Buttonwillow Gearing question?

[2wls4ever]

All,

On my NSF250 I am finding I am stuck between 1st and 2nd gear in turn 3 at buttonwillow (Same issue in two corners at thunderhill). I have to use first as I am out of the power band range in 2nd gear exiting.

My question is, should I go down in rear sprocket teeth on the rear and stay in first or go up in rear sprocket teeth so I can use 2nd gear? Remember this is a small displacement bike that requires lots of shifting.

One more question, anyone else ever have issues with losing heat/pressure in there front tire when racing coming off the warmers?

Thanks
Fitz

 

[stangmx13]

IMO...
Best choice: go faster and use 2nd
Next best choice: gear taller and use 1st

T3 at BW is kinda a throw away corner. The only goal for it is to get through it as fast as possible on the right line so u can enter T5 on the right line. There isn't that much acceleration between T4 & 5. If you are accelerating a lot there, you could prob go faster through 3 & 4.

If you are losing pressure, check the valve stem and valve core. If you are losing heat and pressure, u'll need to brake more/harder/later to keep the tire hot.

 

[2wls4ever]

Stangmx13, thanks, to go faster is obvious and the goal. It will take time. Gearing taller is the normal approach in these situations?

I lose 1psi coming off the track from a race. Getting more heat into the tire is the goal as well. Thanks

 

[IBYS]

Racing my small bike I had similar issues with keeping heat in the front tire. Try different compounds to find what works. I found that a second or two in lap time changed the amount of heat the tire kept. As your pace changes you'll find your setup will need adjusted as well.

Are you checking the tire HOT or rolling back to your pit? Best to have someone in the hot pit lane so you can run hot laps, pull in, and check immediately. This will be the best representation of tire temp/pressure during the race. Doing this in practice won't cost you much track time either as you can roll back out and then get the results at the end of the session.

 

[Gawernator]

Brake harder and later

 

[stangmx13]

Stangmx13, thanks, to go faster is obvious and the goal. It will take time. Gearing taller is the normal approach in these situations?

I lose 1psi coming off the track from a race. Getting more heat into the tire is the goal as well. Thanks

i wouldnt say theres a "normal approach". u should always do what is faster. i suspect that gearing taller will be faster for a few reasons... its prob a smaller change. it wont increase your # of shifts elsewhere on the track. itll help you carry more roll-speed through all the corners. u def wont run out of gearing on the straights. but i could be wrong. changing the gearing in any way might ruin your exits for other corners on track that are much more important for the laptime. ull need to experiment and u will change your gearing again as u get faster.

like IBYS suggested, checking pressure after a race after a cool-down lap isnt a great indicator of anything. if its cold or windy and u just roll around on your in lap, anyone would lose tire heat and pressure. u need to check it in the hot pit during practice where u push on your in lap.

aside from that, i would also suggest your verify what pressure you should be setting off the tire warmer. ask a race tire rep, not a trackday tire vendor. check on race forums where they actually race Moto3 bikes. u need to find good info from ppl that have first hand experience with that style of bike and those specific tires.