...then get ready to get HOOKED! (and make sure you have plenty of $$$)

My friends and I did our first track day at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA. Here are some pics:

http://members.telocity.com/~ac325i/

Had an absolute blast! R1 handled like a champ, even on the stock rubber. I gotta work on leaning off more though because I dragged pegs a couple of times on turns 11 and 14. Man, this is addicting!!!!

Man those pics are great! My first track day is tomorrow and I'm a little nervous;) so it's good to get an idea of what it's like. Too bad I'm goin by myself, though.:( It'd be cool to go with a passel of friends. I bet you had a blast. Cheers, bro!:beer

Looks like lots of fun. Funny you made the F3 ride in the trailer, hehe

I bet that was a blast! All the speed you want and no cops to harass! :thumbup

Originally posted by ShaSha
Man those pics are great! My first track day is tomorrow and I'm a little nervous;) so it's good to get an idea of what it's like. Too bad I'm goin by myself, though.:( It'd be cool to go with a passel of friends. I bet you had a blast. Cheers, bro!:beer

Hey ShaSha,

Just take it easy and don't ride over your limits. Be conscious of your bike as you negotiate the track and try to feel the feedback. Also, be careful on the first few runs, as your tires will be cold. We had one guy at the track crash after his first lap because of that.

By the way, where in NOVA are you from? I'm originally from Fairfax.

Originally posted by Wolf-R1
I bet that was a blast! All the speed you want and no cops to harass! :thumbup

Hey Wolf,

Yeah, that's what made it so fun! Also, there's an ambulance on standby in case something happened. Wearing a full set of leathers with back protector....no cops....as fast as you want....no traffic or unforseen obstacles to worry about.....emergency crews at the ready in case of a crash.....who could ask for anything more? :thumbup

I'm doing my first track day on Saturday 9/7. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'll be riding my 98 GSXR 750 instead of the 1.

ShaSha,
Where are you doing your track day at? Mines at Beaver Run. Are you taking a class?

B

How did you fit 2 bikes in the back of a truck without them rubbing together? I have always been scared to try that.

JKD if your interested in doing more trackdays especially at T-hill you may consider joining Sierra Sportbike Assoc on Sept 29,30 & Oct 13th. Check out our website for more info:www.sportbikeusa.com.

Regards BD

Originally posted by R1ZOOM
How did you fit 2 bikes in the back of a truck without them rubbing together? I have always been scared to try that.

The 2 bikes fit just fine. As long as you have them off the the very side of the truck bed, there's plenty of room. Most importantly, you gotta make sure the front is tied down securely. Canyon dancers helped out a lot. Some people even use wheel chocks too.

I agree, track days are very addictive....great pics thogh. Looks like you had a blast.

Originally posted by jkd


Hey Wolf,

Yeah, that's what made it so fun! Also, there's an ambulance on standby in case something happened. Wearing a full set of leathers with back protector....no cops....as fast as you want....no traffic or unforseen obstacles to worry about.....emergency crews at the ready in case of a crash.....who could ask for anything more? :thumbup

Yeah no kidding! I won't be hitting the track until next year at the earliest. :(

JKD: Thanks for the tip re the tires. Crashing on the first lap! Ouch! I don't plan on crashing at all, or at least not until the last lap of the day:lol .
I've lived in the metro area all my life, just a few weeks ago I hopped over the state line from Wheaton, MD to my current res. in Annandale. Wheaton was crawling with gang activity. I had my bike pushed over a couple of times, car broken into, vid cam stolen, leaf pile set on fire, etc. It was just a matter of time before something truly awful happened.

Sundowners: I am going to Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, W. VA. It's the only track near here. I am taking the road racing school offered by MARRC. Check the website if you like: www.marrc.org
They won't let you on the track unless you have fully race prepped the bike: Safety wire, catch cans, no signals/mirrors, lights/gagues taped, no kickstand and left side engine cover (only for the R1) replaced with a thicker, sturdier one than stock. I got mine from http://www.nrcracing.com/covers.htm it was about $110 w/ gasket. After you "graduate" the school, you can get a CCS licence (http://www.ccsracing.com), which entitles you to ride at track days sanctioned by CCS and WERA. http://www.wera.com/
Maybe too much info, but I am excited and I couldn't seem to stop typing. :p Have fun!

Thanks dood, Never too much info!!!:D

I'll have to check everything out.

B

But where are the pics of the scraped footpegs? I'm a little skeptical that you scraped pegs on an '02 R1. Even Buckmaster isn't scraping pegs and I'm sure you aren't riding at his level. I've had my '02 on the track and tires were shredded much more than your pics and I never dragged a peg. I'm not trying to dis you here, I'm just skeptical of dragging pegs on '02s as they are set pretty high up. I'd like to see pics of the pegs.

2002yzf_r1,

it's actually pretty easy to scrape pegs on the '02. since you are NOT scraping pegs, that means you might actually be riding BETTER (or at least hanging off more).

i was scraping pegs in the bowl at NHIS. when i forced myself to hang off more and weight the outside peg more, the bike could keep the same line with less lean - therefore avoid scraping. just took some time for me to get used to how far the bike could lean without scraping. then i adjusted my weighting/hanging off.

scraping pegs or not scraping pegs is not a real indicator of how skilled a rider you are. really doesn't say much at all.

Man, I want to do trackday sooo bad...I will next year for sure..

What are the chances of wrecking?? big?? I mean.. is it pretty much everyday event that someone wrecks?:confused:

Originally posted by Maxxym
What are the chances of wrecking?? big?? I mean.. is it pretty much everyday event that someone wrecks?:confused: Go out and enjoy yourself at your limits and try not to get into a red mist race!!:fact

(now thats the difficult bit!!) ;)

Here is a link of me and my R1 mates riding a track day a couple of months ago. Great day!

http://groups.msn.com/DonningtonTrackDay/shoebox.msnw?Page=1

These R1s are the tool! Move over 998 Ducatis I'm coming through!! :rock

dudes, got one or two action pictures on my site on me riding my silver toad.

http://w1.409.telia.com/~u40921030/pictures/temp/h1_02.jpg

Gettin' hooked?
Yepp, will go and get a roadracing licence in a couple of weeks.

hey, how do stock tires hold up at a track day? how many laps did you guys do? i'm dying to do a track day but am a little nervous also. what do you have to do to prep your bike? hey, anybody in the ATLANTA area doing track days? if so, can you help me get started?

Hey Muffin ;) OEM tires will do the trick provided they have 80% left, otherwise you'll need to mount some fresh donuts. You will want to lower the tire pressure to about 30 F/R cold. If you've never done a trackday you'll want to remove mirrors, remove or tape up the lights, possibly safety wire the oil drain bolt & filter, change coolant to straight water or water & Redline Water Wetter.

BD

Hey Sundowners!!!!!!!! I had my first track day last weekend at beaverun. It was absolutley awesome, you are going to love it. The track is very smooth, very sticky, and fun to ride. Oh and the last sharp turn before the front straight was my favorite, in fact the guy that works that corner is someone I know so give him the bird everytime around.:jump It's amazing how much that trackday improved my confidence and skills,.... not that I am an expert now but you know what I mean.
Later
Maxyym. You may or may not wreck, I didn't but I bet I will next time. If you push you limits but stay within reason you will probably be okay if you pay attention and stay smooth. Just my begginers opinion.

Originally posted by 2002yzf_r1
But where are the pics of the scraped footpegs? I'm a little skeptical that you scraped pegs on an '02 R1. Even Buckmaster isn't scraping pegs and I'm sure you aren't riding at his level. I've had my '02 on the track and tires were shredded much more than your pics and I never dragged a peg. I'm not trying to dis you here, I'm just skeptical of dragging pegs on '02s as they are set pretty high up. I'd like to see pics of the pegs.

Like I said, this was my FIRST trackday, and I scraped pegs because I wasn't leaning off enough. I scraped pegs because I was almost upright on the bike as I went through the hairpins. This was told to me by my track instructor who was following me. I never said that I was riding at any extreme level. This was a NOVICE track day! But since you don't believe me, here's a pic:

Scraped Peg (http://members.telocity.com/~ac325i/trackday/102-0237_IMG.JPG)

As my instructor said, I shouldn't be dragging pegs, but once I started leaning off more and weighting the outside peg, I wasn't scraping anymore.

good job, jkd.

i just realized after reading my post that it mighta sounded like i was saying you were not doing well if you scraped your pegs. anyway, i'm sure you already know i didn't mean it like that.

like i said, scraping pegs isn't much of an indication of good OR bad.

it's always nice to see guys on the track.

:rock

:rant

Glad you had fun.I sold mt street bike last year and now have a track only r1.No more street riding for me.....

Street tires wil be fine for you first few trips.Just run lower psi and you will be fine.

I kinda like the Calvin and Hobbs.

JKD,
Have they gotten around to fixing that missing asphalt at the apex of turn 8? Cars keep tearing it open.

Well.. it LOOKS like this will be a "fur sure" BUT first... would like to ask EVERYONE.. if they or anyone they know have attended the Keith Code's California Superbike School. Very seriously looking at enrolling in in in March at Laguna Seca. Have wanted to ride a track day forever like so many of you all at one point in your lives.. and I figure this is a great way to do it.. and learn on a phenominal world class track with some of the most experienced guys there are. Freddy's seems good too.. but I think that Keith's is the one for me. Any input from ANYONE.. would be mostly appreciated..
Thanks..