So... I did my 1st 2 wheeled track day since 1989 today on NYST's 2.3 mile road course. On a BMW R1200GS Adventure. The functional equivalent of taking a small bus to a race track. I showed up Sunday night with all the camp gear after riding three hours - first in 95F heat and humidity, then torrential rain and wind. The bus does not care about weather. It plodded thru just fine. I was one of two people who did not trailer a bike. The other guy had a BMW ST. Also grossly inappropriate. I liked him immediately. We tented near each other (nohomo).
Got up at six, cooked up some coffee and Clif bars... then guess what? Not only can that big fat son of a bitch drag all my camping crap across a muddy infield - it can drag knees! I knee-dragged that silly berkeleyer today. For eight hours of open track. 200 miles. In both directions. Then packed up my tent and rode home three hours.
I'm having a Bell's Two Hearted Ale now and reflecting on the sheer idiocy of knee dragging a 600lb motorcycle. Honestly, it wasn't all that hard. Fat torque curve, smooth throttle and oddly fantastic balance make it easy to dump into a corner and just roll on out of it. Even on dual sport tires. Because, you know, it wasn't preposterous enough to take the thing in the first place... I wasn't unspooning a set of perfectly good Tourances with 2k left on them. In any case, it leans until you practically grind a bar end - but one of the coaches mentioned that was retarded noob behavior and "You need to get off the bike if you want to go that fast". He said some other stuff that made sense. So I did it. It worked. +1 for coaches!
Sounds like a blast.
I test rode a weestrom over the weekend. That thing amazed me how far it would lean over. I still was hanging off the side of it out of habit, but I didn't need to. The ride home made my bike feel a bit...emasculated.
Bravo, I've been very impressed with the way my 600lb adventure bike handles. Never thought it would drag much of anything but now I know better.
Not believing the nohomo statement, I've seen the chart:
yamaha
MegaDork
7/21/15 1:09 a.m.
In reply to Nick_Comstock:
LoL.....the weestrom had more power didn't it?
In reply to GPS:
I'm not very surprised it took it the way it did, BMW has put great effort into their bikes over the years.
Very good! I hope to do the same with my 700+ ms piggie next year.
Some of us (like me) would love to hear more about the experience. From what the instructors thought, what other riders were like with you out there, how you felt about it, especially as you improved, etc.
This post needs pics!
I rented a GS to ride around Ireland with my wife. Two-up and loaded that rig had to have weighed nearly 3X what my normal SV650 weighs with just me. It felt and sounded like a tractor, but took us wherever we wanted to go. Wouldn't be my first choice to take to the track, but being there is better than not!
In reply to foxtrapper:
You asked for it... wall of text coming up.
This was a track day for non-track day guys. It is billed as a street cornering skill builder using a race track instead of a parking lot. It was ARC material I think. It said the track is open all day except lunch and you can take as much or as little instruction as you want. No taping lights or removing mirrors. Head to toe safety but no one piece leathers or specific armor rating required. A textile two piece was allowed. It was open to 25 riders but only 10 signed up which was fantastic for me. Of the 10 people, one guy was a track hero with two fully prepped bikes and lots of skill. There were a bunch of people on appropriate machinery who obviously never taken a class or read a book and then there was a pair on vintage race bikes looking to up their ability before taking them racing. Excepting for the one real track junkie I was the odd-ball but I was also the most experienced rider there. The guy putting it on is an MSF RiderCoach who wants to use the track and real road speeds to teach the same principles. I think it's a great idea. The implementation was a little rough though. It's a new thing for him and he is working out the bugs. I took some one on one with him in the AM but it was mostly stuff I've practiced my whole life so I went my own way and used the track for working on those things that are terrifying on the road (Lee Parks 10 steps cornering drills). I think many of the others who had never had training were very satisfied with the whole shebang. I saw people go from stiffs clutching the bars with a death grip to moving around on the bike with a slightly less stiff looking torso :) They were smiling.
While I was doing my own thing - one of the young guys who works at the track as a regular track day coach and was helping out with logistics passed me on a Husky supermoto, then slowed down so I could steal his line. Then he followed me for a few and helped me out with body position, getting as far off the bike as is feasible given it's size and so on. By the end of the day I was pretty comfortable pushing hard.
So, from my perspective - it was a superb way to squander $300 but not at all in the way it was intended. But, because it was not forced curriculum and everyone was so laid back about letting people do their own thing I still recommend it. Plug link: streetskills.net, John is a real nice guy. However, if you have done any MSF training at all or read Hough the current material will be a little redundant.
My key take-aways:
- I know the limits of my bike and can use it more effectively
- I want to track a bike more - it's a mix of skill, focus and adrenaline you can't get in a car or kart. It's truly berkeleying dangerous to be both fast and wrong at the same time. Intoxicating.
- I benefit greatly from having raced cars. The 360 / big picture vision and target fixation that other riders were struggling with wasn't an issue. I could focus on the mechanics of riding the bike at a pretty brisk pace all day. So... that 16yrs wasn't a waste afterall :-D
- I could comfortably sign up novice or low intermediate for a track day run group now. Something I was intimidated by before.
- I would not take a Harley or any other cruiser style motorcycle that can drag hard parts on an exit ramp to a track. It would be very frustrating. I will probably never take a 600lb motorcycle again. It was fun and more capable than I thought - but it required muscle and gymnastics to get off the bike and keep a foot on the outside peg and while I didn't realize it yesterday, I am very sore today. If I want to progress and get faster something small, light and with proper ergos for that type of work are in the cards. The track guys on super motos, 250s and one on a Honda Hawk were effortlessly flitting about while I was sweating and giving myself shoulder and leg cramps ;)
- if I didn't need new boots already, I'd need them now. I ground almost all the way thru the leather dragging the outside of them. If you go - make sure your boots have sliders on them.
MattGent wrote:
This post needs pics!
I did not take any because... riding... but there was a photographer there who came for free as a favor to the guy putting on the class. He took lots of pics and when he posts them to his website I will buy something from him to post here to help justify his time (not because I am an egomaniac or anything ;) )
Nick_Comstock wrote:
Sounds like a blast.
I test rode a weestrom over the weekend. That thing amazed me how far it would lean over. I still was hanging off the side of it out of habit, but I didn't need to. The ride home made my bike feel a bit...emasculated.
The head instructor was on a wee. He speaks highly of it's ability. It's faster around the track than his Griso.
GPS, thank you for that writeup and link! That actually sounds better than what I've found down in Virginia. More suited to the likes of a Harley. Much cheaper and much less draconian on the equipment requirements.
I'm under no delusions that I'm going to become a racer or discover magical racing properties of my Harley. I would like to get a lot more comfortable with throwing it hard(ish) into a turn at high(ish) speeds. I've always been the limiting factor, not the bikes. Not even this Harley.
This NY school is much more likely to happen for me next year than the ones I found down at VIR.
In reply to foxtrapper:
If you are interested, contact Jon to get on his mailing list. He is trying to get this thing off the ground - this was the first time he has done this particular course. He said he was going to contact us for feedback to try to smooth out the logistics and so on before announcing any more dates. Tell him Walter sent you... maybe there will be kickbacks!
Oh, and FWIW, the track itself is new and was beautifully laid out over natural terrain. Camping before and after was included as was coffee, lunch, drinks and snacks so the $300 was not really terrible for all that plus 8hrs of coached track time.
This sounds awesome. Thanks for the link. I'll check it out. I hope to get to one of N2's "free" track days this season. I'll probably end up riding there/back on my Blackbird. If I like it this course might be a logical next step.
Indeed, can't wait for the pics.
This would be awesome for me an the new ride. I imagine the FZ would be a hoot.
I haven't yet worked up the gumption to take my bike to a track day. I've been riding for 12yrs and ~20k, but nowhere near as confident as in the car. A friend has a suit I can borrow, and they do local events, but I was thinking it would be better to step in to a school using their bikes and some real instruction.
Here's our adventure by GS, Slieve League cliffs in the background. It fit this bill perfectly:
This sounds awesome, exactly what I'd like to do with my Aprilia Caponord ETV 1000 but I'd have to ditch my knobbies and get street tires. I've always been comfortable up to a certain lean angle, but known I could probably go farther. I do have marks on my Aprilia's hard saddle bags from being leaned over too far however. I'm also considering a set of sumo wheels for the XR650R as it has great potential for a track day with a rear sprocket change.
MattGent, nice bike! This is my GSA... it's a little older than yours. And there is no one hold the camera where I take breaks 
Don't worry about taking it to the track. I hmmm'd and haw'd and never went even though I've been racing cars for years but, when I finally did kick myself in the arse and go, it was no big deal. Ride within your limits and be open to advice/instruction and you will be having a blast in no time. No one expects much out of big fat ADV bikes but the bike delivers the goods pretty well. Way above it's appearance. Plus, if you have already done a lot of track time in a car... the use of wide field of vision, not target fixating, smoothly blended inputs, understanding racing lines, and general awareness of how a track works (flaggers, procedure, etc) will put you at the head of the class as a novice. A lot of these guys are walking in off the street without any prior thought to any of that stuff.
It is HUGE fun. I highly recommend it.
Petrolburner wrote:
This sounds awesome, exactly what I'd like to do with my Aprilia Caponord ETV 1000 but I'd have to ditch my knobbies and get street tires. I've always been comfortable up to a certain lean angle, but known I could probably go farther. I do have marks on my Aprilia's hard saddle bags from being leaned over too far however. I'm also considering a set of sumo wheels for the XR650R as it has great potential for a track day with a rear sprocket change.
I wouldn't touch the bike. Just go, try it, then buy an SV650 for the track
As far as lean angle... everything you learn at the track is how NOT to lean the bike. After I learned where the road goes the first piece of advice I got was to stop leaning it over so far by changing my body position and hanging off the inside. It's worth a trip just to tune up your cornering skills. You could never try to do that E36 M3 on the roads where I live. Maybe in CA or TN... but not here. If I put a knee down I'm liable to lose the leg in a pothole. 
Petrolburner said:
...XR650R...
What year is your XR650R? I think I have some extra handguards that might fit it. If you need them
For posterity... speed blur... looks fast... all concentration... like a boss! What you don't see here is that I'm working very hard to stay with a more experienced guy on a worn out Nighthawk 650
I guess Mr. Photographer wasn't shooting later in the afternoon when I finally managed to get completely off the bike... so here is a gratuitous shot of a two-wheeled track noob using way too much lean angle and grinding the side of his boot and expensive aluminum "adventure" pegs off.
That thing is so berkeleying ugly. I love it.
In reply to octavious:
It's an '07 but I already have bark busters and the stock hand guards are in my spares box. Street tires, even an 18" & 21" and I'd be good to go I think. Probably a couple clicks of compression and rebound too.
