Need advice

[foughtstrong]

First year on the track.  Only race two weekends and went down both times.  Riding a 03 GSXR-750.  Should I stay with this bike, invest in a new suspension and next year concentrate on track days only or should I get something newer and lighter????  All opinions are welcomed.  Thanks

[xseal]

1) In my experience, the best school for beginners in Calif. Superbike. The best school for more advanced riders is the Spencer pro school. Go to a couple days of racing school.
2) Trade your bike in on an SV650.  Have the suspension professionally set up. If your serious/committed to racing, get race tires and tire warmers next.
3) Do lots of track days, but not until you've done the school.  Test the water racing after your lap times are close to mid-pack for amateurs in your class.

[George_Linhart]

Those are the right ideas. 

I would not say you need to do track days focusing on some minimum lap time before you go racing - I suspect that focusing on going faster is part of your problem.  I would say you should go and sign up for a few track days at the beginner level it will force you to slow down the pace and stop the crashing before you head off to racing school.  You need to be able to be comfortable riding the bike at speed on the racetrack environment and to know when you are nearing the edge of control.

Going from street to racing can be hard - particularly if you have a highly competitive nature.  Best thing you can do sometimes to ensure survival is remember that you are not necessarily able to go as fast as that guy you are following.

George

[foughtstrong]

Living on the east coast, I really don't see myself going all the way out west for a school.  Don't get me wrong, I would love to but reality kicks in.  Plus, right now I'm out here for fun, not saying I won't be competitive but I'm not out for a championship, not right now.  SV 650, that's what I'm being told.  I think what killed me those two races was my suspension.  I used to drag the bike so I had the front end strapped down, plus I never had anyone professionally set my stock suspension up and I know for a fact my front end was bottoming out!  I guess you learn from your mistakes, Rookie error.  I will be investing in some tire warmers over the winter and I was using race tires.  Just not sure I want to invest any more money on a new bike.  Keep bringing on your opinions.

[Noidly1]

Slow = Fast.
Meaning;
If you slow your speed efforts down and concentrate on skill, your lap times will improve...

The bike is a bit big for your first year. Don't get rid of it just yet. You can grow in to it later.

Suspension Is Key. Find something to learn on and have someone reputable set it up.

[EX_#76]

All the others have made good points and here is my input.

That is a very fast bike for your first race bike.  You can stay with it but I would recommend a LW bike (like an SV) to begin on (as everyone else has already said).  It is much more fun to ride a slower bike fast than it is to ride a fast bike slow.  As a new comer you will be in need of as much seat time as you can afford.  A lightweight bike is much cheaper to run.  It will burn up fewer tires, brakes, and chains ECT...  This will free up more cash for entry fees and such.   

If you decide to stay with the 750, spend the money that it takes to get a well set up suspension.  I do not mean to spend thousands of dollars on Ohlins SB cartridges, but rather get a good shock and have a recommended and trusted, professional rebuild and set up your suspension.  Springs and weight bias are the most crucial parts of your setup.  Get those two things close and you will have a much easier learning curve.  Here is a test to tell if you suspension engineer is good.  Ask what springs you need for your bike, if the he / she does not ask you how much you weigh with gear on before he makes a recommendation, smile say thank you and walk away.  You will get recommendations all over the map on what springs are right for you and not.  You will have to figure out what you like and are comfortable with 

I will give you my thoughts and 3 or 4 thousand people will post here and tell you I am wrong.  All that I or anyone else can tell you is, "This is what works for me".  I error on the light side of spring weights, and here are the pros and cons of light springs. 

Light spring Pros: I feel that light springs allow me to feel what my contact patches are doing.  They allow more weight transfer of the bike.  Weight on wheels = traction, with a light setup I can better control the dynamic weight bias of the bike with throttle and brakes. 

The cons: You will get more feedback from the bike (some people refer to this as a busy feeling from the bike) can mentally overload a rider.  If you make a sloppy move (release the brakes quickly or pick you but off of the seat and drop back down like you are plunging on a couch) on a softly sprung bike it will become more unsettled than if it had heavier springs.

Heavy spring pros: It will be harder to upset the chassis.  They can reduce feedback; this can make a rider actually feel more comfortable while riding.  It can prevent the rider from being overloaded with determining what the bike is trying to tell the rider.  This can make the rider relax.

The cons: If the springs are too heavy they can remove too much feel from the bike, by reducing the feedback you get.  If the springs are too heavy you will sometimes crash without any warning.  Heavy springs prevent adequate weight transfer and subsequently allow a rider to spin up the rear tire more easily thus tearing up your rear tire.  Heavy springs make your bike more susceptible to chatter.     

If you are not up to the task of setting up your own bike and do not know who is good at suspension set up, go as the local fast guys who they like and why.  In the Midwest Trackside Engineering (Ed Kwaterski) and Lithium are two very good shops to visit. 

Important question for you to honestly answer (at least to yourself) do you know why you crashed?  If you know why, what will you do to prevent this from happening again?

The mental aspects of racing like not riding over your current abilities are bigger part of racing safely than anything mechanical.  You must learn how to honestly access your riding if you want to go faster and stay injury free.

Slow = fast is great advice!!!  It applies to the way you apply the throttle, and release the brakes.  Also, if you are in anyway feeling pressured or panicy on the bike... SLOW DOWN you are out of your  range of abilities, and your brain is telling your body so.

[Noidly1]

Kudos Guy...

What Guy said is right. Even answered some of my Probs.

As you enter a corner, Apply the brakes progressively, Don't just stab them. Can you say,Endo...

As you start to turn, gradually release the brakes. Don't flick the lever loose. That will upset the bike.
The action of brake release and turning should be together and fluid ...

By the time you get to the apex, Roll on the throttle. Don't just Pin it. That will upset the bike.
Roll on the throttle as you are straightening up. Same thing, You must be fluid.

[George_Linhart]

Unless you think crashing is fun, I believe that the advice provided by myself and XSEAL would still be valid.  

California Superbike School travels - I just checked their schedule and they will be at VIR, Pocono, Loudon, Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen.  Traveling is not an excuse.  Check out the web site:

http://www.superbikeschool.com/schedule/

It really sounds like you are crashing because of a lack of awareness of what the bike is doing.  You need to gain experience and learn to understand the feedback from the bike - the motorcycle will "talk" to you as you ride, do you know how to listen and can you understand what it is saying?  Bad set-up compounds the issue, but an experienced rider can get on a bike with bad set up and at least have an idea of what to expect and ride within the limits to avoid a crash...

Oh - by the way - welcome to this crazy sport and good luck!

George

[spyderchick]

+1 for CSS, they have really good instructors, take levels one and two together on successive days.

Also, for an advanced school, try Schwantz School at Road Atlanta. Call to double check, but I think you get a slight discount of you bring the Suzuki.

Learn as much as you can about the bike chassis and suspension. Even if you don't turn the wrenches yourself, you can talk intelligently to the person who does.

Good luck!

[Super Dave]

Living on the east coast, I really don't see myself going all the way out west for a school.  Don't get me wrong, I would love to but reality kicks in.  Plus, right now I'm out here for fun, not saying I won't be competitive but I'm not out for a championship, not right now.  SV 650, that's what I'm being told.  I think what killed me those two races was my suspension.  I used to drag the bike so I had the front end strapped down, plus I never had anyone professionally set my stock suspension up and I know for a fact my front end was bottoming out!  I guess you learn from your mistakes, Rookie error.  I will be investing in some tire warmers over the winter and I was using race tires.  Just not sure I want to invest any more money on a new bike.  Keep bringing on your opinions.

I'm not sure where on the east coast you're at, but you have some really excelent opportunities to do work with.

http://www.penguinracing.com/
http://www.cornerspeed.net/
http://www.edbargyracingschool.com/

Those are great opportunities to work with real folks that are always going to be where you're racing.  You will always be able to use them as a resource rather than travel away to some other far off place.

The GSXR is a decent bike, but it does eat tires.  Yeah, the SV650 would be a great opportunity.  Look to see what those schools are doing. 

[resurection]

Wow that's so much stuff for a fella that's suffering confidence issues to swallow .
Please keep your bike do track days for fun get some laps and relax .
When you feel like the track day people are slow try a race .
EASY now LETS not win OUR FIRST RACE .
These guys are getting carried away with all the suspension stuff set your sag and put shocks on middle settings .
When your fast worry more about that shit!!!
the japs are pretty good at building these bikes unless your sup. is broken you can get it set up just fine without spending a cent other than maybe paying for set up!!!

[mikendzel]

A really easy way to get some of your suspension problems eradicated is to go to sportrider.com and look up your bike's suggested settings........  If the 03 is the same as the 04, here is what you need:

* PER SPORT RIDER  *
note: set fork tube height to 10mm showing above triple clamp 
GSX-R750 ('04)  10/04 
             FRONT
Front Preload - 4 lines showing
Front Rebound - .75 turn out
Front Compression -  2 turns out
             REAR
Rear Preload - 9mm thread showing
Rear Rebound - 2.5 turns out
Rear Compression - 2.5 turns out 





Guy, I thought a soft suspension DECREASED feel???  When I stiffened up the suspension on my bike it felt as though I could feel every little bump, as opposed to the comfortable ride it came with stock.