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MAN this thread makes me want to go to the track. Stupid winter.
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Dec 10, 2009 06:55
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 08:19 |
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Spiffness posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adNmwFfwONQ WTF was that? Ice?
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Dec 24, 2009 09:10
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needknees posted:If anyone is in the Mid Central region you better loving consider this trackday Oh gently caress me, how can I turn that down? Think I'll look too silly turning up on a Wee-strom? *edit* dammit none of those tires would fit on a Wee. Wonder if I could e-bay 'em to offset some cost. *Second edit* Wow I'm thick, you don't have to do the tires deal. Sweeeeet. And it says textile suits are acceptable for novices. Wonder if my flip-face Nolan helmet would cause complaints though. And I'll have to get real boots. Tsaven Nava fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Jan 19, 2010 |
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Jan 19, 2010 19:48
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Z3n posted:Yes, you'd look silly, and you will also probably pass some guys on supersports. Given I'll be wearing my high-viz Olympia suit, I'll look silly anyway. You think a novice can handle two track days in a row? Don't think I'd be too dead after the first one?
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Jan 19, 2010 20:24
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lokigoesrawr posted:Absolutely. I think you'll feel much more comfortable the second day, being more familiar with the track, procedures, pace, etc. Well I've got a cheap-rear end HJC that I could use if I have to. I made the mistake of trying on a $580 Arai Supermotard helmet at the store . . . wants it, wants it SO BIG. You know what their boot requirements are? Currently I'm riding in 12" Matterhorn gently caress-off work boots. My Olympia high-viz suit is a onesie, so that shouldn't be a problem. I think I'll want an actual CE back protector though to replace the foam pad that it came with.
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Jan 19, 2010 21:08
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needknees posted:Anything else I really need? I'm thinking about getting a little awning to put up for shade but fortunately those are pretty cheap. You know, I think I have a few things like this, possibly something big enough that we could comfortably get a few bikes + stuff under. You just wanna pit together and pool resources? I'll probably be tent camping it there overnight if it's allowed. Any other goons coming to the STT even Apr 24-25 in Joliet, IL? Looks like they've still got slots in all categories, only $110 per day!
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Feb 17, 2010 10:30
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needknees posted:Sounds good to me. I know I have at least one person headed over with me and a decent chance of another. Pretty sure Autobahn allows camping, although we might wuss out and get a room somewhere. I've got a 10x10 canvas tent/booth thing with sides. Very sturdy, and will give some protection from any wind or possibly lovely weather. My girlfriend might come down to watch/flirt with any cute biker girls for half a day or something as well, but I won't know on that until the week before. She'll have her license by then, but I'm sure will be far, far from comfortable enough on a bike to start whipping around a track.
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Feb 20, 2010 20:42
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Speaking of photography, what is the deal with most tracks? I'm going to the STT even in Joliet, IL on Apr 24-25, and they say they'll have photographers there. Do you have to pay for the prints/images of you? What's to stop my girlfriend from borrowing my some of my long glass and shooting photos of me and any other goons that show up?
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Mar 2, 2010 21:03
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T-Square posted:Not that I really know jack poo poo about anything race-related, but aren't your shoulders supposed to be farther off the bike then your butt?
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Mar 3, 2010 06:45
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I haven't done my first track day yet, but I'm signed up and ready to go for it. I'd like to point out that usually for the Novice classes, the requirements for gear are slightly less strict. I checked ahead with the organizer of mine (STT), and they allow textile suits and flip-face helmets in the novice category.
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Mar 24, 2010 07:32
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Oh, yeah I was referring to a onsie, specifically my Olympia Phantom suit.
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Mar 24, 2010 09:20
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lancemantis posted:Is yours actually rated to tow? My newer model isn't (at least I don't think it is) so I'm afraid to even try If you think about it, that's probably no more then ~700lbs being towed, which is the equivalent of squeezing a few fat people into the car. It's not going to win drag races with it, but it should be okay.
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Apr 8, 2010 03:07
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Even if the trailer weighs 700lbs with the bike, that's probably still under the car's rated GRVW
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Apr 8, 2010 03:34
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Hey guys, what sort of things should I do to the bike before a track day? I'm going to the Autobahn track at the end of the month with Needknees and Nerobro, going to be on my '04 Wee-strom. I took off the square, hard Metzler Tourance tires and put on some Road Attacks on, and I'm going to be changing the fork oil and putting in some inertia valves (Rioch Intiminators) in the next week. Other then taping over everything, what else should be done to a daily-commuter bike to prep it for the track? Should I remove the center stand? Obviously I'll be taking off the hard bags, but I was thinking about leaving the bag support on to function as sliders in the event of an off? Should I take the windshield off?
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Apr 12, 2010 18:29
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The bags reduce cornering clearance by quite a lot, in addition to being extra weight and two giant square sails sticking out into the wind. I sort of assumed they range officials wouldn't let me on the track with them on, to be honest.
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Apr 12, 2010 18:41
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I treated my cruiser like a dual-sport, I'm treating my dual-sport like a sportbike . . . the logical progression here is that I'm going to get a sportbike, and bumble up and down the street from bar to bar on it.
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Apr 12, 2010 18:55
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needknees posted:It looks like it might rain next weekend for my second time on the track ever [vader]NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO[/vader]
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Apr 16, 2010 05:00
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Shaping up to be pretty lovely for the weekend at Autobahn. Heavy rain and thunderstorms bascially non-stop from Friday afternoon through Monday 
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Apr 22, 2010 13:36
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Qucick status update of the track day so far at Autobahn; Needknee's friend went down, might have busted his collarbone, heading to the hospital to check it out. Our neighbor went down and DID break his collarbone, I went off the track once but held it up dispite the wet grass. Track's tried out since the morning, and our instructor is kind of a MILF.
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Apr 24, 2010 20:38
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So, end result of the day. NeedKnee's friend broke his clavicle in two places after he high-sided coming out of turn 5 after giving it too much throttle. Our neighbor broke his collarbone after going on the same corner I went off on, but he wasn't able to keep it up and lost it on the wet grass. The track dried out pretty well in the last few sessions, especially my last session I was able to get my toe/footpeg to scrape the ground fairly consistently and smoothly through the whole corner. I was doing better at entry speeds, and started to figure out the turn-in for corner 2, which I was having problems with all day. I also realized that I don't know JACK poo poo about riding a motorcycle. Pictures and videos aplenty will be coming in the next couple days (including me running off the track!)
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Apr 25, 2010 01:47
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Don't think I have any pictures of her, but here is a video from her bike of me doing my best to get my Wee over. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yum6CcTcDoc
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Apr 25, 2010 02:29
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Me being my hardcore/stupid self, I found in necessary to ride to the track, and managed to cram most of what I needed onto my bike. Of course, I still forgot some critical stuff (leatherman, cup, spork), but I got all the important bits. I got there Friday night during a break in the rain, and took the time to set up the tent. It rained really heavily that night, with some fairly epic wind, and in the morning my tent was the only one that hadn't leaked or completely collapsed (on the left)  Got registered and got my sticker! lol newb.  And then through Tech inspection, which wasn't nearly as rigerous as I was worried it would be. Maybe it is for the I/A classes, but they basically glanced at the tires and said "Have fun!"  All taped up!  Baaaaaw doggie! This was Louie, he was the tire changing station's dog. He and I were BFFs by the end of the weekend.   Gotta get 'em started when they're young  In-classroom instruction for the novices. It started pretty basic, counter-steering and such, but ended up getting better. And given that there were people from all skill levels in the novice group (some total newbs like me, some who'd done many track days) Saturday, the rain the night before had left the track soaking, and it dried slowly through the day. The first N sessions of the day were follow-the-leader types, going slowly around the track to get an idea of the layout, and pointing out turn-in points and lines and such. The track started to dry slowly, but after the second or third session myself, Needknees, and his friend asked our instructor, as a group, if we could turn up the pace a bit, we were all getting bored poking around the track so slowly. And then NeedKnee's friend went down. Coming out of turn 5 he thinks he gave it too much gas, and highsided his Buell. Not too much damage to the bike, actually.  $600 Shoei helmet that he got three weeks ago  He was wearing an Aerostich two-piece, which served him well but got pretty torn up.  In initially, he said he was feeling sore, but otherwise okay. After a few hours of walking around, he said he felt good enough to give it another go, and got the bike re-teched. But then our neighbor went off the track (at the same corner I went off) and wasn't able to keep it up, and went down. He was an EMT and knew that he'd broken his collarbone from the weird bump on his shoulder . . . and then NeedKnee's friend said "Oh, poo poo, my shoulder looks like that too". A couple hours and a trip to the ER later, it was confirmed, clavial broken in two places. Should have know, he was standing kind of funny with his shoulders.  (Left to Right: NeedKnee's friend, Tsaven, Needknees) Needknees:  Anyway! Photos from the first day itself. The photographer was cheap, only $10 for all the photos of you on a CD right then, but didn't seem to have very good equipment and a lot of the shots are out of focus. Ah well, the price was good. The first day started out with the track mostly damp, and there were a couple showers in the morning, but later in the day it tried out and we were better able to get our lean on (without dieing)  Me pretending to be much cooler then I actually am.   Please excuse the lousy BP, this was one of the morning follow-the-instructor laps to learn the lines and things  Slightly better BP. Slightly. One of the CRs had a GoPro, and waved me in front of her so she could check out my BP and lines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yum6CcTcDoc Tires at the end of the first day. Anything you rubber experts can tell me from 'em?     That night, I made a new friend when I went to the bathroom at 11pm or so. He was so cute! But lazy. I had to poke him so that he'd move so I could open the door.   The first session of the Sunday was pretty dry, you can see the mostly dry pavement up there was we were waiting in the Hot Pit lane, but then the rain stared around 10am and didn't let up much. Notice the rain gloves; many people seemed quite envious of my suit   It basically rained through lunch on Sunday. On the upside, my girlfriend (Modify Evolution) had stopped by, so I got tent-in-the-rain sex. By the time we crawled out of the tent around 1pm, roughly 80% of the people cleared out. I waffled a bit on if I'd stay and stick it out. Now that Modify Evolution had gotten what she wanted, she was bored, but . . . then something funny happened. About 1pm, the rain stopped, and the sun poked through a couple times. By 2pm, the racing line was starting to dry. At this point, there were so few people that it made no sense to continue with class groupings, so they just ran an open track with Intermediate passing rules. There were perhaps 4-5 people out at any time. Including me. IT. WAS. BRILLIANT. Most people were running a fairly moderate pace, and I used the time to focus on my transitions and lines, doing the whole course in just one or two gears. I even managed to pass a couple of people on 600cc bikes under braking. As the day wore on, the track continued to dry out, and I just kept going around and around and around. I put on almost 120 miles just on Sunday afternoon It started to sprinkle again at 5:30, so I headed in to find a slightly annoyed Modify_Evolution. She'd been wonderfully patient, napping in her car for a few hours but was now standing around the track side bored out of her skull while I continued seeing how consistently I could scrape my toes along the ground. I came in to her signs of "OH FINALLY", and we managed to get all my stuff tossed into her car before the skies really opened. She drove and I rode back to my place, fifty miles of riding through a pretty epic thunderstorm. I arrived back home very tired, sore, cold and wet. But then I got shower sex, which made up for it. In conclusion, Modify_Evolution is an awesome girlfriend who puts up with me being a silly motorcycle addict even though it means she has to stand around a cold trackside bored out of her mind. (I promised her I would mention that). Anyway, tires after the 2nd day and 40 miles of highway home. Thoughts?   
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Apr 26, 2010 21:03
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No, I neglected to check the PSI hot. Cold was 29 front, 30 rear. She REALLY wants to do trackdays, badly, but it's unlikely money will allow it. Also she's only on her Ninja 250, and that much of a power/speed differential on the track would be sketchy.
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Apr 26, 2010 22:41
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aventari posted:Those never look as pucker-inducing on video as they actually are in real life Given that it had rained recently and the grass was still very wet, it could have been much worse. Two sessions after I went off, a guy on an SV650 went off in the exact same place, wiped out and broke his collarbone. Dual-sport FTW! I think what happened in my situation was that I got the bike over far enough to touch my toe to the ground, which startled me and made me panic, chopping the throttle. I had to dive in on the corner to stay upright because of it, which made me apex too early and run WAY wide, running off the track. Kept it up though (gentle rear brake, and a bit of experience on lovely, slippery roads), and as soon as the group passed, the corner worker waved me back on.
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Apr 27, 2010 06:22
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that looks pretty clean for the midwest. After a day of riding around in south-west Wisconsin, I have to chip the layers of bugs off my bike with a chisel.
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Jun 13, 2010 06:15
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I loving love those shark-mouth graphics
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Jun 24, 2010 02:35
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Hey it was a big moment for me! I'm quite at peace with my slowness, I happily accept it, so it sure is a strange feeling to actually get around someone. Although a lot of the people who I was faster then would end up with a giant rear end-pack of 6 other people stacked up behind them, so I'd usually do a hot pit to just let them get ahead of me. All in all it was an awesome weekend. Saturday started out cold and rainy, but it cleared up by mid day and after lunch the track was fully dry. Sunday was perfect, low 80s and breezy. Although on the third lap of the first session on Saturday I managed to lock the front wheel under braking for turn 1 off the main straight. Would not recommend for fun or profit! (Thought process in my head when I locked the wheel: "Oh god dammit I promised Modify_Evolution that I wasn't going to crash! She's going to kick my rear end and withhold sex for like a month if I hurt myself out here. Oh, hey maybe I should let off the front brake so I don't crash. Hooray! I'm still upright!) I like Blackhawk Farms a lot more then my only other track experience, which was at Autobahn. Autobahn's paddock was an endless expanse of asphalt and completely flat grass with no trees, while BFR felt way more like a casual campsite that happened to be in the middle of a racetrack.  Anyway! Hooray for utilizing hideously inappropriate equipment!  Spot the exit, look where you want to go  I was WAY faster then my last trackday, probably due to the hot, sticky conditions. I tried running in the 2 ground in N, but honestly the pace was too fast for me and by the 2nd session after lunch I'd fallen so far behind that I lost sight of the group and ended up riding with the 6 group for the rest of that session. I was too nervous and tense, and was often fixating on the person in front of me and panicking that they were about to crash and I was going to hit them. I was starting to lock up when leaned over and my lines were getting unpredictable. A couple of times I hit the inner rumbles when I chopped the throttle too much, and the bike went all BLAH WTF, but throttle application and a panicked target fixation on where I wanted to go kept me up. Still though, I was reliably getting the bike over, at a good speed. I think I've got something funny going on with the suspension though, any suggestions?  Last session of the day ended up being my fastest, by far. I didn't intend it to be, I was intending to only relax and roll around the track at a leisurely pace. But it turns out that when you're relaxed, you go WAY faster! Fast enough, with enough of a body position that . . . I GOT MY KNEE DOWN  Which lead to what is likely the first time that anyone has ever examined their gear and said "Aw man, it's hardly rashed or torn up at all". I wasn't the only one on inappropriate equipment. This old guy had two of these, one with the fairing and one without, that he was running HARD. He started them in A, but they asked him to move back down to I because even though he had the skill, the bikes just didn't have the power and people were getting jammed up behind him with some crazy speed differences. Still though, he was riding the ever loving gently caress out of the bikes, it was awesome to watch.  Someone else thought that a big dumb touring bike would be accptable at the track as well.  At the end of Sunday, Sam was a giant pussy and put his bike back on the trailer for the drive home, while I was more hardcore and badass and more awesomerest about it. 
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Sep 14, 2010 14:26
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Lights, indicators, anything that might shatter in a down. Most people pull the fuses for them as well, just so you don't end up melting the tape off. As for the mirrors, taping them is acceptable in N, but I think I and A they have to be removed.
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Sep 14, 2010 14:52
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Raven457 posted:I could see that happening, I've dragged hard parts pretty good in situations like that out in the Hill Country. That guy on the R1200 was dragging his centerstand before anything else, which could be removed easily enough. What usually drags on the ST?
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Sep 14, 2010 15:27
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Z3n posted:tsaven your tires are fine. What was your PSI increase from cold to hot? I don't know, I didn't check  . I was running 30/30 cold. Someone said that the way the rubber was coming off the front of the grooves and building up on the rear of the grooves could indicate an issue with rebound?
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Sep 15, 2010 01:58
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I set sag the best I could on the front, not yet on the rear. In my completely inexperienced hands, the bike feels really good. It's not scary or unpredictable when leaned over, it deals with bumps well, and feels very planted and confidence-inspiring when accelerating out of a corner. Keep in mind that this is an '04 Wee-strom with effectively no adjustability. Front is preload only, rear is preload and rebound, but that's it. I've helped the front with some Intiminators in stock form which seem to have helped as much as I can expect. While people do get all sorts of aftermarket shocks for the bike, in reality I know that if I was that serious about it, I should have an actual sportbike. I'm not going to dump $1500 into suspension work on a bike that will never be brilliant for the track anyway.
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Sep 15, 2010 03:45
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Is that . . . Tsaven on an actual sportbike? A ZX-10? I think it is! Sidenote: Literbikes. I get it now. Mother of GOD.
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Sep 27, 2010 17:06
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 08:19 |
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I have to say, in defense of the way STT runs their trackdays, I really like the slow, newb-friendly approach that STT takes in their novice category. Maybe I'll hate it more once I have a more track-appropriate bike, or more skill, but as it stands I'm very happy with their Novice group.
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Oct 12, 2010 05:35
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