jonescg said:
And, while I could get a fast rider to ride it for me, there's a certain amount of pride associated with riding the bike you built.
I agree 100%. And that is why I was giving you some pointers for you riding it, rather than telling you to go get a faster rider. I have seen the work and dedication you have put into building this bike. I may not be able to contribute a whole lot to this site in the technical electrical stuff, but when it comes to riding, that is some place that I can give some help. I have raced for many years and have helped a lot of guys drop their lap times. I would really like to see you ripping that bike around the track. Again, I'm not trying to impose anything, but I really would like to be able to give back, and this is one area that I can.
Even on a tighter track, I think a lot of what I was saying before is useful, especially on an EV bike. You want to keep your momentum up as much as possible in general, but since the drive is what kills so much of your battery life, it is even more important on an EV. Tires and suspension are important. You want to be able to put that power that you do have to the ground.
A lot of times when you are hard on the brakes, the bike feels slightly out of control, like you are going too fast. But then when you let go of the brakes and get on the throttle, you feel like you could be going faster. Being on the brakes causes this sensation. It makes it harder to turn the bike, so you feel like you need to slow down even more. But most of the times, if you just let go of the brakes and throw it in, it works fine. When you are on the brakes all of your momentum gets pushed into your front forks. This gives little room for movement to absorb the bumps and stuff when you are turning the bike in. The moment you let go of your brakes, you have a slight backwards movement which unsettles the bike. Ideally, as much as possible, you want to get all of this forward and backwards movement out of the way to let your bike settle back down so that you have more of your suspension available for absorbing the track during the turn. This lets you take the turn a lot faster than it feel like you can when you rush supper deep in the corners. Try to get back on the throttle earlier and harder. Whenever I used to complain about needing more power to get out of the corners better, my crew chief would always ask if I was spinning the tire yet. If I said no, then he would remind me that I wasn't using all of the power yet, so why should he give me more. Get on it sooner and harder, was always his answer.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to wuss out on the brakes, just don't be jabbing on them at the last minute. It is usually faster to find a brake marker where you can smoothly enter the turn and get back on the throttel sooner, and then slowly push that brake marker deeper while staying in control. As opposed to going in supper deep on the brakes and being out of control, and then trying to get on the throttle sooner. You will feel more comfortable the first way, and it is always easier to push harder when you are comfortable rather than feeling like you are already at the limit.
Again, I'm not trying to impose anything, I just want to help where I can. Best of luck with that.
I live in hope the lower gearing will get me out of corners quicker. It really felt slow out of a turn, but really picked up once it was not working so hard. I might splurge on some sticky boots too ($450 worth :x ). Some kind of vaporising cooling system would be really helpful too...
