Track Days?

ST-DocLizard1 said:

I'm not overly worried about crashing on a closed course if I commit an error, I'm more concerned about another bonehead/rookie/aggressive/panicked rider taking me out. You have no mirrors to see what's behind you or to the sides along with taped/disconnected brake lights of those in front of you as on the street.

If you avoid riding with others who you don't know on the street, why would want to do so on the track?

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track schools generally have a strict rule on no passing on the inside just for that reason. I'm guessing they might give you one warning for the benefit of the doubt, but twice and they'll probably send you home.

I did one several years ago on a sportbike, it was a ton of fun, but I'm not sure I really learned anything from it. The best part was bringing the bike home with tires that looked like I'd just finished a GP race.

Like I said in a previous post.................lots of positive experiences with riders who have attended Track School. I made a decision to cancel my reservation and lose a modest deposit($100.00). The rules are paramount to a closed course and safety is the responsibility of everyone in attendance, but you only need one anarchist to disregard them or a rookie to have a mental lapse. I did my homework and I have no regrets.

Carry on.

ST-DocLizard1 said:

The rules are paramount to a closed course and safety is the responsibility of everyone in attendance, but you only need one anarchist to disregard them or a rookie to have a mental lapse.

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You already assume this risk by street riding, even more so because of multi-directional traffic.

dwalby said:

You already assume this risk by street riding, even more so because of multi-directional traffic.

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Absolutely..................and it has been my choice to do so for the past 36 years with zero single vehicle crashes or accidents.

Just let my opinion stand and respect my decision based upon my judgement.

I'm still young.. Young enough to be stupid and ride a little harder than I should on the street. I have a dedicated track bike (that will be sold to offset my ST purchase, but I still have another track capable sport bike aside from the ST) My take is that its safer for me to crash on the track than it is for me to crash on the street. I know I'm going to eventually, I have no qualms about it, I'm sure there are people that ride that have never gone down, but I'm not naive enough to think I will be one of them. The track is fun, period, even if you are the slowest guy out there, to just be able to rip it down the straight and bang through a few gears without worry of getting pulled over is worth the experience to me, let alone removing the worry of gravel, or a car in my lane when riding hard. You also learn to trust your bike and your tires and can find the limits of your ability to control both at steeper lean angles than you should achieve on the road so that you are more confident and less likely to crash should you NEED to go that far over on the street, be it because you didn't know the turn would get tighter mid corner, or because a car cut into your lane.

That's my take anyway. But like ST-Doc said, its a personal decision and only you know if it will be an enjoyable experience for you or not. MSF courses are under rated, you can always learn something, the experienced rider courses are great for learning about you and your motorcycle and both your capabilities safely in a controlled environment if you're worried about other riders as they keep you separated so one person doesn't accidentally cause another to go down

Hey Highrider, I'm scheduled for a Reg Pridmore Class session in June. How did you prepare your bike? They require no mirrors and no brake lights. I'm gonna borrow a trailer from a buddy, which will enable me to get the bike track ready and not have to worry about changing stuff on site. I plan to just pop of the mirrors. Did you put tape over the brake lights? Also what about tires? What type did you use? TX

kenkeni53 said:

Hey Highrider, I'm scheduled for a Reg Pridmore Class session in June. How did you prepare your bike? They require no mirrors and no brake lights. I'm gonna borrow a trailer from a buddy, which will enable me to get the bike track ready and not have to worry about changing stuff on site. I plan to just pop of the mirrors. Did you put tape over the brake lights? Also what about tires? What type did you use? TX

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All of your questions can be answered here:

http://www.classrides.com/faq.html#prep

The easiest option for your mirrors is to just cover the reflective glass surface with 3M blue masking tape, so you see no images behind you.

And for covering your brake light, I recommend the same tape. Put one coating of 3M blue masking tape (easy to remove, but it's unfortunately translucent) over your taillight lens, and then put a layer of duct tape, or a similarly-thick tape on top of that. That will prevent your brake light from shining through, but it will be easy to remove at the end of your CLASS day. If the 3M blue tape is all you have, then just keep piling it on, until your brake light no longer bleeds through the blue.

Enjoy VIR. One of these years I'll join Reg and Gigi on the trek out there.

I used the 3M blue tape as well and pulled the headlight fuse to keep from cooking the tape to the outside of the light fixture.

dduelin said:

I've done two track days with my ST. Both were instructed with class time between track time. I learned a lot in a safe environment about line selection, managing traction and lean angle, tire grip and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in improving their riding. Not just faster on the but smoother and safer practices on the street plus confidence in just how much grip is available if you need to tighten a corner to avoid debris or a hazard.

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+1

Track days, that I have done , allowed me to learn a lot more about what the ST (and me!) were capable of. I am a lot more comfortable on the street as a result. I feel it has made me a better rider.
Rod

kenkeni53 said:

Hey Highrider, I'm scheduled for a Reg Pridmore Class session in June. How did you prepare your bike? They require no mirrors and no brake lights. I'm gonna borrow a trailefrom a buddy, which will enable me to get the bike track ready and not have to worry about changing stuff on site. I plan to just pop of the mirrors. Did you put tape over the brake lights? Also what about tires? What type did you use? TX

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Like others have said, blue tape over the mirrors and tail lights and pull the fuse for the headlights.
One very important thing; you will need to have tires that show very little wear. The inspectors at the RP Class watch this very closely. I have seen them send people home that have tires showing some wear. I have always put a fresh set of tires on my ST before taking one of these classes.
i also pull the saddle bags and they suggest to cover the speedo with tape. It's not good to be watching how fast you are going when you should be watching the track.

I'd like to do a beginner track day, but it is so far from here to get to one, I doubt I'll manage one in the near future. I do plan to go to one of the riding schools - possibly this summer (they do one in Denver area - that's only 500 miles from here - a pretty decent day's ride).

Anybody know or hear of any schools/courses around Salt Lake City; Bozeman, Billings, or Butte, MT; or Boise, ID? Those are all 200-250 miles from me in eastern Idaho. Thanks for any info anyone has.

I hadn't thought about the speedo. that's a very good suggestion.

Highrider said:

Like others have said, blue tape over the mirrors and tail lights and pull the fuse for the headlights.
One very important thing; you will need to have tires that show very little wear. The inspectors at the RP Class watch this very closely. I have seen them send people home that have tires showing some wear. I have always put a fresh set of tires on my ST before taking one of these classes.
i also pull the saddle bags and they suggest to cover the speedo with tape. It's not good to be watching how fast you are going when you should be watching the track.

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When attending Reg's CLASS, students are certainly free to disable or cover their headlight, but we don't require it.

thumperjdm said:

When attending Reg's CLASS, students are certainly free to disable or cover their headlight, but we don't require it.

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I think Reg's class is the one my son and I took back in 2007. Do they run them on the Streets of Willow?

SupraSabre said:

I think Reg's class is the one my son and I took back in 2007. Do they run them on the Streets of Willow?

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Yes. Streets of Willow is Reg's "home" track. Approximately 1/2 of the schools during the year are held at SOW.

thumperjdm said:

Yes. Streets of Willow is Reg's "home" track. Approximately 1/2 of the schools during the year are held at SOW.

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Then you would recognize some of my pictures then...like the first one...

TrackDay2007/Bob

SupraSabre said:

Then you would recognize some of my pictures then...like the first one...

TrackDay2007/Bob

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Cool! I recognize that really, really, slow rider who's standing in front of the room ( ), and quite a few of the students!

thumperjdm said:

Cool! I recognize that really, really, slow rider who's standing in front of the room ( ), and quite a few of the students!

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LOL

Yeah, they pulled me over towards the end of the day to tell me that scraping the pegs on the corners could be hazardous if the peg was to locate a hole. Funny thing was, that class has been the only time I've ever scraped the pegs that much. I usually don't take roads that are as tight as that track was.

SupraSabre said:

LOL

Yeah, they pulled me over towards the end of the day to tell me that scraping the pegs on the corners could be hazardous if the peg was to locate a hole. Funny thing was, that class has been the only time I've ever scraped the pegs that much. I usually don't take roads that are as tight as that track was.

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Even on a bike as big as the ST hanging off does help with cornering speeds and keeps the pegs from being constantly scraped.

dwalby said:

Even on a bike as big as the ST hanging off does help with cornering speeds and keeps the pegs from being constantly scraped.

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You ever try "hanging off" a RDL saddle?