Tips

The following collection of useful advice has been compiled from various email lists for your perusal. Contributors include Suspension Guru Max McAllister, multi time AFM champion and number one plateholder Jeff Short, and multi time class champion and former number seven plateholder Zoran Vujasinovic.

Jeff Short on...

race prep
eliminating wasted time
improving entry speed

using the front tire as hard as the rear
Laguna Seca

Max McAllister on...

using tire circumference and lean angle as half-gears
spring preload
buying what works before you start
gearing and shift points
economical modifications
dynos
Eddy Current vs, Inertial Dynos
progressive springs
HyperPro steering dampers

Zoran Vujasinovic on...

holeshots
riding an underpowered bike quickly
shifting and gearing

Jeff Short on Race Prep

Well, its almost race season again and there are a few things that need to be done on your bike before you get to the track if you have not done it already.

One thing would be to change out the old brake fluid, its been sitting all winter and it will be full of water and will not work well.

Second, replace all the rubber valve stems on the wheels with steel ones that won't crack and cause all the air in your tire to leak out.

Time to check the sag in the suspension. About 1 1/4 to 1 3/8 good place to start up front and 3/4 to 1 1/4 for the rear.

Check all the hoses for cracks and leakage, change the oil. It would also be good to change the spark plugs as they have been sitting there soaking up moisture and gasoline related chemicals.

Pull the wheels off and see that the wheel bearings are all in good shape and replace anything that is not perfect.

Shock linkage, regrease and check for excessive play. You can shim up some of the play at the bolt and bearing housing with shim stock.

Look at your tires if they are worn out get some new ones or better take offs.

Also it's time to stock up on some spare parts. Brake and clutch levers, foot pegs and brackets, spark plugs, spare bolts and nuts, extra brake pads, handle bars and instrument brackets, etc.

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Jeff Short on Eliminating Wasted Time

I went to the last Sears Pt. race and had a very good time watching, as opposed to racing and I got to say hello to lots of people. However I did notice something that a lot of guys seem to do while on the race track that just costs them so much time.

I see lots of racers just sort of float into Turn 11 and at other areas. What I mean is that some of the guys or girls are not using what they have to it's full potential. As a racer you should (I think I have said this before) be pretty much be on the gas or on the brakes. You don't need to roll off the gas going into Turn 11, coast and then get on the brakes. It should be full throttle, then on the brakes with no coasting.

I also notice this in between Turns 3 and 3A racers tend to coast between these two corners, then try to make up the speed they lost on the drive down the hill. You will be so much faster and smoother if you hold the gas open between 3 & 3A to keep your speed up and this will also give you a better drive over 3A.

This coasting thing is bad and I have seen people do it everywhere. 8 & 8A; the first part of Turn 6; Turn 1; Thunderhill between 3 & 4, going into Turn 2, you sort of get the picture. It's just wasted time and it is really easy to get rid of when you learn to recognize it. As an example at Willow Springs Turn 2, what a great corner! If you don't carry your speed into this corner you will never get it back. Once your at full lean you are not going to really gain corner speed by rolling on the gas. What you will do is lose the back end. And because your corner speed is low your exit speed will be low also, because your starting to accelerate from a slower speed. Now you can roll on the gas in Turn 2 to see how much rear tire grip you have. Roll on the gas slowly and the tire will start to spin a little and then you just roll back a bit and the tire will hook back up again.

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Jeff Short on Improving Entry Speed

Getting up to speed using the front tire is very hard. If you run it in too fast you will want too grab the front brake and if you are close to the limit, you will crash. Grabbing the front brake in the panic mode is what I believe is the cause for most AFM crashes on the front tire. Get your braking done early and try to go into the corner with a small amount of trottle to just hold your speed. Always go into a corner with the trottle on, it helps stabilize the bike. Each lap try to go just a little quicker into the turn. But to do this you have to maintain the same turn-in point. Don't move your turn-in point back as you gain speed or you will ruin your line and cause yourself more trouble.

Heres a little trick I use to see if I get through a corner a little quicker. I find those important corners and at the exit, at a point I am comfortable I find a reference point to check the tach. I will do this every lap. If I change something and I gain say 500 rpm on the tach, then I know I have either a better line through that corner or more corner speed, etc. Turn 3 at Sears is a good spot to work on both turn in and entry speed because it's banked and uphill. If you get in a little hot, the banking will help the front tire scrub off some speed as well as the hill. But don't grab that front brake or you will most certainly overload the front tire and go down. As Ken Hill said, riding a XR100 is good practice on how to control a front end slide and to get a feel for what the bike will do at the limit of traction going into a corner. One thing that will become apparent form riding a XR100 is when the front starts to go you can save it with a little trottle.

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Jeff Short on Using the Front Tire as Hard as the Rear

When I started back racing in 1994 on my FZR 400 I found out I had built a good bike that was capable of winning races and I did win several that year. But during the year I came to a point in my riding where I just could not seem to get any faster. After long thought about how I approached the track and corners I realized that I was turning into the turns too soon and too slowly. I was not using the front tire as hard as the rear.

It is easy to feel for yourself. Feel the load on your tires and suspension at the exit of the corner and if you do not have the same sort of feel on the front end going into the turn then you are losing time. The quicker you can turn the bike, that is the faster you can get it to maximum lean the less time you will spend in the corner. Keith Code in one of his books goes over this in detail and it is very important. So pick one of his books and start reading.

If you watch the GP guys or the AMA guys you will see they rarely crash on the exit of corners. Most of the time their mistakes are going into the corners. Most of the crashes I see at the club level are on the exits. It is very hard to make up the time you lose mid corner because of a slow entry speed by nailing the trottle at the exit. In fact, if you can ever just twist the trottle wide open at a corner exit, or nail it at the exit of a corner, then you are too late getting on the gas. Think about it, if you are slowly rolling on the trottle and the rear tire comes loose then it will do so in a sort of slow, controlled manner because you have not over powered the tire suddenly. If the tire breaks loose, you slowly roll back the gas and the tire hooks up smoothly and away you go.

I tell lots of people this and I will say it here. Go to Willow Springs. The long turns like Turn 2 is a very good place to learn trottle control. The bike is going about a 100 mph in Turn 2, so it is fairly stable. With lots of practice you can learn to roll on the gas in the middle of the corner and get the rear tire to spin and go slightly sideways, then roll back the gas and the tire comes back. Even on a 250 ninja. At the exits you can roll on the gas and feel the tire start to spin and get used to that feeling. Yes, it is going to scare you at first but do it steps and keep trying. You can then take this new skill and apply it everywhere. You will learn to ride safer and faster.

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Jeff Short on Laguna Seca

For those going there for the first time, the #1 brake markers make a good turn-in point for a lot of turns. Remember to getoff the brake early going into the corners and find a setup that allows you to really work the front end. This will be important for Turns 3 and 4 which are flat and require a lot of corner speed and front end traction. If you don't have a prayer of winning the race, jump that start, so we can all get to see you on TV.

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Max McAllister on Using Tire Circumference and Lean Angle as a Half Gear

Incidentally, using the tire for "half-gears" is a technique used by a lot of riders. If you are exiting a turn that has the bike lugging slightly, if you can stay leaned over longer, then it is like you are in a slightly lower gear. As the bike pulls out of the turn, then you can stand it up, and it will accelerate further in the same gear. This technique works well going up hills (turn 1 at Road Atlanta for instance)

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Max McAllister on Spring Preload

Cranking up preload is a classic bubblegum on radiator hose fix. It actually makes the bike harsh in the initial portion of the stroke (regardless of linkage ratio). The working range of any shock spring is 10-15mm of preload, this is from "free" to installed (different from sag). You cannot alter the spring's "rate" by adding preload, it will always be too soft. If you are 200lbs+, then there is no option but to seek aftermarket springs, even for the tamest street riding.

Which brings me to a point I have been forgetting to make. I hear people say that they are going to "ride the bike until I can use all of the stock suspension." Well, stop after the first brake marker and have your suspension fixed, becuase you will have exceeded its capability as soon as you load the brakes. We are talking about safety here. the stock springs are too soft for ANYBODY. Most of the available travel is consumed when a 170 lb rider SITS on an SV. The second you pull the brake, it is "working the bottom". And if you brake hard, you will be stuck on the bottom. This means you have NO suspension, and can crash from a sharp bump. You need springs that can support the weight of you, the bike, and the force of you braking.

Do you know anyone that goes to the race track and says "I'm just gonna ride these stock tires until I'm doin all I can with em!" Of course not, that would be stupid. Well stock suspension is the same. Particularly on an SV. Of course there are always some guys who say " why I've ridden for twenty years on stock suspension, and done just fine, blah, blah, blah. People used to read by candlelight, too. But now we have something better... The proper springs require little preload, and therefore are nice and soft in the intial portion of the stroke. But as you compress them, they build enough resistance to keep you from "working the bottom (portion of the stroke)". And for the record, as far as most other noted suspension tuners go, they think I set bikes up too soft.

Just so you don't think I am telling you it should feel stiff. It should feel plush, but controlled. Wait till we get Z out there... I never answered a question the other day, but fork springs should work in a 15-25mm range of preload. If you have non adjustable caps, then start at 20 mm preload.

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Max McAllister on Buying What Works Before You Start

Here is how I derived my mentality on "buy what works before you ever start, or don't even start." I was able to borrow a nice dirtbike from a friend when I was about 23. I kept it in good working order for him, and he let me borrow it when I wanted it. Well, I knew you had to have a helmet, so I got that, and went riding. I hurt my foot first time out. So then I bought boots. Much better. Then Second time, I hurt my knee. So I bought pants, and knee guards. Then I hit my chest on the crossbar, and then I bought a chest protector. Then I smashed my elbow, and as a result bought elbow guards. So I should have bought all of the best safety gear right off. Then I got my own ATV, and started racing it. First I bent all four wheels, and had to buy racing wheels. Then I bent the axle and had to buy an "unbendable" one. then I cracked the swingarm, and had to buy upgrade. Stock shock blew, and so did stock front shocks. Bent handlebars, steering stem, control arms, etc. All the while missing out on action because the stock stuff was inadequate to race with.

Then one day I saw a guy riding up a sand dune in a tshirt and shorts on a three wheeler with his kid in his lap and a beer in one hand, doing a wheelie up a hill. he wasn't just tempting fate, he was begging it. Nothing happened THAT TIME, but it was then that I realized, "I could never do that". If I get on a piece of equipment to go ride it, I am going to ride it AT LEAST to its limit. I have never even ridden anything since in less than full safety gear. As a Pro ATV racer, I could do all of the aforementioned damage to a stock ATV in ONE race, if I could even finish.

So what's the point? If you are going to race, then race. You have to be at least a marginally competitive person to go race in the first place. If you just want to ride around and have fun, then go to organized track days. There is a time and place for everyone's desires and intentions. If you are not at the track to compete, then why go? All of the same comaraderie is available at track days. Besides, the whole world is sick of excuses at the track!!!! If your bike is stock and you suck, then don't blame the bike. It's doing all it can.

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Max McAllister on Gearing and Shift Points

When it comes to gearing you want to be near redline. It doesn't hurt to pull past peak power, you will not slow down. If you gear as you said, pull 9200 rpm at end of straight, and someone or something does anything to disrupt your drive onto the straight, then you will be the last one to the end of the straightaway, and have lost a lot of distance. Depending on the spacing of your transmission, it may be bad to shift at 9200. The power could fall below where the bike can pull the next higher gear.

And before you pull out your dyno graphs, forget it. Inertial dynos (Dynojets) have little to do with how a motorcycle acts in the real world. Your bike slows down a lot more shifing on the road than it does sitting still on a dyno with a 900 lb drum spinning under it. The information is useless for this purpose. In two strokes, they actually gear for redline, and if they exceed it, it doesn't hurt. They call that margin of error space "overrev".

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Max McAllister on Economical Modifications

You could have a GSXR shock redone for street use for about $375. If you don't like the extra 1/2 " of ride height, you will be stuck. Plus you have to chop up stock battery box.

Don't buy a Works Performance Heart Attack Kit, unless you want to use it for home defense. Truly unacceptable. Worse than stock. Works Performance makes Progressive look like pioneers!!! They are completely lost in the woods. I had their main tech guy tell me on the phone about two weeks ago, that the high speed rebound valving was for "when you got really crankin'... You have to be goin reaaaallllly fast for that to kick in..." I laughed my ass off.

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Max McAllister on Dynos

Dynos are only useful to tell you that you have made a change, and which way you went. The only really useful dynos are the eddy-current type that actually load the rear wheel. This simulates the load on the rear wheel driving down the road. If you hold constant throttle on dyno jet, there is almost no load at all. The biggest factor is that no dyno can tell you when to shift from one gear to the next to get the best straightaway speed. They cannot simulate wind resistance. That is like having the rear brake 1/2 on all the way through the dyno run. Try that some time, and I'm sure you will see that if you shift at 9200 you will fall way below the power band. That is also why inertial dynos show progressively less power with an "all gear" run.

Zoran is right when he says revving to just before redline keeps him in the power when he shifts. This is particularly true in each higher gear. The amount you slow down between 5th and 6th gears is A LOT. Haven't you ever been next to someone in a drag race on a big straight and shifted gears? You back up a whole bikelength if you don't speed shift. This is why electric shifters are so bitchin, you barely have any power loss. You get to peak power, and it barely changes when you shift. Electric shifter and shift light were 1 sec/lap for me at Road Atlanta. In fact, you are completely wasting you time trying to tune a 2-stroke on a dyno jet, since they have to have the wheel loaded to work.

If you can find a shop with a current-brake type dyno near you, then I suggest you go there. If you ask them what kind of dyno they have and they don't know, then I would suggest you not go there.

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Max McAllister on Eddy Current and Inertial Dynos

How do you explain the standard, and acknowledged by all dyno operators in the industry, 15% variance in inertial and current brake dynos? Anyway, maybe you missed out on some of the string, but using anything you see on a dyno sheet to determine a shift point will not be useful, since you are sitting still, regardless of any atmosperic or fuel or engine or dyno operator factor. It has nothing to do with a dynamic situation. Data acquisition is good information. It is dynamic. Not static. That is why it is useful to drag racers, and road racers too.

Think of it another way. There is no factory road race bike without a data acq system. Most of these systems are 5-10k dollars. A dyno costs the same. If it was at all useful to have one, they would have one for private use, at each tractor. Certainly, they pay to have a data acq engineer on hand. Have you ever seen a Superbike at the dyno at an AMA National? I haven't. Have you ever seen a 250 GP bike at the dyno at an AMA National? I haven't. There is nothing there that they need. The info you get is only enough to help a club racer find the ball park. No professional uses it for the purposes you are describing.

I personally have made in the neighborhood of 3000 dyno runs, on both Dynojet and Factory Dynos. If I were to say which is accurate, it would not be the Dynojet (inertial). In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they factor in bullshit HP numbers. Racers don't really seem to care if there bike is fast or not. They just want the piece of paper that gives the highest HP number. This is why the Factory dyno has never caught on. The truth hurts... I have seen racers go from dyno to dyno in the pits at a national just because the dyno they were just tested on, "Can't be Right!!!". And believe it or not, you can go from one dynojet to another in the pits on the same day with the same conditions, and get 5-10% variance. Current dyno technology is like sticking your thumb in the tire to measure your tire pressure.

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Max McAllister on Progressive Springs

Progressively wound springs are normally too soft in the top portion of the stroke, and sag too much. Sometimes, they are too stiff in the bottom, but that is not common. The oil level in the fork is the correct tuning variable to use to prevent bottoming. The air above the oil is a naturally progressive spring, and you want it to kick in only as required to prevent bottoming.

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Max McAllister on HyperPro Steering Dampers

There are two ways to prove Hyperpro dampers useless.

The first is to bend down and smack the front wheel back and forth in your hands really quickly. Hold your hands only four or five inches away from the tire on either side. You will be able to bat the tire with absolutely no resistance. The very center is where you most require the action of a steering damper for stability. In this range, it does nothing. The salesman will tell you, "it is speed sensitive, it only works when you need it to, like a sharp jolt."

OK, second way to prove it useless, is to go up to the handlebar (end) and whack it really hard with the palm of your hand. The wheel will deflect off of center like nothing is there. That is because nothing is there!!! I have known several customers who have sent them back in (brand new) and had them "fixed", and had thicker oil put in them, etc. The results are still the same. No damping in the center, particularly when it changes direction, and no real overall damping to speak of.

Don't get me wrong. I am constantly correcting racers because they have their dampers set to stiff. You should not be able to tell there is a damper on your bike as you ride through the pits. If your bike is heavy to steer at low speed then it is way to stiff. It is a safey device, and should not be used to mask an ill handling motorcycle. When you push and pull on the bars in the pits, you should be able to detect that it is there, and it is doing something, but that is it. All dampers are speed sensitive. They will generate more damping when there is some sharp input into the wheel. At least they're supposed to.

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Zoran Vujasinovic on Holeshots

I was first in turn one in every race that I did not start from back of grid.they are so many different ways to get of line and they can all work for you.when on new tracks with new to me guys I like to watch starts,but not guys wheeling of like but flag men,I like to watch his moves.they all have different moves and if you figure them out it is your advantage.I remember old man at GNF Road Atlanta.he would jump in air before trowing flag.when at start line I dont look at flag,I look at flagmen head and shoulder,usualy first sign of flag to go.

different bikes may get of line better with diferent tehnik,for example I found out that vtr 1000 does best if not reved,600 you may have to rev to redline and 125 you need to pedal with legs. on sv I slip clutch all the way through 1 gear and shortshift in second.I like to keep right feet on peg and left under shift lever,body weight on tank and elbows wide open to take as much room as posible.if your front wheel comes more than 1 feet of ground you may want to try different way. I dont tink there is one right way to do it.it is which way you will master and make it work.

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Zoran Vujasinovic on Shifting and Gearing

I used to have shift light on my gsxr,but dont really need it now.specialy at sears,I dont think there is big use of light at sears,corners are to close to each other and sometime is better to overrev little than upshift and immediately downshift.

if I do have this problem I try to change gearing. I changed my rear sprocket from 48 to 47 to avoid to many downshifts going in turn two,Mike will know this.turn 1 is wide open in 5th gear and half way in I had to upshift to 6th.entering turn 1a(little kink)I am still wide open and immediately after is turn two which is sharp of camber 3rd gear turn so I would have to downshift three times for turn 2 which is very hard with given room.because of no time to downshift 3 times I would sometime mess line or enter in one gear to hi which will kill my drive out of turn 2.so I choose to rev little higher and not shift in 6th gear so I can get turn 2 right and other two turns after it.this is why overrev is sometime important even you are past pick power of your dyno curve.

now you dont want to bounce on rev limiter either. gearing is important and when you do gear your bike gear it by fast parts of track,forget about those sharp uturns,you may have to make compromise so choose fast part because that is where you make time.trying to make time in slowest corners on track will only slow you down.if you mess up it will cost you and if you get it right you want gein much,fast corners are where you make time.and always think about corners ahead of the one you are entering.you may need to sacrifice line in one corner to get next three right.you need to figure out what are most important parts of track.

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Zoran Vujasinovic on Racing a Lightweight Twin

you should not trail brake to apex on street.diferent bikes and diferent street tires act diferent to trail braking.some tend to stand up under trail braking so you need to release brake in order to turn in to corner and you may find your self going to hot in corner.if you do get hot in corner dont brake,just lean bike in and you will most likely make it thrue.

if you get in corner realy hot you may slide front wheel and it gets tricky.you need to push front wheel forward instead sideways and to do that you need to get on throtle.trick is to know when and how much throtle.I personaly dont trail brake much(I think it slows me down),I slide my way thrue,or what thay call push front end and I wear front tires faster than rear(low power of sv helps here and you need to find right profile tire for that).

you cant do this in every corner.like in of camber corners you need to get on throtle early and roll throtle all the way thrue to avoid front wheel slide and tendency to go wide.you have to think about corner you are geting in before you get there to know how to get thrue it.and before you think about that corner you need to think about corner after that one.that is what space between corners is for.to think.now we need to slow down so we can go faster

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