Race starts and how to improve?

[FROSTY:Me]

Guys N gals im totally tearing my hair out and to be honest really disheartened at this whole racing thing.
I've got as much track time-and more than other guys yet my results --well they basicly suck.
My lap times have steadily improved at the two tracks im racing at but I seem to be slipping behind rather than getting ahead.
My major issue seems to be launching off the line.
Every time in every race i get a piss poor start and either play catch up or get frustrated at myself and drop back further to guys that I know Im faster than.
The problem is definitely the rider not the bike -the bike has a totally rebuilt clutch so it can't be at fault.
I'm looking for SERIOUS advise here preferably from guys who have had a similar problem.

[svs]

Ok, I'm hardly one to teach great starts, but I found that my starts were getting worse the harder I was trying. I'd end up lofting the front wheel and getting it all wrong and have to back off.

I just relaxed a bit and don't try quite as hard, but having an average start is better than a crap one.

Aside from than we just need more practice

[TwoSeven]

I used to be pretty good at the actual start but I tend to lose out on the corners as not so good with the elbows and kicking

Couple of things I found with the bike is to make sure your chain is mint and tight (adjusted properly) - its good for a couple of bhp. Also on cibby 600s (not sure about others) shims need to be adjusted to the limits - good for another few bhp for a couple of starts. If you are really serious at starts then perhaps take a look at what sprockets you are using - might be good for a bit of extra torque simply going up or down a tooth on the appropriate sprocket - but its a trade off on the rest of the track.

But bike tuning aside.

For my cibby I have a mark on the rev counter I made that I hold the revs to on the start. I know I can drop the clutch fully and the wheel will only come up a foot at most if I'm over the front screen. Then its just a matter of following the throttle up the power curve till the gear change.

Cibbies (not sure about these newer ones tho) also have the rev counter set so that peak power is a 12 oclock on the dial and start of the power band is at 9 o clock (fully - but often start below) so its often a good idea to start looking around 10 o clock for a good set of starting revs.

I knock the bike up to the appropriate revs and hold both brakes on with the clutch in. When i'm pretty sure the flag is about to come down (or lights change) I slip the clutch so the bike wants to move - you can start to pick your feet up then and balance so not to fall over (you should be able to balance on the bike while its stopped). Then drop the clutch and release the front brake as the bike starts off, let go the rear brake (mostly easier to let go both brakes at once) - a little bit of drag on the start can reduce the wheelie effect.

The trick is to know how far the revs will drop when you let go the clutch and have that below the wheelie point - on some bikes you may have to back off a little more as the bike picks up revs to stop it going back into the wheelie zone, then follow the power curve up.

Also helps if you can keep an eye on a couple of other riders (perhaps someone next to you or in front) as you will see them tighten up as they begin their start procedure - just match your moves to theirs and at least you wont go too far backwards.

Knowing the flag marshal and his/her starting technique is also good coz you can second guess everything.

On the first corner unless you've got a good gap behind its an idea to pick the blocking line round rather than the fast line. Stops many riders sneaking past. Different people have different ways of getting round the first corner - sometimes its better to take the outside line if there is a jam in progress.

And I think having the tire warmers on as long as poss and set to the ideal temp is also good for some extra first corner confidence.

Thats just my thoughts by i'm sure others will have better ways and tricks for doing it. I'd be interesting in seeing what others do as well

[Hoon]

Firstly (if you haven't already), you need to rule out whether your poor starts are due to your flywheel lightening and total loss mods. If your engine still isn't pulling you may need to look at your mid range, carb balance, maybe even drop a tooth on the front sprocket. We should've swapped bikes and drag raced each other...that would've been a good test to confirm whether it is a rider or bike problem.

Otherwise practice, practice and more practice. On my TLS I did a bit of drag racing at Meremere and this did wonders for my launching technique. These skills have transferred over to other bikes and I could even get reasonable launches out of my RGV250. Out of habit I still adopt the drag racer stance during race starts, i.e. both feet on the ground, hunched over tank with my throttle elbow in the air even though it isn't necessary anymore.

The trick is clutch control. Basically I bring the revs up to say 10K (14k redline), roll on the throttle to full as I release the clutch and modulate the clutch as the revs dip/climb to keep it above 10K (full throttle all the time). With enough practice it becomes second nature and your clutch hand will slip/release the clutch as you hear the revs change without even having to think about it. With even more practice you can hit the sweet "clutch spot" straight away and then just ride the wave until it bites.

[Two Smoker]

The trick is clutch control. Basically I bring the revs up to say 10K (14k redline), roll on the throttle to full as I release the clutch and modulate the clutch as the revs dip/climb to keep it above 10K (full throttle all the time). With enough practice it becomes second nature and your clutch hand will slip/release the clutch as you hear the revs change without even having to think about it. With even more practice you can hit the sweet "clutch spot" straight away and then just ride the wave until it bites.

I second this, i use about 10-12k rpm and then let the clutch out till it is slipping but not biting.. Too much bite and the front will lift followed by the engine bogging.. not enough bite and the take off wont be as fast as it can be.... I have heard that some drag racers slip the clutch all the way through first..... I dont do this, but im no drag racer and im not as good at launching as Hoon...

Ah well, find a deserted street and go practice....

[FROSTY:Me]

all good advise thanks a million guys.
Hoon--It isnt the total loss thing -I always get crap starts.
Ya aint wrong about the bike swap thing -Itd confirm or deny my suspicions about old blokes and reaction times.

[Mongoose]

all good advise thanks a million guys.
Hoon--It isnt the total loss thing -I always get crap starts.
Ya aint wrong about the bike swap thing -Itd confirm or deny my suspicions about old blokes and reaction times.

A rude person would suggest you contact one of our street racing cop dragging cage passing pro's and ask them. But the again I am not a rude person so would never suggest such a thing :spudwhat:

[Quasievil]

Use the force my son, the force

[DEATH_INC.]

When I'm dragging,I use the same technique as Hoon,bring the rpm up to where the power is,nail it on the lights and use the clutch to keep the front down/rpm up.I will warn you however I've killed many clutches with this method
You should consider the drag thing to practice,I've raced Lance Lowe,Jarrod Love and Steven briggs down there at one time or another....Got a big kick outta beating Jarrod on his R1(I was on my 750...) and Steven on the BSL(I had the 12),but Lance always got the better of me....

[Paul in NZ]

Your problem (if you can call it that) is you know far too much about your bike and how it works thus you cannot stand abusing it...

Ride it like you stole it and like you have a team of pit crew waiting to whack in a fresh engine... ie ABUSE it...

It's the only way!

Paul N

[FROSTY:Me]

Your problem (if you can call it that) is you know far too much about your bike and how it works thus you cannot stand abusing it...

Ride it like you stole it and like you have a team of pit crew waiting to whack in a fresh engine... ie ABUSE it...

It's the only way!

Paul N

No NO NO NO--I cant abuse my poor lil mella yella.--He looks affter me if I look after him.

[digsaw]

this is the secret,Knowing the flag marshal and his/her starting technique is also good coz you can second guess everything.

[Ghost Lemur]

I think Death and Paul have a very good point. You've admitted it yourself, you treat the bike too nicely.

It's a race bike.

The Psychology of it would I suppose be comparable to learning to do wheelies. You don't want to hurt the bike so are barely getting the front wheel off the ground. What you have to do is go "ah fuck it" and try flipping it. At which point you'd discover "wow it can come up soooo high and yet I'm still in control, this is pretty easy".

To revert the analogy back to your starts, give it shit, take the fuck it if it breaks attitude, and push to that first corner like your life depends on it. By the sounds of it, you know the technical aspects that have been mentioned, which means it's all psychological.

[NIKE]just do it[/NIKE].



Just remember it's only a bike, parts are replacable and you's got the skills, so a fried clutch or whatever the worst that can happen is isn't going to hold you back for long.

And so ends my no-nothing opinion.

[Racey Rider]

No NO NO NO--I cant abuse my poor lil mella yella.--He looks affter me if I look after him.

Yer right!
Is that why your selling it!?

Casting it aside like a used condom.


Truth be known,, Mella Yella looking forward to a rider who can rock his world off the line!

Do yourself a favour Frosty,
Buy yourself a honda F3 bike.
Then you can just blame your tools!

[Motu]

Rossi does crap starts,doesn't seem to hold him back.....??