Lean angle alarms keep going off

[basmntdweller]

I ordered a set of PR3's from Murphs today. Looking into somebody to get them mounted up as soon as they come in. I'm trying to arrange either one track day or maybe a two day weekend up in Joliet IL. I have a couple questions about tires and coolant but I'll ask them in another thread.

Matt

[wally_games]

Had an issue a few years ago with wife on the back of a non-Connie. We were riding the Talimena scenic drive in OK/AR. Right hand curve switched back into a left hand curve. Wife decided that she wanted to lean right in the midddle of the left curve. Bike sat upright and off road onto the right shoulder. Managed to get it stopped on the dewy grass without killing us both. We then had a roadside "discussion" about what a passenger's responsibilities are when in a corner. "Lean with me, or don't lean at all, but NEVER lean against me!!"

[basmntdweller]

Had an issue a few years ago with wife on the back of a non-Connie. We were riding the Talimena scenic drive in OK/AR. Right hand curve switched back into a left hand curve. Wife decided that she wanted to lean right in the midddle of the left curve. Bike sat upright and off road onto the right shoulder. Managed to get it stopped on the dewy grass without killing us both. We then had a roadside "discussion" about what a passenger's responsibilities are when in a corner. "Lean with me, or don't lean at all, but NEVER lean against me!!"

I was guilty of that once! My best friend in high school had just bought a new bike. I was buying his old bike so he trailed me up to the dealership so he could pick up his new one and I'd ride his old/my new one back home. I had not ridden much at that time maybe 10 miles just to see how his old one rode. When he leaned the bike over for a interstate ramp it scared me and I leaned over the other way so that I was straight up. He bitched about that all day, even at the dealership . That was the bike that later put me in the hospital when I half slid out in a corner and took to the cornfield. Nothing like great high school memories

Matt

[Son of Pappy]

Two words.  Ride relaxed.  Heres what we use for the Advanced Street Skills at Pacific Raceways.  SMART, Scan what's in front of you/the horizon, Mark your entry point, better delayed then early, Adjust your speed and body position, RELAX, Throttle (smoothly) off corner.  Any braking (the engine is a brake as well, maintain at a minimum a steady throttle, as the bike leams more the diameter of the tire changes, becoming smaller, this is why throttle should be added in moderation) should be accomplished before the corner, don't worry about trail braking, that will come with time and training.  Steady throttle will keep the suspension stable and smooth roll on as your are exiting will help stand the bike up.  Worth repeating, ride YOUR ride, take a course, an advanced course that isn't race centered, you are looking for real life training, less of course ya looking to take Rossi's ride

[jworth]

This is something that I wrestle with all the time.  Speaking of wrestling, one poster mentioned he has to wrestle his bike in the turns.  If you're wrestling the bike, you're doing something wrong.  Whenever I find myself getting nervous the accompanying tension that comes with it, I try to tell myself to relax.  If I'll do that, lean the bike, shift my position properly, relax a bit, the bike just goes smoothly around the corner. 

Also with a passenger, the ride is completely different.  I'm too old to try to impress a passenger.  Plus my wife has been riding with me for some 12 years.  I don't need to impress her any more.  I ride much more conservatively with her on it, both for her protection and just because the bike handles so much differently with a passenger.  I'll save the risk taking for when it is just me and I'm prepared for it.

[VirginiaJim]

A big +1!

[Jeremy Mitchell]

This is something that I wrestle with all the time.  Speaking of wrestling, one poster mentioned he has to wrestle his bike in the turns.  If you're wrestling the bike, you're doing something wrong.  Whenever I find myself getting nervous the accompanying tension that comes with it, I try to tell myself to relax.  If I'll do that, lean the bike, shift my position properly, relax a bit, the bike just goes smoothly around the corner. 

Also with a passenger, the ride is completely different.  I'm too old to try to impress a passenger.  Plus my wife has been riding with me for some 12 years.  I don't need to impress her any more.  I ride much more conservatively with her on it, both for her protection and just because the bike handles so much differently with a passenger.  I'll save the risk taking for when it is just me and I'm prepared for it.

Wise words. 

I found out how fun it can be to slow down and enjoy the scenery a little more rather than just blowing by at mach 3.  Of course there is a time and place for everything but riding at 6-7/10ths instead of 9/10ths makes for a much more enjoyable day.

[Uglydog56]

I used to have the same alarm setpoint you did. What worked for me was to conciously keep my head parallel to the pavement and I felt much more comfortable.  Also I try to look up through the turn to the outlets, not at the scary entry points. This works on pillion riders too.

[basmntdweller]

I thought I would revive/update this thread. Over the weekend I finally had the opportunity to do a track day. It was at Putnam Park road course in west central Indiana. It is a 10 turn 1.8 mile track with a really long front stretch. The event was ran by Sportbike Track Time and I have nothing but good things to say about the operation, the track and the coaches.
I elected to ride in the slowest group of the novice class. There were 6 groups of 5 plus their coach in the novice class. With 36 riders on track it wasn't too crowded. My coach was Kevin T or at least that is what his jersey said that he wore over his leathers. His first comment was an apology that our first couple sessions would be "painfully slow". By the time we were on our fourth lap I was convinced my Connie and me were in over our head. By the end of the first session I had settled in a bit and was a little more comfortable. The alarms were still going off in my head but didn't seem as loud. Our first four sessions were all basically led by our coach but he would drop back and follow/observe us and then give us points to work on. The last three sessions were sort of a free for all with limited passing allowed. I ran the fifth session pretty much on my own, passed a few riders and a few passed me but I felt I was all over the track by the end of the session. I asked my coach for help during the next session. He led me for a while and then had me lead him so he could watch. Between that session and the last session he came over to my pit and gave me some more instructions. In the last session he was going to follow me and watch again after two laps he blew by me and I never saw him again. After the session ended he showed back up at my pit and said he ducked in the pit just to sneak back behind me so he could observe me with me not thinking I was being watched. He said I was doing far better than the previous session and running lap times right in the middle of the expected novice times. I was very happy with that and really happy with my day.
I had one minor off track excursion where I blew the exit of one corner and then that screwed the entry to the next corner. I just rode off in the grass and got it back on track and continued on. At the end of the day, my Connie was unscathed with the exception of a few scrapes on my peg feelers, something I would never have believed would happen with me at the controls, and some scrapes on my boots.
In the end, I feel I have a little more comfort and ability if needed and at the same time, quite a bit more respect for the dangers of street riding compared to the track. I am not sure I adjusted my lean angle alarms but I did quiet them a bit so I can ride through whatever I need to.
I am now trying to figure out if this is something I want to continue doing. It will not be on my Connie as there is just too much risk of a crash and I owe too much on her to cover out of pocket if it is a bad wreck. I am also really too old to be doing this and there is no real future in it. I have no illusions of getting into real MC racing. I'm thinking maybe an SV650 just for fun and an occasional track day.

Matt

[gPink]

  practice practice practice

[PlaynInPeoria]

Over the weekend I finally had the opportunity to do a track day. It was at Putnam Park road course in west central Indiana.

I was there and I saw you!  You looked like you were having fun, I know I was.  I have several friends that have C14's and I have a C10.  I was in intermediatr on my FZ1. There was also an FZ1 in your Novice class. My friend was on a Gixxer 1000, orange and black with a white helmet. I had another friend riding in advanced. We had a ball. I had never ridden there so I was lost in the morning but picked up the pace as the day went by. I was scraping pegs on my FZ1, a first for me as the pegs are fairly high on that bike.  60 laps at speed, I would shut off at 140 mph on the front straight, what a rush!

BTW, I ran a brand new set of PR2's. They don't look new anymore!

[basmntdweller]

I was shutting down about 125 down the front straight. I didn't like not being able to see over that hill so I would close the throttle just before the hill and coast the rest of the way. I stayed in third all day with the exception for fourth for the front straight. Connie didn't have any trouble coming out of the corners and keeping up with others in the novice class while in third. Turn 7 could have been the exception there but I had more issues with turn 7 than any others. I figured I didn't need to add to my troubles there by possibly overpowering the rear tire with more gear.
I stopped by a couple shops today looking for a track bike and been searching Craigslist and the Bay as well. I really don't have the cash to buy another bike but I know I can't put Connie through that again. I had a new set of PR3s with less than 200 miles on them when I took to the track. I hadn't even looked at my tires until my coach pointed them out. It was kind of a good/bad surprise. I was abusing them pretty good which surprised me as I didn't think I was pushing that hard and it was kind of bad as I would hate to guess how many miles I cut off their life.
It was really a blast and I can't help but want more. The problem is, I am 53yo and not in very good shape. I have doubts my body will be very kind to me if I hurt it and I figure sooner or later, pushing that hard on the track, something bad is bound to happen. AFAIK, there were 6 wrecks on saturday and all but one walked away basically unhurt. I heard one was taken to the hospital and I asked on STT's site about him and they told me it was impolite to ask so I let it go.


Matt