What should I do for track days in regards to bike? | GTAMotorcycle.com

What should I do for track days in regards to bike?

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dallasmcmahon

Well-known member
Looking to get into track days soon when I change jobs or possibly next year if its too late in the season.

Curious to what I should do in regards to saving for the right stuff. Right now I have a Yamaha R3 on the road already with full racing gear. (alpinestar boots, gloves, 1 pc suit, backprotector)

Im hoping that if not this year then next season i can get on the track at least 5+ times and do the Racer5 course. I am a young rider with 3 street seasons and hope to advance my skills over the years to come by attending track days.

In regards to having a bike, am I better off using my street R3 for the track each time or purchasing a track bike. Im also wondering if i should just rent/make a trailer and put track fairings and important upgrades such as new tires for my R3. Is it reasonable to switch my R3 from street to track and back to street each time?

Thanks.
 
Track riding is fantastic. The R3 a great bike to start on. There is nothing wrong with starting on a smaller bike. It teaches you to be efficient with your speed, you can't cover up mistakes by adding more throttle. These bikes are largely track ready, just be sure to change out the coolant and add some case covers.

It sounds like you have the right gear and mindset. Racer5 is a great course that will speed up learning significantly and prevent some bad habits from forming.

I had a dual duty machine for a while. Eventually switching the fairings, taking off the mirrors, plates, etc became a fair bit of work, but from a cost point of view its fine for the first season. ABS plastic shatters, fiberglass is easier to repair. As for a dedicated bike, a better question would be, how upset would you be if you crash it? Can you store 2 bikes? Do you have the funds for 2 bikes? If its a nice shiny bike and you spend every weekend waxing it, don't bring it to the track. Don't bring anything you'd be devastated if it comes back in a box.

With a shiny street bike, ironically, when you spend time thinking about not crashing, is usually when you crash. Your mind needs to only be on riding, don't worry about crashing. Track riding is expanding a skillset, and part of that is finding where the limit is. Eventually you will find it by exceeding it. Have a look around the paddoc. How many bikes with 0 crashes are there? Very few. If you don't mind crashing a street bike, bring it, if you care deeply, get a dedicated machine or rent. Although if you rent, you will be limited to the days racer5 runs.

Do you have room for a trailer to store? Buy a trailer, don't make a trailer unless you really have the tools. Your time and effort can't beat mass manufacturing. Some just use minivans or a truck.
 
smergy said:
Track riding is fantastic. The R3 a great bike to start on. There is nothing wrong with starting on a smaller bike. It teaches you to be efficient with your speed, you can't cover up mistakes by adding more throttle. These bikes are largely track ready, just be sure to change out the coolant and add some case covers.

It sounds like you have the right gear and mindset. Racer5 is a great course that will speed up learning significantly and prevent some bad habits from forming.

I had a dual duty machine for a while. Eventually switching the fairings, taking off the mirrors, plates, etc became a fair bit of work, but from a cost point of view its fine for the first season. ABS plastic shatters, fiberglass is easier to repair. As for a dedicated bike, a better question would be, how upset would you be if you crash it? Can you store 2 bikes? Do you have the funds for 2 bikes? If its a nice shiny bike and you spend every weekend waxing it, don't bring it to the track. Don't bring anything you'd be devastated if it comes back in a box.

With a shiny street bike, ironically, when you spend time thinking about not crashing, is usually when you crash. Your mind needs to only be on riding, don't worry about crashing. Track riding is expanding a skillset, and part of that is finding where the limit is. Eventually you will find it by exceeding it. Have a look around the paddoc. How many bikes with 0 crashes are there? Very few. If you don't mind crashing a street bike, bring it, if you care deeply, get a dedicated machine or rent. Although if you rent, you will be limited to the days racer5 runs.

Do you have room for a trailer to store? Buy a trailer, don't make a trailer unless you really have the tools. Your time and effort can't beat mass manufacturing. Some just use minivans or a truck.
Click to expand...

Thanks smergy. I didn't realize you can pick up a box trailer pretty cheap. I would probably do that. Overall, after i change the tires, and get race fairings and covers, would that mostly save the bike if it were to go down? or is the price difference of getting a track bike worth the extra cost?
 
Just starting out on track, most street tires are just fine, something like a Q3 or S21 (not sure if they come in an R3 size?) anything on the grippier side of the scale will be fine. Either that or a 2nd set of rims, but given how new these bikes are used parts may be harder to find at the moment.

As for saving a bike, it is always different crash to crash. Given the lower top speed of the R3, case savers, woodcraft style replacable clip ons, foldable levers and rearsets are your best best. Start with stock, then replace with aftermarket after comparing prices if you do find yourself in a tumble. A spare set of rearsets, clip ons, throttle tube, etc. are great to bring with you so that a minor low side doesn't ruin your day.
 
Definitely sounds like you have the right mindset and all the gear lined up. Awesome to read/see the enthusiasm!

Food for Thought:
By the time you get track fairings, wheels, tires and other bits (nevermind the time and effort to switch over for every track day), you've probably paid for an already built ninja/cbr 250 track bike.
In the event you do have a minor mishap on your R3 and break something mechanical, now you are out your track bike bike AND your street bike.

Good Luck and Have Fun!
 
Douma said:
Definitely sounds like you have the right mindset and all the gear lined up. Awesome to read/see the enthusiasm!

Food for Thought:
By the time you get track fairings, wheels, tires and other bits (nevermind the time and effort to switch over for every track day), you've probably paid for an already built ninja/cbr 250 track bike.
In the event you do have a minor mishap on your R3 and break something mechanical, now you are out your track bike bike AND your street bike.

Good Luck and Have Fun!
Click to expand...

Thanks Douma, I do agree with what you are saying and that is my concern. What would you recommend as a newbie?
 
Consider doing a few track days on either your street bike the way it is or a rented bike if you really don't want to crash. Take it a bit easy then see if you want to stick with a 300 or get something more/less/different for either the track or street. Buying a used dedicated track bike is best in the long run from a cost perspective usually. They already built and ready to go and are less expensive than their street counterparts.
 
I did the Racer 5 course a few years ago. Then I went out and bought two track bikes. I love my track bikes but from a financial point of view it would be cheaper to rent your bikes from Fawaz at Racer 5. I say take the course. Rent his bikes at his VIP trackdays, do the endurance race weekend and if you love it as much as you likely will then get yourself a decent track bike. Also likely by the time you do a season of that you will have met some people and will probably find someone selling their bike for a decent price and you will know how they have looked after it.

There is something to be said about showing up to a track day that someone else has prepped the bike, someone else will fix it if something goes wrong or will give you a different one. Renting from Fawaz really is the cheapest way I think. (tires and gas add up) I have missed track time from mechanical issues a number of times missing sessions through the day while I wrench on it. Then you don't get any rest between because you have been working on the bike. Of course my bikes are two strokes so I did it to myself lol.
For a good starter track bike I would say any of the 250/300, or an SV650 (cheap and plentiful parts mostly bulletproof). I would also second that using your own street bike is ok but seriously by the time you add race fairings and all the other things you will likely spend as much as a decent track bike.
 
Been doing this stuff for 30+ years. You aren't going to get in the game much cheaper than buying an already prepped 250 Ninja track bike. IMO, the CBR250 is too underpowered even compared to the 250 Ninja to bother with. Stock bodywork is insanely expensive if you do fall down, but if you are just going to try the track out for a day, I'd say you'll probably be OK. But once you really decide that you want to do track days, my recommendation is to get a bike that won't leave you in a bind if you completely wreck it. The big advantage to a dedicated bike that you don't have the distraction of being concerned about keeping it pristine while you are out on the track. Helps you be a lot more relaxed than if you're worried about how your ride will look at bike night if you crash.

And the cost to run a 250 (tires, gas, maintenance, etc) is as cheap as you're going to get.
 
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