Track day preparation

I tried that - the bloke in question's pet hanger on (so _obviously_ trying
to look cool to his 'mates') decided he'd try and 'threaten' me - being a
calm bloke I wandered off, but it was nice to have the biggest bloke I've
ever seen tell me in passing that "they've been noticed, they will be spoken
to".

That and I reported the twat to the officials. I'm sure someone will call me
a tosser now

As it was they were even slower than I was and the only time the bloke got
ahead of me he fell off the track, so flip wibble etc.

 

Hehe - I like it.

I'm not one for dobbing people in as a rule but if you've 'knocked once' and
they're not getting the message (and your a big girl's blouse like you and
me) then grassing them up is the next best thing you can do - if the
alternative is getting punted off by the twat.

Heh. Result!

 

And riding home after a track evening with your rear light and numberplate
still taped over is a little naughty too.

 

Don't over-prepare. If your bike is set up OK and safe for the road, it
should be OK for your first track day.

A write-up of my first track day should be lurking on Google Groups
somewhere.... ah, here it is:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?P25852FEA


Incidentally, anyone else doing the ESS Pace day at Brands on 9th May?

 

Well, yes, but the problem with the kamikaze riders is that they take you
/unawares/ and steal your line, forcing you to take avoiding action once you
have already committed to the corner. [1a]
However, if I *did* have enough spare attention to shoulder-check for the
guys whose egos wouldn't let them ride in a faster group (for fear of being
the slowest) then I really ought to have been going faster & probably
deserved a few wake-up calls.

Of course!

[1a] *Obviously* this hasn't happened to me in a long time *g* - but when I
started out doing trackdays it happened often enough.

 

This is my big problem with track days - I really can't be arsed to 'learn
the track' methodically. I just ride round and get a feel for it, but I'd
never be able to tell you exactly where I started to brake for a corner or
whatever. Although I'd like to go faster, trying hard to learn all the
markers just makes it all seem like a bit too much hard work.

 

Considering the time, hassle, preparation and cost involved with doing a
trackday learning the location of one braking point per corner seems
effortless by comparison.

 

I'm glad you said that, 'cos I read it a while ago and while I don't
doubt that it contains all sorts of useful info for people who, unlike
me, have enough experience to make use of it, the lasting impression I
had of the book was that it was written in the style of a complete twat
with a chronic superiority complex.

Actually, I've grabbed it off the shelf and noticed that I have a "Twist
of the Wrist II" - maybe Vol.1 is less condescending. The "Definitions"
section at the end of each chapter just takes the piss.

 

*I* know that. But you said "pull to the edge and ride slowly down the
straight ...." which sort of implies some kind of prior warning they're
coming.

Again - How do I know they are there until it's too late?

You've said it in the past - you shouldn't have to worry about what's going
on behind you.

 

I've got a copy of both books, if you want to borrow them.

 

Thanks, but it's a bit late to be swotting up now, I think.

Busy this weekend, working too much next week, and the track day's on
Friday.

 

I was lucky enough to have a tyre expert with me on my first (& so far
only) trackday. I had Sportecs fitted which I usually run at 35/39, &
he said 29/31 for the track, which felt pretty spot-on once up to temp.

Your tyres *will* get quite a bit hotter on the track, unless the roads
you usually ride consist of 20 minute stretches of never-ending bends.
Hotter tyres = higher hot pressures, so you need to start off lower
than usual. I'd drop them by 4-5 psi if I were you, unless it is wet &
you plan on riding very gently.

 

Their ego would rather look fast in the slow group than look mediocre in
the intermediate group, I suspect.

 

I think I must be too considerate for track riding in that case. I
always checked towards the end of the straight, & if there was someone
behind who was obviously faster, I'd back-off & let them through so as
not to spoil their fun through the twisty bits.

It was my first trackday though, & as it was near the Swiss border & I
still had to ride home, I was very aware of the grief it would cause if
someone did do something a bit daft to pass me.

 

I understand this sort of thinking, but it really doesn't help anyone.

Anyone approaching you to overtake has to decide whether he can get
past in time for the corner. He may well have concluded that he can't
- if you then look behind and slow unexpectedly, that's *more* likely
to cause problems, imo. Add to this that you should be concentrating
100% on your riding, not thinking about people behind you, and
certainly not looking for them as you approach the braking zone.

 

Aye, but you get something like 150 miles to reserve, don't you?

That's true - there's a lot of pottering round to start with, which
isn't /too/ bad on the Bandit.

I suspect I will.

I swear you can actual *see* the fuel gauge dropping on that bike.
Incredible.

 

You told me last time, but I think I still need to see it with my own eyes.

I think that's going to be one of the main problems: not whether people
are fast or slow, but whether they're consistent; where they start
braking, what line they take round a corner.

I'll wait and see, but from what you've said before, I suspect I might
do the same.

 

Well if you put it that way... I'll be back at the same track at the
end of July, so I'll try to have a slightly different attitude,
especially as I won't have to nurse my tyres for the ride home this
time (new ones will be fitted before leaving the track).

 

Which track?

--
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..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

A similar phenononem can be seen with club racers who never bother
trading up from their novice license - they may have been racing for
three years, and still enter the novice race at each meeting.