[megaspaz]

… especially, when your buddies who you’ve ridden with before are there. Mostly an impromptu session. It was an open trackday and we went out at different times. My buddy, who’s on an R1, was filming another buddy on his new litre bike when I caught up to them. Then it was on. Here’s the vid my bud posted on youtube. m/ >.< m/ I’m the guy in the black/white dainese leathers on the SV650S. My buddy Dennis is filming. Our buddy Thomas is in the blue/white suit.

Link to vid

[eon]

That looks like an absolute blast. Are those standard tires or have you long since moved to racing slicks? That looked like some serious lean angles you had going there. Have to confess, after my little training class on a track, I’m starting to see the appeal.

[megaspaz]

Nah. not slicks. I’m running dot race tires. slicks aren’t legal for the 650 production class. Actually, my lean angles aren’t really extreme at all which is a good thing… i got room to go faster…

[eternal05]

Despite being DOT approved, you’d be crazy to run DOT race tires on a street bike. A friend of mine does, but that’s because he’s a penny-pinching cheapo, and got a deal on Michelin Pilot Race tires as they got phased out. At least from what I can tell, they’re a lot closer to slicks than your standard “high-performance” street tire (e.g., pilot power 2CT, battlax bt-016, etc.). They take longer to warm up, and have much shorter lifespans, but give you a lot more grip if you get them hot enough.

You running warmers? I can’t afford them, or more importantly, a generator, at the moment, but damn I wish I could. Two squirrely warm-up laps every session is killing me.

How’s the first race season going? We haven’t heard much about it from you…I’m really curious!

I don’t know if I’ll have money for it, but I might try to hit up that Saturday trackday on August 28th after my orientation week. I’ll let you know in advance if I can make it happen. Either way, I’ll have to drop by and geek out over bikes while I’m there.

[eternal05]

Sounds like somebody needs to come out this summer *wink wink, nudge nudge*

2-Fast Track days

Eh? Eh? I could ride my DR-Z in the relaxed group.

[eon]

Hmmm, very tempting. I would feel a little silly taking a 3 wheel scooter to a track day and at 550lbs and 39 hp, I’d probably be the slowest thing out there. I really like the look of their instruction though. I’ll definitely add that to my list of classes to take.

But I have to watch my pennies over the next few months. Lots of expenses just now (moving house and have that trip back home) and my, ahem, second income stream does not come online till August.

But I am thinking about it. Do these things book out early?

[eternal05]

They book out only when the reasonably short-term weather forecast says sun. However, the “relaxed” group is usually the most full, and if any group sells out, it’s that one. I wouldn’t worry about booking one of the late summer or early fall track days if that’s what you have your sights on at the moment. Those are a long way out.

I completely understand about money, and honestly you don’t want to push yourself. Especially if you ride down to the track, you’ll want to factor in the possibility of a flat or for some reason needing new tires, etc. Going into a track day without a spare dollar in your wallet can be dangerous, and I’ve learned that the hard way.

That said, don’t worry about being “slow.” The relaxed group is usually made up of 80-95% of people like you: people that think they’re slow, that have never been to the track, and who find themselves going 110mph down the straights by the end of the day. The other 5-20% are people who have been to many track days and don’t feel the need to go any faster. There’s a middle-aged woman on a GSX-R750 who is regularly the slowest person on the track…but she’s there every day. She just rides her own pace, like she should. There are actually quite a few people in the relaxed and intermediate groups (myself included) riding supermoto bikes that top out at 80mph and have less horsepower than your bike. So seriously, speed is not something to worry about. Passing is also restricted in non-expert groups, so you shouldn’t be getting stuffed in corners.

Also, do let me know if you head down. I’ve accumulated hundreds of dollars in “supplies” to make life easier and I’ll have them all with me at each track day (all of those on the 2-Fast calendar). In particular, I always carry spare oil (non-synthetic and synthetic), brake fluid, a full tool kit including torque wrenches and brake bleeding tools, tire pressure gauge and sometimes an air tank, ez-up tent-cover-thing (great for rain/sun alike), folding chairs, cooler full of drinks, etc. I like sharing. Enough said

[TrialsRider]

Eternal, do you have a hottie with an umberella for when you are waiting on the start grid

[eon]

Sounds about the only thing he is lacking. Mind you, he might have one of those hidden away also

Okay, I might take you up on this. I’ll let you know if/when I know I can commit to it.

[eternal05]

Yes, but don’t let her hear me say so

[megaspaz]

No warmers for me. I just deal with 2 warm up laps and let the bike in the sun. Race season’s going fine. I’m not crashing and there’s 3 more rounds left in the season. After this season’s done, i get my expert plate. o/

yeh, let me know if you can hit up the track on the 28th. It’ll be a blast.

[Author]

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