Need to work on something: Technique, Gearing, Slipper...

[1-3-2-4]

I've recently picked up a dedicated track bike (05 CBR600RR) and just did my first day on it last Saturday at Pocono S/E. I've ridden this track quite a few times, but this was my first time on the CBR. I felt pretty good on the bike in general, but I can use some guidance/opinions on the back straight (right before the quick L-R-L chicane).

If I'm doing things right, I enter the straight in 2nd gear and wind it out through to the top of 4th. This leaves me essentially redlined pretty damn close to the end of the straight. I have the choice of upshifting to fifth or freewheeling it a bit until I'm happy with my speed and direction. I've always chosen the latter since I like to be in 2nd gear after the chicane and dropping 3 gears has been challenging for me considering that I'm already at redline when I'm at my braking point. I don't have a slipper clutch, so I'm manually trying to slow the bike enough to blip/shift without over-revving. There isn't much real estate here with the chicane and other riders jamming in at the end. I don't want to say I'm overwhelmed, but I'll say it's challenging to get this right. I had a couple moments with the rear getting squirrely after a less than ideal downshift into second. I attempted a few laps to 'trail clutch' with hopes of easing back into second while leaned over, but that is above my pay grade at this time. The lack of engine braking with the clutch in takes some getting used to, but the sudden/immense engine braking is hard to modulate on the rear while leaned over. This feels like a recipe for disaster (for me).

I generally feel pretty good everywhere else on this track, but can sometimes feel rushed at the end of the front straight; I'm trying not to land that jump on the front wheel and still manage to downshift once while braking.

So, I'm left wondering if I should focus solely on my technique, consider regearing to put the engine lower in the rev range at the end of the straight (to allow for 1 or 2 quick gear changes before turning in), or install a slipper to help prevent over-revving and limit the rear slides. I'm not opposed to spending money on the slipper, but I want to make sure I'm doing it for the right reasons and not limiting my growth elsewhere. I have a slipper on my other bike, so this is taking some getting used to.

Thoughts?

For those who can help but aren't familiar with the track layout, I'll try to get a video online later tonight.

 

[D-Zum]

I think you've answered your own questions. You've outlined two different ways to approach this. Now you need to test both out and see which works best for you and your bike and abilities.

 

[physicistkev]

Are you on stock gearing? If so I think that would be the first thing to change. General rule of thumb for 600's in the past has been to at least drop 1 tooth on the front sprocket. Sometimes going up 1 or 2 teeth on the rear as well. I would start with the -1 on the front and see where that gets you. A front sprocket is $30 and takes a few minutes to swap. Can be done trackside also.

From a personal note, I generally stay in a higher gear through a corner if there is any question about entry or exit (Gearing down helps with this). Barber turn 5, Summit turn 1, Summit turn 5 and VIR turn 1... All 3rd gear corners for me. I sacrifice a bit of drive coming out of them, but I also don't have to shift on the long exits or the transition from right to left in the case of Summit turn 7-8. You mention the reason why in your post, avoiding being overwhelmed. Since most tracks cant top out your bike, sacrificing a few mph on the top end to get a better run on your transmission on a much larger portion of the track seems like a smart trade.

 

[Otto Man]

Are you on stock gearing? If so I think that would be the first thing to change. General rule of thumb for 600's in the past has been to at least drop 1 tooth on the front sprocket. Sometimes going up 1 or 2 teeth on the rear as well. I would start with the -1 on the front and see where that gets you. A front sprocket is $30 and takes a few minutes to swap. Can be done trackside also.

From a personal note, I generally stay in a higher gear through a corner if there is any question about entry or exit (Gearing down helps with this). Barber turn 5, Summit turn 1, Summit turn 5 and VIR turn 1... All 3rd gear corners for me. I sacrifice a bit of drive coming out of them, but I also don't have to shift on the long exits or the transition from right to left in the case of Summit turn 7-8. You mention the reason why in your post, avoiding being overwhelmed. Since most tracks cant top out your bike, sacrificing a few mph on the top end to get a better run on your transmission on a much larger portion of the track seems like a smart trade.

The exception to that gearing rule, I would say, would be the 3rd gen R6. I run stock gearing at just about every track we ride, sometimes going 1 up in the rear.