This guy would prefer a high side to a low side.

[Tex]

F_ck guys I got my first ever track day coming up on Friday which I was already nervous about! Almost wish I never read this thread!!

As Thro said , take it easy and it'll all be ok,

it has to be some of the most addictive stuff I've ever done ! there is nothing quiet like the feeling of sitting on the grid with 30 bikes and then all trying to fit into turn 1 at the same time !!

i've always thought that riding/racing on the track is safer than on the road
- you're all going in the same direction
- Track marshalls to tell you what's around the next corner
- no volvo's, females on mobiles/honky nuts on country runs, armcos, trees or gutters to hit or oil/sand or shit on the track
- heaps of run off and soft sand
-and the same 7 corners over and over to make sure there are no surprises !!
-plus medical attention only minutes away !!

I had a couple of lowsides over the years and two highsides, and the last one was the only one that did damage and it wasn't even that big a crash, just unlucky in the way I hit the ground, have a look in the pic of me laying on the ground, there is bugger all damage done to my bike (thanks to NO oggy knobs)

Racing/track days are awesome and you will love it !!

[Kickass Koolridge]

Hate both. Prefer a lowside, so much easier to pick up your organs afterwards...straight line rather than a start shaped splatter after a highside

[Rizzo]

Tex, that looks fuckin ouchies m8, hope your doing ok now? But i guess it's just the luck of the draw. Im sure even hitting a curb on the side of the road would still seriously injure you in a lowside crash.

[TENK8]

Hey Tex, cheers for the words of encouragement.

Quick question and maybe this is another debate... You say little damage thanks to NO oggies... I'm confused as I thought oggies are designed to reduce damage. Are they unsuitable/not recommended for the track?

[Tex]

IMO, oggy knobs are great for a road bike, because fairings are expensive and they save you with small get offs and stop slight damage, On a race bike your fairings are the cheapest and easiest thing to fix.
If your bike goes down and slides on the track only, then oggy knobs will work well, but if your bike slides from the track onto the grass/runoff area then most of the time oggy knobs will dig in and increase the chance of your bike fliping and tumbling. Once your bike does this then all your fairing gets smashed, along with a high chance of sub frame, swingarm, handlebars, forks and rims ....and it makes for a much more expensive crash !
This isn't always the case, and I'm sure people will have different opinions.
The pic is of my bike after the highside, mind you I remember holding on to the bike in an attempt to stop damage, and that was what made me land the way I did...so my plan worked ....except for the smashed pelvis
The bike also has good solid rear sets and carbon fibre handlebars, and NRC engine case and these took alot of the impact on the slide,
The unfortunate thing with a blade is that the radiator is close to the side and I put a small hole in it and it cost me $400 for a second hand one.


Rizzo...all good now, and I think if I hit a gutter then I wouldn't be around to talk about it, those sudden stops tend to hurt a lot more

[thro]

If you feel that the rear is stepping out from under you, what is the best course of action to prevent a highside?

I've been doing a little research, and the answer actually cropped up in the superbike school UK series.

How to control the rear end/prevent a highside?

Keep the throttle open, and pull on the inside bar.

The first part of a highside is where the rear of the bike slides outwards, and the bike leans over more.

Given that you don't want to stop the rear spinning with the bike leaned over, the best thing to do is reduce angle, and pulling the inside bar does this (stands the bike back up). In fact, they recommend picking the bike up early out of corners by doing this, and mention that being ready to do this will mean you're ready to catch the highside when applying power, if you're already "picking the bike up" with the bar anyway. They even have a drill for it, called the "pick up" drill.

So it would appear that the same technique is useful for saving both lowsides AND highsides. Also confirms that its exactly the same thing as you would do on a dirt bike...


NOW...
I am not a racing god, haven't had the balls to try this out yet really, but thats the only real bit of info i've seen on how to save a highside so far.


Relying on the fact that you figure it out early enough to get away with shutting the throttle or backing off though.... well, it might work for those times where you're probably not in the shit anyway, but... big slide... that will definitely end in tears...


edit:
A discussion on the "pick up" drill on teh CSS forum:

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/in...showtopic=1268

Also:

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/in...showtopic=1476