NEW TO IN-LINE 4'S

[DiDiMaO]

My goal at BHF was to get to know the bike, stay up on two wheels the entire weekend and have fun.  I feel that I met all three goals, but I still have alot to learn about this bike.  I ran a Duc 900 last year and that bike was really easy to ride but expensive to race so I decided to go japanese 600.  I felt good on the track, but noticed every1 was driving out of the corners harder and sooner than I was.  At first I thought man, I 'm slow.  I had a chance to look at my tach and when I was exiting the turns I was at 7-8 grand.  On my DUc I could be at 3-4 grand and still be able to pull hard out of the turns.  Any suggestions or advice other than seat time at the track on this new bike that could help me be more competitive at the races?  Thanks in advance!!!!!!!  

[tigerblade]

You do need to rev a lot harder on an inline 4 than on a twin to get good drive.  You want to be in the "sweet spot" of the rev range, where you're just coming into the power on your way out of the turns.  What RPM is max HP/Torque on your bike?  You may need to keep it a few K's higher than you have been.

[DiDiMaO]

Thanks Kris!  I guess I'm trying to figure out what that range is for this bike.  Two places I feel I have the hardest time at BHF was turn 1, 4,and 7.  What gear are you guys downshifting to going into those turns?

[Dawn]

Tony:

I don't know if it makes a difference between Suzuki, Kawasaki or Yamaha...  

... but you may want to share that your bike is a 02 Kawasaki ZX-6.

Dawn   ;)

P.S.  We have a 91 and that this is not happy unless it is over 9 to 10K.

[spyderchick]

Don't know about your bike in particular, but you should be probably significantly higher in the rev range. My FZR 400 screams, but then you need to be around 12k on that bike to be in the power band. I'd assume that's where you're gonna want to be give or take 1k on your bike.

[DiDiMaO]

Thanks for the info every1.  Thanks Dawn forgot I needed to let the peeps know what I try to ride.  2002 Kawasaki ZX6R.  I think the problem I'm having is I'm not in the right gear prior to going into the turn.  On my Duc I could possibly be in the wrong gear, but could stil rail through the turns without to much problems because I had so much bottom end torque.  Keep the info rollin'.

[sdiver68]

On a stock 600 with a 14K redline, if you aren't at 10K RPM you might was well get off and push.

However, with that power comes responsibility to keep the rear wheel hooked up.

Can you tell us where you were on corner exits in the RPM range?  I'd ask about sprocket sizes but I run a Suzuki so they wouldnt be comparable.  Turns 7, the second turn 6 (is that 6 gate or 6a?), and 1 are the most important to get right on exit becuase they all lead to decent straightaways or semi-straights.

It was really hard to get gearing and shift points down for those of us on new bikes since Thurs-Friay was a wash.  when I get rolling I base everything off of shift points and RPMs, which in turn keeps my corners speed up and exit RPMs right.

Anyway, those are my $.02.  There are other guys who hopefully will chime in as my strength tends to be braking and corner entry as opposed to exits.

[Litespeed]

I used to race a 99 kawi 600 and it required me to keep it above 9500 at all times.  Made for an easy switch to my 125's.  I also rn my RC occasionally and I'm amazed that it can actually get off the corner fairly well at around 4k.  Of course, it's much more fun coming off at 8k though.  For the 600, you can also get onto the gas a lot sooner if you are not up high in the rev range.  Take your time and figure out what's right for the bike...

[DiDiMaO]

sdiver68

I was at about 7 grand by taking a quick look down to see where I was at on the exit.  I was also going into turn 1, 4 and 7 in second gear.  Would it have been better to be in first gear going in?  Still flustered at my slow performance, because normally I have been faster.  

[Chef]

Tony,
it was really cool meeting you this weekend and talkin with you, and in each of those turns, 1, 4 and 7 its a screamin 2nd gear for me and a qwik punch to the red line and click three,...
so for turn 3 im taking 2nd all the way to the bus stop then hard break, drive 2nd up to 4, mostly engine braking, sometimes a lil front brake to set up, but once thru 4 i click 3rd, im watchin kevin tho, and im not sure if he's taking 3rd all the way from ????? ahhhhh, i dont know, im just gonna ask him, when i get close to fast.....

[sdiver68]

Nah, I wouldn't want any part of 1st gear...Change your gearing so that 2nd gear in those corners puts you in the right RPM range on exit.  Maybe go 2 or 3 up in the rear or 1 down in the front and see how/where you are.

Also, remember as your corner speed goes up, your gearing may change a little.

[DiDiMaO]

Ike

    What you talkin about - your were screamin fast this weekend with your sideways anttics.  Maybe I'll be able to get up to yur speed sometime this season with God's help and alot of practice.  You were a blast to watch.  See you at RA!  

     Everybody Please Send Drew Perez an email for he is the one who got me into this addiction called racing.  He is currently serving his country recalled to active duty since last oct. he's been in the gulf now for 6 months.  He is the DiDi part of DiDiMaO Racing Home of DDM Motorsports.  druperez2001@yahoo.com  he loves news of racing.