Well, I was back to Buttonwillow for what will likely be my last trackday of the "Season" yesterday. For those who haven't read the other threads I posted, my last trackday was September 10, and I low-sided going in to "Turn 2" or the "Off ramp". I had determined that the low side was caused by excessive lean angle and my pipe levering my rear tire off of the ground. Through discussion here, we determined that I need to work on hanging off the bike further. Over the last month I made repairs to the bike which included some new plastic bits, clutch reservoir, clip-on, and fairing stay; as well as an upgrade or two. I bought and installed a set of Leo Vince high mount pipes, and a set of T-rex frame sliders. I had considered getting some rear-sets, as I feel these are required, but decided to wait, so that I could judge my riding technique with the same reference points. During my repair work, I determined that the lower triple clamp was bent and needed to be straightened or replaced. I weighed my options and decided to straighten the existing part, and purchase all of the necessary items for a front end up-grade (to be completed in the next few months). I got the bike all back together, and went for a couple street rides to verify the function of all of the parts I had been working on, as well as anything else that may have been affected by the low-side. All seemed well, so off to the track I went.

My goal for this track day was purely to work on body positioning, hanging off, form through turns, etc. Speed, braking, shifting, line, etc. were all back burnered since I wanted to focus on basic riding technique. I took it slow in the first couple of sessions, gradually increasing pace, and paying attention to where my body was during the turn in, apex, and exit. I was making an attempt to hang off further than I ever had to avoid dragging any hard parts. I found that it is easy to hang off further, but not up-right the bike more. At the slower pace I was going, I could get closer to the ground than necessary, but I wasn't taking advantage of the benefit of hanging off, which is to push the bike up right. Once I became aware of this, I worked to make it automatic.

At the end of the day, I was happy with my progress. I had only touched hard parts down 3 times during the day (I was dragging pegs 3 times per LAP on the day that I crashed!). Sad to say, I don't think the pipe did what I was hoping it would do (avoid the ground in case of extreme lean angle), as I dragged the mid pipe through one of my Less-Than-Perfect tight left handers. I thought it looked like it stuck out a bit, since it sits right behind the foot peg, but I really had to have been leaning over for it to hit. But other than a couple out of the ordinary scrapes, I found that my body positioning improvements were very helpful.

I also revisited that corner that low sided me with extreme caution. I found that different lines through the apex, gave extreme variations in handling. One particular line is very bumpy, and I am speculating that might have been the line that ate my pipe in September, which might mean that the rear suspension had as much or more to do with the crash than the pipe.

All in all it was a great day. I learned about my posture. I learned about my suspension. And I learned more about my Hawk. I am looking forward to the 954 front end upgrade, and eventually a Shock upgrade. I still consider rear-sets to be something I would like, but I will once again wait for more feedback (from those who have them, and from the bike's handling) before buying. I like the fact that they can tough down, bend backwards, and not cause a problem, but I also find them a bit low, and a bit loosey-goosey when trying to move my feet around on them.

By the next track day (probably in March or April) I should be riding with a complete 954 front end set up, and I will have Dave Moss help me with the set-up; and I will have a shift kit installed (spring and detent arm). I will post my feedback at that time.

Cheers!

 

Awesome! Great job getting back in the saddle.

Dave Moss does great work (trackside) for not very much moolah.

Oh, and tittywop.