I spend a lot of time working on this stuff with the bike. Some may apply to
cars, some may not. Some might help the bike folk so here goes.
I practice my tuck on the highway so it's comfortable & second nature.
That's one thing that can be legally done on the highway!
I've taken a drag racing class twice this year. A lot of the setup and
pre-run thought are directly applicable to LSR and have & will help me.
Handling the bike on launch, on the top end & on shut down at the drag strip
helps me better my skills for handling the bike. Things like handling
wheelies, loose rear, tire spin... all applicable to LSR. Shifting at the
right rpm and shifting efficiently. I don't get through all the gears but
what works in the first 3 or 4 pretty much works in them all. If you hit a
test & tune day you can run all day on the 1/4 mile strip. Great practice.
Road race. I want to take a road race course to better my cornering skills.
I won't be able to swing that one this year but I am going out riding with a
friend that's skilled, knowledgeable and experienced in this form of racing
that's willing to help teach me. That will help me better handle the shut
down turn at higher speeds.
I watch bike road racing & drag racing on TV to get a better understanding &
more comfortable with what can be done. I pretty much pay attention to
anyone going faster then me on a bike in any type of riding/racing
(including stunt riders) and think about how I can apply it to my riding.
Then I go out on the street & practice what I can. The rest I do at the drag
strip.
I've talked to a lot of skilled motorcycle riders to get advice & tips on
all aspects of riding. Just about everything I've heard is useful to me in
one way or another.
The only thing I haven't done is practice for the lack of traction at
Bonneville. I'm not ready to run there yet but once I am you can bet I'm
going to find a place to ride that will be comparable to the lack of
traction so I can practice.
Basically I identify my weakest link and work on it until I better it as a
skill, then I find the next weakest link and work on it. Right now I have a
list of 3 to get through. When I'm done with that I'll figure out the next
ones. Unless of course something else becomes blatantly apparent as a
weakness and gets moved up in the list!
practice, practice, practice, seat time, seat time, seat time.
I don't know about the riding over my skill level thing. I'm not sure where
the top of my skill level is and I'll never progress if I don't push the
limits. I know I won't ride "well" beyond my skill level but a little bit,
sure, it's the best way to gain experience!
Debbie #1302
Twin Jugs Racing
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apart>-------------------------------------
Well I've pondered this question quite a bit and wanted to bring it up
simply
as a topic of discussion.
We all assume we are gods at driving race cars... simply cause we're guys (
for the most part ) My question is how good are we really?
David's recommended a couple of different driving schools to increase our
skills and Both Tonya and I are interested in doing that... mostly because
we
think it would be a blast and increase our knowledge base...
what is our skill level and how can we increase it
with so few opportunities....
Any thoughts on the whole subject? or anything specific?
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