Track Day Beginner’s Guide — From a Track Day Beginner
As motorcycle riders, most of us have that dream of getting low in a turn, feeling the pavement kiss our knees and feel the rush as we continue to twist the throttle coming out of a corner. The safest way to do this, of course, isn’t on a backroad with the threat of a crossing deer or opossum, but on a closed course with minimal “outside” interruptions.
This is an itch I’ve been wanting to scratch since I was a kid. Years later, at age 31, I’m on the cusp of being able to experience this and possibly spiral headlong into an addiction, scraping pennies for tires, track day funds, leather repairs, and parts upgrades to get that last little bit to wring out of the bike.
This is in no way a “how to” guide on what you SHOULD do to get to the track. There are less expensive avenues to take, but this is the route I have chosen and these are my experiences that I wished to share to anyone who is looking to get into the track day world. Ultimately, this is/ was a difficult piece to put together given that there are so many questions and topics to cover within this “track day umbrella,” so i hope that it can be useful tool for at least SOMEONE out there.
For this “journey” and to effectively be able to share it, I wanted to break it down into multiple categories. Aspects that went into my mental, physical, technical, emotional, and spiritual preparation for this. Yes I said spiritual. I am a Christian, and I feel there are many parallels with trying to live a Christian lifestyle, and trying to be a better motorcyclist; however that is a article that deserves its own attention, so I’ll only touch on this in part later. The bullet points I want to cover are:
- My personal expectations and goals
- My physical preparation and skill preparation I’ve attempted to make
- The mental preparations and aforementioned Spiritual preparations
- The mechanical bike preparation
- The monetary costs associated with all of the above
I guess the best place to begin would be to answer the question of why I want to go through all of this time, money, and effort just to ride a motorcycle. Why can’t I just go hop on it on the street and do the same thing? Its not like I’m going to be racing on the WERA circuit, AMA, or MOTOGP anytime, or ever, in all actuality, so what’s the point? In short, sure, you can go attempt this on the street, and you may pull it off on the street. More power to you. I personally wanted to choose an arena that was as “controlled” as possible to eliminate the natural obstacles that can present themselves on the street in the form of wildlife, road debris, or other human traffic issues.
The next step I took in the process was to join a track day organization. I chose N2 Track Days at the recommendation of a friend, and I can honestly say I was welcomed. After joining the forums, I was able to make contact with a few folks that have provided encouragement, guidance, and help to keep everything in perspective. There are many organizations out there, but I highly recommend N2 if you’re in the East/ Southeast region of the United States. Tony’s Track Day’s is also a fantastic outlet to gain knowledge from Ken Condon, although I’ve not had the pleasure to meet or be taught directly from him.
So what are my personal expectations and goals for my first track day? I’d love to realistically say to improve my lap times, scuff up my sliders, and slide the rear in while setting up for a turn, but in truth; I want to learn my bike more. I want to learn how to successfully and smoothly work my controls, give smooth steering inputs, work on my corner vision and line, and ultimately, use good judgment. Well that’s dumb. Just do that on the street for free! Please see above obstacle comments.
In terms of physical and skill preparation, I have not been as proactive as I should be in preparing for the physical demands needed to be successful on track. In all honesty, I’m pretty far in the opposite direction. I am 6’1,” 260 lbs without gear so my 600 is going to be working overtime on a lot of fronts to handle me on top of it. This is one thing I will also cover in the technical preparations for the bike, but more on that later.
As far as my skill prep, I can say that I have done more in this department than in my physical prep (which hopefully will translate into that side, at least a little — I hope). I have been fortunate enough to have made good friends with an amazing rider that has been through California Superbike School and was also certified as an instructor through Lee Parks’ Total Control curriculum. I’ve been through his developed Advanced Safety Course a couple of times, with a third scheduled for April 2018. The first time I took this course did not end as expected. It was my first accident in which I low sided in a corner that I entered with terrible body position and probably had a few other errors on my part. Notice I didn’t say this class was unsuccessful. I learned a lot during the class, during the accident, and after the accident, and it has influenced my riding in many ways. I do not “push” when I ride and I try not to ride “hard” anymore. Instead, I pick a skill that I want to improve on. Usually that skill surfaces in a couple of minutes on the bike when I see that I either missed it completely or I executed it poorly. I usually take that as my hint to focus on it.