top trackday and my first off

[Tiddsey]

had a top day at cadwell today despite weather chopping and changing so we had to change to wets and drys many times.

a cracking day on the cb500 and nowt better than sticking it to the big boys in the bends.

I had my first off today. Got a little ambitious exiting charlies on the last lap after chasing a zx6r for the entire session, bike lost rear grip and lowsided.
The craziest weirdest sensation of rolling and bouncing around, just a complete passenger for the ride.

Anyway leathers did their bit as did the crash bungs and bike was fine to continue despite being a bit messy from sliding in the grass.
As they say your bound to have an off at some point im just glad mine was as good as they get really (although i do need a new pair of gloves)

Top day and only about 4 seconds off race pace and well on the race pace in the wet. GOOD TIMES

[SOUP]

Glad you and the bike were virtually unscathed.    

[greg]

sounds like a great day, i really want to go back to cadwell, just a shame it's 3hrs away

[Tiddsey]

sounds like a great day, i really want to go back to cadwell, just a shame it's 3hrs away

its 4 hours for me, making it an expensive day with the fuel

[guru]

Tidds - bad luck, glad you enjoyed it and sounded like you were on the pace alright. Careful you don't get caught timing laps on a TD, I'm sure you were doing it afterwards off your video camera... ahem. Did you have wheelspin anywhere else on corner exits e.g. Barn?

Greg you've got Oulton closer to you, it's a lot like Cadwell, great fun with a few scary bits till you get used to it.

[greg]

yeah i did oulton a month or so ago

i think i like cadwell a bit more though

[Tiddsey]

yeh cadwell is a top circuit.

What bike did you do your trackdays on?
Is oulton park a good circuit then?

[greg]

i just did cadwell and oulton on my regular fz6. I think next time I might rent a zx-6r or r6 though

oulton is nice, but as said there's a few tricky corners (like cadwell i guess), the cambered shell oils really threw me though, as I couldn't figure out what line or speed to take

[Tiddsey]

you may feel and think that something like a zinja would be a safe bet to take around the track but you might be surprised at how quick you can be on your fz6, if you stick a sticky set of tyres on it can make a HUGE difference

as i said i did mine on a cb500 which is a slow little commuter, but they brake fantastic and handle superb, it was an amazing feeling flying past the sports bikes on the bends (albeit they went past on the straights  )

Im considering mallory next. have you done any other tracks?

[greg]

yeah, my fz6 isn't too bad on track (i had problems at oulton as i think i lost a weight on my front wheel, and so it shook quite badly when i went over 100, plus squared tyres didn't help)

i figured that once you factor in the cost of brake pads, an oil change, tyres and possibly coming off, then renting a bike doesn't seem that expensive (~£200 w/ 250 excess)

[Tiddsey]

yeh i must admit i did consider it, plus when you rent one they usually have the full kit with them i.e tyre warmers, wets, spares, mechanics etc

so you havent got to worry.
Yeh i can imagine squared off tyres made for some funny handling!

Well if you happen to one day see an orange cb500 and a rider with a red helmet and black leathers at a trackday, feel free to come and say hi as that'll be me!!

 

[Wheelspin]

My biggest problem with commuter bikes on track is when you need to change up the gears mid corner.  The pegs are too low and the gear shift pattern requires you put your foot under the lever.

[qwakers]

is it only me that sees the contradiction in terms in the title?

[guru]

If you're dangling that low WS then you probably didn't want to be in that low a gear, or you need a bit less sympathy!

[greg]

main worry on my bike is scraping pegs and the side stand

previous owner has already ground the peg feelers off

[SAS Tom]

No need to worry about that! As long as both wheels are on the ground the you're good to go 

[Wheelspin]

If you're dangling that low WS then you probably didn't want to be in that low a gear, or you need a bit less sympathy!

There are some corners that are long enough to require a change up mid-corner.  Mallory is one, Brands is another.

[Tiddsey]

i can definately empathise with what wheelspin is saying there.

oh and regarding the title, it does seem a contradiction. But for me it was my first off and both myself and the bike got away scott free!!
And i actually quite enjoyed the experience of rolling around, i got up laughing afterwards, to which the marshall's response was "you're crazy"

Tidds - bad luck, glad you enjoyed it and sounded like you were on the pace alright. Careful you don't get caught timing laps on a TD, I'm sure you were doing it afterwards off your video camera... ahem. Did you have wheelspin anywhere else on corner exits e.g. Barn?

I didnt really suffer any loss of grip other than the off. It was drifting out a bit when coming out of charlies in the wet, i've got another TD booked at cadwell (again) for the 5th of sept if any of you guys are there gimme a shout

[SAS Tom]

Someone who thinks the same as me!

I found crashing exciting, it was just the realisation of breaking my bike I didn't like!

[guru]

Greg I don't know what adjustment you have but you can try cranking the preload up a notch, the cornering forces on the track will be a lot higher than the road and it'll wallow more. Other than that, try poking your tow out to the side alittle so you can feel for the ground before something digs in. If you're really worried about the centrestand then take it off for the day.

Tidds if you can adjust damping separately then try a little less rebound at the back. Barn always used to be the one for slides but it seems fine now.

[Tiddsey]

Tidds if you can adjust damping separately then try a little less rebound at the back. Barn always used to be the one for slides but it seems fine now.

duly noted my man, cheers for the advice

i'll be looking at a new trackbike next year, any tips for something thats a bit different but quite handy on the circuits. i was thinking of a firestorm as i have owned a couple and thought they were great??

[guru]

Worms, can, etc. A well-ridden 600-ish will keep with more or less anything until it gets silly I'd say, but if you like twins then yeah you need a few more cubes to get a high top speed. You'll be riding on different lines on a big bike though, depends what floats your boat.