| Author | Message | ||
     Socalbueller |
Yesterday I did my first track day with Cal-Sportbike TrackXperience at Willow Springs. Unfortunately Todd was sick and they weren't doing the school. I was a little nervous since this would be my first time on a track and really didn't/don't know much about riding fast around a corner other than sticking a knee out and hang your butt off the seat. All the instructors were very helpful though and I did learn quite a bit about body position and where you want your weight to be while cornering. The day started off with the newbies following an instructor around the track showing us the line. There were 5 of us so this went on for 5 laps with each person getting a chance at the front to watch the instructor. The rest of the day was pretty much open laps. Instructors did watch riders and offered tips on how to improve. Big thanks go out to Tim Hurley, Carlos, and Greg. They were a great help to me. It was a blast riding on the track being able to see through the corner and not having to worry about anybody coming the other way, like it is riding on the street. The Buell did handle the track pretty well. However since it was around 100 degrees yesterday I did feel like I was beating on the engine keeping it at around 5-6k for over 20 minutes at a time and could hear it pinging on the up hill section. Unfortunately my day ended around 3pm with a low side in turn 3. I came out of it unhurt, the boots and leathers did there job. Surprisingly so did my bike. To get back riding again all I need is a left handle bar, grip, gear shifter, gear shifter rod, and 2 bolts. The rest is cosmetic with scrapes on the air scoop, oil cooler scoop, clutch inspection cover, front fairing, ground rear axle slider, frame puck, clutch lever, pass peg and bent pass peg mount. What bugs me is I didn't notice any lack of grip previous to the low side. I didn't feel the rear tire spin either just the bike dropping out. When I got back to the pits everybody was saying I was asking too much out of a street tire (Pirelli Diablos). Now here are some questions. - Is there a way to tell by looking at a tire to tell if it has been over heated? Reason I ask is after my second to last session the rear tire looked different than it had earlier in the day. Instead of the balls of rubber on it, like the front tire, it was smoother with ripples. Is this a sign of getting too hot and the rubber getting hard? Has my rear tire gone through too many heat cycles and should it be replaced? My front tire looks pretty chewed up also. Both still has decent tread depth. I'm guessing that is not the only way to judge if the tire has more life in it. Obviously I will be getting new tires before I go to the track again but will the tires I have be all right for the street? About 80% of the miles I do is commuting and the other 20% in the canyons. Can’t wait for the next one. I will have to get a hitch and trailer though. A Uhaul truck is a real pain to haul a bike with. |
