nuseeit
05-17-2005, 01:24 PM
Track day crash in turn 1 at Summit Point (Main circuit). Here's what happened:
- Coming down the 4000 ft front straight doing about a buck fifty. Wide open throttle in full race tuck.
- Started braking heavy at the second brake maker just like I had been doing all day. Brakes and tires were hot because this is my fourth lap in the session.
- Hit my turn in point and turned in hard and flopped the bike over to make the hard right. Made sure I hit the concrete patch becuase anywhere else in the turn is full of tar strips and is like ice.
- I enter the turn a little hotter than usual, but not too much. I am looking for how much entry speed is too much
- Throttle is cracked open in the turn and I am hanging off the bike. Dragging knee and all is good.
- Then at the turn apex the front end tucks. Bike and I go sliding into the sand trap. Luckily I don't take anybody else out with me. The front end tucks without any warning (chatter, bars going loose, etc.).
- Leathers, helmet, etc do their job and I walk away from the incident without as much as a bruise. On the other hand the bike is not too bad with a broken brake lever, busted windscreen, and some bodywork damage. BTW I am in need of a clear windscreen for a '97 GSXR 600 and have a posting in the wanted to buy section of this website.
I am trying to learn what went wrong so that I can avoid it in the future. I have alway heard and thought I knew that if you were on the gas in a turn that it was very difficult to tuck the front wheel. Evidently, this didn't quite work out for me this time. What I have learned from this crash:
- Gear saved my butt yet again.
- Crashing sucks
- How to do fiberglass repair
- Get advise on how to set up front end for Summit Point.
Anyone else see anything else that was obvious.