Apr 10
26
They’re all shot with a handheld and low quality, but I figured they might be of interest to someone. So I uploaded a bunch of the pictures I took from the AFM races at Infineon this weekend.
This weekend (April 24th and 25th 2010) AFM races are being held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma CA. Looks like the rest of the 2010 season is split between Infineon and Thunderhill, so there’ll be plenty of other chances to catch the races. But this weekend we’re supposed to have fantastic weather (and it’s not too hot yet).
You can find more info about AFM on their website. And you can find more info about events at Infineon from the track website. I find their Infineon Raceway Twitter feed particularly useful, but there’s also an Infineon Raceway Facebook page if you prefer to follow the events that way.
There’s some additional discussion in a thread at Bay Area Riders Forum if you’re interested in trying to dig up additional details.
Apr 10
10
I caught the highlights for this years (2009) Isle of Man TT on television this year, fantastic stuff to watch in HD! Most of the motorcycle track schools I’ve been to the instructors say to watch the pros race and try to learn from them. It’s hard to find good footage that shows what I’m looking for (action on the controls mostly, I want to see when they shift and brake). However, the IOM TT stuff is fun to watch no matter what. Here’s are some of my favorites:
There’s a ton of other coverage out there too. Lots of fan videos, so if you’re looking for quality you might have to do some real searching. But it’s definitely been worth it.
Apr 10
7
I’m the kind of person who picks up things relatively well by reading about them. Of course, you need to get out on the road or track and actually practice. But some folks learn well from classes, some folks learn from discussion – for me books work out well. That set linked above are some of my favorites.
In terms of learning riding skills I think I would rate Total Control by Lee Parks up at the top of the list. His descriptions of body position and cornering connected the best for me. After picking up a bunch of tips from the book and spending just a half a day fooling around with the ideas I was already getting a lot more comfortable. Now it’s a few years later and I still find myself going back to the book every once in a while to check on advice.
Sport Riding Techniques from Nick Ienatsch has probably been the second most helpful. Also has fantastic practical advice about how to connect a mental model with what’s happening as you ride. Reg and Keith Code are pretty much polar opposites with respect to how think about riding. Reg strongly favors body position as the major factor when cornering, and Keith talks more about counter steering as the major force when cornering. I’ve found concepts from both useful, and keep both books around. I’ve ridden with Reg at his CLASS school here in California a number of times, which probably has a heavy influence on my impression of his book. I haven’t been to one of Keith’s classes yet (that’s coming up soon). After I do I might have a different take on Twist of the Wrist.
The other three books are more about motorcycle maintenance, technology, and projects. In terms of general overview including things like how the engines work, fuel injection systems, exhaust, suspension, etc. – the Haynes manual is the best general overview with lots of technical details. On the other hand 101 Sportbike Performance Projects and Sportbike Performance Handbook are more practically oriented books, listing common maintenance tasks and upgrade projects and walking you through them step by step. Even if you’re not planning to do the work yourself, they’re useful just to give you a bit of a clue about what your mechanic is talking about.
Apr 10
7
I have a shared calendar on Google that I’ve been trying to keep up to date with “local” motorcycle track days for the San Francisco Bay Area. If you know of other providers that I should list in there let me know.
Update: Just ran across a post on BARF with a bunch of additional dates. Planning to merge them into the calendar version, but I haven’t yet.