Bandit Alley

MODEL SPECIFIC => SUZUKI BANDIT 250 & 400 => Topic started by: erik on April 28, 2008, 06:00:43 AM

Title: yet more trackday vids
Post by: erik on April 28, 2008, 06:00:43 AM
I did a couple of trackdays this weekend, one on friday (ANZAC day = public holiday here) and a suzuki one on saturday. The suzuki one was great because I was still in the groove from riding on friday, usually it takes me the whole day to get in the groove.

I fell off again though, exactly the same as last time. Last time I thought it was cold tyres, but this time a track marshal said I might be rolling off the edge of my tyre (dunlop GT501's). I think he might be right since there's no chicken strips... I might switch back to sport demons because there was always a small chicken strip left and when I crashed on those, it was because the peg was scraping for ages first... Either way I guess I have to remember to hang off lots.

First vid, quite busy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU1VAHh-j6Y

2nd vid, a couple laps or so then I fall off (skip to 2:50 if that's all you want to see):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iw6THazM7g

final vid, it started raining and I had a front wheel slide at the end of the back straight! (skip to the very end for the slide):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO8TuakquPQ

Title: Re: yet more trackday vids
Post by: Mongo on April 28, 2008, 08:11:15 AM
Nice  :clap:
Title: Re: yet more trackday vids
Post by: Herr Tod on April 28, 2008, 12:56:04 PM
You should get some proper tires, no nonsense. Get some Pilot Powers or Supercorsa's, you'll stop falling and locking up your front wheel. No chicken strips on mine, my front tire actually tends to break up on the sides but I've never crashed because of the tires... Bib is my friend :motorsmile: Getting Pilot Power willl instantly shave seconds off your rounds, I even dare to put a bottle of beer on that :beers: But compared to the other guys I think you ride pretty good. I always comfort myself with the thought "The MotoGP guys are the best in the world and they crash a lot more than I do" :bandit:
Title: Re: yet more trackday vids
Post by: gsxr400 racer on April 28, 2008, 01:06:52 PM
You should get some proper tires, no nonsense. Get some Pilot Powers or Supercorsa's, you'll stop falling and locking up your front wheel. No chicken strips on mine, my front tire actually tends to break up on the sides but I've never crashed because of the tires... Bib is my friend :motorsmile: Getting Pilot Power willl instantly shave seconds off your rounds, I even dare to put a bottle of beer on that :beers: But compared to the other guys I think you ride pretty good. I always comfort myself with the thought "The MotoGP guys are the best in the world and they crash a lot more than I do" :bandit:

You should get on a track. :stickpoke:

Erik Good job, stay off the concrete nasty pavement changes on that track. The best part is the sweet music your bike is playing keep having a good time.
Title: Re: yet more trackday vids
Post by: andrewsw on April 28, 2008, 01:45:20 PM
very nice! those are some serious lean angles you're putting in there. Looks like the camera is going to touch down once or twice, especially after about 6:50 in the first vid. So tires could be a real issue. (when are they not?)

I have to say, my one complaint about the b4... watching all those fat pigs crush you in the straights just so they can get in the way in the turns...  :lol:

What top speed are you getting on that straight?

Great job... oh and I love the off-road footage and you should have left the leaf in the shot!!  :wink:

Title: Re: yet more trackday vids
Post by: erik on April 28, 2008, 04:52:25 PM
Thanks for the comments. :)

Herr Tod, I'm going to have to think about what tyres to get next time. I use the bike for commuting and weekend rides, so I don't want anything too soft. At the moment I'm thinking I'll go back to sport demons since they seemed to let me scrap pegs, which I haven't done on the GT501's. Plus they're cheap since they're cross-ply's. But then maybe I should try some more expensive radials... I don't know.

andrewsw, I was getting up to an indicated 180km/h towards the end of the back straight.
Title: Re: yet more trackday vids
Post by: Herr Tod on April 29, 2008, 12:09:40 PM
Pilot Power doesn't wear that fast on a 400 4 cylinder, they are like a Porsche 911... sport performance for every day riding :bigok: Don't get x-ply tires, radial tires give you loads of feedback so you can prevent a crash from happening instead of losing grip in an instance. Eventually you'll be able to get controlled front wheel slides if the tire and asphalt is warm enough :clap: