0l0dom0l0
Junior Member
Ok so a few points I'd like to make as I would class myself as an experienced FZ6 track day rider (think I'm up to about 6 or 7 on it now).
Firstly, the bike is more capable than people think. Yes the suspension is crappy and yes there is no where near enough ground clearance and certainly on the pre s2 model the brakes are not up to the job either but the package as a whole gives more than enough head room for a novice trackday rider to improve their technique. It forces you to ride properly as to get the best from the bike you have to, and simply cannot be lazy if you want to go quick.
I'll tackle each point as you have raised them. Firstly the seating position. You should NOT be sat right up against the tank. You want you ass as far back as possible. Mine is up against the natural bump in the seat during braking, cornering and on the straights. The balls of your feet should be on the footpegs not the arch and you foot should be nowhere near the rear brake. You should not be using the back brake either for braking. This is a sure way to end up in the gravel/ binning it especially when using it mid corner and I suspect is why you ran off those times. The front brake is MUCH more powerful and effective - USE IT!
You need to accelerate on the straight, move your body to the position you want for the corner just before you hit the brakes ( one bum cheek off either left or right), then brake, soft to begin with and once the initial bite is done brake HARD and kill your speed BEFORE you get to the corner. Even if you end up coasting for a little bit of taking off to much speed it gives you more time to get yourself set up for the corner and ready for the racing line. Change down the gears with the bike upright during braking. Try and Tip the top half of your body in and look at where you want to go. At this point usually you will find yourself naturally finding the throttle to balance the bike - but once you start accelerating you should be ready to power out of the corner. DO NOT be choppy with the throttle, only start touching the throttle when you are ready to accelerate out of the corner.
The tyres on your bike once warmed up have more than enough grip for you to have a bit of fun and will allow you to get you knee down with the correct body position. I didn't start to get near the limit on street tires until about 5 track days in when they started to become unpredictable.
Looking at the video your lines are a bit all over the place, I suggest you watch some videos of the lines other people take on the track you are visiting and replicate that.
In terms of accelerating - let the bike scream, ring it's neck! The thing doesn't wake up until 8k, so if you want to be on the power out of a corner, then you need to be at 8k. Never use first gear unless it's a very slow corner. I don't think I've ever used first - second is always adequate. Hold the gears and try to change gear with the bike upright. I have a quickshifter on my bike so I can get away with smashing through the gears with some lean but I always try and change gear upright none the less. It's a great way to unsettle everything if you are not smooth with the change and the quickshifter just removes that variable.
Here is a brief video of my on my bike at Le Mans. I could be braking much later for some of the corners but that's not my strongest point. Lean is limited by the lack of ground clearance and you can hear my peg scrape through the second corner after I have slowed from the straight but it gives you an idea that the bike can be reasonably quick. The white ZX6R was flat out of the last corner and Id rove past him - so they are powerful bikes too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tuEXjAwfRg
And a picture from the day too:
Firstly, the bike is more capable than people think. Yes the suspension is crappy and yes there is no where near enough ground clearance and certainly on the pre s2 model the brakes are not up to the job either but the package as a whole gives more than enough head room for a novice trackday rider to improve their technique. It forces you to ride properly as to get the best from the bike you have to, and simply cannot be lazy if you want to go quick.
I'll tackle each point as you have raised them. Firstly the seating position. You should NOT be sat right up against the tank. You want you ass as far back as possible. Mine is up against the natural bump in the seat during braking, cornering and on the straights. The balls of your feet should be on the footpegs not the arch and you foot should be nowhere near the rear brake. You should not be using the back brake either for braking. This is a sure way to end up in the gravel/ binning it especially when using it mid corner and I suspect is why you ran off those times. The front brake is MUCH more powerful and effective - USE IT!
You need to accelerate on the straight, move your body to the position you want for the corner just before you hit the brakes ( one bum cheek off either left or right), then brake, soft to begin with and once the initial bite is done brake HARD and kill your speed BEFORE you get to the corner. Even if you end up coasting for a little bit of taking off to much speed it gives you more time to get yourself set up for the corner and ready for the racing line. Change down the gears with the bike upright during braking. Try and Tip the top half of your body in and look at where you want to go. At this point usually you will find yourself naturally finding the throttle to balance the bike - but once you start accelerating you should be ready to power out of the corner. DO NOT be choppy with the throttle, only start touching the throttle when you are ready to accelerate out of the corner.
The tyres on your bike once warmed up have more than enough grip for you to have a bit of fun and will allow you to get you knee down with the correct body position. I didn't start to get near the limit on street tires until about 5 track days in when they started to become unpredictable.
Looking at the video your lines are a bit all over the place, I suggest you watch some videos of the lines other people take on the track you are visiting and replicate that.
In terms of accelerating - let the bike scream, ring it's neck! The thing doesn't wake up until 8k, so if you want to be on the power out of a corner, then you need to be at 8k. Never use first gear unless it's a very slow corner. I don't think I've ever used first - second is always adequate. Hold the gears and try to change gear with the bike upright. I have a quickshifter on my bike so I can get away with smashing through the gears with some lean but I always try and change gear upright none the less. It's a great way to unsettle everything if you are not smooth with the change and the quickshifter just removes that variable.
Here is a brief video of my on my bike at Le Mans. I could be braking much later for some of the corners but that's not my strongest point. Lean is limited by the lack of ground clearance and you can hear my peg scrape through the second corner after I have slowed from the straight but it gives you an idea that the bike can be reasonably quick. The white ZX6R was flat out of the last corner and Id rove past him - so they are powerful bikes too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tuEXjAwfRg
And a picture from the day too:
