Trackday on a 98'! (Video Inside)

All, just did my first ever trackday on my 98' vfr. Between me and my friend we got pretty good coverage of my day. The video below is mixed together from different laps/sessions of my track day. Sometimes the camera is on my friend's helmet, sometimes it's on my bike, sometimes it's on my helmet. I mixed it such that it makes about 4-5 complete laps of the Shenandoah Circuit at Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia. Enjoy!

[video=youtube_share;X9T4CJDJT3o]http://youtu.be/X9T4CJDJT3o[/video]

I am planning on upgrading my suspension and doing many many more!

 

That looks like a lot of fun. Maybe I'll look into my local raceway, Infineon Raceway, in Sonoma.

I was kind of surprised that the video didnt seem very...race-y. Do they warn you not to go too fast or were you actually pushing pretty hard?

 

It was my first ever trackday, so I was taking it easy in the "Novice" Class. It was a Roger Lyle Motorcycle excitement trackday which is more to teach you how to ride smoothly, pick out lines, and get a feel for track riding. In the Novice class you were not allowed to pass in the turns so I had to slow down behind people quite a bit.

Also with my street PR4's and stock un-damped suspension I was not equipped to take it up to "race-y" haha

 

Awesome. Welcome to the addiction

Infinion/Sonoma is a great track. I have only done 3 laps there. It was very intimidating to me with how close everything was. I did my first trackday at Thunderhill on my '94 VFR. Been to Thill a few times since and been to Laguna too. I plan to da proper trackday at sonoma after a few fore days at thunderhill.

Check out Zoom-Zoom trackdays. They have all day instruction included with the C group. Great way to do the first trackday.

 

$250 for an October track day at Infineon. Seems reasonable. But then there's the riding suit. $800 or so I'm guessing.

Guess I'd better start saving my pennies now.

 

Don't underestimate PR4's, my mate on a black bird has them, and he scrapes pegs around most corners when going hard, and I have a full time job keeping up with him on my VFR on the twisty's.
He recently did a track day at Eastern Creek, and was even scraping his fairing.
Most new top of the range sport touring tyres today will hold on longer then you will.
Plus, you really need to keep the VFR above 7000rpm to get the most out of it. They'll run between 8000 & 10500 all day, and are a pleasure to ride when they're on song.

 

Do not post your vid on any of the harleydood BB's. They get really exited over those first tushy shots..

 

A well organized track day will come with a warning not to go too fast since fast is relative until ya run up against one of the real fast guys. With some attentive viewing, this vid shows that all the riders were both evenly spaced and paced.

Costs vary with the location and staffing at tracks. Most information is posted on the track websites. There is differentiation between schools and track days. This includes ATGATT attire. Race leathers do call for one piece suits. Track days and schools are something each track and school stipulates.

Some schools do give warning that if ya show with crappy tires you go home with a big DNF pasted to your forehead..

 

I paid $200 for the day and $100 for used leathers. $130 for track gloves + boots, I already had a suitable helmet. I burned 1 tank of gas so all in I was at about 450. And it was the most fun I've ever had.

 

you can get some used leathers from CL or the WERA classifieds. Also check out BARF classifieds. Add hotel cost ( or camp at track), gas for hauling yourself and the bikes to the track, day off , etc. It ain't cheap but well worth it.


Sport touring tires are totally fine for C group. I did my first trackday with PR2's. Tires were never an issue.

 

Doing another trackday today with team pro motion this time! Same track though. Hopefully I'm faster this time!

 

Thanks for sharing, you need to move on that seat more and get "an ass cheek off in the corners". Ride your ride and have fun! :vtr2:

 

Good luck there Rocker. Hope you can shoot more video. REmember, slow is fast...or something like that.

 

Thanks Guys! Had a great time with Team Pro Motion. They actually taught some really helpful riding techniques which enabled me to become much faster than last time. Adjusting the tire pressures and front pre-load helped even more. Without further ado, here is the video of one session: (you can skip to the riding by going to the 2:00 mark in the video)

[video=youtube_share;mpGTlQ9Yw9Q]http://youtu.be/mpGTlQ9Yw9Q[/video]

 

Some Pics From The Latest Track Day (8/31)

Got some awesome pictures thanks to Speed of Life Photography from my last Roger Lyle track day (8/31/14). I was still in the novice (N) group this time, and I think I finally cracked the body position secret code (after the fact). From the pics I've attached, I'm actually not straightening and laying my outside arm across the tank, and not bending my right elbow enough. I've been practicing improving this on on-ramps and I think next time I'll look for a bump to intermediate group.

 

Fifth Generation VFRs put out the sweetest ear-candy!!

Rocker, thanks for posting.

Bob
(former 250gp racer)