"I quite like it, so I've been wearing it."
This was bought for him by Su Mojin. Lin Yan had said he would wear it for a lifetime, so how could he go back on his word so easily?
Su Mojin pursed her lips, not exposing Lin Yan's words, but resolving in her heart that once she had money, she would definitely buy Lin Yan a good one.
She hadn't had money back then, so she could only afford that ring. Now that she had earned a lot of money for the company, and Lin Guoxiong had also given her a salary, she had money to buy her husband a better one.
Lin Yan didn't go anywhere, he stayed in the room accompanying Su Mojin. When he was bored, he played a game with his master and also taught Su Mojin how to take racing lines in the game.
To enter the track, one must learn to take racing lines; this is the most basic. Racing lines can be practiced in the game, and Su Mojin had already practiced some last time.
"You have to take the line wide, then inside, then wide again. Understand?"
"Understood!"
Su Mojin nodded slightly, sitting on the bed with her snow-white legs crossed, playing the game. Lin Yan deliberately slowed down, guiding Su Mojin, letting her follow behind him. He showed her how to take the lines and enter corners, and Su Mojin followed suit.
A seven-time champion giving one-on-one perfect instruction, such treatment was probably only enjoyed by Su Mojin. In Lin Yan's opinion, Su Mojin's talent was stronger than Jiang Qiyan's, which he could tell from Su Mojin's previous experience learning to drive. Therefore, teaching her was not difficult.
The standard wide-inside-wide racing line was perfectly displayed under Lin Yan's controller operation. Even while playing games, Lin Yan's cornering was still so precise.
"Honey, why do we have to take the line wide-inside-wide?"
After completing a lap, Su Mojin turned her head to look at Lin Yan and asked softly. She noticed that all drivers seemed to follow this line, but she never knew why.
"This has to do with leaning into the turn. Everyday riding uses steering angle to turn, while on the track, it's about using lean angle to turn. To enter a corner with lean angle, you must follow this line. The wide-inside-wide racing line is a smooth curve, minimizing the angle."
(The red line's arc is gentler than the corner's own arc, hence it's faster!)
Lin Yan explained. The reason for the wide-inside-wide line is that it's the fastest, allowing the rider to smooth out a relatively sharp corner by altering the line.
Steering angle refers to the angle of the handlebars when turning, while lean angle is the angle between the motorcycle and the ground. Track riding uses lean angle for turning, and everyday riding uses steering angle.
When riding on the track, the handlebars' rotation is very small, only slightly adjusted, commonly known as micro-adjustments. Track riding emphasizes lean angle turning with steering angle assistance. In fact, many riders' handlebars are almost straight and barely move when cornering on the track. This is also why steering dampers are commonly used on track bikes.
To put it simply, the function of a steering damper is to increase the resistance to handlebar oscillation, commonly known as a damper. For everyday riding, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages; it's useless unless you're riding at extremely high speeds to the limit. Frequent handlebar movements consume a lot of energy. However, on the track, where conditions like headshake can occur, they are very useful. The handlebar movement is small, and the energy consumption is minimal.
However, under normal circumstances, even professional riders on top-tier superbikes on the track have a very low probability of encountering headshake. Lin Yan didn't equip his team's training bikes with steering dampers for people like Jiang Qiyan, as he felt it was completely unnecessary.
Steering dampers are very expensive. Those costing a few hundred yuan are merely decorative. Entry-level racing steering dampers start at three thousand yuan, and that's just the entry level. It's not that Lin Yan can't afford them, but spending several thousand yuan on a steering damper is less cost-effective than upgrading to better tires or suspension.
However, these are secondary. Besides these, there's another most important reason: as Lin Yan's student, if one encounters headshake while training on a small displacement bike and cannot resolve it without a steering damper, then they should leave immediately.
When a small displacement sportbike experiences headshake, releasing the throttle and stabilizing the bike will allow the force generated by the headshake to dissipate through the frame and suspension in a short period. Lin Yan's team's training bikes do not have steering dampers, but their suspension and frames are top-notch. Manually mitigating headshake is also a mandatory course in Lin Yan's academy.
As for bikes used for external competitions, they are definitely equipped with steering dampers. They might not be used, but they must be present.
Superbikes generally come with them integrated, while factory race bikes use even more expensive and precise electronic steering dampers.
At this point, Su Mojin's talent became apparent. She quickly understood the reason: smoothing out corners? Got it.
This was also a matter of physics, not a challenge for the academically gifted Su Mojin.
However, before Su Mojin could bask in her understanding for too long, she encountered another difficulty: the principle behind consecutive corners.
"Honey, why do we have to take consecutive corners like this?"
Su Mojin, like an eager student, chattered incessantly beside Lin Yan. Having decided to learn to ride and compete on the track, she now wanted to get to the bottom of everything.
The track Su Mojin was riding had two consecutive corners in opposite directions. Both of these consecutive corners had a characteristic: first left, then right.
The wide-inside-wide racing line wasn't suitable for these consecutive corners. When Su Mojin followed the standard line through the first left-hand corner, she found something was wrong.
For the first left-hand corner, she entered wide, hugged the apex, then accelerated out to the outside of the track. Su Mojin followed all these steps correctly. However, when she finished operating the controller for this sequence and prepared to enter the second corner, she found that the subsequent right-hand corner was off. The distance between the two corners was neither too close nor too far. Just as Su Mojin was exiting wide to the outside line, the next opposing corner arrived.
The outside line from the previous corner's exit became the inside line for the next corner. Entering the corner from the inside?
"For consecutive opposing corners, take the first corner wide-inside-middle, or wide-insidemiddle. Don't exit the first corner too wide, and accelerate later. Sacrifice the exit speed of the first corner to gain the entry speed for the second corner, making the second corner as wide-inside-wide as possible."
Lin Yan's voice came in time. This situation was common in races. To achieve the fastest speed, almost all riders would sacrifice the exit speed of the first corner. Because the exit of the first corner was short, it would arrive at the second corner in a blink of an eye. In a choice between two, the loss would be less. However, if the second corner was entered from the inside, it would affect the cornering speed and exit speed of the second corner. After consecutive corners, there would be a short straight. If the exit speed onto this straight was slow, the time lost on this straight would be significant.
For corners leading onto long straights, the exit speed must not be slow. On a straight, the acceleration is determined by horsepower and the slow exit speed from the preceding corner.
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ps: Word count reached. Some people asked, so I'll explain the steering damper issue. Some of it was woven into the text, but here's a more specific explanation.
I've ridden on a track once or twice myself, I'm a beginner, and it's expensive. I haven't been back since, it was just an experience. However, I have friends who have been playing on the track for one, two, or even three or four years. They aren't masters, just casual players.
Regarding steering dampers, none of my friends have installed them (for small displacement bikes; they can't afford superbikes. This is limited to my friends.) The track is very expensive. As mentioned in the text, a steering damper, excluding decorative ones, costs at least two thousand yuan to be functional, and a better one costs three to four thousand yuan. With that money, you could buy better tires or do anything else. Moreover, from a motorcyclist's perspective, for bikes under 500cc, the chance of encountering headshake is almost zero. My friends who have been riding for two years on the track have never experienced it.
First, what causes headshake? It's caused by the rotational speed difference between the front and rear wheels. If the front wheel is slower and the rear wheel is faster, this situation can lead to headshake. This often occurs at the exit of a corner on the track, where the front wheel lifts during acceleration and then lands, potentially causing this situation (master-level operation or beginner's mistake).
Under normal riding conditions, it's difficult to create a rotational speed difference between the front and rear wheels, let alone headshake.
In summary: Cheaper ones are often a scam (they can be used for decoration and looking cool, which is fine). For normal everyday riding of small displacement bikes, they are basically not needed. If you have money, you can install one, but it's not essential. Safety is determined by your own hands. Ride responsibly!
(The above are purely personal opinions.)