10-20-2014, 11:09 PM
I think track applications and street applications can be similar but quite different. I have only been on a racetrack once (it was fun somewhat, but not something I would want to do all the time), and there were no blind corners, no dead possums, coons or deer around the corner I could not see, no farm implements going 10 miles per hour around the corner or just over the rise. There were braking points and run off areas. Maybe it's because I live in the country but I have to be able to travel at a speed that allows 3 lines in one lane at any time and maybe HAVING to brake in a corner or having to brake hard after clearing a crest. No braking markers, no safe run off points.
I've heard many racers refuse to ride on the street, and I understand why, the lack of certainty, the lack of control over many situations... it's a dangerous place for someone who normally has little to worry about, as when on a track..... there is no oncoming or cross traffic, no anti freeze on the road, no critters crossing, no intersections or driveways for people to back out of.
BTW I hear people/racers say they are taught to use front brakes only, yet when I was over at Indianapolis I checked out Valentino Rossi's Yamaha and there was a big ol' carbon disk brake on the rear of his bike. Why would he need that with no stop lights to hold still at and no hills that he has to stop on? I'm guessing he uses it to aid in his braking. Why else would the most talented highly trained riders in the world need rear brakes?
I've heard many racers refuse to ride on the street, and I understand why, the lack of certainty, the lack of control over many situations... it's a dangerous place for someone who normally has little to worry about, as when on a track..... there is no oncoming or cross traffic, no anti freeze on the road, no critters crossing, no intersections or driveways for people to back out of.
BTW I hear people/racers say they are taught to use front brakes only, yet when I was over at Indianapolis I checked out Valentino Rossi's Yamaha and there was a big ol' carbon disk brake on the rear of his bike. Why would he need that with no stop lights to hold still at and no hills that he has to stop on? I'm guessing he uses it to aid in his braking. Why else would the most talented highly trained riders in the world need rear brakes?