I SUCK

[tigerblade]

You'll have to wait to see what I have in store for next year...

Do tell Mick, do tell!   ??? ;D

[Super Dave]

Do tell Mick, do tell!   ??? ;D

LOL, everything's a ways off, so I'm not letting anything out of the bag.  I am looking at my consulting business, more racing, the schools, etc.  I'm open to ideas, really.  I just NEED to make changes.

[r6_philly]

You'll have to wait to see what I have in store for next year...

And again...track days?  Yup, do the same thing you do all over and over again...Sorry, but I think it's worthless unless you've got someone that actually can tell you what you're doing wrong.  Waste of tires, fuel, time, and money.

why do I always disagree with you on everything  ;) I think a person who is good at self-learning can benefit from trackdays. As long as you pay attention to what you are doing, and know how to assess yourself. I never ride fast at trackdays, rather I look at my riding and try different things and always doing something different to try to improve and gain experience. But then I also work with other people and try to help them with their riding, so its easier for me to pay attention to details when it comes to racing.

But ya it definitely would help 10 fold to have someone who can tell you what you are doing, good or bad.

[Decreasing_Dave]

why do I always disagree with you on everything  ;) I think a person who is good at self-learning can benefit from trackdays. As long as you pay attention to what you are doing, and know how to assess yourself. I never ride fast at trackdays, rather I look at my riding and try different things and always doing something different to try to improve and gain experience. But then I also work with other people and try to help them with their riding, so its easier for me to pay attention to details when it comes to racing.

But ya it definitely would help 10 fold to have someone who can tell you what you are doing, good or bad.

I agree with Dafan.

The other thing is, like me for example, I need to get my head on straight after a crash.  I think a track day will do it.  No pressure, plenty of time, run at your own pace with nothing to prove to anyone.  The practices that you get before the races just don't cut it for getting your head back into it.

I'm looking forward to a track day in the near furture.  I just have to decide where. :-/

[r6_philly]

nice to see you here. How are things going for ya?

I am going to ride at pocono FUSA course friday. First time back on the track after 2 bad crashes. I am going to go slow on my B bike.

But I enjoy riding slow on the track, more opportunity to learn, and work on things. I never turned a time that is less than 2-3 seconds over my race time during a track day. It is for a different purpose.

Hope you heal well.

[Baltobuell]

Dave, we rarely disagree and I'm sure a coach of your caliber would speed the process. I just know it took me all year to get to where I was after my crash. It has nothing to do with ability or knowledge, for me it was trust. To get back to trusting all the factors involved just took time and it was very frustrating. As a big leaguer there is no time for that, but as a club'er, we have all the time in the world. Tiger will not "suck" for long. once he gets his head back together he'll be OK and looking to learn how to get faster. A super Dave school then, will be just the ticket.

[Super Dave]

Guys, I disagree with you.

As a young Pro, I felt I had the skills and ideas to go do road racing properly.  I was a college gradumate  ;D, I was bright, etc.  But, I wasn't until I worked regularly with Dale Quarterley, a top AMA Superbike Privateer, that I really learned.  After that, I learned a lot when I was racing and helping develop vintage racing machines.  The bikes work fine, if you know how to interpret the chassis feed back.  It all relates to how a bike works.

I am not a naturally gifted rider.  I do not have depth perception, and I never grew up riding bikes.  Still, I was stubborn enough that I put my private GSXR on the second row of and AMA Supersport National...that was when the factories competed there...Russell, Chandler, newly signed DuHammel were on the front row.  It wasn't until the year after that I really started to learn a lot.  The rest was wasted time.

Anyway, I can make stuff much easier for the people that I work with.  Some people are gifted and have a sense of control naturally.  Others might have a bit more sense of feedback and react to it, so they don't go fast until the chassis is sorted better and gives them a good feel.

How long does it take you to follow a whim or thought on a track day?  How much time does that cost you?  Cost in $?

Crashing is part of the game.  There can be reasons for it.  The feel of the bike is extraordinarily important.  Some riders ride in an almost terror state thinking that that's how it's supposed to feel, and that they just have to ride harder.  I can usually take one of my riders after a crash, discuss check some things out, come up with some answers, and get them back on track.  

Some crashes go back to the speed problem.  If you have a goal for a particular lap time at a track, you need to chase that lap time.  Doing it in the race can happen, but you risk out riding your set up.  The old saying is, "If you don't know what's broke, you can't fix it."  If you go two seconds a lap slower in a track day than you do on race day, you're not fixing any problems that you have at the faster speed.

Flip side is, you guys are so far away, you really don't know what I do, so you can give me all your ideas only from the distance of a keyboard.

Honestly, tell me who else is actually offering schooling on a regular basis aimed at the actual amateur and expert level club racer?  There are track days and there are plenty of entry level "safety schools" out there.

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

     After having my only injury crash at Road America I thought about what it was that caused the incident. Once I realized that it was me waiting too long to purchase a new front tire and pushing way too hard for that tires condition I realized that it was something that was easily avoidable. Breaking down what happened and figuring out why helped me greatly!

[tigerblade]

I don't think I can blame my sucking last weekend on the previous crash, although I guess it could have played a part subconsciously.  The crash I had in June I haven't been able to nail down completely.  The front tucked at MAM during STAR school and I haven't figured out why for sure.  Two other guys also tucked the front there and we all had a blue powdery substance on our tires, but I can't say for sure that it was a contributing factor; maybe just coincidence.  At least with my lowside there in May I knew what I did wrong (spun up the rear trying to get a good drive down the straight).

I think most of my problem in Topeka was worrying about the bike quitting since I had been having problems all weekend.  My suspension didn't feel right either which will only get better with experience and some guidance from guys like Dave.