You notice very bad body position on trackday... Do you say something? | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

You notice very bad body position on trackday... Do you say something?

I think its great to be open to advice but there is a bit of a risk in this as well.
All too often I see people with questionable experience giving out advice on how to ride, setup their bikes etc.
Its great to be welcoming to new riders and its crucial in growing our sport, but riders please take into consideration who is giving you advice.

I have seen too many people stagnating their rider development because they were getting advice from the guy three canopies down that has done 3 more trackdays and considers himself a trackday expert. The track is expensive with tires, fuel, trackday costs, etc make the most of your time there!
**There are many fantastic trackday riders that have some very valuable experience to bestow on new riders - but for new riders its hard to tell the difference.**

I started Racer5 as a way to always focus on always developing your skills each and every time you are at the track and to get the most out of your time and money, with the ultimate goal of growing this fantastic sport.

We have a way to get into the sport and build a solid foundation with our 125 program.
Then when you are ready for your own trackbike we have our advanced courses.
Key to all of these courses though is to ensure that you are practicing what you have been taught at trackdays!
Thats why we always have pro licensed control riders at every single day for FREE.

All trackday organizers have control riders that are there to help you so that you don't have to try and weed out questionable advice when you are just starting off. Ideally you would take a course to speed up your development. If you haven't taken a course, don't worry many haven't.. But let the trackday oraganizer know its your first time on track and that you would like a control rider to spend some time with you. They won't be able to spend the whole day with you as its not a school but they will spend quite a bit of time with you and be a huge help.

This isn't just a Racer5 thing, ALL trackday organizers have control riders FREE OF CHARGE.
If you are going to a trackday for the first time ask the organizer beforehand if they will have control riders and maybe even ask if they know who they might be. Do some homework and find an organizer that uses quality control riders.
You would be suprised at the incredible caliber of control riders I have seen at Racer5 trackdays as well as many others giving advice for free to new riders!

Control riders and trackday organizers love it when you take advantage of their services so dont be shy! :)


Mina said:
I'll be starting track this year and in all honesty, I could use all the help I can get.
I will not take it personally if someone comes up to me and tells me what I'm doing is wrong and this is what I should do to improve.
I will be very appreciative and listen to what they have to say and try to make something of it.

So, if you see a turtle on a red CBR600RR with numbers 111 - please donate all the advice you care to share!
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One of the main reasons I like to go to Calabogie is that I can ride with top flight riders that show up. You learn a ton from them, even if you've ridden for years... but to address the question: yes, sometimes I have said something to someone... sometimes they take my advice seriously, sometimes they blow me off. I guess it depends on the person.
 
Shaman said:
... but to address the question: yes, sometimes I have said something to someone... sometimes they take my advice seriously, sometimes they blow me off. I guess it depends on the person.
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^^^ This! x2

Though I'm far from an expert, I have gotten alot of my friends into riding, so I have a bit more experience.

Most of my friends are open to my suggestions...one guy I know absolutely ignores any advice anyone gives him and his riding is very poor. i am very concerned for his wellbeing.

Last time he rode he locked up the rear tire trying to stop at a yellow light and nearly highsided. I've never seen sooo much smoke and fish-tailing.
 
Last year I was able to go to the track. Good group of guys. I enjoyed just not having to worry about sand, oil, cars more than anything.

But I also felt awkward for most of the day. I just wasn't jiving with the bike that day(i felt weird, the bike felt weirder)
The guy next to me was watching and also took some pics and showed me just how crossed up I was coming out of one particular corner. Obviously I was doing it on all of them. The next couple times I went out felt WAY better. Really focused on body positioning. And I'm grateful he said something.
On the other hand there was another guy there talking about everything under the sun and giving advice. Just couldn't trust anything he said. Listened. Smiled. Put all info from him into a special file reserved for possible BS.
 
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Fawaz said:
I think its great to be open to advice but there is a bit of a risk in this as well.
All too often I see people with questionable experience giving out advice on how to ride, setup their bikes etc.
Its great to be welcoming to new riders and its crucial in growing our sport, but riders please take into consideration who is giving you advice.

I have seen too many people stagnating their rider development because they were getting advice from the guy three canopies down that has done 3 more trackdays and considers himself a trackday expert. The track is expensive with tires, fuel, trackday costs, etc make the most of your time there!
**There are many fantastic trackday riders that have some very valuable experience to bestow on new riders - but for new riders its hard to tell the difference.**

I started Racer5 as a way to always focus on always developing your skills each and every time you are at the track and to get the most out of your time and money, with the ultimate goal of growing this fantastic sport.

We have a way to get into the sport and build a solid foundation with our 125 program.
Then when you are ready for your own trackbike we have our advanced courses.
Key to all of these courses though is to ensure that you are practicing what you have been taught at trackdays!
Thats why we always have pro licensed control riders at every single day for FREE.

All trackday organizers have control riders that are there to help you so that you don't have to try and weed out questionable advice when you are just starting off. Ideally you would take a course to speed up your development. If you haven't taken a course, don't worry many haven't.. But let the trackday oraganizer know its your first time on track and that you would like a control rider to spend some time with you. They won't be able to spend the whole day with you as its not a school but they will spend quite a bit of time with you and be a huge help.

This isn't just a Racer5 thing, ALL trackday organizers have control riders FREE OF CHARGE.
If you are going to a trackday for the first time ask the organizer beforehand if they will have control riders and maybe even ask if they know who they might be. Do some homework and find an organizer that uses quality control riders.
You would be suprised at the incredible caliber of control riders I have seen at Racer5 trackdays as well as many others giving advice for free to new riders!

Control riders and trackday organizers love it when you take advantage of their services so dont be shy! :)
Click to expand...

Awesome post, thanks Fawaz!
 
SFer said:
On the other hand there was another guy there talking about everything under the sun and giving advice. Just couldn't trust anything he said. Listened. Smiled. Put all info from him into a special file reserved for possible BS.
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Was he riding an R1 with an auto blipper :)
 
Got all my skills from Youtube videos and google searches. It must work, because my kids are experts in everything. I will probably start texting between corners to gain my info. I will keep you posted.
 
alkaline nine said:
Got all my skills from Youtube videos and google searches. It must work, because my kids are experts in everything. I will probably start texting between corners to gain my info. I will keep you posted.
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Got mine from youporn
 
Corsara said:
Well, the auto blipper r1 was there too on that day :)

SFer, May is coming, hope you're getting ready!
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Bah. The wife put her foot down and demands that one of the ducs be sold before I can pick up a track bike. :(

But in my mind I'm getting ready. Lol
Does that count?
 
ShiftyEh said:
Seen he was running right over the rumble strips in the chicane which was really upsetting his bike from what I could tell.
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Love riding over those :) Was much better with the steering damper. After the steering damper my new favourite part is wheelie'ing over the rumble strip on the exit of 5 :D

-Jamie M.
 
toysareforboys said:
Love riding over those :) Was much better with the steering damper. After the steering damper my new favourite part is wheelie'ing over the rumble strip on the exit of 5 :D

-Jamie M.
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images


Wheelie's on track = bad for you, people around you and your laptime. unless you're Scott Rupert (which you're not).
 
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Mr.Azim said:
Wheelie's on track = bad for you, people around you and your laptime. unless you're Scott Rupert (which you're not).
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Oh, I dunno. Even my bike does little baby power wheelies coming out of 6, and it is pretty fun and doesn't really seem to cost any time. I remember watching one of the Racer5 trackday instructors wheelie every. single. lap. on the short stretch between 9 and 10. Pretty tall ones too. Of course he was an extremely skilled rider, but still let's not be too sanctimonious here. Most of us can handle the wheel coming a few inches off the ground now and again - it's not like we are clutching it up to show off. And yes, a steering damper is nice when the wheel is very lightly loaded.

Big tall squiddly wheelies down the straight...yeah I am totally against that too. You do see that and it is pretty retarded. Everything has its time and place.
 
Coaches in most sports try to change the one thing that will lead to the most improvement, rather than pepper the person with a list of things they are doing wrong. Sometimes several things clear up by only addressing one problem. So at the very least I always suggest to get a control rider to go out with them, or direct them to follow up with a riding course if they haven't already taken one.
 
Generally speaking I will offer advice to people I know, if I think it will help, but will also tell them, at the same time, to get other opinions as well. Only time I offered advice to a complete stranger was to a guy at 'bogie who had good corner speed but wasn't getting off the bike at all to the point he was scraping pegs. I was scared he'd crash so I said something. I also told him to grab a control rider and get a better opinion. As said before by others, use control riders. They're there for a reason and (usually) know what they're doing.
 
Fiery254 said:
I also told him to grab a control rider and get a better opinion.
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Good answer. This should be everyone's answer to seeing someone else's mistake. Even if you correct someone, if they misunderstand or misheard the information conveyed, you are basically at fault for not telling them how to do the right thing "right". It's easy to say things a certain way because you understand what you are trying to say. Control riders/instructors are the ones used to teaching.
 
That's the concern. Having taught five different schools over the years I have learned what doesn't work.
That is everybody is different. FACT. So what works for one does not work for another. So if you feel compelled to offer help
ensure you will go the full term with the advice. So determine what they are doing wrong. Then what would help them. Then if they can change.
Then what change they can do. So each person has different styles and learning curves. So it can be easy and it can take many sessions.
But just because you feel the person is doing something wrong does not mean they are ready for a change. Some people feel compelled to freely offer advice.
But they never offer the solution. Nor experiment with possible solutions. So it's so much more then "Hey Dude,,stick your knee out!"
People have to be ready to change and understand why they need to before they will.
 
If I'm going to tell someone, I'm probably going to tell and/or show them what it is they should be doing. But only if I'm sure about it...
 
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