| Author |
Message |
    
Diablobrian
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 03:14 pm: | 
|
I haven't seen it mentioned, but I may have missed it, but you XB9 is a lightweight
class motorcycle in racing trim while the generic japanese 600 is a middleweight.
Trying to out-gun them in the straights is something akin to trying to take on a corvette
with a Ford focus. (Stock) they just don't compare head to head in the HP department.
You've gotten good advice about learning about carrying corner speed. That is where
you will work your magic on an XB. The tighter the course the better since you have
an advantage there. Any monkey can be trained to whack open the throttle on the straights,
it takes skill to carry the speed through the corner. |
Bcool83
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 03:36 pm: |
|
Another question: which track day operator are you running with?
Make sure they offer EXPERIENCED on-track instruction (no really cheapie track day operator has enough instruction)
Work with the instructors - ask specific questions about lines, turning points, braking points, body position and shifting. You'll be surprised at how few track day riders even ask ANY questions of the instructors - they just expect to somehow absorb knowledge just by being on the track.
I did Talladega with Elite Sportbike, and Barber with Sportbike Track Time. I actually cared for my "assigned" control rider more with STT, but both were helpful. However, I expected more input from them... After I asked them both to follow me and let me know how I was doing, they both said I was doing great. I guess I should've asked more about the lines, brake/shift/turn points, where to get on the gas... I just can't think of any questions when I'm out there (story of my life - never Johnny On The Spot with questions!). |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 03:54 pm: |
|
You are all forgetting a critical aspect of riding an XB9S(X) on the track... I'll call it the "deals gap KLR-250" factor.
You ride up right behind somebody who think they are on Nicky Hayden's race bike (cause it's the same color and has the same stickers). You stay all over them for an entire session (or an entire run down deals gap). Look really relaxed the the whole time.
After this, when you finish the lap (or stop at the campground) you casually tell them "wow, you have a really fast bike! I'm really surprised I could keep up with you on my air cooled pushrod harley engine. Or 23 year old 17 HP dirt bike. Or Road King ridden 2 up. Take your pick...
Its great fun  If the rider is a real motorcyclist, they will make a comment along the lines of how much fun it must be to ride an XB / KLR-250 / Road King on this kind of road and what great bikes they are as well... and you know you have a neat person to have lunch with.
If they are a poser, it gets a lot more entertaining  |
Nuerburgringer
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 05:29 pm: |
|
Gonna be a looong time before your skills surpass the Buell's abilities. Possibly a lifetime. That's not condescension; you've got a helluva chassis beneath you. Just try to remember why you're doing trackdays. You ain't there to "win" anything, but rather to improve yourself, and to have fun in the process. Once you've earned your race license, and find yourself struggling for power within your chosen race class, that's when you've gotta be taking peak horsepower more seriously.
I am a licensed roadracer, and purposely "check out" of the horsepower wars for trackdays, using my Husqvarna supermoto instead. The fun factor went off-the-scale once I hung up my horsepower hat.
Ride well, live happily. Momentum is everything... |
No_rice
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 06:29 pm: |
|
Momentum is everything
EXACTLY! i usually make a point of running in a higher gear than i need to at the track on my 9. it forces me to carry more corner speed the whole time. otherwise i cant get the drive out of the corner i want.
believe me, reep is right. it pisses alot of guys off when you get such a good run through the corners that the guy on the faster bike looks slow in the straights.
you CAN make up that difference in the corners. it just takes alot of practice. you dont always need the fastest bike, the majority of the time smooth and consistant will make you faster then the next guy. |
Nuerburgringer
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 08:20 pm: |
|
"it pisses alot of guys off when you get such a good run through the corners that the guy on the faster bike looks slow in the straights."
Precisely why I do trackdays on a lightweight supermoto. Nobody takes the silver-haired guy on the license-plated "dirtbike" seriously, until that same guy creeps around the outside through any given corner. Yeah, sure, as often as not, I get passed again on a long straight, but what does that prove? (rhetorical.)
Believe me, once you're sitting on 180 horsepower, your peers' expectations of you go waaay up. It ain't worth it. Think about that awhile.
Proverb to live by: Better to ride a "slow" bike fast than a fast bike slow. Learn to ride that Buell well, and leave the squids scratchin' their heads. |
Ft_bstrd
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - 10:48 pm: |
|
My first car was a 1975 VW Beetle. I think it had about 60 whole HP. I got used to timing my attacks so that I was moving faster carrying more speed and momentum to complete passes.
I had the same feeling and experience at Barber. I was following a guy on a CBR600. He would park in the corners all the way around the track. I was getting miffed thinking "let me by". Then I realized that none of us had mirrors and couldn't see behind us.
After a lap or two, I noticed that he consistantly parked extra hard in turn 5 just before the straight leading into the roller coaster back section by the museum. I worked to time my next apex so that it was just behind the point he was swinging wide. I was carying much more speed coming out of the corner than he was. I basically had it pinned. By the time he was up to speed, I had already passed him and was on the left side of the track setting up to jump the curb.
It was fun trying to figure out the strategy.
(Message edited by ft_bstrd on July 17, 2008) |
Mr_gto
| | Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 12:33 am: |
|
I agree FB. It makes you think and plan ahead when you dont have the fastest bike on the track. I have chased people around the track for laps because i couldnt out power them. When chasing them i try and find a turn or braking point that they screw up on and then slip on by. Its very fun in my book! |
Nuerburgringer
| | Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 12:05 pm: |
|
"I haven't seen it mentioned, but I may have missed it, but you XB9 is a lightweight
class motorcycle in racing trim while the generic japanese 600 is a middleweight."
In my organization of choice, my XB9R races in Twins Formula 3, together with the SV650 hoard and air-cooled Ducs, etc. Fun class, reasonably equitable. XB12 is in Twins Formula 2 with a buncha ultra-fast Ducs, not so much fun. |
Skully
| | Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 12:56 pm: |
|
In my organization of choice, my XB9R races in Twins Formula 3, together with the SV650 hoard and air-cooled Ducs, etc. Fun class, reasonably equitable. XB12 is in Twins Formula 2 with a buncha ultra-fast Ducs, not so much fun.
The same in true in the CMRA. One more reason that I race a 9 instead of a 12.
Keith |
Nuerburgringer
| | Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 01:37 pm: |
|
Just an example of how class rules are written for equity. It is interesting:
"AHRMA Twins FORMULA 3: Pushrod OHV machines to 1000cc, OHC 2 or 3-valve to 800cc, OHC liquid-cooled 4-valve to 650cc. Pushrod OHV machines over 900cc must run under Supersport specifications (see (9.8.1). Suzuki SV650, Kawasaki 650R and Buell XB9R limited to Supersport specifications (see 9.8.1); otherwise must compete in F-2. Triumph Thruxtons may compete under the current Triumph Thruxton Cup Challenge restrictions."
Point is, it is important to evaluate your Buell's performance within context, and to remember always that trackdays are NOT racing.
Very interesting and satisfying topic. |
Aj06bolt12r2
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 02:35 am: |
|
I want to try a track day so friggin bad! Ive been riding on the street for a few years now and think I do ok... Im sure I would get straight up smoked by most of you on the track but i dont care it would still be fun. Problem is I dont have leathers. Somone in this thread said something about a track day in Nashville. How much does it cost, what has to be done to the bike and can you rent leathers? |
Skully
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 01:27 pm: |
|
I believe that you can rent leathers at the Inside Pass track days sponsored by Buell.
Keith |
Bcool83
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 02:04 pm: |
|
i usually make a point of running in a higher gear than i need to at the track on my 9. it forces me to carry more corner speed the whole time. otherwise i cant get the drive out of the corner i want.
That's actually excellent advise I think. The head instructor told us to run a gear higher than normal so you'd have less chance of fudging it up coming out of the corner...but your statement makes more sense as an advanced learning tool. I'll have to try that next time.
Aj06bolt - Do yourself a HUGE favor and invest in a quality leather suit. Doesn't matter if 1pc or 2pc, as long as it's name brand and quality. It will last a long time, and will pay for itself infinitely over the first time you go down. Worst case, borrow someone's leathers for a trackday. And look up the Nashville track; it should have links to whatever organizations hold trackdays there (I know Elite Sportbike and Sportbike Track Time both do). Probably $150-$250 for the day, including lunch and instruction. It's a blast! |
Ft_bstrd
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 03:24 pm: |
|
Aj06bolt12r2<
You're local? Greenamp is meeting me in Leipers Fork Sunday afternoon to run. Come ride with us!
Sportbiketracktime.com is organizing the track day in Nashville. There are several dates for that track as well as others.
The cost for the Nashville track is usually around $135/day with 7-8 20 minute sessions per day. They rent leathers for $75/day (you'll need to call and reserve ahead of time). The STT membership runs $35/year.
If you've never done a track day, don't.
It is legal crack pushed on unsuspecting motorcyclists in order to increase demand on clapped out 6 year old Gixxers with too much money and weekends to spare. Symptoms include new the appearance of flatbed trailers, Baxley choks, multiple sets of wheels and tires and 12 packs of blue tape as well as the lack of appearance of rear view mirrors, blinkers, passenger pegs, and anything else not welded on.
It's really quite sad. You see these poor souls lying in the gutter, panhandling for race take-offs. |
Aj06bolt12r2
| | Posted on Saturday, July 19, 2008 - 01:57 am: |
|
ft bastard, yea im local, i live between murfreesboro and manchester in the sticks. Id like to ride with yall sometime. No clue where Leipers Fork is tho. And everything you said about the track day is exactlty what im afraid of because once i get exited about something I end up blowing a bunch of money I cant afford on it, and I have never dropped the Buell and dont plan on it so Id always be worried about that at the track. But there probably is a clapped out gixxer in my future to be honest |
|
