JStump Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 So I am looking to start doing some track days next season. I have a couple years of street riding under my belt and am looking to make the move to the track. I did not ride as much this year because after the deals gap trip, I really became unenthused about riding the boring strait roads of NEO and have been looking for more fun roads/events. My questions are, what are good events to get my feet wet in and what do I need to do to prep the bike and myself? I am going to try to start saving now because I don't imagine it is cheap but I need to know just how expensive it is and what things I should be looking to buy or sign up for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candybluzx6 Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Do as much over time as possible in the winter and put it in the bank. Because after ur first track day thats all u will want to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoblick Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Off the top of my head..You:Full face helmet1 or 2 piece leather suitGauntlet glovesBoots that go over the ankleBack protector ( not required, but highly recommended)Bike:Tape all lights and mirrors upSome places require a dab of silicone on your oil drain plug and oil fill capTires in good shapeEverythong else in good mechanical working order Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoblick Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Do as much over time as possible in the winter and put it in the bank. Because after ur first track day thats all u will want to doThis is true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidgetTodd Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Forget what you learned on the street and ask a control rider to tow you around for a session. Do what he does. Move up a group when they tell you too not when you think you should. Don't ride to a track day, trailer to it. Leave your ego at home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue03636 Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Please whatever you do go to one that offers a novice class and on track instruction. This will be a huge help vs getting tossed on track with no clue what to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbot Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 based on my experience, try these schools/programs for when you're just starting out and need heavy instructor attention, in no particular order:Midohio School- excellent school, well structured, great instructors, held at the best track in Ohio, and arguably in the midwest, kinda pricey but you get cookies during lunch, bitch.STT- excellent school, well structured, great instructors, limited tracks in ohio as far as I know, but good variety of tracks everywhere, prices range and there is a membership fee but it's not bad if you do a couple days.Motoseries- excellent school, well structured, great instructors, most trackdays in local tracks (nelson ledges, beaverun/PIRC, putnam and hopefully grattan... no midohio just yet lol), lots of OR peeps ride and race with motoseries including myself.i can't recommend nesba for those looking for actual novice instruction since last time i rode with them, they did not offer any. however, they have excellent control riders you can ask for help once you have the basics down. good prices, membership fee is minimal, has lots of benefits with membership.come hang out in the track day/race section, you'll learn a lot. check the FAQ's and sticky threads. they're sticky for a reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoblick Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 STT did a hell of a job for me. I did NESBA my first time.. STT my 2nd trackday.. I learned alot from the instructors at STT. I was twice the rider i was after that trackday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxr1000bill Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Depends how quick & comfortable you are! I never ran novice! Straight to intermediate for a couple days then to advanced! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxr1000bill Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Putnam is a good first track imo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-Zapp Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Depends how quick & comfortable you are! I never ran novice! Straight to intermediate for a couple days then to advanced!my son was very 'comfortable' too his first year (as a novice), but he spent more time in the crash truck than on track. unless youre a true natural i think there's plenty to be learned in novice. take it easy.and btw, i dont think STT has membership. we never had to pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiztedRabbit Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Depends how quick & comfortable you are! I never ran novice! Straight to intermediate for a couple days then to advanced!bill dont take this the wrong way.. im sure you are prob a fine rider.. but .. thats the worst advice ever... everyone needs atleast 1 day in novice no matter how quick they THINK they are... street and track are way different.. and no matter how much AMA, MotGP, WSBK or others they watch it doesnt make them understand how a track day will work... if you have never been to a track day (going and not riding doesnt count) before you have NO way to judge how the day will be and how the day is run...this makes you dangerous for not only yourself but EVERY OTHER PERSON THAT HAS PAYED GOOD MONEY TO PROGRESS THEIR SKILLS THE CORRECT WAY...that is all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxr1000bill Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Ijs...racing lines are common sense, and if you drag knee on the street why can't you ride mid pack intermediate on the track?Everyone is different and me and my friends were idiots and learned on the street, so the track was like a walk in the park!Regardless, i don't hardly ride on the street anymore, and haven't drug a knee on the street in 3yrs due to the track! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxr1000bill Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Btw, I'm not saying everyone should skip novice, but thats the route that we took and i feel as i wouldn't have had any fun running in novice.....Just my 2 cents and I'm sure most will disagree!Regardless, I've got a whole box of fucks and i ain't giving out any of them!Happy Sunday, that is all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiztedRabbit Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 backto the original question sorry to get that off tracki would just echo what Ryan,Todd , Craig and our sexy asian brother said..ryan and hit on on the main needs for a first track day.. i would add water, snack and lunch(all but mid ohio)extra fuel depending on how thirsty your bike decides to be chair, easy up if you want some extra shade. really all those are just extras.. you can get by at the track with surprisingly little go to a school with good novice instruction.. go in with an open mind. and absorb all you can after that... be prepared to be more broke than you might already be as the track life consumes many Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiztedRabbit Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Ijs...racing lines are common sense, and if you drag knee on the street why can't you ride mid pack intermediate on the track?Everyone is different and me and my friends were idiots and learned on the street, so the track was like a walk in the park!Regardless, i don't hardly ride on the street anymore, and haven't drug a knee on the street in 3yrs due to the track!because racing lines are not common sense to all and just because you think you know the line doesnt mean you do... im not saying that you dont... just most are off.. and a little instruction goes a long way for most.. also.. dragging knee doesnt mean your fast... ive seen a lot of slower than shit riders that drag knee because of bad form or just being damn tall... also.. ive seen some damn fast riders NEVER touch a knee.. again not saying your way didn't work for you.. but your way isn't recommended for most riders and shouldn't be pushed as a viable option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidgetTodd Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Most groups require atleast one novice day for a reason, skip novice and I'm not going into a corner beside you on your first day period. 3 group progression for a reason use them. Novice teaches you more than just lines it teaches the very very important stuff you do not learn by being fast on the street. It teaches safety, hand signals, what NOT to do and how to properly crash! Yes, there is a right and wrong way to crash. And I want to be damn sure the guy behind me who thinks he's Casey Stoner knows what I fucking mean when I raise my throttle hand in the air. Don't skip Novice that's the worst advice ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue03636 Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 There is more to novice than jist learning lines, there is proper technique and over all track guidelines (entering and exiting the track ect.). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidgetTodd Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 There is more to novice than jist learning lines, there is proper technique and over all track guidelines (entering and exiting the track ect.).There's an echo in here lol :werd: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moto-Brian Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Ijs...racing lines are common sense, and if you drag knee on the street why can't you ride mid pack intermediate on the track?Everyone is different and me and my friends were idiots and learned on the street, so the track was like a walk in the park!Regardless, i don't hardly ride on the street anymore, and haven't drug a knee on the street in 3yrs due to the track!Some will advance faster than others. I would also tend to think that those that THINK they advance faster than others may very well be in the advanced group, but may not belong there. It isn't about a single fast lap time, it CERTAINLY doesn't mean shit that you can drag a knee as exampled by Twisted (I personally barely drag my knee, by the way - guess I need to drop down a group) and just because every org with exception to NESBA has a self evaluation, doesn't mean it is correct to decide to jump.My point is this - I see advanced riders everyday I attend a track day that are so far out of control or out of their element that they need to bump down. I also see a ton of Intermediate guys that should have taken additional days in novice to get acquainted. As for the lines idea? Well, seeing that most guys I have been around don't always use the race line properly, who is to say that you are? But, even if you "know" the race line, doesn't mean you should use it. Meaning, a lot of guys run out wide on exit and do not have the needed speed to do so and while a faster rider behind is trying to overtake from the outside, gets pushed wide because at the speed the passee is going, there's no reason for them to sue all of the track. Thus, they may be "using" the race line, but not needing to until they get the proper speed...Bottom line is this - there are a TON of good examples listed here. Craig, Hob, JBot, Twisted, etc are all guys from top to bottom that have experience doing this in different capacities and have made some really solid comments.Personally? I have yet to see even a super fast street guy come to the track that didn't have habits that were bad and needing fixed by running minimal, novice group. I tend to agree that some can go from novice to "I" rather quickly and even in the same day, I have seen it and approved the bump up. But, ZERO track experience? I would NEVER suggest jumping into "I". Simple reason is that you have zero ideas as to what to expect. Novice allows the basics and if you can understand, implement them with control, you'll get bumped by an instructor. Ego is an awesome thing, ain't it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidgetTodd Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Ego keeps the aftermarket body panel companies in business lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moto-Brian Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Ego keeps the aftermarket body panel companies in business lolThey do, they do. But, they also hold you up in the keyhole! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxr1000bill Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Hey, douches! I never told him to skip novice! I provided my input just like y'all! My ego aint shit...i know im not fast by any means and never claim to be!My body position is awful and i run consistent 18s at putnam. Whooo fuckin hooo.. novice still sucks!Flame away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidgetTodd Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) They do, they do. But, they also hold you up in the keyhole!:werd: that slippery exit line out of the KeyHole is what holds me up. I hate exiting that turn Edited November 4, 2012 by MidgetTodd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidgetTodd Posted November 4, 2012 Report Share Posted November 4, 2012 Hey, douches! I never told him to skip novice! I provided my input just like y'all! My ego aint shit...i know im not fast by any means and never claim to be!My body position is awful and i run consistent 18s at putnam. Whooo fuckin hooo.. novice still sucks!Flame away!18 second laps at Putnam???? Even Casey Stoner ain't got shit on you man! You should hit the GP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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