Professional Documents
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Twist of The Wrist Vol 1
Twist of The Wrist Vol 1
Twist of The Wrist Vol 1
TTRIST
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Acknowledgements
Editorial Assistance
BillStermer
MichaelChurch
Help and Encouragement
Cort Sutton
Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
MotorcycIist Magazine
Cycle World Magazine
California Superbike School
Design and Ill ustrat io n
CameronAshby Associates,Inc.
Jeff Skrimstad
lmportant Lessonsand Friends
Bob West
Mel Dinesen
Pierre Des Roches
R i c h a r dD a v i s
GriffithPark
L. Ron Hubbard
Judy Code
Photography
KevinAshby,page80
PatrickBehar,pages3, 74,75,79,94,95
RichChenet,page82
page17
MushEmmons,
Freud,page42
MaryGrothe,backcoveractionphotograph
Motorcyclist
Magazine,page 14
TomRiles,pages26, 51, 56, 88
JohnUlrich,page109
I S B N :O - 9 1 8 2 2 6 - 0 8 - 2
Library of Congress
C a t a l o gC a r d N u m b e r
82-73771
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
m e a n sw i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o ni n w r i t i n g f r o m t h e a u t h o r .
Alwayswearproperprotectiveclothingand observelocalspeedlaws.
Foreword
Eventhough I've only been road racing for two out of the twelve years of my
c a r e e r .i t s e e m sa s t h o u g h I ' v e b e e n d o i n g i t a l l a l o n g .E v e r y t h i n gg o e s s o
s m o o t h l yn o w . l f t h e r e ' sa p r o b l e m ,I h a n d l ei t r i g h t a w a y .T h i n g s a r e g o i n g r i g h t they must be. I find myself in the winner's circle at almost every race. Of course
my dirt track racing helped, but believe me, it wasn't always this easy.
My first time on the asphalt-for more than a couple of laps-was at the California
Superbike School. lt was really a good experience.I wasn't the fastest guy out
there but it gave me the idea of what to do and, more importantly,that I did want
to do it. Kawasakihad been helping me with my short track program. There are
some great people down there who believed I had some promise, so they gave me
a box stock racer and hired Keith Code to work with me for one year.
Here is the part that really surprised me: We spent days going over stuff that Keith
h a d w r i t t e n d o w n a b o u t r a c i n g .I t h o u g h t w e w e r e g o i n g s t r a i g h tt o t h e t r a c k , b u t
h e r e I w a s a c t u a l l yl o o k i n gu p w o r d s i n t h e d i c t i o n a r ya n d t a l k i n g a b o u t r i d i n g .
A f t e r w e d i d g e t t o t h e t r a c k t h e w h o l e t h i n g t u r n e d a r o u n da n d t h e r e I w a s , w r i t i n g d o w n e v e r y t h i n gt h a t I w a s d o i n g o n t h e t r a c k . K e i t h m a d e m e t h i n k b e f o r e
we got to the track. while I was on the track, and after I got off the bike.
I don't know if everyonecan get into the winner's circle as fast as I did, but I know
n o w t h a t b e i n g a b l e t o t h i n k a b o u t y o u r r i d i n g i s i m p o r t a n t .G e t t h a t p a r t d o n e f i r s t .
This is where I started. I hope it works for you.
Wayne Rainey
vil
Gontents
Foreword
Author's Note
lntroduction
ONI
CHAPTER
The Road You Ride
The Mysteriesof Asphalt Revealed
CHAPTER
TWO
10
What You Do
You BecomeA Scientist
14
The Product
With Understanding
Precision
Developing
24
CHAPTER
CHAPTER
CHAPTER
34
60
SEVEN
EIGHT
CHAPTER
Braking
The Art of RegulatingSpeed
NINE
Steering
It HappensBackwards
CHAPTER
80
SIX
Barriers
Keysto lmprovement
CHAPTER
76
FIVE
Decisions
: e c i p ef o r S k i l l
DecisioM
n a k i n gR
CHAPTER
54
FOUR
Timing
PuttingThingsin Order
CHAPTER
42
THREE
TEN
vill
.-&-.r:
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Hanging Off
It LooksGoodand lt Works
CHAPTER
90
Passing
Who WasThatlJust Passed?
CHAPTER
96
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
Supervise Yourself
Yes,Homeworkls Necessary
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
102 Advice
Ask YourBestFriend-You!
CHAPTER
104
FIFTEEN
How to Fall
YourLeathers
Relax-You're
Just Road-Testing
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
108
Sponsorship
Therels No FreeLunch
1 15
117
A Parting Word
Appendix
trMarginNotesand Comments
by EddieLawson
SpecialNote:
Extrawide marginsareprovidedfor your notes.
Author's Note
The informationcontainedin this bookis intendedto be used
rider
to
and masterthe basicridingskillscoveredin each
by a
investigate
during
chapter.Noneof this informationis magic.lt hasbeendeveloped
morethan six yearsof trainingmorethan 2,5OOridersand gettingresults
This
that eitherimprovedlaptimesor increasedriderconfidence.
information
worksif it is applied.
that is
Thereis a certainmagic,however,in usinginformation
the
it
is
at
a
time.
Go
over
one step
understood,
andthe bestway to do
it, then go out andapplyit, bit by bit.
informationand reallyunderstand
point
Masteringeach
will establisha certaintythat you can do it.
lntroduction
I'm goingto beginthis bookwith a littleconfession.
l'venever
just
reallybeenall that interestedin racing-l
wantedto ride.Throughout
my racingcareerI regardedthe otherriderson the trackas mostlyjust a
Manytimestheygot in the way of the observations
nuisance.
I was making
a b o u tm y r i d i n g a, b o u th o w I c o u l di m p r o v em y r i d i n ga n d h o wt h a t
informationcouldbe presented
to my students.l'vealwayshadjust as
m u c hf u n r i d i n ga l o n gb y m y s e l fi n a r a c ea s I h a v ec o m p e t i n g
withother
riders.
M y r e a s o n i nfgo r t h i s i s s i m p l e - n om a t t e rh o w m a n yo t h e r
ridersareon the track,you muststill relyon yourown ability.Thetrackis
t h e e v e r - p r e s e cnht a l l e n g e - n ot ht e o t h e rr i d e r sT. h i si d e ah a sb e e n
strengthened
that the mostsucoverthe yearsthroughmy observation
cessful racerscan go nearlyas fast in practiceas theydo in the race.They
u s et h e i ru n d e r s t a n d i nogn t h e t r a c kw h e nt h e yp l e a s ew, i t h o u t h e
pressureof competitionforcingthemto "go fast."
What'll lt Cost?
lf your face shield leaks air,
tape it up. The alr won't come
through and get your attention.
xrl
l e s sa t t e n t i o no n i t . R i d i n gi s l i k et h a t .T h em o r eo p e r a t i o nyso u r e d u c et o
t h e c o s to f a n i c k eol r d i m e ,t h e m o r eo f y o u rt e n - d o l l a rw
s o r t ho f a t t e n t i o n
i s l e f tf o r t h e i m p o r t a not p e r a t i o nosf r i d i n go r r a c i n g .
Y o um u s tm a k eh u n d r e d o
s f d e c i s i o nw
s h i l er i d i n gj u s t o n el a p
of a racetrack
or one stretchof road-especially
when ridingfast.Hundreds!lf you understand
enoughaboutridingto havecorrectlydecided
h o wt o h a n d l e2 5 o f t h o s es i t u a t i o n sy ,o ua r ep r o b a b l ya f a i rr i d e rT. h e
things that you do not understand are the things that will take up
most of your attention. Whenevera situationarisesthat you do not
yourattentionwill becomef ixeduponit. Youoftenfeara situnderstand,
uationwhenyou cannotpredictits outcome,and paniccosts$9.99-you
mayevenbecomeoverdrawn.
Thecourseof actionyou havealready
p
o
t
e
n t i apl a n i cs i t u a t i o n
d e c i d e du p o nt o h a n d l ea
c o s t sm u c hl e s st h a n
this and leavesyou plentyof attentionto sortout youroptions.
On the positiveside,sodingout the actionsof ridingbeforehandbuysyouthe time andf reedomto becomecreativewith the activity
of riding,just as havinglotsof changein yourpocketallowsyou a certain
freedomof movement.On the racetrack,that left-overattentionallows
youto experiment
andto improveyour ridingability.
High-performance
ridingand racingdemandnot onlythat you
be ableto performthe necessary
actions,but alsothat you be ableto
observethem.Makingaccurateobservations
of your performance
is the
keyto beingableto improvethem. lf you know what you have doneyou know what can be changed. lf you did not observewhat you were
doing,the changesbecomehaphazard
and inaccurate.
Doyouagree?
ln the nextchapterswe'll lookat the gameand wherethe
attentionis beingfocusedor spent.We'll investigate
the barriersto riding
well and put intoactionthe stepsyou'lltaketo bringhomea "win" every
time.
And finally,let's not losesight of the basicreasonwe started
riding-it'sf un and makesus feelgood.Here'sreadilyavailable
freedom,
and all it takesis A Twist of the Wrist.
What ls a Rider?
Beforelaunchinginto anythingheavy,let'sagreethat the rider
is the personcontrollingthe motorcycle,
not a passenger.
The riderworks
the brakesand clutch,the throttleand steering.He determines
whether
t h e b i k eg o e sa r o u n dt h e t u r nf a s to r s l o w ,s m o o t ho r r o u g h ,u p o r d o w n .
a n d i s t h e o n l yi n d i v i d u awl h o d e c i d e sw h a ta c t i o nt o t a k e ,c a r r i e si t o u t ,
t h e nd e c i d e sh o ww e l li t a l lw o r k e d .
I t a l m o s ts o u n d st o o s i m p l e b, u t i t ' st r u e : W h a ty o u d o i s
what happens; what you don't do-doesn't happen. Motorcycles
Theydon'twin racesor losethem;they
don'tdo anythingby themselves.
d o n ' tm a k em i s t a k e os r d o a n y t h i n gr i g h t .E v e r y t h i ntgh a t h a p p e n sd u r i n g
a r i d ed e p e n d s o l e l yo n t h e r i d e r .
Haveyou everseena new rideron the trackor roadstruggling
l p e r a t i o nt h, e t r a c ka n dw h o h e
t o o p e r a t eh i s m a c h i n eT?h eb a s i cc o n t r o o
He honestlyfeelshe is being
to
him.
mystery
to
these
are
a
is in relation
takenfor a ride.lf you'vehadthosefeelings.fine;evenexpertridershave
felt this way at times.
. e o p l ea r en o t b o r na s
T h e r e ' sa n a c t u atl e c h n o l o gtyo r i d i n g P
A rider is a person who can
goodor bad riders-ridingskillis learned.
lap a race track or ride down the road, fast or slow, and know
what he did and how to change it.
AITilI$OTIHE
IilRI$I
CHAPTER
ONE
Types of Road
1 . C h a n g e isn C a m b e r : Ap i e c eo f r o a dc a nh a v ea p o s i t i v e
camber-banking,
or it can have"off,"or negativecamber.Thismeansthe
On bankedlrackyou don't
enter low and come out htgh
Off-Camberor Negative-GamberTurns
as their
I don't knowany riderswho regardoff-camberturns
favorites.
Theseturnsleaveiessroomfor errorand definitelydo not inspire
confidence.
A turnthat beginswith a bankand endsoff-camberdemands
t h e m o s tc h a n g e sa n da d j u s t m e n tisn l e a na n g l e sl.n o r d e r t oc o n t i n u e
aroundit, the bikemustbe leanedoverfarther.Theeffectis muchthe
sameas goingf rom a bankedto a f lat surface.Gravityis now working
a g a i n syt o u ,p u l l i n gy o ua n dy o u rb i k et o t h e o u t s i d eY. o ul o s eg r o u n d
you set up off-camberturnsso that you are in the
Therefore,
clearance.
-camber
the oppositestrategy
off
situationas shorta time as possible-just
''rffil
Flat Turns
Turnswith no negativeor positivecamber-flatturns-willnot
increase
or decrease
the leananglenecessary
to negotiatethem at a
As speed increases,
centrif ugal forces genefated by the bike/rider
combination widen the
cornering arc. The line
must change as the
speed goes up.
Off Camber
,--F1
---=-'-t-
Gamber changes
dramatically aff ect how
a turn can be ridden.
'
Positive Camber
Ghangesin Radius
Designers
changethe radiusof a turn to put an additionaltwist
i nt h e a c t i o nH
. e r ea r et h e b a s i ck i n d so f r a d i ia n dh o wt o h a n d l et h e mo n
the track.
(CR)turn neither
Gonstant-RadiusTurn: A constant-radius
(tightens)
(widens)nor decreases
as you go throughit. As menincreases
s R ) t u r nw i t h n o c a m b e r
t i o n e da b o v ei,f i t i s a f a i r l yl o n gc o n s t a n t - r a d i u( C
c h a n g e sy,o uw i l l e v e n t u a l lwyi n d u p o n t h e i n s i d eo f t h et u r nf o r m o s to f i t .
lf it is a shorthairpin,you may haveotheroptionsas to how to set up the
e n t r ya n de x i t .I n a r e a l l yt i g h t h a i r p i ny o u m u s tm a k ea n a b r u p t u r n i n g
c h a n g e - i st h o u l db e d o n ea t t h e p o i n ta t w h i c hy o uf e e lm o s tc o n f i d e n t .
T h e r ei s n o r u l ea st o h o w i t s h o u l db e d o n e .
t usr n h a sc a m b e cr h a n g e si ,t c a na c ta s a
lf a constant-radiu
s ) t u r nF. o re x a m p l ei ,f
d e c r e a s i n g - r a d i(uDsR )o r a s a n i n c r e a s i n g - r a d i(ul R
the turn is bankedon the entryandf lattensout on the exit it will have
radius.lf it is flat on
exactlythe sameeffecton your bikeas the decreasing
lt is very
the entryand bankedon the exit,it actsas an increasing-radius.
as well-to ridethe turnsthe way
commonfor amateurs-andprofessionals
they appearat speedand not the way they reallyare.lt is veryeasyto have
yourattentionstuckto the radiusof a turn so you don't seethe camber
Thus,knowingthe locationof the camberchangeswill helpyou
changes.
greatly in a turn. Wheredoesthisapply?
amountof suspension
changeswill entirelyovercomethe forces
generated
by thesef ivecomponents.
Doyougetit?
CHAPTER
TWO
What You Do
You Become A Scientist
Therider'sultimateweaponis his abilityto performthe actions
of riding,andto be able to observe and remember what he has
done. This is a keyto improvement.
10
T h eo n l yw a yt o m a k ec h a n g e si n y o u rr i d i n gi s t o c h a n g ew h a t
done.not what
was done.To do that you haveto knowexactlywhatrye5;
washyour
didn't
last
lap-you
on
that
lot
things
of
Was!:! Youdidn'tdo a
just
else
abouteverything
car.you didn'tgo to church,andyou didn'tdo
i
n
t
o
t
h
e
t
r
a
po f
y
o
u
f
a
l
l
d
i
d
.
D
o
n
'
t
w
h
a
t
t h e r ei s t o d o i n l i f e .Y o uo n l yd i d
tryingto correctyour ridingby lookingat whatyou didn'tdo.Thisleaves
y o u n o t h i n gt o c h a n g e".l d o n ' tb r a k el a t ee n o u g hi n T u r nT w o , "s o u n d s
innocentenough,but what informationdoesit containfor you to improve?
lf you sayinstead,"l startedbrakingat the asphaltpatchjust beforethe
numberthreemarketand now I knowI can brakeevenlaterthanthat"'you
knowwhat was doneand now havesomethingto change.
I t ' ss i m p l e - t h i n o
k f y o u rr i d i n gi n n e g a t i v easn dy o u d o n ' th a v e
it
anythingto change.Lookat the way it was andyou havesomethingto
eh
. a n g i n gs o m e c h a ng e .N e g a t i vteh i n k i n gi s i n c r e di b l yn o n - p r o d u c t i vG
An accurate mental
recording of what you do
on the track is invaluable.
Take lt as a Whole
Now,takean entirepracticesessionon the trackandtry to
you'redoing.Comebackto the pits andthink it over.
observeeverything
Then,takethe nextpracticeandjust ride.You'llnoticeoneof two things:
1) Youwentfaster,or 2) the ridingbecamelessworkthan before.lt's also
possiblethat both things happened-youwent fasterwith lesseffort.
Ridingwith lesseffortmeansthat you'respendingmoreof
yourattentionon what'simportantand lesson just beingreadyfor surprises.lf you don't knowwhat'scomingup in a turn,you will be tense.lf
you havetakensometime to observewhatwas happening,
you havespent
lessattentionon possiblesurprises.
12
It ls the Last Thing You Did That Got You lnto Trouble
The rootof the mistakeis the controlchangeor decisionsyou
madeandacteduponjust beforethe problemoccurred.
A goodexampleof this is goingintoa turn too witJe.Therider
got therebecauseit waswherehe had pointedthe bikethe lasttime he
had madea steeringchange.Most riderswouldsay,"l didn'tturn soon
enough."Thatisn'ttrue.Actually,he keptit pointingstraighttoo long.lt
will takea lot longerfor the riderto realizewhat happenedif he begins
lookingfor the problemfrom when he noticedit than if he goesbackto the
earlierpointof wherehe was steeringbeforehe beganthe turn.He has to
realize that he was operating from an earlier decision to go
thisapplyto you?
straight, not the later one to turn. Does
13
CHAPTER
THREE
The Product
Developing Precision with Understanding
What is the linethroughTurnThree?What is the bestline
throughanycorner?Why is one rider'slineso differentfrom another's?
5O Years of lmprovement
Linesusedto be easierto figureout.A lot of racingtheoryhas
beendevelopedin the last 50 yearsof racing,and that's a lot of historyto
backup the ideasthat still hauntus from the 1950sand earlier.
On a
motorcycle,
it was reckoned,
the straightestlinethroughthe turn was the
fastestway,or "line."Butthingshavechangedtoday.lt was truethen,but
it's not necessarily
true today.
Physicsand naturallawshavenot changed-tiresand suspen'SOs
sionshave.In the
and earlier,riderswerelimitedby the lackof
sophisticatedtechnology.Theyhadto takethe smoothest,straightest,
shortestlinethroughthe turnsbecausethe hard-rubber
tire compounds
and non-compliant
of the earlydaysmadeabruptchangesin
suspensions
over-enthusiastic
braking
direction,brakingon roughor rippledsurfaces.
whileleanedoverand othercurrent-dayridingpossibilities
simplyout of
State of the ail? Good
enough to win laconia
in 1965.. . .
14
t h e q u e s t i o nl .f y o u h a do w n e da s e to f D u n l o pS p o r tE l i t e si n 1 9 5 Oa n d
h a dg o n et o t h e l s l eo f M a no n a 1 9 8 O sK a w a s a kGi P Z5 5 O ,y o u p r o b a b l y
wouldhavewon the race.That'sa streetbikewith streettirestoday.
T i r ea n ds u s p e n s i otne c h n o l o ghy a v em a d ei t p o s s i b l teo r i d e
m o r et h a no n e l i n et h r o u g ha t u r na n dm a k ei t w o r k .R i d i n gs t y l e sh a v e
c h a n g e dv e r yd r a m a t i c a l sl yi n c et h e 19 5 0 s ,b u tt h e o u t d a t e dr i d e ri n f o r mationf romthosedaysstill confusessomeof us in the '80s.A freshlook
at riderinformationandtechnologycan helpyou ridebetternow.
Definition: A product is something that is produced;
it is the end result when all the work is done. A product is what
you can hold in your hand-or in your mind. You can turn it over
to see if it can be produced better or differently, corrected or
left alone.
Other Factors
Otherfactors,besidesyour locationon the track,areimportant
partsof the product:what gearyou'rein,yourspeedat that point,your
b o d yp o s i t i o no n t h e b i k e .U s u a l l ys o m ea m o u n o
t f l e a na n g l eT. h ea m o u n t
you
of control
haveoverthe bike.Thesteeringactionyou are-orarenottaking.Throttleaction.Tiretraction.Yourimpressions
of whatyou did and
how well it workedout.And a comparison
of this passthroughthe turn
with yourearlierpasses.All of these,and more,arepartof yeqr product
for that turn.The quality of your product is determined by all of
what happened and how it worked.Any thoughts
onthis?
Note: You use that product to develop a set of known
circumstances that can be thought over and changed when
necessary. A sub-product is a definite set of known circumstances that lead to the product for that turn.
Bothyourproducts andsub-products havean exactloca-
15
Pavementpatch
Roughspot
16
Y o u b u i l d c o n f i d e n c eb y k n o w i n g w h e r e
you areon the trackwith the RPs.
17
Learning a Line
if you can
Followinganotherridercan be veryinstructional
determinehis plan by watchinghim. lf his plan is betterdesignedto
handlea turn thanyours,andyou can seewhy it is better.you mayhave
learnedhow to useyourown abilitiesto betterhandlesometracksituat i o n s .T h ev a l u ei n f o l l o w i n ga n o t h e r i d e r - i ft h e r ei s a n y - i si n u n d e r s t a n d e f i t . l t ' sn o t
i n g h i s p l a na n db e i n ga b l e t oe x p a n dy o u ro w n r i d i n gb e c a u s o
p
l
a
n
c
o
u
n
t
s
.
t
h
a
t
t
h
e
i n l e a r n i n tgh e l i n e ; i t i s l e a r n i n g
Basic Goal
Yourbasicgoalin anyturn is getting through the turn with
increased rnph, decreased time spent in it and adequate control
of the bike. Youare lookingfor drive out of the turn that will carryyou to
the nextturn or downthe straightin the shortestamountof time with the
greatestamountof speed.Of course.you muststill be in controlof the
bike.Youbalancethe factorsof speedandtime to get the bestproduct.
Yet it is possibleto comeout of a turn fasterthan beforeandstill not
d e c r e a syeo u rl a pt i m e .T u r n sc a nS u c ky o u i n t om a k i n gm i s t a k e lsi k et h a t '
Turn Balancing
Gettingthe bestproduct f rom a turn requiresturn baly o u rs p e e do u t o f t h e t u r na g a i n stth e
a n c i n g : t h i s i s w h e r ey o u b a l a n c e
amountof time it takesyou to get throughit. The mostcommonmistake
ridersmakeis to go intothe turnsfasterandfaster,then comeout of them
at the samespeedor slower.lt's easier to go into a turn faster than it
is to come out faster. Going in too fast can Gost you your drive
coming out. You'vegot to be ableto carrya fasterentrancespeed
throughthe exitof the turn to improveyour laptimes.Goingin too fast,
t h e nf o u l i n gu p i n t h e m i d d l eo f t h e t u r n ,w i l l l o w e ry o u re x i ts p e e d .
Turn balancing is likeyourten dollarsworth of attention.
Figurethat you haveonlyso manymilesper hour(MPH)to spendin a turn
on anyparticularlapfor any particularline.lf you spendyour MPH
g f t h et u r n ,y o ud o n ' th a v et h e ma t t h e e n d .
u n w i s e la
y tthebeginnino
Excessspeedat the wrongtime cancostyou time.Don'tjump at the f irst
speedyou haveaSyou exitone
chanceyou get to go faster.Theincreased
you
all the wayto the next.Don't
that
carry
turn will be addedto the speed
g f t h et u r n ;u s et u r n b a l a n c i n g t o p r o d u c e
b u r nu p M P Ha t t h e b e g i n n i n o
yourcorrectproduct: Increased MPH, decreasedtime spent in the
turn and the bike still under control at the turn exit.
'@.
'** %
.-ltt ,|&r,
'."6
End to Beginning
Youmustworkfrom the end backto the beginningof the turn
beforeyou go intothe turn,
to establishyourproduct. Decidein advance,
whereyou aregoingto exit.You mustbe ableto "see"the product of the
turn in your mindas you enterit. Thisenablesyou to keepthe piecesand
partsof the turn workingtowardthat product.Thisoverview allowsyou
to arriveat the productor destination.
to f igureout eachstepnecessary
lost by continuingto "look"at a
Youcan becomehopelessly
turn from beginningto end insteadof from the end backto the beginning.
19
Point of Entry
20
Faster ls Deeper
Here'sanotherway of lookingat it: if you makeyour major
steering
c h a n g ea t t h e s a m ep o i n tg o i n gi n t oa t u r n - a n di n c r e a syeo u r
speedpastthat point-youwill runwideof the pointyou passedon the last
l a pb e c a u s e
o f t h e i n c r e a s ien c e n t r i f u g a l f o r clef t. h e b i k er u n sa b i t t o o
wideat the exit,you maybelieveyou wenttoo fast.Actually,the remedyis
to go in deeperbeforemakingthe steeringchange.The faster you wish
to go through a turn, the deeper you have to enter it to increase
your
speed
How?lf you let the bike go wide at the exit, iust because there is
track left over, it can give you a false impression you're going as
fast as you can. Youcanfoolyourselfinto believingit can'tbe done
f a s t e rA. s y o u ' r ef i g u r i n gt h e t u r n sa n dd i a l i n gi n t h e p r o d u c t , y o u u s et h e
informationyou'vestoredup from the lastlapto decideif anychangescan
be made.lf your information says you went all the way to the edge
of the track the last time through, it makes it diffieult to decide
to go faster this time. You knowthe bikewill go widerif you go faster,
andyou'llrun out of track.Yourproduct will change.Youwon't feelas
confidentthat it can be done.wiilit workforvou?
Your Results
Theproducts andsub-products giveyou a destination
and
places
accurately
you
markthe
where
canmakechangeson the road.They
areyour way of breakingdown the processinto smallerpartsyou can
understand
and change.Yourconfidenceand smoothness
increase
when
you knowwhereyou'regoingandwhatto do whenyou get there.Your
basicrequirement
as a rideris to observewhereyourproducts andsubproducts are,what to do at thosepointsandto rememberthem so you
can makeuseof them.
22
23
CHAPTER
FOUR
WhatYou See
Programming Your ComPuter
Through the Eyes
Bellshieldhasmuch
What you seethroughyour smoke-tinted
to do with how wellyou ride.Youcan'tcountthe numberof objectsyou
can seeat anyone spoton the track,anymorethanyou cancountwhat
you seejust staringat the backof your hand.The moreyou look,the more
you see.Thisalsoappliesto the racetrack.Youcanstop at anyturn and
lookfor hoursat what'sto be seen.Butwhileyou'reracingor ridingdown
the road,you can'tstopto gaze.
Howdo you decidewhatto lookat,what is impoftantandwhat
is not?And how do you usewhatyou see?Howcanwhat you seehelpor
hinderyour riding?Thischapteris aboutseeingcorrectlyto improveyour
riding.
Reference Points
24
"{
25
at speed,andthe situation
Thingshappenfast on a motorcycle
Whereyou areon the roadis veryimportantbecause
changesconstantly.
yourcourseof action.lf you don't know where you ale,
it determines
you also don't know what you're supposed to be doing. Yourlocation on a racetrackor roadcan be plottedin inchesandfeet-not in city
blocks-andthereareno streetsignson the track.lt's up to you to decide
what reference points to useand what to do when you reachthem.
Youmustdecide.
,W
l,''
:#
26
l "
l&ir
YourbestReference
Point(RP)is somethingeitheron the track
orverycloseto it: a patchof asphalt,a paintedline,a spot,a crack,curbing,anythingthat doesn'tmove.Objectstoo far f romthe tracksurfacewill
takeyourattentionawayf romthe track.YourRPsmustbe easyto find to
be usable.At timesyou must usethe edgeof the track,but a pointthat'sa
foot in f romthe edgeis betterbecauseit keepsyour attentionon the track.
l f y o ug o t o t h e l i m i tw i t ha n R Pt h a t ' so n ef o o tf r o mt h e e d g e y, o u s t i l lh a v e
a foot left over.Goingto the edgeof the trackmeansgoingto the limit and
to go to the edgeof
leavingyourselfno marginfor error.lt isn'tnecessary
the trackwheneverpossibleuntilyou feelcomfortabledoingso.The idea
that you must useallthe trackis likethe ideayou must"hangoff" the bike
-only do it when it becomesnecessary
and comfortable.
The RPsyou chooseto lookat shouldbe in your lineof vision
point
and alongyour pathof travel.Don'tchoosesomethingas a reference
just becauseit's thereand easyto see.lt might not be the right RPfor you
becauseit's too far off your lineor it doesn'tworkfor the speedyou're
t r a v e l i n gO. n t h e o t h e rh a n d ,d o n ' tn a r r o wy o u rv i s i o nt o o m u c ho r y o u ' l l
not havea wide enoughviewof the tracksurfaceto f ind whereyou are.
RPsthat aredirectlyon your lineof travelestablishyour locationon the
RPsalongthe sideestablishyour locationin relationto
tracklengthways.
the width of the track.The bottomlinefor an RPis,does it work? lt can
be anywhere-solongas it worksfor you.
take.
Canyou applythis?
f'
Where to Look
28
Stepping Stones
Reference points areyoursteppingstonesto the products
andsub-products youwill producein a turn or seriesof turns.Theselittle
stepsleadto the majorchangesyou will maketo get the bikearoundturns
f a s t e ro r w i t h m o r ec o n fi d e n c eR
. P ss i g n atl h e p o i n t so n t h e t r a c kw h e r e
y o uw i l l m a k et h e s ec h a n g e s .
Concentration
On the trackor road,concentrationis a smoothflow, or chain
of eventsthat movesfrom one to anotherwithout a break.Reference
points arepartsof that chain,one linkdependinguponthe nextfor
strengthand a continuousflow. lf one linkbreaks,the entirechainstays
brokenuntilit can be repairedor replaced.lf you havea sectionof the
trackwith no,or too few RPs,yourchainof concentration
will break.
Reference points are the building blocks of concentration.
Let'sget backto the ideaof yourattentionand how muchof it
you have,yourten-dollarbill.Whenyourconcentration
is good,you spend
just enoughof it on eachRPso that you knowwhereyou areandwhatto
do.Thiskeepsthat steadyflow going.Whenyou havetoo few RPsin an
area,mostof yourattentionwill be spentin tryingto fix this bad situation.
The points or places on the track that you do not know, or understand, will occupy most of your attention. HavingenoughRPslets
y o us p e n dj u s tt h e r i g h ta m o u n to f t i m ea n da t t e n t i o no n e a c ho n et o g e t
you need.Youhaveenoughleftoverto buy otherthings,
the information
t o m a k es m a l lc h a n g e si n y o u rr i d i n gt h a tw i l l h e l py o ug o j u s t a b i t f a s t e r
or leanoverjust a bit more.Everything you do on the track takes up
some attention. Whenyou don't haveenoughRPsyourattentiongoes
rightto that areaandwill-or can-breakyourconcentration.
Someof the strangestthingshappenwhenyou havea break
in yourconcentration.
Oneridertold me that everytime his concentration
b r e a k sh e b e g i n st h i n k i n go f a l e a k i n gf a u c e th e h a sa t h o m e Y
. o u rm i n d
maynotwanderto a leakingfaucet,but whenyour concentration
breaks
you will noticethat otherthingscomeintoyour mind.Oo
youdothis?
;. .*,a-;t;,,,
29
1. Geta stopwatch.
2. Sit down in a comfortablechair.
3. Now,closeyoureyesandthinkof a racetrackyou'refamiliar
with. Startthe watchand runthrougha completelapon the track.Do it
to go throughit exactlyas fast as you did the lasttime
from memory.Try
you rodethere.Youaretimingyour memoryof the trackand how you
rodeit.
4. Now,closeyoureyesandtry it again.
Memory Lap
30
31
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,ilt
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1*
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q
*:t*-"
i
F-
"ffi
See Fast
32
Howdo the top ridersmanageto rideso fastwithoutexperiencingproblemsin seeing?Here'sa drillthat will helpyou practicethe
properseeingtechniques.
1. Finda wallthat is entirelyvisibleto you.Youcan seeall four
cornersby movingyoureyes,but not your head.
2. Focusyoureyeson a spot in the middleof the wall.
3. Remainfocusedon that spot,then moveyourattention,not
youreyes,to the upperright-handcornerof the wall.
Stillfocusingon that spot, moveyour attentionto different
placeson the wall.Youare lookingat one spotbut areawareof the other
areasof the wall.
5. Stillfocusingon that spot,moveyourattentionto the
objectsbetweenyou andthe wall,andon the wall as well.
.--...--"-.*E
,",..
%
'!
CHAPTER
FIVE
Timing
Putting Things ln Order
My Timing Lesson
I
I learnedmy lessonabouttiming from ridingskateboards.
wastryingdesperately
turn
to makea "kick"turn,which is the 18O-degree
you maketo get yourselfbackdown afterridingup a rampor the sideof a
pool.lfell at leasta hundredtimestryingit. Finally,
I discovered
that the
boardwould notturn unlessit was goingat a certainslowspeed.lf I triedit
too fast-too early-lcouldnot makethe turn.Tooslow-toolate-andthe
b o a r dw o u l db e g i ns l i d i n gb a c k w a r djsu s t e n o u g ht o m a k et h e t u r nv i r t u allyimpossible.
Therewas a veryf ine marginof speedthat wouldallowthe
boardto be turned,yet still keepup the momentumso I couldstayon and
c o n t i n u eb a c kd o w n .
34
1. Youcanfinishthe brakingandthenturn,leavingthe
throttleoff.
2. Youcanfinishthe brakingafteryou beginthe turn,with no
th rottle.
3. Youcanfinishthe braking,thenturn and applythe throttle.
4 . Y o uc a nf i n i s ht h e b r a k i n ga, n dt h e nc r a c kt h e t h r o t t l e
slightly.
5. Youcanf inishthe brakingafteryou beginto turn and apply
the throttle.
6. Youcanf inishthe brakingafteryou turn andjust crackthe
throttleon.
What Happens
ln NumberOneabove,the forksarealmostbottomedout from
the braking,thenwhenyou let up on the brakesthe forksextendandthe
" p .Y o ut h e np u tt h e b i k ei n t ot h e t u r n ,a n dt h e c o r n e r i n g
b i k e" s t a n d s u
forcescompressthe forksagain.lf you put it intothe turn hard,the forks
compressveryfar,then comebackup a little.The bikeis goingup and
down,changingtractionand fork angle.Thatchangesthe steeringand
reducesthe stabilityof the bike.
In NumberTwo above,the fork is down,andwhenyouturn
the throttlebackon it comesup,then backdownagainf romthe turning
forces.Here'sthe samesituationagain-lossof tractionand stability.
ln NumberThree,the fork is compressed
from the braking,
thencomesup whenyou releasethe brakes,then down againfrom the
cornering
l o a d st,h e nu p a g a i na s y o ua p p l yt h et h r o t t l eT. h eo t h e r
examplesprovidesimilarpossibilities.
you musttime the brakingand
To get intothe turn correctly,
turningso that the bikestayseven,not goingup or down,at the pointyou
let off the brakes.Youmust let off the brakesat the exactmomentyour
just enoughfor the speedsand corneringloadsit will
fork is compressed
be undergoing
throughthe turn.Applythe throttleso that fork extension
doesn'tchange,or changesthe leastamountpossible.Thiswill allowyou
to go intothe turn withoutanyup and down motion.lf yourtiming'soff,
y o u m a yc o m p l a i nt h a tt h e b i k eh a n d l e sp o o r l yp, o s s i b l tyh i n k i n gt h e
shocksaregone.Some
examples?
Roll-Off Time
Thefasteryou ride,the harderthe steeringbecomes,especiallyin high-speed"esses."Rollingthe throttleoff, then steering,then getting backon the gas againin the middleof two turns,can actuallyget you
throughfasterthan if you "push"throughand haveto rolloff at the exitof
t h et w o t u r n s .T h er o l l i n go f f a n db a c ko n a g a i ns h o u l dn o tt a k em o r et h a n
one second,andthe gas is completelyoff for onlya smallf ractionof that
t h e t h r o t t l eo n a n do f f u n t i ly o u rt i m i n g
t i m e ,i f a t a l l .A v o i ds n a p p i n g
is perfect.
Tiredness :
Loss of Timing
When you become tired, the first thing you lose is your
timing. This is anotherreasonit's so importantto haveyourreference
sub-products, the majorsteps
points and products well established.
(POTI.
points
timing
of
are
also
or changesin a turn,
Not all RPsarepoints of timirlg. Someonlytellyouwhere
you are,signalingan upcomingchangeor POT/sub-product. lf you
knowwherethey areandwhatto do there,you won't haveto slowdown
as muchwhenyou becometired.Youprobablywon't be willingto go
toyou?
thisapply
faster,but that canwait untilyou'resharpagain.Does
36
Younot only
changesin the roadaffecttiming dramatically.
haveto workthe controlscorrectly,but you haveto fit that intothe camber
changea
s n d r a d i u sc h a n g e sa s w e l l .F o ri n s t a n c ei f, y o uw e r ec o m i n gu p t o
a bankedturn whereyou would haveto usethe brakesf irst,you should
k n o wt h a tt h e s u s p e n s i owni l l c o m p r e s sm o r ei n t h a tt u r nt h a ni t w i l l o n a
you would let
similarturn that is flat with no banking.To go in perfectly,
is taking
off the brakesas you go intothe bankingjust as the suspension
you
the smoothestentry.
the loadf romthe centrifugalforce.Thiswill give
You back out of the brakes iust as the turn takes over the iob of
compressing the suspension. lf you braketoo hardandthe cornering
speedis down,the bikewill riseup whenyou hit the banking,the suspensionwill unload.lf you get off the brakestoo soonandthen hit the bankThesecondof theseis the betterof the
witl compress.
ing,the suspension
Doingit right,of course,is
evilsas it offersa bettertractionSituation.
bestof all.
ln off-camber turns:
1. Spend as little time in
them as possible.
2. Design your plan
around the forces pulling you to the outside
of the turn.
Off-Gamber Timing
In an off-camberturn it is betterto havethe bikeas lightas
possibleon its wheelsto keepit f rom movingto the outsideof the turn too
much.Youmusttime yourcontroloperations
so you'reon the gasthe least
amountin that partof the turn.Tractiondeteriorates
rapidlyin off-camber
sections,comparedwith f lat or bankedsections.Rollingoff the throttle
veryhardin an off-camberhasan effectsimilarto that of rollingon too
h a r d .l t l o a d so n ew h e e lm o r et h a nt h e o t h e r - i nt h i s c a s et h ef r o n t - a n d
c a nc a u s et h e f r o n te n dt o s l i d eo u t .T h er i d e rm i g h tb e p u z z l e d - h reo l l e d
off the throttleand stillthrew it away.Rollingoff usuallyhelpshim get
throughturnswhen he'sbeengoingtoo fast.Keepingthe weightevenon
the wheelsby crackingopenthe throttle,not accelerating
or slowing,gives
-camber
the bikeits besttractionin off
turns.In an off-camber,
set up your
P O Ts o t h e b i k ei s a c c e l e r a t i nogr s l o w i n gt h e l e a s ta m o u n tp o s s i b l eT.h a t
will preventtransferring
too muchweightto eitherwheel.
Timing in Perspective
let'slookat TurnSixat Riverside
To put timing in perspective,
lt's a goodexamplebecausehundredsof
California.
Racewayin Riverside,
it,
it's
the mostcomplexturn I knowof.
by
and
ridersarestill baffled
Each change in the track
requires the rider to
adjust his bike at exactly
the right place. lf not, the
bike will seem to handle
poorly,
TurnSix
7h
'q//2
iztiziit)
47h
'%t
38
iriii,
Viiti4
: , ,
E ; : *
Rhythm : Timing
Riderstalk aboutthe rhythmof a racetrack or pieceof road,
of gettingthe flow of the road.This is timing. The rideris fitting himself
and his equipmentintothe trackand allthe actionshe hasto takeon it.
The basisof timing is understanding-notsuper-fastreflexes.Fast
reflexes are not a substitute for good timing. At the speedsattained
on a road-racetrack,good or evenincrediblereflexesdon't win races.
lf you planto go roadracingbecauseyou havefast reflexes,figureout how
longyou haveto makea changeat 18o mph when you'retravetingat 264
feet per second!Thereis no substitutefor understanding
on a racetrack.
You'vegot to haveRPs, POT, sub-products and products to guideyou
around.Fastreflexeshelp,but timing is the keythat unlocksthe
mysteriesof the asphalt.
41
CHAPTER
SIX
Decisions
Decision-Making: ReciPe for Skill
Decisions in motion.
Eddie Lawson's f lawless
style is the result of hundreds of correctly made
decisions. Making decisions puts you in control.
42
-..,s
Force
Traction
Lean Angle
T&E
The first method,Trialand Error,orT&E, dependslessupon
and moreuponpractice.Youdon'tthinkthroughthe probunderstanding
lem,you keepperformingthe actiontill it works.lf you comeup with the
correctmethod,you'realright.Butthe drawbackto makingdecisions by
T&E is that if you changethem,you mustgo throughthe wholeprocess
againto find anotherway.Reallygoodriderswho learnedby T&E have
gonethroughthe manypossiblemethodsof ridinga motorcycleso often
that theycan useanyof them at will.Theyhavean entirementallibraryof
T&E decisionsto drawon.
TIT
MethodTwo,Think lt Through. orTlT, alsohasdrawbacks.
To arrive at a correct decision you must start with correct inforhe hasto reviewthe information. The riderhasto be a goodobserver,
mationfrom the lastride,and it hasto be correctand usefulinformation.
A wild examplewould be to decide to go throughTurnOneat Daytona
wideopenin sixthgear.A personwho learnsby TtrE probablywouldn't
makesucha mistake.The "thinker,"of course,wouldonlymakethat
mistakg orlce. Canyou seeit workingfor you?
.-''*zt*a*;ijdipt*At:f.'.,.
.:.-
^^
43
A Drawback
The serious drawback to Thinking lt Through is in
making decisions based upon other people's information. One
ridertellsanotherto ridein a certainway,thenthe secondridergoesout
andtriesto fit his ridingstyleintowhat he wastold. lf the informationis
accurateit canwork.Forexample,a ridertold me the reasonmy leftarm
wascrampingwas becauseI was usingthe clutchfor upshifts,which isn't
necessary.
I stoppedusingit to upshiftand my arm no longercramped.
Thiswas great-itworked!
Anotherexampleof this,anda grim one,was whenone rider
told anotherhe couldgo overthe crestof TurnSevenat Riverside
with the
bikeflat out in fifth gear.Actually,it's a 60-mphturn.The riderwent over
the crestat morethan 100 mph on his f irst lap.. . . NeedI saywhat
happened?
A proper balance of
"Thinking lt Through"
(TlTf and "Trial and
Error" (T e E) can eliminate many mistakes.
44
T&EOnly
A rider who uses the T&E method only cannot work on
his riding when he is off the track. Hecan'twork out newdecisions
on how to ridefasterbecausehe doesn'thavethe informationstoredin
Life sometimes throws
himself.T&Eridersfaceanotherdisadvantage.
go
track.
Theseupsetscan
the
with us out on
upsets at us that
consumevastquantitiesof attention-usuallymorethanwe can spare.
WhenT8E ridersareupsetthey havean "off" day.Somethingsthat happencanaffectone'swholelife,includingthe abilityto makedecisions.
TIT-methodridersarelessaffectedby what happensoff the trackbecause
theirdecisions are basedon what they understand.
Real-World Riding
Let'sleavethe world of ideasfor a time and returnto the real
worldof ridingto seehow the decisionswe makecanaffectus on the road
Theoveruseof the rearbrakeis the one
or track.Takebrakingfor example.
brakingdecision that commonlyturnsout the worst.Whenmost riders
learnto ride,they learnthat the rearbrakecan stop the motorcycle.They
decide it will do that.Theyknowthe front brakewill alsostopthe bike,
but whilethey'relearningin a parkinglot or streetit's upsettingwhenthe
front end of the bikedivesdown everytime they usethe front brake.They
decideat that time,rightf romthe start,that the rearbrakeis better.
Now evenaftera rideris told to usethe f ront brake,the rear
will be hisfirst choicebecausehe hasalreadymadethe decisionthe rearis
better.Studiesof motorcycleaccidentshaveconcludedthat in most
cases,whena rideris tryingto avoidan accidenthe usesonlythe rear
brake.He mayknowthe front brakewill stop him muchquicker,but that
that down go the bikeand
originaldecision is so strongin an emergency
rider.ln an emergency, a rider will do what he has already decided
will work. In this case,and possiblymanyothers,what he decidedwas
incorrectfor that situation.Does
thisapply
toyou?
Ghanging Decisions
In orderto changea decision that doesn'twork,andthat has
becomea bad habit,you mustgo back to the original decision and
you'remakinga
un-learn it. Maybe"un-learn"is not correct-actually,
newdecisionafterthe old one hasbeenidentifiedandthrownout.You
don't make a new decision over the old one, you erase the first
decision before making another.
In racing, you are creating an almost continuous emergency situation by pushing to your limits. Thesamesort of thing
The riderperformsan actionthat hasappearedto
appliesin emergencies.
work in the pastin similarsituations.
Not knowingcausesand effectscreatesthe oppositeof
decisions-that is, in-decision. In an emergency,indecision can be
Make lt Happen
Deciding to do something is the first step to making it
happen. You can makelots of decisions, but makingtoo manyof them
will confuseyou.StartWiththe importantdecisionsfirst.FindReference
Points,Pointsof Timing,Sub-Productsand Products,then decide how
theyfit togetherwith the track.You put it togetherby deciding how it's
goingto be done,then you do it. Of course,you must havea veryaccurate
understanding
of the trackchanges.Thatincludesknowingthe locationof
the camberchangesand radiuschanges.All the informationfrom Chapter
One,"The RoadYou Ride,"must be gatheredfirst. Alwayslook at the track
and rememberthat the manwho designedit was tryingto fool you into
makingpoor decisions.
Deciding How
Deciding how to ride a track by lookingit overdoesnot
alwayswork,especially
if you aren'tridingit. AfterridingCalifornia's
Sears
Pointonce,I walkedthe trackto find out what I couldlearn.I laidon the
groundand lookedat eachturn from the beginning,
then walkedthrough
and lookedat it backwards.
I stoodin the middle.I got up on the hills.I
lookedat everyturn f romthe insideout.As I was doingthis, I wasfiguring
t h e " i d e a l "l i n et h r o u g he a c ht u r n .
DuringpracticeI rodeit just as lhad decidedit shouldbe
ridden.I wentthreesecondsslowerthan I hadthe lasttime at the track.lt
didn'twork.The "ideal"linedoesn'ttakeinto accountbumps,slidingand
speed.
I went backto riding it the way I had decided to from my
earlierride.My laptimeswerenow two secondsfasterthan I had ever
gonebefore,andfivesecondsfasterthan
my "ideal"line.I had learned
that a combinationof T8E andTITis the keyto success.
Youcan'thaveonewithoutthe other,but it's importantto f irst
decide how to do it, thendecide why it did or did not work.lt isn'tjust
blindexperimenting,
but a firm decision to do it oneway,doingit that
lap Times
lap times are your most reliable method of deciding
what works. Yousimplydecide whatto do,then go out and do it. This
meansdeciding whereyour Points of Timing, Products and Reference Points are,thendeciding whatyou'lldo in this practicesession,
then reviewingyour laptimesto decide if it workedor not.Didthese
changesimproveyour laptimes?Didthe laptimesstaythe same,but you
arevaluable.
foundit easiertorideat this level?Bothof theseconclusions
Wren you become comfortable with the decisions at one level
of riding, you can move on to the next level.
Laptimesmust be the basisfor yourdecisions becauseany
othermethodcanfool you too easily.In mostcases,riderswill do what
feelsright,but what feelsright is not alwaysthe quickestway aroundthe
trackor downthe road.I learnedanotherthingfrom my SearsPoint"ideal"
line adventure.You can be going fasterin the entranceand middlesections of a turn, but can sacrificea good driveon the exit becauseof it. Getting out of the turn with a one- or two-mph fasterproduct will makea
greatdifferenceon the nextstraight.A good speedthroughthe centerof
the turn, but a poor drive,will be worsefor lap times.lt's easyto fool yourselfthis way.Herearethreepointsto consider:1) Good decisions
result in good lap times. 2l Good lap times are those that improve
and can be done consistently. 3l Lap times are a reflection of the
quaf ity of the rider's decisions. Anynotes?
Go Faster
Thereis, of course,a twist to the decision-making game
which hasto do with how powerfula decision can be. Sometimesa rider
simplydecides to go faster.Hewill applythis overalldecisionto his riding and-bang!-hislaptimescomedownjust likethat! lt can happenfor
manydifferentreasons.Watchingother ridersgoingfastercan sometimes
changeyour mindabouthow fastyou can ride.Youdecide you cando it,
too. Deciding to beata quickerridercansparknew life intotired lap
times.
Butdeciding to go fasterwithoutgainingenoughexperience
from eitherTbE or TITcan get you intotrouble.Often,aftera day'srace,
you can hearracerstalkingaboutallthe placestheycan makeup time.
"l knowI can go a lot fasterin TurnThreeandTurn Nine."The pit racers
is
arecuttingrecordlapsby the hundreds!Beatingyourown performance
oneof the greatrewardsof racing,but be careful.Decideto go fasteronly
to backit up. Simplydeciding to cut
whenyou'vehad enoughexperience
practice
maynot work if you don't knowwhereyou're
betterlaptimesin
goingto pick up that time.Work out the decisions that will back up
an overall decision to go faster. canyoudoit?
:
47
.:::::+t:5a1;+*=';:;'.k*.*fli
Past Decisions
you mustdrawon your pastdecisions,
To ridea motorcycle,
andon yourabilityto makedecisions in the present.Thedecisions you
m a k ed e t e r m i n h
e o ww e l ly o u rr i d i n gw i l l g o .T h er i d e r ' sj o b i s t o s o r to u t
t h e d e c i s i o nhs e i s u s i n gt o g e ta r o u n dt h e t r a c k t, o k n o wt h e ma n dt o
Thedecisions can be simpleoneslike
changethemwhen necessary.
usinglessrearbraketo preventwheelhop whilegoinginto a turn,or timingyourentranceto a turn so the bikedoesn'tundergoa lot of up and
Thedecisions can be harderto find and
movement.
downsuspension
going
intoturnstoo soon,a commonerror,might
correct.Havingtrouble
be basedon the decision "not to go in highor wide,"ratherthanthe
decision "to go in low or tight."
Yousee,this can be verytricky.A ridercouldspenda lot of
timetryingto decide how to entera turn,tryingto f igureout anotherway
to do it. He discovershe is alwaysgoingin low,so he thinksthat he has
decidedto go low. His realdecision , way backwhen,was "l don't want to
go in too high becauseit's unsafe."So he now decides to go higher
againstthat earlierdecision notto go higher.When he triesto usethe
l a l l ,t e l l i n gh i m
e .h i c hi s l i k ea m e n t aw
h i g h e rl i n eh e r u n si n t oa r e s i s t a n c w
for him
notto do it. Hisearlierdecision hasmadeit veryuncomfortable
you
it.
don't understand
to change.A decision can be verypowerful if
past
you
these
of
might
discover
one
in
a
while
Everyonce
decisionsandthink,"Hey,I cando that!Whatevermademe think I
couldn't?"Whenyou changeyour earlierdecision, you cansuddenly
in your riding.Youhaveto realizewhenyou
makea greatbreakthrough
havemadea falsedecision, then put a better,moreworkableone in its
place. Someexamples?
48
49
B r a k i n gi n u p h i l ls e c t i o n s
Brakinginto a bankedsection
Brakinginto a flat corner
Brakingintoan off-camberturn
turn
Brakinginto a decreasing-radius
turn
Brakinginto an increasing-radius
turn
Brakinginto a constant-radius
Brakingon a smoothsurface
Brakingon a choppysurface
B r a k i n gi n t or i g h t - h a n tdu r n s
turns
B r a k i n gi n t ol e f t - h a n d
Brakingon crestedroads
Whereyou shouldbe on the trackas you beginto brake
W h e r ey o u s h o u l db e o n t h e t r a c kd u r i n gb r a k i n g
examptes?
Whereyou shouldbe on the trackat the end of the brakingSome
More Decisions
Whatyou lookfor that tellsyouwhento beginbraking(in eachkindof turn)
W h a ty o u l o o kf o r t h a tt e l l sy o uw h e nt o e n dt h e b r a k i n g( i ne a c hk i n d
of turn)
(Theabovetwo questionscan be appliedto particular
tracks)
T i m i n gy o u rb r a k i n gg o i n gi n t os l o w t u r n s
turns
Timingyour brakinggoinginto medium-speed
Timingyour brakinggoingintofast turns
Timingyour brakinggoinginto a seriesof turns
Timingyour brakingon downhillsections
T i m i n gy o u rb r a k i n go n u p h i l ls e c t i o n s
T i m i n gy o u rb r a k i n go n b a n k e dt r a c k
T i m i n gy o u rb r a k i n go n f l a tt r a c k
T i m i n gy o u rb r a k i n go n o f f- c a m b etrr a c k
T i m i n gy o u rb r a k i n gi n d e c r e a s i n g - r a d it u sr n s
T i m i n gy o u rb r a k i n gi n i n c r e a s i n g - r a d ituusr n s
t usr n s
T i m i n gy o u rb r a k i n gi n c o n s t a n t - r a d i u
T i m i n gy o u rb r a k i n gi n c o n s t a n t - s p e et udr n s
Timingyour brakingon smoothsurfaces
Timingyour brakingon choppysurfaces
50
52
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Barriers
Keys to lmprovement
B a r r i e r : A n y t h i nsge r v i n ga s a l i m i t a t i o n
o r o b s t r u c t i o nA.
r
i
d
i
n
ga n d r a c i n gy, o u ' l lc o n W
h
i
l
e
b a r r i eor b s t r u c t sb u t i s n o t i m p a s s a b l e .
stantlyconfrontbarriersto yourgoingfaster.Yourgoalis to loweryour lap
t i m e sb y r i d i n ga r o u n dt h e t r a c ka t h i g h e rs p e e d sa n dw i t h m o r ec o n t r o l .
andtheycan
Ridershit levelsof laptimesthat act as barriers,however,
becomestuckthere.ldeally,youwould be ableto ridea littlefasterand
improveyour averagelaptime eachtime you returnedto a track.That
wouldbe a goodtargetfor you to consider,and a realgoalto set for
yourself.
Time Barriers
Whenyou begintryingto go faster,you will noticethat things
alsohappena lot faster.Youhavelesstime betweencorners.between
YouhavecrePoints.andthere'slesstime to makedecisions.
Reference
your
situationby addingspeed,and by compressing
atedthis emergency
t i m et o a c t .l f y o u ' r ea b l et o c o p ew i t h t h i sc h a n g ey, o u rl a pt i m e sw i l l
improve.But if you haveto put yourselfintopanic reaction time, you
what it feelsliketo panic.
maylearnnothingby the extraspeed-except
H a v i n gl e s st i m et o m a k ey o u rd e c i s i o n iss n o t n e c e s s a r ibl ya d ,
yourspeed.Whenever
for it is one of the indicatorsthat you'veincreased
you reachoneof thesetime barriers you'reknockingon the doorof your
nextareato conquer.A ridingbarrier is usefulbecauseit's tellingyou that
you needto makenewdecisionsfaster.lt is your automatic instructor.
Y o ud o n ' tn e e dt o f i n d a n e w l i n et h r o u g ha t u r n - y o un e e dt o f i g u r eo u t
w h a tf a c t o r sa r eb r i n g i n gy o u n e a rp a n i c t, h e nc o n t r o l t h e mT. h e s eb a r r i e r s a r el i k ew a r n i n gl i g h t so n t h e d a s h b o a rodf y o u rc a r .l f y o u h a n d l e
doesthisapply?
eachone as it appears,you'll avoida catastrophelater.where
54
ii
*.s'
i,
r:r';,
''t Y
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u--!6tnt#;r:x,i,;.:..
t i o ns t u c kt o a n e n g i n es p i n n i n ga t 1 3 , O O rOp mw h e ni t s h o u l db e o n
turning.Youmaybe brakingso latethat you'relosingsightof yourentry
speed,resultingin a panicsituation.Thecontrolson your bikemay be set
l en g l et h a ty o uc a n ' tr e a c ht h e mq u i c k l y .
a t s u c ha n u n c o m f o r t a b a
T h et r a c kc o n s t r u c t i oint s e l fm a yc o n t r i b u t teo y o u rd i s t r e s s .
Forexample,
the entrancemaybe off camberor downhill,andoffersless
potentialbrakingthan a f lat surface.Youmaynot havea product for the
turn andthat will botheryou.Youmay not knowwhereyou'regoing.Of
a turn,thesearejust a few.
the manypossibleproblemsin approaching
Other Glues
f o r t i m et o a c t ,o t h e rc l u e sw i l l t e l ly o u
Besideb
s e i n gp r e s s e d
you'renot on top of the situation.A feelingof uncertainty
comesfrom not
f u l l yu n d e r s t a n d i nygo u rs i t u a t i o nl .t c o u l ds t e mf r o mo n eo f t h e a b o v e
will eat
reasonsor f rom manyothers.Whateverthe reason,the uncertainty
for a higher
that couldwell be spentelsewhere
up yourattention-attention
return.This is anotherbarrier.
Go over your decisions.
First year road racer,
Wayne Rainey, thinking
it through iust moments
before his first National
Superbike win at Loudon.
Mistakes
Anothergreatindicatorthat all is not well is whenyou make
mistakeson the track.when you makea mistake,find out whereyour
Lookat the decisionleadattentionwas focusedjust beforeit happened.
you do that getsyou into
last
thing
the
it's
always
as
ing up to the mistake,
a mistake is a result, not a cause. This is why you
trouble.Remember,
mustalwaysknowwhat you do and be ableto rememberit in detail.
what you did to bring
Mistakesaren'tall that valuable-it'sin remembering
themaboutthat will helpyou correctthem.A mistake isn't to be
ignored in the hope it will disappear with practice-it is something to be studied and figured out. lt is a barrier to improvement,
andthereforea keyto improvement
if handledcorrectly.
57
59
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Braking
The Art of Regulating Speed
Motorcyclebrakeshaveundergonemanymajortechnical
sincethe adventof the disc brake,andthey havebecome
breakthroughs
mostothertechnoloefficient.Braketechnologyhassurpassed
extremely
Youcan buy a set of brakesthat
gies,suchas suspension,
for instance.
y
o
u rb i k ei n a n a f t e r n o o nT.u n i n g
o
n
a
n
d
i
n
s
t
a
l
t
l
h
e
m
w o u l ds t o pa c a r ,
task.This
yoursuspension,
however,
can be an endlessand painstaking
ridingand
chapterwill discussthe purposeof brakesin high-performance
racing.their limits,andwhatyou shouldknowaboutthe businessof
braking.
60
,"v.Ei
Weight Transfer
5oo/oFront 5oo/oRear
,#,;
Weight Transfer
750loFront 25o/oRear
Weight Transfer
l OOo/o
Front OoloRear
Purpose of Braking
A lot of rlders don't pay
enough attention to the
smooth use of their brakeseven experts.
Let'sinvestigate
what partbrakesplayin goingonesecond
fasterper lap. On most American tracks you must average about
one mph faster around the trackfor a one-second better lap time.
To do this you mustgo throughthe turnsonemph faster,then holdthat
advantage
downthe straights.Youwon't go fasterdownthe straightsif
you don't get out of the turns faster.You have to adjust the speed of
your bike accurately to go around the turns one mph faster. How
canyoujudgethat one mph accurately
with the bikepitchingforwardand
bouncingoverthe ripplesas you try to compensate
for brakefade,and a
full tankof gasor an emptyone?lt's too muchto ask.Youmusttreat
yourselfmorekindlyand makethat one mph easierto find.
Thinkof the brakeas a reversethrottle.Insteadof turningthe
controlyou pull or pressit to startthe brakingactionand downwardspeed
change.The speed that remains when you release the brakes is
the speed you will enter the turn with. lf you want to go one mph
fasterthanthe lastlap.you must be ableto go intothe turn that much
faster.Youcan'thopeto makeup the speedlaterin the turn-you must
set it up right in the beginning.Where
wittyou
tryit?
late braking often does
more harm to lap times
and corner speeds than
good. Set comfortable
brake points for yourself.
Speedadjustments
cost attention.
Endbraking
at 60 mph.
Speedcorrectly
adjusted.
Endbraking
at 61 mph.
Si gn if icant I mprovements
You can't make significant time improvements by
using the brakes harder or going in deeper. You can make time
with the brakes by adjusting the cornering speeds accurately.
Whereand how you let off the brakesis much more important
thanwhereyou pullthem on, as it setsyourcorneringspeed.Youcandive
intoa 120-mphturn 25 feet deeperthanthe lasttime and reduceyour lap
times aboutone-tenthof a second.Goingin 50 feet deeperwould improve
it twiceas much.lf your brakingwasfineto beginwith,you might pick
up two-tenthsto three-tenths
of a secondon mosttracks.But goingin
just
that muchdeeper
might permanently
enlargeyoureyeballs,
and it
wouldcertainlyincrease
the possibilityof errorsandtakeup a considerable amountof attention-your
ten-dollarbill-thatmight be betterspent
elsewhere.
By beginningthe brakingactionat a comfortablelocationand
settingthe speedfor the turn correctly,
you can pick up a secondor more
everytime you usethe brakes!By goingin too deepand upsettingyourself,you'llonlymakeit moredifficultto judgeyourspeed.lt is better to
back off on your initial braking marker and allow yourself more
time to set your speed right than to panic with late braking.
Resistthe temptationto latebrakein turnswhen it won't be an advanyou must latebrakegoingintoturns.lt won't
tage.Forpassingpurposes,
y
o
u
r
l a pt i m e s ,b u t y o uc a np i c ku p a p l a c ei n t h e
u s u a l l yi m p r o v e
standings.
Tryforyour absolutelatestbrakingpointin practiceso you'll
k n o w w h e r ey o u ' l lw i n d u p o n t h e t r a c ki f l a t eb r a k i n gi s r e q u i r e di n a
p a s s i n gs i t u a t i o nd u r i n gt h e r a c e .
Lookat latebrakingfrom the standpointof time,laptimesand
yourpositionin the racerelativeto the otherriders.lf you'rewithina secin
ond of the fastestrideron the trackandcan makea lot of improvement
gained
really
a
can
three-tenths
of
second
braking,thenthe two-tenthsor
d o y o u s o m eg o o d .l f y o u n e e dm o r et h a na s e c o n dt o g e t i n t ow i n n i n gl a p
times,don't lookfor it with the brakesalone;you'vegot to get your
sense?
averagespeedup in turns.Does
it make
65
When mV concentratton is
good I know I dtd everything
Trtght.
but it's llke lwasn't
really there I get tnto that
frame of concentration and
rf I go 1l4 mph slower or
faster. / know rt.
&
{'
&
l
1 Om p h
lOO mph
Cutting Costs
The purposeof theseexercises
is to f ind the pointwherethe
brakeslock,andto becomeaccustomed
to that feelingso you'llknow
whatto do if the brakeslockwhileyou'reriding.Thatkindof surprisecan
costyou $9.00.lf you'refamiliarwith it, it costs250 or less.
Step3: RepeatSteps1 and2 aboveat higherand higher
speedsuntilyou arecertainwhat happens,and arecertainyou cancontrol
themachine.
You figure out your
brakes, make your
decisions on what can
be done, and spend that
attention on the turn
coming up.
68
It'ssupposedto increase
the speedof the machine-not
it. At anyplacewhereyou haveto usethe brakesand downshift
decrease
at the sametime,it is not efficientor correctto usethe engineto slowyou.
T h e r ei s n ' tm u c hw e i g h to n t h e r e a rw h e e tl o b e g i nw i t h ,a n du s i n gt h e
t h e c r a n ka n dp i s t o n s
e n g i n em e a n sy o u ' r eg o i n gt o h a v et o r e p l a c e
sooner.lf you wishto slowdownthe rearwheela bit, usethe rearbrake.
it's not
Secondly,
It'scheaperto replacebrakepadsthan crankshafts.
correctto usethe engineas a brakebecausethat'snot the purposeof
downshifting.The purpose of downshifting is to bring the engine
rpm
7,5OO-1O,5OO
Begin acceleration.
Must shift while
leaned over.
At redline.
Up-shifting while still
leaned over costs a lot
because it must be
perfect.
Below redline
(in powerband)
&Ew
into the right rpm range as you begin to accelerate out of a turn.
to downshiftas soonas
Most ridersseemto feel it's necessary
there
isn'ttime for a
possibleafterthey beginto brake.In somecases
But if
approach-thedownshiftingmust be doneimmediately.
leisurely
you
leisurely.
gears
it
more
when
can
do
thereis time to wait,change
Second Problem
Thesecondproblemwith goingdowntoo manygearsand redof
l i n i n gt h e e n g i n ei n a t u r n i s t h a t e n g i n ev i b r a t i o nc a nh i d et h e v i b r a t i o n
=)
the tiresbitingintothe road.Youneedthis vibrationto tell you yourtraction situation.Thereis a vibrationwhenthe tiresaregrippingwell and not
slidingbecausethey aretakingthe maximumload.Whenthe tiresbeginto
slidethe vibrationis differentand muchfiner.A high-rewing engine
can' in a turn, cause the rider to believe his tires are sliding.
Yoursenseof tractionallowsyouto knowwhat conditionsyour
corneringspeedsand leananglesarecreatingfor the tires-howwellthey
arebitingintothe asphalt.Thevibrationfrom this carriesup throughthe
frameandyou senseit at the handlebars,
seatand footpegs.The
changes in that vibration give you a picture of the traction at
every moment. lf the enginevibrationis "drowningout,,orsmothering
that information,
it becomesdifficultto senseexactlywhatthe tiresare
dOing. nre you aware of this?
Goast Racing
"Canyonracers"havea greatpastimecalled,,CoastRacing.,'
s e v e r a l r i d e rl si n eu p a t t h e t o p o f a l o n gh i l l w i t hl o t so f t u r n si n i t ,s h u to f f
t h e i re n g i n e sa n db e g i nc o a s t i n gd o w n .T h er i d e rw h o u s e sh i s b r a k e st h e
leastwins.Goodridershavenoticedtheyweregoingfasteron the same
t u r n sw h i l ec o a s t i n gt h a nw h e nt h e yw e r er i d i n gt h r o u g ht h e mw i t h t h e
e n g i n eo n .T h i sd o e sn o t m e a ny o u s h o u l dc o a s t h r o u g ht u r n so n a r a c e
trackor anywhereelse-youshouldhavethe bikein gearso you cancontrol
the exitof the turn.Thisexampleillustrates
that you can ,,read',
tiretraction muchbetterwhenthe enginevibrationisn'tdrowningit out. Note:
I don't recommendcoast RacingbecauseI haveseena numberof people
get hurt doingit.
Rider's Job
The rider'sjob is to be abreto separate the engine vibration from the tire traction vibration so he can constantly sense
traction. Yoursense of traction is somethingyou should be spending
,%
,
a{
i:';
Wr
%W
Eddie demonstrates
entering the corkscrew,
the correct way to end
the braking and begin a
turn.
1.
Notice the almost
unchanged fork extension from beginning to
end. That's what is
ealled smooth.
&
2.
j,
74
4.
'1':
Just as the bike is entoring the banked pavement, he begins to accelerate iust enough to ke6p
the bike from bobbing up
and down.
CHAPTER
NINE
Steering
It Happens Backwards
Manyridershavelearnedto steera motorcyclewithoutunderstandingthe process.The purposeof steeringis to controlthemotorcycle'sdirectionof travel.ln racingor in any ridingsituation,you mustfeel
that the steeringand the directionof the bikeare underyourcontrol.The
fasteryou go,the moreyou wantto be certainthat the machinewill do
whatyouwant it to.
Counter Steering
Steeringis simpleenough-youpushthe barsin the opposite
directionof the directionyou wishto travel.Thatbeginsthe turn,andthe
bikeleansas it turns.Deliberately
turningthe barsin the oppositedirection of travelis knownas counter steering. Countermeans"against,"
andto steermeansto "guideor direct."To go rightyou mustturn the bars
left-to go left,turn the barsright.Gounter steering is the only way
you can direct a motorcycle to steer accurately.
This,in fact,is how you'vebeensteeringyour motorcycleall
the time,whetheryou knewit or not.Youcannotsteera motorcyclesimply
by leaningit. Youcan get it to veeroff in eitherdirectionby leaningyour
weightoff to onesideat low speeds,but that isn'tsteering.We aretalking
aboutcontrollingthe bike,andthat methodis somethinglessthancontrol.
Youcanonlyguesswherethe bikewill go.At speedyou can'tdo muchof
a n y t h i n gi f y o u ' r en o t h o l d i n go n t ot h e h a n d l e b a r s .
Let'stakea lookat what happenswhenyou steer.Youare
a p p r o a c h i nagr i g h t - h a n tdu r n .Y o ul e a nr i g h t ,a n dt h e b i k eb e g i n st o g o
right.Sinceyou areholdingontothe barsand movingoverto the right
yourleftarm is pullingthe left sideof the bartowardsyou,whichturns
the barsto the left.lf you leanleftto go arounda leftturn,you pullon the
rightbar.Thismust happenif you'reholdingontothe bars.lf you'renot
holdingthe bars.the bikewill not beginto turn whereyou lean.Youmay
b e p u s h i n go n t h e o t h e rb a ra sw e l la s p u l l i n g - i td e p e n d so n h o wy o u h o l d
76
ii
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r
-
.i.lrri:tir:i..
,',,'.'itl
Push/Pull
As long asyou continue pushing or pulling on the bars,
the bike will continue to lean over and turn more sharply. When
you easethe pressureon the bars,the bikewill stayat the leanangleyou
reachedwhenyou easedup the pressure.
Youdon't haveto holdthe bike
intothe turn with anygreatamountof force,if at all.On most bikes,once
you havethe machineat the desiredleanangle,you no longerneedto hold
ontothe bars.Actually,if you wereriding60 mph on most bikeswith a
c r u i s ec o n t r o il n a h u g eo p e np a r k i n gl o t w i t h n o b u m p s y, o uc o u l dt a k e
your handsoff the barsonceyou had it leanedoverandthe bikewould
c o n t i n u eg o i n ga r o u n di n a c i r c l ea t t h a t l e a na n g l eu n t i li t r a no u t o f g a s .
W h e ny o uf i n dy o u r s e lhf o l d i n go n v e r yt i g h t l yi n t u r n s ,y o u ' r e
doinga wholelot of unnecessary
work.Bumpsand othersurfaceirregularitiescanchangethe situationof course,so you do haveto holdon to
makesteeringcorrections.
Doyoudothis?
Steering Backwards
In essence,
motorcyclesteeringis backwards
from mostother
formsof transportation.
An automobilegoesin the directionyou turn the
wheel,as do mostothervehicles.one problemwe havein learningto ride
stemsfrom a crueltrickplayedon us by our parents.Theygaveus a
tricycleto pedalaround.A tricycleturnsin the directionyou steerit. when
we rodea bicyclefor the firsttime,we fell down,and everyone
saidit was
because
we didn'thavegood balance.
Actually,it was becausebicycles
alsocountersteer.
Balance
h a dn o t h i n gt o d o w i t h i t l T h ec o n f u s i o n
iscaused
because
the childexpectsthe biketo go rightwhen he turnsto the right.
Eventually,
out of sheersurvivalinstincts,he goesthroughthe steering
m o t i o n sw i t h o u tu n d e r s t a n d i nt hge ma n dw i n d su p o n a m o t o r c y c l 1
e5
yearslaternot knowingwhat he hasbeendoingto go aroundturns.
Practicecountersteeringand becomeawareof it. Beawareof
how muchattentionit costsyouto starta turn.Seeif you can remember
what happenedwhenyou sawan unexpected
pot holeor rockon the road
andtriedto go aroundit. Most riders, in an emergency, try to turn
the bike in the direction they want to go. lt doesn'twork andthey
f i n dt h e m s e l v edso i n gs o m er e a l l ys t r a n g et h i n g st o m a k et h e b i k et u r n .
Racing,becauseof the speed,is a self-created
emergency.
Bythinking
and practice,you can lowerthe amouqtof time and attentionnecessary
to
countersteerdownto an acceptable
level.
I haveknownpeoplewho haveriddenfor 30 yearswithout
havingto facean emergency
situation.Then,one daya car pullsout in
front of them.Theytry to avoid it but the bikewon't do what they want it
to. So they get scaredand quit riding.Theyrealizethat the controlthey
alwaysthoughtwas there-wasn't.Understanding
how a bikesteerscan
h e l pa f o r m e rr i d e rl i k et h i s t o d e c i d et o g o r i d i n ga g a i n .
I h a v eh e a r dv a r y i n ge x p l a n a t i o nasb o u tw h a t i s h a p p e n i n g
duringcountersteering,but I haveneverheardanytwo engineers
agree
totallyon the physicsof it. Despitethis,everyoneagreesthat counter
steeringis necessary
for goodcontrolof a motorcycle.
Startpracticingand
78
79
CHAPTER
TEN
80
Slidingoccursbecauseyou haveexceeded
the limitsof tire
Too muchspeedor throttlearenot the
adhesionfor thosecircumstances.
onlyreasonsthat slidingcan occur-roughpavementor roughridingcan
alsocauseit, as can a poorsuspension
system.
The backend can "comearound"all by itselfin a turn,which
maybe regardedas the fourth kindof sliding.Manytimesthis and other
k i n d so f s l i d i n ga r ed u et o t h e r i d e r ' so w n h a n d l i n go f t h e t u r n ,s u c ha s
whenweighttransferto the f rontor rearcausesthat endto breakaway.
Forexample,if you wereto comeintoa turn with just a littletoo much
speedand then roll off the gas suddenly,the front end would become
heavierthanthe rearand couldstartthe f ronttire sliding.Thesimpleremedy is to crackthe gasopenslightlyto helpeventhe weighton the f ront
and rear.Somebikesareheavieron oneendthanthe other.and havea
b u i l t - i nt e n d e n c tyo s l i d et h a t e n d .T h er o a ds u r f a c ec a nd e t e r m i nw
e hich
endof the bikeslides.Goingovera crest,for rnstance,
the lighterend-or
bothwheelsbecausethe downwardforceis lessened-slides.
Usually,
however,
the wheelwith too muchweightwill breaktractionfirst.
Another Decision
A n o t h e rd e c i s i o nm u s tb e m a d et o u s et h e s l i d i n gt o y o u r
advantage.
A good drive coming off a turn usually involves some
rear-wheel slippage. The harderyou accelerate,
the morerubberyou
haveto accelerate
with as the weighttransfergeneratedby the acceleration flattensout the tire and enlargesthe contactpatch.Thisholdstrue
o n l yt o a p o i n t ,o f c o u r s el.f t h e w h e e lb e g i n ss p i n n i n gt o o m u c hf o r e f f e c tivetireadhesion,it will heatup rapidlyand offerverylittletraction.Allowi n g i t t o s p i nj u s t a b i t w i l l a l l o wt h e b i k et o c o n t i n u ea c c e l e r a t i nagn d
maintainenoughtractionso it won't slideout completely.
Youcaneven
steerthe biketo your advantage
with the rearend slightlylooseby pointing
t h e b i k et o t h e i n s i d eo f t h e t u r n .T h i si s c a l l e d" t h r o t t l es t e e r i n g . "
The nextstepfor the riderwho feelshe hasreachedthat point
81
w h e r et h e s l i d eh a sb e c o m ea l i m i t i n gf a c t o ri n h i s r i d i n gi s t o u s et h e
s l i d et o g u i d et h e b i k ew h e r eh ew a n t si t t o g o .A s t h e r i d e ry o u m u s t
d e c i d ew h e r ea n dw h e nt h a t s l i p p i n ga r o u n dc a nb e u s e dt o y o u ra d v a n t a g er a t h e trh a nj u s t " w o r r y i n gt"h e b i k ea r o u n dt h e t u r na n db e i n gl i m i t e d
b y t h et r a c t i o nS. l i d i n gy, o uw i l l p r o b a b l fyi n d ,c o s t sa f a i ra m o u n o
t f your
worth
to
the
then
begin
attention.
Get
used
sliding
and
of
$10
directing the bike with it.
A moderate and effective slide smoothly done.
The slide is obvious
because the front wheel
is not turned in enough
to track at that amount
of lean. Note: The slide
is being corrected with
Kenny's knee. This technique is covered in the
following chapter-
Brake Slide
Slidingis a veryeffectivetool to usewhen you haveentered
a turn a littletoo fast.Leaningthe bikeovera littlemorejust at that point
will allowthe biketo slideand "scruboff" the extraspeed.Youdon't have
to usethe brakesandchancesomethingwill upsetthe bike,you simply
turn it in a littlemore,scruboff the extraspeedand continue.Traction
amountof
becomesanothermatterin fastturnsbecauseof the increased
attentionbeingspent.Mediumspeedturnsarelessof a threatto the rider,
h e r a p i d l yl e a r n st h a t a l i t t l es l i d i n ga r o u n dc a nw o r ko u t .R i d e r st e n dt o b e
moretimid of tractionin fasterturns.Also,in mediumspeedbankedturns,
s u c ha s L o u d o ns, l i d i n gi s m o r ep r e d i c t a b laen d l e s sd r a m a t i cT. h er i d e r
canbalanceoff his useof throttlesteeringagainstthe downwardpullof
the banking"holding"him in the turn.Losing traction can sometimes
be more of an advantage than keeping it. wittit workforyou?
82
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Hanging Off
It Looks Good and lt Works
Nothinghaschangedroad-racingphotography
morein the
lasteightyearsthanthe practiceandtechniqueof hangingoff. Kneedragging is the mostdramaticposeracersof anykind haveeverindulgedin.
Spectators
arein aweof it, and ridersaren'tsatisfied untilthey'vemasteredit. Bothcanyonand caferacersarelikelyto castin plastictheirf irst
pairof designerjeanstheytouchto the tarmacwhilehangingoff.
JarnoSaarinenwas the first riderto exhibitdramaticknee-out
riding.He had beenan ice racerbeforecomingto roadracing,andthere
kneedraggingis both partof the styleandthe onlywayto be seriously
competitive.
Saarinenpioneeredit, KennyRobertsrefinedit and most
haspickedup kneedraggingfor himself.
everyone
who racessuccessfully
Real Reasons
84
Another Advantage
How muchwind resistance
doesa leg createwhen it is hung
out to the sideof a motorcycleat 1bo mph?At 1oo mph,or even60 mph?
with this additional"sail"on one side,it's easierto turn in that direction.
You can make a quicker and easier steering change with a knee
out because the bike and you will pivot around the point of
resistance that it offers.
85
Second Advantage
of havinga kneeoff is that steering
So,the secondadvantage
is easier when the bike and rider pivot around the resistance
offered by the extended leg. Flickingthe bikefrom sideto sidein
essesor anyseriesof turnsis mucheasierwhen it is timedwith the knee
. h i sh o l d st r u ef o r
c h a n g ei s m a d e T
c o m i n go u tj u s t b e f o r et h e s t e e r i n g
s i n g l et u r n sa s w e l l .T h el i a b i l i t yi s o b v i o u s - y o u ' rcer e a t i n gm o r ew i n d
usethis
andthe bikewill slowdown somewhat.Remember,
resistance
techniqueas a tool; pull it out whenyou needit and put it awaywhenyou
d o n ' t .T h i sw o u l db e e s p e c i a l lt yr u ew i t h s m a l l e or r u n d e r p o w e r e d
to makethe steeringeasier.
use it onlywhen necessary
machines.
Third Advantage
. ean
A t h i r dr e a s o nf o r h a n g i n go f f h a st o d o w i t h l e a na n g l e L
g
o
y
o
u
can and
a n g l ei s o n eo f t h e i n d i c a t o ryso uc a nu s et o t e l l h o wf a s t
how muchtractionto expectf rom the tires.lt letsyou knowwhereyou are
. our
o f l e a na n g l e s, t e e r i n gt r, a c t i o na n ds p e e dY
balance
i nt h ed e l i c a t e
you must makeit your businessto
kneeis a delicateand costlyinstrument;
pavement.
the
of
knowhow far it is f romthe surface
86
e a u g eo f l e a na n g l e s - iyf o u
T h ek n e ei s a n i n c r e d i b layc c u r a t g
p u t i t i n t h e s a m ep o s i t i o ne a c ht i m e .T o d o t h i sy o u rb o d ym u s tb e i n t h e
s a m e p o s i t i o no n t h e b i k e e a c ht i m e . l t s p o s i t i o nc a n c h a n g ef r o m t u r n t o
t u r n , b u t i t s h o u l db e t h e s a m e e a c ht i m e t h r o u g h a p a r t i c u l a tr u r n . T h e n
you can use the distancefrom the ground to measure:"l was over this far
on the first lap and it was oK, so next time around this turn I can go a little
faster."The knee doesn't haveto drag the whole way around a turn; you
can drop it now and then to "sample" your lean angle.Doyouthinkit wittwork?
Sixth Advantage
Youmay not believethis,but ridershavesavedthemselves
f r o mf a l l i n gb e c a u s teh e yw e r ea b l et o h e l pt h e b i k eb a c ku p w i t h t h e i r
k n e ea f t e ri t h a db e g u nt o s l i d eo u t .A f r i e n do f m i n eo n c ea c t u a l l y
b o u n c e da b i k eb a c ku p o n t oi t sw h e e l sw i t h h i se l b o wa n dc o n t i n u e d
racing.
Hang Loose
Never become rigid while hanging off. Be relaxedand
s e t t l ei n t ot h e p o s i t i o ny o u n o r m a l l tya k ew h i l ei n t h i s m a n e u v e Y
r .o u ' v e
got to be as relaxedas possibleso that you don't becomea bobbing
weighton the bikethat actslikea passenger
who doesn'tknowhow to
relax.lf you encounterany krndof roughpavementor handlethe bike
roughly,it will moveup and down.lf you'reloose,you willflex up and
downwith it. lf you'rerigid,the bikewill go into its motion,thenyou will,
t h e nt h e b i k ew i l l m o v ea g a i n c, r e a t i n ga w o b b l e .
D o n ' tu s et h e h a n d l e b a rt so s u p p o ryt o u rw e i g h tw h e ny o u
hangoff.Thissendsinputsto the steeringand can starta wobbleas well.
Useyour legsto get f rom one sideof the biketo the other.and hordon
with youroutsideleg.Thenrelax.
l ' l l s e ey o u i n t h e p h o t o s .
Note:Manyridershavefoundthat a littletalcumpowderon
the seatis helpfulwhen changingfrom sideto side.wit it workrorvou?
Be comfortableratherthan
sultsn.
Note:
lf you don'tfeelcomfortablehangingoff, don,tdo it. you can
wastea lot of time and efforttryingto work out somethingyou don't need
t o d o . U s eh a n g i n go f f a s a t o o l .w h e n y o u b e g i nt o h a v eg r o u n dc l e a r s h i l ec o r n e r i n go,r a n yo t h e rp r o b l e m tsh a t c o u l db e h e l p e d
a n c ep r o b l e m w
by hangingoff,then do it.
A rider'sstyleincludeshow weil he accomplishes
eachof the
partsof riding.lt is all of what he understands
and all of what he doesn't
feelgoodaboutrolledinto his own package.Hangingoff maybe partof
your ridingpackage,
or it maynot be,rightnow.
A ridertellsa greatdealabouthimselfby his styre.Forexample,a riderwho canstaytuckeddown behindthe bubbleand low on the
bikein fast or trickysectionsknowsthe track.He hasRps.pointsof rimi n ga n do t h e rf a c t o r sw e l lu n d e r s t o o dT.h er i d e rw h o d o e s n ' w
t i l l b es i t t i n g
up tryingto seewherehe is going.
s t y l ei s b a s e do n w h e r et h e r i d e ri s s p e n d i n gh i s $ 1 o w o d h o f
attention.Fittingyourselfinto a stylefor no reasoncancostyou a lot.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Passing
Who Was That I Just Passed?
|tissometimeseasiertopassarideryouareracingwith'
passlapped
someonewith equalor similarabilityto yourown,than it is to
you
or slowerriders.Theotherraceron your levelis therelongenoughfor
new
to makeout someaspectof his ridingstyle,wherethe slowerrideris a
commodity.Manytimesyouwill becomewaryof these
and unobserved
you
ridersjust f romthe fact that theyarea lap down on you.lt makes
wonderif they knowwhat'sgoingon.
lt is definitely
Passingcomesup oftenin new-riderdiscussions.
few,
evenof
oneof the craftsinvolvedin racingand somethingthat onlya
the top riders,havemastered'
Thegroundru|esinpassingandfo||owingwi||increaseyou
u n d e r s t a n d i nogf t h e a c t i o n si n v o l v e d :
91
.:-.
-;i-,..-ri:J.
.. t'+.:--"
Passing Signals
In California
it is legaltosplitlanes-toridebetweenthe lines
of carson the f reeway.Fromthis practice,California
ridershavelearned
that the autodriveralwaysdoessomethingbeforehe changeslanes.lt
maybe a lookin the mirror,a twitch of the head,shouldermovement,a
g l a n c et o t h e r e a ro r a c h a n g eo f h a n dp o s i t i o no n t h e s t e e r i n g
w h e e l .I n
racing,a rideroftenmakesa movement,usuallyof the head,just before
changingdirections.lt isn'talwaystrue and it isn't 100 percenteffective
as it seemsto be with cardrivers,but it doeshappenandyou can useit if
you seeit.
Yourabilityto "read"the otherrider'slineandwhereit will put
him hasa lot to do with passing.A riderwho is leanedoverthe the maxim u m l i m i t so f h i sm a c h i n ei s n o t l i k e l yt o m a k ea n yr a d i c am
l o v e st o w a r d
the insideof the track.Hislineof travelis prettywell set.You mustbe able
t o s i z eu p h i s l i n e ,d e t e r m i n w
e h e r ei t w i l l t a k eh i m ,a n dd e c i d ei f y o uc a n
m a k et h e p a s s .
Judgingthe amountof spacethat you needfor a passisn'tall
that difficult.lt only takes a little more space than the width of a
doorway to pass another rider. lf you can seethat amountof space,
you can get through.wittthis
hetp?
Basics Apply
I n p a s s i n gt ,h e b a s i c so f r i d i n gs t i l la p p l y Y
. o um u s ts p e n dy o u r
attentionon gettingaroundthe track.not on otherriders.YourRPs,SubProducts,
Products,
what you do,timingandthe abilityto concentrate
on
t h et r a c kw i l l b et h e d e c i d i n gf a c t o r si n w h o c r o s s e tsh e f i n i s hl i n ef i r s t .
92
*l\
;i
Th is sequence represents
two seconds of time. A
well-executed pass from
the set-up through to
completion.
.l
1.
$
2.
94
J.
ot&*.,
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
SuperuiseYourself
Yes, Homework ls Necessary
your racingprogram,keepaccuraterecords
To helpsupervise
and be workingon someaspectof it eachtime you go to the track.This
tracktime and
way,you'llbe makingthe bestuseof yourtime,expensive
of your bike.
96
97
Go Faster
Freddie (Spencer) is fearless
coming out of slow turns.
Practice :
lnformation
'= Think
98
What
Makeyourown drawings-don'tusetrackdiagramscounts is how the turn looks to you. Trackdiagramsaref inefor helpbut theydon't include
find theirway to the grandstands,
ing spectators
camberchanges,roughspots,exactlocationsof uphillsanddownhills,etc.
Track Drawings
Make your track drawings as exact as possible, Anyone
who canridea motorcyclecan makea simplelinedrawingof a turn' lt
doesn'ttakeaftisticability.lf you find it difficultto makea turn drawing
afteryou'veriddenthe track,sleepingthroughart classwasn'tthe problem,you just don't know the turn. Partsof it arestill unclearto you.
A drawing makes your thoughts one step closer to the real thing.
Paperisn'tasphalt,but it is closerto it thanthe stuffthat thoughtsare
madeof. Drawingsget you involvedin a verydirectway with what is going
on whileyou'reriding.
,or,
I
Exr-r 6
*3.
CHANGE PqI
btr
SO
AccetsennrNG qu\TE
So H,\RD oVER..THE
ENTRANeE Tn
/-JJ4f*\
/
TuRN**4 rs"A V5
Ll TTt-g B\T ut{cLErS<'
OVERATL PRDDtrCT \S
uNCLEAR ) Mt\KlN&
t.AE, RDLL ir oxr
,
AND OFtr IN
D . S.,b- Frodurcts
O: POr
99
Fast : Fast
You gain more time in the fast turns than you do in
slow ones. Youwill find, as everyriderhas,that a littlefasterin the fast
turns makesmuch more differencethan a littlefasterin the slow ones.
Youcovermoredistancein the fastturns,which bringsup youroverall
average
it takesonlyaboutone mph higheraverageto
faster.Remember,
go onesecondfasterper lap.A typicalslowturn maybe 1O0-150 feet in
length,whilea fastone may be 300 to 900 feet or more.Thatis a larger
partof the trackin whichyouraveragecan be higher.
Racer's Tools
(1) Lookat your ridingfrom the standpointthat you intendto
(2)
improve. Setyourselflap-timetargetsfor the day.(3) Makesureyou
comeoff the trackwith informationyou can use.(4) Makeeverypractice
sessioncountevenmoreby workingon a pafticularpointwhileyou're
(6) Readoverthe materialin this
riding.(5) Don'tbecomediscouraged.
you
haveridden.lt will makemoresenseto you then.
bookagainafter
Can you see it working
for you?
100
A pagefrom Wayne
Rainey's
notebook.
Jilt?
g
ffiP-.s"sN
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:iiiii EFFoRE rHe-NE^gEl,{
Do\N'N SH\ FT
"ff' THEN :L N\Y-eenr
Rep Cor'oe
ovER
r THEN s-rARTtlovirla
iiii cN
r$rz
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i
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oF THF TURN AtrotlT s/q THRDTTLE '
ROL\sfARrS T0 T\GI-trE\r yPr:
AS 1i1+En-reN
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tURt\l
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S'f"f SIRA\G*\TT?^^
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AxlO f*exr :tr AM LEANIINQ rf OVgR \+AR>
I=oe, THE- Ex tT OF I_HE \1JRN} .
liii::::ii:ii:
,\
a.,\
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Advice
Ask Your Best Friend: You
l'm not one for giving out
advice.I don't want to give it
away.especiallyat the track
or raceoaYwnen someone
has a particularquestron.But
I wont screwa guy up and
give him wrong or dangerous
advrce.
102
"w
w
:t
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
How to Fall
Relax-You're J ust Road-Testing
Your Leathers
Threereallyimportantfactorsaboutfallingoff a motorcycle
are:Whatyou do whenthe time comesto unload-Howyou keepthis bad
situationfrom gettingworse-andHowyou feelaboutthe businessof
fallingoff.
FallingInsurance
No onewantsto fall down,but onceyou'vedoneit and it
Let Go
1. Let go of the bike: lt is muchlargerand heavierthanyou
andverylikelyto travelfurtherdownthe roadthanyou will. lf you'reholding onto it, you'regoingalongfor the ride.Youwantto minimizeyour
motionso your new leathersdon'tget holesgroundthroughthem.Motorcycleshavehardthingsstickingout theirsidesthat cancatchon the
groundandsendthem rollingand doingendos.lf you'restill attachedto
the bike,you'll do the same.When you let go, the differencebetweenyour
dropyou off at someotherplace.
weightandthe bike'swill generally
just
you
relax.Don'tdo anything.Theact of
it,
2. Relax: lf
lose
relaxingwill usuallygetyou awayfrom the bike.lf you extendyourarmsor
legsto try to breakyourfall,you will be providingyourselfwith a pivotthat
can sendyou flyingor tumbling.Whenyour body'srigidit's easierto break
things.lf you'rerelaxed,skiddingalonglikea ragdoll,it's moredifficult
to breakbones.
-:Gl
,61
.."'!. ri.
r:
..1"
'$,,i'
tu.,'
t*'$js
lfl,*,,'**
xh*
t!*fwl$xx*"";
;i$sii*c$$1ffi*Sa**
Relaxingalsoputsmoresurfaceareaontothe groundand
spreadsthe impactovera largerarea.Forexample,if you weigh 150
poundsandfall on your palm,that threesquareinchesof yourpalmwill
takea forceof about50 poundsper squareinchfrom the fall alone-the
forceof that impactwill increasegreatlywith the speed.lf you landon
your back,armsand legsinstead,you'refallingonto a couplesquarefeet
which bringsthe loadper squareinchdown belowone pound.A pound
droppedon your handwill hurt a littlebit. Fiftypoundsdroppedon your
h a n dw i l l h u r tl i k eh e l l .
Relaxing spreads the impact over a larger area. This is
oneof the techniquesusedby stuntmenand martialartspeopleto lessen
the possibilities
of painand damageto theirbodies.
hasheardof exceptional
situationswhere
Probablyeveryone
the riderslidesout,then climbson top of the bikeandwaitsfor it to stop.
He nevertouchesthe groundand is unhurt.Youdecideif you wantto try
that the worst kindof fall is whenthe bikeis sliding
this,but understand
alongand somethingcatcheswhichf lipsit overon the otherside.lf you're
s t i l lh a n g i n go n - y o ug e t l a u n c h e dT.h i si s c a l l e d" h i g h - s i d i n gw" h e n
you'rethrownoverthe high sideof a bikein a turn."Low-siding"is when
the bikeis leaningoverandthe tireswashout,droppingit straightdown.
Practice Falls
106
After A Fall
lf you try to dodge oncoming traffic, there is a greater
you'll
be hit. Lookat it from the point of view of the other riderschance
they havea chanceto avoidyou if you stayin one spot.lf you'reup and
movingin a panic,they don't knowwhichwayyou'llrun.lf you'restopped,
they havesomethingto avoid.Also,it's muchbetterto havea leg run over
by anothermotorcyclethanto be hit by onewhileyou'restandingup.
A planof action,suchas relaxingwhenyou fall off, is likewearing a helmet.Youdon't needit untilyouhit the road,thenyou reallyneed
it. Beingwillingto fall off will helpkeepyou off the ground;knowinghow
to do it can minimizeyour injuries.
107
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Sponsorship
There ls No Free Lunch
l'll get to the nittyof sponsorship
right away:you needone of
threethings-orall three-toget sponsorship
support.
1. Knowsomeonewho is in a positionto sponsoryou.
2. Work hardpromotingyourselfand covereverypossible
sponsor.
3. Be so goodat racingthat otherpeoplewantyou on their
teamcarryingtheirstickersand leathers.
A P.R. World
In most cases,peoplewant to sponsorridersthey like.
Sometimes,
that'smoreimportantthanyourabilityto ride,but usuallyit
just helpsa lot.Yourpotentialsponsormaypictureyou on the winner's
standat Daytonasayinggreatthingsabouthim. He mayjust pictureyou at
the club racessayinggoodthingsabouthis productto others.Are you the
kindof personthat othersbelieve?
Yoursponsor-orpotentialsponsormustunderstand
We live in a
onething if he is to be at all successful.
P.R. (public relationsl world and good P.R. helps. lf you just expect
to be a club racerand nothingfurther,this doesn'texcludeyou f romthe
fruitsof sponsorship.
Localracinghasbeenthe spawninggroundfor
younoticed
this?
someof the most successful productlinesevar.Have
108
Your
racing,be willingto answerendlessquestionsaboutmotorcycles.
products.
promote
you
his
willing
to
are
that
understand
sponsorshould
Whenyou area greatracer,nobodywill expectyou to do anyof this
becauseyou will havebecomeoverpaidand cocky.Not really-butthe
winningwill be first priority.
whetheryou area good raceror not,
The basisfor sponsorship,
is the exchangeyou can makewith the sponsor.What canyou do for him
andwhat is he goingto do for you?
Step One is ge(tlng the
sponsor. Step Two is
spreading his name
around. Step Three is
win, win, win.
Proposals
shouldbe well-organized
lf
Proposals
and lookprofessional.
you outlinea greatseasonof promotionand show up with a dirtyor disorganizedproposal,he will seethroughit from the start.Hewon't be confipersonhe needsto do
well-organized
dentthat you arethe conscientious,
job.
yourself
the
as an employeeof a
Youmust beginto think of
companyin which you own sharesof stock.
Don't promiseanythingyou can't deliver.Thinr out the year
aheadandwrite up a planyou canactuallycarryout.The numberof companiesthat will payyou to run stickersat the amateurlevelis dwindling
and hasalmostdisappeared.
Don'tbasea sponsorship
packageon the fact
you will run his stickerson your bike.Too manyriderswill run stickersfor
a quartof oil or just for fun. Designyour packageso it will standon its own
whetheryou havestickerson the bikeor not.Proposeto makeyourself
availabf
e for promotionalactivities.enythoughts
onthis?
110
Your P.R.Program
Evenwithout a bunchof first placesyou can still do plentyto
makeyourselfknown.Racingis stillsuchan unknownquantity-inthe U.S.
you can promoteyourselfon late-nightradiotalk shows,
especially-that
public-access
TV andtakingpartin civic-minded
activitiesduringthe offseasonsuchas talkingto boys'clubs.Starta "Getracingoff the streets
and ontothe track"programthat mightsavea life or makea racerof
someone.
Youcan evenplugyoursponsorhere.Localnewspapers
are
alwayshungryto fill spacewith storiesaboutlocalpeople.Youcan go into
one of themwith the samecivic-minded
approachand it wouldbe difficult
for themto turn you down.Urgeotherridersto do the same.lt mayseem
you'resharingthe spotlight,but in the end it makesracingmorepopular,
which givessponsorsa betterreasonto participate.Any
examptes?
Satellite Sponsorship
Yourkeytargetis onewell-knownsponsor.Thisallowsyour
othersponsorssomethingto identifywith, somethinglargerto be connectedwith thanjust Joe Smith,racer.Theyrevolvearoundand baskin
the lightof the better-known
centralsponsoring
company.The possible
advantages
of beinga satellitelinkedto a largecompanywith a multimillion-dollar
advertising
budgetis veryappealingto the smallerbusinessman.Youaredoinghim a favorby linkinghim with yourcentralsponsor.
Forexample,
when a new man is signedonto a factoryteam,
in manycaseshe is stillan unprovenrider-highpotentialobviously,
but
he hasnot yet won anyraces.still, a newteamriderfor anyfactoryhas
littledifficultyin findingsponsorsthat will pay handsomely
for a patchon
the leathers.
Thesponsoris now connectedto the factoryteamandthe
factoryadvertising
campaigns.
The rider,in this case,is of secondary
importance.
Thesponsormaypaythe rider$b,ooofor pracingthe patchor
stickers,but the factorymay usephotosin millionsof dollarsworth of ads,
postersand promotionalitems.Some
examples?
Big Fish
Landinga big sponsorcan be usefulin helpingyou gather
satellitesponsors.Goingto a big companywith a small,but effectiveplan
that will not drainthe promotionalbudgetcan be of morevalueto you than
is goingin with an expensive
programthat maybe turneddown.lt is still
the sameideaas above.Largecompaniesliketo get bargains,
too, andthe
smallercompanyfeelsconnected.Remember,
yourcontracttermsmay be
keptconfidentialif you chooseso the othersponsorsyou approachdon't
knowwhetheryou are getting$1O,OOO
or $100. Keepit that way.
,;,.;a+oj.- -
111
-,; - -!,+Ae:,:.,
Where To Fish
Thesizeof the pondyou fish in for sponsorsis important.A
factoryis a largef ish in a largepond,worldwide.Theyhavethe moneyto
buythe best.lf you arenot the best-yet-startf ishingin a smallerpondto
beginwith.Youmayonlyget a set of shocksfrom your localaccessory
store,but that now makesyou appearconnectedto somethinglarger.You
area satelliteand revolvearoundyoursponsoras well.lf you cando a
greatjob of promotingthe shockstheremightbe somegas moneythe
you
nexttime you talkto the sponsor.Plastertheirnameovereverything
can,andevenspendmoneyon yourown to primethe pump.(lt makesyou
looklikeyou'regettingmorefrom yoursponsor,and a newsponsorwill
expectto paymorefrom what he hasseenin the past.)Moveup the sponsor ladderone sizepondat a time.Youmayevenstartin a largepuddle,
but at least it is wet. Does
thisapplytoyou?
112
Factory Rides
Sponsorship
alsobringsaboutthe possibilityof a factoryride.
Thefactories,andthe peoplethey listento, areverygoodat spottingwho
hasthe potentialtobe a top-notchrider.
A word of caution:eventhoughit hasbecomeevermore
popularto takedrugsin this society,this is somethingthat smartteam
managersare on the lookoutfor. Riderswho havea reputationfor partying
arenot beinglookedon with favor.Drugsarelikea decreasing-radius
turn
-they fool you into goingin too fast,then makeit veryhardfor you
to get out.
In closingon the subjectof sponsorship,
a writtenagreement
is alwaysin order.lf you obtainsponsorship,
get the termsin writing-at
leastuntilyou seehow eachotheroperates.
Sometimesit's betterto pay
for suppliesthanto get themwith invisiblestringsattached.Hereinliesa
greattruth: lt often costs more to get things free than it does to
pay for them. Keepup youragreed-upon
exchangewith yoursponsor
and it shouldwork out fine.
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113
A Parting Word
Manythingshavenot beenincludedin this bookbecausethey
do not haveto do with the actualridingof a motorcycle.
Tracksafety
information,
machinepreparation
and othervaluabledataarenot in my
area.Muchof this hasalreadybeencoveredin the publication"Howto
Fly"by Joe Ziegler,who runsthe PenguinRacingSchoolat Loudon,New
Hampshire
and Bridgehampton,
NewYork.
By the sametoken,allthereis to sayaboutridingis not in
t h e s ep a g e sT. h em a t e r i a l t h ai ts i n c l u d e di s w o r k a b l ea n dw i l l i m p r o v e
your ridingif it's applied.lt is meantto be appliedandto be used.
Spend your $1O wisely, and most of all, have fun riding!
Rider Checklist
1. Oil at Proper Level
A. Engine
B.Transmission
C. Chain
D. Forks
2. Wheels Are In Line
3. Forks Don't Bind
4. Chain Adiusted
5. Tire Pressures Are Gorrect
RearFrontA. ColdPressures
RearB. Hot PressuresFront
6. Steering Head Bearings Tight
7. Front Axle CaP Bolts Tight
8. Axles Tight
9. Wheels Are Balanced
1O. Gontrols Are Comfortable and Usable
1 1. Fork Travel Correct
(Forksshouldnot bottomout or top out)
12. Shock Travel Correct
but shouldusemost of the shock
(Shocksshouldnot bottomout excessively
travel.)
13. Throttle OPeratesSmoothlY
free play.)
(Doesn'tstick,no excessive
14. Brakes Work Well
A. Padsare makinggoodcontacton disc.
B. Padsarenot bindingdisc.
C. EnoughPadmaterial.
15. Tires Have Enough Rubber
wornor steppedtirescancausehandlingdifficulties'
A. Unevenly
B. Old racingtiresdry out and become"greasy'"
plenty
c. Racetireswork bestwhenthey havejust beenscrubbedin and have
of rubber.
16. Enough Fuel
17. Master Link in Place
(Masterlink shouldbe safetywired unlessit is an endlesschain.)
18. Someone to Record l-aPTimes
Mostof theseitemsare not thingsthat a technicalinspectorlooksat.Theyare
itemsthat directlyaffectyour abilityto put your equipmentto useas a racer'
Theyensurethatyou canmakeit aroundthe trackwithoutmajormishaps
(enough
fuel,etc.).
(Usetheseandmake
copiesfor your notes.)
Numberof Turns
WeatherConditions
AmbientTemperature
Elevation
Classes
to be Run
TiresRun:Brand
Compound/Number
Front-
Tire Pressure:
Front-Cold
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
Tire Mileage:Front
Rear
Rear
Jetting
Mains
Pilot
Air Correction
-Air
Needle
Slide
F l o a tL e v e l - O t h e r
Gasoline
Type
G a s / O i lR a t i o
lgnitionTiming
Spark Plug Heat Range
C a m T i m i n g :I n t a k e
Exhaust
Exhaust
Gearing
Countershaft
RearSprocket-
OverallRatio
ShockDampening
- Rebound
Front-Compression
Rear-CompressionRebound
SpringSettings
Front- Pre-Load
Rear-Pre-Load
Lap Times
Practice
Races
PositionEachLap
PointsEarned
Prize Money Won
Comments
Screws
Rider Ghecklist
1. Oil at Proper Level
A. Engine
B.Transmission
C.Chain
D. Forks
2. Wheels Are ln Line
3. Forks Don't Bind
4. Chain Adiusted
5. Tire Pressures Are Correct
RearFrontA. ColdPressures
RearFrontB. Hot Pressures
6. Steering Head Bearings Tight
7. Front Axle GaPBolts Tight
8. Axles Tight
9. Wheels Are Batanced
10. Controls Are Comfortable and Usable
1 1. Fork Travel Correct
(Forksshouldnot bottomout ortop out)
12. ShockTravel Correct
but shouldusemost of the shock
(Shocksshouldnot bottomout excessively
travel.)
13. Throttle OPeratesSmoothlY
free play')
(Doesn'tstick,no excessive
14. Brakes Work Well
A. Padsare makinggoodcontacton disc'
B. Padsare not bindingdisc.
C. EnoughPadmaterial'
15. Tires Have Enough Rubber
A. Unevenlyworn or steppedtirescancausehandlingdifficulties'
B. Old racingtiresdry out and become"greasy"'
plenty
C. Racetireswork bestwhenthey havejust beenscrubbedin and have
of rubber'
16. Enough Fuel
17. Master Link in Place
(Master|inkshou|dbesafetywiredun|essitisanend|esschain.)
18. Someone to Record l-aPTimes
Theyare
Mostof theseitemsarenot thingsthat a technicalinspectorlooksat'
racer'
a
as
use
to
your
put
equipment
itemsthat directlyaffectyour abilityto
Theyensurethatyoucanmakeitaroundthetrackwithoutmajormishaps
(enoughfuel,etc.).
(Usetheseandmake
copiesfor your notes.)
Lengthof Track
Numberof Turns
Weather Conditions
Ambient Temperature
Elevation
Classes
to be Run
TiresRun:Brand
Compound/Number
Front-
Tire Pressure:
Front-Cold
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
Tire Mileage:Front
Rear
Rear
Jetting
Mains
Pilot
Air Correction
-Air
Needle
Slide
Float Level
Screws
Other
Gasoline
Type
Gas/Oil Ratio
l g n i t i o nT i m i n g
S p a r k P l u gH e a t R a n g e
C a m T i m i n g :I n t a k e
Exhaust
ValveAdjustment:Intake
Exhaust
Gearing
Countershaft
RearSprocket-
OverallRatio
ShockDampening
Front-Compression-Rebound
Rear-Compression - Rebound
SpringSettings
Front- Pre-Load
Rear-Pre-Load
Lap Times
Practice
Position Each Lap
P o i n t sE a r n e d
Prize Money Won
Comments
Races
Rider Ghecklist
1. Oil at Proper Level
A. Engine
B.Transmission
C .C h a i n
D. Forks
2. Wheels Are In Line
3. Forks Don't Bind
4. Chain Adjusted
5. Tire Pressures Are Gorrect
RearFrontA. ColdPressures
RearPressures
FrontB. Hot
6. Steering Head BearingsTight
7. Front Axle Cap Bolts Tight
8. AxlesTight
9. Wheels Are Balanced
1O. Gontrols Are Gomfortable and Usable
1 1. Fork Travel Gorrect
(Forksshouldnot bottomout ortop out)
12. Shock Travel Correct
(Shocksshouldnot bottomout excessively
but shouldusemost of the shock
travel.)
13. Throttle Operates SmoothlY
(Doesn'tstick,no excessive
free play.)
14. Brakes Work Well
A. Padsare makinggoodcontacton disc.
B. Padsarenot bindingdisc.
C. Enoughpad material.
15. Tires Have Enough Rubber
wornor steppedtirescancausehandlingdifficulties.
A. Unevenly
B. Oldracingtiresdry out andbecome"greasy."
C. Racetireswork bestwhen they havejust beenscrubbedin and haveplenty
of rubber.
16. Enough Fuel
17. Master Link in Place
(Masterlinkshouldbe safetywiredunlessit is an endlesschain.)
18. Someone to Record l-aPTimes
Mostof theseitemsare not thingsthat a technicalinspectorlooksat. Theyare
itemsthat directlyaffectyour abilityto put your equipmentto useas a racer.
Theyensurethat youcanmakeit aroundthe trackwithoutmajormishaps
(enoughfuel,etc.).
(Usetheseand make
copiesfor your notes.)
Numberof Turns
WeatherConditions
AmbientTemPerature
Elevation
Classesto be Run
TiresRun:Brand
Compound/Number
Front-
Front-Cold
Tire Pressure:
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
Rear
Pilot
Air Correction-Air
Needle
Slide
Float Level
Screws
Other
Type
Gasoline
G a s / O i lR a t i o
l g n i t i o nT i m i n g
S p a r k P l u gH e a t R a n g e
CamTiming:Intake
Exhaust
Exhaust
Gearing
Countershaft
ShockDampening
Front-Com pression- Rebound
RearSprocket-
OverallRatio
- Rebound
Rear-Compression
Spring Settings
Front- Pre-Loao
LapTimes
Practice
P o s i t i o nE a c hL a P
PointsEarned
Prize Money Won
Comments
Rear-Pre-Load
Races
Rider Ghecklist
1. Oil at Proper Level
A. Engine
B.Transmission
C.Chain
D. Forks
2. Wheels Are In Line
3. Forks Don't Bind
4. Ghain Adjusted
5. Tire Pressures Are Gorrect
RearA. ColdPressuresFrontB. Hot PressuresFrontRear6. Steering Head Bearings Tight
7. Front Axle Gap Bolts Tight
8. Axles Tight
9. Wheels Are Balanced
1O. Controls Are Gomfortable and Usable
1 1. Fork Travel Gorrect
(Forksshouldnot bottomout or top out)
12. ShockTravel Gorrect
(Shocksshouldnot bottomout excessively
but shouldusemostof the shock
travel.)
13. Throttle Operates Smoothly
(Doesn'tstick,no excessive
free play.)
14. Brakes Work Well
A. Padsare makinggoodcontacton disc.
B. Padsare not bindingdisc.
C. Enoughpad material.
15. Tires Have Enough Rubber
A. Unevenly
wornor steppedtirescancausehandlingdifficulties.
B. Old racingtiresdry out and become"greasy."
C. Racetireswork bestwhen they havejust beenscrubbedin and haveplenty
of rubber.
1 6 . E n o u g hF u e l
17. Master Link in Place
(Masterlink shouldbe safetywired unlessit is an endlesschain.)
18. Someone to Record lap Times
Mostof theseitemsare not thingsthat a technicalinspectorlooksat. Theyare
itemsthat directlyaffectyour abilityto put yourequipmentto useas a racer.
Theyensurethat you can makeit aroundthe trackwithout majormishaps
(enough
fuel,etc.).
(Usetheseand make
copiesfor your notes.)
to be Run
Classes
TiresRun:Brand
Compound/Number
Front-
Tire Pressure:Front-Cold
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
Rear
T i r e M i l e a g e :F r o n t
Jetting
Mains
Pilot
Air Correction-Air
Needle
Slide
FloatLevel
Screws
Other
G a s o l i n eT y p e
G a s / O i lR a t i o
l g n i t i o nT i m i n g
SparkPlugHeatRange
C a mT i m i n g :l n t a k e
Exhaust
ValveAdjustment: Intake
Exhaust
Gearing
Countershaft
ShockDampening
Rebound
Front-Compression-
RearSprocket
Overall Ratio
Rear-Compression-Rebound
SpringSettings
Front- Pre-load
Rear-Pre-Load
Lap Times
Practice
P o s i t i o nE a c hL a p
PointsEarned
Prize Money Won
Comments
Races
Rider Ghecklist
1 . Oil at Proper Level
A. Engine
B.Transmission
C. Chain
D. Forks
RearRear-
(Usetheseand make
copresfor your notes.)
to be Run
Classes
TiresRun:Brand
Compound/Number
Front-
Tire Pressure:Front-Cold
Rear-Cold
Front-Hot
Rear-Hot
Tire Mileage:Front
Rear
Rear
Jetting
Mains
Pilot
Air Correction
-Air
Needle
Slide
FloatLevel
Screws
Other
GasolineType
Gas/Oil Ratio
l g n i t i o nT i m i n g
S p a r kP l u gH e a tR a n g e
CamTiming:Intake
Exhaust
V a l v e A d j u s t m e n t :I n t a k e
Exhaust
Gearing
Countershaft
RearSprocket
O v e r a l lR a t i o
ShockDampening
Rebound
Front-Compression-
- Rebound
Rear-Compression
SpringSettings
Front- Pre-Load
Rear-Pre-Load
LapTimes
Practice
Races
DISC<3VER
THE
ART
CORhIERING
$CHOOL
I
.
.
t
t
I
Cornering
is thefun...andthefear
Confidencecomesfromexactskills
RideournewZX-OR's
or yourbike
Learnthe 15 precisicntechniquesof Pros
yourirnprovement
Timedlaps...gauge
Fullridlnggearavailable
o World ClassCorneringr
KEITHCODF'S
SCHOOL
CALIFORNIA
SUPERBIKE
(818)841-7661
Fax(818)841-7019
superbikeschsol.com
ffi
&
l*inffffi DsrrnoPl(awdri
ffi
sqam rc&
RIDER.
:TR.AIT\TII\TG
CIASSICS
tu.
ry
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and COMMENTSto clarify and add depth to this classic instruction manual.
Get it straight from the man in this brand new 4 CD set.
ry
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