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novice with FJR ok at Mid-Ohio?


pista

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Track addiction......that's more of a gentle euphemism for "Hi, my name's Jason. I sold my house and built a bigger garage to sleep that much closer to all of the trackbikes that have completely fubar'd my financial well-being......Anybody take a blowie for some fuel and ramen noodles?"

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"Safer environment to learn the capabilities of the bike...knowledge that may one day be used to avoid a car that pulls out in front of you on the street."

 

"Get riding "fast" out of your system on the track, ride safer on the street."

 

"All the cool kids are doing it."

 

"It's fun"

 

"The guys I ride with are making fun of my chicken strips"

 

"I can't get a ticket at the track"

 

"It is either spend 2 hours commuting to decent roads, just to ride at a moderate pace for fear of the unknown around the next bend.  Or load up, trailer to the track in comfort, and ride all-out for the entire day"

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"Safer environment to learn the capabilities of the bike...knowledge that may one day be used to avoid a car that pulls out in front of you on the street."

 

"Get riding "fast" out of your system on the track, ride safer on the street."

 

"All the cool kids are doing it."

 

"It's fun"

 

"The guys I ride with are making fun of my chicken strips"

 

"I can't get a ticket at the track"

 

"It is either spend 2 hours commuting to decent roads, just to ride at a moderate pace for fear of the unknown around the next bend.  Or load up, trailer to the track in comfort, and ride all-out for the entire day"

 

You sound like me. Ten reasons you need to do a track day.

 

@pista:

 

Don't worry about showing up on an FJR among a sea of sportbikes. There will be a sea of sportbikes, as well as some racebikes, but mostly that's intermediate and advanced. I've seen just about everything in novice, from a woman on a small cruiser to a guy on a DR650 with street tires to a vintage CBX. A full-blown dedicated school is a little more advanced in the instruction, but the novice class at Mid-Ohio is not bad. And you don't have to worry about holding up faster guys. In novice, you're grouped into smaller sub-groups of similar skill level and speed. If you find out you're too fast or too slow for your sub-group, they'll move you up or down. No worries.

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For the limitations of the bike, he is damn quick.

 

Any track

Any organization

Any bike

Every rider can learn a lot by hitting a novice track day

 

 

Even Mid-O in the rain....you can learn how to crash and how to put a bike back together.

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For the limitations of the bike, he is damn quick.

Any track

Any organization

Any bike

Every rider can learn a lot by hitting a novice track day

Even Mid-O in the rain....you can learn how to crash and how to put a bike back together.

I'd like to skip that crashing part !

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Anyone have any advice for a first timer at mid ohio?

I did my first two track days on the fz1 and that's all it took. Did two track days within a month of each other. Within two months after that I purchased a second bike.... I hear it's a slippery slope from here...

I did one day on my vfr, then got a cbr. Did two track days on that and wrecked it. Rebuilt it as a track bike and dont currently have a street bike.

That all happened within 2 months of each other, but am in the market for a street bike.

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Anyone have any advice for a first timer at mid ohio?

I did my first two track days on the fz1 and that's all it took. Did two track days within a month of each other. Within two months after that I purchased a second bike.... I hear it's a slippery slope from here...

 

Take it easy for the first couple sessions.  The colder overnight temps and dew can make the track extremely slick.

 

 

I did my first track day in Sept. 2012....proceeded to do 3 more before the close of the season.  Bought a dedicated track bike that winter.  If you count race days, I think I did 17 days on the track last year...3 at Mid-O, 3 at Grattan, 4 at PIRC and 7 at Nelson. 

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You sound like me. Ten reasons you need to do a track day.

 

@pista:

 

Don't worry about showing up on an FJR among a sea of sportbikes. There will be a sea of sportbikes, as well as some racebikes, but mostly that's intermediate and advanced. I've seen just about everything in novice, from a woman on a small cruiser to a guy on a DR650 with street tires to a vintage CBX. A full-blown dedicated school is a little more advanced in the instruction, but the novice class at Mid-Ohio is not bad. And you don't have to worry about holding up faster guys. In novice, you're grouped into smaller sub-groups of similar skill level and speed. If you find out you're too fast or too slow for your sub-group, they'll move you up or down. No worries.

Good stuff there, thanks!

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You question putting a "sport touring" bike on a track? Track days are not race days so you will be just fine. If you question it, watch this at Little Tally:

 

Well I see now that just about anything goes...

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So after reading this thread I am seriously considering taking my Vstrom to Nelson this summer some time as a chance to improve my road riding skills.

What do I need to do to prepare the bike?

I have Givi crash bars installed currently, would I need to remove these?

Do I need to wire anything or is some silicone on the drain plug and filter sufficient?

I don't own leathers but I see Motoseries says you can rent some. Is that a reasonable option (I'm 6'2 about 210lb)? I have good boots and gloves.

I know the DL650 is going to be a little slow even compared to an SV650 but that doesn't sound like its a big deal. I don't think I have any ego and definitely nothing to prove. I just would like to get more comfortable and confident with curves and improve my technique.

It helps I'm about 20miles from the raceway so getting there is easy :)

 

Craig

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So after reading this thread I am seriously considering taking my Vstrom to Nelson this summer some time as a chance to improve my road riding skills.

What do I need to do to prepare the bike?

I have Givi crash bars installed currently, would I need to remove these?

Do I need to wire anything or is some silicone on the drain plug and filter sufficient?

I don't own leathers but I see Motoseries says you can rent some. Is that a reasonable option (I'm 6'2 about 210lb)? I have good boots and gloves.

I know the DL650 is going to be a little slow even compared to an SV650 but that doesn't sound like its a big deal. I don't think I have any ego and definitely nothing to prove. I just would like to get more comfortable and confident with curves and improve my technique.

It helps I'm about 20miles from the raceway so getting there is easy :)

 

Craig

 

First, yes he should have leathers your size. I think he charges $35 for rental.

 

Anything glass will need to have tape over it, most use painters tape. No wire or silicone required for novice. The crash bars shouldn't be an issue for novice either.

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First, yes he should have leathers your size. I think he charges $35 for rental.

 

Anything glass will need to have tape over it, most use painters tape. No wire or silicone required for novice. The crash bars shouldn't be an issue for novice either.

Thats great.

How about coolant? Not a big deal to drain and add water if needed, just want to know if I need to.

 

I guess now I just need to get some new treads this spring and come out to the track :)

 

Craig

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