Trackday crash

Soldato
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Had a little off on friday at Cadwell.

Luckily captured it on GoPro, and the bike even had the good grace to spin round and catch me bouncing into shot haha


Pretty sure I know what went wrong, as it nearly happened earlier in the day. Firstly I was going in a bit too fast - rest of the day I was around 60-65mph entry speed for the corner, but even then the biggest problem was the front tyre not being loaded up. The bike has a ridiculously long throttle - slightly longer than I can do in one turn. I think I was on the straight with full throttle, then rolled off, but forgot to roll it completely forward to weight the front and get the bike turning.

Anyway, damage could have been worse. Ended up with dented tank, bent handlebars, bent rear brake lever and some cracked plastics. I just suffered a cut nose (from wearing glasses) but my ankle is swelling up a bit.

Hoping to get the bike fixed up and booked on again for the end of October for one last day this year.

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A better lap here. This was my fastest of the day (1:51) but not the cleanest as missed a few apex's. Lots of places to improve on, but this was only my second visit to Cadwell.

 
Soldato
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Awww man! I feel for you, having the same bike, I was wincing watching that :(

Glad that you're ok though, and the bike of course - I've never ridden on track, so cannot comment on the hows and whys; but you look at 0:49 says a lot - I expect "oh for ***** sake" was being muttered in you lid!
 
Soldato
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Oh and yes, the throttle on the RS is mentally long - bit like my old Daytona was! I've been looking for/hoping there's a nice throttle mod - it was quick and dirty on the Daytona; just fit the Speed Triple's throttle and enjoy 1/4 turn less!
 
Soldato
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I can definitely recommend the Triumph frame sliders - didn't dig in and protected all the engine casings despite the fact they don't look like they stick out that far. Most expensive bit is the dented tank where the bars pushed into it, but this is predominantly a track bike so I don't think I'll bother fixing that
 
Soldato
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No longer riding an Italian
I can definitely recommend the Triumph frame sliders - didn't dig in and protected all the engine casings despite the fact they don't look like they stick out that far. Most expensive bit is the dented tank where the bars pushed into it, but this is predominantly a track bike so I don't think I'll bother fixing that

I'm keeping my eyes peeled for some on eBay - missed out on a cheap set recently :( Might just bite the bullet and get them from the Dealer. I recently fitted the official engine case covers, as those parts don't half poke out of the frame!

The tank has always been a bugbear - I remember people commenting on how easily they get damaged, way back when I had my Daytona.
 
Soldato
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Pretty sure I know what went wrong, as it nearly happened earlier in the day. Firstly I was going in a bit too fast - rest of the day I was around 60-65mph entry speed for the corner, but even then the biggest problem was the front tyre not being loaded up. The bike has a ridiculously long throttle - slightly longer than I can do in one turn. I think I was on the straight with full throttle, then rolled off, but forgot to roll it completely forward to weight the front and get the bike turning.

You're on the right track (sorry :D)
You've lost the front because you're coasting into the corner on a closed throttle and I'm guessing your times are improving fairly consistently as you learn the track so you're going quicker. Ideally you should never be coasting, always on the brakes or on the throttle. There'll always be a transition between the two but it needs to be as small as possible, you lose the front in that transition.
Modern tyres are very good but you need to work the front hard to get maximum grip out of them, trail the front brake all the way to the point where you are getting on the power, this transfers the weight forward (it sounds like you've reached a pace where simply shutting the throttle isn't transferring enough weight to work the front) pushing the tyre into the track and creating heat in the tyre, spreading your contact patch and also shortening the geometry making the bike easier to turn.

You aren't on full brakes all the way in but it is surprising how hard you can brake up to the apex, this needs to be applied going into the corner though not applied part way in, full brakes leading in then ease off the braking power the more lean you apply. It's also possible to feel when you reach the point between grip and slip when trailing in, you've no chance when coasting, the first point you'll realise it's going is when it's dumped you on the floor.
 
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