I had a taste, sort of...

[Guest]

I've never thought about racing or track days. But this past weekend I had to go to Race Tech to get my suspension adjusted and they had me do a couple of laps around their 'test circuit'. With a properly setup suspension and the opportunity to learn the turns and make improvements, I had a ridiculous amount of fun! Of course, I recently took the Total Control clinic and that had a lot to do with it. I got to ride harder and faster than ever before, even getting my first air over some train tracks. So now I kind of want to fix up the 1100 and take it to the track. I don't know if it will be as fun as the new GSX-S, but it won't hurt as much to lay down.

[Buffalo Bill]

Well, do they have a class about how to crash and not got too much hurt?
Track riding is a rough sport and you have to be ready for your crash. Kinda like full contact football, it's all fun but getting hurt is part of the game.

[tkent02]

Kinda like full contact football,

What other kind is there?

[gbw]

Joe...you should definitely do a track day. There is no better place to enjoy riding your bike closer to its limits than a track. Unlike the street, there is no oncoming traffic, no UPS trucks stopped in the road around the next bend, no wildlife crossing the road, no unexpected gravel or water to sneak up on you. It's much safer than riding on the street especially if you want to play with letting it hang out a little.

Find a track day that is geared toward street riders. Bill probably has way more track experience than me, but I'll disagree that a track day is a full contact sport. They're safe places to go fast and learn about yours and your bike's strengths and weaknesses. You'll start in the beginners group, get some instruction, and the ones I've been to, riders in the beginners group can't even pass each other during the first half of the day. Later in the day they may allow passing under controlled circumstances (only on the straights, at least 6 ft between bikes, etc.)

You might also want to contact Lee Parks and see if he offers the Total Contol track day. That's not what it's called, but he used to put on a L2 ARC at tracks around the country. You'd run a few laps then pit for some feedback, then repeat that all day. It's a great way to hone your skills and it's a lot of fun.

Of course you might drop your bike doing a track day. You might also drop it while your commuting in city traffic. The track is much better place to wreck thanks to no oncoming traffic, onsite medical personnel, etc.

[Groove_Daddy]

Joe, ignore any and all "aggressive" standpoints regarding the matter of track days. They are, from every angle, one of THE BEST places to become a better rider.

"Full Contact" will get you thrown out. If you've never been, you'll be placed in the novice group (plenty of fun), a mandatory introduction to all things track.

After each session, you'll receive instruction, perspective ... all good and from experienced techs/racers/etc.

What's more, you never know who's going to suddenly appear (advanced/experienced group) ...

As an experienced, intermediate and beginner combo, Joe Nardy, D Rosi and Myself composed an after-event writeup to express what the future interested might enjoy.

If you're willing to pay the .99 cents - Kindle (helps the site)
If you wanna download it for free - PDF File
If you wanna read it on the site ...

part one, experienced - https://www.theridingobsession.com/?p=1466
part two, beginner - https://www.theridingobsession.com/?p=1402
part three, intermediate (with the unexpected) - https://www.theridingobsession.com/?p=1537

I've attended only a few track days and feel that after each, I'm a BETTER rider. Tell me you don't feel the same and I'll buy you lunch.

Here's my wife on a '97 Honda Nighthawk 250 ... a frickin' LEARNER bike. She was towards the end and after ONE SESSION, the front lead/guide rider asked that she take the front position of group ONE.

(Now she rides a '16 Triumph Street Triple R)

[Neil]

Track days are a blast, my first time out I actually got bored of the Beginner group and moved up to Intermediate. There was even a gal on a Vespa doing her first track day so I'd say GO FOR IT!

[gbw]

Track days are a blast, my first time out I actually got bored of the Beginner group and moved up to Intermediate. There was even a gal on a Vespa doing her first track day so I'd say GO FOR IT!

If I'm not mistaken Neil, you were on a pretty good sized BMW touring bike at the time.

[GS1150Pilot]

Man, doing a track day on a Vespa would be awesome!

[Dogma]

...So now I kind of want to fix up the 1100 and take it to the track. I don't know if it will be as fun as the new GSX-S, but it won't hurt as much to lay down.

Financially you mean. I laid my 1000G down about as hard as is possible to do so last fall at Gingerman, and shattered my clavicle. That's not supposed to happen in a low-side, but if the ground is going away from you, you fall farther.

There is a school of thought that you should take a bike to the track only if you're willing to wreck it. My thinking now is that you're only more likely to wreck it on track if being on track induces rectocranial inversion. I hadn't known before then that I was susceptible. Self-evaluation is notoriously sketchy. Here's the thing: The GSX-S is so much more capable in grip that you're far less likely to crash from getting a little stupid. It will give you more margin to learn in. Like street riding, keep some margin.

An event organised by Sportbike Track Time, like the ones we've been talking about at Gingerman, has about 75 riders present for the day (riding in 3 groups). Of the 3 events I've been to, maybe 3 or 4 riders have fallen off each day. Do that math, then figure out whether you'll be one of the 3 or 4 based on whether you think you'll get too cocky for your skills and bike. That last item is most likely to determine whether you'll fall.

I can't wait to get back.

[greg78gs750]

+1 on what groovedaddy , GBW, and dogma have said, find a day geared toward new track riders and DO IT.

[GS1150Pilot]

Dogma, how have you healed up?

[Joe Nardy]

Joe,

By all means do a track day. I did my first track day at Keith Code's California Superbike School in the mid-80's. I was young, fearless, and a pretty good rider. The school followed a weekend of AMA racing at the old Loudon Raceway in New Hampshire and my lap times on a Ninja 600 would have qualified me for the grid for the 750 Superbike Race. I took the California Superbike School again a couple years at Mid-Ohio where my lap times were middle of the pack. Just a couple years had aged (wisened?) me to the point where I thought more about self preservation than going as fast as possible. I didn't do any further track riding until 15 years ago when I did a track day sponsored by a local dealer and run by Sportbike Track Time. I've done at least one track day every year since and these are my favorite riding days of the year. Now significantly older I have found a balance between improving my skills and turning decent laps. I have no idea what my lap times are these days and don't really care. I now concentrate on being smooth and consistent. I'm probably slower than in my youth but I'd bet the difference is not very great. I usually ride in the Intermediate group which is fine with me. After all these years I must have learned something as last year I got bumped up to the Advanced group. A control rider noticed I was being held up by slower riders in the intermediate group and felt I would do fine in the faster group and also likely improve my skills more quickly as well. I was pretty proud of that, being bumped up for the first time at age 57.

I've never crashed at a track day and have had just one somewhat scary moment where I ground some hard parts on the curbing in a right hand corner and levered the rear wheel off the ground. It took the whole width of the track to get it back under me but I didn't crash. I have seen a lot of riders go down but only one or two times where they were not able to get up under their own power. Like any other time you swing a leg over a motorcycle, things can go horribly wrong.

I wrote the 'Experienced' article Groove Daddy mentioned in his post. That was a couple years ago and my thoughts are still the same. I'd say the biggest things a first time track day attendee can do to enjoy the day to its fullest are:

- Find someone to go with that has done track days before and is willing to help you with the routine. You're going to be nervous and having a friend to help you through registration, bike prep, tech, etc. will reduce your anxiety level.
- Listen to the instructors and follow their instructions. These guys take safety very seriously and the quickest way to have your day end early is to ride in an unsafe manner. You'll probably get a warning or two unless you do something VERY dangerous but you'll probably be done if you do something unsafe three times.
- Ride within your limits. If you start scaring yourself or find yourself running out of track into or out of corners, slow down!
- Pay attention to your brain. Track day sessions are usually 20 minutes and you'll likely have 7 or 8 sessions on the track. That's a lot of track time and you'll expend a lot of energy. If you start to make mental or physical mistakes, pull off the track and rest until the net session. Many (most?) incidents happen at the end of the day when riders get cocky and ride over their heads. Being tired doesn't help either. Recognize and heed the warning signs.


I'd suggest taking the sportiest bike you have. The methods you'll be taught will be easier to implement on a lighter, sportier bike. You also won't have to work as hard you'll have more energy at the end of the day. All the skills will transfer to whatever other bikes you have.

Bottom line - Do it! Just beware.....it can be addictive.

Thanks,
Joe

[Joe Garfield]

Thanks guys!
I'm taking Lee Parks' L2 this weekend. L3 is on a track and I'll likely sign up for it after getting all this encouragement. I don't think it's at full track speed though, but there's nothing wrong with progressing I guess.

I don't think I want to have a bike with payments out on a real track day, but we'll see. I'm sure it would be a lot more fun on a modern bike. One thought was to fix up the GS1100 and sell it to help fund a used R6 or something, but I'm all over the board with ideas at the moment.

I live in SoCal and enjoy my GSX-S almost every day and on some amazing rides. I love it too much to risk losing it.

[Baatfam]

This is from Gingerman in 2014. Front to back, myself, Joe Nardy, Groove_Daddy and Dogma.

[Joe Garfield]

The L2 class this weekend got cancelled. But, they have a track training not far from here on April 29. I want to find out more about it but it's pretty exciting.