Sellius

I have a random question that seems like it might be okay for this random thread: I've been riding Novice at Mid-Ohio for a while now. My question is, what is the criteria the coaches use to determine if you're ready for Intermediate? I'm not asking because I necessarily think I'm ready, but I want to know what they look for so I can focus on those things. Novice is still fine for me, but I do find myself getting less challenged. I know my BP still sucks and my bike might be under-powered for Intermediate, but I'm curious about what they want to see before they move someone up. Thanks.

I know I said it before, but I *really* appreciate all of your feedback. While I would never have bought this bike for the track, this is the one I happen to have to use for this. It's actually my first bike. It's in excellent condition but I think it's the slowest Ninja 600 ever made. I even have it over-geared since I used to run it on the highway so much before I got the Concours. I plan to drop back to the stock sprocket when I replace the chain. You guys have (mostly) confirmed what I actually was thinking, which is that it would take me some time before my ability runs into the limits of the machine. I'm not concerned about that as I can move up to another bike when I hit that point. What I don't know yet is what this learning curve is like. I have plenty of street miles behind me but I'm not going to kid myself that any of that translates to the track other than knowing the brake from the clutch. So you guys have answered that very well for me. This is all good news for me anyway as I'll need to spend $ on track gear (suit/gloves/boots) and maybe build a trailer over the winter. Ryan, yes, you are correct that this'll be more than a 1 day thing. For the last 15 yrs I was in a club that ran vintage sprint cars (pre 1950) on dirt. That club was dissolved at the end of this season as the membership has all aged out. So I was looking for something new to get into and this seems pretty cool especially since there's so much knowledge and skill to develop. Hellmutt, I may take you up on your offer, esp on the balancing. I look forward to meeting you guys. This seems like a good group. Thanks again!

I appreciate all the opinions. You guys have really helped me out. Thanks!

Yes, those are exactly my tire sizes! I'll look into those. Thanks so much for the feedback. I really appreciate it!

I'm thinking about getting into track riding and I need some advice about the bike I'm going to use and its tires. I have a '95 Kaw ZX600-C8 and it has 16" wheels. To say that my tire choices are limited would be an understatement. Since this summer will be my first season on a track, I don't expect to be setting records. I'm thinking that it'll take a bit of time for my skill to increase to my bike's capabilities, even with regular road tires on it. My question is, am I right? Am I wasting my time prepping this bike for the track since it'll be so limited by the the tire options, or should I prep it and run those street tires until I finally find myself limited by those tires? I don't *have* to use this bike but it's the "spare" one I have. If it makes sense to I could find another machine that's better suited. I just don't have the track experience to form an informed opinion, so I thought I'd ask you guys that do. Thanks.