Sport bike track days are becoming more and more popular. Twenty years ago it was nearly impossible to ride your street-legal motorcycle on an actual racetrack, but today you can find dozens of organizations and tracks that put on track days. Some track days are put on by brand-specific clubs, such as Club Desmo, while companies such as Fastrackriders invite all brands.
Once you've done a day of open practice at a racetrack, you may not go back to riding on the street. With no cops, no cars, no stoplights, and no speed limits, riding at a track can quickly become addicting. After a few track days you might even decide to start racing with a local club, such as the Willow Springs Motorcycle Club.
Here are a few tips, from a track day veteran, to help you have a successful and fun motorcycle track day:
1. Don't ride your bike to the track. While a few foolhardy individuals ride their bikes to track days, its really a bad idea. If you crash, how will you get home? How will you carry your tools and supplies for the day? And you'll likely be exhausted at the end of the day, the last thing you'll want to do is duke it out with the cages on the freeway for two hours. Put your bike in the back of a pickup truck or on a trailer, you'll be glad you did.
2. Don't be late. Get to the track nice and early, particularly if this is your first time. It will take a few minutes to figure out where to set you your pit, and to locate registration and tech inspection. You'll probably need a few minutes for last minute bike preparation as well. It's way better to have a little extra time, rather than be hurried and risk forgetting something.
3. Make sure you have medical insurance. While you're unlikely to run into a car out on the track, there's a small chance you'll go down. People have crashed at every track day I've ever been to, and chances are your club or organization will require that you have current medical insurance.
4. Prepare yourself. Get a good night's sleep. Don't drink alcohol for at least 1 hours prior to getting on the track. Make sure you're in decent medical condition, and good mental condition as well. Your fun will come to a rapid end if you're worrying about that paternity suit while entering Turn One at 120 miles per hour.
5. Bring things to make your day relatively comfortable. Lawn chairs, a cooler, maybe a small canopy or shade structure if you have one. You'll have some down-time in between track sessions, and its nice to have a place to sit down and relax for a few minutes. Bring some light food and snacks, and enough drinks to keep you hydrated thru the day, especially if its going to be a hot one.
6. Prepare your bike. Check with your local track day organization to see what their bike requirements are. Common requirements include:
a. New or nearly new tires
b. Tape off or remove lights, mirrors, turn signals.
c. Remove license plate.
d. Duct tape over wheel weights.
e. Replace coolant with water or Water Wetter.
In the past many track day organizers required bikes to have safety wire installed in crucial places such as the oil drain plug and brake calipers. These days, tho, few if any clubs require safety wire, as it's a pretty big pain to drill thru bolts. Again, check with your local club to see what they need you to do.
7. Bring gasoline and tools. Fill your tank before leaving your house, and bring an extra 5 gallons of gas, at a minimum. You could go thru 2 tankful's of gas during one day at the track, and gas may be very expensive, or unavailable, at the track. Bring a few tools, at least enough to adjust your chain and suspension settings. Bring an air pump and a tire gauge.
8. Most important: safety equipment. Make sure you bring a good quality DOT approved full face helmet, a set of riding leathers, good gloves, boots and back protector. Don't skimp on your safety equipment, it could literally save your life. Two piece zip-together leathers might be OK if you're not sure you'll ever ride on the track again. One piece racing type leathers are preferable.
Your day at the track will likely begin with a tech inspection and riders meeting. These are mandatory, not optional! Ask an instructor for tire pressure suggestions. Typically you'll want to run less tire pressure at the track than you do on the street.
Take it easy! Many crashes occur during the first laps of the day, when riders go out on cold tires and push the bike too much. Take it easy your first session. Learn the track, watch where other riders brake, accelerate, and turn. If available, take the new riders class, this will pay huge dividends in your riding, not to mention possibly saving you thousands of dollars on repairs to your bike.
I've often said that sport bike track days are the most fun you can have with your clothes on. It's not without risk, of course, but then what worthwhile activity is?
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