My first track day (Warning, Long Post)

[goat]

Well, I did my first track day this last weekend through STT Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL. I won't get any pics of me riding for a week or so, and they won't be very impressive (the photgrapher has samples on his site). I might post them when the CD comes in the mail.

I was suprised to see that my bike was the smallest bike there. One guy had an Aprilia 250cc 2-cycle track bike, but that isn't really smaller since it puts out about double the horsepower of a gs. Everyone else was on a sv650 or larger.

The entire weekend was a learning experience. A lot of what I "learned" should have been common sense, but I didn't listen to it. I just thought I would post about what I did and in retrospect, what I should have done.

Since this is a long post, I thought I would summarize what I learned for anyone who doesn't feel like reading my novel.

Make sure that you are rested before a track day
Eat full, proper meals
Use common sense. Don't be a dumbass.
A wasted track day costs less than a wasted bike and gear[/list:u]

I showed up at the track tired (not quite enough sleep during the week to make up for a bunch of bad luck on friday), and running on a breakfast of doughnuts. This is not the way to start off a day where you need to have 100% concentration.

Through an unfortunate set of coincidences, the first two sessions (supposed to be learning the lines and the track) weren't very helpful. It wasn't until the third morning session where I could get a handle on the track and the correct lines. I also ran off the track twice and almost went off a third time. These should have been signals that I was riding beyond my ability to control my bike, but I ignored them so that i could keep up with my group.

Since I'm a vegetarian (or 95% vegetarian, but that's not important), I couldn't really eat the lunch provided at the track (paid for with the day's fee) but they made me a salad and thats all I ate for lunch. After the first afternoon session, I realized that I needed more than a salad for lunch and ate an energy bar before the next session.

During the second class session of the afternoon, I noticed that my energy level was dropping. I really noticed this when I was lined up for the second session, and thought about stopping for the day but I didn't want to waste all the money that I had spent on the weekend. Ironically, when I was lined up for the second session of the afternoon, I realized that I put my cell phone in my pocket. I still had a few minutes before my group was to go on the track, so I handed it off to someone near the pits.

For this session, I was one on one with an instructor. Everyone else who had started out in my group had either moved up or had quit for the day. Because I was the slowest rider out there, I was pushing myself harder even though I had gone off the track multiple times in the morning.

On the second or third lap, it happened. One of the other instructors was right behind me, so most of this is from what he told me after the session. I was coming up to a somewhat tricky right turn and I entered the turn too early. I hadn't quite grasped the concept of lean yet, and I was trying to lean my body without lifting my butt off of the seat. When I was trying to compensate for my bad entry, I leaned the bike over so far that I lowsided and slid off the track.

The damage to me and my bike were minimal, considering what could have happened. I need to replace the ignition rotor cover, handlebars, brake lever and bar ends. My exhaust is also pretty roughed up. The engine still runs, though. My gear is also in pretty good shape. It looks like I was sliding on my butt the whole way. Other than the scuffed up backside of my pants, the only other damage was a few scuffs on my helmet and jacket and some scrapes on one of my gloves.

I crashed because I was riding beyond my ability to ride. There are no excuses for this, especially when I was questioning my ability to ride immediately before the session during which I crashed. I should have either slowed down or quit for the day and taken the monetary loss. There were other factors that contributed to my crash, but they are not as important.

In retrospect, I don't think I was ready for a track day. I should have waited a few more years before going out to a track like that. I'm not saying that someone else wouldn't be able to with the same amount of experience. I'm just saying that I wasn't ready.

Will I do another track day? I don't know. I didn't particularly like this one, and I don't think that I have the ability to ride at those speeds. If I do another track day, it won't be for another couple years.

The next question I need to answer is what to do about my bike. This is my second crash in a year. I need to do some serious thinking about whether or not I should be riding. Both of my crashes were a direct result of my bad judgment. I walked away from both of them, but who's to say that I will do the same when the next one happens (and I'm pretty sure its a when)? Either way, I'm going to wait a week or two before I make any decision like that.

Anywho, I hope that i didn't bore anyone to death with this monster post.

Pic of the damage:

[Roadstergal]

Ouch!  I'm sorry to hear you went down.  

However.. I think you learned good things from this experience, and I think it would be a pity to not use them.  Your mental state and physical prepardeness is very important going into a track day of any kind, since you are basically spending the whole day exploring your mental and physical limits.

And if you have to crash, the track is definitely the place to do it.  It's a lot safer than crashing anywhere else - there are usually runoff areas, people are on the lookout for you, and there are no SUVs to slide under or light poles to hit.  That was my justification for doing track days - I want to improve my skills in a safe environment, and learn how much I can push myself and the bike in a place where the consequences of going too far are less severe than on the street.

I'd wait a few days for this to settle; in the aftermath, there's probably a lot of chaos in your mind and body (adrenaline just sits around going sour in an unhappy fasion).  It'd be good to take a few deep breaths and revisit why you're doing track and what you want to take out of it.  We all take away different things - and whatever we're looking for is exactly what we get.

Just my half-cent.

[pantablo]

I think you learned quite a bit. the most important one is to "ride your own ride". true on the track, even more true on the street.

given time, reconsider the track. its the best place to really learn how to corner and really ride the bike. that will serve you well on the street. maybe you need more personalized instruction or a true track school, like CLASS ...that might be the ticket for you.

sorry to hear you crashed but glad you're okay.

[cay]

Ditto on the 'glad to hear you're alright' sentiments.

As for whether or not you need to retire the GS, that's entirely a personal decision -- riding a motorcycle is dangerous, there's no way around that.  Speaking from my whole 1 year's worth of riding experience, I would say that a fatalistic attitude about riding would be one of those self-fulfilling prophesies.  If you don't think you're in the right frame of mind to ride (and ride well), take the car / public transit.

I'm not saying you should hang up your gear; I'm just glad you're weighing your options.  The world is a better place with you still in it.

Take care and be safe.

Cory

[dgyver]

Recognizing your mistakes is an important step to becoming a better rider. I made some bad mistakes early in my riding career but learned from them to become a better rider.

Lack of sleep prior to a track day is common. I usually take a nap at lunch. Drinking plenty of fluids is extremely important. Dehydration is worse than lack of food.

I noticed that you have a Corbin seat. They are not good for moving off the seat. They are great for touring but with their butt pocket, hanging off requires you to lift up and then slide off the seat. I have ridden a buddies ZX9R that had one and it was a lot more work to ride the twisties. When/if you decide to go back to the track, you may want to consider a stock seat.

[V8Pinto]

Give it a few days before you decide not to go back.  The damage to your bike isn't that bad, it'll clean up nicely and your bike will have some cool scars to talk about.

[goat]

I didn't include my whole thought process on getting rid of my bike so that the post wouldn't get any longer than it already was. I probably should have finished that thought.

If things go the way I want them to, I will be out of the country for a year starting next june. Part of what I need to figure out is whether or not I should just sell my bike and wait until I get back to the US before I start riding again.

When I got back to my truck I was convinced that i never wanted to ride again. Ever. By the end of the day, that faded to a "I'm not sure riding is the best idea for me". On my way to work this morning, I found myself thinking about how I would be riding if I on my bike instead of in my car. Heck, I've even looked around trying to answer the question "If I got another bike and it wasn't a gs, what would it be?" so I don't think that I am done riding for good, yet.

I do have a lot of thinking to do, though. A crash is not something to be taken lightly, no matter where or how it happens. Also, if/when I start riding again, I'll need to buy another helmet. It'll be the second one this season (and the only one that fits me is an Arai) so I have some saving to do. Either way, I think that it will be good for me to take a break from riding for a little while so I can figure this all out.

I noticed that you have a Corbin seat. They are not good for moving off the seat. They are great for touring but with their butt pocket, hanging off requires you to lift up and then slide off the seat. I have ridden a buddies ZX9R that had one and it was a lot more work to ride the twisties. When/if you decide to go back to the track, you may want to consider a stock seat.

I thought of that, too after talking with the instructors. If I do another track day (or any non street riding), its going to be with a straight track bike. I don't think that the standard riding position, the corbin seat or my tires (BT45s) are conducive to good track riding. The first things I would do would be to get some rearsets, different seat (still have my stock seat) and some track tires.

There is an 04' for sale in IL, so I might just make a track bike out of my 93' and ride the 04' on the street. That would also give me an excuse to do all the engine mods I was contemplating. The only problem is that I'm a college student and don't really have the space or the money for all this. Like thats stopped me so far.

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. I appreciate it.

[Zilla]

Great post. Glad you're ok. I've pretty much decided that i'm going to use my GS for track days. I hope to have my license back next year, and I really haven't done any riding since 99. So i've got some catching up to do. Your bike just about looks like mine too!