I was very fortunate to be able to spend some time at Laguna Seca as part of the Red Bull event to see some riders that I have helped in the past ride the KTM's. The rules were very strict and rightly so as far as protocol and behavior for both parents and riders and each days events were printed out for all to see.
Two semi's set up a mechanics/bikes area and a riders classroom and no parents were allowed inside. I would want to have the riders completely focused on the tasks at hand while out on the track for each session. Parents and offspring could mingle between classroom/on track just to check in as needed - obviously parents were coaches, tuners etc in the past and will be in the future, so that makes a great deal of sense to me. Riders were split into 2 groups for both days to alternate class and track sessions.
Each rider received 3 sets of the Alpinestars Red Bull Leathers, gloves and boots (not sure about helmets, as to whether they were provided or riders brought their own) and it really reinforced that perception is reality philosophy in that the physical presentation was very impressive. That extended to the bikes with identical paint and equipment. The KTM's looked suitably equipped for this level of rider!
Each rider had his own bike, own mechanic and individuals had access to a suspension tuner. Riders could make any changes they thought necessary to make the bike work better but that only included geometry and hydraulics.
What I found out that interested me most was that all bikes were the same in terms of 45bhp, all used the same fork and shock springs and all ran the same gearing. With weight differentials from 70lbs to 130lbs it was funny to watch the acceleration differences out of turn 11 and turn 4 during sessions. I did not have time to stay through the end of day two, but Bryce Prince told me they were going to ballast all the bikes to make them even for the last session when everyone would be on the track at the same time. That would certainly have benefited the bigger riders as they had no or little ballast to add, so with good set up analysis they could have been miles ahead by that final session on set up. Others will have suddenly gained 30-50lbs to the bike and then have to dial it in within a few laps.
Lap times were below 1.40 for the most part with a fast lap of a 1.35 for a certain well known young CA rider who did very well last year with this event! Not bad for a 45bhp bike, and the fastest I managed with my AMA 250 bike was a 1.38 at 215lbs. You do the power to weight math.........
I was really impressed with the whole event, it's professionalism, focus and presentation. This approach will undoubtedly find some new talent but more importantly, give access for true talent to shine on an even playing field. Kudos to everyone involved :)
PS: Kevin Schwantz was rumoured to be sandbagging. Conjecture, pure conjecture.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
MotorcycleUSA.com 600 shootout
MotorcycleUSA.com 600 shootout at Infineon Raceway 4/3/08
PART ONE: 2/20/08
I have seen Ken Hutchison of MotorcycleUSA for the last year and a half at many track days testing various bikes and occasionally we have chatted about tuning idisosyncracies with certain models. Ken thought it would be a good idea to get some help one afternoon with one of his test mules at some point in the future. Lo and behold, so it came to pass………
I spent time putting Ken Hutchison through my Suspension Boot Camp for 3 hours one afternoon late last Fall on the Buell Super TT. With his diligence, good feedback and my interpretive tuning we turned the bike around from a wallowing headshaking handful of a ride into a very competent track tool enabling Ken to hurtle around Thunderhill on Shinko tires (yes, he was flying on it bar to bar with one of Lance Keigwins instructors at full tilt boogie).
Read the first of two articles about this:
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=5460
Based on that experience, Ken has invited me to come out to the Infineon event for the 600 shoot out, so this will be a great opportunity and experience.
Having witnessed and closely observed many of these tests over the years, I have been very interested to see how the Factory techs work with the journalists to make the changes they are looking for with the OEM stock suspension on OEM tires in the morning and then further changes due to sticky rubber being fitted for the afternoon sessions. There’s not much time for riders to meet the new bike, evaluate it at a reasonable pace, make suspension adjustments and chassis changes and then pick up the pace. More and more now it seems the stop watch is the deciding factor to many readers and so lap times are dutifully recorded and presented. Given that these bikes will be ridden 99% of the time on the street, the track evaluation might be considered to be crazy if seen as the “be all and end all” criteria as no-one will get to that pace without coming to the track. Fortunately, readers are very savvy and read the whole article to understand what the journalists thought about every aspect of the bike not only on the track, but also via performance reviews during commuting duty and weekend rides and long term test impressions.
In a most unusual step for the magazine world, I will be required to record the way the bike came to me in every aspect and then carefully log the riders weight and all changes made in sequence for that rider to get the bike to handle correctly so that they could really relax, become one with the bike and get a good lap time. I would ultimately translate that into a table and provide that to Ken as an article for MotorcycleUSA, for whom I will be writing this year on a monthly basis.
Who knows what state the bike will come to me? It may have been pulled from the Press Pool, so all manner of riders may have changed the bike around on multiple occasions in search of riding zen/nirvana, so I have no idea what to expect. Mileage, fork oil condition, uncrashed, bolt head condition, brake pad wear, chain and sprocket condition?
PART ONE: 2/20/08
I have seen Ken Hutchison of MotorcycleUSA for the last year and a half at many track days testing various bikes and occasionally we have chatted about tuning idisosyncracies with certain models. Ken thought it would be a good idea to get some help one afternoon with one of his test mules at some point in the future. Lo and behold, so it came to pass………
I spent time putting Ken Hutchison through my Suspension Boot Camp for 3 hours one afternoon late last Fall on the Buell Super TT. With his diligence, good feedback and my interpretive tuning we turned the bike around from a wallowing headshaking handful of a ride into a very competent track tool enabling Ken to hurtle around Thunderhill on Shinko tires (yes, he was flying on it bar to bar with one of Lance Keigwins instructors at full tilt boogie).
Read the first of two articles about this:
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=5460
Based on that experience, Ken has invited me to come out to the Infineon event for the 600 shoot out, so this will be a great opportunity and experience.
Having witnessed and closely observed many of these tests over the years, I have been very interested to see how the Factory techs work with the journalists to make the changes they are looking for with the OEM stock suspension on OEM tires in the morning and then further changes due to sticky rubber being fitted for the afternoon sessions. There’s not much time for riders to meet the new bike, evaluate it at a reasonable pace, make suspension adjustments and chassis changes and then pick up the pace. More and more now it seems the stop watch is the deciding factor to many readers and so lap times are dutifully recorded and presented. Given that these bikes will be ridden 99% of the time on the street, the track evaluation might be considered to be crazy if seen as the “be all and end all” criteria as no-one will get to that pace without coming to the track. Fortunately, readers are very savvy and read the whole article to understand what the journalists thought about every aspect of the bike not only on the track, but also via performance reviews during commuting duty and weekend rides and long term test impressions.
In a most unusual step for the magazine world, I will be required to record the way the bike came to me in every aspect and then carefully log the riders weight and all changes made in sequence for that rider to get the bike to handle correctly so that they could really relax, become one with the bike and get a good lap time. I would ultimately translate that into a table and provide that to Ken as an article for MotorcycleUSA, for whom I will be writing this year on a monthly basis.
Who knows what state the bike will come to me? It may have been pulled from the Press Pool, so all manner of riders may have changed the bike around on multiple occasions in search of riding zen/nirvana, so I have no idea what to expect. Mileage, fork oil condition, uncrashed, bolt head condition, brake pad wear, chain and sprocket condition?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
AMA TEST FONTANA, CA
Working with On The Throttle (www.onthethrottle.tv) as their technical reporter we went to the Fontana test to look at the factory teams 08 effort, inspect the 08 race bikes and talk to the riders. Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki were there along with Attack Kawasaki, Matsushima, Jordan and Corona. We were also working with Amar Bazzaz and his traction control wizardry on a Jordan Superstock bike with Aaron Yates let loose for the on board cameras. Talk about an amazing product -just go read about it for yourself! http://www.bazzazperformance.com/
Day one was a slow start with high winds and cold track, so about 10am teams started rolling out. With all new bikes, new tires, and a slew of parts to test, for many riders this was going to be a long 2 days. Ah, such is the life of a professional racer.
We filmed all the riders throughout the morning making sure that we got sufficient footage we needed based on an Excel spread sheet shot list. Seems as though that would be easily done..... not at all. Riders don't dress, ride out, ride a few laps, dismount and spend set amounts of time with crew chiefs. There's a lot of running around and a spotter makes things incredibly useful. It is not all it is cracked up to be, but many know that. The OTT film crew got some amazing on track footage and Bazzaz's traction control unit is very audible with the plugs being cut out as the rear wheel starts spinning.
We had an oportunity to look very closely at Yamaha's R1 superbike, the new Honda CBR1000RR and the new 08 GSXR 600. Look to the OTT web site for websiodes on what we saw including quick change equipment for Daytona, new technology in abundance and interesting tips on 'how to's' on the new bikes.
Day 2 was gorgeous right from the get go, so for those who followed times on Roadracing World and AMA Superbike, they could see how quickly riders started hammering on lap records. Seems as though it is par for the course as the bikes and tires get better every year, so the lap times fall. Personally I think this will be a banner year for the Supersport class with hopefully racing much like we saw in the Boxer Cup Series a few years back at Daytona with several riders going at it bar to bar. Chaz Davies might come out on top for 08 if his finishes are consistent and look for him to build on his 4th place from last year in the Daytona 200.
Daytona is but a few weeks away, and all teams continue to test and prepare. Almost time to unleash the hounds :)
Day one was a slow start with high winds and cold track, so about 10am teams started rolling out. With all new bikes, new tires, and a slew of parts to test, for many riders this was going to be a long 2 days. Ah, such is the life of a professional racer.
We filmed all the riders throughout the morning making sure that we got sufficient footage we needed based on an Excel spread sheet shot list. Seems as though that would be easily done..... not at all. Riders don't dress, ride out, ride a few laps, dismount and spend set amounts of time with crew chiefs. There's a lot of running around and a spotter makes things incredibly useful. It is not all it is cracked up to be, but many know that. The OTT film crew got some amazing on track footage and Bazzaz's traction control unit is very audible with the plugs being cut out as the rear wheel starts spinning.
We had an oportunity to look very closely at Yamaha's R1 superbike, the new Honda CBR1000RR and the new 08 GSXR 600. Look to the OTT web site for websiodes on what we saw including quick change equipment for Daytona, new technology in abundance and interesting tips on 'how to's' on the new bikes.
Day 2 was gorgeous right from the get go, so for those who followed times on Roadracing World and AMA Superbike, they could see how quickly riders started hammering on lap records. Seems as though it is par for the course as the bikes and tires get better every year, so the lap times fall. Personally I think this will be a banner year for the Supersport class with hopefully racing much like we saw in the Boxer Cup Series a few years back at Daytona with several riders going at it bar to bar. Chaz Davies might come out on top for 08 if his finishes are consistent and look for him to build on his 4th place from last year in the Daytona 200.
Daytona is but a few weeks away, and all teams continue to test and prepare. Almost time to unleash the hounds :)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Florida Test with Michelin and Police Safety First
MICHELIN TEST, JENNINGS FL
BIKE: 2007 Police Safety First Suzuki GSXR600 in AMA Suspersport spec.
RIDER: Bobby Fong, second year with SFR,
TARGET LAP TIME: 1:16
TRACK RECORD: Geoff May, 1:14.7 M4 AMA SUPERSTOCK GSXR 1000.
DAY ONE:
Arrived 7.15am to a wet track with standing water in places. Prepped the bike and then took time with Brian Stokes who graciously provided a walking commentary lap while the track dried out – very informative! The track opened at 10am, with ambient temp at 50 degrees F.
- 1st session on an old 07 PRC front and new 07 C rear to learn the track.
- 2nd session on second used 07 PRC front and same rear tire.
- 3rd short session at pace on same tires as S2, running lap times of 1:22’s.
- Lunch.
- Riders meeting and announcement re: 10 sets of tires to be tested. Format of 1 out lap, 10 fast laps, 1 in lap at pace to return to the pit for tire temp data collection and completion of rider evaluation sheets on the set of tires just tested.
- 4th session: - focus Bobby on getting laps times down to within .5 of a second in each session to allow him to focus on tire side grip and corner entry feel thereby providing qualitative feedback. After completion of the session with the bike back on the stands, the front tire was wearing very well and when I read the rear tire wear characteristics it was obvious that there was too much abrasion, too much rebound damping, too much low speed compression damping. We changed rebound from15 to 17 out and low speed compression from 5 to 8 out, both from full stiff.
- 5th session, reviewed tire wear, improved on compression and rebound but abrasion still too pronounced. We removed the Penske shock to change the spring from a 525lb spring to a 500lb. In checking the Penske shock thoroughly, it was discovered that it was leaking so a new 08 Penske was shock installed with the 500lb spring, with 8mm installed preload.
- 6th session running mid to low 17’s and settled into a rhythm. Tire wear improved significantly, but abrasion still somewhat excessive – this was accredited to the track surface by Michelin technicians based on their experience.
- 7th session Bobby complained of a lot of front tire push only when under most duress off throttle and trail braking in turns 1 and 10. Gone as soon as the throttle was applied. The GP Suspension forks were removed as per test plan and Traxxion gas cartridge forks installed. Geometry was changed significantly to put more weight on the front wheel with forks raised 10mm from previous position (15mm through via GP Suspension billet extended fork caps) and 5mm of ride height put into the shock (previously with zero ride height).
- 8th session bike turned much more responsively, held the line better going into the corner but push was still evident under duress. Chassis far more neutral and responsive overall.
- decision made to work further on geometry with fork positioning and rear ride height, based on 180 tire measurements for day two (see specs below)
DAY TWO
Arrived at a dry track with a very cold 45 degrees due to a solid cold wind. The SFR GSXR 600 has no thermostat, so we placed two and a half strips of tape onto the radiator to minimize airflow through it in order to keep the engine temp at 190 degrees to avoid cold seize damage. Forks were lowered to the OEM stock position and 2mm of ride height was added to the shock.
- 1st session with slicks in at 2 laps to add one more piece of tape as the engine was running too cold and then back out to complete the session. Bike handled better, even more quick turning but push still evident and now running wide on the corners. Changed low speed compression to 8 clicks out.
- 2nd session with slicks saw Bobby drop into the 16’s for the first time but the running wide problem was amplified with compression change. Changed low speed compression to 16 out and changed the rear sprocket to a 42 as at this pace the rev limiter was frequently reached.
- 3rd session with DOT’s running at flat 17’s. Improved the running wide but still present. Front push still present. Change Penske low speed compression to 16 out.
- 4th session on DOT’s at low 17’s. Still running wide, slightly better.
- Lunch, sun came out so all tape removed.
- 5th session. S1 slick front with new 180 DOT D rear. 5 laps out, ran high 16’s and focused on forks and corner entry re push. Added ¼ turn of compression and push eliminated. Cause: forks compressing too quickly to the bottom of the stroke.
- Still running wide in corner exit, so half a turn of preload removed and 2.5 turns of ride height added to the Penske shock. In after three laps saying corner exit was improved but the rear tire spun far more easily. Half the ride height removed with the expected results – bike ran slightly wide and rear tire spun up a little less easily. CAUSE: shock spring too stiff, and when the throttle was applied the shock stopped working an consequently took weight off the front wheel.
TEST SUMMARY:
- Bobby did incredibly well to get down into the 16’s with brand new tires and a track he had never ridden before. A testament to his ability to put a new track together and ride hard and smart.
- the chassis set up from 07 was far too tall in the front fork position with the rear shock at stock length and the axle all the way to the back of the slot causing the front tire to push as there was not enough weight on it going into the corner. With geometry reset, the chassis became neutral and turned very easily.
- the bike would not finish the corner as the 500lb shock spring was too stiff and we didn’t have the opportunity to change it to a 475lb to see if this would solve the problem as there were no more tires available.
- We have a good baseline for geometry and spring rates to use as a platform for further refining the chassis and testing with different valving combinations.
08 Front Tires:
- V slick tire provides more grip and more compression over DOT settings.
- V slick tire gave most consistent and trustworthy feel.
- V DOT stable but feels like it is ready to fold under max load.
08 Rear Tires:
- 190 E DOTgave best side grip.
- 180 D slick gave better hook up/drive.
- 180 D DOT gave best short term drive (8 laps) and fastest lap time 1:16.8.
BIKE: 2007 Police Safety First Suzuki GSXR600 in AMA Suspersport spec.
RIDER: Bobby Fong, second year with SFR,
TARGET LAP TIME: 1:16
TRACK RECORD: Geoff May, 1:14.7 M4 AMA SUPERSTOCK GSXR 1000.
DAY ONE:
Arrived 7.15am to a wet track with standing water in places. Prepped the bike and then took time with Brian Stokes who graciously provided a walking commentary lap while the track dried out – very informative! The track opened at 10am, with ambient temp at 50 degrees F.
- 1st session on an old 07 PRC front and new 07 C rear to learn the track.
- 2nd session on second used 07 PRC front and same rear tire.
- 3rd short session at pace on same tires as S2, running lap times of 1:22’s.
- Lunch.
- Riders meeting and announcement re: 10 sets of tires to be tested. Format of 1 out lap, 10 fast laps, 1 in lap at pace to return to the pit for tire temp data collection and completion of rider evaluation sheets on the set of tires just tested.
- 4th session: - focus Bobby on getting laps times down to within .5 of a second in each session to allow him to focus on tire side grip and corner entry feel thereby providing qualitative feedback. After completion of the session with the bike back on the stands, the front tire was wearing very well and when I read the rear tire wear characteristics it was obvious that there was too much abrasion, too much rebound damping, too much low speed compression damping. We changed rebound from15 to 17 out and low speed compression from 5 to 8 out, both from full stiff.
- 5th session, reviewed tire wear, improved on compression and rebound but abrasion still too pronounced. We removed the Penske shock to change the spring from a 525lb spring to a 500lb. In checking the Penske shock thoroughly, it was discovered that it was leaking so a new 08 Penske was shock installed with the 500lb spring, with 8mm installed preload.
- 6th session running mid to low 17’s and settled into a rhythm. Tire wear improved significantly, but abrasion still somewhat excessive – this was accredited to the track surface by Michelin technicians based on their experience.
- 7th session Bobby complained of a lot of front tire push only when under most duress off throttle and trail braking in turns 1 and 10. Gone as soon as the throttle was applied. The GP Suspension forks were removed as per test plan and Traxxion gas cartridge forks installed. Geometry was changed significantly to put more weight on the front wheel with forks raised 10mm from previous position (15mm through via GP Suspension billet extended fork caps) and 5mm of ride height put into the shock (previously with zero ride height).
- 8th session bike turned much more responsively, held the line better going into the corner but push was still evident under duress. Chassis far more neutral and responsive overall.
- decision made to work further on geometry with fork positioning and rear ride height, based on 180 tire measurements for day two (see specs below)
DAY TWO
Arrived at a dry track with a very cold 45 degrees due to a solid cold wind. The SFR GSXR 600 has no thermostat, so we placed two and a half strips of tape onto the radiator to minimize airflow through it in order to keep the engine temp at 190 degrees to avoid cold seize damage. Forks were lowered to the OEM stock position and 2mm of ride height was added to the shock.
- 1st session with slicks in at 2 laps to add one more piece of tape as the engine was running too cold and then back out to complete the session. Bike handled better, even more quick turning but push still evident and now running wide on the corners. Changed low speed compression to 8 clicks out.
- 2nd session with slicks saw Bobby drop into the 16’s for the first time but the running wide problem was amplified with compression change. Changed low speed compression to 16 out and changed the rear sprocket to a 42 as at this pace the rev limiter was frequently reached.
- 3rd session with DOT’s running at flat 17’s. Improved the running wide but still present. Front push still present. Change Penske low speed compression to 16 out.
- 4th session on DOT’s at low 17’s. Still running wide, slightly better.
- Lunch, sun came out so all tape removed.
- 5th session. S1 slick front with new 180 DOT D rear. 5 laps out, ran high 16’s and focused on forks and corner entry re push. Added ¼ turn of compression and push eliminated. Cause: forks compressing too quickly to the bottom of the stroke.
- Still running wide in corner exit, so half a turn of preload removed and 2.5 turns of ride height added to the Penske shock. In after three laps saying corner exit was improved but the rear tire spun far more easily. Half the ride height removed with the expected results – bike ran slightly wide and rear tire spun up a little less easily. CAUSE: shock spring too stiff, and when the throttle was applied the shock stopped working an consequently took weight off the front wheel.
TEST SUMMARY:
- Bobby did incredibly well to get down into the 16’s with brand new tires and a track he had never ridden before. A testament to his ability to put a new track together and ride hard and smart.
- the chassis set up from 07 was far too tall in the front fork position with the rear shock at stock length and the axle all the way to the back of the slot causing the front tire to push as there was not enough weight on it going into the corner. With geometry reset, the chassis became neutral and turned very easily.
- the bike would not finish the corner as the 500lb shock spring was too stiff and we didn’t have the opportunity to change it to a 475lb to see if this would solve the problem as there were no more tires available.
- We have a good baseline for geometry and spring rates to use as a platform for further refining the chassis and testing with different valving combinations.
08 Front Tires:
- V slick tire provides more grip and more compression over DOT settings.
- V slick tire gave most consistent and trustworthy feel.
- V DOT stable but feels like it is ready to fold under max load.
08 Rear Tires:
- 190 E DOTgave best side grip.
- 180 D slick gave better hook up/drive.
- 180 D DOT gave best short term drive (8 laps) and fastest lap time 1:16.8.
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