First Track Day with the FZ6R (with video)!!

[angelsneverlose]

Hey guys,
well, this past friday i brought the new yami to put it to the test! The track is pretty small and has some very tight turns, so i know this bike is capable of more then your about to see... Also, ive only been riding for 6 months, so please dont rag on me too much (like the horrible down shifting)

My Review:
Our bike caught everyone's eye and many people were asking me what it was/cost and how does it ride. Guess it hasn't been promoted because many people haven't even heard of it.

Anyways, The bike held up pretty good i think overall, but there is some big problems that would possible stop experienced riders from bringing it. First, the Stock tires are horrible apparently! They were very swirly and slide several times from underneath me while in a lean. I know they are good for the street (even hard riding) and commuting, but if your going to go to the track, please upgrade to something much stickier! one inccident almost caused me to go down @ +100, and yes a friend got it on tape from behind. The second gripe is the lack of front end suspension adjustment... The front is very soft, and when under hard breaking, it compresses a ton and sometimes causes the rear to almost break free, or did cause the rear to lighten and start jittering:surrender:.

Other then those problems though, the bike held up pretty good! There was other problems, but they were more because of my skill and knowledge then the fault of the bike! As a hint though, please make sure you remove the kick stand if you bring the fz6r to the track, i dragged the pegs almost every turn to start with, so if i hadn't removed it, it could have been bad

anyways, i know im am no where near they best, but here is one of 3 vids i will be uploading, of the FZ6R at the track!

Video was shot with GoPro Hero Wide Motorsports Camera
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMCl6XKgxTo]YouTube - First Track Day[/ame]
Yes, that is a fallen biker at the end also - 8 went down throughout the day

let me know if you have any questions, or want to know something about the bike during the actually track time (im not good at reviews, so sorry if i miss alot)

EDIT: here is the same video without the music for those who care
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ2h1sw63lg[/ame]

 

[porky45]

Are you clutchless shifting or no?

 

[dart1963]

nice, seen a couple passes in there too! :thumbup:

 

[davidrosso]

...As a hint though, please make sure you remove the kick stand if you bring the fz6r to the track, i dragged the pegs almost every turn to start with, so if i hadn't removed it, it could have been bad

Thats cause our bike ain't designed to really be a track bike, the relaxed seating position puts the pegs lower than most sportbikes. Thats one of the few flaws, or drawbacks mentioned in most reviews of the FZ6R.

 

[angelsneverlose]

Are you clutchless shifting or no?

no, i am using the clutch... i didn't know if not using it would hurt our bikes or not...

I realize now my biggest flaw is downshifting. It looks like im very slow and deff not rev matching

 

[mbridge51]

Nice video! I'm going down to Barber in Birmingham for my first track day in November with the NESBA (Northeast Sport Bike Association). I have a some questions for you.

1. Was it diffucult to remove the mirrors?
2. Do you have the Dunlop Roadsmart tires on your FZ6R?
3. How many miles did you have on the miles when you got to the track?
4. Did you have to safety wire your oil drain plug or anything else?
5. What organization did you do your track day with?


Thanks for posting the video.

 

[joloy133]

Thanks for the feedback. I felt the front springs were soft when braking hard into turns running in the hills. You basically reaffirmed this and my next mod of the front springs. Thanks again, rubber side down.

 

[angelsneverlose]

Nice video! I'm going down to Barber in Birmingham for my first track day in November with the NESBA (Northeast Sport Bike Association). I have a some questions for you.

1. Was it diffucult to remove the mirrors?
2. Do you have the Dunlop Roadsmart tires on your FZ6R?
3. How many miles did you have on the miles when you got to the track?
4. Did you have to safety wire your oil drain plug or anything else?
5. What organization did you do your track day with?


Thanks for posting the video.

ill anser these to the best of my ability (i had help from my 'experienced' friend for all the work though!

1. Not hard at all, but was a pain... you have to take of the black plastic pieces on the inside of the blue (under handel bars), and the black peice under the dash (plastic clip and bolt), and after that, its very easy, there are just to bolts to take off and the mirrors pop right off

2. Yes i did, and you need to upgrade your tires! These tires are too hard or something and not sticky enough for the track! Mine were like new condition (only 1.5K on the bike) and were very swirrily, even after several laps to warm them up! Even the instructors told me these tires are barely good enough to be riden on the track and to upgrade next time to something thats made for very hard street/track driving. The almost slide out from under me several times, and in one case, almost cause me to dump at 100+ because when i went to lean into a turn, the rear started to slide out... so anyways, please upgrade!

3. I have 1600 miles on the bike

4. No, because this was a track day, i only had to tape over/remove anything glass, and you are REQUIRED to drain antifreeze coolant and replace with water. But i would check with your track because this could be different. Now, if i was entering an actual race, yes i would have to saftey wire everything... i went through a school (pequin racing school)

5. opps, said it above, but i took this through penquin racing school! very good time! they gave you 20 min track sessions and after each one, you would go to a classroom and then they would show you something new, like the line to ride on, body position etc... (before anything btw, you play follow the leader with an actual instructor, so your both on bike following each other and he explains what your doing good or bad since he is seeing it first hand)

needless to say, I LEARNED A TON!! and will be going back!!

 

[angelsneverlose]

Thanks for the feedback. I felt the front springs were soft when braking hard into turns running in the hills. You basically reaffirmed this and my next mod of the front springs. Thanks again, rubber side down.

yes, they are borderline, horrible for trsck use and cause some hard things to get used to...

 

[zig308]

Looks like they rent Ducati's and anything else you need for a price. I think I'd rent their bike and get the crash insurance.

For me at least, it'd be easier than buying a trailer to tow it up to MA and tell State Farm that I need extra insurance just for one day.

I'm definitely going to need to try that school one day though.

 

[Funkmaxtor]

So were you able to drag a knee without hitting the pegs? I have only put my knee down once but the peg was hitting the entire time.

 

[angelsneverlose]

So were you able to drag a knee without hitting the pegs? I have only put my knee down once but the peg was hitting the entire time.

yeah, i hit the peg a shit load... sucked!

and i was able to drag my knee once, but it was because i really wanted too and im sure i didn't have a good body position... more like me trying as hard as i can reaching out with my knee... lol

 

[Funkmaxtor]

Nice. At least you were able to do it. I put my knee down on an old brick curbing one time. Hurt like heck!

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Roaddawg]

Nice video. That camera has good video quality. I'd love to take mine to the track, but I think I'd wuss out. Don't want to damage my bike.

 

[FZ1inNH]

Nice day at the track and great video! Was that up here at NHMS? It looks VERY different in wide angle.

Very cool! I think some Racetech springs and thicker fork oil will improve the front a lot. What was the pre-load setting on the rear? Did you crank it all the way up to 7 to plant the rear tire as much as possible? You can also re-spring the rear with a stiffer spring as well. Throw on a set of Metz or PP and you're in business!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[angelsneverlose]

Nice day at the track and great video! Was that up here at NHMS? It looks VERY different in wide angle.

Very cool! I think some Racetech springs and thicker fork oil will improve the front a lot. What was the pre-load setting on the rear? Did you crank it all the way up to 7 to plant the rear tire as much as possible? You can also re-spring the rear with a stiffer spring as well. Throw on a set of Metz or PP and you're in business!

Thanks for sharing!

yes, it was at louden (sp?) (nhms):thumbup:

how much are the racetech springs? would you still be able to commute cofortable with them? The front was deff lacking as you prolly know even from hard street driving (compresses way to much)... (which, since you in dover, i thought we were gonna ride sometime, even though i think there is a huge age diff b/w us you said, haha

and no, the rear was adjusted for preload based on my weight/size (only setting 4 i think). The mechanics there set it base on something like; the stock compression, vs when you sit on it compression.. and then divde by 2 and that give you a range you should be in (in Millimieters of compression)... or something like that

also You do not want it as hard as possible as this wouldn't absorbe bumps and would cause the rear to slide and not grab the ground! Im told you want it to compress a little so it sinks in and grabs the ground when in a lean)

tires were also ran at lower pressure... 30lbs in both i think

EDIT: im also leary about spending too much on this to make it 'race' worthy, not just a fun day at the track, because then your spening more money then if i just went out and bought a race prover bike from the get go... R6, CBR, Ninja etc...? As to making this one do something it wasn't ment for. I am wondering if there is a way to raise the pegs though.. i wonder if that piece with the pegs could be replaced with an FZ6, R6, or R6s piece??

 

[Spawn316]

Looks like they rent Ducati's and anything else you need for a price. I think I'd rent their bike and get the crash insurance.

For me at least, it'd be easier than buying a trailer to tow it up to MA and tell State Farm that I need extra insurance just for one day.

I'm definitely going to need to try that school one day though.

That is EXACTLY what I'd like to do as soon as I get the scratch. I can't take my girl out there and run the risk of hurting her. If I do go down, God forbid, I'd rather do it on their bike.

BTW, excellent vids Angels. And nice riding style too! Don't let any haters critique your style. As long as you're riding safely within your abilities, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. I've heard of too many people trying to ride fast and dying. It's not worth it.