When I sometimes go to work at a local shop, it's hard not to notice the current trends in motorcycles and the community. Sales in scooters are high which is a good thing (one less moped) the cruiser riders are almost as strong as the sportbike blokes in the area of sales and the amount they all spend on gear and vests for their colours. This trend of ANYONE starting a club by just getting some vests and naming themselves will be a future ranting article. As far as rider education, many new riders ask far more questions then they did ten years ago, I was selling bikes back then, tons of squids. These questioning riders of today tend to think more about the consequences of such a purchase, a purchase more a form of transportation then an actual fun way to get around. Then they get enlightened... one way or other.
Many of the bikes we sell are of the sportbike 600 and 1000 category. The excited buyers of these bikes are now of all ages and sexes, a great change. As a person who is asked many bike related questions I try to get them the most amount of information I can in the time allotted, that is if they aren't jackasses. Of course I tell them to get all the moto magazines and papers being that they have a great deal of riding information available, I prefer print so I shun the internet (the scourge of humanity). However there has been a disturbing trend forming , track days and brand new bikes coming back in pieces. Many times when the person buying gear mentions that they want to "get on the track" it's no longer racing they are talking about. Now there are a variety of racetracks and the organizations that allow you "to get out there and experience what it's like to race". I really believe that taking a sportbike off the street and putting it on a track is a great thing, we now have at least five tracks to choose from at any given time in California, many other states have theirs as well, not long ago this was uncommon.
Should someone who has barely any time in the saddle get on the track right after their purchase of the XYZ 599? ( This is a question Harvey and I debated over many a Bourbon well into the night, we decided it was for you to ponder as we could no longer think) The XYZ 599 so finely tuned and sprung , it's a thoroughbred raring to go and go fast, these bikes are now designed in a way that can make up for a great deal of ham-fistedness , however when your numbers up , your numbers up, if there isn't the amount of mental and physical preparation that would be used as a racer eventually there will be a spill. As far as I'm concerned if your not racing you're just going fast in circles. Get this, there is almost the same danger being at a track day as in a real race, this is something that the newbie track day rider isn't getting.
On the average race weekend, a racer may get six to eight practice sessions ( lets say seven laps a practice) on Saturday, Sunday one practice session and if you bank account isn't at a negative two race sessions, seventy seven laps at race speed, far different from that of a track day, or is it. Lets say you are at the average track day given eight sessions ( at seven laps a run) fifty six laps all in one day! Is the average newcomer mentally prepared to concentrate that hard for all those laps, what about being physically fit, it gets hot out there. Be aware and ask your "instructor" many questions, if the school is proper then these guys are expert racers and have a high reputation and pedigree. In California we have some of the best racers/riders teaching at the track, make sure you do your homework.
I've seen some weekend warriors want to "Stretch" their tires for one more session, come on now tires are all we have to keep us up! Is a set of $450 sticky sticky rubber worth your broken up $9000 bike? Guess what ...frame sliders won't protect your bike in an eighty mile crash while your bike flips over and over shedding it's skin. Since everyone has to have gloves, leathers and boots, I don't see much for sale on the market that won't last for at least one crash out there, so nothing to say about that. However a cheap helmet bought to save you money after purchasing a ten thousand dollar bike is exactly that a cheap ass helmet, dot or snell approved! Buy the best most expensive helmet you can unless you like eating through a straw pondering nothing while watching the grass grow. Even though your on a track day, the amount of wear your bike takes is as much as that as of a race day. Proper maintenance is crucial, change the oil after every weekend, the brakes wear a great deal faster than on the street, replace them after the weekend or have them looked at, anything half worn is toast, remember after your brakes are half worn on the track they just wear all the quicker. Because their thinner, they get hotter quicker and wear faster , a vicious cycle... get it. You'll be going in to turn ten at Thunder Hill, the binders will pull in a little farther than usual, this in turn will make your concentration falter for an instant, you bike runs deeper, you pull a little more on the binders lock them up and your away...happy landings. This shit happens all the time.
So be aware that a track day can be just as costly as racing. This goes in many ways, to be fast one must be fit, mentally and physically, we're not at Wally World, there is no reset button. If you want to commute on your XYZ after a track day, prepare. The benefits of running smart at the track will be your increased skill at whatever you encounter while riding on the street (the real jungle). The grin you have will be wide as you are now more confident with your skills , and thinking bring it on as you wick it up. Go Go Go.
Cheers, Alx