how many track days a year

The tank or frame seemed noticeably wider to me than the 06+. The 2011 redesign by comparison was downright comfy for my shitty hips. I could never get the 04 to work for me. It was probably a combination of the wider frame and “sit-in” position.

 

I never considered a 300 till now. However, do i have reason to be concern d with size of the bike since I’m 6’ 1” 210 lbs. ? I’m not opposed t0 a 300, just not sure about fitting on one Thoughts?

 

I`m a newb here so take my advice as you please:

Started trackdays in March of this year. I bought a prepped 07 750, hit Buttonwillow raceway on a Monday and was instantly hooked. Since then, I`ve done a total of 9 trackdays, heading to my 10th this Friday. I traded my 750 for a 2007 R1, lowsided and now I`m back on a 2008 GSXR 600. I got a big head when I started running A group times but my fundamentals were all shitty. The only advice I can give worth listening to is attending some training(YCRS, RickDiculous).

Costs so far(that I remember)
$700 for a Alpinestars suit(new, off craigslist)
$150 - Bell Helmet
$850- AGV Wintertest Helmet
$300- 3 sets of Alpinestars SP8 Gloves. Bought them 2XL, they didnt fit. Bought them 3XL, crashed in them. 3rd set is new.
$160- Sidi Boots(used but in great shape. By TD #2, I roasted the toe off dragging them. Shitty BP
$200- Sidi Cobra Boots(trying not to roast the toes this time around)
$160- DMP Warmers(purchased on here)
$1500- Cost of Trackday Admissions.
$5,000(estimated)- Fuel, drive, oil changes, food, tires, etc.

Is it expensive? sure. Do I love the sport? Absolutely! Did I need an expensive ass helmet? Probably not but I loved the colors.

I`m thinking of getting a Supermoto and heading to a local track to practice. My homie Jimmy did that for a bit, came back and is a monster on the big bike. It`s cheaper and they run a practice every weekend,

I`ll be doing the NRS program through TrackDaz in a couple weeks. I hope I can get out and race some CVMA action.

 

"Fitting" on a smaller displacement bike is historically an excuse that squids use to justify their purchase of a 600/1000 supersport machine to keep up their street cred.

Now, as a bigger fellow, you'd certainly pay the penalty in acceleration that comes with the motor working much harder to get you up to speed compared to somebody less than 150 lbs.

However, I've seen PLENTY of folks on 300-400 cc machines embarrass folks on supersports....even if they aren't a waif.

 

Street cred not a concern for me Just want to get rolling the right way. Thanks

 

BTW. Have many of u found getting on the track has lessened or stopped ur street riding? Just curious

 

Well, I live in Florida, so street riding is mostly garbage already, but I stopped completely back in 2008 or so after 3 years of track riding.

Now I scratch the itch a handful times a year in the comfortable weather months and am perfectly content.

 

You'll find a mix here. I overlapped both for a year or two before eventually quitting the street altogether.

 

Yep

 

I have been doing track days for about 12 years. First two days on an FZ1 street bike. Then I bought and spent a fortune track preparing and upgrading a 2003 R1. That was my track bike until this year as I bought a race prepared SV650 late last fall. I still have the R1, but it is mostly just sitting in the pits as the back up bike because I am having more fun on the SV and the tire bill has gone down significantly. I generally do about 4-10 track days per year and try to do at least 6 every year.

Buy an already track prepared SV650. Track parts (new and used) and bike knowledge are plentiful and it has enough power to be fun. Avoid superbike engines as that extra power means more motor maintenance and you don't need it. I run lap times very close to what I ran on the 140HP R1 on a stock motor SV650 at most tracks I go to. Nothing wrong with a 300 or 400 either. They seem to be fairly popular now and you can go fast on one even if you are bigger although it is usually the 100-120lb kids that are passing me on them. With novice track day group passing rules, the 300-400 will be a bit tougher to deal with than an SV although both will occasionally be frustrating. In either case, when you make a pass, you will know it was you not the bike.

To more directly answer your street riding question I rarely go riding on the street anymore. I have no commute, and most errand runs are so short it isn't worth it to put all the gear on and then take it off then repeat for the short ride home. Nice weekend days I am either at a track day or spending time with my wife.

 

You can get a lot of bad advice at a trackday that doesn’t do you any good as well.
It all comes down to personal choice and having access to a good mentor who gives the proper guidance.

Everyone has a different learning curve. I certainly wouldn’t say one environment is better than the other one for everyone. You can’t make broad statements like this. The key is getting on track with proper guidance which can be done with racing as well as trackdays.
If you really are that concerned about a newbie getting on track, I would suggest them going to a riding school then.

 

I'm not getting pissed off for no reason, there is zero reason to go from street riding to club racing in today's abundant availability of track days at the ready, which provide the perfect stepping stone if someone eventually wants to race.

I couldn't imagine the headache and learning process of trying to get a bike WERA tech ready as I prepared to get on the track for the first time ever. I've gotten told that I needed to safety wire some obscure bolt on one of my bikes that's been through WERA tech for literally years, and I'm sure had I not known the tech inspector, and he know me (and the fact that my bikes are always clean and not piles of shit) it probably would have got sent back. I still haven't safety wired that fucking thing, because honestly I forget what random ass bolt it was on the engine

Track day prep is easier, it's a more newbie friendly environment (any track day org, they all have beginner programs at this point), and there's far less to worry and stress over.

Putting some guy on the grid for the first time that is going to run 2:20's at Road Atlanta is not doing that rider any kind of favor, especially from a safety stand point on when that dude gets passed from the experts and the rest of the novice grid like he's sitting still.


You are talking about the 1% of new riders, I speak for the 99%. I'm not wrong.

 

That's what you get for not listening to advice.

 

I would love to see your data on the 99% vs.1% of new riders.

 

Well apparently I'm a 1% er so I don't need no stinkin' advice.

 

i would do all of them.