Sport Bike Track Days

[ArmyJerry]

I am thinking about getting my race license this year , anybody else ride track days on sport bikes? Or are you all too frikken old?

 

[PPB]

I will be racing MX again but the hip is clearly not ready. State Championships in 10 days and I will be a spectator. Killin me.

Respect for you getting back on the track. You are a beast.

 

[ArmyJerry]

Take your time , heal fully before you get back on two. Ill be doing 108 miles of woods single track tomorrow

 

[Spblademaker]

Only raced 1/4 mile. But would love to get a 600 for track. Pocono is only a bit north of me. Vroom vroom.

 

[Bender]

I miss my bikes... One of my best friends from high school bought a race KTM RC8. It wasn’t even street legal. That thing was retarded fast. He did track days down there in the valley in Salt Lake. I think Miller Parkway is what it is called? It was 200hp or something. Didn’t even have so much as a brake light.

 

[LeftyJason]

I miss my bikes... One of my best friends from high school bought a race KTM RC8. It wasn’t even street legal. That thing was retarded fast. He did track days down there in the valley in Salt Lake. I think Miller Parkway is what it is called? It was 200hp or something. Didn’t even have so much as a brake light.

FYI now called Utah motorsports campus. Still open.

The drag racing place out in west valley (rocky mountain raceway) closed for good after 50 years. Never made it out there to watch anything.

 

[Basher]

I miss my bikes... One of my best friends from high school bought a race KTM RC8. It wasn’t even street legal. That thing was retarded fast. He did track days down there in the valley in Salt Lake. I think Miller Parkway is what it is called? It was 200hp or something. Didn’t even have so much as a brake light.

Utah Motorsports Campus, formerly Miller Motorsports Park. A GREAT facility I had the chance to visit when I lived in Utah for the summer of 2010. I went up and saw the Bonneville Vintage GP and the Masters of the Mountain series races, and it was a BLAST! It was the first time I'd witnessed first-hand a LeMans-style start, and it was a hoot! There was a guy racing a custom built (frame and all) twin that was SMOKIN' fast. I'm talking he was a good 5+ faster than everyone else by the end of the first lap, if memory serves. Not even a close race! Ah, memories!

As for myself, I've never had the pleasure of tracking a bike. I've been riding since I was 9 or so, but have always put my money elsewhere, despite a desire to do it. I've always been blowing money on guns and such rather than race gear or what have you, and could never afford to own two full-size bikes (one for the street and the other for the track). Boy, do I dream of doing it, though! I have a little '93 YSR50 (the very bike I learned on!) that I'll be rebuilding and perhaps running a few mini-motos with eventually.

Right now, my ride (an '03 FZ1) is in the shop, where it's been since February of this years. So any track dreams are on hold until the goons at Shop #2 (that's right, I'm on the second shop for this issue) can get it running right...

 

[Va_Gentleman]

My last Gixxer 1L bike, I bought all the race plastics, wired the bolts added quick connects to get it prepped in a few hours.

Fitted it one time and never went to the track on it. I always would rent ... hey... why low or hide side my baby,... besides... 600 on track 1L on street right?

Not having a Speedometer is liberating and you just have to find a rhythm... then focus on your marks and enjoy the ride....

 

[Supersubes]

Jerry, are you sure you need a license? Ive got thousands of laps on California tracks, and did a bunch of club racing. Never been to a track day that required any licensing, unless the event was a specific race sanctioning body event. Any normal track day, they’ll probably require you to tape up the lights (masking tape), and remove the mirrors.


For a novice license, you'll
probably be surprised how low the bar is. Usually it’s a par time for the track.

 

[Sieg]

Turned 60 recently quit off road and track bikes at 56. It's like I've lost my soul.

AJ, I've noticed your taste in bikes.

Just sold my last asphalt bike to the local KTM dealer for his collection...…

I've tested a few KTM RC8's

The initial launch of the RC8 at Miller

Laguna Seca in '09

Fontana in '10

Not riding any longer is pure torture, especially off-road. There's nothing that replaces the adrenaline fix for me. Cars on track are a good time but living on the edge without all the luxuries of safety a good track allows is hard to replicate.

4 wheels move your body..... 2 wheels move your soul.

 

[Basher]

Turned 60 recently quit off road and track bikes at 56. It's like I've lost my soul.

AJ, I've noticed your taste in bikes.

Just sold my last asphalt bike to the local KTM dealer for his collection...…

I've tested a few KTM RC8's

The initial launch of the RC8 at Miller

Laguna Seca in '09

Fontana in '10

Not riding any longer is pure torture, especially off-road. There's nothing that replaces the adrenaline fix for me. Cars on track are a good time but living on the edge without all the luxuries of safety a good track allows is hard to replicate.

4 wheels move your body..... 2 wheels move your soul.

I can't imagine life without a bike. I'll always have one in one form or another, even if it's just a grocery getter. When I was at MMI, one of my BMW instructors told me about a time when he sold a brand new K1200S to some guy in his 60's. He didn't think he'd ever see the guy again, figuring he'd ride it home, put a few hundred on it, and then let it sit. The guy was back in two week for the first service (a few thousand miles on the ODO), and didn't have any chicken strips left. Turns out he was an old retired semi-pro club racer who just couldn't give it up. That'll be me someday, if I manage to make it to that age...

I've always wanted to try a KTM, particularly the RC8. Hasn't happened just yet, but maybe some day!

 

[Sieg]

I can't imagine life without a bike. I'll always have one in one form or another, even if it's just a grocery getter. When I was at MMI, one of my BMW instructors told me about a time when he sold a brand new K1200S to some guy in his 60's. He didn't think he'd ever see the guy again, figuring he'd ride it home, put a few hundred on it, and then let it sit. The guy was back in two week for the first service (a few thousand miles on the ODO), and didn't have any chicken strips left. Turns out he was an old retired semi-pro club racer who just couldn't give it up. That'll be me someday, if I manage to make it to that age...

I've always wanted to try a KTM, particularly the RC8. Hasn't happened just yet, but maybe some day!

The passion I have for riding bikes at speed has left a void that is irreplaceable.

Do yourself a favor, buy a KTM and never look back.

Not to mention the physical conditioning an off-road bike delivers, this in on my '11 KTM 300XC in Central Oregon.

 

[ArmyJerry]

 

[hic28]

Thunder hill in NorCal is a great track.

I’m currently in Bali and gonna rent some 250s for a day blasting through the jungle.

@Sieg ‘s SuperdukeR is titties. Looks just like mine, I think we’ve chatted about the R models being one of the most fun bikes to ride.

 

[jim996]

Racing.....everything else is just waiting......

 

[PPB]

Friggin knee drggers. You guys aren't wired right. I don't know how to speak Black Top.

 

[missed]

I'm not far from Motorsports ranch in Cresson Texas, my buddy goes out there here and there with his bike. He made it seem like it's just pay the money and ride.

 

[Sieg]

Thunder hill in NorCal is a great track.

I’m currently in Bali and gonna rent some 250s for a day blasting through the jungle.

@Sieg ‘s SuperdukeR is titties. Looks just like mine, I think we’ve chatted about the R models being one of the most fun bikes to ride.

T-Hill is one of my favorites, Oregon Raceway Park might be my favorite motorcycle track.

This Lotus2-Eleven at T-Hill is a lot of fun too.

Here's a video at ORP by one of the Canadians on a GSXR 750 that shows the line. ORP has a lot of elevation change and is very technical, it also runs both directions very well.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Not riding any longer is pure torture, especially off-road. There's nothing that replaces the adrenaline fix for me. Cars on track are a good time but living on the edge without all the luxuries of safety a good track allows is hard to replicate.
4 wheels move your body..... 2 wheels move your soul.

Have you tried some of the frame only type cars like the Ariel Atom or such that kind of get you a bit closer to the road?

 

[ArmyJerry]

yeah it is at cresson,but then there is next level which includes ceresson cota , nola, dallas etc.

I'm not far from Motorsports ranch in Cresson Texas, my buddy goes out there here and there with his bike. He made it seem like it's just pay the money and ride.

 

[ArmyJerry]

 

[gigamortis]

We just recently sold off our street bikes. After about 250,000 street miles over about 20 years, the texting epidemic these days just took a lot of the desire for street riding away.

I still have my 2003 KTM 300 EXC for the woods, though. Shaved head (.045" squish band), FMF Gnarly pipe, red power valve spring, Race Tech suspension, and a Lectron carburetor makes for my most favorite woods bike ever. I get better gas mileage than a 450 4-stroke with the Lectron carburetor with awesome drivability and control. The KTM 300 two stroke is rather unique as you can ride it a gear high as compared to smaller displacement two strokes. It has plenty of controllable power for tight technical woods riding without having to crawl up high on the pipe. Crawl up on the pipe in the straight sections and hold on though!

At 50 years old now, I don't care any more for catching air on a dirt track or knee dragging on our poorly maintained public roads. I appreciate the technicality of weaving through the trees in the woods more than anything else.

About 2 minutes in to the video, I have my "sand drifting legs" in tune for this day's sandy trails.

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[ArmyJerry]

my trails are one bike wide, thet looks nice. I am running flexx bars to keep my arms in my shoulder sockets and reduce arm pump. If you aint running them and ust turned 50 you might want to look into them, the dislocation hurts

 

[gigamortis]

my trails are one bike wide, thet looks nice. I am running flexx bars to keep my arms in my shoulder sockets and reduce arm pump. If you aint running them and ust turned 50 you might want to look into them, the dislocation hurts

I have looked at those flex bars, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I miss the steering damper I had on my previous 450. The damper let me run a little lighter grip on the bars to help keep the arm pump livable. I have my Race Tech suspension tuned for woods riding only. If I catch more than 4 feet of air, my front forks lightly bottom. Tuned this way, it just laughs at the sand whoops on our predominantly sandy trails here in Francis Marion National Forest. Woods riding is more about keeping the knobs in the dirt as much as possible instead of just bouncing across the tips of the bumps and whoops. You simply can't maintain your preferred line if your knobs aren't in the dirt. It sure helps to have a compliant suspension for those square edged hits on the occasional unseen pine tree root in the middle of 4th gear or in the middle of a turn.

 

[ArmyJerry]

yep set up makes a night and day difference, I just had my 500 set up for desert racing.

 

[Sieg]

Have you tried some of the frame only type cars like the Ariel Atom or such that kind of get you a bit closer to the road?

The Lotus 2-Eleven with the center steer/seat conversion is like a wide bike. It's 1440 lbs 265hp and full aero, big corner grip and decent power.

 

[PPB]