Going to do my first track day!

[JSP]

Well, I decided to do a track day. Using the NESBA credits after buying the R6. Got a one year membership with them now and the track day and still have $100 of credits left I will use towards another track day hopefully.

It will be at Oregon Raceway Park.

Very excited. I've been pretty shaky riding since my wreck. Looking to use this as a good learning experience and get as much help from the experts that I can.

I will video it with my HD GoPro and hopefully get lots of pics from my wife and folks on the sidelines.

Time to open this R6 up and really hear her scream! :thumbup: I have a feeling this will be very addicting and I will be doing many more track days. The track is only 2 hours from my house so its not that bad of a drive.

 

[Diluted]

Awesome, looking forward to the pics and vids!

Hopefully they'll give you some good tips you can come back and share too!

 

[Spunky99]

Make sure you trailer the bike there in case it isn't running or drivable after practice....

 

[JonKerr]

Congrats and I'm so jealous. I still can not convince my wife that riding on the track is safer than on the street. It's madness. I want to go so bad. All the guys I ride with now are all track rats. To the point many of them have dedicated track bikes. She's just got this stigma of watching my cousin race stock cars at the local short track and saw a lot of crashing there and that's all she sees in her mind when she thinks of a track day.

 

[Diluted]

Congrats and I'm so jealous. I still can not convince my wife that riding on the track is safer than on the street. It's madness. I want to go so bad. All the guys I ride with now are all track rats. To the point many of them have dedicated track bikes. She's just got this stigma of watching my cousin race stock cars at the local short track and saw a lot of crashing there and that's all she sees in her mind when she thinks of a track day.

Could you bring her with you as a spectator so she can see what it's all about? That way you're both on the sideline watching.

 

[JonKerr]

If I could get her to spend a whole day out there, I would. The guys at Cycle Sector are always trying to get me out there. Maybe I'll try that angle again. They have a track day coming up that the whole crew is going to.

My big problem that I just though of besides her blocking (which she doesn't ever do on anything else) is the fact my bike is about to become my commuter. I'm leaving my current job to go back to school. So that means the company car I've been accustomed to for the last 4 years is going away. If something were to happen, I really don't want to have to drive my 16mpg truck 35 miles round trip to school every day.

 

[Steviet]

If I could get her to spend a whole day out there, I would. The guys at Cycle Sector are always trying to get me out there. Maybe I'll try that angle again. They have a track day coming up that the whole crew is going to.

My big problem that I just though of besides her blocking (which she doesn't ever do on anything else) is the fact my bike is about to become my commuter. I'm leaving my current job to go back to school. So that means the company car I've been accustomed to for the last 4 years is going away. If something were to happen, I really don't want to have to drive my 16mpg truck 35 miles round trip to school every day.

Thats all right Jon, you know what would happen if you took her there to show her how safe it is, right?

Steve

 

[JonKerr]

That's true. One of my friends would end up totaling a bike or something and then she'd really have it out for the track. Oh well. :banghead:

 

[Diluted]

Damn "no win" situations!

 

[dart1963]

:banghead::spank::spank::spank:

I'm sorry, but from "I am on the other hand done... I am not giivng up riding, but I am not playing track star no more." to "I decided to do a track day"....

just... doesn't make one bit of sense to me... and, what it did to Greg, Karen, Melissa, Sadie, and everyone else who cares about you....

yes, the track is the place to ride hard and learn....but what if you dump the bike in a turn from overconfidence (or someone dumps it for you)... mess up the shoulder for a lot longer... $9K out the door... no insurance will cover it...:rant:

just... better you than me... that's all I'm saying...

above all be safe.

 

[Uno979]

Well good luck! I have a friend in Dallas that ventured into the track and never left it. In other words he absolutely stopped ridding on the streets and only on the track. Completely dedicated to racing in his free time. Good for him.. Maybe one day Robert and I can try out that track in the near distant future lol.

 

[JSP]

:banghead::spank::spank::spank:

I'm sorry, but from "I am on the other hand done... I am not giivng up riding, but I am not playing track star no more." to "I decided to do a track day"....

just... doesn't make one bit of sense to me... and, what it did to Greg, Karen, Melissa, Sadie, and everyone else who cares about you....

yes, the track is the place to ride hard and learn....but what if you dump the bike in a turn from overconfidence (or someone dumps it for you)... mess up the shoulder for a lot longer... $9K out the door... no insurance will cover it...:rant:

just... better you than me... that's all I'm saying...

above all be safe.

Track is way safer than the road. I said not playing track star, meaning on the public roads. What better way to ride than on a track, my own pace, learning proper riding skills? Clear pavement with no real hazards. Much wider pavement too. Im not going to fly 180 mph. I want to go to learn something.

 

[JSP]

And it may very well be covered if anything were to ever happen. This is not racing. This is not a "timed event". This is classified as "skill enhancement class". Insurance states no track racing. Educational sessions though... I'll try and make sure, for sure. But this is a class and there are educational riders helping you ride better/safer.

 

[JSP]

Im not sure though, you do have a good point. I really didnt think about the insurance situation... That may just throw a wrench in it all. If they say no coverage, I cant afford to lose the bike. You are right. Maybe when its all paid off... damn. :banghead:

 

[JonKerr]

State Farm will cover you as long as you're not racing. It's considered a riding clinic. And that's the thing about going to a track day. You're actually starting out really slow on the track. Slower than most ride on the street. And if you're caught trying to race and play track star, they will black flag you. Most tracks have huge amounts of run off so that if you run wide (like the most common mistake made on the street) you'll simple go out wide. Weather it's an asphalt run off or into a gravel trap, it's not a guard rail, not a cliff, and most importantly it's not on coming traffic.

 

[JSP]

I'll have to get word for sure. But everything that I have just been reading states that State Farm recently changed their policy. Anything on a designated track period is not covered. Only way to know for sure is to talk to a claim underwriter.

 

[dart1963]

didn't mean to sound too put offish last night... just really threw me a big surprise that you'd do this so soon after an injury...

and the insurance thing... I have a few guys doing a trackday this weekend, but it's held by a racing school, I've yet to find a decent advanced riding course that isn't some kind of "race prep school"...

we also had a guy take out two other bikes a couple weeks back, broke his leg in the process and insurance said "NO WAY"... so now he's out of work, out a bike, and will probably be sued for the other two bikes he took out (on a straightaway advancing his speed out of a turn, like you'd expect and expecting the other riders to speed up as well... they didn't)... not sure that any waiver covers you from other riders, just covers the track from you.

I'd say if I had the track to myself with a one-one training, I'd be interested and could probably get insurance to buy off on it (still would get it in writing that they would cover it for training)...

good luck!

 

[ksanbon]

Jay,

Congrats! Have a GREAT time!

Here's an article that might be useful before you go:
Riding Skill Series: Learn A New Track - Sport Rider magazine

Take care,
Keith

 

[JSP]

didn't mean to sound too put offish last night... just really threw me a big surprise that you'd do this so soon after an injury...

and the insurance thing... I have a few guys doing a trackday this weekend, but it's held by a racing school, I've yet to find a decent advanced riding course that isn't some kind of "race prep school"...

we also had a guy take out two other bikes a couple weeks back, broke his leg in the process and insurance said "NO WAY"... so now he's out of work, out a bike, and will probably be sued for the other two bikes he took out (on a straightaway advancing his speed out of a turn, like you'd expect and expecting the other riders to speed up as well... they didn't)... not sure that any waiver covers you from other riders, just covers the track from you.

I'd say if I had the track to myself with a one-one training, I'd be interested and could probably get insurance to buy off on it (still would get it in writing that they would cover it for training)...

good luck!

Its ok. I need some sense smacked into me sometimes. The credits are good until August of next year, so there is no rush right now i guess. I shouldnt go out that soon after a wreck anyways, like you said. Even if insurance did cover it, thats another $500 deductible i dont have, plus any more injuries.

 

[raven6]

give yourself more time to heal, build up your strength, then do it; you won't regret it... if you feel the need get some "track fairings" so if you do have a get off you won't trash the OEM ones...

BTW for your first few track days you'll run in the novice group and will be lucky if you get up to hi-way speeds, when you do it'll be brief and in the straights... most of the time the rider coach will be in the lead showing your group the "right line" to take trough the curves... there will be little passing except for on the straights and never on the inside of a corner...

once you get out on your own, without the coach, you are left to ride your own ride, at your own pace/speed so if you want to hang back you can...


it'll look a lot like this, not my video BTW... My first track day! - Sportbikes.net