Need Help with A Track Day (PA/NJ/NY)

Pravda · 07-05-2011, 09:32 AM

Hello Members.

Been riding for over 20 years but never did a track day, and recently got motivated to finally get out there.

Was wondering if anyone knows of any clubs/tracks that are in the tristate region that would allow me to rent their bikes for a track day.

Thank you as always,
Rob

rotty749r · 07-15-2011, 03:49 PM

Rob,

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe Absolute may rent bikes. Roy, the owner/founder is a super nice guy, although hard to reach at times, but it may be worth reaching out to him. Here is the link to his track days:

ABSOLUTE CYCLE EXPERIENCE MOTORCYCLE TRACKDAYS & SCHOOLS

He runs almost exclusively at NJMP in Millville, NJ and his days are some of the best I have been to. For full discloser, my wife and I coach for him occasionally.

Otherwise, you can try California Superbike School. They tour the country and rent S1000RR's. This is a true school and is quite expensive, especially when you add the bike rental. I have attended all four levels and found them to be very useful. Here is a link to the school:

Motorcycle Riding School - California Superbike School

I hope this helps.

Martin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pravda

Hello Members.

Been riding for over 20 years but never did a track day, and recently got motivated to finally get out there.

Was wondering if anyone knows of any clubs/tracks that are in the tristate region that would allow me to rent their bikes for a track day.

Thank you as always,
Rob

Pravda · 07-16-2011, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rotty749r

Rob,

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe Absolute may rent bikes. Roy, the owner/founder is a super nice guy, although hard to reach at times, but it may be worth reaching out to him. Here is the link to his track days:

ABSOLUTE CYCLE EXPERIENCE MOTORCYCLE TRACKDAYS & SCHOOLS

He runs almost exclusively at NJMP in Millville, NJ and his days are some of the best I have been to. For full discloser, my wife and I coach for him occasionally.

Otherwise, you can try California Superbike School. They tour the country and rent S1000RR's. This is a true school and is quite expensive, especially when you add the bike rental. I have attended all four levels and found them to be very useful. Here is a link to the school:

Motorcycle Riding School - California Superbike School

I hope this helps.

Martin

Thank you Martin.
Signed up with Cali Super Bikes for September. Thank you for your help.

Can't wait to be on the SKRR again.

**Nismo400rgtr** · 07-16-2011, 07:40 AM

I'd be interested in hearing about your experience with the school. Make sure to post or send me a pm. Thanks

....eagerly waiting to do CSS next year

Kelial · 07-26-2011, 10:18 PM

I am finally doing my first days in September as well. I looked into doing the Cali school and renting one of their bikes, but I decided to go with my own bike. It;s the one I ride, set up for me, and something I know the feel of. ANY instructor/school worth their weight will tell you that you get the bike set up for you. The last guy to ride the bike you rent may have played with the settings, the bike may be off from what you need it to be, etc.

I went with tonystrackdays.com I ride with a bunch of the guys up here in CT that are a part of that and they are really a great bunch of guys. Not to mention that squid antics are strictly forbidden and get people kicked off the track. They run days in NJ and NH. I'll be heading down to NJ for my first days.

tanks95 · 07-26-2011, 11:52 PM

Team Pro Motion runs up there at NJMP also. Good guys, and they offer intro training.

FUSTYD · 08-14-2011, 07:47 PM

Nesba may also rent Yamaha's for the day.........

Personally, I'm just much more comfortable on my bike, hard enough learning a new track and track riding but to also focus on a different / new bike.

Then again, something said for not having to worry about dropping it.

Pravda · 08-14-2011, 08:51 PM

I'm not really that much worried about dropping the bike, it's going to be my first time on the track so I'm going take it easy and concentrate more on learning the technique at a comfortable pace for me.

I want to rent a bike for two main reasons:

It's a bit of a hike for me to Thunderbolt Race track (about 1.5 hrs) and I don't want to be fatigued going there and riding back on my bike.
Cali Superbikes rent out SKRRs, I'd be insane not to take advantage and have one for the day.

prev1 · 08-14-2011, 10:05 PM

Penguin Road Racking School has two different bikes that they rent and either are fine. They are priced farily and damage insurance isn't too much (like $150). They have both racing classes as well as "track day" type rides with beginner sessions. I have taken both the 2 day racing class and a single day track session or whatever they call them. I think that they are good. I used their bike twice and mine once.

Pravda · 09-07-2011, 10:44 AM

It was an insane day. I've been riding for over 20 years now, but all street. I've been wanting to do a track day for years but always kept blowing it off. It was an amazing experience. One mistake that i made was i went to sleep at like 12ish and had to wake up at 5am for the drive to NJ. I didnt take my bike for a few reasons. Biggest one was that i didnt want to ride 1.5 hours and then get fatigued quicker. Also wanted to see how the SKRR behaved on the track.

Day started at 8am(8-5), but i had to be there by 7am to register and gear up. It was very well organized and regulated. I did level 1. There a few groups of level one, i was in the yellow group which was about 21 students. First you do about a 30 minute classroom lecture with an instructor, then you gear up and take what you just learned to the track. On the track, theres a ratio of about 4 riders per instructor. These instructors follow you through the track and watch you, then if they feel you are doing something wrong, they get in front of you and show you the correct way of doing it. They wont leave until you get it right (very patient). Hard to tell how many laps i did after every drill, but it felt like 4-6 laps. Then once you are called into the pits, that instructor that observed you on the track talks to you about what you were doing wrong, ways of correcting and also went over other areas of technique. You have the same track riding instructor throughout the day, where classroom instructors change throughout the day.

There were 5 drills throughout the track day:
1- Throttle Control - 4th gear only, no brakes
2- Turn Points - entry points on the track are marked with an X
- 3rd and 4th gear, no brakes
3- Quick Turn - ability to flick your bike into turns quickly
- 3rd and 4th gear, light braking
4- Rider Input - this was all about body position during turns and
having a very relaxed grip on the bars, utilizing legs and
upper core muscles to stay planted on the bike. All gears and
braking allowed.
5 - Two-Step Turning - visualizing entry point and apex
all gears and braking allowed.
* There was also a steering drill, this was one on one drill. The
instructor watches you swerve thru a straight line and offers critique on position and technique.

Pros: very well organized, very professional and patient instructors
on and off the track. Ratio to rider/instructor on the track was
small, so most mistakes are corrected within the lap. The staff
as a whole, was very eager to teach, and actually cared about
you getting it right, felt like i was amongst friends/family.
The SKRR is a blast to ride, i cant believe how easy it is to
flick into turns, and how forgiving it is despite all that power.
ABS and TC saved my ass about half a dozen times as i
was going into turns a bit hotter than my head would allow.
Track was in a very good condition with many wide turns and
high speed straights.

Cons: I felt that 80% of the members in my group were much more
experienced on the track than i was. It didnt bother me that
they were faster than me, for this was my first track day and i
was "racing" myself and not them. But the issue was when i was
leaned over on a turn, i was passed by others at much higher
speeds, both inside and outside. This shuck me up a bit while
i was in lean. I also got into a few problems as i couldnt stop
my eyes from fixating on them and messing up my line.
Most of these riders were dragging their knees on turns....
It was great to try and catch them, but their skill level was
so much higher than mine. Problem is that there are no mirrors
on the race bikes, so for me it was difficult to see or hear them.
I just wished the group that i was in was more on my level. I
was constantly concerned that i was in their way, or if they are
pushing their "level" to pass me and make a mistake and
clip me while passing me on the inside and going wide...

I am definitely going to do this again, i think i will redo the first level in early 2012. Because of my lack of sleep, i felt i wasn't able to focus throughout the day. There was so much cognitive and physical data to take in, that i just couldn't keep up with it, especially in the last few hours. I definitely felt over my saturation point at about 2pm. I didn't know how much mental focus is needed to ride on the track and how different that focus is when you are riding on the street.

I did feel that i improved as towards the last few laps of the day, those students that were much more experienced, younger, or just better than me, were only able to lap me once....

BTW, very impressed with the SKRR, even for a beginner like me, it was very easy to throw into turns, and the bike felt very natural, as if i have been riding it for years. I only had one issue, when pulling into the pits and parking, i had a bit of a tuff time finding neutral sometimes. Maybe im just use to my bike, but i kept missing it.
I'm 99% certain i will be trading my current bike for it next year. yeah, its that good.