My first track day

orionburn · Post by **orionburn** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:05 pm

Went to Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, MI this past Saturday for my first outing on a track. We got up there Friday night and camped out to be there and ready for tech & registration on Sat morning. Have to say it was an absolute blast and everything I hoped it would be. It's funny how fast you check your ego at the door. Even with a couple years of street riding under my belt I felt like I'd been riding for a week. Thought the beginner group would make for a rather "lazy" pace around the track but wasn't the case at all. Even the first session was balls to the wall.

Big props to the guys at NESBA. They run a really great organization and the control riders were all a great group of guys. Did an awesome job of showing the lines and pointing out the things I needed to work on. Overall I felt I did pretty good. Had a hard time getting past the seams in the track during the majority of the day. It just made me a bit leary feeling the bike get wiggly when you'd go over them. I have some other vids I need to go through and edit down. I hope that I got it on tape when the CR was taking me through a turn and he reached out and was dragging his fingers around the track.

Two guys went down in the higher groups. One guy got a banged up knee and another guy had to go to the hospital. Never did find out exactly what happened but hopefully it didn't get banged up too bad. The FZR held up pretty well, but she was showing her age with the stock suspension. I did manage to get some really great laps on the last session, but of course that was the one time I didn't take the camera out with me on the bike. Was hooked up well with the CR and managed to catch up a pass quite a few people that had gotten out on the track before us.

Been having troubles with my computer but hoping to get a video posted up soon along with some pictures.

orionburn · Post by **orionburn** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:21 am

Finally got one of the damn videos to upload. Have some other ones to sort through and want to get a few better ones posted up too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVLKHF-8XCk

Here's a few pics of the track and bikes that were there -

And what the rear typically looked like after a session....

haunter · Post by **haunter** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:43 am

nice!!!

I'm jealous!

I hope to be doing one at gateway this weekend.

I have to put my 600 back together, and something is up with my 1ks throttle cables(they came off somewhere or broke this morning on the way to work

) so I can go though

orionburn · Post by **orionburn** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:31 pm

I hate to say it, but this weekend has really forced me to consider getting rid of the FZR. It doesn't make for a good daily rider like the Bandit does, and for the work I'd have to put into it I could get a decent used R6 instead.

I never caught his last name, but one of the control riders was camped out next to us. Spent a lot of time talking to him over the course of the weekend. He used to race in AMA and WERA from around 86-96. At the end of his racing career he had around 50 grand dumped into his bike. After not sitting on a bike for nearly 10 years a friend finally talked him into doing a least a track day. He said the bike his buddy loaned him (think it was a Gixxer) was better performing and had better handling than his race bike did, and it was stock from the factory. He was a really cool guy. Said between the money he had to spend on racing and being jaded at the fact that he used to race with guys like Colin Edwards (and beat them) left him upset at the fact he'd been doing it so long and never got his shot. Dude sure as hell knew how to ride. Was his first time at Gingerman and he acted like he designed the track.

Next year I want to do a full weekend at Gingerman and maybe hit Blackhawk. May shoot for Putnam as well. Maybe we could hook up for that one, Haunter.

Ebolavictim · Post by **Ebolavictim** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 1:05 pm

Great pics and vid Orion.

That Armco at the side of the track doesn't look too bike friendly, but otherwise it looks a fast track.

Just out of interest how much does it cost you guys for a track day over there, as it's pretty expensive here in the UK like everything is over here.

good luck with your next track day hope you bring down your times but from the looks of that rear tyre your on it already

John

orionburn · Post by **orionburn** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 1:24 pm

Just out of interest how much does it cost you guys for a track day over there

The costs vary depending on the track - http://www.nesba.com/Info/TrackEvents.aspx The average I'd say is around $160 USD. Gingerman was a bargain in my opinion since it was only $130. For as worthless as the dollar is right now you could probably fly you and the bike over here for the weekend and save a few bucks.

hope you bring down your times

Me too. I spent too much of the day in "thinking" mode and not letting things kick in naturally. Didn't feel like I was flowing through the motions until late in the day. That's why I wished I could have stayed for Sunday. One of the best parts about it was my girlfriend had a really good time and she's even wishing we could go to another track day this year. God I love that woman....lol

And anybody that says racing isn't a demanding sport is full of shit! My legs are still aching from this weekend. I can't imagine how sore I'd be if I had stayed for Sunday. Although I wouldn't be complaining if I was forced to find out

Ebolavictim · Post by **Ebolavictim** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 1:49 pm

right time to take some holidays :cool that's cheap as chips mate.
Its about £160 to £250 depending on the time of year, the company running it and the venue. winter season is much cheaper but its almost always wet here

it takes your mind time to get up to speed well mine needs time to boot up esp early morning lol.

sounds like you have one hell of a girl friend there too ya lucky bugger.
does she ride, get her out on track to she'll enjoy it even more

.

watching the vid, it seems that the track is laid in three strips of concrete looks really bumpy as you move across them. its it an old runway and infield or something.

John

orionburn · Post by **orionburn** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 2:30 pm

The seams were a bit nerve wrecking at first, and yes, it's split out evenly in 3 strips across the width of the track. For some corners it was helpful as markers of where your lines should be, and then in others it made it a bit rough when you had to go back and forth across them.

This is the layout of the track:

Turn 2 kicked my ass all day long. It was a double apex that I had a hard time getting down. Kept trying different ways of entering/exiting and didn't get comfortable with it until the last two sessions of the day. The straights coming out of 2, 10 and 11 were the only parts of the track where you had to get into third gear. And even then it wasn't an every time thing depending on how you came out of the corners. It was nice in a way since it allowed you to focus more on braking by itself instead of having to down shift along with it. It's not a super fast track, but was technical enough to make it a good challenge.

Post by **FZRDude** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:57 pm

Glad you finally got out there and did it AND had fun doing it. Was cool too that you called me and told me all about it.

Schoon · Post by **Schoon** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:13 pm

congrats i'm still procrastinating my first. Vid was great.

kiwi60 · Post by **kiwi60** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:02 am

Congratulations - well done!!!!!!!

but this weekend has really forced me to consider getting rid of the FZR.

Having raced my own FZR for the last 2 seasons and done very well, I think I can save you a whole heap of money.

Your first track day has succeeded in showing you what initially looks like the old technologu of your bike, and to a point ths is true, BUT before you think too hard about pensioning the ol' girl off, think of this - if you get into track days, and it looks like you will, then ther is a possibility that you may lay the bike down at some stage, and your shiney R6's insurance policy will be void on the track - BIG $$$$$

so - why not invest in a quality shock (ohlins) and have the forks completely overhauled, re-valved, new springs intalled and, most importantly, set up for you and the type of riding your doing ie. track days.

I thought I was going really well when I first got to the track, then I sorted out the suspension and chopped over 4 seconds a lap off with no other modifications!!!!!!!!

Don't sell the FZR short as a track bike - their handling may not be as quick as the latest crotch rocket, but at this stage of your track riding, what you need is a stable bike.

I know it was your first track day, but from watching your video, you have a whole lot of extra power that your not using yet, so , get the suspension sorted and work on your riding skills (I had to do exactley the same things), and you'll find the FZR will do exactley what you want it to for many years.

But hey, on the other hand, if you want a new R6 anyway - go for it!!

Thats my

worth.

orionburn · Post by **orionburn** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:09 am

You make a good argument, Kiwi. While the suspension is a fairly easy fix, albeit a pricey one, the biggest concern is the engine. It's in a serious need of a rebuild and I don't know if it's feasible between the time and money I'd have to put into it. If my FZR was an 89 up it would be a bit of a different story, but trying to find parts for the 87/88 models has already been a pain in the ass and don't see it getting any better in the near future. It will be a good while before I'm even in the position to buy another bike anyway, so the FZR won't be leaving for a new home anytime soon.

I don't know what happened, but the bike crapped out on the last session. Coming down the straight to the start/finish line it began to act funny. Coming out of turn 1 I knew something was going on for sure. Once I got out of turn 2 I got off the line to slow down. After letting off the throttle the rpms went done to zero and the bike died. Luckily I had plenty of momentum to get far enough off the track. Took about a minute to get it restarted. Once I did it finished off the last lap with no problems. The tank did get really low on fuel in the previous session so maybe there was some crap that got stuck in the filter or lines. Either way I have this sinking feeling that eventually the engine will not come back to life.

Ebolavictim · Post by **Ebolavictim** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:26 pm

bugger that sounds like a fuel problem U had there Orion. you could always just upgrade the engine to 89/90 model.

I agree with kiwi, the FZR has bags of potential and will still cut it with all but the fastest new kit. Its a very well planted bike and is esp good on fast road circuits like the IOM.
You could instead of getting a new R6, buy a YZF 750 as they are faster than the R6 esp with a bit of fettling. they are cheaper too.

so if you happen to do some tarmac surfing it wont cost much.

that track looks a pretty good layout nice complex and some longish straights. what sort of lap times are the fast lads putting in there then,

good luck on your next outing mate

john

haunter · Post by **haunter** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:31 pm

orionburn wrote: Next year I want to do a full weekend at Gingerman and maybe hit Blackhawk. May shoot for Putnam as well. Maybe we could hook up for that one, Haunter.

maaaaybe.

I generally look at Putnam Blackhawk(my bro lives 4 miles from them) Autobahn and Gateway for track days.

I have been to gingerman in my car...but its like 5.5 hours away. Putnam and Autobahn are ~2 hours each

I hope to do 2 full days next year......3 would be ideal

kiwi60 · Post by **kiwi60** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:06 pm

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you could always just upgrade the engine to 89/90 model.

That's exactly what I'm doing with my '88!!!!!!

stan · Post by **stan** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:58 am

very impressive pics for a ride day, tire warmers, tents, leathers hanging

you shaw this wasn't a local club round???

I have never done a ride day, back in the day the only way to get on a track was to get a race licence and join a club, and go racing....which i did

well done on venturing out onto the track, i thought i was a good rider...before i got on the track that was, man did i learn fast

the best tip i ever got was to try and replicate my actual lap time in my head while sitting on the bike in the shed. My virtual laps were some 20 sec quicker than my actual times, so i worked backward and slowed everything down, then i began to go faster

as for the FZR for a track bike, sorry KIWI, go and find yourself an import GSX-R 750, and hold on

stan

orionburn · Post by **orionburn** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:02 am

kiwi60 wrote:
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you could always just upgrade the engine to 89/90 model.
That's exactly what I'm doing with my '88!!!!!!

Tell ya what, Kiwi, I'll send my bike over to you and you can "practice" the engine swap on mine first

haunter wrote:I generally look at Putnam Blackhawk(my bro lives 4 miles from them) Autobahn and Gateway for track days.

Putnam was the one I was talking about hooking up for. Figured Gingerman would be a long haul for you. Sad thing is that you're probably closer to Putnam than I am. Think it's about a 3-4 trip from up here in the north. Heard good things about the track and would like to go down there at least once.

Appreciate all the advice you guys are giving about the bike. One of the CRs has a friend that is still running a FZR as a track bike, but don't remember what year it was. He said the same thing....for these gals being as old as they are they can still hang with the newer kids on the block. I've got a good while before I have to make a decision. We'll see what transpires over the winter.

kiwi60 · Post by **kiwi60** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:25 pm

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as for the FZR for a track bike, sorry KIWI, go and find yourself an import GSX-R 750, and hold on

Weve got a few of the new one's being raced over here...dam those things are fast, mind you, the older ones arn't that hard to dispatch - definatley not a match for the FZR

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Tell ya what, Kiwi, I'll send my bike over to you and you can "practice" the engine swap on mine first Wink

Yeah, right, sure thing - just send it over and I'll be happy to take care of it for you

RocknFZR1000 · Post by **RocknFZR1000** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:57 pm

VERY NICE Great Vid

love the shots you took great job...

djalbin · Post by **djalbin** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:16 pm

Nate,
Nice pics and video! If you don't want to invest in converting your FZR into a track bike, you may want to consider a salvage title bike. There are some shops around here that specialize in used bikes and salvage title bikes. Good supply of new (newer) bikes with minor damage and salvage titles. If the shop is trustworthy, and knows what they are doing, you can pickup a great track bike for less than buying new/used clean title bikes. Lots of aftermarket options for these bikes too. If it's going to be a track bike you don't want a nice insured street bike anyway. Once you have it setup for the track it will not be a good streetbike ... unless you're just going around the block.