motorkas
Member
Add three more to BZ's camp of "equipment" may be the limiting factor. . .not in the sense of that the bike or gadgets will make you faster, but in the sense that different sensations, thoughts and feelings can all contribute to your sense of comfort.
Both my brother and I got BMW's - not for the power, but for the electronics. The thought of TC helped us stop worrying about our fear of losing the rear, ABS helped us stopped worrying about locking up the front. Funny thing is, neither of us have ever had ABS engage; and all the way up from N group to A group, could probably count on one hand the amount of times TC went off. Contrast that with Rob - also has a BMW - turns all aids off. It's not that he's braver (or crazier
than us - he has more training, skill sets, and confidence in his abilities then we do. To your point about being a mother, my brother and I's mantra when we bought them for the track was "anything that even slightly improves our chances of getting home to our families at the end of the day. . .".
That's the same reason we started using slicks in N group. Were we fast enough to get our use out of them? HELL NO. One of my favorite stories is telling people about the time I was in I group and pulled a slick rear off and gave it to Sanders after it had 6 days on it (because I absolutely knew it was "done". . .he used it for another 7 days and made sure to tell me about it being the same tire every time he passed me. . .Absolutely 100% didn't need slicks from a time or speed perspective. . .but what they did for our "confidence" when "pushing it" was invaluable.
Same with our friend Anthony. He was stuck in I group for a couple of years. Rode a stock 600RR on Q2's (great tire). . .had several crashes in a short period that played a decent head game on him. He got a 750 with TC and slicks (for the first time) and was in A group 4 days later. Was it the extra 250cc, TC or slicks that got him the bump. . .nope. But that was what he needed to get his confidence back.
Wendy, don't be afraid to play around with equipment (finances permitting of course). . .sometimes, just switching that up is all you need (obviously a good craftsman/woman never blames their tools and there are people who can ride a 30 year old bike on shagged tires seconds faster than us. . .but sometimes blaming something else is just what the doctor ordered
Both my brother and I got BMW's - not for the power, but for the electronics. The thought of TC helped us stop worrying about our fear of losing the rear, ABS helped us stopped worrying about locking up the front. Funny thing is, neither of us have ever had ABS engage; and all the way up from N group to A group, could probably count on one hand the amount of times TC went off. Contrast that with Rob - also has a BMW - turns all aids off. It's not that he's braver (or crazier
than us - he has more training, skill sets, and confidence in his abilities then we do. To your point about being a mother, my brother and I's mantra when we bought them for the track was "anything that even slightly improves our chances of getting home to our families at the end of the day. . .". That's the same reason we started using slicks in N group. Were we fast enough to get our use out of them? HELL NO. One of my favorite stories is telling people about the time I was in I group and pulled a slick rear off and gave it to Sanders after it had 6 days on it (because I absolutely knew it was "done"
. . .he used it for another 7 days and made sure to tell me about it being the same tire every time he passed me. . .Absolutely 100% didn't need slicks from a time or speed perspective. . .but what they did for our "confidence" when "pushing it" was invaluable. Same with our friend Anthony. He was stuck in I group for a couple of years. Rode a stock 600RR on Q2's (great tire). . .had several crashes in a short period that played a decent head game on him. He got a 750 with TC and slicks (for the first time) and was in A group 4 days later. Was it the extra 250cc, TC or slicks that got him the bump. . .nope. But that was what he needed to get his confidence back.
Wendy, don't be afraid to play around with equipment (finances permitting of course). . .sometimes, just switching that up is all you need (obviously a good craftsman/woman never blames their tools and there are people who can ride a 30 year old bike on shagged tires seconds faster than us. . .but sometimes blaming something else is just what the doctor ordered
