[m0nkey]

Wasup everyone. I've been riding now for just about two years. I think that I am learning new things every time I go riding. There are lots of nice country roads that are great for riding. I've been going on these roads for awhile now, and am riding very hard through them. I know that I shouldn’t be pushing it as hard as I do, but I love every moment of it. I really want to start going to different tracks where you can safely push yourself. I do have a few questions about what I should get before I am ready for the track.

1. What mod's should I put on my bike? (I figure that I need a steering damper, right?)

Here is what I am currently about to finish. Flash mount signals, fender eliminator, maybe race rails.

2. Do I need a full body suit? If so, how much do they run..? Shit, my leather jacket was close to 500$..

3. Should I change my suspension settings? If so, to what.

4. How often do you change tires when riding the track? Every time, or not that often?

Well, shit. I had a lot more to say last night when I was thinking about this, but since then I forgot some of the things. It would be cool if everyone starts talking about what they did. I'm not sure exactly what every mod does, so if you could explain exactly what some of them do that would be awesome too.

Oh, how should I practice my lean angles on the street? A friend of mine who raced a lot was telling me to get a friend and have him hold up the bike (or get a rear stand or something) and just hang off the bike, but I don’t want to get used to one way if its not the right way.. Also, your supposed to use your legs to lean, not your hands/arms right? I think he told me that your hands are just supposed to kind of just chill on the grips, that you don’t even need them to steer. Definitely explain this for me. One more thing on this, what part of your foot is supposed to be on the peg for when you push down, to get the most weight on it? I’ve just been using the middle of my foot the past few months or whatever… But I don’t think that is right. I try and watch MotoGP and AMA Superbike to see where the peg is on their feet, but its hard to tell most of the time. Sometimes it looks like they start slowing down, and right when they are about to lean as hard as they can they slide their foot to where the peg is on the spot right after where your toes end. I dunno though, hopefully someone can explain all of this to me more.

Thanks in advance to those who start this thread off. I want to learn as much as I can before I get out there, so don’t be shy!!


-m0nkey

 

[cashmoneyflo]

1st post

 

[Agent4573]

You don't need any mods for your first track day. A totally stock bike will outperform its rider 99 out of 100 times.

Most trackday organizations require a full one peice suit or a two peice suit with a full circumference zipper. A two piece suit can be found at cycle gear for between 400 -1000 dollars. A custom made suit can run over 2 grand.

There is usually a suspension guy at the track. Pay him the 40 dollar fee and have him setup your suspension. Best 40 bucks you'll ever spend. Most of the time you can work with them all day and if you can describe what the bike is doing, he can adjust the suspension and get it dialed in for you.

A set of pilot power 2ct's would last me 2-3 trackdays and about 4000 miles commuting before they were toast. If you're really pushing the tires hard you can burn through them in 1 day. Most novice/intermediate riders will get 3-4 track days out of a set.

 

[38329]

1. What mod's should I put on my bike? (I figure that I need a steering damper, right?)

2. Do I need a full body suit? If so, how much do they run..? Shit, my leather jacket was close to 500$..

3. Should I change my suspension settings? If so, to what.

4. How often do you change tires when riding the track? Every time, or not that often?

1. You need zero mods. The one thing you need to mod is the nut connecting the seat to the handlebars.

2. Yes you need full leathers. Best investment you can make.

3. From the sound of things, you don't know what you're doing, so don't touch them. Usually there is a suspension guru at the track who will tweak your settings, often for free. Find him.

4. If this is your first track day, the only thing you need to worry about with your tires is that you've got correct pressures in them.

 

[fleixius]

I thought you had to..
- tape up any lights
- flush coolant twice with water and fill with water
- fasten all bolts
- 1/2 tire pressure with 30-35 psi

I remember reading this in a few local track requirements...

 

[Paytheon]

1. You can use a two piece suit if it zippers together. One piece are better
2. Have your suspension done at the track where the experts are. They do it very fast and cheap.
3. Get dual compound tires like Pirellis, Michelins, or Bridgestone. In otherwords, get track tires. Scrub them before going to the track if you can.
4. No mods are needed.

 

[fyrefyter0143]

1.) make sure you have a funny dance, that can incriminate you in reality.
2.) make sure you have the right gear on....IE...leathers or textile suit..
3.) make sure you know your lines...IE where your apex is at...
4.) make sure your oil filter and your plug is nice a tight...
5.) have fun...ya bitch..

 

[m0nkey]

Okay, so I keep hearing people talking about “lean angles” and dragging their knee and things like that. I know they both go hand in hand, but I’m not quite sure what people mean by lean angles. In one post someone said they seemed to have too much lean angle, but told them to hang off the bike further. I don’t get it. Someone please help explain these things to me 

What is the best part of your foot to push down on the hardest, and get the bike leaned down further?

Thanks
-m0nkey

 

[Oregon R6]

In one post someone said they seemed to have too much lean angle, but told them to hang off the bike further. I don’t get it. Someone please help explain these things to me 

-m0nkey

For a given speed, you want least lean angle while still safely managing the turn on line. You decrease lean angle by getting your CG / center of gravity inside and low. More lean angle means less traction available for braking or acceleration, as well as less safety margin (you want to ride at less than the limit unless racing, obvioulsy - and even racing you want to have some margin most of the time..but very different topic).

So if you hear someone say "too much lean angle", it likely means that the rider could have less lean angle for a given speed by having better body position. If someone is going thru a turn at 75 mph and has too much lean, with body position they could have less lean, or could go faster with the same amount of lean (what you would want to work up to over time).

Get a good book - Code and Ienatsch both have good books, and both have tons of experience instructing at racing schools (Code with his own, Nick at Spencer School).

 

[Chango]

Body positioning is one of the things they will go over with you at the track. As long as it is a school of some kind and not just an open track day, in the novice class they will go over all of the fundamentals of track riding before turning you loose out there. It is also easier to learn body position from someone who can watch you ride and critique you then and there. Even with pictures it is hard to do over the internet because we can only see one picture, which may not be an accurate representation of your overall style.

But, you should be riding on the balls of your feet. The only time I am not on the balls of my feet is the moment that I am shifting gears. As soon as I finish shifting I get the ball of my foot back onto the peg. It gives you better control and keeps your feet from possibly getting mangled if you accidentally drag your toe and catch it on something.

 

[CJr605]

Just relax and have fun. Sounds to me like you are thinking to hard.

 

[fyrefyter0143]

take lots of pics....and funny poses!
and post 'em so we can all LOLZ!
just have fun...and rape things.

 

[slopoke36]

Doesn't the suspension differ from rider to rider? So my question is how are the suspension going to know what I need?

 

[slopoke36]

I meant to say suspension guys. Sry

 

[rchristian56]

Just relax and have fun. Sounds to me like you are thinking to hard.

+1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Go to have fun just ride, like you said you want to be able to push it further in a safe envoirment, so just do that!

Do not worrie about putting your knee down, most likly your not going to first time out.

Dont worrie about lean angle and how you look.

Just go out have some fun, do a bunch of track days before you start racing for real!!!!

Keep in mind when and if you really start to race an average weekend racing can cost you anywhere from 6-7 hundred to 1-2 thousands.

Average weekend at Daytona is about 1200-1500 for me with tires and gas, fees, food and all the good stuff.