How do you get to go faster?

Originally Posted by tonyk

ah ha. in that case of being a faster rider...
my man, do a race day......
the more laps you. do the quicker you get ...
this is true, you'll be gaining more and more confidence and pushing the bike and your self that much further......
and besides, you'll be on the track, no idiots pulling out and NO speed camera's .....
book a race day, you'll have fun.

I am not sure how this ultimately helps ... Like on the road, surely you get to a point where you are going as fast as you feel comfortable ... how do you then go faster?

I value my life too much to try and go any faster than I feel comfortable, and I feel far too comfortable going faster than the law allows already ... so I have no problem as I am obviously fast enough ( which is still probably slower than most )

Does that make sense ?

[dizzyblonde]

Why would I want to go any faster, I go as fast as I want. I don't feel the need to do warp speed, unless I'm on the motorway that is

Originally Posted by tonyk

the more laps you. do the quicker you get ...

Not technically correct, it doesn't help the IOM boys when they are in the BSB/BSS paddock and they are the front runners at the TT. Experience is what will make you quicker, and the ability to learn and adapt.

On the road, I'm already going as fast as I want to go. I don't try to keep up with people, I just ride at a speed I'm comfortable with. Any faster and the chances of me making a mistake increase. Being aware of my concentration and mental tiredness etc is extremely important, I try not to let my mind wander.
I think it's a bad idea to try to go fast (push your limits) on the road. Ride at a speed you're comfortable with and that you feel is safe enough. There's a book Proficient Motorcycling that talks a bit about cornering technique, late apexing which gives you a better view around the corner and encourages a slower corner entry speed, plus since you stay wide then tip in when you see the corner exit, it means you're ready to tip the bike in and tighten the turn which is good if you suddenly find the corner tightening. It's not the fastest line, but it's safer. Following a faster racing type line on a blind corner and apexing early can put you heading onto the other side of the road or in the ditch if you find the corner tightens or goes further than you expected.

I've been doing quite a few trackdays the last year or so and I'm slowly getting faster on the track. Being aware of my concentration and alertness is just as important on the track.
I think as I've learned I've concentrated on whatever I thought I could improve. Getting comfortable hanging off the bike, trying to take tighter lines, leaning the bike further, hanging off more so as not to roll off the edge of the crappy GT501 rear tyre again (on my bandit 400). Then I got the sv, so now it's learning to ride the bike, the different gear changes compared to the bandit, still getting comfortable hanging off the bike (I feel like my outside foot isn't particularly secure on the peg while cornering, even though I've stripped the rubber off the pegs), emulators for the front to stop the forks mushing around in corners (still got to get new springs and install the zx6r rear shock)...
At the last trackday I was kind of planning to try braking later and harder, particularly at the end of the back straight, but they used the short version of the track so the back straight was cut in half, so I guess I focused on learning the different track, on my rear tyre letting go when getting on the gas out of turn one after the pit straight and just riding and enjoying it (this is at the Taupo track here in New Zealand for anyone interested).

I'm trying to get faster, but I'm not in a rush to do it. There will always be people faster or slower than me. I focus on riding better and speed comes with that.

I'm too lazy to try to define 'quick' since it is relative and varies with whatever you're talking about/comparing.

Originally Posted by Spokey

I value my life too much to try and go any faster than I feel comfortable, and I feel far too comfortable going faster than the law allows already ... so I have no problem as I am obviously fast enough ( which is still probably slower than most )

Does that make sense ?

So basically you don't try!!

That is fine BTW ... but I was wondering how people try and get faster.

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Why would I want to go any faster, I go as fast as I want. I don't feel the need to do warp speed, unless I'm on the motorway that is

You might want to become a better (faster better) rider ...

As for motorway ... surely that is the most boring and easiest lace to go fast

Do you strive to be faster on the motorway?

Originally Posted by Dangerous Dave

Not technically correct, it doesn't help the IOM boys when they are in the BSB/BSS paddock and they are the front runners at the TT. Experience is what will make you quicker, and the ability to learn and adapt.

That is what I am aiming at ... what catalyst do people use to learn and allow them to work over and above 'the fear' ...

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

That is what I am aiming at ... what catalyst do people use to learn and allow them to work over and above 'the fear' ...

The way I see it, having never raced or never done a trackday, that if you want to go faster, a two day test on your on a track with stable conditions would probably be best. To see the most improvement, time wise, I guess doing it on a wet track would be best- I imagine anyone would see real improvement doing this sort of thing. However, organizing a two day test is probably going to be out of even your budget!

The other way of getting faster I imagine is to crash or have a moment at the limit. Obviously this isn't really recommended, but the other day when I crashed, I now know the most lean angle I can comfortably get out of the bike. Now I know this, I can work on things like trail braking and getting the power down earlier. If the front tucked on me trail braking into a certain corner, I'd know that I either need to work on technique or stop trail braking just behind that certain point. Again with getting the power down, run wide a few times or even highside (unlikely on a dry day with the SV with the power it has), then work on being smoother or stop at that point. After that, I'd compare lap times to fastest race laps on similar bikes under similar conditions, if it was within half a second I imagine it would be into an area of diminishing returns and that working on something like racecraft, overtaking etc would be the best way forwards and the final few tenths would come with speed.

Also when you start getting into the area of diminishing returns working on the setup of the bike is an area that you would start to find more and more returns as you got more consistent round a certain track. Although this isn't really related to the question, I think that as one got faster working with setup would yield more results.

I might be way off with this, but either way I think getting faster and pushing your limits is always going to be expensive.

I dont bother, I just try to ride safely and make good progress - I think Im going pretty fast for a Granny as it is!

Originally Posted by chakraist

...

So, having a track all to yourself (I don't really know why you specified precisely 2 days!! ) and a few crashes sorts you out! ... but once you have been down the road and at a minimum hurt ya wallet ... will this not make you less willing to push as hard?

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

I am not sure how this ultimately helps ... Like on the road, surely you get to a point where you are going as fast as you feel comfortable ... how do you then go faster?

Yeah. Then to go faster just forget about personal safety and ride like a kn0b... or learn to observe road better so you're comfortable going a little faster, safely. Do that for a couple of thousand miles and you will surely be faster.