Chennai xBhp Track Day - 22 Feb '09 - The Discussion and Pics thread

[MavericK46]

If ananth got to sit on the Gixxer and pose, we demand a treat when he hits Bangalore..!!

@ananth : Listening..?

[xinfii]

Picture set 2

Some more pictures... Riders given the freedom to identify themselves!

Picture set 1 (link to already posted set)

Picasa album link - XBhpTrackDayFeb08

Look at Badri checking out if I'm taking a pic of him!

[Praful]

Badri looking into the cam pic was hilarious!

some nice poser pics of mine too !

[Killer]

but regarding aggressive riding posture,i am confused can u post any pic with proper riding posture at c3...

Dont have pics from that corner, you dont have to change much just get you torso up a little more on corner entry, you can tuck in again at the exit. By putting so much weight on the bars on corner entry you're restricting the front end from tracking freely and might inadvertently make unwanted steering inputs as you go through the corner. Racers on big bikes can look like that on corner entry because the weight of the torso is supported by the tank.

I was able to take C1 at 121kmph and exit C2 at 97kmph.

Thats way fast for C2, the experts dont go that fast so i dont think we're talking about the same point. The exit point at C2 is just a few feet inside from the 'cement patch run off' on the left, this is a few feet after the apex and you're just straightening up from knee down a this point. If you're doing 97kph there, you'll end up on the grass.

[Praful]

Killer, bro a few suggestions for improvement here please .....



Pic#1 is in the middle of small sweeping right hander before the big sweep.
Pic#2 is in the middle of the big sweep.

Will ask for more suggestions as more pics start rolling in, I hope you will help out with your pearls of wisdom!

[bikerfas]

@bikerfas: Why don't you upload all your pics to picasa or something like that! So we can see all the pics you clicked!

sure praful... clicked a lot of pics... only few were perfect, will upload them soon....

[Praful]

sure praful... clicked a lot of pics... only few were perfect, will upload them soon....

Thanks man!

Its all right if the pics haven't come out perfectly, even blurry pics can give an idea about body position,etc from which we can work out the points on which we need to improve.

[Killer]

Pic#1 is in the middle of small sweeping right hander before the big sweep.
Pic#2 is in the middle of the big sweep.

Pic 1 looks good at that point. If Pic 2 is the middle of big sweep then you're not going fast enough there. The bike wouldn't be so upright at that point if you're carrying enough speed. Just before tipping into big sweep you briefly go to maintenance throttle and then from that point you are on positive acceleration throughout, you should be at around 100kph at that point.

[Praful]

Pic 1 looks good at that point. If Pic 2 is the middle of big sweep then you're not going fast enough there. The bike wouldn't be so upright at that point if you're carrying enough speed. Just before tipping into big sweep you briefly go to maintenance throttle and then from that point you are on positive acceleration throughout, you should be at around 100kph at that point.

At max I manage to enter the big sweep at about 76-79, from thereon I usually am around the 80 mark, If I do manage to feel a bit more confident I take it at 83.

I am not able to go any faster than that around the big sweep.

At the exit before leaning in for the Left hander I manage to reach about only about 93 before straightening up for the straight!

Still am not really clear about the lines man, I guess If I keep at it like I am, I guess I won't be able to unlearn the incorrect lines that I'm following right now!!!

[Killer]

At max I manage to enter the big sweep at about 76-79, from thereon I usually am around the 80 mark, If I do manage to feel a bit more confident I take it at 83.

I am not able to go any faster than that around the big sweep.

At the exit before leaning in for the Left hander I manage to reach about only about 93 before straightening up for the straight!

You also have to realize that the speeds i'm speaking of are with reference to the R15's speedo. Unfortunately i dont have any other reference, but we know that the R15 is about 8kph or so optimistic. You Pulsar will be a little more accurate.

You're also aboard one of the worst handling bikes on the track, so dont beat yourself up over it.

Still am not really clear about the lines man, I guess If I keep at it like I am, I guess I won't be able to unlearn the incorrect lines that I'm following right now!!!

Yes there may be room for a little improvement with the lines, however at the big sweep the line is pretty straight forward on the small bikes. Start turning in about a foot and a half away from the inside kerb, then work your way to hugging the kerb all the way through.

[Praful]

You also have to realize that the speeds i'm speaking of are with reference to the R15's speedo. Unfortunately i dont have any other reference, but we know that the R15 is about 8kph or so optimistic. You Pulsar will be a little more accurate.

Yes, I realized that after I put up my post! I did not check my speeds against your post on the R15 speeds at various corners, will do that. But I have ridden the RTR carb and I surely remember doing atleast 3-5kmph more around every corner on the track.

You're also aboard one of the worst handling bikes on the track, so dont beat yourself up over it.

You got that right!
Well its not the handling I'm worried about, rather than looking for things to improve in the bike I'm looking at improving the flaws in myself so when I move to something 'better' I can be better of than the state I am in.

I think If I learn to improve myself on a bad handling bike, then maybe when I move to a better bike maybe handling that would be a cakewalk! Please let me know if this logic is flawed!

Yes there may be room for a little improvement with the lines, however at the big sweep the line is pretty straight forward on the small bikes. Start turning in about a foot and a half away from the inside kerb, then work your way to hugging the kerb all the way through.

The line around the big sweep is pretty straightforward, what I meant was the lines around the whole track in general.

Is it difficult to unlearn incorrect lines and then re-learn the proper ones?

[Samyaza]

At max I manage to enter the big sweep at about 76-79, from thereon I usually am around the 80 mark, If I do manage to feel a bit more confident I take it at 83.

I am not able to go any faster than that around the big sweep.

At the exit before leaning in for the Left hander I manage to reach about only about 93 before straightening up for the straight!

Still am not really clear about the lines man, I guess If I keep at it like I am, I guess I won't be able to unlearn the incorrect lines that I'm following right now!!!

Bro i was doing speeds of around 83-88 kmph in that section. I believe Joel mentioned that R15s would do over 95-100 kmph in that corner sometimes. Even he managed to get close to only 90 kmph on my bike.

[Killer]

I think If I learn to improve myself on a bad handling bike, then maybe when I move to a better bike maybe handling that would be a cakewalk! Please let me know if this logic is flawed!

Not flawed but not entirely correct either. Being used to a bike that moves around will give you more confidence when you ride a bike that handles well, however the limits and levels of commitment required to do well on a better bike will be higher and whether or not a rider will find that easy is entirely an individual thing. I've seen many riders who are reasonably fast on crappy handling group C 2 strokes but cant go fast on a R15. Its not as easy as it may seem

Is it difficult to unlearn incorrect lines and then re-learn the proper ones?

Its not difficult to learn lines, in fact in order to be a good racer you have to learn multiple lines and shift to the appropriate one when necessary

[Samyaza]

Very Honest first timers talk about the track.... I can see what went wrong at c2.... I used to go out at C2 when i was at the track for the first time....
great write up bro, from the heart...

Thanks man. C2 is my Everest and C10 is my K2.

[Praful]

Bro i was doing speeds of around 83-88 kmph in that section. I believe Joel mentioned that R15s would do over 95-100 kmph in that corner sometimes. Even he managed to get close to only 90 kmph on my bike.

Different people, different strengths!

But we should check the point of reference where you did 83-88. Coz my speeds in this section varies from 75-95 from entry to exit!

Not flawed but not entirely correct either.
Its not difficult to learn lines, in fact in order to be a good racer you have to learn multiple lines and shift to the appropriate one when necessary

Thanks for that bro!