Busa at Reg Pridmore School

The most important thing I learned was smooth technique all around-smooth transitions. Nothing abrupt. As I got faster and faster approaching corners with less leeway for missing a line it became even more important to keep a smooth touch on the brakes to get it slowed down but keep it on line. Exiting corners I would begin a smooth throttle roll on while still leaned over and increase the power as I came out of the lean angle. The front straight is fairly long and in the first session I was running up to 140mph but then in the next lecture Reg mentioned how a few riders had been going 130-140 on the straight and we didn't have the experience to do that(true) so please tone it down before we got killed or something. He didn't mention names or look at anyone but I knew I was certainly one of them so after that I would hammer up to 120 then cruise most of the straight at 120.

I had also played around with countersteering on the streets but on the track I never used it. True track countersteering at speed may be in the realm of those with more talent than me, however Reg didn't show much enthusiasm for the technique although he didn't discourage it either.

The Busa would just rocket out of corners and blew by(up to my 120mph limit) every bike I was close to coming onto the front straight(including instructors) with the exception of one instructer on a Ducati 996. Again I was in group B and there were a lot of lean and mean looking people and bikes in A so the story would have been different there. But the reason we were all there was to become better riders so even though I was passing a lot of people, I was thinking much more about doing the things Pridmore has talked about in the lectures. It was fun to be going by people but I always felt like in a way I had a bit of an unfair advantage with all that power. And I did on the straights!

Also the huge difference between riding a bike on the street and on the track became very clear for me and from now on I am sure I will ride slower on the street. On the street I can never come even a bit close to the level I can ride at on the track-not to mention cars, police, etc.. so why bother?

At least for the B group Pridmore was trying to stress how our new skills and improved understanding of our bikes would make us safer riders on the street. It worked for me. Now my Busa is much more of a known quantity.

Enough about the school. If there are any more questions I will be brief.
 
Yes, thanks Velociraptor. I'm not likely to be able to visit any of these schools in the near future, and hearing about your experiences at least lets me do it vicariously, hehe.

Plus, I get to think about the things you learned. Mayb not be the same . . . but it's better than nothing.
 
Had a wonderful time with the Busa at Seattle International Raceway doing the Pridmore school. Really learned a lot about the bike and my abilities(or lack of compared to the instructors). I rode with the "B" group-more street rider and less racer. Mine was the only Busa there. I was hoping that a few more busa nuts would be out there. We probably got around 5-6 20 minute sessions on the track. Relative to the other B riders I found noone that was going around the corners much faster(except for the instructors!) As I progressed during the day I was hanging more and more off the inside of the bike as cornering speeds increased. The surprising thing to me was that NOTHING DRAGGED. At the same time the tires were worn to the edges and the back tire was very trashed with abraded bits of rubber all over it. So I must've been getting leaned over fairly far and getting good drive off the corners. Anyway, though clearly I am just a newbie on the track I was very pleased at not dragging anything(except the toes of my boots-need to keep the balls of my feet on the pegs better). Overall the bike was very stable and didn't do anything strange all day. It really has a habit of sitting up in corners if a little front brake is added in the middle but it is very predictable. I would really recomend taking this course. I came away from it knowing a LOT more about how my bike behaves and I got a lot of great advice both from Reg and his instructors. And I was even more impressed with the Busa. What a bike! I have my suspension set a little softer than most I think(four lines showing on the front preload) and I was ready to have to stiffen it up during the day but I never touched it. It felt fine to me. In conclusion, within my limited track abilities as a roadie playing on the track, the Busa was a pure joy to ride. It didn't miss a beat all day and had no nasty habits. ...and go to a class! Oh ..I was running stock tires and they seemed to stick very well and were very predictable.
 
Well, maybe I was countersteering and didn't know it. I just wasn't conciously doing it to get the bike to lean over quicker like I have done on the street. Probably my mind was occupied with other things...... The only time I ever had to check the the instruments was on the front straight. Also saw a copper busa on I-5 going home in the afternoon through downtown Seattle. Nice touch to an already great day.
 
i enjoyed the reg pridmore class at road atlanta 7/13.
great for street riders,total blast to ride on a race track!
plus,there's always something
new to learn. :)
 
Did they teach you about using the pegs to counter steer? This is used in conjuction with normal handle bar countersteering......

[This message has been edited by VegasDude (edited 05 September 1999).]
 
They talked a lot about body steering which included weighting a peg and levering the bike by pushing against the side of the tank with your leg. Also they talked a lot about keeping the upper body loose and relaxed and how the big muscles in the legs got a lot less tired steering the bike than small arm muscles do.
 
that great. my friend is a great street rider taught me those techniques you just described. It makes handle bar countersteering seem like too much input......at times... When I saw your post about not countersteering I knew that your were using those techniques.

[This message has been edited by VegasDude (edited 05 September 1999).]

[This message has been edited by VegasDude (edited 05 September 1999).]
 
Velociraptor, that was you! I was on the little red Bandit 400. I was meaning to ask you how it handled at the track, since I've barely had mine 2 weeks and wasn't daring enough to take it to the track yet. You were grooving in the corners! Little bandit ways 400 pounds and I barely caught up to you once in turn 2 then you just warped outta there! I seem to recall you and a couple Bandit 1200's nuking my butt in the straight as well :) Heh. I was pretty sure Reg wasn't referring to me when he got miffed about the 140+ mph group :)
 
Wasn't that a fun day! I wasn't that surprised to be able to do well in the acceleration part-that's all motor plus a bit of technique for getting on the throttle while still leaned over. I was surprised at how decent I was able to even get through 3a and 3b. I was ready to have wallowing through some of the turns but the beast seemed to track well. In my e-mail to Reg I suggested addressing the top speed thing BEFORE the fact rather than after. The Busa gets up to 140 very quickly so it wasn't like I was ringing the bike's neck in some crazy quest for top speed. Maybe he just forgot! Anyway...bring your Busa next year. You will have a blast!
 
Velociraptor, thanks for the doc on the Pridmore school. I will be going with a friend on the new Yamaha 600 this fall in Hallett Oklahoma. I have been driving high performance bikes for less than 2 years and am possible a serious menace to myself. I completed the MSF class and hope to continue with the Pridmore school. Did you really get all the way to the edge on the stock tires!? I still have a quarter inch to go. I absolutely love the busa. The damn TL1000S turns like a bus compared to the busa to me. I'd bet the wide ass MEZ's have something to do with it. I look forward to the class.
 
Question for blitzn....

Did Reg mention anything about keeping down top speeds at Road Atlanta? Did you do A or B group? Just curious. I sent Reg an e-mail with my praise for the school as well as a few minor suggestions.
 
I think I will bring it next year. 3a and 3b were the most dreaded turns (except for the chicane which some people were off-roading through!). It's great when you think you nailed the hairpings only to have Reg pass you on the inside, 2 up!
 
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