Today I went out to study my turn-in points. Even though I've been taking the corners faster than I was before, and completing them much more comfortably, I still felt I may be turning in a little too early. I wanted to go out and try to pinpoint exactly what it is that I look at when I decide to make my turn-ins.

Usually, I've felt that I just aim for the latest point possible (the latest point that I'm comfortable turning at). It seemed that I would focus on a point at the end of the straigh, and fix that as my turning point, but usually as I near that point I would chicken out and turn before I got to the point I had picked out. The cornering would always be completed smoothly, but why?. How does that wor? I choose a turn-in point and never use it? It didn't really make any sense.

What appeared before as me chickening out before I got to my chosen point, however, is not quite so. As it turns out, the point I pick out while speeding down the straight is just one of the variables I use to calculate my specific turn-in point. I always initiate my turn-in before this point because that IS the where I had calculated I would be turning in. It just isn't as easy to look at that point on the pavement. You see my actual turn-in point is a little before where the far tangent of the corner and my current heading intersect.

It seems that I focus on the point at the end of the straight to try and keep me on line, and to prevent me from turning in too early. The point that I actually turn in at is to keep me from hitting the imaginary wall formed by the tangent comingof the far edge of the corner. The turn-in must be made to get the bike to align almost perfectly with the wall.

All-in-all, it still leaves a lot of room for adjustments. At least now though, I know what and why I am looking at where I am looking.

Got on the bike to go for a spin, and it wouldn't start with clutch pulled in??? I checked the gears, it was in neutral. So, what's the deal?!

It would only start in Neutral with the clutch lever let out. So weird. I wasn't going to cancel my ride just because of this. Pfft! However, if the bike stalled while moving, it would mean I would have to stop and find neutral before I could restart again.

After I came back I ended up breaking down the clutch switch. Turns out the contacts were all muddy from the rust retardant the factory guys must have placed in there. I cleaned that all out with some denatured alchohol, and it was good to go again.

The temperatures have been coming down around here, so I've decided now would be a good time to try out some new pressures on the tires.

Originally, I was using factory recommended pressures +/- 1. Today I dropped the pressures down to tire minimums 34/36. Those made the front end feel really vague at first. I'm so used to the stiff feel from the 36 psi inflated front, and really didn't like the feel. But, I decided to give it another chance, and noted that although the lower pressures didn't give the same precise feedback, the tires did seem to soak up some more of the inconsistencies in the pavement. I let the tires cool down and tried the same pressures again for one more circuit. Pushing it a little harder in the corners. This time I noticed I could feel the road, just a little differently.

The following day I set the pressures to 33/37. With the previous pressures, the back end seemed a little squirrely, but the front end felt like it could be let down some more. I rode the tires so they got really hot, and these new pressures seemed to work a little better.

I'll ride with this new setup for a while.

If you really want to know here it is:

Everytime before I ride I'm thinking "Well..., hopefully I'll stay on today".

Once I'm on the bike and I begin riding I'm thinking "Gently now. Take it easy. Let the tires warm up. Get into the feel of it. That's it. Nice and smooth."

Then after the tires have fully warmed up and I'm aproaching my first tight right turn I am thinking "Check your speed, check your speed, check your speed, does the pavement look good, well does it, WELL?!!!... Yes it looks good. What about the traffic? No oncoming traffic. Okay, I'm almost at the right speed do you see the turn in point?, Do you see it? DO YOU SEE IT? YES!!! Alright then get ready. Leave a little in reserve in case there is something around the bend please. 10-4. Hold it,... Hold it, DON'T YOU DARE TURN IN EARLY!!, Hold it, are we at the turn in point yet,............. LEAN YOU FOOL!!!! WHOOOOOOOO!!!!! Don't you look over there! There's nothing on the outside for you. HOLD... THAT... LINE... Are you ready with the throttle? I'm already on it, just say the word. Okay as soon as we pass this apex, steady, steady,. GO!!! PUNCH IT!!! ZOOOOOM!

Then as I am pulling up to my tight left turn I'm thinking "All I ask is that you keep your head away from the centerline. Did you hear me? Yes. I'll keep my head in. Is the pavement good? Yes.... Anything else? Oh yeah, leave some reserve in case there is sand or some other crap. How much reserve do you want? LISTEN!!! No pegs today! Okay. Check your speed. Check your speed. Not too fast. Hey!!!! Not too slow either. You know the routine! Where's my turn in point? Dude!!! Where's my... I FOUND IT!!! Okay get ready. What about the traffic? Just deal with it!... Get ready. Hold it.... Hold it.... Hold i.. DO NOT TURN IN EARLY. How many times do I have to tell you! It's coming up... 3...2...LEAN!!!!! LEAN HARD YOU FOOL!!!! PUT YOUR SHOULDER INTO IT!!! AND STOP RESTING YOUR WEIGHT ON THE BARS!!! WHOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Are you ready with the throttle? Dude, I've BEEN READY. Alright! Hold that line. That line looks good........ CAR (pulls head and body closer to tank)... Hold that line. Ready on the throttle..... Punch it! YEAHHHHHHH!!!

And so it goes, left turn, right turn, left turn, right turn.

However,...

if I'm going around a nice long sweeper my thoughts are probably more like this: Taino's Mind.

So I went out to the parking lot to practice (of all things) tight circles and cornering, so I could get more of feel for them - both to the right and to the left.

This lot, however, was very sandy. Even the clear spots had a little sand tucked in between the jagged surface of the pavement. Still, I found a relatively clean patch that was just large enough for me to ride an oval or figure-eight at a decent speed. I rolled around this patch for quite a bit, but I still wasn't able to get my right knee down. So, then I decided I would concentrate on just riding in circles, making them tighter and tighter until it happened.

Well, it worked well for the left knee, but I just could not bring myself to ride at the speed and make the turn tight enough to bring my knee down on the right side. So, I finally gave up on that. It seemed that I was just not as comfortable on that side with cornering. And, no wonder. I don't get as much real high speed cornering experience turning right, since that's the danger direction.

So since I wasn't going to get it done on the right knee, I decided to get more comfortable leaning the bike over on the left. That went well for a while, and I was grinding down that knee puck pretty good. The thing is, the air temperature was not as warm as it usually was. Today it was around 80 degrees down from 90+. Also, I was still using the same high tire pressures 35/39. And, I was riding around at a relatively low speed, no more than 35 mph. Oh..., remember that I said that this lot was very sandy (the sandlot). All of these factors combined means that I had to be extremely smooth and careful on the throttle.

I was rolling around in these tight circles I figure at about 15-20 mph. Pretty slow. My left knee puck is scraping steadily now, just one long constant drag. Suddenly, before I even realized it, my shoulder is on the ground and I'm still pulling on the throttle. The engine starts revving like crazy. I had to make a conscious and deliberate effort to let go of the throttle grip so that the engine could slow down. The leathers held up well on the cheese-grater style pavement. There was some damage (mostly scratches), but the frame sliders held the bike off the ground pretty well.

I've gone over the fall in my mind countless times after it occurred to try and figure out just exactly what caused it to happen. The tires were gripping just fine.

I realized that I was maintaining a very delicate balance traveling at that slow speed. I was riding in 2nd gear, at 15/20 mph, and maintaining the lean. At that point when the rear tire broke loose, I had just twisted the throttle a little too much, and a little too sharply for the conditions. And, BANG!!! Down I went.

That's enough practice for today.