Six years of "Want" - My first Track Day

makes your bike look like a deco 50s kitchen appliance.

 

Awesommeeeee. Yep, that was it! Man that thing looks clean. Glad to hear you had a good time, and hopefully I'll see you out there or Blackhawk this upcoming 2023 season. I wish I could give some advice on the rear shock, but I'm just not familiar with that bike outside of enjoying the noise I hear it make while flying down the main straight.

 

IT's dangerous reading posts like these. I just sold my CBR 1000rr track bike and reading about a track day gets the blood flowing and I just might lose my mind and buy a new track bike...........

Glad you're having fun.

 

Thanks, keeping the white wheels clean is a part time job on its own.

The VFR is my commuter bike. I already got 3 trackdays on the VFR since I got it. 2 at RA and 1 at BHF. I'm already planning on going again this year maybe do a trackday 1 RA and 1 BHF OR 2 at BHF.

Gator, you should definitely go, sounds like you miss it. It's worth it!

VFR is not bad at the track, it actually surprised me, how well it handle 1x out at RA. It carriers it's weight well, smooth, I had my suspension sag set up by Joe at Turn One Racing. Having proper sag, made a world of a difference in street and track. And the Ducati Stomp grips are great at the track and the street. On street help insulate knees from cold tank in cold morning rides and good grip for any type of riding and weather condition.

 

I do love my VFR but I will not track it. Thought about it long ago but decided not to. My last track bike weighed sub 420 lbs, had a full Ohlins suspension with super bike valving tuned to me, full ti akra exhaust, dyno tuned, brembo brake master and clutch, Vortex rear sets , frame, fork and swing arm sliders, slicks, tire warmers etc. If I do it again it will be something like this but with modern electronics. It took a while of riding some of my buddies bikes to get use to trusting electronics but they definitely work and I would love to have them on a track bike. I can ride several friends bike at the track but its not the same.
I seem to be off in the woods on my DR 650 dual sport more than anything these day.

 

Did you polish the frame yourself?

 

The frame, swingarm, forks were already polished when I bought the bike. I'm more of a Matte black frame kind of guy. So it took a while to get used it. I can't think of the name of the liquid polishing compound to maintain the finish. I'll have to take a look at the bottle when I get home.

I do get a lot of compliments of how the white blend in nicely with the polished frame.

 

I also have TechSpec on my bikes. $75 for tank sides only, I believe. They also sell it in pieces you can cut on your own. I detest stomp grip. It eats leathers and peels off.

Can't help you on the heated grips. I've never understood why anyone would want them.

 

Thanks for the recomendation, I did purchase a set of TechSpec tank pads. Have yet to install them.

For the Grips I am not interested in 'heated" grips, I'm looking for tacky / grippy compound grips that will allow less grip pressure.

 

If you want a little stickier grip, try Re-Grip or if you want a diamond texture try their other product called Stickgrip. If you get a kit for a baseball bat, it's long enough to do two motorcycle grips.

I'd recommend it over OEM heated grips as well, since you don't want the expensive OEM's wearing out and getting smooth.

https://re-grip.com/dual-home/

 

You can get any of these locally. I've used 699 on a lot of bikes over the years.

https://progrip.com/road-knobs/?lang=en

I've also used Galindo Superbike grips with good success.

Be aware of ordering the right length.

Also, Renthal makes some great ones including oversized for larger hands to grip.

https://www.renthal.com/moto/grips

Probably worth noting that if one is wearing out grips quickly, they may be holding on too tight and not like a screwdriver.

 

That's interesting!
I had no knowlege of this product before.

 

I don't think that in my case it is a "wearing out quickly" issue. The bike is 25 years old, and the grips are not "tacky" (they look okay, the grip just has less grip).

 

I like the idea of re-grip for tools, but after an hour of searching, I can't find a single pic or video of how it works. Words indicate that may be reusable, butthe pic on their page is this. Hugely funny.

Is this stuff clear?

 

Right beside that pic was the link to the install, next link describes it and takes you to the video....... if you're recovering m/c grips, get the baseball bat size...
A buddy on the FJR forum just did his in the smooth Re-Grip and says they are plenty grippy. I have a diamond grip baseball kit here I will be trying out later this year.

 

Interesting. Looks like a tube of rubber stretched over a tube of plastic. Wonder if there's any adhesive or just pressure to hold it on.

 

The plastic cord is a coil to hold it in a larger diameter...... no adhesive, it's sticky enough to stick. You pull the cord out and it "shrinks" onto whatever you're putting it on.

 

Interesting...I think I'd just buy a grip!

 

I have ordered and received a set of these:
https://www.renthal.com/road/grips?product_id=2794

I'll let you know how well they work after all the repair to my VFR is done (more info on that here: https://vfrworld.com/threads/what-happened.60636/#post-638863 ) and the snow does it's annual dissapearing act.

I am hoping to be back in shape for at least one track day again this year. Maybe the first week in June again.