Welcome to NESR! Most features of this site require registration, including replying to threads, sending private messages, starting new threads, and uploading files. Click here to register.

Results 1 to 15 of 15

question about track days/racing.

  1. #1
    Member Rory McConoghy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    roslindale
    Age
    41
    Posts
    63

    question about track days/racing.

    just a few questions, and i dont know if this should be posted here or in the track days section so i flipped a coin...

    i havent been riding that long, not even a full season under my belt, but i am reall interested in track days. one of the guys i work with does them sometimes and it blows my mind. so getting to the question how long do you think it should be before i attempt a track day.

    i ride an r6 that needs some more TLC, but will be mint by next season, how much does it run to set it up for the track.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  2. #2
    Lifer
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Ma
    Posts
    10,687

    question about track days/racing.

    Very cheap and very easy to set it up for the track. The trackdays are open to all riders of all skill levels. I'd say to get in on it at your first chance, explain your ability to an instructor and he will take you under his wing or find someone that will. Everyone from this board is happy to help as well.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    It's all water under the bridge, and we do enter the next round-robin. Am I wrong?

  3. #3
    Super Moderator OreoGaborio's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    MA
    Age
    44
    Posts
    38,868

    question about track days/racing.

    Everyone's different, but i'll share my personal experience & opinion w/ ya...

    I got my license about 4 years ago but just got my first bike last May... yup, "squidly me" bout a 600ss as a first bike ... about 3,000 street miles later and just 3 months after getting it I did my first trackday in August of last year and haven't missed a Tony's Track Day since

    If you're at all interested in doing trackdays & you're w/in a few hours of Loudon NH I recommend Tony's w/o a millisecond of hesitation. All I do for track prep (other than check everything on the bike to make sure it's 100%) is remove the mirrors, take off the license plate, tape the lights, pull the rear bulbs and lower the tire pressure. Bang, done. Oh and I RIDE MY BIKE there the morning of the event from BOSTON. meaning it's 100% street legal less than 2 hours before i get on the track... at this point it only takes me about 20 minutes to go from full street trim to track prepped. However, I strongly don't suggest you do that unless you have friends up there willing to save your ass if you drop your bike & brake something simple like a clutch lever and can't find a replacment. I'm fortunate enough that I have that "Luxury" if I do indeed brake somethin. Even if you dont know anyone though and find yourself in that position, i'm SURE you'd be able to find someone to help you out, it's that good of a crowd.

    Some people use spare plastics... not a bad idea if you wanna keep your stockers shiney & scratch free... I just don't have any spare plastics for my bike, but i'm not too worried about it, at this point my street bike is a track rat, no biggie.

    So to definitively answer your questions - you don't need a whole lot of experience... some people say the sooner the better as long as you're comfortable w/ your bike & can be smooth. I was out there w/ about 3 months of experience riding almost every nice day and only 3k street miles under my belt & did just fine... and unless you want to buy spare rashed up ugly plastics you do'nt care about from ebay for super cheap, it doesn't cost a penny to prep your bike other than some tape and a little wrenching time, however you DO want it to be in good mechanical condition.

    What DOES cost money are tires, track fees, gas and personal riding equipment. THOSE are the big costs. Luckilly the biggest (proper riding gear) is a long-term investment you should make anyway. For me, the average trackday at NHIS costs me about 300 bucks, maybe a little more. 225 for the track, about 20-25 bucks in gas (since I don't trailer up) a few bucks for food and wear & tear on my tires. (then there's the missed day of work pay) Upside is you DO get fed for free at at Tony's date and you get ALL the Gatoraid you can drink to stay hydrated (VERY important)

    Oh & this should have been in the trackday section as you SHOULD be doing trackdays long before you race but I'll let it slide this time

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Last edited by OreoGaborio; 11-03-05 at 04:19 PM.
    -Pete LRRS/CCS #81 - ECK Racing, TonysTrackDays
    GMD Computrack Boston | Pine Motorparts/PBE Specialists | Phoenix Graphics | Woodcraft | MTag-Pirelli | OnTrack Media

    The Garage: '03 Tuono | '06 SV650

  4. #4
    ....... Nazo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Boston
    Age
    44
    Posts
    1,243

    question about track days/racing.

    Originally posted by OreoGaborio

    Oh & this should have been in the trackday section as you SHOULD be doing trackdays long before you race but I'll let it slide this time
    ....and Pete, you shouldn't be posting in the pit area until you are a racer

    Nice summary though.
    I concur with the Oreo

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Chris
    LRRS Expert #160


  5. #5
    Super Moderator OreoGaborio's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    MA
    Age
    44
    Posts
    38,868

    question about track days/racing.

    Originally posted by Nazo
    ....and Pete, you shouldn't be posting in the pit area until you are a racer
    Fine, tell the same thing to Jane, JeffL and....................................................... NAAAAAAHHHHH I won't say it, t's too damn easy to pick on HBerry

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    -Pete LRRS/CCS #81 - ECK Racing, TonysTrackDays
    GMD Computrack Boston | Pine Motorparts/PBE Specialists | Phoenix Graphics | Woodcraft | MTag-Pirelli | OnTrack Media

    The Garage: '03 Tuono | '06 SV650

  6. #6
    Tie me up not down Jaynnus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Southeastern Taxachusetts
    Posts
    6,518

    question about track days/racing.

    Originally posted by OreoGaborio
    Fine, tell the same thing to Jane, JeffL and....................................................... NAAAAAAHHHHH I won't say it, t's too damn easy to pick on HBerry
    I can post...I make the damn schedule!!

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!


    MSF RiderCoach
    MSF Dirt Bike School Coach


    Quote Originally Posted by 5TOEZ View Post
    #5 Hangout w/Jaynnus................
    she rides like the wind
    & smells good too.
    PKism: you don't count, you're just a guy with indoor plumbing

  7. #7
    Super Moderator OreoGaborio's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    MA
    Age
    44
    Posts
    38,868

    question about track days/racing.

    Yeah and I help people when i'm not hungover

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    -Pete LRRS/CCS #81 - ECK Racing, TonysTrackDays
    GMD Computrack Boston | Pine Motorparts/PBE Specialists | Phoenix Graphics | Woodcraft | MTag-Pirelli | OnTrack Media

    The Garage: '03 Tuono | '06 SV650

  8. #8
    ....... Nazo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Boston
    Age
    44
    Posts
    1,243

    question about track days/racing.

    Originally posted by OreoGaborio
    NAAAAAAHHHHH I won't say it, t's too damn easy to pick on HBerry
    I think Huckleberry is gonna beat you all next season......at least that what he told me

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Chris
    LRRS Expert #160


  9. #9
    Work U HBerry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Nashua
    Age
    38
    Posts
    2,624

    question about track days/racing.

    I have my license you dirty bitch! Next year, as long as the funds are available, I am going to try to get as much track time as humanly possible, doing as many tony's track days as I can, along with as many race weekends as I can.

    I say do track days for at least a year before you start racing, did I follow this advice, nope, I got bit by the bug after my first track day and decided to do the penguin school in order to get my racing license. Looking back I do think it was kind of stupid to start racing so soon, but its too late now. Get as many track and street miles as you can under your belt next season!

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    --HBerry

    LRRS# 285 - Retired
    04 ZX-6R
    88 EX500 - Broke

  10. #10
    Banned
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    15,160

    question about track days/racing.

    Originally posted by OreoGaborio
    All I do for track prep (other than check everything on the bike to make sure it's 100%)...

    Except the oil filter of course, 'cos that ain't really neccessary

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  11. #11
    Super Moderator OreoGaborio's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    MA
    Age
    44
    Posts
    38,868

    question about track days/racing.

    I told you, I was testing you.... you guys are good

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    -Pete LRRS/CCS #81 - ECK Racing, TonysTrackDays
    GMD Computrack Boston | Pine Motorparts/PBE Specialists | Phoenix Graphics | Woodcraft | MTag-Pirelli | OnTrack Media

    The Garage: '03 Tuono | '06 SV650

  12. #12
    ....... Nazo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Boston
    Age
    44
    Posts
    1,243

    question about track days/racing.

    Originally posted by HBerry
    I say do track days for at least a year before you start racing, did I follow this advice, nope, I got bit by the bug after my first track day and decided to do the penguin school in order to get my racing license. Looking back I do think it was kind of stupid to start racing so soon, but its too late now. Get as many track and street miles as you can under your belt next season!
    I did about a half a trackday, crashed and totalled my bike....at that point I knew I wanted to race and the next time I was on the track was for racing. I agree that you should have some miles under your belt before racing though. Jeff, Jay and myself all started racing with only one trackday experience. But the three of us also all started riding on 2 two wheels at like 10 years old.
    As long as you are comfortable on your bike, do a trackday and see where you think you fit in. Its a great learning experience, its not all about going balls out on the track like racing is.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Chris
    LRRS Expert #160


  13. #13
    Lifer a13x's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Warner Springs, CA
    Posts
    6,583

    question about track days/racing.

    Originally posted by Nazo
    I did about a half a trackday, crashed and totalled my bike....at that point I knew I wanted to race and the next time I was on the track was for racing. I agree that you should have some miles under your belt before racing though. Jeff, Jay and myself all started racing with only one trackday experience. But the three of us also all started riding on 2 two wheels at like 10 years old.
    As long as you are comfortable on your bike, do a trackday and see where you think you fit in. Its a great learning experience, its not all about going balls out on the track like racing is.
    Yea I never did a trackday before I started racing. I obviously didn't have a issue. However like Nazo, I'd been riding motorized bikes since I was 10 and I probably had 20-28,000 miles on the street under my belt. I was pretty darn comfy rider. That's off point thou.

    I think you'll be just fine for the trackdays. As others have said, there is different levels. In the 'Slow' group (yet still mad fun) there are people out there riding on some crazy old bikes, touring bikes, you name it.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Boston --> San Diego

  14. #14
    Lifer daviid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Plantsville, CT
    Age
    39
    Posts
    1,987

    question about track days/racing.

    i got my bike the last week of march 04, did my first trackday in August 04.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    David King | ASRA/CCS/WERA SE EX #484

    "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."
    -Benjamin Franklin

  15. #15
    Lifer
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Ma
    Posts
    10,687

    question about track days/racing.

    Nice Avatar Petey. I'm laughing my balls off.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    It's all water under the bridge, and we do enter the next round-robin. Am I wrong?

Similar Threads

  1. Transitioning from track days to road racing
    By Crconnor18 in forum Pit Area
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 08-26-17, 08:39 AM
  2. Which brake pads for track days / racing?
    By Expat in forum Bike Maintenance
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 07-26-10, 03:18 PM
  3. Track Days / Racing Schools that rent out bikes?
    By itch808 in forum General Bike Related
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 05-15-09, 08:53 AM
  4. what track days/racing has taught me
    By wookie in forum General Bike Related
    Replies: 28
    Last Post: 02-10-08, 12:53 AM
  5. for the guys who do track days and plan on racing
    By ducatiwheelie in forum General Bike Related
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 06-16-05, 10:10 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •