How it works

The My bikes section:

The first step in using our motorcycle app is to update the My bikes section with details of the bike (or bikes) you will be testing (you can create up to ten). The goal is to create a profile for each bike that will allow you to record only the motorcycle setup data that's relevant to your bike and testing programme. 

Once you have assigned each bike a name and entered some basic information such as the manufacturer and model details, you will then need to input some base settings. The app has a range of default headings within which you can enter them. These include Front suspension, Gearing and Fuel.

However, the default headings have been included as a general guide only. You can if you wish amend, remove or create new ones that better reflect the types of motorcycle setup data you wish to record. As an example, a two-stroke Motocross rider might decide to use the default headings for suspension settings and gearing, but include an additional heading to record carburettor setup.

Each heading within the app has a related subheading where users input the actual setting value. In the case of the default heading for Front suspension settings, there are subheadings for Compression, Rebound and Static sag. The purpose of creating your base settings here is to avoid having to retype lots of data when using the log. 

The My log section:

The log is essentially a place to create and store testing records, but it also allows you to identify and record a range of optimum settings.

Each test is assigned a date and circuit name. The user must also specify the settings and weather conditions for the first session on track. Each time the rider goes back out the user can then create more session pages to reflect any setting changes made. This process is repeated until the test is complete. 

The process of creating test records has been designed specifically to avoid having to type or view lots of data. The app will allow you to populate the start of day settings using either the baseline settings or those from a previous test. Furthermore, each time a setting change is made the related session page will show only a summary of the new settings.

Each setting value within the first session is assigned an optimum tag which signifies that it's the best setting. As the test progresses and new session pages are created you can then reassign these tags. This brings us to a key part of our motorcycle app which is the Optimum settings feature.

The Optimum settings section:

Over time the app will create a profile of the bikes best settings that can then be viewed in summary form in the Optimum settings section. These settings are sorted and displayed according to three criteria - circuit, last test and average.

With the first option, users are able to view optimum settings by circuit and weather condition. The second option shows the optimum settings from the last dry, intermediate or wet weather test. Finally, the last option shows a range of optimum setting averages.

Each option contains a feature whereby users can send the settings via email, either as a backup or to share with friends.

The My Bikes section in detail

How settings are organised within the app:

Before we begin to look at the process of creating a bike profile, it's worth understanding how motorcycle setup data assigned to each bike is organised and grouped within the app. In summary, all of the settings are grouped by a heading, sub-heading, data value and unit of measure.

To take an example, lets look at the default heading of Front suspension. If you tap into it you will see its various default subheadings such as Sag, Compression and Rebound. The data value would represent the actual setting whilst the unit of measure defines the setting. In the case of Rider sag, a user might enter a data value of 100 which would then be defined by the default unit of measure which is millimetres.

Creating a bike profile:

There are a couple of important considerations when creating and customising a bike profile. Firstly, it is a good idea to abbreviate all text and keep headings as short as possible. This ensures that any related pages in the app are as uncluttered as possible.

To begin the process of creating a new bike profile, hit the New bike button, assign the bike a name and tap Save. Your bike will now be displayed in the main My bikes page.

You will notice that there is an icon next to the bike. This can be customised by tapping into the bike and updating the manufacturer and racing number fields in the Basic stuff section. By updating the manufacturer field the icon will change colour. If you input a racing number the icon will change to a racing number symbol.   

The next task is to update the Basic stuff section by updating the various fields related to your bike. The purpose of this section is just to provide a record of the bikes basic details and to set the apps theme - it does not affect the log.

Once you have hit the Done button you will return to the Edit bike page where you can see the various default headings listed below the Basic stuff section. The headings that you create here will form the basis of what will appear in the log and so it is very important to think carefully about what exactly you want to record, based on your bike and testing requirements.

The default headings have been provided for guidance and to help the user understand how settings are organised within the app. By using the Edit and New buttons you can completely customise the headings to your own requirements.

The Edit button (two green arrows) allows you to delete or rearrange existing headings whilst the New button (green plus sign) allows you to create completely new ones. In addition, each existing heading has a Copy icon (two overlapping pages) that when tapped allows you to copy that heading below.   

Once you are happy with the headings, the next task is to update there related subheadings. Effectively you follow the same process as before using the Edit and New buttons. If you tap into each subheading you will notice that not only can you change the subheading name and data but you can also modify or remove the unit of measure. 

To make this more clear, let's say a Road racer wanted to record suspension settings, gearing and tyre choice when testing. The default headings already contain those groups so the user would only need to delete the default Fuel heading using the Edit button. The next step would be to tap into each heading page and to review whether the subheadings were appropriate.

Let us say the user taps into Front suspension and decides they don't want to record rider sag or fork height. In addition, the users bike does not have low or high-speed compression, just compression. The Edit button can be used to delete the Rider sag, Fork height and High-speed compression subheadings. The user can then simply tap into the Low-speed compression heading and rename it 'Compression'.

NB: when creating subheadings it is worth remembering that the Optimum settings section has a feature whereby you can view setting averages. Obviously these will only work where the setting value is completely numeric.

Inputting the base settings:

Once the user is happy with the headings and subheadings the next task is to input actual setting values in the data field of each subheading. These values will form a testing baseline in the log section of the app. The purpose of inputting them here is so that when you create new test records in the log you can select them as your start of day settings without having to type them over and over again. 

If you are not sure of the base settings for your bike, just use the settings that it currently has. You can always amend them at a later date.

 The My Log section in detail

Creating a new test record:

Tap the Create new button, assign a date, circuit name and select the bike you will be testing. It is important when assigning circuit names to keep the spelling and lower/upper case consistent otherwise the app will not recognise when circuits are the same.

Next, populate the settings field. By choosing from last test, previous test or base (base refers to the settings input in the My bikes section) you are basically defining the bikes settings for the first session on track. If the exact settings you want are not listed, choose the closest option and then edit them once the test is created. 

Choose from one of the three weather options for the test - either dry, intermediate or wet. Then attach any notes and tap Save to complete the process of creating a new test.

Note: once you have assigned a weather condition to a test you cannot change it. This means that if the weather changes at some point you will need to create an additional test record.

The new test record: 

The test will now be listed in the main My log page. You will notice that it shows the date, circuit name and bike. In addition, there is a small icon to the left. The icon represents the weather condition assigned to the test.  

If you tap into the test you will see a Session 1 page and an Optimum settings and Edit button. The Session 1 page contains all of the settings previously specified. If you tap into this page you will see that each setting can be modified by tapping into the area adjacent to the green arrow. In addition, each setting is marked by an orange tick mark.

The orange tick represents the optimum settings tag. The app will always assume that the settings in Session 1 are optimum until the user either un-ticks them or assigns the optimum tag to settings in later session pages. If you tap the optimum tag you will see that it can be ticked and un-ticked.

Creating further sessions within the test:

After the first session on track, use the New button to create a new session page (Session 2) to reflect any setting changes made. All of the settings from Session 1 will carry over and can be modified accordingly.  

Once updated, Session 2 will only show the new setting values. It is important to remember that the app will not assume that the setting changes are better by assigning the optimum tag - it is up to the user to do this. However, if the new settings are tagged as optimum in Session 2 then the app will automatically un-tick the old settings in Session 1.   

As the test progresses the user can simply repeat this process, creating more sessions as necessary and making sure to assign the optimum value to whichever setting is deemed the best. If at any point you need to remove a session page then use the Edit button to delete it. 

Note: any setting can be tagged as optimum regardless of which session page it belongs to.  

Viewing the Optimum settings page within a test:

At the end of the test you can review all of the optimum settings by tapping the Optimum settings button. The optimum settings will be a combination of the Session 1 settings that have not changed and those the user has later modified and assigned as optimum.

The Optimum Settings section in detail

This section of the app allows you to view a range of optimum settings from the log in summary form. There are three options to choose from:

The Average page shows optimum setting averages grouped by weather using the sum of last tests from all differing circuits. This option has been created for reference and in order to give the user a range of possible base settings for their bike. Obviously the app will only create averages where the setting values are numbers. When you tap into this option select the weather condition at the top of the page to view the averages. Again, you can send the settings via email.    
 
It is a good idea to use the email function in this section to create backup records of all your optimum settings.

Note: the colour orange is used throughout the app to signify the optimum settings feature.

FAQ

My bikes FAQ:

Q: Each time I enter a heading, enter new data and then tap done I get an error message saying 'Heading already exists. Please enter another one'.
A: Instead of tapping into the heading by touching the middle part of the heading row you have tapped the copy icon which looks like two overlapping pages. The copy icon is used to duplicate heading and subheading information.

Q: When I use the copy icon to create a new heading I get a message saying 'Heading already exists. Please enter another one'.
A: This is normal. You cannot create headings or subheadings with the same name because the app will not be able to differentiate the settings when displaying them in the optimum settings part of the app. When copying headings always create a slightly different name to set them apart.

Q: I accidentally hit the copy icon when entering a heading and now I cannot escape back out because I get an error message saying 'Heading already exists. Please enter another one'.
A: Amend the heading name and tap done to return to the previous page. Then simply delete the copied heading using the edit button or by sliding your finger along the heading row and pressing delete.

My log FAQ:

Q: After I created a number of test records I decided to modify my bikes profile within the My bikes section. Then, when I created a new test and selected 'last test' for my base settings, the old profile details appeared in the new test.
A: If you modify your bikes profile having already created a number of tests it is always better to select 'base' as your start of day settings when creating a new test. Once this new test is created you can then use this as your 'last test' with the updated profile.

Q: How I do I move the order of tests around in the My log page?
A: Tap the Edit button and touch your finger on the far right hand side of the test heading row you want to move and drag it to the new location.

Q: I created a new test record but decided I wanted to update my bike profile. Once I did this the profile updates did not appear in the test.
A: Once a test is created it becomes a distinct record and wont be affected by any subsequent changes to the bikes profile. Any amendments to a bikes profile will only show in newly created tests. 

 Support

We think MTL is a great piece of motorcycle setup software and certainly one of the best iPhone motorcycle apps and welcome your feedback. Moreover, if you need further assistance or technical support then please email us at: support@tclapps.com

Legal

The Motorcycle track log is designed to be used for information purposes only. In that regard, no advice, suggestion or guidance is implied in regards to how users should use or set-up their motorcycle as a result of using the log. Ultimate responsibility of which settings to use must always lie with the user.    

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