https://youtube/watch?v=vEKYcpQmTxI#t=14 Crash Course: A Critical Look at “The Most Painful Lesson” -Nick Ienatsch Ken Hill and I do video critiques on the members-only site fastersafer and I’ve been asked to do one on the YCRS FB page. I hesitated for two reasons: 1-It’s easy to sound like a know-it-all if you weren’t involved. 2-Crashing sucks shyte and critics often act “above it all”. I would hate that and must begin by letting readers know that my YCRS instructors and I have crashed in every possible scenario. We lived and learned…and that’s what I base my critiques on: Learning from “the most painful lesson”. 1-The camera bike is entering low, not using the full width of the track at the entry. We don’t know why, but as soon as the two trailing bikes see the low entry of the leading bike, they must realize a simple equation: Radius Equals MPH. The entry line they’ve chosen, whether it results in a pass or not, is inside of the camera bike and that means earlier, more and longer brake pressure. 2-You have no brake light at track days, something I disagree with, but that’s the deal. We teach our students to “tuck in on the straights and sit up on the brakes because you are then a physical brake light”. If you tuck in and never sit up: BAM! You’re hit from behind. If you never tuck and just go to the brakes: BAM! You’re hit. The rider on the red bike isn’t tucked in and gives no clue to the following bike as to which control he is using. The following bike’s rider isn’t tucked in or sitting up either. Practice it at a standstill and use it to survive. 3-I wrote a long piece about not drafting at track days on fastersafer after two close friends went to the hospital, both in helicopters. The key point is: “Don’t draft into the brake zone.” And since you don’t know when the rider you’re chasing is going to brake because they’re not tucked in, you learn to never draft an upright rider. Ever. The white bike was drafting and just ran out of room when the red bike braked. 4-Here’s what we teach at YCRS: As you’re lapping and find yourself approaching a complex situation involving slower riders, dangle your leg or lift your left hand early to warn all those behind you that you’re going to be checking up. As the red bike approached the camera bike and saw that bike’s low entry, he realized he had to overslow to allow the camera bike to enter the corner in front of him. The moment he realized that, he could have dangled his leg or lifted his arm to refocus any target-fixated riders behind him. Fast guys, make this a habit because you’ve always got a target on your back. 5-Both of the crashing riders need to sit in front of the TV screen and watch MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3, SBK, AMA…and see that no good rider ever enters the brake zone in the middle of the seat. At YCRS we teach “Never sit in the middle of the seat” to drive the lesson home. A rider in the middle of the seat in the brake zone overslows the bike by at least four mph before their brains can get back onto what really counts: Entry speed and front grip. In this case, both riders over-braked drastically and one seemingly-minor-but-vitally-important factor is their body position in the brake zone. Nothing’s minor in this sport, unless you’re going slow and then nothing matters. 6-At YCRS we have riders use maximum braking within the first two hours of riding. We encourage them to find the point where the rear tire begins to lift off the ground. It’s freaky the first time and gets progressively more understandable, like any difficult task. Students find a stab to the limit is uncontrollable and eventually painful, but a squeeze to the limit is controllable and understandable. We all know this, but how many of us practice it? Pay attention to how the rear tire comes off the ground. If it snaps up you’re too aggressive, if it lifts gently and controllably, you’ve got some good feel going on. 7-At YCRS we teach: “Target fixation is good when you pick the right targets.” Dirt-bike riders learn to look at the dirt next to the boulder, not at the boulder. We put objects on the track and teach riders to look to the clear path. We do “Lead and Don’t Follow” drills to get riders eyes off the rider in front of them and onto the clear path of travel. Hey, we’ve all target-fixated and perhaps gotten away with it, but some deliberate work on picking the right target goes a long, long way. In Summary: I spoke about bike colors and called the riders “he” because none of this is personal. I’ve learned from every crash I’ve had or seen and it’s my hope that these thoughts help you in this amazing sport. YCRS pushes to not just teach techniques but deliver the how and why as well. I’ll share the instructors’ secret goal at every YCRS: Our students never crash again. Lofty? Yep.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 18:41:29 +0000
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