Quote from: pantablo

Quote from: octaneYou're brave riding to the track!! Last track day I did some dude dumped his bike and couldn't get home!

I had a contingency plan. I was meeting 6 of my riding buddies and made arrangements with one of them to trailer my bike in case I dumped it. Wasnt necessary, luckily.

Yesterdays track day saw about 6-8 bikes get dragged off the track unrideable. The best was a cocky group of riders next to us with a cbr1000rr and zx-10r, both brand new bikes without plates yet. We were warned that the track was cold and tires would take longer to get up to temp. The zx10r made it into turn 1 on the first lap before he totalled it completely. The 1000rr made it to the last (cool down) lap and tossed it too. Neither were rideable. Both guys had to stick it out the entire day while their buddy rode. Boneheads.

There were a few boneheads when I went too. A few bikes ended up broken bad enough to sit the day out - the kid who rode was 3 hours away from home with no contingency plan. I have a standard cab pickup and came with a buddy. I offered to trailer the bike back for him, but had nowhere for him to ride.

The other one was a control rider. Poor guy was riding a brand new Ducati 999. Not sure what happened, but something on the Duc let go and dumped oil all over his rear wheel and the track. He lowsided, broke his wrist, and banged the bike up pretty good. It only had a few hundred miles on it. He went down in the first session of the day only a lap or two in...directly outside the window of the classroom the newbies were getting prepped in!!

They didn't make you safety wire it Pablo?

hey octane do you run at summit point

Quote from: octaneThey didn't make you safety wire it Pablo?

Not for a track day, not this organizer. Street bikes with taped lights. Some had track ony/race bikes too though.

wow two brand new bikes that definatly hurts alot  espesially if they didnt have insurance yet.  anyway sounds like fun

Quote from: bcutrufellihey octane do you run at summit point

No, VIR. Will probably run a Summit day next season though. My buddy joined NESBA this year and has run at least one day a month at VIR or Summit for the past several months and I'm tired of him nagging me to go! Didn't have the time or money this year, but will probably join NESBA and run next year.

FUN! I took my GS500 to the track in July and I highly recommend it to anyone. I learned so much about riding and about how much I can push the GS. I was at Pacific Raceways in Auburn WA. Good stuff, Pantablo!

Nice picts Pablo!
Now I know for sure I won't be riding with you up ACH anytime soon...

From the stories told it sounds like track days are the quickest way to learn lots of new high level skills, but it's also the quickest way to wreck a brand new bike.

Are the guys/gals who wreck usually riding over their heads, acting squidly, or just hitting oil spots on the track?

Quote from: cajrovd

Are the guys/gals who wreck usually riding over their heads, acting squidly, or just hitting oil spots on the track?

thanks-Nice avatar yourself btw-

yeah, mostly riding above their limits or not respecting the need to warm up tires on a really cold day. the liter bike owners probably opened the throttle a bit and got the rear to step out. their inexperience in this would lead to a high side. one of my buddies has been riding forever and had his step out a bunch in the first lap (on an ancient fzr600) telling him the tires werent warm yet, but without incident. The track is a great place to practice your skills but you still have to ride within your limits. Its just easier to push your limits on the track, a bit at a time, than it is on the street-safer too.

Squidly behavior is not tolerated (except the occasional wheelie coming out of pit lane at the start of the session apparently) and any debris or oil, anything that would compromise the safety of the riders is taken care of immediately.

Nice! That looks like a lot of fun, although I don't envy the ride home. For some reason the pillion gas tank makes me chuckle! Nice looking bike, by the way. Yesterday I saw one for the first time.

Laura

Quote from: LauraNice! That looks like a lot of fun, although I don't envy the ride home. For some reason the pillion gas tank makes me chuckle! Nice looking bike, by the way. Yesterday I saw one for the first time.

Laura

gas tank-



the ride home


Thanks-the 600rr is a fabulous bike and I love it. Still gives me a woody just thinking about it.

I also cant say enough good things about my Tourmaster one peice rainsuit. Got me home dry and warm. Great product! First time I've had to use it in the 2 yrs Ive had it and glad I spent the money.

It takes some guts to ride your bike to a track day. I have seen others who have faced both sides of this. Track days can be addictive but are a very good resource for learning better bike control. I highly recommend for everyone to go to at least one.

I will be riding with Sportbike Track Time for the first time this coming weekend at CMP. They do not require the safety wiring and other prep as a lot of other organizations do.

Hey Pablo that looks awesome!  The photos are great, you should frame one and put it in the office for customers to inquire about :mrgreen:

I've been curious though, how long does it take to get up to pace on the track?  I know on roads I've never been on I'm a bit apprehensive about picking up the pace the first couple times of riding it.  Does it take long to fall into a rythme on the track?  I imagine each lap gets a little quicker than the previous one.

Your friend on the Bandit(?) is really moving!

Remember, track rhymes with crack.  It is a slippery slope you have started down.

Hey!  You finally got the training wheels off :lol:

Quote from: 70 Cam GuyI've been curious though, how long does it take to get up to pace on the track? Your friend on the Bandit(?) is really moving!

It was a cold track so I was doing 2 full laps before wicking it up. Then after the first few sessions (they were 20 minute on, 20 minute off sessions, two groups alternating) I was starting to really move. The best part is that you get to hit the same corners a bunch of times in the same session so you can keep trying different things/speeds. The photo is the second session and I was still gingerly hitting the corners. I was much faster on the subsequent sessions.

Quote from: johnHey!  You finally got the training wheels off :lol:

:nana: