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What's wrong with your launches that makes you think you need practice at it? Describe exactly what you do. How tight is your clutch? Also, how big is your clutch (as in the pull of the clutch lever from engaged to disengaged)?

GeoffEX650R wrote:What's wrong with your launches that makes you think you need practice at it? Describe exactly what you do. How tight is your clutch? Also, how big is your clutch (as in the pull of the clutch lever from engaged to disengaged)?

on my normal launcjes, i have no problems.

im practicing a race sytle take off... the one where you blast off at high speeds from stop but still keep the front wheel down.

what do i need it for? not much yet. but it's fun to practice on backroads and clear intersections.

ah. I guess i do the race style all the time. Just with more or less throttle depending on the situation. These things come with wet clutches for a reason . I want to get to a 1/4 strip at some point and see what i run.

GeoffEX650R wrote:ah. I guess i do the race style all the time. Just with more or less throttle depending on the situation. These things come with wet clutches for a reason . I want to get to a 1/4 strip at some point and see what i run.

what's the highest rpm take off you can do on your 650R and still keep the front down?

when i read keith's latest article... i learned that racers pin the throttle on take offs and they just manage the power w/ the clutch. i don't think im quite ready for that yet.

VermilionX wrote:

GeoffEX650R wrote:ah. I guess i do the race style all the time. Just with more or less throttle depending on the situation. These things come with wet clutches for a reason . I want to get to a 1/4 strip at some point and see what i run.

what's the highest rpm take off you can do on your 650R and still keep the front down?

when i read keith's latest article... i learned that racers pin the throttle on take offs and they just manage the power w/ the clutch. i don't think im quite ready for that yet.

I've done 5k rpms before. It's all about clutch control. This may sound weird, but after tightening up the clutch pull, effectivly reduce the amount i need to pull to disengage the clutch, it's gotten easier to control. Try setting the clutch to as loose as it will go, and tighten it up bit by bit until you get it to where you really like the feel of it.

7/3/06

i went riding w/ 2 guys from the socalsportbikes forum...

we went to ACH and stopped at new comb's ranch...








then we headed to malibu and rode PCH, latigo and mullholland then stopped at the rockstore... latigo was a super technical twisty. i also got held by car and i got scared when i saw the car cross the double yellow lines so many times. mullholland is technical too.










ACH is so much more fun since you can get more speed on it.

these are from the skillzday last saturday 7/1/06

here's what we work on during skillzday...

- smooth braking
- looking through turns
- lines
- smooth throttle control
- trusting our tires
- being loose on the machine
- managing fear
- tactical unput and balance

anyway, here's some pics...

group shot...



lecture time and resting in the shade... it was very hot!.



me getting some tips from hawkster about throttle control.



me training.

Great pics. You must be getting to be a darn good rider. I'm glad to read that you still get scared. It will keep you safe for a little while longer.

blues2cruise wrote:Great pics. You must be getting to be a darn good rider. I'm glad to read that you still get scared. It will keep you safe for a little while longer.

i still won't classify myself as "good" but thanks anyway.

i really need to have a trackday.

Congrats dude! Your knees are in while you are turning

That skills day sounds like a lot of fun. Ive been reading Twist of the Wrist Vols 1 and 2, and they go over a lot of stuff related to track racing.. very good books if you haven't seen them already. They talk about a good deal of the things you guys went over on your skills day too.

As for the full-throttle take offs, I can tell you that they are much easier to learn/get accustomed to on a 250cc machine.. I won't do something like that on my VFR, well, probably ever since I love my bike and want it to last a long time... but I'm still not to the point of "power" launches if I were to take it to the 1/4 track.

I've done a full launch on a Nighthawk 250 before... it was pretty fun. That is one of the reasons I still want to pick up a cheap 250 for myself: Practicing techniques that can potentially damage my bike. Who wants to screw up their main bike? Not me!