Who can tell me what this is

[captain]

I take it you like running the track clockwise

Actually I don't, that messed with me all day long... I really like the track running the other direction....

[BIG GUY]

Congrats on getting that knee down.

[skydivr]

Ok, so....tell us all...what finally got you over the tipping point? What was it that, now in hindsite, was keeping from actually touching that knee? I think it would be helpful if you could share your experience and maybe what you were doing wrong before that you have now overcome...

You are gonna have some FUN on the dragon this fall bash...lookout killboy here comes Cap!

[captain]

Okay so Keith let me impart all of my wisdom on you.... This infomation is coming from a guy that in no way should be telling anyone how to ride, what I can tell you is what I learned....

1. Track days are good.....

CONFIDENCE in my bike, confidence in the track, confidence in me is what made the difference....

At the last track day I went to in October I was fast but not smooth, it doesn't take a lot of skill to be fast on the track on a busa... My riding methodigies was simple.....

GAS GAS GAS, brake brake, turn very slowly all the while everyone is passing me in the corners... come out of the corner on the straights and do it all over GAS GAS GAS, brake brake brake, turn slowly. While that was a lot of fun it was hard on the bike and to be honest a lot more dangerous... I watched Macon and Steve just railing around the track and Steve imparted his wisdom from many many more years of riding (Did I mention how many more years?) anyway, looking at the pics from the last track day I realized that there were several problems...

1. My body position, while I thought I was hanging off the bike like a monkey, in all reality I was just barely off the seat. I photoshopped pics of me going around the same corner with Steve and Macon's pics all together and my bike was leaned over just as far, hence the all time biggest parking lot discussion about chicken strips.... I started putting it all together, my bike is over just as far, I am riding right behind Steve at the same speed, keeping the same lines and he was raking the asphalt and I was six inches away from getting my knee down.... Once I figured out it was me I started breaking down all the variables, needing to get my butt off the bike meant a lot of moving around, for me being above 250lbs I new that I would need work making the moves around the bike without it bouncing around and wobbling... I started a few months ago doing parking lot work (Macon told me thats what he did too). I found a big flat parking lot and just started working on figure 8's and moving back and forth on the bike, hanging off a little more each way... I got pretty smooth at it even at just 20 mph. I started reading post after post here and looking at others pictures like yours telling me what problems you were having too....

I finally had to just man up and tell myself that if all the guys on the site can ride a busa and get a knee down that my bike was just as good as theirs so the problem was ME!

I added a GPR which I can tell you is UNBELIEVABLE and made a HUGE difference... that uneasy wobble you might get when you hit a little bump in a curve, you know the one that make you pucker, when I put the GPR on all that went away..

So the bikes not the problem...... I started feeling better and more confident and when we went to the bash I just worked on sliding back and forth and just trying to be smooth, I SLOWED DOWN, Steve told me to slow the heck down and do it right, thats what I did. Get smooth and then the speed will come, it did! Even just this weekend I got faster and faster and my confidence grew.

2. I had to tell myself that I was in the best possible place ever... How many times have we really told ourselves and others that we would not go fast on a public street because of gravel in the road, cars pulling out, tree limbs, animals, you name it right, well at the track you lose all those excuses and it boils down to one thing..

So I have analyzed this and I now believe that my bike is as good as everyone elses, I have some great riders that are giving me advice, I have practiced and the track is the right place to make this happen...

So...... I went out on the first session and scrubbed in my brand new tire, not too far over and I worked on getting used to the track, I picked the best corner that I felt the most comfortable with and on the second session I knew that I was alert, my bike was ready, the track was warm and dry and I went into the first curve behind my riding mentor Uncle Steve on his line at his speed, I watched him drag a knee so very smoothly and I new that my fear was the only thing keeping me from doing it, I relaxed, got off the bike pushed my leg out and a nice soft grrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnndddddd all the way around the corner I picked was felt.

I hit every corner with my knee on the ground the next lap.......

I know this is going to sound cheesy but once I did it I was overjoyed, I did the happy dance in front of twotoneverts wife and everything... Its one of those things I have wanted to do for 10 years owning a busa but it has just eluded me. I went out the rest of the sessions and could go down at any corner and do it, it was just one of those once you do it, its not a big deal things...

The rest of the sessions I worked on throttle control and keeping that knee down the entire curve, maintaining speed and lean. Guess what, I got faster and faster doing it too....

I am going to keep working on the style and skill and more speed will come in time...

To go short here Keith, confidence, honestly my fear was what was holding me back....

I watched you ride, you are such a better rider than I that I think you have the same problem too.....

Next time your at the track just " Do it" and get it over with......

cap

[racerV]

Confidence is my hold up also. Especially after seeing slowninja low side, makes me fear leaning over even more...

[outlawbusa]

Sorry to see you fell but glad you had the pucks on to save your knees...

J/K Cap, way to go~!~

[twotonevert]

Confidence is my hold up also. Especially after seeing slowninja low side, makes me fear leaning over even more...

Me too, but I what I found interesting, I was not leaning my bike near as much on the track as I have in the past on the street. That scared me, I guess I have been pushing too hard on the street, but I never felt like I was.

[skydivr]

Okay so Keith let me impart all of my wisdom on you.... This infomation is coming from a guy that in no way should be telling anyone how to ride, what I can tell you is what I learned....

1. Track days are good.....

CONFIDENCE in my bike, confidence in the track, confidence in me is what made the difference....

At the last track day I went to in October I was fast but not smooth, it doesn't take a lot of skill to be fast on the track on a busa... My riding methodigies was simple.....

GAS GAS GAS, brake brake, turn very slowly all the while everyone is passing me in the corners... come out of the corner on the straights and do it all over GAS GAS GAS, brake brake brake, turn slowly. While that was a lot of fun it was hard on the bike and to be honest a lot more dangerous... I watched Macon and Steve just railing around the track and Steve imparted his wisdom from many many more years of riding (Did I mention how many more years?) anyway, looking at the pics from the last track day I realized that there were several problems...

1. My body position, while I thought I was hanging off the bike like a monkey, in all reality I was just barely off the seat. I photoshopped pics of me going around the same corner with Steve and Macon's pics all together and my bike was leaned over just as far, hence the all time biggest parking lot discussion about chicken strips.... I started putting it all together, my bike is over just as far, I am riding right behind Steve at the same speed, keeping the same lines and he was raking the asphalt and I was six inches away from getting my knee down.... Once I figured out it was me I started breaking down all the variables, needing to get my butt off the bike meant a lot of moving around, for me being above 250lbs I new that I would need work making the moves around the bike without it bouncing around and wobbling... I started a few months ago doing parking lot work (Macon told me thats what he did too). I found a big flat parking lot and just started working on figure 8's and moving back and forth on the bike, hanging off a little more each way... I got pretty smooth at it even at just 20 mph. I started reading post after post here and looking at others pictures like yours telling me what problems you were having too....

I finally had to just man up and tell myself that if all the guys on the site can ride a busa and get a knee down that my bike was just as good as theirs so the problem was ME!

I added a GPR which I can tell you is UNBELIEVABLE and made a HUGE difference... that uneasy wobble you might get when you hit a little bump in a curve, you know the one that make you pucker, when I put the GPR on all that went away..

So the bikes not the problem...... I started feeling better and more confident and when we went to the bash I just worked on sliding back and forth and just trying to be smooth, I SLOWED DOWN, Steve told me to slow the heck down and do it right, thats what I did. Get smooth and then the speed will come, it did! Even just this weekend I got faster and faster and my confidence grew.

2. I had to tell myself that I was in the best possible place ever... How many times have we really told ourselves and others that we would not go fast on a public street because of gravel in the road, cars pulling out, tree limbs, animals, you name it right, well at the track you lose all those excuses and it boils down to one thing..

So I have analyzed this and I now believe that my bike is as good as everyone elses, I have some great riders that are giving me advice, I have practiced and the track is the right place to make this happen...

So...... I went out on the first session and scrubbed in my brand new tire, not too far over and I worked on getting used to the track, I picked the best corner that I felt the most comfortable with and on the second session I knew that I was alert, my bike was ready, the track was warm and dry and I went into the first curve behind my riding mentor Uncle Steve on his line at his speed, I watched him drag a knee so very smoothly and I new that my fear was the only thing keeping me from doing it, I relaxed, got off the bike pushed my leg out and a nice soft grrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnndddddd all the way around the corner I picked was felt.

I hit every corner with my knee on the ground the next lap.......

I know this is going to sound cheesy but once I did it I was overjoyed, I did the happy dance in front of twotoneverts wife and everything... Its one of those things I have wanted to do for 10 years owning a busa but it has just eluded me. I went out the rest of the sessions and could go down at any corner and do it, it was just one of those once you do it, its not a big deal things...

The rest of the sessions I worked on throttle control and keeping that knee down the entire curve, maintaining speed and lean. Guess what, I got faster and faster doing it too....

I am going to keep working on the style and skill and more speed will come in time...

To go short here Keith, confidence, honestly my fear was what was holding me back....

I watched you ride, you are such a better rider than I that I think you have the same problem too.....

Next time your at the track just " Do it" and get it over with......

cap

Doug, EXACTLY the post I was hoping you'd make. Your experience in dealing with finally getting that knee down I am sure helps me, and others who are wanting to do same. I think I need to do that figure 8 drill because I haven't tried that one yet. The difference between your experience and mine is:

1. Once you got your knee down, you have it; I have had my left knee down (never my right one), but since my lowside I've never touched again. I did it, but I don't HAVE it down pat. I've got to get past that. When I did it, it spooked me and I picked it up...

2. You've had some good mentors, physically with you to give you pointers and pump you up. Tufbusa has mentored me greatly, but so far only at a distance. You couldn't have better instruction if you paid for it with the fellow .org members you had on the track with you.

3. It's has always been IN YOUR HEAD was the only reason why you hadn't done it yet. I've got the same problem - and i've still got it. Now that I've crashed, I am more timid than I was when I started track riding; I took 3 steps forward, then 2 back.

4. The track, not the Dragon or the street, is the place to learn this stuff. For other .org members wanting to 'get that knee down' but are having similiar issues, that's the best advice you could glean from this thread.

Thanks Doug for sharing. I need another trackday again...one of these days I'm gonna have to pack up and do on with YOU guys...maybe then I could follow you! I might even recommend a sticky for this, as it's inspirational to others wanting to do same.

P.S. When you gonna order some of those SPARKLY pucks?

[captain]

Doug, EXACTLY the post I was hoping you'd make. Your experience in dealing with finally getting that knee down I am sure helps me, and others who are wanting to do same. I think I need to do that figure 8 drill because I haven't tried that one yet. The difference between your experience and mine is:

1. Once you got your knee down, you have it; I have had my left knee down (never my right one), but since my lowside I've never touched again. I did it, but I don't HAVE it down pat. I've got to get past that. When I did it, it spooked me and I picked it up...

2. You've had some good mentors, physically with you to give you pointers and pump you up. Tufbusa has mentored me greatly, but so far only at a distance. You couldn't have better instruction if you paid for it with the fellow .org members you had on the track with you.

3. It's has always been IN YOUR HEAD was the only reason why you hadn't done it yet. I've got the same problem - and i've still got it. Now that I've crashed, I am more timid than I was when I started track riding; I took 3 steps forward, then 2 back.

4. The track, not the Dragon or the street, is the place to learn this stuff. For other .org members wanting to 'get that knee down' but are having similiar issues, that's the best advice you could glean from this thread.

Thanks Doug for sharing. I need another trackday again...one of these days I'm gonna have to pack up and do on with YOU guys...maybe then I could follow you! I might even recommend a sticky for this, as it's inspirational to others wanting to do same.

P.S. When you gonna order some of those SPARKLY pucks?

I read your post and wanted to impart a little more of my success.........

We hear all the time from members here what a mature group of people we have as a member base. We see pics of well established men and women with spouses, kids that are in highschool, marriages of 20 years plus. We see pics of nice homes, nice cars and most of us a little bigger in the middle than we used to be.

A key for me was realizing that I was fearfull, I did a check on myself and realized I got A LOT to lose... I have a great wife of almost 21 years, a highschool honor student, an incredibly awesome and athletic 9yr old. I have a nice house, a pretty new and clean bike and for the most part I take care of my family financially....

NOW WITH THAT SAID

Every time I throw a leg over the bike I immediately start thinking about my wife, my kids and how would they survive if I were in a crash... What seperates the vast majority of our membership is that we think that way, its called maturity. When I was 20 I would have thrown my leg on a sportbike and just laid it over and drug a knee because I had nothing to lose and I had not seen nor suffered any loss, as we get older we get wiser....

When I mentioned above that I put my fears aside I was referring to the fears of the "What if's" I reminded myself

1. My bike is as good as a busa can get
2. Countless others drag knees on Busas all the time, some are even here...
3. If I go slow like uncle steve is telling me to what is the worst that is going to happen?
4. I have great gear on, I spent good money getting safety gear.
5. I am in the right place with the right gear at the right time.....

Thats when I told myself to put those fears aside and not to think about the what if's and stick to the plan.. Don't go crazy fast, keep it safe, don't let the testonterone take over. (It is very very very easy to start pushing yourself when you have these crappy laid over 600's screamin by ya too.....)

I have no fears about the pain of a crash or anything like that, my fears were for my family. I constantly calculate risk, we all do it... I finally got a plan in which I calculated my risk, the limits of what I was willing to do before I had to recalculate and I put everything else out of my mind.... My family never left my thoughts but that constant overbearing what if is what I conquered..... Putting a knee down isn't really my success it was overcoming my fear....

Let me tell you one last thing.... When I crashed in 2007 and I was laying in the ambulance and I could hear the sirens and firefighters and medics working on me my priorities were absolutely set then.... It has taken me a long time to get over that crash, actually I am not over it but to get past it... I know exactly what you're speaking of when you say that after you lowsided you haven't been the same... You will have to overcome that and I think that if you do a risk assessment, put your gear on, breath and slow down you will do it the next time your at the track.....

Okay you have about completely wiped out my entire knowledge base....

cap

[k03gsxr750]

Great follow up post Cap, this among a few others would make a great sticky for dragging knee. Keith, you aren't all that terribly far from me, here in a month or so I would love to make a track day.

[skydivr]

Great follow up post Cap, this among a few others would make a great sticky for dragging knee. Keith, you aren't all that terribly far from me, here in a month or so I would love to make a track day.

A BUNCH of the Southern conglomerate of the .Org WILL be at Barber in October! But I'm hoping to do something else before that!

Great post Doug. While not in the forefront of my thoughts, it's always in the back of my mind that I could bust myself up really bad or worse and leave my daughter without a dad and my wife without a husband. It's not in the forefront, but it's present. I do believe, even when you set all the conditions as best you can, somewhere in your mind you have to set aside that 'voice' nagging at you. Again, an inspirational post for those working towards this goal and recommended sticky.

I'd like to hear UncleSteve/Macons/RacerV thoughts about this as a witness, and someone who had to go thru this same process. Can any of you shed any more light on this subject?

[02spool]

Doug,way to go!

[HillbillyTom]

I tried all day, it has to be my body position. I did ask one of the track instructors to follow me, but she didnt know which one I was.

She thought you was me.
In the starting line up to go out, "Hayabusa, your riding with me right?" I'm like, "uhhh". "Were'nt you the one with the blue Busa that was talking to me earlier?" I says "no, there's a silver and blue up there, maybe it was him". "Hmmm" she says, and walked off.
I never did get my knee down either, wasn't getting off and reaching far enough I figure. Have a bad habit from the riding with blue jeans days of tucking that knee up next to the bike even if I'm hanging my body off. Did scrap my right toe slider a few times. May have got a peg feeler too, my bike is still across town in the Performance Cycle trailer so I haven't looked.
I'm not worrying about it, scuffed pucks will come soon enough. I had a "first real trackday" good 'ol time anyway.

[macon454]

Me too, but I what I found interesting, I was not leaning my bike near as much on the track as I have in the past on the street. That scared me, I guess I have been pushing too hard on the street, but I never felt like I was.

I have seen you lean ALOT farther on the street, Like the day that you and Julie and Steve and 6gear and LCB and i came back from Eureka on 28, You and Julie where railing the corners and had it laid over along ways.

[skydivr]

Macon, you put your elbow down yet? Looks like you are getting close to me!!

[071300r]

looks great be safe

[macon454]

Macon, you put your elbow down yet? Looks like you are getting close to me!!

Not yet but i am trying to very hard, that is next on my list and it keeps avoiding me, but by the end of the summer i WILL.

[macon454]

And Cap it was great to see you get your knee down and be able to take some of the pics with your camera.

[EarlyBird]

[semi]

congrats Cap!!! i'm so happy for you!