| Author | Message | ||
     Mastros2 |
I was thinking of doing some track days and wanted to know if anyone tracked their x1. At first I was leaning to purchasing a Japanese i-4 but realized that I have an X1! Any problems with it? If I did, I would have it as a track only bike (non street legal) for ease when I got to the track. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
The X1's 440 lb dry weight would rule it out as a track bike IMO. I own two and love them to death, but they are heavy SOBs on the track. I'd like to have a track bike and will either be looking for a wrecked XB or cheap jap bike once I get more serious about buying one. | ||
| Smoke |
run it!! good fun to 90%. the last 10% you have to work hard for. smooth and deliberate. pk only weighs 100 lb so it is even more work for him to throw it around  (been trackin an S1W for about 5-6 years) tim | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Hey I'm up to 139! I never thought about my weight being a factor but it makes sense. Probably easier to ride on the track when you weigh 1/2 as much as the bike instead of 1/3  | ||
| Mastros2 |
Thanks all. I'm at 175lbs now but been that way for years. It seems like it can be a little tough to throw around after a few laps. Smoke, do you have any pictures to share? | ||
| Sloppy |
If you are commiting yourself to track days, then it won't take too long to outride the x1. IMO, Erik's focus has consistently been on street, not race, performance. So, if you are okay with going to track days to have fun, then the x1 will be fine. But if you are interested in exploring your own limits of performance, then a used I4 is more appropriate. Start with a 600 then work your way up. The nice thing about a used bike is that you can quickly recover your costs when you sell them. Good luck and have fun! | ||
| Raceautobody |
I have taken mine to a couple track/school days just to have fun and work on skills. So far I am not anywhere near the limits of the bike.   | ||
| Eboos |
I've had my M2 as a track only bike for 2 years now. It can be setup very track worthy. Check out my profile for a picture of it. | ||
| Mastros2 |
Raceautobody and Eboos, Thanks a lot, especially for the pics. Eboos, where did you get the front fairing? Sloppy, I'll probably go 1 or 2 times a year to improve technique and learn. No interest in doing it competitively. For now, I’m sure that the x1 will suffice. | ||
| Eboos |
It's an 1125R competition fairing from Airtech. I used a stock 1125R fairing stay and made some adapter brackets to fit it on the M2. | ||
| Eboos |
I can help you with your chassis setup by offering suggestions that I've learned from trial and error. Let me know. Hopefully I'll see you at NJMP or NHMS one day. | ||
| Sfmc_x1 |
+1 for a small inline4 track bike. I've had my X1 on the track three times now. My impression is that I didn't like it as much as I thought I could have. The ergonomics on the X1 are pretty biased toward the riders weight being on the rear, and the stock bars don't help much. If the seat were higher and the bike had clip-on's, it probably would've been a more confidence inspiring ride. But I'll continue to do cheap track day's on it. | ||
| Eboos |
Raising the rear ride height is important to give you more cornering clearance, and that will raise the seat height as well. Clipons or clipon style bars are a must have in my opinion on any bike that will spend a good amount of time on the track. | ||
| Mastros2 |
That is great, Eboos. Thanks! I'll pm you. | ||
| Sfmc_x1 |
Eboos, what do you recommend for getting more rear ride height out a penske or works shock already using max preload no ride height adjuster? | ||
| Eboos |
Glad you asked. I have a Penske, and the adjuster was maxed out in it's shortest position. I asked people that raced tube framed Buells back in the day and found that they used front shock mounts that were made by Buell Racing and had the mount forward of the stock position. They only made these mounts for the longer old style shock, and they have been long out of production. There is a 2-1 ratio in the swingarm from the axle to the shock mount, so moving the mount forward 1/2" will give you 1" increase in ride height. Do not go further then this. The swing arm will be in full top out at 2 inches. After you do this, you will have to deal with excessive chain slack. I made a double chain roller setup to fix this. The bottom roller works like the ones on the XB's and the 1125's. It takes up the slack in the top out position, but allows more slack as the swingarm approches bottom out. I will have to shoot some pictures of this. | ||
| Blue_pipe |
Talking about track days...I was just posting about what stuff to get to do a track day on the NEBO side and I see that Alan is racing his X1..NICE!!! I'm thinking about doing a track day with my X1 I don't want to go to drastic in terms of going full race bike...I like how you painted the black plastic white... looks nice..Alan are running you stock muffler? | ||
| Raceautobody |
Blue, Thanks, The muffler is a buell pro-series (late model supertrapp). Al | ||
| Ducxl |
Hey guys'. I think the X1 could make an excellent track bike.Of my three bikes' X1,XB12r,and(yes)Ducati 996 i can ride my X1 the hardest.Don't know why,maybe it's my limited abilities.But the X1 has been an absolute HOOT to ride hard. Maybe it's as an old friend once said: "I can afford to throw it on the ground" If i ever DID,i'd like to do it on the X1. And MY X1 has an EBOOS take off muffler! | ||
| Eboos |
And I have a Ducxl fall off muffler at home. LOL. | ||
| Mastros2 |
I was thinking of the same thing DucXl. It is much more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow! The bike is a hoot to ride it on the streets, I think it would be a hoot to ride it on the track. Thanks all for the help. | ||
| Blue_pipe |
NO! you can't afford to throw it on the ground let's keep the tubers alive.  | ||
| Sfmc_x1 |
Eboos: I'd love to see some pic's. I'm aware that the "RACE ONLY" front shock mount is NLA and was made for the 16.5' shocks. I toyed with the idea of cutting one (14.5 shock mount) and welding it back up 1/4 forward from stock but questioned the strength of the unit seeing how much abuse it might have to endure. I've never gotten any feedback from anyone who's done it before. What kind of clip-on's are you using, standard vortex 54mm or something with a different angle? I've never liked riding with my neck past the fly screen to keep the weight over the front through the turns. (Message edited by sfmc_x1 on October 02, 2009) | ||
| Eboos |
Since I do not have the X1 forks on my M2, I have Vortex 43mm. Raising your foot position is a good idea too. I have Crossroads rearsets, and that balances out my riding position. I haven't had a chance to test the shock mount that I made, but I have no concern about it failing. It will not be subjected to sharp forces, just steady pulling and pushing. This is a pretty solid piece. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
I found the X1 forks on my M2 to be under sprung, not only on the track but for aggressive canyon riding. I didn't realize they were a limiting factor until I had my shock rebuilt and valved properly for my weight and type of riding (190-195lbs with gear, canyons, commuter, occasional track day). Once that was done I could feel the need for more control up front. Stock suspension parts are getting far enough into their service life to be a pretty cost effective rebuild if needed for the track. I'm using the Crossroads bars for a lower position, it was comfortable on the track. X1's have a higher peg placement than M2's so depending on your skills and technique you may not need to move your pegs at first. Once you are hanging off and have knee and pegs grinding you'll know it's time. Here's a pic of the local dealership's (88") track X1  I believe they ran a Penske on this bike. (Message edited by littlebuggles on October 02, 2009) | ||
| Littlebuggles |
After I had the rear shock done I was able to put my knee down without too much drama, first track day my bike was too unsettled for that, but the Buell demo bikes handled quite well.  | ||
| Eboos |
What track is that? That chicayne looks awesome. | ||
| Eboos |
Could you take more photos of that bike? I would like to see the left brake caliper bracket in detail, and a few other close ups. | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
I'm taking my X1 to it's first track day in November  First track day in a long time for me  , but really looking forward to it. | ||
| Blue_pipe |
Graham unique looking air cleaner you have there. have a good time racing around the track and when you done post some pictures. |
