First track day soon with my 07 gsxr 600

Hey guy, So after much searching and looking around i signed up for my first novice trackday in homestead florida.

My bike is a 2007 gsxr 600 fitted with 180/120 pilot pures

Current gear is only a shoei rf1100

Looking for a suit, boot, gloves and chest protector in the classifieds section currently.

As far as the bike goes it has yoshi r55 slip on bmc filter and power commander pro tuned.

I want to make sure i'm ready as far as first mods go so it seems i should focus on.

A: Learning to ride and getting comfortable.
B: Upgrading front brake lines and pads
C: Getting suspension setup for me at the track.


Is there anything else i should invest in before my first event? Tire warmers? lap timer?

Also which race fairings fit best for this year bike?

Thanks for all the help in advanced i have alot to do in such a short time!

 

yer a,b,c list is good. you seem to have done some homewerk. dont worry much about the lap timer yet, warmers are always good to have, but not a must have at first. braided lines and suspension set up properly are key. ask alot of questions and keep ears and eyes open. as far as bodywerk goes (i have the same bike as u) armour bodies "pro series" hands down.
good luck my man, have fun. this shit gets expensive fast

 

I assume you meant to say "first Race day soon", right?

This is WERA Roadracing's website and you posted in the "New Racer" section.

 

You might also want to include a back protector.

 

Hook up with the T.D. organizer and have them provide you with some sort of checklist with bike requirements, i.e., safety wire, taping headlights.

Don't sweat too much of that stuff you mentioned. Your tires should be fine. But close atttention to your tire pressure. Follow tire manufacturer's recommendations.

Forget tire warmers for those type of tires, and just trackday pace of riding. Same goes for laptimer, brake lines and brake pads. As long as they are in serviceable condition for street riding, you should do well.

Suspension setup at the track? Maybe not really necessary if it's acting OK up to now. Basically you have a 5 year old bike. Consider replacing the fork fluid, getting your sag set, etc. Maybe not absolutely necessary before doing your first trackday. Hook up with a sportbike specialist or race shop. You might do well just having the bike getting a look over by someone if you have any doubts about your requirements.

Race fairings? Lots of choices. But if you're going to do a year of trackdays, without any racing, then stay with your OEM bodywork. On the other hand, find a cheap set of race bodywork, sell the OEM stuff, maybe even come out ahead. If you sell the bike, you will get a better price if the OEM bodywork is in good condition.

Lastly, and the most important, your gear. I suggest you get your own back protector. Cycle Gear in North Miami had a few types last time I was in there. Not cheap, I paid $160 for a Dianese. As for leathers, maybe the organizer rents them. But you'll eventually be buying your own.

I've never been to Homestead. Hope you enjoy the track.

 

Way to be supportive of new comers. i assume you never went to a track day and just started racing right?

Why not come to a forum where everyone has been in my shoes once and look for advise? If my thread bothered you.. You did not have to reply.

 

Thanks so much for the adivse listen so far guys! Appreciate the kindness! My bodywork now is mint so i am leaning towards picking up some race fairings to be on the safe side!

Tommorow im going suit shopping, Thanks alot!

 

Chaotic has a good point.

try gixxer.com, they have model specific sections, a trackday section, club racer, suspension setup, and so on. Also too many ads.

 

You are welcome.

 

Dude, you are on a roll this week. I for one, applaud you.

 

oh and to all the other posters in this thread: before seeing his ABC list.... he says he has NO GEAR. how about that?

yeah, suspension set up is top of the list for you my friend

now back to the discussion about new racers...

 

I have to say, despite the flaming I may receive, the elitist attitude is never going to make newbies want to become racers when their first exposure on a race board is that people are complete d%*ks to them. What better crowd to ask questions of than racers? The sport would be better promoted if assistance was simply granted or not rather than have newbs run a gauntlet of high nose commentary.

 

Thanks

 

It has nothing to do with being elitest, having our noses in the air or anything like that. It has to do with the fact that this is a Road Racing website.

This is where we discuss racing (for the most part) and going even further, this is the "New Racer" section where new racers in general, or racers than are new to WERA come to ask questions, get info etc.

Starting track days? Congratulations. There are tons of track-day related forums/websites out there; knock yourself out. Starting racing? By all means, lets discuss.

I don't understand why that is so hard to grasp.

 

You know that there are people that do trackdays that have no business on a motorcycle, let alone be on a racetrack. Its those guys and the wheelie pulling squids that are the first people to chime in and give bad advice to the new guys. People know that racers are straight up and handle the business. If you are racing on a regular basis, odds are you know what you are doing. Thats why the new guys come here and ask for advice on getting started.

I can understand not wanting to discuss trackdays because of the drama, but we cant keep beating the new guys up over mentioning a trackday. I assume the new guys posting here are just going to the trackdays long enough to get their shit sorted, then gridding up with us. I know some of it gets redundant but that should be dealt with on a case by case basis.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Who cares.

Racing is not in the cards for me currently due to money, but I do participate in as many trackdays as I can. I've come to this site on a few occasions for answers because I know there is a HUGE body of good factual advice and information here thanks to the people that frequent this board.

 

Racing is no more expensive than track days; that point has been covered many times.

You drive the same vehicle and pull the same trailer to and from track days and races.
You ride the same bike in track days and races.
You stay in the same hotels by the same tracks for track days and races.
You can use the same tires with track days and racing (even less of them racing).
You can use the same fuel at track days and races (even less of it racing).
You wear the same gear in races as you do in track days.
Track days have membership fees - WERA has license fees.
Track days have fees for each day - WERA has fees for each race.

That is the oldest, and weakest excuse not to race. I race and do track days, many, every year...and the costs are the same. Actually, i spend less money at races. If you have money for track days, you have money for racing.

 

But getting back on topic, once again, there are many track day forums out there with tons of information from non "wheelie pulling squids".

Read the parent name of the forum, then read the name of this section, then read the description of the section that is clearly stated underneath it....how is that hard to do and comply with?

You don't see people going into the Classifieds and asking Tech questions.

You don't see people going on track day forums and starting threads like "Im not doing track days, I am going to start racing........".

Wanna race? Lets discuss.

 

Here's my point of view....I'm new to the track period, my long term goal is to race. I look at it like this walk, craw, run. I'm planning on doing a few track days to get comfortable on the bike on a track. Then I am going to do a race school most likely not WERA at first but somewhere to get my feet wet in racing. I come here to read and learn from you "racers" since I'm new to the whole track experiance in general. I don't want to be completly new and jump straight to exchanging paint. My worthless $.02 carry on.

 

I totally understand your point, and for the most part agree with it. It's that there is but a one day class that seperates a novice racer and and the latter, and we would have more people come on board, hypothetically, if we we were to simply be more supportive and so on. I know that's a soft line, but it seems like a good one to me.