Problems trackday riding

[Stoppsladd]

I was on a trackday yesterday.
A group of people gathering at a lokal kart-track to get more experience and to push the bikes a little more than on the road.
We have instructors riding with us and so on, can be good as the track is quite narrow and can make you suprised at any moment.

Anaway.

The bike feels light in the front ( i think it has something with the bar being placed too high and a little bit back...?
The fork is way too soft...
My rear tire had some strange "stairs" with small rubber tabs at edges of the tirepattern as if the rear shock was bad. (i guess that im to heavy for the spring... im on about 95kg 180cm. With gear on maybe 100 - 105?

My footpegs was scraping the asphalt in several corners.
I wanted to lean out but it felt like impossible...
Couldnt get a proper position on the bike.
Dunno if the seat is too low or what.
It seemed like my arms wasnt long enough because of the bar position/ design.

Some instructor told me it looked if i was really struggling with the bike, but also that my position was wrong. ( i couldnt get a proper one...)

I dont know if its me chicken out or if its the bike that just dont handle this kind of treatment?
I have ridden several different bikes both on road and tracks and even on my XT660X i managed to have the knee in the ground cornering...

Is it anyone else pushing his/ her bike like this and have the same feeling?
Or is it just me loosing it...? :surrender:

I know is a cheap bike but i just want your comments about your feeling regarding the handling of the bike. Mainly track riding.

 

[Funkmaxtor]

I can't speak about riding on a track but I can tell you that I feel like the pegs are a little too low. I was hitting the pegs on a regular basis. However, my solution to the problem wasn't to change anything on the bike. I changed my technique and position on the bike. I now hang half of my body off the side of the bike when taking a corner hard. This shifts your weight and the center of gravity on the bike. Be sure to keep you head in line with your body NOT the bike. Since I started doing that I have rarely hit my pegs. The few times I have was my fault by not using correct technique.

Practice makes you a better rider and this is a good, comfortable bike to practice on!

 

[stuna]

the stock front springs were to soft for me , the coners were scary . i put in hyperpro , there great

 

[husker525]

After really putting mine through the paces, (within the legal limits of course) on some mountain twisties yesterday, I found some limits.

The stock front shocks need to be changed for something else. Too soft, and no adjustability. I was dragging the footpegs until I changed my corner attack posture. I just slid my body off the side of the bike, similar to what I do when racing my quads. I didn't drag the pegs anymore, and could rail around corners.

Gear selection was a challenge for a short time. When really rolling on the throttle, at about 8500 rpms, it wanted to wheelie out of the apex. Not a problem on a track, but a big problem on a narrow 2 lane road. I just clicked up another gear, and lugged it a bit more, keeping the front end down.

Bar position is something I have played around a lot with. I finally have it dialed in. It is in the sport position, with the bars set very low. Works great for sport riding, can be a tad uncomfortable for long highway rides though. The stock tires seemed to work well, and stuck to the roadway. I only slid the back end when backing it in a few times. I would like to see a slipper clutch application for this bike, maybe there already is one out there.

Although I raced street bikes for a short time, over 20 years ago, I still feel very new to this new technology and riding. With that being said, I had no problems carving the roads with everything from Gixxer's, R6's, CBR's, and Ducatis yesterday. In fact, this bike holds it's own very well. The riders I was with were all very experienced, and were quite surprised at what it could do.

 

[Stoppsladd]

After really putting mine through the paces, (within the legal limits of course) on some mountain twisties yesterday, I found some limits.

The stock front shocks need to be changed for something else. Too soft, and no adjustability. I was dragging the footpegs until I changed my corner attack posture. I just slid my body off the side of the bike, similar to what I do when racing my quads. I didn't drag the pegs anymore, and could rail around corners.

Gear selection was a challenge for a short time. When really rolling on the throttle, at about 8500 rpms, it wanted to wheelie out of the apex. Not a problem on a track, but a big problem on a narrow 2 lane road. I just clicked up another gear, and lugged it a bit more, keeping the front end down.

Bar position is something I have played around a lot with. I finally have it dialed in. It is in the sport position, with the bars set very low. Works great for sport riding, can be a tad uncomfortable for long highway rides though. The stock tires seemed to work well, and stuck to the roadway. I only slid the back end when backing it in a few times. I would like to see a slipper clutch application for this bike, maybe there already is one out there.

Although I raced street bikes for a short time, over 20 years ago, I still feel very new to this new technology and riding. With that being said, I had no problems carving the roads with everything from Gixxer's, R6's, CBR's, and Ducatis yesterday. In fact, this bike holds it's own very well. The riders I was with were all very experienced, and were quite surprised at what it could do.

Yeah, i was also thinking of changing the bar position. Even thinking of flipping it around..? Dunno if that will work but i know a friend riding motard bike did that and it worked well.
Also thinking of upgrading fork and rear suspension to R6 parts but then i could go for a R6 instead i think....
And the fotpegs. i think i will change those in near future dont like the rubber on them.

 

[angelsneverlose]

Didn't read the whole thread yet, but if you look in the vid's section, i have a video from last year when i went to the track with the FZ6R...

handel bars were in aggressive position, and like mentioned above, i dragged pegs several times, until i started really getting my body of the bike, way more then i have to on my R6... IMHO, pegs are too low on the bike

 

[owldaddy]

Body positioning is critical if you want to keep the pegs off the asphalt. I highly recommend Lee Parks book "Total Control" He instructs on how to get the most out of your bike and tires. As you stated the forks are too soft. stuna has the right idea, with the progressive springs. RaceTech Gold Valves will also allow you to get some adjustability in the fork damping. The FZ6R has an old tech suspension, but as I understand it, it can be improved considerably with the right mods. I intend to do those mods to my fork in the very near future, as I live close to the foot hills and I love the twisties....

 

[Stoppsladd]

A picture from the trackday
Dont see that im in wrong position but it felt wrong most of the time anaway.

You are free to comment.......

 

[JonKerr]

First thing I noticed is your right arm is super tight and rigid. Your arm should be loose and hanging. Technically it should be laying across the tank but I don't think that's really an option with our handlebars being so high. Also, get your outside knee planted into the side of the tank and use that to hold yourself on the bike more than your arms, which is probably why your arms are so tight. You may want to get some StompGrip so your leathers have more grip on the side of the tank.

I'm also having trouble getting my body position as low and to the inside as it should be. Not sure if it's inherent in the bikes ergonomics or I'm just not moving far enough. I'm riding in a technique clinic this weekend with a rider coach to see how I can improve my body positioning. One thing I did because the pegs are so low is take the feelers off. They just screw into the peg.

Also Total Control is an excellent read.

 

[owldaddy]

Judging from that pic, it looks like your torso is on the outside of the centerline of the bike, even though your leaning toward the inside. Parks shows how even some professional riders can improve their body position, several pics in his book actually shows professionals doing this. He states that they are fast riders, but they can be faster. I'm rereading his book, as I have a lot to learn still. Of course once you get the proper position, practice, practice, practice. Till it becomes second nature.

 

[JonKerr]

Judging from that pic, it looks like your torso is on the outside of the centerline of the bike, even though your leaning toward the inside. Parks shows how even some professional riders can improve their body position, several pics in his book actually shows professionals doing this. He states that they are fast riders, but they can be faster. I'm rereading his book, as I have a lot to learn still. Of course once you get the proper position, practice, practice, practice. Till it becomes second nature.

Yeah I wonder if Larry Pegram has read that book. lol He gets picked on by Parks a lot in there for his notorious crossed up body position.

Perfect example of him being crossed up. His head is actually to the outside of the bike.

 

[JonKerr]

Compare that pic above to this one of Tony Elias and you'll see the difference between crossed up and not.

 

[owldaddy]

Good example of great positioning. No doubt that his weight is on the inside of the bike's centerline. If it was any more on the inside he'd be off the bike. Since I'm an old fart with a bad back, you won't see me doing that. Ya, Lee does pick on Larry a bit lol. Great book for the majority of riders. Well worth the few dollars it cost. Few riders are so good they won't learn something.

 

[vitrox]

i'd even say tony elias has a weird riding style, watch him in moto2 and you'll see what i'm talking about. He looks crossed up, or maybe its just his head, i'm not really sure.

r1 rearsets are a simple mod, and it will bring them up way higher. r6 forks/shock are not an easy mod, and unless you plan on spending over 1k to do it, and have the skill and knowledge. I don't suggest it.

 

[Stoppsladd]

Judging from that pic, it looks like your torso is on the outside of the centerline of the bike, even though your leaning toward the inside. Parks shows how even some professional riders can improve their body position, several pics in his book actually shows professionals doing this. He states that they are fast riders, but they can be faster. I'm rereading his book, as I have a lot to learn still. Of course once you get the proper position, practice, practice, practice. Till it becomes second nature.

Yepp, you are right.
But still i think it has something to do with the bar position/ style.
I want to lean more forward-out but I cannot because the my elbow angle will be a pain in the a**....
I i would have a clipon my position would be forced to be more forward and my outer arm leaning against the tank as it did when i was riding my R6.

 

[Stoppsladd]

Found two pics riding one of my R6's
These are low speed cornering so im not leaning that much forward but my arm is in much better position and i think that is because of my length against the bar position?

But again... practise practise.....

 

[Superfly]

Can I ask whats going to happen to the bike when a peg starts to touch? I've been very close I think to touching a peg but it hasnt happened. I think its been because I'm leaning correctly and the bike is cornering well for me. I've actually took weight off of my inside foot during a corner as I was worried that the peg was about to hit. What can I expect and what should I do if and when it does...

BTW I read a review of the FZ6R and the riders were all complaining how easy it was to drag pegs on it...

 

[Funkmaxtor]

Usually when you hit the pegs, they start to pivot up and you will feel the grinding of the feeler on the pavement. It isn't going to make you wreck or anything like that. Every time I have hit the pegs it kind of startles me and I straighten up a little bit to get the peg off the ground.

 

[owldaddy]

+1 on what funkmaxtor said. If the pegs did not pivot up and were solidly mounted to the frame, you would have a problem. Since they simply move out of the way, there is no hard contact with the asphalt. I read earlier where someone took the feelers off the pegs, that gives you a little extra angle and still should be safe.

 

[JonKerr]

I took my peg feelers off. They were getting annoying how often they hit. The first time it was a little disconcerting. But after that it wasn't a huge deal. I could pretty much tell when it was going to happen. Now that the feelers are off, I have yet to touch.