tire out my right arm more than my left

(here & here you can see how i try to keep my inside elbow close to my body.... might be too close?)

I dunno, guess i'll just have to sign up for October for more track time or hurry up & get my EX & start racing proddy twins so i can work on it

[Paul_E_D]

Well, When you're at max lean, it's really not possible.

I mean to weight the outside foot going IN and coming OUT of the turns. Mid corner, you're kinda just hooked onto the bike with the back of your knee, heel, outside elbow, and yes, weight will naturally fall on the inside peg. Don't ad to it by pushing down on the inside peg though...

Most importantly, keep weight off your wrists. That's why elbows are bent and low/parallel to the bars.

[OreoGaborio]

werd, thanks Paul See ya in October when I'm workin on weighting the outside peg & sliding back a little in the seat comin outta the turns

This officially ends my hijack

[Rice-rocket1]

Originally posted by Paul_E_D
Yeah, I meant you Rice-rocket. No offense meant I did like that RD we had there too though!

Seriously, your body position looks very good.

No offense taken. Feels pretty good to know I can run the bike bike as hard as I do and keep up with and ahead of some of the newer ones. Degs took the bike out for a session during the June track day and was impressed with it. Said he could feel the weight (516 lbs, scaled during tech fully wet) but it handled very well and the power surprised him for a 10 year old bike. If I make it to the October track day maybe you can take it for a rip.

Thanks for the compliment...

[Degsy]

Originally posted by Rice-rocket1
No offense taken. Feels pretty good to know I can run the bike bike as hard as I do and keep up with and ahead of some of the newer ones. Degs took the bike out for a session during the June track day and was impressed with it. Said he could feel the weight (516 lbs, scaled during tech fully wet) but it handled very well and the power surprised him for a 10 year old bike. If I make it to the October track day maybe you can take it for a rip.

Thanks for the compliment...

The mid-90's FZR1000 was always known as a bike that handled better than it really should. VERY popular bike in the UK.

derek

[Ken C]

We're developing a "curriculum" for track days that will include fine points of body position.

It's very beneficial to actually sit on your bike and have an instructor help fine tune your position.

Pete, weighting the outside footpeg is beneficial for driving out of the corner, not so much for mid corner. It can help when turning in as Paul (and Keith Code) say, but it's more as something to push against when initiating a quick turn-in.

If I were you, I'd look toward turning in quicker. This seems to be most riders problem who've reached a relatively high level of proficiency (me included). Turning in quickly snaps the bike to its maximum lean necessary for the turn, everything else is drive as the bike straightens up for the exit.

Body position helps to pull off the quick turn-in. Once the lean is initiated, the arms are relaxed. The body's weight is supported by the outside leg against the tank and the footpegs. I tend to weight the inside peg through the turn and weight the outside peg (a little) as I drive toward the exit.

You, and many others on this list are at a point where these fine points will bring you to the next level.

And, yes, get the EX running. Nothing accelerates learning like racing.

[OreoGaborio]

sounds good to me, Ken.