My first track day

[AngelFZ]

Track bikes are very resonable to buy second hand. I paid $3,500 for my 2005 R6. If I was to build the bike it would cost about $17,000+ or so. I've spent another $1,200 or so freshening it up; oil change, valve adjustment, coolant change, tires, air filter, dyno tune, fasteners, grips, etc.

It all depends on how hooked you are.

Indeed an additional track-only bike is what I'd like to get into.
I know it can get very expensive but 3.5k for the bike and +1k on maintenance and other mods sounds very reasonable.

I've been with my brother on a couple of high performance driving events (cars) and indeed it can get very addictive and expensive. His "mid-life crisis" was an M3 (I'm not allowed to drive it on the track !!!!!!!!!) and after 3 events he has changed four tires and done the brakes too $$$$$$$$$$$$$


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[Misti]

Questions for those who have more experience than I:
- can anything be done to get more acceleration other than me losing some weight? This might be the best thing I can do for both me and the bike
- will removing peg feelers allow me to get my knee down? Or at least, will it make my knee more likely to touch before peg, assuming my body position is approximately correct, as per the instructor?
- suspension - should I bother doing anything?
- pegs - can anyone recommend a different set of pegs I could be using with more clearance?

Yuri

Hi Yuri,

Glad you had fun at your first track day. Here are some answers to your questions above.

1: Losing weight will help but as others have suggested, carrying corner speed and getting better drives out of the corners will help a lot with your overall acceleration and your speed down the straights. How would you describe your throttle control? When are you getting on the gas in the corner and how are you rolling it on??

2. Removing the peg feelers is probably a good idea but it is not necessarily going to help you get your knee down. Touching your knee is the result of having good body position and the main reason we strive for good body position is so that we lean the bike LESS through the corner. You may very well be able to adjust your BP so that you can get your knee down while still having the feelers on. You should be able to get a knee down before the peg touches as the knee is used as an indication of how much lean angle you are carrying. I wouldn't worry too much about getting a knee down, just having good BP and riding well.

3. For your suspension, I'd set the sag and that's about it for now. I'm a firm believer of working on your riding skills and improving them before spending time and $$$ chasing your suspension. Something as simple as good or bad throttle control can play a huge role in how your bike feels. You could have the best set up bike out there but if you have crap throttle control the bike will handle like crap. Or you could have crappy suspension but awesome throttle control and your bike could feel pretty stable. Think about how good/bad your throttle control is and how it effects your bike's stability.

4. not sure on the pegs, I think a few others have answered this one for you.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions about riding skills and tech and I'll do my best to answer. (I'm a coach with the California Superbike School) and we do a lot of coaching at Streets of Willow Springs and tracks around the USA and around the world.

Cheers,
Misti

 

[elrusoloco]

Hi, Misti, thanks a ton for responding. With regards to the throttle control question - I try to roll on as soon as I'm leaned over and try to roll on throughout the corner.

 

[Misti]

Hi, Misti, thanks a ton for responding. With regards to the throttle control question - I try to roll on as soon as I'm leaned over and try to roll on throughout the corner.

No problem and your explanation of throttle control sounds pretty good. If you want to carry more speed through the corner and out of it you might need to roll on the gas a little earlier and harder throughout the turn. What things might help you feel more comfortable rolling on a little bit more?

Misti

 

[DownrangeFuture]

No problem and your explanation of throttle control sounds pretty good. If you want to carry more speed through the corner and out of it you might need to roll on the gas a little earlier and harder throughout the turn. What things might help you feel more comfortable rolling on a little bit more?

Misti

For me? Steering dampers. Getting on the throttle hard and having the bike feel like it's trying to buck you off is a little disconcerting. That and proper set up before the turn. I'm in lane position, I have decent body position, and then I botch the downshift and wind up clutch-in at turn-in. Working on it though. Every turn I safely can.

 

[elrusoloco]

No problem and your explanation of throttle control sounds pretty good. If you want to carry more speed through the corner and out of it you might need to roll on the gas a little earlier and harder throughout the turn. What things might help you feel more comfortable rolling on a little bit more?

Misti

Well, I don't have the same problem as the man below me, in that I've never felt the bike buck - probably because I'm not on the throttle that hard, trying to smooth it in. I think I do need more experience and more trust in the grip and clearance in order to really get on through and out of the corner. Does that make sense?