Track Day on My FZ6R

[chelseaboy]

Last year when I did my first track day at Oregon Raceway Park I was very nervous as I knew nothing about the track experience. I went with a buddy as part of a four day tour of Eastern Oregon on my BMW F650GS, so had been riding two days by the time we got to the track; we camped the night before at an RV park along the highway hearing loud trucks rumbling by all night and showed up at the track without any of the things people take to make the experience comfortable – canopy for shade, chairs, lots of water etc… I don’t think last year’s track experience ever got beyond barely controlled terror for me and it ended in the 5th session when I took an off road adventure off the track and realized it was time for me to stop. I was definitely the slowest rider in the track beginner group.

This time I was better prepared – had a much sportier bike to ride (my new Yamaha FZ6R); booked a hotel room in nearby Moro, trailed my bike and had all the things necessary to make the experience comfortable. This track weekend was sponsored by MotoFit who promise one on one instruction for track beginners. The first session on Saturday started with all three groups of riders going out for a warmup session and I felt pretty tight getting used to the track and lots of bikes on the track and the fast riders immediately breaking the green group passing rules zooming by really close. In the second session which was now green group only we each went out with an instructor to follow for a lap or two who showed us the cornering lines and they then tucked in behind us for the rest of the session and after the session gave us tips based on what they had seen in our riding. Its a very tricky and technical track, lots changes in elevation with blind corners. I immediately felt better and felt comfortable on the bike and on the track, and things started slowing in down in my mind as I relaxed and then started to ride faster and smoother each session. Different instructors did this all through the day and I have to compliment MotoFit on their level of commitment to instruction. I felt like I was starting to ride well and was even passing people (woo hoo!). It felt good knowing I was no longer the slowest rider in the slow group. I decided to stop after session 6 (there were 7 sessions each day) as I was very tired mentally.

Yesterday we ran the track in the opposite direction so basically it’s a new course to get used to and new lines to figure out, and once again they had instructors to follow to learn the lines. I felt comfortable from the start and started putting it all together and I am sure my lap times improved tremendously. After session 5 I decided to quit – I had both ridden a great session, smooth and fast, and was mentally and physically drained.
It was an excellent experience for me and of course I am already excited for my next track day whenever that will be. Thanks to MotoFit for an excellent program, and thanks for my FZ6R for being a great bike for the track.

 

[MiltonDorkenhoff]

Reg Pridmore's "CLASS" will be at Oregon Raceway Park later this year. It's a really good class, lots of great instructors, etc.

 

[chelseaboy]

Reg Pridmore's "CLASS" will be at Oregon Raceway Park later this year. It's a really good class, lots of great instructors, etc.

Dang, I will be in Chicago for work from the 3rd to the 10th, otherwise I'd have gone. MotoFit have another one at ORP the weekend after but in the interest of matrimonial harmony I don't think it will be a good idea for me to go the to track after being away from home for work the two prior weekends.

 

[latony007]

Last year when I did my first track day at Oregon Raceway Park I was very nervous as I knew nothing about the track experience. I went with a buddy as part of a four day tour of Eastern Oregon on my BMW F650GS, so had been riding two days by the time we got to the track; we camped the night before at an RV park along the highway hearing loud trucks rumbling by all night and showed up at the track without any of the things people take to make the experience comfortable – canopy for shade, chairs, lots of water etc… I don’t think last year’s track experience ever got beyond barely controlled terror for me and it ended in the 5th session when I took an off road adventure off the track and realized it was time for me to stop. I was definitely the slowest rider in the track beginner group.

This time I was better prepared – had a much sportier bike to ride (my new Yamaha FZ6R); booked a hotel room in nearby Moro, trailed my bike and had all the things necessary to make the experience comfortable. This track weekend was sponsored by MotoFit who promise one on one instruction for track beginners. The first session on Saturday started with all three groups of riders going out for a warmup session and I felt pretty tight getting used to the track and lots of bikes on the track and the fast riders immediately breaking the green group passing rules zooming by really close. In the second session which was now green group only we each went out with an instructor to follow for a lap or two who showed us the cornering lines and they then tucked in behind us for the rest of the session and after the session gave us tips based on what they had seen in our riding. Its a very tricky and technical track, lots changes in elevation with blind corners. I immediately felt better and felt comfortable on the bike and on the track, and things started slowing in down in my mind as I relaxed and then started to ride faster and smoother each session. Different instructors did this all through the day and I have to compliment MotoFit on their level of commitment to instruction. I felt like I was starting to ride well and was even passing people (woo hoo!). It felt good knowing I was no longer the slowest rider in the slow group. I decided to stop after session 6 (there were 7 sessions each day) as I was very tired mentally.

Yesterday we ran the track in the opposite direction so basically it’s a new course to get used to and new lines to figure out, and once again they had instructors to follow to learn the lines. I felt comfortable from the start and started putting it all together and I am sure my lap times improved tremendously. After session 5 I decided to quit – I had both ridden a great session, smooth and fast, and was mentally and physically drained.
It was an excellent experience for me and of course I am already excited for my next track day whenever that will be. Thanks to MotoFit for an excellent program, and thanks for my FZ6R for being a great bike for the track.

This sounds like a pretty cool deal, what did it run you and do you have any tread left on your tires?

 

[chelseaboy]

This sounds like a pretty cool deal, what did it run you and do you have any tread left on your tires?

Its was $385 for the two days. I have lots of tread left (they were fairly new), but the tires show that they have done a lot of work - a kind of bubbling look close to the sides that I have never seen from road use.

 

[JonKerr]

Sounds like a pretty well put together program. I like track days that are set up with groups and sessions. I don't like the idea of some of the no session, no group days. If you're a slower/newer rider that can be very intimidating. It's always easier to be the faster guy in a slower group as opposed to the slowest guy on the track with a group of racers. Even if it's your first time on the track, if you're the slowest in the slow group, it's not going to be anywhere near as sketchy as being out there with guys literally carrying double the speed or more around the track. I'm kind of middle of the pack. I usually ride in the C (slower) group and am the fastest guy out there or the B group (middle) and am about the middle of the group. I shocked a guy in C group last time I was at Chuckwalla who was on a Ducati 848. I blew right past him on the outside of "The Bowl." He wouldn't believe me when I told him my bike was really close to stock. He couldn't believe a bike with handlebars could do that lol

And I really like it when they have mentors work with the new riders. That helps a lot. (Melissa Paris was mentoring a new female rider when I was at Chuckwalla a couple of years ago.) I'm trying to do one track day a year. We don't have any tracks closer than 2+ hours away from here. I'm going to California Speedway this October.

Do you have any pictures form the track or of the track itself?

 

[chelseaboy]

Pics...

Sounds like a pretty well put together program. I like track days that are set up with groups and sessions. I don't like the idea of some of the no session, no group days. If you're a slower/newer rider that can be very intimidating. It's always easier to be the faster guy in a slower group as opposed to the slowest guy on the track with a group of racers. Even if it's your first time on the track, if you're the slowest in the slow group, it's not going to be anywhere near as sketchy as being out there with guys literally carrying double the speed or more around the track. I'm kind of middle of the pack. I usually ride in the C (slower) group and am the fastest guy out there or the B group (middle) and am about the middle of the group. I shocked a guy in C group last time I was at Chuckwalla who was on a Ducati 848. I blew right past him on the outside of "The Bowl." He wouldn't believe me when I told him my bike was really close to stock. He couldn't believe a bike with handlebars could do that lol

And I really like it when they have mentors work with the new riders. That helps a lot. (Melissa Paris was mentoring a new female rider when I was at Chuckwalla a couple of years ago.) I'm trying to do one track day a year. We don't have any tracks closer than 2+ hours away from here. I'm going to California Speedway this October.

Do you have any pictures form the track or of the track itself?

Pics will be out in a few days...will post as soon as they are up.

 

[stache]

I did a track day on my fz6r a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome to get into the turns and wear off those chicken strips!

Scraped pegs a few times. At first it was unsettling, but after the second or third time, it was a welcome sound. However, it was frustrating at the same time. I knew I had reached the limits of the bike on that track, in those turns, at those speeds.

It also showed it's beefiness by feeling quite top heavy and less inclined to 'dive' into turns as I had to work to get the inertia from side to side in some of the quick left/right/left areas of the track.

All in all it was a spectacular experience to take it to the track. It did serve to show me that I am now ready to move from this platform and get something more dedicated to track performance. Supersports, here I come.

 

[Bert-Aus]

Its was $385 for the two days. I have lots of tread left (they were fairly new), but the tires show that they have done a lot of work - a kind of bubbling look close to the sides that I have never seen from road use.

That bubbling is most likely rubber picked up from the track, layed down by guys with slicks, drifters etc.

Does it look something like this?

 

[chelseaboy]

Yup exactly! Here is one pic from the weekend. Better ones to follow!

 

[FastFreddy]

I did a mid-week trackday once, its a surreal feeling, where normally you'd be at work, instead, it was a bunch of overgrown boys and their toys and no-one there to say you can't play with them. I was kind of expecting someone's boss or girlfriend to jump out from around the corner and grab someone by the ear, but no, just lots of fun and banter.

 

[latony007]

Um, WTF is that guy behind you riding? A harley or something? does that happen a lot guys bringing their cruiser to the track? Id like to bring my bros can am spyder bet that would be a blast no fear of falling so you push it 110% but a cruiser??

This sounds like a pretty cool experience and not as much as i thought, Do they do this down here somewhere?

 

[chelseaboy]

It was a Valkrie! There were two guys there on those, and apparently they do track days on them a lot. One of the guys was amazingly fast on his, he blew by me on the straight like I was not even there and I could never catch him. Pretty much everyone else had sport bikes or super motos but you can do track day on any bike. I doubt they will let you do it on a Spyder though.

 

[latony007]

It was a Valkrie! There were two guys there on those, and apparently they do track days on them a lot. One of the guys was amazingly fast on his, he blew by me on the straight like I was not even there and I could never catch him. Pretty much everyone else had sport bikes or super motos but you can do track day on any bike. I doubt they will let you do it on a Spyder though.

That is very interesting. The harleys / cruisers i have ridden are tanks compared to a sport bike, i would have thought they would be clogging up the track. Your probably right about the spydey, takes up more track. too bad though that would be fun

 

[Bert-Aus]

It is the corners where the Harleys would get bogged down, (I would expect) at a track day last year there was a young guy on a 125 SS (didnt get to see what exactly) and he was smoking alot of guys lap times.
Even guys on 1k & 600's.

He came up on me in the tight sections but the straights I got away from him. Just proved to me how much I had to improve my cornering speed.

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

 

[dart1963]

That is very interesting. The harleys / cruisers i have ridden are tanks compared to a sport bike, i would have thought they would be clogging up the track. Your probably right about the spydey, takes up more track. too bad though that would be fun

We had a guy on a cruiser, he was asked to leave because his floorboards were tearing up the track... he wasn't that fast, but just no lean angle. I just missed watching him run, but apparently sparks were flying

 

[latony007]

We had a guy on a cruiser, he was asked to leave because his floorboards were tearing up the track... he wasn't that fast, but just no lean angle. I just missed watching him run, but apparently sparks were flying

thats funny, i dont get why you would want to take your cruiser on a track. I have one and the last place i would take it is to a track. I scrape the floorboards just driving to the beach

 

[JonKerr]

There was a guy on a Diavel out at Chuckwalla. Cornered like crap but they're the fastest Ducati ever built so nobody could get by him on the straight. He was in C group which doesn't allow passing into the corners on the inside. Kind of got some guys a bit frustrated. All you need to do is pull into the pits to get some separation. He was having fun. That's all that matters.


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

 

[stache]

What's amazing to see is the SuperMotos. Those things may not have the top end on the straights, but they corner like you wouldn't believe. Had a dude on one last track day and he was tearing it up.

 

[JonKerr]

Supermoto's are the masters at cornering. I was shocked when I did a Supermoto school how well those things corner. And the technique is pretty much completely backwards from riding a streetbike lol. This is me at Adams a couple of years ago.