alex.s
June 8th, 2010, 12:48 PM
So I've been wanting to take a bike to the track basically since i started riding 50cc minibikes as a kid... but i've never taken the initiative to actually start going due to fears that i didn't have adequate skills/gear/time/money/etc...
well i think it's time to start moving in that direction, so i've been reading as much as i can about how to get into it all. (i don't actually know anyone who goes to the track)
should i just go sign up for a class c track day and an intro track lesson? do i need the intro track lesson? do they offer the info i need without the personalized track lesson? (ie- flag signals, entrance/lineup/exit procedures, etc) what other topics do these style of intro track courses cover? i've seen more expensive ones where they follow you with a camera and show you exactly what you're doing wrong... is this really going to help me much on my first track day? i can understand a basic lesson would help greatly, but this super-detailed version? would i really be able to grasp it all so quickly in addition to all the new info on track procedures etc?
should i rent a bike and/or leathers for my first time, or use my own? how much do leather rentals usually cost? (i couldn't find info on this on the track websites i looked at) do the tracks themselves rent things like this out? or is it a separate/independent vendor like rentmyninja.com?
do most tracks have the same bike requirements? i'm planning to go to chuckwalla and/or willowsprings... (probably willowsprings first because it's $50 cheaper)
i know i need to change to water/waterwetter and have appropriate tires...
but do i need an underbelly i didn't see anything about underbellys on the chuckwalla site? do i need to drill/tie my bolts? should i spend time messing with fork oil and spring weight before i get to the track, or can i leave that until i'm actually getting up to decent speeds and have a need to modify it? I've seen motorcycle shops i go to offer "track prep" kits... should i just have them setup my bike for the track? granted i haven't actually asked them what's included in the "track prep" kit... obviously i wouldn't need to worry about this if i rented a bike/gear...
wow, sorry for so many questions... i get like a kid in a candy store with bikes.
well i think it's time to start moving in that direction, so i've been reading as much as i can about how to get into it all. (i don't actually know anyone who goes to the track)
should i just go sign up for a class c track day and an intro track lesson? do i need the intro track lesson? do they offer the info i need without the personalized track lesson? (ie- flag signals, entrance/lineup/exit procedures, etc) what other topics do these style of intro track courses cover? i've seen more expensive ones where they follow you with a camera and show you exactly what you're doing wrong... is this really going to help me much on my first track day? i can understand a basic lesson would help greatly, but this super-detailed version? would i really be able to grasp it all so quickly in addition to all the new info on track procedures etc?
should i rent a bike and/or leathers for my first time, or use my own? how much do leather rentals usually cost? (i couldn't find info on this on the track websites i looked at) do the tracks themselves rent things like this out? or is it a separate/independent vendor like rentmyninja.com?
do most tracks have the same bike requirements? i'm planning to go to chuckwalla and/or willowsprings... (probably willowsprings first because it's $50 cheaper)
i know i need to change to water/waterwetter and have appropriate tires...
but do i need an underbelly i didn't see anything about underbellys on the chuckwalla site? do i need to drill/tie my bolts? should i spend time messing with fork oil and spring weight before i get to the track, or can i leave that until i'm actually getting up to decent speeds and have a need to modify it? I've seen motorcycle shops i go to offer "track prep" kits... should i just have them setup my bike for the track? granted i haven't actually asked them what's included in the "track prep" kit... obviously i wouldn't need to worry about this if i rented a bike/gear...
wow, sorry for so many questions... i get like a kid in a candy store with bikes.