What should I be aware of for my first track day..

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bruce Ree
  • Start date Start date
Most use trailers, if you crash you can still get home as long as you haven't met the local hospital staff. Even then sometimes you can, just bring a trailer big enough to fit the mangled wreck in and haul back.

You can bring a can of chain lube and I wouldn't be too concerned about the freshness of your oil.

Trailer rentals - u haul, or perhaps a pickup truck?
 
I agree on full leathers, and I appologies - I didnt read every thread so if someone said this before ... sorry
Baby your bike and your ride - if your planning on getting aggressive at all - rent their bike w/ins -- and just ride at your pace -
 
Keiths Twist of the Wrist DVDs are very good and recommended above. You can purchase them on amazon.

But if I were a PIRATE on the BAY I would definitely recommend searching for Twist of the Wrist 2. I'm currently seeding and will seed for the next 2 weeks. You can also get the pdf version of the books from amazon.

I'm not promoting piracy or illegal downloading. :laughing8:
 
smallfish said:
My advice is never give up on a corner. Don't panic if you THINK you're going too fast. Chances are there is more cornering left in the bike.
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+1

When you find yourself going into a corner faster than your comfy with, stay committed to making the corner, look far ahead into the turn and don't look at the run off area. I saw so many guys run off at TMP last year in corners they should have been able to make. One was a friend and he said he froze up, looked at the run off and that's where he ended up.

Also getting a tow from someone faster than you will give you a better perspective of how much faster you can actually go. It'll also give you a better perspective of how slow you really are. lol
 
I have absolutely no idea how anyone runs off Turn 1 at TMP.

It's a slow-in fast-out corner, i honestly think i could come pretty close to stopping on the track from my normal brake marker
 
caboose483 said:
I have absolutely no idea how anyone runs off Turn 1 at TMP.
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Oh, I know one way...May 21 this year a guy's oil plug blew out in the T1 braking zone, oiled his rear tire and the bike went cartwheeling up the berm. Next guy on the scene went down as well, naturally. (I wired my oil plug the day after witnessing that!)

But yeah, other than that...the exit cone in that turn is pretty academic!
 
Thanks y'all...I am now white-knuckled, scared-to-death of doing the track next year. There's extremely useful stuff in here I never knew I had to do, like prepare my bike. Eventhough the bike is twenty years old this year and has scratches and scuff marks, it is a solid bike (FZR-1000) and I don't have the heart to see it suffer and get bashed up badly. Yes, I can always opt to rent a bike (and insurance) but now I got to ask myself if I really, really, REALLY want to do this. (I've always wanted to but I don't want to get hurt--damn!) I think I'll have to wait 'til I get courage. Thanks again for all the info! ;)
 
Fantastic thread, just had my first track day with pro6cycle at Calabogie. Great track to learn and pro6cycle forks were great throughout the day. Couple things to add if this is your first track day, most likely you will rent U-Haul Trailer to take bike to the track (which is what I did).

You will need the following items:
- Motorcycle Trailer (~$14.95/day + optional insurance)
- Tie downs (if your tie downs are long, make sure the extra part is securely tied up so it doesn't get caught up in the wheels or under other vehicles)
- Wheel Chock (to secure the bike properly)
- Canyon Dancer (to tie down bike using handle bars)

Few other points that I learned from my first track day:
- You can put an X on your back using electric tape etc which tells other riders that you are new and need more space, don't be afraid to put that on your back for your first day. (Maybe this is a universal thing or just with pro6cycle, I don't know)
- Don't look at the rider in front of you and try to follow him/her. Look at where you want to go instead.
- As a novice rider on the track, don't decrease speed and brake in mid turn if you think you are not going to make the turn, instead roll on the throttle gently (slowly increase speed) and look and turn the bike more into the direction you want to go.
- Take tire pressure gauge, can of premium fuel (20L), a tent/canopy, folding chair, sockets to remove wheels if needed and torque wrench
- Take a camera with you and mount it on the front, view the footage when you get home to see how you did at the turns.

Most experienced riders are very helpful in answering your questions, don't hesitate to ask questions. I ask many questions such as tire pressure and which turns to watch out for (at Calabogie, they had turn numbers posted at the turns, cones, numbers to help with the lines and braking.

You are not going to race against anyone. Don't go to the tracking thinking you want to learn to ride fast, go to track thinking you want to get to know your bike better and learn the lines, braking, leaning/cornering and be a more confident rider. It's better to be slow and come back another day then be fast on the first day and make that your last day.

I had about 1 inch tire at the edge that never touched the asphalt after my track day and after the day was done I was touching the asphalt to the edge of the tire, that helped me gain confidence.

Also, there was someone on the track to adjust suspension, I think it's money well spent on the track to get the suspension checked and adjusted for your weight.
 
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