Racing Skill

yea i've used that technique myself, it's interesting. i can do a lap of loudon in about 46 seconds in my head. but i think my 125 is making around 400 horsepower when i do.
what i've found that it is good for is realizing what parts of the track you don't know, like i said before. if you find yourself blanking on any part of the track, you can probably salvage time there in real life. it's also a good way to come up with alternate lines. if you think about a corner or set of corners enough you'll start coming up with different ways of attacking it. applying the theory is often the hard part, but worst case scenario it doesn't work, back to the drawing board.
being a college student, i can relate to the video games that johnnyB spoke of. MotoGP 3 is the best one out there in my mind. learning to modulate the throttle is my favorite part, being able to highside. and in the rain you can't actually lean the bike over all the way, so you have to modulate lean angle too, it's f--kin sweet. pete's bike and my 125 are pretty hard to highside, although i've managed to do it on the 125, and come VERY close on the little Duc.
and john, i had to laugh when you suggested going over brake markers in your head...you think they use the brakes on those 175s? johnnyB told me he doesn't even downshift for turn 1. just kidding guys, i've heard when the centrifugal clutch hooks up those things really go!

Z

johnny, i've got good news and bad news
bad news first - your 175 doesn't go 90 at loudon, not with you on it. my 125 is at just over 100 at the end of the straight, and i figure pete's bike is at 85-90 at best. i've never gone down the straight next to you on the ducati, but i'm guessing your bike's a little slower.
the good news, i can tell you how to go faster through turn 1. you say you "go neutral throttle"? that's a no-no johnny (sorry for the condescending tone), the only time you're allowed to go neutral throttle is when inputing brake or gas will make you fall. example: down through turn 9, sometimes neutral throttle is necessary to avoid rear chatter. i would suggest going past the last brake marker with a bit of pre-turn, and grabbing the brakes for a split second and then pitching it in and opening the throttle. it might work for a passing maneuver if it's not faster straight up. what do you think, could it work?

Z

ps - just because the front wheel on pete's ducati is worth more than a dozen honda 175s doesn't make me a bad guy either...does it?

you don't remember that race champ? oh well. my favorite part of NHIS is from turn 1 to turn 12a...i've got that part fuckin wired. sometimes people pass me on the section in between those two, but the rest of it i own.

johnnyB - reason i ask about hot-spotting pistons was actually because of my KTM. granted it's a 450 not a 250, but i know that you have to be careful on my bike...like you're not supposed to take it on the highway and stuff.
i would say the only reason you kept up on the brakes is because you and your bike weigh less than myself and pete's bike. i don't remember what pete said for weight, but i wanna say like 260 maybe? and i go about 180 without leathers, so i'm guessing you're total package is under that. the brake on pete's bike is unreal...it's a 210mm magnesium Fontana. i only found the limits of it at frontierland when it faded a bit. it will still stand on it's nose almost on command though, i did it going into turn 3 one time kinda by accident. pete said it was a crowd-pleaser. i agree with what you said about having too much brake...almost no such thing.
i'd love to get on a 175, but for the record i am definitely scared of not being able to go as fast as you. i'd deserve a good chewing out after that one, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Z