Track Day

[Greggers]

I started last year, bought a nail *koff koff* of a GSXR750 and went off to have a laugh. I did 4 days and frankly can't wait til I can get out again. Next time it's the Inters for me
My only arseache is that I'm miles away from any decent circuit - Brands is closest/easiest but still takes 3ish hours ...
Castle Combe should be good for me, but their noise restrictions are really tight and I'm not sure the bike would get through. I did like Rockingham National though, Brands Indy is frantic and Silverstone is looooong and fookin fast, but I was only getting 6 or 7 laps in a session there so it takes a lot longer to be confident of your learning....

At Brands though, it was the climb up Hailwood Hill that got my stomach going !

 

[rockchunk]

knockhill in inters no worries its all about kahoonas

 

[Giles]

At Brands though, it was the climb up Hailwood Hill that got my stomach going !

(That photo looks like Druids at Brands??)

 

[hatzyian]

OK,
Booked with TrackDays at Brands, Indy circuit on June 13th (no its not a Friday), anyone else coming??

 

[Weekday Rider]

I did a track day at goodwood.Loved it.I wasnt the fastest,not even nearly,but there is always someone to pass.I found it harder to read the track than the road.What your used to I guess.The ride home was a quick one though,very safe and not near the very edge.Oh,I was on a R100GS.

 

[Rasher]

I found it harder to read the track than the road.What your used to I guess.

Normally down to reference points, on the road you are on a narrow bit of tarmac and can only use half of it. You have hedges, white lines and vanishing points that help with your perception on most roads.

On a track you are in the middle of a huge expanse of tarmac, often with acres of run off and "nothing" in your peripheral vision. Some track day operators put out cones to help people, but you should not need these.

Work on finding some easy to use reference points and remember to look where you want to go and it soon starts getting easier.

 

[James Bryan]

1st time on track?

If you are new to riding on track it might be worth considering something like " Hopp Rider Training" - http://www.hoppridertraining.co.uk/betterriding.html

Most track day organisers do not provide much in the way of "instruction", some are limited to a couple of racers who disappear off into the distance after a couple of laps, so you can sometimes feel a bit lost, particularly if you have never ridden at that track before. Martin's "Better Riding" days have at least a dozen qualified Instructors who are with you for the entire day and will offer individual coaching at no additional cost.

The other important issue is that of their "off" ratio - ie average number of accidents on one of their days - most track days run @ approximate 20 per day, Martin's days average less than one accident per day. Much safer and you are able to relax, enjoy the experience, and learn more as a result.

Martin's days are much more expensive than a straight track day, but are one of the best introductions to track riding in the UK. You pays your money and .......

And yes, I'm one of Martin's Instructors so have a connection to his business, but his days are usually oversubscribed and are already filling up fast for this year

 

[robb]

Big thumbs up for HRT above - I do at least one of their sessions every year and there are loads of GSs, even in the top group.

You don't need to do anything special with tyres just watch you don't ride off the edge of them. The instructor will pick that up and offer advice on leaning off.

I've been in A group with 5 GS's in the mini group before now.

Rob

 

[Taff]

This might be a daft question, but as a few have mentioned it why drop the tyre pressure?

 

[patzx12]

Wait until you get there and try the bike as is, then you can make changes, the marshals will give you the best advice. Also have one of them follow you they are more than willing to help.
The main thing to caibrate is not the bike but your brain.
Concentration dont let your mind wander, look where you want to go not at the track in front of you.
Your hands and arms must be relaxed, dont grip the bars firly they should be loose in your hands. Grip the bike with your knees and if you can have your belly on the tank.

 

[Blind Lemon Ade]

Any tips on track day over taking??

I did a Brands track day on my VTR1000, many moons ago... Early session, queueing up to get round the bends, and the bunch comes up behind a novice rider on a Guzzi, I think. We're all processing into the Esses, when the hotshot Instructor comes barging in with his pupil, doesn't see the Guzzi, cuts across in front of me, then brakes hard... Fackin' hell. I saw God.

Now I'd done a bit of racing, and I was good on the brakes, sometimes even locking the front up (until I lost it once...) but I don't think I ever braked as hard as I did then, not even for the stop/turn/go hairpin on the Cadwell club circuit. It was close.

I went and had a little word with him afterwards. He said I should expect things like that, but in 10 seasons, no-one had ever pulled a stunt like that before. I reckon we were about 10cm from the hospital. Cnut.

Not that I bear grudges, you understand...

 

[ChasMill]

I did a track day at goodwood.

Must have been quite a while ago - Goodwood have banned bikes for at least five years.

I organise two (car) days a year there and used to include one session of bikes. We then turned up (me on my new 1200 GS) to be told "Oh, we stopped allowing bikes at the end of last year"

Oh how we laughed ...

 

[Wapping]

This might be a daft question, but as a few have mentioned it why drop the tyre pressure?

As a rule of thumb, normal tyres are designed to run on the road at cold pressures of near enough 36 / 42 psi front / rear.

On a track the tyres work harder than they do on the road, so they heat up more. More heat = more pressure and the tyre is less effective.

Dropping the pressure gives more headroom for the tyre to work in as it heats up.

A quick and reasonably easy method is to do the first cession on standard 36/42. When you come in the tyres should be hot, so bleed the pressures down to 36/42 when hot. Repeat as necessary.

When going home, don't forget to let the tyres cool and correct to 36/42.

 

[Giles]

I'm sure I read somewhere that moto gp tyres are running at about 7psi!!

 

[Wapping]

I'm sure I read somewhere that moto gp tyres are running at about 7psi!!

I would guess at between 6 and 7 psi above bog standard air pressure of 15 psi = 21 to 22 psi