How To Ride a Motorcycle Fast

Ever wonder what I'm talking about in these race reports? Here's a little background on what makes good lap times on a racetrack. Any ninny can twist the throttle wide open down a straightaway. The magic happens at the end of the straight where the track turns.

To make the turn, you need to slow down and lean the bike over to start turning. As you roll through the turn, there comes a point where you no longer are entering, you're exiting. That's called the apex. Once you get to the apex, you stand the bike up and accelerate toward the next turn. String a bunch of those together with some straights (where you twist the throttle like a ninny) and you've got a lap.

Each element can be done better for faster lap times. On corner entry, if you brake later and harder you'll be going faster longer on the preceding straightaway. Improve your body positioning and mid-corner speed improves. Get on the gas harder and you're going faster down the next straight. All of this is balanced against how much traction you've got from the tires and how your suspension is working. If you ask too much of your bike you'll crash.

But there's an effective limit on how far a given motorcycle can lean over, so mid-corner speed can only get so fast. But if you can change your path through the turn so you're on the gas sooner, you'll be going faster down the next straightaway. If it's a long straight, a little faster at the start of it equals a lot faster at the end of it. If 2 turns are in rapid succession (like S-curves), the best line through the first turn is the one that puts you in the best position to get out of the second one the fastest.

Find the right line and combine it with good fundamentals and suddenly you're riding like a racer.

Cheers...