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RickD996 said:

Could be any man in Australia.

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I read Steve’s post and thought, “sounds like just about every Aussie I ever met.” lol

RickD996 said:

Could be any man in Australia.

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True haha

Steven the bike looks great, those carbon fairings are sweet! its almost impossible to keep any bike thats used as intended in concours condition and with any track bike you have to accept crashing as a more than minor probability so no point in keep it showroom.

Jolly always says no to hot track days. Hot Lattes oh yeah mate.....Off now until Sept at Chuck..

Was great meeting you guys, @Steven31371 and @Fry!
Heat was insane indeed, need to get myself one of those ice cooling jackets.

Body position is improving, but needs lots of work, probably time for some more coaching…I think I need to open my hips and shoulders open, turn them more into the corner on the bike.

A recent change the JP43 guys had me working on this winter was not strictly hangin off, but rotating the hips around the tank and driving the inside knee forward, aim your shoulder to the apex, it made a world of difference in both my outside leg grip and moving my weight forward to load the tire and keep the front end down under acceleration.

So much mixed information out there, some schools want you a fist away from the tank, spine parallel to the center line of the bike. Don't weight the inside peg is a big discussion at Cali SBK school but Yamaha school says to do it. A lot may be down to individual preference but for me loading the front was the biggest "next step". A low side I had a few years back was from unloading the front under acceleration while still in a corner with my weight too far back.....boom! Eventually the rear will begin to spin with the weight that far forward, not just from power but from balance. Not quite there yet but looking forward to that experience. Used to be able to 4 wheel drift a Formula Dodge all the time and want to be able to achieve the same level of bike control.

A few pics about 4y apart, first was me thinking I knew what I was doing by just having fast lap times (pre-crash bravery), second trying to have better BP but I always felt uncomfortable/unnatural, and one from last Memorial Day (same turn as Karls' latest pic). I think you are more progressed than my stage 2 and the JP43 guys would be seriously beneficial, shave 5-10s off your time in a weekend, and more importantly, do it by making you safer (kinda counterintuitive but true). And if you get Risploli as an instructor the stupid things he will do in front of you (lighting up the rear like a hooligan just to goof around) is worth the price alone.

Kev242 said:

A recent change the JP43 guys had me working on this winter was not strictly hangin off, but rotating the hips around the tank and driving the inside knee forward, aim your shoulder to the apex…

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I heard a similar body position tip I found helpful for getting shoulders turned into the corner, weight to the inside, and to avoid getting “crossed up”:

“Lead with you pec —> R pec to L tank and L pec to R tank”.

For a L turn, put your right pec on the tank, somewhere to the left of the centerline (vice versa for a R turn).

Not a rigid requirement of course - more a guiding principle to get you moving your body differently. We all have different builds and flexibility, so exactly how close you can get your pec to the tank, and how far left or right of center, will vary. But this helps me turn my shoulders into the corner.

I’ve got pretty good about turning my shoulders into the corner, had to because of my neck, but I think I need to focus a bit more on turning my hips so they are squaring up toward the Apex too. Foot position was impacting that a lot I think, I noticed last Sunday that I’m wasn’t moving my feet around on the pegs with enough discipline and consistency.

I think what’s happening is that meeting the brake zone I move to the side on the bike, then brake, then lean, when I move my hips to the side just before braking I think I’m turning my pelvis slightly toward the tank in anticipation of the braking g forces pushing me forward on the bike, so my hips end up facing toward the bike slightly while my shoulders are turning toward the apex, requiring a stronger twist of the torso that what’s needed and limiting how much I can turn the shoulders to the apex, it’s also keeping my inside knee that should be more opened up and dragging knee closer to the bike.

It’s like my hips are crossed up a bit still, even though I’m turning the right direction from the belly button up.

I think I’d make it easier on myself if I turn those hips more toward the apex too.

Definitely time for more coaching

Not sold on opening the hips to the turn, in flat track sure, but check out a pic of Baz (trying to find people above 5' 8") and see how he is driving that knee forward, hips actually rotated in compared to the center line of the bike, knee inside the elbow. Another one of Corey Alexander (@6' 3").

I have been getting in that position pre-braking, squeeze the tank under brakes, then just release the inside leg when tipping in and let gravity take it. No need to reach the inside leg out to drag, it will just happen with more lean angle.

I'm definitely noticing a trend that the faster experts tend to lead with their hip and inside shoulder, and stay somewhat compact on the bike and minimize their movements. Coaching yields the best returns for sure, but another resource is just checking out the event pictures and videos. Body types and styles vary but studying some of the A-group guys and comparing pics can provide ideas.

Jun-04-2023-Apex Assassins (Sun) | CaliPhotography

And I found that somebody posted this from Sunday. It's A group and skip to around 9 minutes in to see a sequence of faster guys blow by. It's interesting to study their body positions. Around 10:20 Lugnut Norton comes into the picture. He's top three fastest pro at Chuck. Notice he has a fairly compact riding style. I'm in chase right after him with a more splayed out style, which I have been thinking to try and tighten up and see if I can be more efficient on the bike. Note I really checked up behind the guy--as it's a track day--and I figured I could wait until the straight and just blow by on my V4

This is a snap from my onboard video from Sunday I was just entering the track and practicing annoyingly good entry procedure... and it's a good thing I did because Lugnut was on a heater and still aiming for a decent apex as he blew by into T15. Notice his compact position. He's not sticking his leg way out feeling for the ground. He's hugging the bike and barely off the seat with what looks like slightly forward inside knee and shoulder. Study the pros!

Total track noob here but I wonder if that more closed hip angle makes it easier/faster/more efficient to grip the tank when braking or slowing.

bp_SFV4 said:

Total track noob here but I wonder if that more closed hip angle makes it easier/faster/more efficient to grip the tank when braking or slowing.

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Absolutely! Especially on the efficiency, I was gasping for air with 5 laps @ Chuck earlier in the winter and bumped that up to 7 without doing anything different in my lifestyle (which is a #1 priority for me now). Doesn't sound like much but I think I counted >20 instances of being more than 1g in a single lap, that will hammer you after a while, especially in the >50 crowd. Gripping the tank like that really isolated your lower 1/2 and frees up your upper body.

Kev242 said:

A low side I had a few years back was from unloading the front under acceleration while still in a corner with my weight too far back.....boom!

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Same. Getting on throttle mid corner can be not good. Never accelerate to the apex

Kev242 said:

Absolutely! Especially on the efficiency, I was gasping for air with 5 laps @ Chuck earlier in the winter and bumped that up to 7 without doing anything different in my lifestyle (which is a #1 priority for me now). Doesn't sound like much but I think I counted >20 instances of being more than 1g in a single lap, that will hammer you after a while, especially in the >50 crowd. Gripping the tank like that really isolated your lower 1/2 and frees up your upper body.

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Haha 5 Laps seems to be my sweet spot, I’ll usually push myself to do one or two more to build endurance but don’t push hard the last two.

The biggest upgrade I can do for this bike’s quickness is MY fitness, which I’m prioritizing too.

When I bought the bike I was pushing 260 pounds, now I’m down to about 235, will get to about 220

More lattes Steven....MORE!!!

Cures everything.

To a point style is important but look back over the years, many different riders can be fast. Doohan for example looked really awkward, Hailwood didnt hang off at all, fashion has a lot to do with it at our level. GP riders are 70 kg ish midgets trying to shave 100ths, if you are talking seconds then theres a lot more to learn than the finer points of BP. I think its more important to have the basics sorted for each phase, braking, entry, exit etc. Being neat and tidy requires fitness and strength, well fitted gear and good ergos etc. Like anything its all in the basics i.e dont try and go to 3 when you havent got 1 sorted

Paul G said:

To a point style is important but look back over the years, many different riders can be fast. Doohan for example looked really awkward, Hailwood didnt hang off at all, fashion has a lot to do with it at our level. GP riders are 70 kg ish midgets trying to shave 100ths, if you are talking seconds then theres a lot more to learn than the finer points of BP. I think its more important to have the basics sorted for each phase, braking, entry, exit etc. Being neat and tidy requires fitness and strength, well fitted gear and good ergos etc. Like anything its all in the basics i.e dont try and go to 3 when you havent got 1 sorted

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Agreed, except for I know everything is bigger in Australia, but 70kg midgets??