With the GSX-R600 I bought 3 months ago. Not sure what is happening, old age, recent surgery, just plain forgot how to ride one or am I just headed out to pasture. I have two trackdays on it and cannot for the life of me get back to my '04 GSX-R600 WERA race times. Back then a 36 at Barber was not that tough to do today a 38 damn near gets me killed. Its not the bike, I sent the forks and rear shock back to T-man for re-spring to my weight, thats all good. The thing screams bloody murder and runs really well on the VP U4.2 map, its light as a feather, brakes are outstanding by GSXR standards even using the stock master cylinder. To my defense the 1st trackday on it was tough because it was sprung to stiff for me. The 2nd trackday this past weekend was only 4 weeks since I had iguinal (sp?) hernia surgery so I am still not totally healed up. I did lose 10 pounds after the surgery, free hp. So was my '01 and '04 600's just plain faster than this '07? The '07 seems to make alot of noise but does not seem to be going or was I spoiled by the year and half on the 1000. I think the 1000 hurt my lap times. I can match my best 1000 times on this 600 but thats where the fun stops. I have tried to pick it up in places I felt slow, T5 at Barber I have it wired now, used to give me problems. I still am a bit timid into T1 but its getting better. I ran off last month in T11 but I did not go down, weird since I always excelled into T11 before. I attributed that to the stiff springs. I almost highsided this past weekend out of T10, never had a issue there before but this time I about came off at high speed when the rear tire let go from the apex out. I think I over rode the bike into that and upset the chassis trying to hard. Still though I used to not have these moments and did 36's. Maybe I race better than I trackday ride I am totally fustrated after two trackdays on this bike. I know its handling good because I am not wore out and my arms and hands feel good no soreness or blisters like some bad handling machines I've had in the past. I am going ot sign up for the STT trackday at Talladega Nov. 8th and give it another go somewhere besides Barber. I always ran well on a 600 at Tally so there should be no excuses this time, I hope.
I'm not the best rider in the world but from a fitness standpoint, if you lost weight, you definitely lost strength. You're probably fatigued and don't realize it. And you're probably not getting the bike turned like you used to.
My suggestion:
Supplement with Creatine monohydrate and drink half a gallon to 1 gallon of water per day for the next two weeks and try again at barber.
Before you hinker with the bike, check your fitness first.
I also wouldn't overlook your recent surgery. The human body has funny ways of compensating when there is a possibility of pain involved. You may be trying to do too much in this area. Since your surgery involved the core of your body, this can have a huge effect on everything. You may think you're going just as hard as before, but you may be braking a little sooner, not hitting the gas quite as hard etc. Your brain may think you haven't changed anything, but the reality may be different. The only way to figure this out would be to look at some very detailed graphs of your previous laps and your current ones.
In the meantime, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Let your body heal completely and then go about tackling your lap times. You'll likely gain some of your lost weight back in the process too. Just my opinion, hth
Like any sport, confidence and focus are so important. The combination of getting a little older, not riding and racing with the frequency that you used to and the memory all the injuries you've sustained in the past (no matter how far back in your mind you think you've got them tucked away) can conspire to weaken your focus and confidence. If you're physically feeling at less than full strength, that could at least contribute if not be a significant part of the problem. Its inevitable that we all slow down as we get older but I think that if you take your time and take a more measured, gradual approach, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you were able to match or even exceed your previous best times.
Using the analogy of working out as an example, let's say you had an extended layoff for whatever reason. If you return to the gym determined to match your pre-layoff levels of strength and endurance, the results will most likely leave you disappointed at best and injured at the worst. OTOH, if you set modest initial targets and gradually increase your workload, you'll find that you'll be able to return to most if not all of your previous performance levels (provided of course that the layoff is not not more than 5-10 years and you're not 60 years old trying to attain benchmarks you established when you were 24.)
Focus on getting comfortable with your new bike. Take it slow and you'll likely be fast as you were if that's what you really want.
I'm recovering from exactly the same surgery and altho it's only been a matter of days in my case case I don't think I'd be fully fit and ready to wrestle a bike around in four weeks.
A lot of it may be in your head too especially if you are trying too hard to match previous times, next time on track kick back enjoy the riding you'll end up faster.
Thanks for all the encouragement. It may all be in my head and since my body is still recovering from what I initially passed off as a easy surgery (not) I may gain some speed back eventually. I went ahead and signed up with STT nov. 8th at Talladega. That is about 3 1/2 weeks away. That will be my 1st time to ride with STT. I have been with NESBA only since '05. Not sure about their format but I signed up with "A" since I am in "A" with NESBA. I need to get my head straight between now and then. I don't think the 10 lbs I lost after surgery had too much of an effect on my stamina. I drink alot of water on a daily basis, always have. I watch what I eat. I do not feel exhausted on the track just mentally do not seem to be with it. I caught myself day tripping while on the track the other day. Definetley not focussing right now and that could eventually get me hurt. I think I will back down my expectations a bit and try and get back to being focused and smooth. I certainly forgot how much work went into making a 600 go fast. Miss a shift blow a corner and you just created a ton of work for yourself while everyone else just went sailing by. No big hp to help you get back. My wife said it looked like I was hurting out there. Could have been I really was not to limber on the bike, fairly tensed up all day it seemed. I usually don't think about pain while out on the track but its only been 4 weeks since my gut was cut open 3" and that hurt badly for 5 days straight. Maybe I was scared to go off more than usual. Either way I left that trackday pretty down in confidence. Sucks when people I used to run away from are now leaving me and its just making me feel really bad. I need to get back on my dirtbike it'll put the reflexes back in me for sure. My doctor told me to hold off on that till the end of october.
When my confidence is shaken I kept on riding at a reduce pace and
treated my condition as a barrier to overcome...
First signs to watch for are my vision... when it starts to narrow and
hunt frantically for my awareness I start to make mistakes... so I
check that by concentrating on pushing my field of vision back to
wide... only with wide vision will I see enough space to stay calm and
begin make accurate decisions that will definitely boost confidence...
Next is breathing... I monitor for first signs of a panicky short and rapid
rates and then concentrate on calming it down with long slow breaths...
Finally I busy my thoughts with the 3 basic tools of cornering more effectively...
1 How quickly do I steer the bike???
2 How much lean angle do I use???
3 Where do I begin my turn in point???
And finally I grade my performance after each corner and assign a number from 1 to 100...
1 did I rolling off the gas to early???
2 did i tighten on the bars???
3 did I narrow my vision???
4 did I fix my attention too long on something???
5 did I steer too early or not quick enough???
6 did I brake when it wasn't necessary???
After I start receiving grades of 75% and beyond do I begin to enjoy a high level of confidence...
I do not feel exhausted on the track just mentally do not seem to be with it. I caught myself day tripping while on the track the other day. Definetley not focussing right now and that could eventually get me hurt. I think I will back down my expectations a bit and try and get back to being focused and smooth. I certainly forgot how much work went into making a 600 go fast. Miss a shift blow a corner and you just created a ton of work for yourself while everyone else just went sailing by. No big hp to help you get back. My wife said it looked like I was hurting out there. Could have been I really was not to limber on the bike, fairly tensed up all day it seemed. I usually don't think about pain while out on the track but its only been 4 weeks since my gut was cut open 3" and that hurt badly for 5 days straight. Maybe I was scared to go off more than usual. Either way I left that trackday pretty down in confidence. Sucks when people I used to run away from are now leaving me and its just making me feel really bad. I need to get back on my dirtbike it'll put the reflexes back in me for sure. My doctor told me to hold off on that till the end of october.
You're obviously very competitive by nature. Forget about everyone else on the track and just concentrate on smoothly doing your own thing. You'll be back to your old self in no time. As you said yourself, if you're distracted and tense you'll be slow (or possibly something worse.) Good luck.
Same thing happened to me this weekend. I was at a track I know and have been to several times but the first half of the day I was in lala land. Just couldn't relax, kept riding around like a squid; felt like I was all over the place, missing brake markers, etc. I just kept telling myself to chill out, smooth out and relax. By mid-day I was felling better. It's in your head man. Just need to slow down, relax and build back up to speed. Everyone has an off day here and there.
The 1000 took the edge off your riding. I'll bet you are still using 1000 braking refrences (or close to them) instead of lighter braking and higher cornerspeed of the 600. It will come back. Just gotta knock off the rust.
__________________
Dance monkey...entertain me...it's why I paid you.
ive heard about this before. carefully check behind/underneath your balls and see if youve started to grow a vagina, you know, right in that taintal area.
ive heard about this before. carefully check behind/underneath your balls and see if youve started to grow a vagina, you know, right in that taintal area.
Cheers mate. Last year I also had surgery and, probably like you, I downplayed the effects it had on me. I am nowhere near as fast as I was last year. GP says I am fine, I have been exercising really hard to get back into shape, now I am even on medications to eliminate the last side effects (there still was something wrong after all)... and it still doesn't feel right.
Just like you I feel I have lost my edge around braking, but unlike you my bikes is still the same as last year, maybe a bit better thanks to a bit of tinkering.
I am thinking about taking up a friend's offer (he's an advanced riding instructor) for a brief track intermediate course to see if it can help.
I am sure you'll get around it, probably much faster and better than myself!
Try doing a couple sessions with no brakes or limited braking to work on lines and corner speed.
Go out and have fun.
GREAT ADVICE!!!
Your bike is faster than the 01 and 04... promise. Spend time w/out brakes looking through the corner and enjoying the exit. Usually folks struggle coming into a corner to strong and mess up the exit. Use the advice above and increase the ease of your speed.
Okay I appreciate all the good advice. I plan on taking it back to the track Nov. 8th at Talladega. This will be the last ride for this year so I hope to come out on a high note if not gonna be a long winter. I hope to get back in the groove on a 600 and I can't think of no place better to do that than lil Talladega. No laptimes in my head I plan on firing off pit lane as if I were racing and never looking back to see where my friends are. No waiting on anyone, you want me come pass me. The track is in front of me that's all I need to know. I'm done with all their filming all day and generally disrupting my focus in the pit area with dribble talk about laptimes. Back when I raced I basically spoke to no one on the weekend I think I need to get back to that mentality, at least my wife thinks so, that seems to work for me. Hopefully my side will have healed a little more by then and I won't be thinking of pain. I will report back afterward.
One last thing I know that 1000 has hurt my performance. I have replayed my braking, corner speed and exit in my head and concluded I am scared to whack the throttle on the 600 because I still think I am on the 1000 coming off the apex. I still brake pretty good on the 600 and that will only get better once I forget the 1000. Sooner the better. Darn those things are trouble.
Can't seem to come to grips
So was my '01 and '04 600's just plain faster than this '07? The '07 seems to make alot of noise but does not seem to be going or was I spoiled by the year and half on the 1000. I think the 1000 hurt my lap times. I can match my best 1000 times on this 600 but thats where the fun stops. I have tried to pick it up in places I felt slow, T5 at Barber I have it wired now, used to give me problems. I still am a bit timid into T1 but its getting better. I ran off last month in T11 but I did not go down, weird since I always excelled into T11 before. I attributed that to the stiff springs. I almost highsided this past weekend out of T10, never had a issue there before but this time I about came off at high speed when the rear tire let go from the apex out. I think I over rode the bike into that and upset the chassis trying to hard. Still though I used to not have these moments and did 36's. Maybe I race better than I trackday ride
I am totally fustrated after two trackdays on this bike. I know its handling good because I am not wore out and my arms and hands feel good no soreness or blisters like some bad handling machines I've had in the past. I am going ot sign up for the STT trackday at Talladega Nov. 8th and give it another go somewhere besides Barber. I always ran well on a 600 at Tally so there should be no excuses this time, I hope.
I need to get back on my dirtbike it'll put the reflexes back in me for sure. My doctor told me to hold off on that till the end of october.
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