Blue (yella) instructor

[Blue_SV650S]

I have applied to be an instructor with focused.

I am looking for something new to make my tracktime more exciting, I have enjoyed filming people (my trackday friends) and analysing what they are doing and consequently giving advice when asked.

Focused do look at their instructor staffing over the winter, so if I was taken up then it’d be for 2007 now. So if anyone fancies being my instructor ginnipig at Silverstone next week http://forums.sv650.org/viewtopic.php?t=45278&highlight= then let me know, I’d be interested to know if I would actually ‘cut it’ as an instructor. It is one thing to be able to ride yourself, but to be able to analyse someone else and disseminate the information in a way people can assimilate it is something else!!

There are obviously proper instructors there for the real thing if that is what you are after, but would anyone be interested in my unprofessional instructing? You would be helping me, but hopefully I could help you too??? :)

[TSM]

Would if i could but i would prolly crash again + monies are not a strong point at the mo.

[Blue_SV650S]

Would if i could but i would prolly crash again + monies are not a strong point at the mo.

Ok, lets start with some textual instructing …. :)

TSM, I saw you ride at Lydden, you are a confident rider and there is no reason for you to crash. I think your crash was simply a ‘run-on’ type crash (if I remember rightly??), these are probably the most common sort of crash and can be avoided with a little mental training.

First of all if you push the boundaries a bit then you are eventually going to find you might ‘over cook it’ a bit. In these circumstances it is important not to brick it. Chances are that you could make the corner if you tried. So thing to do is to try and settle the bike a bit, probably back off the brakes a little and look at the corner where you want to be going, don’t focus on where your mistake has got you heading. Once the bike has settled a little just turn it in, 9 times out of 10 the bike will make it. And the 10th time at least it will end in a lowside, the most comfortable for you and least damaging crash for the bike!!

Once you do this once and get away with it, then chances are you will be cured, no more silly crashing where you bricked it!! 8) … I’ll dig out some video where I over cook it and then just turn it in as an example … back in a bit ;)


p.s. is that understandable/make sense so far?

[TSM]

I totaly agree, i just stuffed that corner up and did not even go to turn it in even though my speed was way slower than my normal entry speed for that corner.

I have somtimes entered a corner with the back getting realy out of shape, i realy am not comfortable keeping the power on through the corner when that happens.

I have on occations realy suffed a corner up but knowing that i would be in real danger i have chucked the biked in and done the corner.

[Alpinestarhero]

Ok, here's one!

I'm a new rider. My SV is my first big big, having never ridden anything more powerfull than the riding school's CG125's. I'm not concerned about power - thats something i can have less of by not opening the throttle so much.

But how do I conduct myself when approaching a corner (under braking), turning into the corner, and safley accelerating away from the corner, given that what im riding is physicaly larger and heavier than anthing i have ridden before?

I don't really want to bin it on my first big ride - but i do want to enjoy, for myself, the roads my dad took me down when i was a regular pillion on his GSXR!

A good theoretical peice of advice would help, so I can make good machine control progress fast!

Matt

[thor]

Erm, yeah! Some tips would be great, as this is only my second track day.

[Blue_SV650S]

Ok, you eventually want to be braking right to the apex and just as you are about let of the bakes, you want to be feeding in the power, this then transfers the weight steadily and then allows you to power out. But this is what you are ultimately aiming for. Best to break it down into chunks!!

So first off braking.

Approach the corner, looking at where you want to apex, generally speaking this will be ½ way round the corner (generally speaking). If you are taking a right hander you want to be on the left hand side of the track. No need to steam in first off, but you do need a bit of speed else you will have stopped b4 you reach the corner!!! You want to modulate the braking force such that when you tip it in you are almost off the brakes (again as a starter). What you are trying to avoid is any sharp movement, having the brakes on hard then releasing instantly will make the front end jump up and unsettle the bike. Just try this, brake … let off slowly, then turn in, you can feather the brakes at the start of the turn in, but you want to be 90% off (as a starter). Pick your line, apex, then as the bike starts straightning up, feed in a little power, short shift here if you can.#

Do this over and over, leaving the braking later and later until you are making a smooth arc. Far too often people overbrake and end up having to re-apply the power before the corner, or the bike is going at walking pace and starts to want to ‘falls over’ making it a 50p piece corner …

Making any sense to start?

[Blue_SV650S]

Erm, yeah! Some tips would be great, as this is only my second track day.

your goig right??? What group u in??? we went in inters

[thor]

beginners - still havn't got my confirm email though...

[Blue_SV650S]

Ok here’s my example of my fudge up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p6qxP67u9U

Basically I got the back end all squirmy (doesn’t look that much in the vid, but that was a fair old snake!! :lol:), a few people might have bricked it at that point and run on, but I let off the brakes a little, to let the bike settle, then turned in anyway, I totally missed the apex, but just used the rest of the track … overall no drama!!

thor - I can watch from the sideline, but my useful ness will be limited. If your confidence grows in the day then see if you can move to inters. Silverstone is such a big track you won’t really get in the way of faster riders :)

[Stu]

Pick your line, apex, then as the bike starts straightning up, feed in a little power, short shift here if you can.#

:?:

[Blue_SV650S]

Pick your line, apex, then as the bike starts straightning up, feed in a little power, short shift here if you can.#

:?:

Short shifting means that you can get away with less accurate throttle control. Remember this is beginners way, not full on yet, one of the hardest things to judge is just how much power you can put down on the exit.

Short shifting means the risk of highside is almost totally eradicated as you are never in enough power to loose traction and have the bike spit you off!! Once you are comfortable and smooth, you can start working on achieving a good corner exit speed!! Make sense?

Or were you wondering what I meant by short shifting??? short shifting is where you change gear sooner than you might, say at 6k on the SV. As you get more confident and have better throttle control you can manipulate the power output at the throttle rather than just revs .. i.e. you might be at 8k where there is plenty of power available, but as you are only at 60% throttle you are not trying to put it all down right now.

[Stu]

Thanks , it was the later I was asking (you to confirm what I thought) but the reason is obviously good to.

Good luck Nick

[weazelz]

me too! me too!

I usually try to get an instructor for a session on a trackday, so it may as well be you, if you're up for it :-)

[Blue_SV650S]

me too! me too!

I usually try to get an instructor for a session on a trackday, so it may as well be you, if you're up for it :-)

I’ll be taking video as usual, a picture speaks a thousand words and all that, so what will a video say!! :D

What areas do you feel you want to work on?

The clip I posted from our last visit to Sliters has so many other bikes in it that you can’t really get a good idea of what I am doing as I chop and change around so much. I'll make an edit of a 'clean' lap of mine from the footage I got last time (if i ever get a totally clean lap with that traffic?) you should then be able to compare what you were doing with what I was doing*.

*I am no way saying I know the track perfectly, but I think I have sussed out a pretty tidy way about it now.

[weazelz]

me too! me too!

I usually try to get an instructor for a session on a trackday, so it may as well be you, if you're up for it :-)

I’ll be taking video as usual, a picture speaks a thousand words and all that, so what will a video say!! :D

What areas do you feel you want to work on?

a few things ...

braking into the apex is one - I was really struggling at Cadwell & S'stone to get it to turn on the brakes, kept running wide everywhere - the chicanes just weren't happeneing :-( anyway, I got it turning nicely at mallory (knocked off a couple of rings of front preload), so some more work on this would be good. I will probly have messed up the handling by adding the racetechs by then .. ho hum

being brave into fast corners - copse, stowe, etc. I'm okay being leant over into less fast stuff, but my sense of self-preservation is holding me back from being leant well over at 80mph+, if you can drag me though some of these that would be great

just generally being smooth, esecially at turn-in & mid-corner - I always seem to get pulled up on this by instructors. would be good to see on video how much I'm being un-smooth

[Blue_SV650S]

Had a quick gander through the clips and there are none of me getting a clear lap, I was either following someone videoing them, or there was traffic. :(

So the clip I initially posted is as good as any! http://forums.sv650.org/viewtopic.php?t=44596&highlight= … fast forward to ~3:36 and watch the next min of footage. I am on the start finish and heading towards Copse. Looks like I hit the brakes between the red line and the corner marker board, flat out before this point. You will notice if you listen to the sound that I actually get back on the throttle a fair bit before the apex and then drive all the way through/out.

Sorry, it is that bit of clip again ;) … but I think it is safe to say you could carry more through Maggots ;) you are actually on the right line (that’s where I’d normally be) but going way too slow!! On the SV you can go through there flat out, only as you ‘flop’ the bike to the right is it time to think about braking!! Roll off to start with I suppose, but deffo no need for brakes before entry to it!!! :)

Stowe can be taken deep on the entry, it actually works better like this I found.

After fitting the racetechs, your bike will be identical to mine, well as near as dam it!! :)

I dunno what the pads are like that you are using, but you might want to consider getting some ‘Performance Friction 95 compound’ pads, that’s what I use and they work good enough (bearing in mind the SV has weak brakes).

[weazelz]

After fitting the racetechs, your bike will be identical to mine, well as near as dam it!! :)

bugger - no blaming the bike any more ;-)

[Blue_SV650S]

After fitting the racetechs, your bike will be identical to mine, well as near as dam it!! :)

bugger - no blaming the bike any more ;-)

LoL, well I still have the temp gauge ... that’s different to yours :lol:

You still running 15t front??? I have 14t and run out of revs at Silverstone … not gonna bother changing back mind :)

[weazelz]

After fitting the racetechs, your bike will be identical to mine, well as near as dam it!! :)

bugger - no blaming the bike any more ;-)

LoL, well I still have the temp gauge ... that’s different to yours :lol:


hmm, well, there's always tyres to blame. I just bought a set of wheels, not sure what I'm going to put on them yet, be good if they arrive in time


You still running 15t front??? I have 14t and run out of revs at Silverstone … not gonna bother changing back mind :)
yup, still standard on mine

[Blue_SV650S]

I run partworn supercorsa's ... SC1 front, SC2 rear ... can't fault them on the SV 8)