SoCal Trackdays - Archive

[sexybill18]

corey,

sorry to hear bout the crash, but glad you're not hurt.  if it makes you feel any better i had my first accident after 12 years (bike only, no car) yesterday.  i took a lil tumble down los feliz on the way home from work yesterday.  some kid in a old land crusier figured you dont need to look before switching lanes when your car is huge.  me and bike are fine.  i think something must have been in the smog.

i think this calls for a tattoo or something.

bill

[sqweak]

thanks to all for the well wishes!

It wasn't that big of a deal, I'm just more annoyed and frustrated than anything else.

metalduc: don't think it was cold tires.  It was 104 out, and I was on my 5th or 6th lap.  I'd just done my best time of the day and was on a flyer when this happened.  I'd been *way* more aggressive on lean angle and entry speed on other corners that lap, and even that corner on earlier laps.

grio: thank you so much for your advice!  Unfortnuately, none of the guys in the pit saw me go down, nor did the photographer, corner workers, or other riders.   I'm pretty much accepting that sometimes things just happen. *shrug*

bill: sorry to hear about your get-off   I think commemorative tattoos are an excellent idea

[silentbob]

thanks to all for the well wishes!

It wasn't that big of a deal, I'm just more annoyed and frustrated than anything else.

metalduc: don't think it was cold tires.  It was 104 out, and I was on my 5th or 6th lap.  I'd just done my best time of the day and was on a flyer when this happened.  I'd been *way* more aggressive on lean angle and entry speed on other corners that lap, and even that corner on earlier laps.

grio: thank you so much for your advice!  Unfortnuately, none of the guys in the pit saw me go down, nor did the photographer, corner workers, or other riders.   I'm pretty much accepting that sometimes things just happen. *shrug*

bill: sorry to hear about your get-off   I think commemorative tattoos are an excellent idea

What tires were you running?

[sqweak]

dunlop 209gp

they had like 2 days of my slow pace/aggression trackday style on em.  Derby had looked at them earlier and didn't feel there was anything to worry about, and again after the wreck and didn't notice anything glaringly obvious. *shrug*

judging by where bike and i ended up,  I lost it more than half way thru, probably closer to 3/4.  The bike was over and settled, I was gently on the throttle and not being hamfisted or otherwise giving inputs that would lead to instability.

[NAKID]

When all else fails, blame derby!

On a serious note, had anyone else gone down in that corner and maybe they missed some spilt gravel?

[Grampa]

as odd as it's going to sound..... I would be a lil excited to have crashed on the track like that. Ya got it over with, you and the bike are ok, boots worked, leathers worked helmet worked. (trust me.. crash'n on the street = more suck)

glad to hear you's is okee dokee

[gm2]

it was bejeezus hot out there.. and the wind ate another ez-up.. and corey had that get-off .. but all in all a really fun day

i was the first to notice the white and red SV on it's side, and it's pilot wisely walking away from it & out of the impact zone, but unfortunately none of us saw the event itself.  nope, no other crashes there that day.  +1 on weird, bumpy corner.  i always thank good suspension every time i get through it.

those new dunlops are incredible!

ryan was out with the newly reborn '99 R6, complete with sweet retro yamaha paint job.  he was naturally slow and awkward on it all day.  it's tough to watch someone ride who just doesn't get it.

oh, and while ryan tells me this is the way to get through any/every corner, i managed to completely lose the front on the skidpad and then save it with my knee.  yikes.

[Speeddog]

it was bejeezus hot out there.. and the wind ate another ez-up.. and corey had that get-off .. but all in all a really fun day

Sounds like a regular day at Willow.

i was the first to notice the white and red SV on it's side, and it's pilot wisely walking away from it & out of the impact zone, but unfortunately none of us saw the event itself.  nope, no other crashes there that day.  +1 on weird, bumpy corner.  i always thank good suspension every time i get through it.

Maybe there was *someone* who saw it. 
Wind?

those new dunlops are incredible!

I'm assuming you got qualifiers?
Did Joe like his set?

ryan was out with the newly reborn '99 R6, complete with sweet retro yamaha paint job.  he was naturally slow and awkward on it all day.  it's tough to watch someone ride who just doesn't get it.

He passed ya sliding both ends, eh? 

oh, and while ryan tells me this is the way to get through any/every corner, i managed to completely lose the front on the skidpad and then save it with my knee.  yikes.

That's what the pucks are for. Good job! 

[gm2]

I'm assuming you got qualifiers?
Did Joe like his set?

nope, 211GPs
i think joe was a little freaked at first by the difference between the Quali's and a soft race-compound DOT (duh..) but they definitely wore well and he sure didn't look like he was having any issues..

[joekarati]

I had a semi-funky day at the track...the first session was all smiles, great to be back, new skins felt good enough to keep me happy in the warm up session.  The second session, some duder low sided right in front of me in the bowl...and that freaked me out enough to upset my rhythm for that session.

Third felt pretty good, I can feel an obvious difference in the new tires, there not as soft, and the profile is less aggressive...still, throughout the day I managed to get back up to a semi-good pace and eventually beat my best lap time by a hair...meanwhile, I did some sliding around in T2 and on the skid pad.  I'm happy to report the the Dunlop Quali's LOOK great...I mean, it doesn't look like they been thru a full track day...and that's going to be easier on the pocketbook.  It's pretty clear that I need another set of rims/ tires that I can throw down for t-days though...

One bonus to the day was trying to chase Ryan; I also got newly acquainted with how to pass, and how to stuff (thanks again for the heart attack R) courtesy of Ryan's Private Track School...

I had a pretty gnarly head shake coming out of 6, making a pass into 7...that was fun, and I scraped the shit out of my peg in 2 that disrupted the bike pretty good...but all in all, par for the course I suppose...anyway, great times, great to see such a big gang out there....until next time, throw this thread in the T-Day Chronicles.   

[gm2]

6-20

[Ciao Fun]

Hey Corey, sorry to hear about your meeting with the tarmac, but welcome to the club!  It's hardly exclusive but often entertaining with minimal permanent injury to body or ego.

Nice pics!  Sounds like a good time out there! 

Lester

[sqweak]

Crash reason mystery solved?

These are from the session when I crashed.  Note my lean angle and not being out of the seat at all.  I think I came into 11 hotter than I had been, and if I was already this far over maybe it was just too much for the contact patch...or I leaned it a bit further and lost it?

[gm2]

a cheek or half a cheek off would give you that much angle on the corner without having the bike so far over.  also you're hugging the tank.. with your height/size you should spend most of your time with your butt as far back as it'll go.  in those pics your outside knee should probably be more in-line with the ~tank cap.

[Ciao Fun]

Modern tire technology is pretty amazing.  I've experienced good traction even at what I perceived to be extreme lean angles (just before dragging hard parts).

Here's another theory: Corey, maybe you entered T11 hotter than usual as you stated.  Then, without conscious thought, perhaps you abruptly cut you throttle?  This could overload your front causing it to wash out and result in a low side.

Lester

Crash reason mystery solved?

These are from the session when I crashed.  Note my lean angle and not being out of the seat at all.  I think I came into 11 hotter than I had been, and if I was already this far over maybe it was just too much for the contact patch...or I leaned it a bit further and lost it?