Hi can anyone give me some advice on preparing my bike for a trackday.
I am going to do my first trackday at Silverstone on the 3rd of october and I would like to get my road going gsxr 750 k5 track ready, luckily i have a van so i can prepare the day before.
Get some crash bungs on, remove mirrors, indicators, number plate. Check oil (maybe replace with filter), adjust chain and lube, adjust tyre pressures (drop to low 30’s psi), check tyre condition, make sure brake pads and discs are good. In short make sure your bike is in good running order!
Its your lucky day jaymbee, im booked up to instruct on this day so well have a chat for sure. Ill be on a K5 GSXR750 as well.
Spearsyuk covers most of it…Tyre pressures 32front 30rear, check these at the beginning of the day (cold).
Check all nuts, bolts and hoses are not loose. Youll need plenty of meat left on your pads to get the most of the stopping power. Theyll be working very hard
Suspension will need firming up but i`ll have a look on the day.
Tape up lights, mirrors, indicators and clocks if they`re still on the bike.
It`ll be a very physical and mentally tiring day so to get the most out of it bring yourself in good condition too
TBH the the K5750 is a fantastic trackday tool and it`ll be great out of the crate.
drink lots of water, stress fills your muscles with cortisol which knots you up, so flush it out and if you can get yourself to a masseuse (sorry im not available anymore) work on your neck/shoulder and arm muscles…to avoid damage, warm your muscles like you warm your tyres
as for the bike, not got a clue but take the advice of B
have fun and come back unscathed to a hot bath and a couple of pints… of water!!
I did my first track day a few weeks back @ Silverstone n all.
We had a great day weatherwise so we were quite lucky.With Focused Events(if thats who you’re with)You will be in the beginners group and get 20 mins every hour to go round(3 groups).
Firstly everyone gets 3 sighting laps where you all go round(no overtaking)to get to know the circuit.
I know it’ll be hard but really try and take in the circuit.I didn’t find it as useful as i hoped it would be because it was at a very safe speed and i couldnt really tell where the apex’s were etc etc.
When i went it wasn’t until the last couple of sessions where i really got to know the circuit.If you’re doing the GP Circuit. I also missed one session off to keep my feet on the ground and relax for a bit.Silverstone is very wide so you can mess up a bit and it’s very forgiving.Remember you’re bike probably can get round the corner you just have to trust that it will.
Dont overdo it at first though.It doesnt matter if ppl are powering past you remember it’s your first track day so you are fully expected to be slow.Dont worry about other riders behind you either(get them mirrors off).
You’ve had a good start with B being there.If i went round with an instructor earlier on during my track day i would have gained so much more out of it.
Make sure you get a good nights kip in as it can be a bit tiring.
Did my first at Donny in June with the CBR Forum and after the first session I was a gibbering wreck. I just wanted to get my coat and go home, I was totally intimidated Not helped by having nearly 30 bikes in the slow group. By the session before lunch though it seemed to be really coming together and I even managed to pass a couple of people. However I threw it on the last session, my contentration went totally and I just kept going straight when I should have turned in and by the time I realised I was in the kitty litter , thought I’d got it but just at that point the front wheel bogged and I got flicked off like superman, thanfully just scuffed my leathers and bruised my ego but proved the kit works.
Main thing I learned was the bike would go far further over than I ever realised, the brakes are more capable than I expected and there is always someone worse off than yor they just dont say it either
Dont eat too much for lunch, it will only sit heavily on your stomach just a light sandwich with water, museli bars and bananas are good for maintaining energy at a steady rate. If you are cant wait for the end of the session DONT, go back in at the next opportunity your concentration may already be slipping and you could end up like me. Oh and take a deck chair as there may not be anywhwere to sit in the garages. Overall, I learned loads about me and my bike and will do another but maybe on a hire bike next time.
Here`s some more things worth practicing on the day.
It may sound funny but breathe, it`s easy to be tense on the bike and hold your breath. Oxygenating the brain will help the concentration.
Look where you want to go, again this sounds simple but it does work.
Dont rush too fast into the turns itll mess up the whole corner and use up all your concentration as well as making you more likely to crash. The most important bit of the turn is the exit. So the method is controlled going in but concentrating on a quick and smooth exit smoothly winding the throttle on the way out of the turn.
Your bound to find youself going into a turn too quick at some point. The rule is not to panic (easier said than done) Dont tense on the bars as this can upset the handling, dont grab the front brake in the turn but just try to relax and just lean the bike over a bit further to make the turn.
Don`t use the rear brake, the front provides almost 100% of the stopping power, the rear is next to useless on track and is the cause of a lot of crashes.
There is a lot of advice given by myself and others here but dont worry if you cant remember everything. Just build up slowly through the day and enjoy it, therell be plenty of time and you can be sure that by the end of the day youll be a lot more confident and of course quicker.
for me the bit of advice that always comes in handy is using your eyes mid turn.
as soon as your into the corner, physically turn your head so that you’re looking as far through the turn as possible. it has the added benefit of slowing down the amount of info you eyes and brain have to process.
check pics of racers mid turn, they’re amost always looking into the distance, not at their current position.
if you feel like you’re in to hot, don’t be tempted to look at the outside of the turn, you’ll run wide-concentrate on the exit, trust your tyres, lean it over, and it will come together smoothly and naturally.
then when youre more familiar with the corners concentrate on having one throttle input per corner exit, rather than on-off-on.
and don’t forget to have fun mate, thats why youre there!
question for you B - how much flexibility should you have to ride the bike well? the top riders seem to splay their legs pretty wide on fast cornering, i’m just wondering if thats just an impression from the photos which is misleading or something worth working on?
Sorry to but in JB, but you need to be relaxed on a bike. If you are stiff the bike is fighting against you, you want the bike to do all the work, let it move around under you. Erm… hope that helps!
Some of your fastest laptimes feel the slowest because your not working too hard.
A pleasure to meet you Adamsky and Weeannie, Jaymbee and Baldfantastic…glad your day went so well…by the sound of it ill be seeing you again soon<img src='https://londonbikersarchive.blob.core.windows.net/forums/skins/classic/images/emoticons/smile.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Smile' align='absmiddle'> Next time ill spend time on track with you if you need any help…
Yes many riders do splay their legs in fast corners JB. They`ll also do this in slower corners as it can help act as a pivot point for the turn.
In the faster corners sticking your knee out can help act as sail and will help with getting the bike turned along with moving your weight to the inside of the bike which lowers the centre of gravity.
Good flexibility will also help prevent injury when you have an off…you`ll tend to bounce better.
At the moment JB it`s not something that is critical to your riding, just moving your weight to the inside of the turn will do for now and as Highside says, do try and relax.