First track day & crashed the '04 (Good pic 2-16)

['04gs500f]

i love the attitude you take to your day at the track, i sensed nothing negative, i forsee many more trackdays in your future

[Alphamazing]

other things you should learn....

a good street bike....will become a roachy track bike...after a crash

therefore... buy a roachy nail for the track.

race tires are better than street tires on the track
and they heat up sooner

if it is a track bike....remove all body work....why buy more bodywork for a roachy nail

good gear is much more important than the bike....back to the nail comment.

my first race bike had a tank,  fender, and number plates for 2 or 3 years

Why even bother with number plates? I just duct taped my #45 right to my seat. If I ever scrounge up enough money for another bike (in a few years, no less) I'll be turning the GS into a track bike for for my dad and me. Mainly for me, though.

And I totally understand what you're saying about good gear. That's why my gear is almost worth as much as my bike :lol: Okay, not really, but it's gettin' there. The GS was great for the track. It was really great and I was able to wind it up and fly through the corners. Even though I got passed in the straights, I got to pass them in the corners. This thing is just so flickable it's wonderful.

Does anyone thing that perhaps a wider tire (a 150/60 supersport rubber type) might have made a difference?

['04gs500f]

tire width has nothing to do with the size of your contact patch for tracting... if anything it will hurt you in the corners moreso

[FearedGS500]

man alpha should have sent me an email i would have went .. to watch .. i dont have all my gear yet .. i just bought my jacket fri. hoping to have the pants by next payday and the boots the pay day after that . i was wondering if there was a track here in texas for bikes  ... hit me up the next time your gonna go .. so i can be ready you have a link for that track .. so i can read up on what i have to have and all that i love racing .. i use to race motocross so ..

[werase643]

i never done a track day

I bought my GS, safety wired it, rode it up and down the street about 5 times and went to the Ed Bargy rider school.

my first set of tires were BLEM race tires for a VTR 250
both tires were 75$

my 2nd set were dunlop 591's

[pantablo]

if it is a track bike....remove all body work....why buy more bodywork for a roachy nail

wow, been a long time since we disagreed...


if its a track bike you can leave the bodywork on it. if you crash, zip tie it back together, or other quick cheap fixes. The more you go to the track, the more you see this sort of thing. My track bodywork is going to look like crap now...glad you werent hurt worse. I can tell you-it sucks.

trackdays are totally addicting. soon you'll be eating ramen 3x a day to save money for a bigger track bike...or for suspension investment into the gs.

[Alphamazing]

I stripped the body work off this one because it's my street bike, too. If it was only a track bike, I'd probably leave the body work on. Hell, I might even put the F fairings back on if it goes to permanent track bike status.

I do plan on upgrading the suspension on this thing, but the whole lack of funds is a major issue for me.

Pablo, any insight as to what might have caused my lowside?

[pantablo]

Pablo, any insight as to what might have caused my lowside?

I think any and/or all combinations of what you thought it was in your assessment hit it right on the money. Could have been cold tires (how many laps had you done already? 2-3 and tires are good to go.), definitely possible the sneeze had a LOT to do with it. I know my body spasms violently when I sneeze and mid tight turn it would be disasterous. My money is on the sneeze being the #1 contributor, but that doesnt rule out any others. Were you cocky? probably, but if you were in that turn at the same speed/angle/hanging off as you had been previously its not likely hubris caused this accident. maybe you had too much tension in your arms/hands on the handlebars when you sneezed-maybe you were using the bars to support your weight...

Lets see those photos. its possible you were hanging off too much. ie trying too hard to get your knee down, consciously or not. It does feel like you're hanging WAY off when you do it right but still a possible factor in your crash.

hard to bench race the crash since non of us were there, but hopefully whats posted here will help enlighten you as to what happened.

[davipu]

threadjack:


sidenote: all three of you have crashed at the track


end threadjack.

[werase643]

yes, that is true

I have crashed 4 times at the track
T2  @ RRR.....low side/slid in the rain
T7 @ RRR......low side/bounced on the tire wall
T15 @ VIR.....low side/cracked some back bones
T12 @ VIR.....high side/cracked a bunchof ribs, broke collar bone, punctured and colapsed lung(<----- i don't recommend one of these)

hey, you can't high side a GS....... :x  :mrgreen:


but the best thing about crashing at the track....medical will be there in 3 min.
if my last crash would have been on the street...i don't think i would be typing this

[skrap1r0n]

AlphaFire,

I was the one riding the Triumph Sprint RS. As far as I know you were looking pretty good out there. I was tailing you through most of that session. I had to pit for about 10 because thats when I began to notice there was something funny going on with my shifter. By time I got back out, I was exiting turn 7 when I saw the yellow flag. By time I got through 8 and 9, they were waving red at 10. I saw you standing up as I entered 10, then pitted.

This was my first time on the track but I cannot say that I noticed anything out of the ordinary. I do know there is a little dip right by the CP for turn 10. I got a bit of a wobble everytime I hit that dip.

Also, on another note, it looks like we may be on for that frame. It will probably be next week before I can get it though.

[Alphamazing]

So here are the pics that were taken of me at this corner. Please critique my positioning, lean, etc... Sorry about the big copyright thing across them.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

well, unfortunately, I don't know enough about riding to critique, so all I really have to say is DAMN THAT LOOKS FUN!!!!!

[RVertigo]

Well, I'm no pro... But, it looks like you already know the problem with dragging too much... :dunno:

[scratch]

Is it me or does the handlebars make him look like his arms are too stiff?
Good

Not quite there

LOOKING GOOD!!  

This last one has you looking through the turn, which is excellent!! The only thing I could nitpick would be where your head is; if you slide your butt off one cheek, your head should move over an equal distance. Get your chest down more. I can't see your inside foot, but it looks like the sole is on the peg; don't do that, put your sole against the frame or heelplate. This is so you can't put any pressure or weight on the inside peg. Right hand good, left hand...well, it looks like your gripping the bar and too tight I might add, this doesn't allow the bike to bobble and weave like it wants to, to absorb bumps and imperfections. And, so you can sneeze and not crash.  

[Alphamazing]

Those bars feel like f%$king ape hangers when I'm going through a curve like that. I don't think I CAN get my chest down any more without stressing my arms too much.

The pictures are in chronological order, so that first one is probbaly the first time I touched knee down. I'll be sure to loosen my grip on the bars next time I go out and ask around and see what the upper level guys and instructors can tell me about the sole of my boot being on the peg.

[scratch]

Another thing about putting your foot against the frame is that it really causes you to grip with your outside leg more, making it even feel like you're 'pulling' the bike over, and allowing you to lighten up on the bars. Regarding the bars: rotate them down a degree or two (probably ends up like being 5, but you get the idea) to get the controls closer to you so you don't have to stretch out so much to reach them. When you start leaning closer, you can open your palm on the left and just palm the bar. No grippy  Too much of a chance for you to tighten up. Also, if you start to fall, what are you going to do? You're going to try to pull yourself up by the bar. What happens when you pull on the left? You countersteer yourself right into the ground.

[pantablo]

look good but I agree, the 3rd picture has you looking through the turn best. work on making that a habit.

also, turn your wrists down a bit. in all the pics it looks like your wrists are pointed up a bit. if you pointed them down a little or made them more horizontal you'd find it easier to relax and also easier to get your body lower...which brings us to...

you're scootching your waist and but over to get your knee to touch but your upper body is still over the tank. this is called being "crossed up". your body/spine needs to be parallel to the bike and your head forward and toward the turn exit. in fact, when you're IN the turn you should be looking at either the far end of the following straight or the entrance to the next turn. I do this to remind myself to look as far in front of me as possible.  try to get your head as forward and over as possible-they call this "kissing the mirrors" because thats about where your head ends up-where your fairing mounted mirrors would be.

like scratch says about your hands...also, when in the turn keep your hands off the levers! You dont need brakes mid turn (shouldnt) and you dont need clutch for sure. palm the outside hand is a good way to think about it-I can usually take my hand completelly off the outside grip but choose to keep it loosely on it. the outside hand isnt really doing anything when turning.

if anything, try to get your outside forarm on the tank and use that for added leverage. I do that all the time but its easy for me since I'm a smaller rider. at your height it might be more a problem.


I also noticed some breaks in the pavement (dark lines, not really breaks). these transitions may have been a factor in your crash.

[poormanracing]

wow those are great 1st trackday pix...looking good in scanning thru the turn!  

[Alphamazing]

Is it just me, or does it look like I'm almost at the edge of the tire's limit in that third pic? It looks like it's right up to the edge on the rear wheel, or am I just seeing things wrong?

Anyone know where I can get a new tank?