A good way to get fast...er?

[rsvmilleR1]

Just wondering if there is a way for me to get fast or faster? Besides for the obvious reasons of more track time, performance enhancements, etc, what else can be done to become faster?

I recently was at Thunderhill on May 23rd and had an awesome time. Having not been there in 21 months and off a bike completely for 18 of those months, I was off my normal pace by more than 10 seconds.

Is there something you racers do differently that gets you going? And if so, how do I get it?

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question , but I'm finding all of my friends are just as fast or faster now and it frustrates me that I can't find my "mojo" anymore

[jayrz]

Buy a dirtbike, any piece of crap will usually do. I like older Kaw 250s for their powersliding control over say,,, an RM. Go to the local dirtbike scene but stay away from the jumps and concetrate on that flat track stuff.
Pretty soon entering with a little front end slide and hanging it out isn't so harrowing anymore.

Your bike should be pretty fast, I know the bodywork is!

Jay

[Jet City Racer]

Find a faster rider who is willing to tow you along for a few sessions. I was having trouble myself at Thill and talked Brian Long into going out with me. In 6 laps I took 4 seconds off my times and 6 by the end of the day.

He still spanked me on Sunday though.

[rsvmilleR1]

Thanks Jay. The bodywork worked out great. Fitment is a little weird but heck, if it doesnt fall off, I'm all good

Don, you remember me from Infineon? You thought I was Mike Wong and then you came over and helped me out with my suspension... silver 2000 R with dual tigs.

Anyway, thanks for the tips so far. Having a tow I think would definitely help.

[Jet City Racer]

Of course I remember you. Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll be fine. Sometimes it seems like it takes forever just to take 1 second off your times. You aren't alone bro.

[joe846]

was that you on the silver mille with the tigs? I was pitted near you guys on the red framed ex500. Good to see you out there man.

I'd agree with JCR, just don't get in over your head. Another thing that always works great for me is following guys with higher corner speed. Getting an FIII guy to lead me around does wonders since those 125's don't have a ton more HP than my bike (not to mention following the fast 450sb guys around on my mille!).

[2stroke]

And Joe, I was close to you too, on the little RS250 that looked like this.

Had another one on the trailer, with factory bodywork still. It was good to see you out there, after seeing you at Scuderia a few times. Nice to put a face and a bike to a screen name.

[clarkie49]

confidence is the number 1 thing that will bring lap times down, it might be confidence in the tire, brakes, track, or yourself but sometimes you are out on the track and it feels like you are riding someone else's bike as the bars and levers and all in the wrong position. the bike feels very foreign to you and everything you do feels wrong.

if this is happening come in straight away and chill out, you will start to click with the bike when you start to relax. sooner or later you will have that session when you feel 'one' with the bike and you can put the bike any where on the track, that is the session where you know why you went on the track in the first place

[bandicoot]

Great way to put it Clarkie!!!!

Thanks Man!!

[rsvmilleR1]

Thanks for all the input gents! I'll be working to decrease my times this entire year. My original plan for this summer was to do as many trackdays as possible. Only problem is, Sunday's are my only day off... and finding someone to ride with on these days are just as difficult.

Cheers!

[joe846]

Cool Brad. I honestly didn't recognize you at all (the scuderia part of my brain shuts down at the track), so it's good to have a face and name to put to you.

See you at the shop and at the track (by the way, you were looking good out there. Was Reily leading you around for a while?).

[MISHY]

confidence is the number 1 thing that will bring lap times down, it might be confidence in the tire, brakes, track, or yourself but sometimes you are out on the track and it feels like you are riding someone else's bike as the bars and levers and all in the wrong position. the bike feels very foreign to you and everything you do feels wrong.

Couldn't agree more ! Sometimes when you're a bit rusty you hang on to the bars real tight and sweat it to even point it in the right direction ! Confidence takes time,and you can't just make things "flow" because you want to.
I have to tell myself to look far ahead and to hold the bars loose for the first session.After that the bike kinda steers itself and things happen easier
Confidence in the front tyre at turn entry is the big thing for me,when you feel confident you find you can turn in hard and point it just where you want.
Looking a bit further ahead gets your brain ahead of the bike and makes things happen a bit slower

[mike71]

Confidence in the front tyre at turn entry is the big thing for me,when you feel confident you find you can turn in hard and point it just where you want.
Looking a bit further ahead gets your brain ahead of the bike and makes things happen a bit slower

I ain't quick yet but this is a big one for me too...

[john flores]

Everyone here is providing some great advice, here are my 2 things...

I made my first big leap in speed by changing the way I see things - looking farther out on the event horizon, avoiding target fixation, scanning, peripheral vision, etc. Once I figured out how to see, the track and street suddenly seemed 10 yards wider than before. I look and see completely differently than I did 5 years ago and it shows in my riding.

I am making my next big leap in speed by learning how to stay loose and relaxed, applying the things that I have learned at riding schools and trackdays in the situations I need them most - when I'm pushing my personal envelope. For me, relaxing starts with remembering to breathe. It's amazing how natural it is to hold your breathe when you are at the edge of your personal riding limits - it's equally amazing how remembering to breathe in those moments allows your mind to unlock and think and remember what you are supposed to do next.

Oh, and a third thing - think about your riding. There are times when I appear antisocial at the track, but it's only because I'm thinking about my last session and putting together a plan for what I'm going to work on in the next session.

Hope this helps even a little bit...

[clarkie49]

the best is when you try and follow a faster rider through a corner going faster than you have been through it and you do that..

"oh shit, oh shit, i'm going to fast, i'm going to crash" and then you get through and you are like "why the F#ck wasnt i going that fast through here before"

sometimes you have to take a leap of faith, sometimes you dont, it's all about confidence at any level