We have to make sure we are both on the same page Cap. I never suggest anyone ride as hard as they can "100%" on the streets. You won't keep that up long before you end up in intensive care. The track is the only place to safely explore your abilities.
I agree with you 100% that most crashes occur when the rider is or has reached his limits. No matter who you are, when you've reached your individual limit little mistakes all of a sudden become serious.
Each rider has his own limits and on any given track day there is a WIDE range of limits among riders. You can follow a guy and know when he has reached his limits by his body language. I have done this so much that I can acutally pick out the guys that are most likely to crash before days end.
What I encourage riders to do if they want to improve is to push their limits a little by taking baby steps until they feel uncomfortable. Pick one thing at a time to work on. Don't just twist the throttle and wait for the crash but pick one thing such as braking (Something very few street riders are good at). Try going ten feet deeper into the corner every session until they begin to feel discomfort. If they do this on a regular basis, pretty soon they have increased their confidence as well as their ability to properly manage the brakes for best results. It's best to do this around mid-day after they have warmed up and before they become tired in the afternoon.
By never reaching that discomfort zone one really does become stuck at a certain level and that's where they remain for long periods of time. Macon is a prime example. He went from not dragging his knee to blazing fast in a very short time. He crashed a few times but he pushed his limits constantly. The desire to do his very best out weighed his fear. Macon is the exception and I don't incourage anyone to follow his foot steps. What Macon is now learning is the faster he becomes the harder it is to become faster. However, using macon as an example on how to flatten the learning curve makes one realize how steep and long that learning curve becomes if one never exceeds their comfort zone.
I always ask a rider what they expect to get from their track experience. I take a different approach depending on their answer. If they just want to enjoy the ride and have fun I will not suggest they push any limits, that's left for the ones who want to improve and learn to get around the track quicker. When you find a rider who really has interest in learning, the more he learns the more he wants to learn. It actually comes down to customer satisfaction. If they leave happy they tend to be a repeat customer!
I agree with you 100% that most crashes occur when the rider is or has reached his limits. No matter who you are, when you've reached your individual limit little mistakes all of a sudden become serious.
Each rider has his own limits and on any given track day there is a WIDE range of limits among riders. You can follow a guy and know when he has reached his limits by his body language. I have done this so much that I can acutally pick out the guys that are most likely to crash before days end.
What I encourage riders to do if they want to improve is to push their limits a little by taking baby steps until they feel uncomfortable. Pick one thing at a time to work on. Don't just twist the throttle and wait for the crash but pick one thing such as braking (Something very few street riders are good at). Try going ten feet deeper into the corner every session until they begin to feel discomfort. If they do this on a regular basis, pretty soon they have increased their confidence as well as their ability to properly manage the brakes for best results. It's best to do this around mid-day after they have warmed up and before they become tired in the afternoon.
By never reaching that discomfort zone one really does become stuck at a certain level and that's where they remain for long periods of time. Macon is a prime example. He went from not dragging his knee to blazing fast in a very short time. He crashed a few times but he pushed his limits constantly. The desire to do his very best out weighed his fear. Macon is the exception and I don't incourage anyone to follow his foot steps. What Macon is now learning is the faster he becomes the harder it is to become faster. However, using macon as an example on how to flatten the learning curve makes one realize how steep and long that learning curve becomes if one never exceeds their comfort zone.
I always ask a rider what they expect to get from their track experience. I take a different approach depending on their answer. If they just want to enjoy the ride and have fun I will not suggest they push any limits, that's left for the ones who want to improve and learn to get around the track quicker. When you find a rider who really has interest in learning, the more he learns the more he wants to learn. It actually comes down to customer satisfaction. If they leave happy they tend to be a repeat customer!
, Yes I did learn alot from going down a couple of times
I for sure learned how to slow down a little and smooth out and go faster, But I will still push my limits because I now know where they are if that makes any since. I want to learn how to go faster and faster and be smooth doing it, I will never stop learning, I love it. And I will never stop trying to go just a little faster (in safe conditions without any other riders around) Because for me the faster I can go the more fun I am having, I am not sure I can have that much fun without pushing it just a little. All my life I have raced something started out with BMX for about 6 years and then Motorcross for 8 years and then drag racing and street racing for a couple of years and now on to street bikes and I have always had to practice the way I raced which is usually ALL OUT, I just like to ride hard when on any kind of track because that is the way my dad pushed me to be. Just my 2 cents which isnt worth much
