FULL REPORT REQUESTED!!! POST UP!!!

[zombie]

I did a couple of sessions on my tiger which is fun as that bike is a blast to toss around and scrape all sorts of bits on. Was heading into turn one when degsy goes by me like I'm standing still , friggin racers .
Went out in the afternnon on degsy's super 3 , what a bike , great fun and just a cool looking bike all the way around.
I had a chance last year at a track day to walk the track and that more than anything else helped me with the proper lines so I found myself not riding particularly fast but a lot smoother which was my goal.
This time I also got a chance to watch a lot of people as I was kicking around the pits getting sandwiches together and stuff ,so in betwwen I would go to different areas to look at riders.
Jankster is very smooth and quite fast on his bike , oreo on the z1000 looked good out there and Kham was riding well in the afternoon and working on technique rather than speed which is the point of a track day for some....
.
got to meet a few more people and say hello and then spent the rest of the day with all my triumph pals

[Kham]

how many total crashes? any count?

[LM954RR]

In the AM....Almost all the people on the track, seemed to unanimously dislike the wet conditions, although~ I am sure it was a learning experience for everyone.
Once the track dried up....Everyone seemed to really pick up on the lines to take ,well...and , although I was exhausted after being out there for like 150 laps or so...I got to see a lot of the riders progression ,first hand.
By the end of the day, there were plenty of people in the blue group that appeared to be going much faster and smoother than they were in the earlier afternoon.

Good times were had. Hope to see you all there for the next track day.

[Collision pro]

Originally posted by Kham
hey for those that i followed or followed me, who are you? and tell how i did.

like i said i was playing on the safe side. still not use to the bump at #3 but i love the bowl.

i thought the corner guy was gonna black flag me out when i went by the 2nd time on one wheel. he had it in his hand. all the rules. honestly i thought i was on 2nd gear when in fact it was on 1st and it just came up.

I only have one question........WTF were you doing in 1st gear in the bowl??

I wish I was there to pick on Heath!!

[LM954RR]

originally posted by angry little one

I only have one question........WTF were you doing in 1st gear in the bowl??

Hahahaha....You angry angry little man...Are we drinking tonite?

[Collision pro]

Originally posted by LM954RR
Hahahaha....You angry angry little man...Are we drinking tonite?

You think?? But really did I read that wrong???

[Degsy]

Originally posted by hessogood
I didn't find a good line in the bowl till later in the day when I asked an instructor to critique me. You basically headed striaght at the cone on the outside then hammered the bike down, slide right past the apex cone on the left and head for the next one at the top. When you hit the right line it worked great. I noticed just about everyone coming into 9 way to far to the right, the line heads from the treehouse straight to the opposite side of the track where the corner is. And Kahm, I was hitting that bump in the section of pavement in turn 3, if you took a tighter line you can get past without hitting it. Focus on the rumble strip on the inside of the corner and cut really close to that then shift your site to the chunk missing out of the pavement coming up the hill and so on. It all has to do with what you're looking at and when you're shifting your referance points. Also coming into the last 5 turns before the straight a lot of people were way to far to the right. You can run a straight line and make those first 3 turns into a single one.

Wow! all absolutely correct and very observant of you!!!

Nice explaination.

derek

[Kham]

Originally posted by Collision pro
I only have one question........WTF were you doing in 1st gear in the bowl??

I wish I was there to pick on Heath!!

not in the bowl. just before the straight. then next time around i thought hell why dont i do it again. it was just as fun. then i thought they gonna flag me down. my shifting sucks because my boots were killing me all day. i think the right gears would make all the difference.

[s a x m a n]

I was at tonys track day on the 11th and meet some of the NESRers, whom all were very nice. I'm from the other forum ... hehe

Just want to thank KevinB for some great input he gave me throughout the day .... i had so much fun on my first track day!


I'll be heading over again in Oct. hope to meet some more of you!

[Awesome]

Originally posted by Degsy
Wow! all absolutely correct and very observant of you!!!

Nice explaination.

derek

Thanks, I try. So when do I get on the team? LOL. I can't wait for the next trackday, I want to spend some more one on one time with some instructors and really tune into it.

[oreo_n2]

Day #1:
Wake up... its pooring!
Trackday starts, i get tech'd and go with the red group, cause its my first trackday out on this bike and only my second trackday total. By the time the red group gets on the track... it drier up!

The pace is good for follow the leader to warm up with, and the day overall went great. nothing too major to peak of, other than...
1: I found out leaving turn 3, in 2nd gear, hard on the throttle, will permit a Z1000 to spin the rear wheel all the way through turn 4. a serious pucker factor is induced. luckily i realized it was happening really early and sat with the throttle in "neutral" as Ken C noted and it hooked up again and i continued on my way, not making that mistake again.
2: The red group was really empty... i was having a blast with much of the track to myself throughout the afternoon, there were a few ladys there, with great, predictable lines, one of which was on an EX500... and she could blast the straight with unbelievable speed. No Really! I absolutely could not believe how quickly she pulled away on the straight. it took very careful study and planning to get the jump on her out of 12. (like 4 laps worth)
3: i listened very carefully to the body position seminar, i have heard it before, but this time it was different, i was able to appreciate the info more and go out and apply it immediately.
4: the Z1000 scrapes lots of parts. (feelers and exhaust)

Track day 1 ended at 5:00, and at 5:01 it rained, hard, for like 10 minutes. the timing was incredible.

I thought i was flying at the end of the the day on the 11th.
I went out for dinner that night with some fellow riders, KevinB being one of them who had some more great info on body position and introduced me to the idea of "looking through the mirrors" and brought new meaning to "get low"

Day 2: wake up... its rained and still gloomy.
The day starts slow, then it rained, HARD!

The rain finally slowed and "the line" started to dry out. At this point i was ready to start trying to improve my corner speed further. as i noted that Hessogood and tls25scaryclown were ready too as they blew me away in a few turn setups when i was getting frustrated with the crowds in the red group. I pitted several times and kept "catching" the big groups over and over.
So after lunch i got Heath to take me out for a lap, i followed him like a fly on shit cause i really wanted to move up. And it worked, he gave me the thumbs up to hit the blue group.

in the immortal words of Joey... WHOA!

First session with the guys with number plates and the rest of the speed demons: I was scared before i went out. i knew i should be fine, but nerves were working against me.
And of course, i wanted to be the last on to pit out, but i turned out to be the first in the second group of four relased... talk about pressure!

Once i got out there... i got passed a LOT! But it was ok, cause every time i got passed i would try to keep pace with the passer until i wussed out, usually two or three turns worth. it was incredible. Those guys are SO FAST, and it took so much work to get that bike to go around the turns. it definitely feels heavier than the priller, but i cant say that fairly since i dont think i ever rode the priller that hard.

So i am out there, riding harder than i ever have, but minding my own business and doggin the front straight so i dont get anyone frustrated with me being in the blue group... the guys with number plates kept coming past out of 12. and a few others, but not too many. ( oh wait, thats the whole blue group)
anyways, i picked up a ton of improvements by following the lines i was shown and getting my entry speed up all over the place. Kevins advice for body position (more forward and down) helped with that significantly.

i actually scraped some hook and loop tape on my knee once at the end of the day, i think i will get some pucks on those things for the next track day and work on doing it more often than just when the suspension gets hit in mid turn 2.
Oh and the kwak scraped feelers and exhaust parts a lot in the blue group. the scariest one was when my left feeler hit just before the apex of the bowl, and i could feel my weight standing on the peg as it bent up under my foot and ground around for what felt like forever.... that was cool!

Overall: for the two days i increased entry and carried corner speed significantly. I still want to push it further at the next track day and get the knee down consistently, on demand.

Other cool notes, i saw footage of myself, right after it was taken... that was an incredible surprise and SOOO COOOL!!!!! i cant wait to get copies from the cameramen.

While riding the last half of day two, after it dried up, i was getting really fired up by the riding and chasing others and i was actually keeping pace with a few folks for more than just a turn or two... maybe almost a lap once or twice.
On that note, for the second half of the day, I am really glad for two things...
1: there were no mics in my helmet for when i was getting fired up
2: Usually when Degsy blew by, he was on a bike significantly louder than mine and i could hear him coming.

Thats my full and complete report for now.

[lee955i]

You were doing pretty good out there, Oreo, and us guys on 10yr old 600's appreciate your dogging it a little on the straight
Cheers, Lee S.

[Jank]

Originally posted by zombie

Jankster is very smooth and quite fast on his bike , oreo on the z1000 looked good out there and Kham was riding well in the afternoon and working on technique rather than speed which is the point of a track day for some....
.
got to meet a few more people and say hello and then spent the rest of the day with all my triumph pals

Thanks Mick!!!
Nice job with tech and lunch!
"Ham and Cheese? Screw!"

[legalspeed]

Originally posted by hessogood
I didn't find a good line in the bowl till later in the day when I asked an instructor to critique me. You basically headed striaght at the cone on the outside then hammered the bike down, slide right past the apex cone on the left and head for the next one at the top. When you hit the right line it worked great. I noticed just about everyone coming into 9 way to far to the right, the line heads from the treehouse straight to the opposite side of the track where the corner is. And Kahm, I was hitting that bump in the section of pavement in turn 3, if you took a tighter line you can get past without hitting it. Focus on the rumble strip on the inside of the corner and cut really close to that then shift your site to the chunk missing out of the pavement coming up the hill and so on. It all has to do with what you're looking at and when you're shifting your referance points. Also coming into the last 5 turns before the straight a lot of people were way to far to the right. You can run a straight line and make those first 3 turns into a single one.

It's nice when someone listens. You were doing great, but were way behind in some parts of the track, so I motioned you ahead and watched you from behind to see where you were losing time. It's a big help when you know where you are going; when you have braking, shifting, and aiming points throughout the course.

To go through 11-11a-12; sometimes you have to go faster through a twisty section to smooth out the little back and forth motion. Once you go a little quicker, you can get a rythm through the switchback.

I like my wiggle!

[legalspeed]

Lew was putting on race rain tires!!

Hey Lew, did ya win the Blue Group??!!

[LM954RR]

I think I took 1st place.