Do less?

Discussion in 'Racing & Track Days' started by misti, Jan 21, 2014.

  1. Bubba Zanetti

    Bubba Zanetti Member

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    Riding a two-stroke certainly is an experience that defies easy description. I have been riding one for track days for 3-4 years now and it has taught me more about riding than any bike I have owned previously.

    BZ
     
  2. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    On that same note, never let a harleydood with the handle "Big Dog" Ride a Kreidler or a Derbi.


    One of the last two strokes I rode was a 360 Maico. geared for vintage Motocross. Grabbed a bigass handful of throttle and up on the pipe it went. I almost went off the back but was saved by partial vacuum. God Bless physics.
     
  3. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    A buddy of mine let me ride his Canadian model RG500 Suzuki. I would totally own one of those if you could get one. No power below 5k but once you're on the pipe hold on! Plus the bike didn't weigh anything. It was like riding a Ninja 250 with a hidden power source.

    Back in the day we have a Greeves Griffon that belonged to the owner of the shop. It was pre-expansion chamber technology. It had two pipes coming out of the head (no muffler) and I asked Rex the purpose behind that configuration. He said "It's to let the loud out." He was not kidding it sounded like a continuous shotgun blast. It was the loudest bike I have ever heard. It also made power like a four stroke and had lots of toque.
     
  4. reg71

    reg71 Poser Staff Member

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    What it does is hit the rev limiter when those liter bike losers are passing you in the straights then you cruise right past them in the curves if you can hold a steady line and brake less.
     
  5. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    Thats why I will never get rid of my ysr50, you can drag patella at the go cart track or terrorize the neighbors with some nice smellling smoke. It definately teaches you how to abuse a clutch or maybe its called "feathering" either way, you know when you mess up because it falls on its face. Two strokes are the shizell :vtr2:
     
  6. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    The RG500 aka Gamma was a double handful.. Well engineered and more bike than the Kawasaki Triples that had great engines and really needed to have a new bike built around them. The still shoe up at vintage racemeets usually in Trackmaster frames and other more contemporary farkles. Lore has it that the first few that hit USA shores were over 80 hp.

    Who built the engines for the Greeves Griffon? I had a ride on a Greeves Hawkstone for two years. Villiers in that puppy. A little heavy but durable..
     
  7. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    Probably right. Then the debate moves to whether that's a bad thing (natural selection)

    Glad you chimed in. :wave:
     
  8. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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  9. Gator

    Gator Insider

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    I'm sure I will get passed on the straights by the big bikes on the VFR. And the in the turns too. lol But I will be having fun. How about the rear sets, drag hard parts? I have one of those liter bikes, cbr 1000. Its well sorted out with full Ohlins shock, Ohlin forks with SBK valves, beautiful linear power from an awesome dyno tune (only makes 156 rear hp but is a fat hp/ torque curve) and the suspension tuned by a friend that is an artist at it. Most of the guys I ride liter bikes with are fairly quick with a few that will just dust you. I just want to get a feel of what the VFR really feels like at speed. For a bike in the 500lb range it sure does feel nimble and sounds like sex on wheels. I'll just hold a clean line and let them hear what a V4 sounds like as they pass. lol Speaking of HP, I have had friends with bikes that have 20+ more Hp than me, geared the same, and in the turn that leads into the back straight at PBIR (Ridiculously long straight) I usually win the drag race when we come out of the turn side by side. They understand quickly that peak HP is not necessarily what makes you go faster. More HP/torque over a much wider rpm range works well for us mere mortals. But if they can stay right in there HP range they win. So much fun. I can be in lower rpms coming out of turns and still pull hard. Every ride R6's? That is one particular bike that is not happy unless you are reving the piss out of it. I really want a 600 track bike for some of the tighter more technical tracks where the 1K is a hand full of work. That would qualify as "Doing Less" like this thread was originally about. lol
     
  10. ridervfr

    ridervfr Member

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    PBIR, I remember it being called "Moroso" I have the distinction of getting a :helo: ride oot of there, kinda put a damper on my racing career. Good that came oot of it? Walked oot of Mercy Hospital...:vtr2:

    Thing that I had trouble grasping was the flatness of that track. I adventually grew to enjoy the hell oot of it btw. Was not fond of the bus-stop-chicanes they installed, first one on the front straight, then they added another one. Changed everything up. Oh well...
     
  11. Gator

    Gator Insider

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    Ah the old days of Moroso when they still had a dirt track there and the dust would cover the road coarse from it and send people flying! No dirt bikes now, just carts. The new coarse back straight runs parallel to the drag strip divided by a wall. This place had potential when they revamped it but the pits they promised and all of the other wonders have not come to fruition. I think its still tied up in law suits with contractors. Still the track is ok with a great surface, good grip and easy on tires. The drag strip is very good. I have not done the Go carts but seems like it would be fun too. Pitting in the parking lot sucks.
     
  12. misti

    misti New Member

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    Thank you. Your explanation of your current fear of riding and of riding "behind the beat" definitely makes sense. It can be hard to overcome for sure but that is where the original aspect of this post comes into play :) Doing a little bit "less" while riding, less searching for danger, less gripping the bars tightly, less overreacting or overcompensating and more relaxing will help you find that beat again.

    You mention that you find yourself overcorrecting and wandering while taking long sweepers. These types of turns are easy to get visually "lost" in and that is where it becomes important to have specific reference points or places in the turn to look in order to keep you on track. Next time you take a long sweeping corner see if you can become aware of where your eyes are looking and what you are looking at. Chances are that your eyes are wandering around, looking at the edge of the road, then the inside, then the middle and your line wanders because of it. If you were able to pick a few reference points throughout the turn (specific places that you wanted the bike to be) you may find your line become more consistent and predictable. We usually talk about having at least 3 references in any one corner but for long sweeping turns or double apex corners you need more.
     
  13. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    Keith Code talks about survival reactions, involuntary actions, like grabbing the brake too hard, freezing up or panicking in a corner. Until I have sufficient time to relax (maybe an hour of seat time) I am very conscious of my over reaction and my higher risk factor to truly dangerous situations. I really know what to do, intellectually, but mostly I lack the confidence to apply what I know consistently. It takes conscious effort to realize that I have a death grip on the bars.

    In smaller, faster corners it is easy to keep my eyes on a reference point and drive out of the turn. On long sweeping turns it is hard for me 1) to keep my eyes and thoughts from wandering and 2) to actually have a line that I am likely to follow. On the street, the fast line might also be the like full of ruts and pot holes. I have been working on this quite a bit.
     
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