I feel properly stupid.
Because I only figured out today, after over a year of owning SBK-X, what I did wrong with this title.

Not that I didn't like it, I liked it very much, but it always felt unduly hard, and imprecise. The bike sometimes was all over the track, each lap on a different line, for no visible reason. You guys might remember I actually posted a topic here why I had such a hard time doing constant lap times, compared to my real world motorbike track days.

Turns out what I did wrong were two things:

1) When you have the AI Engineer set up the bike, don't use qualifying setup (though it's supposedly faster). Use the Race Setup.

2) Less Brakes and lower Gear actually makes you faster.

What happens then is that the race setup is unbelievable more stable and "grippy", and with smoother brakes and less engine braking, the speed drop off in turns really is reduced while still being able to hold the line.

Result: The best racing experience I've ever had, so unbelievable close to the real thing that it boggles the mind. Yeah, the controls are different, the physical sensation obviously missing, but the balance of throttle and bike angle, the trail braking late into a corner, the ability to smoothly carve trough a tight long lefthander just on the edge of the curbs... it's so damned real to handle that I think I almost had a heart attack. Call me stupid but in certain downhill/uphill turns I almost could feel the dampers compress.

Seriously guys, if there's a single drop of petrol-colored racing blood inside you, go get either of these titles (SBK 2011 can be had for about 10 bucks here in Europe). I always championed this game, but finally with a proper bike setup it's not just a game any more. This is a holodeck.

yep, got it and love it... race alot with it by myself.

Just don't make the mistake and cripple the bike with the wrong setup like I did I had no idea that I was wrestling and jerking around with an improperly configured setup and not just with my lack of skills.

I know I'm jabbering but it's really unbelievable how much this thing fell into place for me tonight. Flashbacks to my real life track weekend every other turn, coupled with the most adrenaline rushed race feeling ever. F1 got nothing on having the head down on the curbs and still pulling full throttle in a sweeping right hander.

I really need to save up the cash for a Daytona 675.

Yup, still playing SBK X on the xbox now and then. It's fun, it's extremely well made and it's one of those titles which sadly didn't get the - media and customer - attention they deserve.

I also had the impression that I performed better using the race setup, but attributed it to the fact that it was just more forgiving than the qualify setup. And I need that extra margin of error, as controlling a simulated bike with a gamepad feels much more difficult, much more on edge than controlling a virtual car with a wheel.

Thanks, yeah I'm still playing SBK 2011 and I had always been using the Engineer's race setup as in all sims I tend to focus on race setup and ignore qualifying pretty much...

I actually found that the same approach I use on iRacing works well for SBX:
1. Get most of the braking done before the corner
2. Ease on the gas on the way out of the corner to avoid spinning up the tires

While I still have a ways to go before I feel comfortable mostly due to the view, this sim really rewards smooth driving.

Aiobhill, I think the better times with race setup are because the gamepad itself is just not such precise. The race setup smooths out the less precise gamepad inputs.

Kludger, yep, I actually realized yesterday the point was not to accelerate and brake as hard as possible (which was my previous idea of racing). The Qualifying setups make you do that. But the race setup rewards very smooth driving, it's clearly visible on the Telemetry.

In a repeat of a question about F1 2011..do you know if SBK2011 can be configured to run with a joystick (as with the old GP500),

Thanks TIM

I normally use the XB360 wireless controller with it, working pretty well, but to see if the game config sees the joystick device I plugged in my X-52 instead and confirmed it shows up in the game as a controller and allows mapping of function to the buttons, even my rudder pedals showed up as a legitimate controller.

So I think you are good to go for using it with a joystick like GP500 (great game that I still have in a box somewhere).

Might want to not use the rider weight and could be difficult to find an axis for rear brakes though...

Logitech Extreme 3D Pro is useless in SBK-X, though. While it recognizes the joystick's pitch and roll axis, there's no gradual movement wherever I move the stick. It's only on-off, much like buttons. Tried using my cheap 6-dollar gamepad, but it caused more headache than fun. So, I'm stuck with using keyboard now. Or simply play the old Superbike 2001, which goes along happily with my joystick. What pc gamepad you recommend for SBK-X?