My 250 track experiences and reviews

Kurosaki · November 25th, 2008, 12:31 PM

First off, thanks to Alex for adding this track sub-section. I can tell this is a really tight-knit and great forum.

Anyway, in this thread I'll post some pictures, the tracks I've been to, reviews of the bike's performance in the track environment, and anything else I can think of to jot down.

Just as a disclaimer, all of this is from my perspective only as a new rider. So keep that in mind when reading my opinions and such.

I'll start off by describing my feelings on the bike in general. First and foremost, it's an absolute great bike for the track no doubt about it. Not only for new riders but also experienced ones. The bike allows you to give all your focus to the racetrack, your lines, your body positioning, etc, without having to worry about things like giving the bike too much gas and spinning the tires, or coming into corners at super high speeds. Things like that. You can get on the throttle very early and pretty much crack the throttle all the way once you're in the turn. And it turns over almost effortlessly with some pressure on the bars and footpegs. The bike allows you to develop the fundamentals of riding before adding in other liabilities and variables like a super powerful engine and brakes. I found myself progressing throughout the day alot quicker than many other riders on 600s or 1000s because it's much easier to be confident with the 250 and what its capabilities which gives me a big boost in confidence to brake later, turn in fast, corner harder, and accelerate earlier.

I'll start some track reviews with my favorite track so far that I've been on out of the three.

The Streets of Willow Springs.

Streets is the 2nd course at Willow Springs International Raceway. It's a 1.7mile(if I remember right) course that is much more technical and slower speeds than the Willow Big track.

Streets was my 2nd track day so I already had a chance to get my feet wet and know what riding at the track is all about. My first thoughts about this track is that it is a fantastic environment for a bike like ours that is light and easily steered from side to side. Many of the turns here require you to go from full lean on one side to full lean on the other side the next moment. So being able to get the bike turned over without much effort is important here not only to keep your speed and racing line but also it doesn't beat you up physically as much.

I'll describe the track turn by turn to start with. You can look at the picture and count the turns.

The front straightaway on this track, as you see at the bottom of the picture above the pits, is not so fast. I don't think I bothered to even shift into 6th gear at all.

-After the front straight, there's a slight bend to the right which is turn 1. You can basically blast right through this turn without backing off the throttle at all. It's a little intimidating at first. But once you get the turn in your head, it's a really good feeling because alot of people on larger bikes tend to back off a little there because they're carrying alot more speed so I was able to make passes right there sometimes

-Turn 2 is a little scary at first because it's pretty tight and you have to remember that after carrying all your speed through turn 1. This is where I was the hardest on the brakes, bleeding off speed to make turn 2 without cooking it too hot into there. I downshift to 3rd I believe for this turn.

-Turn 3 is easier than 2 for me because it's not as tight and I'm not carrying nearly as much speed into this left hander. I took this in 5th I think because I was finding that 1 gear lower had me running out of RPM too early while accelerating out of the turn.

-Turn 4 is a tight short little right that doesn't require as much speed reduction as I first thought because as soon as you apex it, the turn opens right back up.

-The next set of esses are pretty much straight forward and WOT

-The turn at the top is called the bowl turn because it's a big sweeper and it's also banked pretty high. It took me awhile to get comfortable here because you feel you can go into the turn alot deeper than normal which had me scraping my boot or footpeg a few times.

-After coming out of the bowl turn, there's a short back straight which leads to a short group of esses. The esses are a little scary because they are a little hard to see coming out of the bowl which makes it a little difficult to judge what speed you should go through there. After a couple sessions, I was able to get more comfortable but still took it easy for the most part.

-The turn is a quick left followed by a right, and another quick left. That leads out to the skidpad, which you can see labled in the picture. This turn is a little weird because you have to sort of make your own line that works for you. And it's very bumpy. I was finding that it's best to run wide out onto the skidpad, then dive back onto the straight to carry as much speed as possible on the little 250.

And that's a lap at Streets. It's a lot of work and it's easy to get fatigued because there's not anywhere to really relax long enough.

Here are some pictures from this day. Most of these are taken in the Bowl Turn I described.

At the end of the day, the biggest thing I wanted to keep working on is my body positioning on the bike. Form can vary from rider to rider but I notice with this bike and the bars being so high, you really have to exaggerate what you do. When I feel like I'm putting my head down really low, it's not as much as I thought because the height of the bars. Also, the footpegs are pretty low so if I go into a turn fast and deep, either my foot or peg will touch down every now and then. I know this has to do with my form as well so it's just one of the things on the list to work on. I'm hoping that aftermarket clipons will become available for us over winter and I'll be investing in rearsets too to help out with ground clearance.

OK, that's all for now.

Sorry for the long winded post.

I'll post up another track in a little bit.

kkim · November 25th, 2008, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurosaki

Sorry for the long winded post.

wouldn't expect anything less from you.

great review and thanks for giving away your secrets. hope to be able to ride that with you guys sometime in the coming year.

Kurosaki · December 2nd, 2008, 05:38 PM

A few pics from Buttonwillow with some other QTR LTRs.

VeX · December 2nd, 2008, 11:22 PM

Kuro, do you pull your headlight fuse when you cover your headlight? Seems a wise thing to do...

Kurosaki · December 2nd, 2008, 11:24 PM

Headlight and taillight, yes.

Alex · December 2nd, 2008, 11:30 PM

I pulled #2 and #3 for the top left rotation...

Bill N · December 13th, 2008, 03:54 PM

Joseph,
Excellent report and pictures. This is the first bike I've owned that I'd actually like to take to a track and learn racing basics. Keep up the reports. Thanks, Bill

hairu · January 2nd, 2009, 08:25 AM

Is that Beast's black and white bike?

workdaddy · January 2nd, 2009, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hairu

Is that Beast's black and white bike?

I was thinking the same thing... White, black, gold wheels... and then the gear? Looks alot like it might be....

CRXTrek · January 2nd, 2009, 01:10 PM

Yes it is.
Kuro's is even behind Beast on his B.O.T.Y. Pics
http://www.kawiforums.com/showpost.p...9&postcount=18

Kurosaki · January 2nd, 2009, 04:51 PM

Good eyes to all 3 of you.

Lurkable · March 20th, 2009, 01:37 PM

Kuro, loved the report! Posts like this make me all antsy but I still have to wait 2 months before I'll have any time to sign up for my first track day...

almost40 · April 4th, 2009, 11:48 PM

Gona hit my first track day in June at Gingerman Raceway in Michigan. Anyone been there or any other Sportbike Track Time event?

hairu · April 27th, 2009, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by almost40

Gona hit my first track day in June at Gingerman Raceway in Michigan. Anyone been there or any other Sportbike Track Time event?

I went there last June or so. Gingerman has huge sealer strips going down the center of the track. Be careful of them if it's raining. The trickiest turn on the track is turn 3. It's double apex right hander that I always managed to mess up. Gingerman is an OK track but Grattan isn't too far away and is way way better.

November 25th, 2008, 12:31 PM	#1
Kurosaki Akai Suisei - 赤い彗星 Name: Joseph Location: socal Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Kurosaki 250, 09 Honda 600RawrRawr Posts: 540	My 250 track experiences and reviews First off, thanks to Alex for adding this track sub-section. I can tell this is a really tight-knit and great forum. Anyway, in this thread I'll post some pictures, the tracks I've been to, reviews of the bike's performance in the track environment, and anything else I can think of to jot down. Just as a disclaimer, all of this is from my perspective only as a new rider. So keep that in mind when reading my opinions and such. I'll start off by describing my feelings on the bike in general. First and foremost, it's an absolute great bike for the track no doubt about it. Not only for new riders but also experienced ones. The bike allows you to give all your focus to the racetrack, your lines, your body positioning, etc, without having to worry about things like giving the bike too much gas and spinning the tires, or coming into corners at super high speeds. Things like that. You can get on the throttle very early and pretty much crack the throttle all the way once you're in the turn. And it turns over almost effortlessly with some pressure on the bars and footpegs. The bike allows you to develop the fundamentals of riding before adding in other liabilities and variables like a super powerful engine and brakes. I found myself progressing throughout the day alot quicker than many other riders on 600s or 1000s because it's much easier to be confident with the 250 and what its capabilities which gives me a big boost in confidence to brake later, turn in fast, corner harder, and accelerate earlier. I'll start some track reviews with my favorite track so far that I've been on out of the three. The Streets of Willow Springs. Streets is the 2nd course at Willow Springs International Raceway. It's a 1.7mile(if I remember right) course that is much more technical and slower speeds than the Willow Big track. Streets was my 2nd track day so I already had a chance to get my feet wet and know what riding at the track is all about. My first thoughts about this track is that it is a fantastic environment for a bike like ours that is light and easily steered from side to side. Many of the turns here require you to go from full lean on one side to full lean on the other side the next moment. So being able to get the bike turned over without much effort is important here not only to keep your speed and racing line but also it doesn't beat you up physically as much. I'll describe the track turn by turn to start with. You can look at the picture and count the turns. The front straightaway on this track, as you see at the bottom of the picture above the pits, is not so fast. I don't think I bothered to even shift into 6th gear at all. -After the front straight, there's a slight bend to the right which is turn 1. You can basically blast right through this turn without backing off the throttle at all. It's a little intimidating at first. But once you get the turn in your head, it's a really good feeling because alot of people on larger bikes tend to back off a little there because they're carrying alot more speed so I was able to make passes right there sometimes -Turn 2 is a little scary at first because it's pretty tight and you have to remember that after carrying all your speed through turn 1. This is where I was the hardest on the brakes, bleeding off speed to make turn 2 without cooking it too hot into there. I downshift to 3rd I believe for this turn. -Turn 3 is easier than 2 for me because it's not as tight and I'm not carrying nearly as much speed into this left hander. I took this in 5th I think because I was finding that 1 gear lower had me running out of RPM too early while accelerating out of the turn. -Turn 4 is a tight short little right that doesn't require as much speed reduction as I first thought because as soon as you apex it, the turn opens right back up. -The next set of esses are pretty much straight forward and WOT -The turn at the top is called the bowl turn because it's a big sweeper and it's also banked pretty high. It took me awhile to get comfortable here because you feel you can go into the turn alot deeper than normal which had me scraping my boot or footpeg a few times. -After coming out of the bowl turn, there's a short back straight which leads to a short group of esses. The esses are a little scary because they are a little hard to see coming out of the bowl which makes it a little difficult to judge what speed you should go through there. After a couple sessions, I was able to get more comfortable but still took it easy for the most part. -The turn is a quick left followed by a right, and another quick left. That leads out to the skidpad, which you can see labled in the picture. This turn is a little weird because you have to sort of make your own line that works for you. And it's very bumpy. I was finding that it's best to run wide out onto the skidpad, then dive back onto the straight to carry as much speed as possible on the little 250. And that's a lap at Streets. It's a lot of work and it's easy to get fatigued because there's not anywhere to really relax long enough. Here are some pictures from this day. Most of these are taken in the Bowl Turn I described. At the end of the day, the biggest thing I wanted to keep working on is my body positioning on the bike. Form can vary from rider to rider but I notice with this bike and the bars being so high, you really have to exaggerate what you do. When I feel like I'm putting my head down really low, it's not as much as I thought because the height of the bars. Also, the footpegs are pretty low so if I go into a turn fast and deep, either my foot or peg will touch down every now and then. I know this has to do with my form as well so it's just one of the things on the list to work on. I'm hoping that aftermarket clipons will become available for us over winter and I'll be investing in rearsets too to help out with ground clearance. OK, that's all for now. Sorry for the long winded post. I'll post up another track in a little bit.

December 2nd, 2008, 11:30 PM	#6
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	I pulled #2 and #3 for the top left rotation... __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

April 4th, 2009, 11:48 PM	#13
almost40 ninjette.org Monkey Spank Name: Kevin Location: Illinois Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 250R Track-Bike Woodcraft clip-ons and rearsets FZ-6 track bike Posts: A lot.	Gona hit my first track day in June at Gingerman Raceway in Michigan. Anyone been there or any other Sportbike Track Time event? __________________________________________________ Black 250R Full Area P QC Dyno Jet Kit 100 main 41T Rear Sprocket

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December 2nd, 2008, 05:38 PM	#3
Kurosaki Akai Suisei - 赤い彗星 Name: Joseph Location: socal Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Kurosaki 250, 09 Honda 600RawrRawr Posts: 540	A few pics from Buttonwillow with some other QTR LTRs.

December 2nd, 2008, 11:22 PM	#4
VeX That's me! Name: TJ Location: Ames, IA Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250r (Tis blue), 2008 CBR600RR Posts: 454	Kuro, do you pull your headlight fuse when you cover your headlight? Seems a wise thing to do...

December 2nd, 2008, 11:24 PM	#5
Kurosaki Akai Suisei - 赤い彗星 Name: Joseph Location: socal Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Kurosaki 250, 09 Honda 600RawrRawr Posts: 540	Headlight and taillight, yes.

December 13th, 2008, 03:54 PM	#7
Bill N ninjette.org member Name: Bill Location: Tampa Fl Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 250 Ninja Posts: 180	Joseph, Excellent report and pictures. This is the first bike I've owned that I'd actually like to take to a track and learn racing basics. Keep up the reports. Thanks, Bill

January 2nd, 2009, 08:25 AM	#8
hairu ninjette.org newbie Name: Uriah Location: Northern Kentucky Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250r Posts: 5	Is that Beast's black and white bike?

January 2nd, 2009, 01:10 PM	#10
CRXTrek FORMER MOTORCYCLE RIDER Name: Steve Location: On a Trek SU200 or in my CRX Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): Rode an 08 250r then rode an 08 ZX-6R until i totaled it on 7/10/10 Posts: 758	Yes it is. Kuro's is even behind Beast on his B.O.T.Y. Pics http://www.kawiforums.com/showpost.p...9&postcount=18

January 2nd, 2009, 04:51 PM	#11
Kurosaki Akai Suisei - 赤い彗星 Name: Joseph Location: socal Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Kurosaki 250, 09 Honda 600RawrRawr Posts: 540	Good eyes to all 3 of you.

March 20th, 2009, 01:37 PM	#12
Lurkable 250Arrrgh! Name: Andrew Location: San Francisco Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 250R, 2001 996 Posts: 143	Kuro, loved the report! Posts like this make me all antsy but I still have to wait 2 months before I'll have any time to sign up for my first track day...