Zwartkops track ride

[SASV]

Took it to a local short circuit caled Zwartkops & had a blast.

The Pilots surprised me by looking very "cooked" after the first session. It was cool & I was going slow learning the track & shudder to think what they would look like going hard on a track like Phakisa or Kayalami on a hot African day. My mate's Bridgestones BT 101's looked a lot better for wear. I've seen that the guys often refer to the Corsas as a better tyre than the Pilot. Are they harder in compound? What are the sentiments re Bridgestones?

To track regulars like Chainsaw Willie & TLRman:

I noticed from the pic that I keep my body upright while pushing the bike down with my arms. While this is a natural reflex from riding without legs it seems that I would have to adapt my style some more. Any suggestions on riding without using your legs?

[Metastable]

I don't know whether or not you can do this, but try leading into the corner by pointing your shoulder into the turn, or leading with your head. I may be mistaken, but it does seem as though you are pushing the bike underneath you a bit.

Put it this way. A rider that can use his legs can do all of the following:

- Lean with the torso between the pavement and the ground.
- Lean with the torso in-line with the bike
- Lean with the bike between the torso and the pavement.

The the latter scenario, the rider is pushing the bike down (kind of like motocross). However this robs ground clearance. The best way to do it is the first way. However in your case keeping your body in-line or maybe leaning your upper body a bit might get you closer to that first scenario. Just don't push the bike underneath you.

I'm not sure if I have been clear enough.

BTW, as for tire wear, you might want to adjust the rear suspension a bit. Maybe try to increase the compression if you have it at stock settings, to compensate for the added rear weight (although I can't remember how much of the extras you have contribute to sprung weight). Have you set your static sag? Do that and fiddle with the suspension from there.

I've seen very good wear from Pilots at the track on 600 supersports (5 or 6 days). The SV1S is a heavy bike with lots of torque, so it maybe that it eats tires up more.

[SASV]

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated.
I'll put them to test next time out on the track.
As for suspension. I'm (finally) having my front & rear done as my dealer 1st tried to persuade me to stay with the std suspension after he tuned it a bit.
Tornado develpoments makes a local shock for racing & they've won last years Regional BOTT class fitted to a TL 1000. The front will get Racetech internals & they go with you to the track to tune the suspension as part of their service. So I should sort all my problems then.