FS2

Valves and suspension

March 27, 2013 By Carol Carpenter

Stock Valves

There has been a lot of activity getting the bike race lately please accept my apologies for not getting a blog out last week. After speaking to Brian at length about how to get the bike dialed in to fit me and to give me the confidence I needed to fully trust my bike, he encouraged me to change the stock valves in my forks to ensure optimum performance of my bike on the track. The following is an explanation from Brian (FS2) of why we revalved the R6, I hope you find it interesting and informative:

Race Tech Valves

“Stock valving has a lot of limitations, especially when the bike is used for racing or race track applications. For everyday riding stock valving may be fine as you won’t be pushing the limits of your bike, but for racing and track you put much more stress on your suspension and revalving ensures your bike will give you the desired effect needed on the track. First, let’s discuss what a valve is in terms of suspension. A valve is a piece of metal that has been machined to precision (usually on a c&c machine) that will direct oil through orifices drilled into the valve. On each side of the valve are very thin round pieces of spring steel called shims and as the valve moves through the oil the orifices in the valve direct the oil to the shims clamped onto the valve and these shims bend out of the way to allow the oil to pass through. This is what gives the “damping” effect. The stiffer the shims or the more shims that are in place the more force is required to move the valve through the oil.

So here is the problem with stock valves, they have very small orifices. This is fine for slow speed applications (sorta) but as the valve has to move faster through the oil (such as a race track) those small holes simply cannot allow enough oil to pass through with the velocity needed to allow the suspension to compress fast enough to let the wheel absorb road imperfections. This can get dangerous on a racetrack where the speeds require very fast wheel movement through the stroke of the forks or shock. If the wheel can’t get out of the way of the road imperfection fast enough because of the poor valve engineering, traction is the first thing to suffer.

The aftermarket valves we installed into Carol’s bike have MUCH larger orifices in the valves allowing the valve to move very quickly through the same oil. So to control how fast or slow the valve moves through the oil we use the shims. We can make an infinite number of combinations of “shim stacks” to accommodate changes in riding speed, race track conditions, etc. Aftermarket valves are much more responsive and supple, gives us the ability to customize the flow and perfect what we are trying to accomplish for the rider or even as specific as the track (road conditions).

With stock valves there is really only so much you can do, those small holes limit so much. For example, imagine you are trying to squeeze toothpaste from a toothpaste tube, at some point no matter how hard you squeeze the toothpaste will only come out of the hole so fast. It will not come out any faster even if you dropped a Mack truck on it!! That’s stock valving and that Mack truck is like the force you put in your bike in the track. Now take that same tube and make a giant hole three times the size of the original hole and drop the same truck on it. The toothpaste comes out WAY faster. This is like the aftermarket valves. Now all we do to control the flow of toothpaste is we use a set of shims, just like in the valves. But we want the flow to be high through the valve itself, not restricted through small holes. That’s what aftermarket valves do.”

R6 Spring and Preload Adjustment

February 20, 2013 By Carol Carpenter

When I decided to start out as a novice racer, it was merely an idea, a dream, a desire. However, as things progress, the actual work of getting the bike race ready has basically slapped that foggy dream-like state into full reality. The thought of possibly having a track bike that was almost ready seems like it would have been a better idea, taking a street bike and trying to get it race ready is a major project, but it is a labor of love. In each and every step, I have learned more about my bike, not just why these modifications are being done, but how it will help and improve my confidence on the bike which will in turn be translated on the track. As promised, with each and every improvement I am and will be doing on my bike, I will share these with you. For some, this may discourage you to try, for others it might even peak your interest and I may see you trying next year! I just hope that in doing it will ignite or inspire you in some way or another to not only dream, but make that dream a reality. That it doesn’t matter what your gender or age, if you have a passion to do something, it is entirely possible you just need to follow your heart.

This video is with Brian Trudeau of FS2 (Fluid Suspension Science), it was to have my spring replaced with one rated for my body weight. The spring I had on my bike was rated for someone heavier than me which made my ride a lot stiffer (it just didn’t give). This would have translated on the track with my rear tire not having the ability to “bite” the track and could have lead to a crash. I hope you find this video informative and educational, I am looking forward to showing you the transformation of my R6 from a streetbike to a full on race bike!

Why MotoVixens was started…

October 3, 2012 By Carol Carpenter

Carol Carpenter

I started MotoVixens as a tool to empower women riders. While starting my company, I discovered many women riders knew very little about their motorcycles (including how to inspect their bikes before a ride) and how to make their motorcycles run optimally for them. As women, we need to make sure our motorcycles are setup to function properly under our weight and height (for those of us that are height challenged this is even more crucial). Please see our video with Brian Trudeau of FS2 under our blog posts.

There are also very few options for continuing education after the Motorcycle Safety Class where you receive an endorsement to operate a motorcycle. You can’t attend an intermediate class quite yet, since chances are you aren’t quite seasoned enough to be confident in that class, so now what? Private lessons are available, check with your instructors or contact different schools in your area and find out if they offer any. Ask other riders, they are incredibly friendly and will give you recommendations. Truly though, it is about practice, seat time and real life situations. I rode with others when I first started out on the street, having that added security helped me feel more comfortable while I was starting out. It is hard to transition from a parking lot to the street then to the freeway, there is so much to look out for and it requires your full attention. Don’t be hard on yourself, learn, ask questions, get educated (read, join a riding group or attend a riding school) like I did with California Superbike School (see blog).

In Seattle, WMST, has an On-Street course that takes students out on the road under the watchful eye of instructors. Each student is wired into a Bluetooth unit that they can hear their instructor with as they take you on the challenges of the road you will face every day, so check them out at www.gowmst.com and see all this school has to offer. WMST also offers women only classes so you not only learn, you can let your guard down and really have fun. Another option is also track days. Track days can be nerve racking, but we are currently working with track schools to put on “women’s only” days so that women can rule the track for a day without worrying about being cut off by men zipping around the track. This gives you even more opportunity to hone your skills or ask for help with lines, breaking and cornering speed.

I am the Ambassador for Women’s events for Ducati Bellevue (Bellevue, WA) and am working to offer day rides (in the spring and summer), maintenance events, track days and seminars with a hope someday Ducati will implement this program through their dealerships nationwide. Ducati Bellevue is one of the first to implement a program like this and I am honored to be a part of the Ducati family and their desire to educate women riders.

My wish is to help women not only learn the basics of their bikes (like how to change their air filter or oil filter) or what your checklist should be before going out for a ride, but to love riding so much that they want to know everything about it. We should educate ourselves so we can know our bikes inside and out, but at best knowing the basics is essential. Having that knowledge makes the ride more pleasurable and allows us to concentrate on the task at hand, enjoying our bikes, friends and the beautiful scenery. I am looking forward to many years of sharing my passion and helping women RIDE CHIC (Confident, Hard and In Control). See you all out there on the road.

Vixens Ride!

Carol T. Carpenter