Track Riding

Track days normally take the format of testosterone filled riders arriving by van at first light and being split into groups of novice, intermediate and expert before being allowed on the track. First two laps of the day and first two laps after lunch are spent following an instructor to allow tyres to warm up before having a bit of a free for all. Other sessions are a free for all from the off. Especially keen riders may tape up lights and speedos to prevent leaving glass on the track should they fall off which seems a weirdly pessimistic view to have and remove their license plates for no discernible reason.

A track experience is a little different in that all bikes were ridden to the circuit so have a full complement of lights, speedos and license plates. Riders are grouped in a first come first serve basis and are split into groups of 20 with an instructor at the front and the back and the riders stay between the instructors playing follow the leader. If a track day seems a bit too much then a track experience may be a better introduction to riding on a track. Motor Cycle News spring spectacular used to hold track experiences at Cadwell Park which are jolly good fun and quite relaxed. Three of us at one particular event all went on the track even though one was on Suzuki Intruder and another on a Yamaha Virago, neither of which were ideal track machines. Still ten out of ten for effort and actually trying to ride a cruiser on a track, both got round and were not the slowest!

A couple of years ago my mucker and I decided to try a track day via No Limits http://www.nolimitstrackdays.com/

On underpowered bikes, Kawasaki ZX6R and a Ducati 900SS, one of which – Kawasaki – did not handle that well, we made a go of it and by the end we were holding our own on the corners and only losing out to more powerful bikes on the straights which was a fair result.

Main school boy error was tyre pressures; track and road tyre pressures are very different. Road is normally 36 psi for the front and 42psi for the rear, track is 32 front and 30 rear. Tried the first session with 36 and 42 and found the bike sliding a lot in the corners even when not going that quick. Other bikes were cornering tighter and gripping more which to a novice was very disconcerting. There is a tyre van at most track days and the tyre chaps were very sympathetic, helpfully checked our tyre pressures and corrected them. The rest of the sessions were a lot grippier and certainly less disconcerting.

One track day led to a second however prior to this the Kawasaki was treated to new front and rear suspension plus braided brake hoses. On the second track day, this time with Focussed Events http://www.focusedevents.com, the services of a suspension expert, Colin at 100% suspension http://www.100pcsuspension.co.uk, were taken advantage of and the new, correctly set up suspension revolutionised the Kawasaki so that it actually started to handle a bit. Not quite in the same league as the Ducati but a definite improvement. During the day times became quicker, braking later and corner speed higher.

Two excursions on the grass, one from out braking at the end of the back straight and one from selecting neutral prior to a ninety degree left hand corner to the bottom of the hill, were not a bad result for two riders who rode to the track and had to ride back from it. Less ambition solved the grass excursion issue and less haste solved the selecting neutral issue.

Trying to rush things might feel very Moto GP esc however take your time, change gear less and slow things down a bit. This actually frees up head space in a rider and results in faster times. At the beginning of the day fast and harried excitement was the target. By the end of the day smooth was the new target as both riders agreed that fast sweeping corners were the most fun and this required smoothness. Getting your knee down at 100 mph is a thrilling experience and much better than jerking the bike around in a harried manner. Moto GP riders look harried however they are moving at twice the speed of most track day riders so they are in fact very smooth just sped up a bit.

One of the sessions we recorded on a bike mounted camcorder and the bikes were leaning over 50 degrees in the corners which to a layman defied the laws of physics. Try holding your bike over 50 degrees while stationary in your garage and an understanding of the issue will be apparent. The bike is quite heavy and makes you think twice about decelerating mid corner.

Enjoying a reflective beer following the second track day it was realised that two track days had provided more fun and excitement than all the years of riding on the road. Riding a Ducati, any Ducati, through fast sweeping corners on a warm and dry track should be experienced by everyone at least once. It is emotional in the same way driving a super car is emotional. On the tracks the perceived risks are less. Falling off a bike is not that dangerous, the dangerous part comes from impacts, specifically sudden impacts. Hitting Armco, a tree, a car coming in the other direction or another bike are all sudden impacts and as such dangerous. There are less of these on a track than a public road.

This led onto a thought that maybe we should have a go at racing …