reading dip stick

[sprintboy]

Hey all,
I was checking the oil on my 675 yesterday and have a question about reading the dipstick. the manual says to the top pf the crosshatched area of the dipstick. the dipstick is mostly hatched but there are two nubs, one about 1/3 way up one about 2/3 the way up. where is full? at the top of the hatched area or between the two nubs? I don't want to put too much oil in so where should it be?

thanks for the help.
Sprintboy

[Will]

The two nubs are what you should be looking at. The top nub is where the level should be. There was a typo in the owner's manual, and if you fill it to the top of the hatched area, you overfilled it.

Since your bike is turning into a track fiend, you will be changing the oil a lot!

[sprintboy]

Thanks Will,
That's what I thought and that's where I filled it to based on how the Sprint works So I'm good to go.

Getting ready for a NESBA day in Portland on Monday, can't wait to see what smooth pavement feels like.

Dan

[Will]

Portland is an absolute blast. It is nowhere near as technical as PR, so just be prepared to point and shoot. I was told to stop setting up for corners and just aim for the next apex, more or less. There isn't anything like 5/6/7 that takes a good entry into 5 to get a decent speed out of 7, and there's no fear and loathing corner like coming down the hill into 3, either.

Turn 1 is really deceptive. You can absolutely boil into it, but it tough to keep from braking really early there. I was trying to figure out brake markers the one time I have been on the track, and there is a grandstand, some markers, and some other things I was thinking about. I asked one of the control riders about it and he told me he doesn't brake until the backside of a little rise there. It is really, really deep! He was also running near record pace when he did that, so I didn't even attempt to do the same thing. I guess that's as close to a fear and loathing corner as any at Portland. One thing to be aware of is turn 4. I think that's the number. It is the first left hander, and the left side of your tires will be cold for a couple laps. It bites a lot of people because everything feels so good and then you are on the cold side of your tires in a pretty fast corner.

Good pavement means you find yourself with your knee down during the first session, and it is a big surprise, since everything is so smooth and feels so easy. Spokane is a bit like that, too. I sure wish they would repave Pacific, since the layout is a blast.

[kneepad]

Nice going Will. This is infomation I've been looking for on this Forum although this "dip-stick" thread may be running out of line...I mean I'd like to get the most out of my bike on track days. So far I've been hiking along the track on Tiger 955i's but my Daytona is now broken in and ready for the track. To get a touring-bike doing quick turns you have to press pretty hard on the opposite handlebar; i.e. pushing hard on the left side drops the bike into a right turn and pressing the right heel on to the vertical plate and tensioning the right leg will transmit power to the left hand. So far on public roads I found out that the Daytona works more on ESP (ExtraSensPerc) and telepathy - just think "turn" and there you go.
Would appreciate any comments on how to improve lap times. For instance all these gizmos like lap-timer and the blue gear-shift lights. Do you use them and in that case what do you set them to? (I now fully well it's an individual choice how to get around a corner - but still...)

[kneepad]

I meant "pushing hard on the left side drops the bike into a left turn"....(opposite steering)

[Will]

I have had my riding go backwards badly since picking up a Gixxer as a dedicated track bike, so I might not be the guy to ask. I don't ever look at the lap timer while on the track. It is just for feedback after the session. I might consider looking at it a bit more in the future, but I haven't felt the need to.

The best advice I have is to read Keith Code's books. There are other maybe better books out there, but I haven't read them, so I can't say. Looking for markers, being consistent, and being aware of where your weight is and keeping your arms loose helps. Motorcycles are built to move around on, and they respond well to it.

I don't remember ever noticing the shift lights at all. They are there, but I go more by ear. That's another reason I am all screwed up on the Gixxer, since the Triumph sounds so different. I am about to throw another wrench in my ability by picking up an SV650 to ride on the track, too, but that's a whole 'nother story!

[TripleThreat]

I think the secret to improving lap times is to not worry about lap times... Use them as a guage, not a goal.

For me, the biggest issue was body position. I had a tendancy to hang my arse way off the bike, but leave my upper body too far over the tank. I always had the feeling that I was hanging from the bars and was having to use them to pull myself back up onto the bike when coming out of a turn.

Much coaching from Control Riders over the last year has led me to the point where I only hang one cheek off the seat and really concentrate on getting my head and upper body low and to the inside when cornering. Ponting the inside elbow down toward the apex of the turn and allowing my outside arm to lay on top of the tank. Remeber to always look as far through the turn as you can, letting your periferal vision take over for the area close to the bike. Look where you want to go, not where you are.

I concentrate on (in a left hand turn for example) getting my left but cheek off the seat, laying the right side of my chest on the left side of the tank and putting my head as low and far forward as possible. Then, pointing my inside (left) elbow down at the apex of the turn. Doing this gets as much weight transferred to the front tire as possible and at the same time, gets your core weight low and inside, which decreases the amount of lean angle necessary to complete a turn. All the while, looking as far through the turn as possible.

Additionally, I found that I was carrying too much weight on my arms as I was in a braking zone (especially in downhill braking zones). This wasn't too much of a problem at lower speeds when all braking is performed in a straight line prior to initiating any lean angle. But, as your lap times decrease and you begin to learn how to trail brake (the application of the front brake as you enter a corner, which keeps the "trail" of the bike shorter, which helps the bike turn in better), the more critical it becomes to remove any unwanted inputs into the bars through your arms caused by braking force.

To remedy this, I had to learn to get back into a tucked position, prior to corner entry, with my crotch right up against the tank and allow my pelvis to absorb the braking forces and completely take the weight off my arms. This allows my arms to remain very relaxed in the turn and allows me the freedom to concentrate on my head and upper body position.

Increasing corner speed is where you will increase your lap times. The best way to learn increased corner speeds for me has been as follows:

Don't change your initial braking marker at first. Just release the brake sooner than you were, allowing the bike to maintain more speed going into the corner (it will stick - trust the tires). As you get more and more comfortable, keep releasing the brake sooner and carry more speed through the corner. Do this until you find that you are starting to miss the apex just a little. Your knee will now probably be dragging in the corner if it wasn't before.

As your mind learns this new corner speed, and you get comfortable, you can then start braking later into the corner and reversing the process a little. Brake later, scrub to the new speed you learned in your mind, gently release the brake and hit your apex.

Use your lap timer to guage your progress, but don't chase a time...

Eventually, you will get to the point where you are trail braking into the turn, using a very, very light touch on the front brake (just enough to close the calipers onto the rotors) until right before you reach the apex - Progressive application of the brakes is critical here. When you initiate pressure at the start of your braking zone, you should just be closing the calipers, then start the weight transfer as your brake harder and harder, as you start to tip the bike in, you should progressively be lightening the pressure on the brakes until just before the apex.

NOTE: This is an advanced riding technique and should only be applied as your comfort level and your skill in progressive brake application increases, as the last thing you want to do is apply too much front brake in a turn - you will loose the front end and lowside with too much front brake.

Then comes throttle application. When you first start riding the track, you will find that you don't really start applying the throttle until you are well beyond the apex of the turn. The same technique applies with throttle application only in the reverse. Start applying gentle throttle or maintenance throttle just as you pass the apex and as you progress you will be able to dial in more throttle, earlier and earlier, until you begin to feel the rear end getting a little squirmy...

The key to going fast is being smooth. Being smooth comes from careful practice and gradual steps. After riding the track for a year and receiving some pretty intense coaching from control riders, I've gone from the beginner class to the advanced class with NESBA. I've gotten to where I feel that I'm fundamentally fairly sound. I can still improve greatly, but the improvements are not as huge at each step now.

Once you are comfortable, you'll come in from chasing a fast control rider after a session and look down at your lap timer and say - holy crap - I didn't feel like I just cut 2 seconds off my best time. That felt so smooth and easy - What a blast... Can we run together next session! Woot!

Sorry for the long post - I didn't realize how carried away I got on this...

If you can't tell... I am a "Track Addict" and NO, I don't want any help...

Wow! What a thread jack...

Yes, as Will stated, the top line or bulge on the dipstick is where the correct oil level is on the 675... And you will be changing the oil far more frequently when riding on the track.

Have fun out there!

Jeff

[kneepad]

Great reading from Will and TThreat. Thank you guys. What about a "getting through the track" - thread?
Since this is about the dipstick I just got to say that I just got my Service Manual (Part no 3851760) covering the Daytona and the Street Triple. It is expensive but covers for instance the dipstick with a ridiculously big image with arrows to the low and high marker.
Makes great bathroom reading contemplating the exploded views of the gearbox - "Fit sixth gear as noted during assembly, with the selector fork groove facing away from the output sprocket end"- Huh, that's interesting, got to remember that. Neardwarning here?