First Time Track Day

[ChrisK]

I just purchased my leathers, gloves, boots, and back protector and will be doing my first track day on May 26th at Autobahn in Joliet, IL.

I went and watched my buddy ride there last season and it really made me want to do it. With some encouragement from him I'm taking the plunge and I'm doing it with my Monster.

Any advice you guys have for my first day that is Monster specific?

I've seen the sticky threads at the top that have the checklists and whatnot. It'd be cool to see that section on Transporting Your Moto expanded upon. Right now I'm either planning on getting one of the hitch-mounted haulers, or renting a U-Haul enclosed trailer for the weekend. If I end up sticking with it I'll likely pick up a smallish enclosed trailer.

Anyway, looking forward to it!

[ducpainter]

Body position is crucial on a monster. You need to get your ass off the seat and hang off or you'll very quickly start dragging things.

Don't worry about your knee, just hang off.

[ChrisK]

Thanks, I run into that problem on the street already and it's definitely something I'll need to be working on this spring.

[Grampa]

ride at your own pace, don't feel pressure to ride above your skill level.

[Speeddog]

Don't be the guy who lowsides in turn 3 on the first lap of the first session with cold tires.

Go easy the first two laps in a session, there's plent of opportunities to crash later in the day.

[HotIce]

Go easy the first two laps in a session, there's plent of opportunities to crash later in the day.

Hahaha 

[Triple J]

Go over your nuts and bolts beforehand. Don't be the guy with the rear set hanging off at tech (I've seen it)! In particular, check the oil drain plug and oil filter...I safety wire those on all of my bikes (even when I had a street bike), but that's personal preference...doesn't hurt to check though.

Other than that, have fun...look through the corners. Good advice above as well.

[sorry, nothing Monster specific]

[Speeddog]

~~~SNIP~~~

[sorry, nothing Monster specific]

Cane the Motards on the straights.
Cane the wanker sportbikers when they park in the corners.
Don't cry when the Motards drive around you on the outside of a corner like you're tied to a tree.
Or when the sportbikers pass you at mach 3 at the end of straights.

Seriously.
Just have a good time.
Pretend there's nobody else around, especially to pick your ass up after you've binned it.
There's no trophies.
There's no prize money.
There's no umbrella girl that's gonna jump on your dingdong if you win.
Ride smooth, use the whole width of the track.

You'll be surprised at how fast you can go without crashing.
And realize how you can go fast enough to have fun, on the street.
Yet still have enough margin to deal with the inevitable unexpected dirt/pedestrian/squirrel/rock/rabbit/pothole/bicyclist/ladder/f*ck I overcooked the corner/off-camber/look! there's a guardrail!/knucklehead pickup driver coming the other way 'sharing' half my lane/sh@t that's not new asphalt it's a river of water across the apex/funny, that pavement looks *just* like sand.

[Triple J]

Ride smooth, use the whole width of the track.

Agree on ride smooth (and predictable), disagree on use the whole track. Leave a couple feet on the outside on exit for faster riders to pass. There is no reason to use the entire track unless you're really on it and trying to maximize drive. As you pick up the pace you can transition into using the entire track.

[ZLTFUL]

To re-iterate on something Speeddog said,

The person who wins at a track day is the person who loaded their bike onto the trailer at the end of the day in the same condition they unloaded it that morning.

Relax, ride your own ride. Don't get suckered into trying to beat/hang with that guy who just blew by you.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Don't try to do too many things at once. Focus on perfecting one corner or one thing (braking, corner exit acceleration, etc) and when you have it down the same way lap after lap, work on the next thing or corner.

[koko64]

There's lots of good advice in this thread  .

The lack of ground clearance can be a riding style factor with a Monster. I had a '95 M900 at Phillip island many years ago. I scraped both pegs, pipes, gear lever and brake lever most corners. Gear lever touched at turn one knocking it into neutral  . Chamfered the lot.

One tip is to position your feet on the pegs so that your toe sliders protrude just past the pegs. Then you can use them as a feeler gauge using your toe sliders like knee sliders. You might find yourself riding a hybrid sport bike/ motard style due to the Monster's riding position.

Have a great time. I did not sleep the night before or the night after my first track day. You'll never be the same.

[Slide Panda]

Service your suspension - and get springs for your weight if you've not already

[ChrisK]

The person who wins at a track day is the person who loaded their bike onto the trailer at the end of the day in the same condition they unloaded it that morning.

I like this, my main goal for the experience. Someday perhaps I'll have a track-dedicated bike, but for the meantime while I'm using my daily driver... I really don't want to send it skipping across the pavement again.

Thanks for the advice guys!

[ChrisK]

Had an awesome first day at Blackhawk Farms. Couldn't have asked for better weather and me and my bike went home in one piece. I already can't wait for Autobahn Country Club in two weeks!

[koko64]

Popped your Track Day cherry.
You're different now..