Track day - funny advantage of GS500

[CanadianRider]

Hi.  I did a "controlled riding group" track day in Ontario.  This is what you have after lessons for track time with instructors available, but not formal lessons.

I took my GS500F on the track to lean to corner with my bike, rather than having to transfer the skills to it after using a rental bike.  Quite a lot of the guys in my level (1) found that they were held up in the corners by slower riders who would then crank open the throttle down the straight, and the faster cornering riders couldn't pass them. They got quite frustrated over time.

Riders passed me so much faster on the straights, though, that they were either gone by the first corner or at least by the next one, and I rode unimpeded pretty much all the time!  A decent speed differential is a good thing.  No one complained about me either, as they could all get ahead of me at the next straight and there were 4 of them on the circuit plus a few other passing places (passing in corners was forbidden at that level).

I have finally scrubbed off the chicken strips!  Had a great time.

[jeremy_nash]

I had a similar issue when doing track day at roebling, except that they were going much faster at the end of the straight-away that they had to brake alot earlier, whereas I stayed wide open till the turn, and slowed down while transitioning into the corner.  had similar lap times due to these things. plus its nice do be doing 100+ without worrying about cops or people on their cell phones

[CanadianRider]

plus its nice do be doing 100+ without worrying about cops or people on their cell phones

Amen to that!  And yes, it was nice not having to slow down like they did, although I was probably unduly cautious the whole time.

An instructor told another group that that woman on the GS500 may have cornered slowly but she had better form and lines through the corner than his group!  Not bad for the ego when you're being passed constantly.

[Paulcet]

<nevermind, now I know>

[burning1]

If you are riding a GS500, you probably aren't doing 100 miles per hour at the track. 

Congratulations on getting to the track. The GS500 really is an excellent track bike. IMO, one of the best for someone who's new to the experience.

One thing the GS will teach is how to pass at corner entrance. The key is to remember that the 'ideal line' isn't always ideal in traffic. Often, you'll need to take a wide line and miss your apex to get around someone, or a shallow slow line to push past them.

[jeremy_nash]

If you are riding a GS500, you probably aren't doing 100 miles per hour at the track. 

at the end of the straight, I was doing 105 actual.  I programmed my digital speedo with a gps, then confirmed it with a road-side radar trailer, so I know its accurate 
http://www.roeblingroad.com/trackmap.html

[burning1]

Holy shaZam!, that's a long front straight.

Thunder Hill is probably the fastest track we have here in CA.

http://www.thunderhill.com/html/trackmap.html

[jeremy_nash]

well the whole track is 2.02 miles, straight is a little over half mile long

[ecpreston]

another "funny advantage" is that every time you pass someone, you can safely say that they suck, or you are a badass 

[jeremy_nash]

another "funny advantage" is that every time you pass someone, you can safely say that they suck, or you are a badass  

I prefer to go with both!  I was safely passing some ducati's, sv650's, and a handful of bmw's  then having them run around me on the straight