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so i went to willow springs to see the races and have my suspension adjusted.

anyway... on the way there, i was able to come across a super long stretch of freeway and no cars in both lanes, just me.

i gunned the throttle, tucked fully-in, chest on the tank hiding behind the windscreen (i can hide, im skinny enough).

i went up to 163mph then i felt that the pushing power isn't there anymore.

that's still cool... 160mph is what i expected to be the top speed of my 750.




as for the suspension...

just my luck... there were no suspension techs on the racetrack today.

a vet racer over there offered to check and adjust my suspension for me though. he said it was too stiff and he adjusted.

he told me to replace my tires and buy a suspension upgrade since the stock isn't good for the tracks. i was just thinking that he thinking on a racer's perspective and not a casual trackday enthusiast.

anyway... he told me the rear isn't that bad so he didn't adjust it but he did say i should get a clevice or whatever it is to make the rear higher so it will turn better if i don't have money yet for a full suspension upgrade.

the guys over there are cool. the guy who was guiding me introduced me to another racer... he told me that my stock bike is ok for trackdays. he told me go to school on my 1st trackday... then do a bunch of trackdays until i get very comfortable on the tracks and then i should do the heavy upgrades before joining a racing club.

i didn't stay for long since the heat is bothering me. on the way home, i tried to notice my bike... it does feel less bumpy after the adjustment.

anyway... after i talked to them. i decided i should run michelin pilot powers for my 1st trackday instead of DOT race tires.

I don't even know where to start, so I'll just

macktruckturner wrote:I don't even know where to start, so I'll just

ei mack!

i'd go w/ pilot powers instead like you suggested.

i mean if the tire can lean 41º on wet... it must be pretty good for a street tire.

the racer i talked to said that he ran pilot powers for quite some time. i assume he started using DOT race tires when he joined racing.

ok, I was on the phone w/ my gf earlier. Now I know right where to start. Chances are your speedo reads ~10% high, so that indicated 163 isn't even 150mph in the real world. While that is all good and well, doing that just to see if you can is far from what I would call a good idea. With a flat out assumption of 150mph, that's 220 feet per second. Even the fastest of reaction times, and you will still cover over 100 feet before you even START to slow down.

As for the suspension banter - you do not need new forks, or any upgrade. If you want to turn in faster, raise your forks 5mm in the triples - no need to raise the front. The side effect that dropping the front, or raising the rear has is to destabilize your straightline ride, particularly at speed. I trust that wasn't a) mentioned by the racers, who quite likely have steering dampers to quell the headshake or b) known or thought about by you.

Now, you mentioned Pilot Powers - and then an assumption that the racer you talked to runs DOT race tires. You do realize that at the club level, it's not uncommon for the vast majority of the field to be on performance street rubber? Those in it to make a run at a possible spot on a factory team, they splurge, and get the best they can afford. Those racing for fun, may well have a completely stock motorcycle, with street gear removed, and some stickers for any possible contengency money they might come by for a decent finish.

Finally, if racing is REALLY what you want to do - go race minis. Sure the bikes don't look all elite, and they aren't fast - but you NEED skill to do it, as the bikes simply lack the power to be forgiving to bad cornering technique. It's also a lot cheaper, both in terms of equipment and track fees. Otherwise, get your suspension sag set correctly and have fun at some trackdays. Riding or driving at a fast pace is a great rush - and when the charge of competition is removed, it's even quite relaxing (for me.) Adding real competition to the mix can be unsettling the first few times, and even more so everytime you're nearly run off the track by someone trying to make a questionable pass.

Oh btw, I mentioned it in another post, but if you really want to learn the magic of suspensions - go buy this DVD. You seem to want to learn things, but get sidetracked by information from dubious sources. Traxxion has an excellent record with both street riders, and racers - quite a few racers in AMA Supersport have the same cartridge inserts from Traxxion that I had put in my SV a month ago.

thanks.

i got some info on where to go for suspension setups from ryan, the 2nd racer i talked to.

he told me they also work on stock ones like mine and he told me that for my weight... he thinks the stock suspension might be good enough for me for a while.

and i have a steering damper.

and yes, i know that the speedo is 5-7% optimistic.

the guys at the gixxer forum said they got it up to an indicated 174mph.

i guess i should have tried it harder. i didn't even hit the red line and the rev limiter, if that has anything to do w/ it.

oh well, maybe next time.

Otherwise, get your suspension sag set correctly and have fun at some trackdays

regarding the sag you mentioned...

i asked why he didn't make me sit on the bike before he adjusted my suspension. he said that sag won't matter much since im too lightweight and that there's not enough customization on the stock suspension.

im grateful for him for loosening my suspension but yeah, he seems a little arrogant. he ridiculed my stock tires as well as my helmet.

anyway... i took what i can and didn't believe everything he said.

like i said, i'll still take it to a pro. i don't fully trust that guy. i bet i could get an even better setup than what he did.

Verm, you're going about things the wrong way. Fix the operator first, then the machine.

As a side, how many miles are on your bike now?

Skier wrote: As a side, how many miles are on your bike now?

i have only 2200.

the guys at the gixxer forum said it should gain more power after a 1000 or so more miles.

i read my manual and checked how to adjust the suspension. it's really easy to adjust but fine tuning it for myself is the hard part.

how do you guys fine tune your suspension? what sort test do you guys do?

the suspension shop is not open today, so tomorrow i'll call them and ask how much to fine tune my suspension in accordance to my weight.