Roadracing World – April 2019

By Michael Gougis

T

here is a lot of truth in the

saying, "The Internet is

where bad information goes

to live forever."

For something different, this

is Roadracing World's take on some

selected questions about the sport

of track day riding we found post-

ed on bulletin boards and social

media platforms.

Q:What bike would you re-

commend to new track day riders?

A: The one you've got in your

garage will work pretty well for

your fi rst track day. A little bit of

TLC, some fresh tires; make sure

it doesn't leak any fl uids, and go.

Most track day organizations have

a session for slower bikes and

slower riders.

When it comes to buying a

bike specifi cally for a track day,

a well-maintained used sportbike

or a brand-new sportbike, espe-

cially a lightweight (300cc-400cc)

or middleweight (600cc) class

machine, is hard to beat. Middle-

weights have adjustable suspen-

sion, more than adequate brakes,

and a chassis that is race-ready

straight off the showroom fl oor.

Tire manufacturers make excel-

lent track tires for the rims found

on both sizes, and while the bikes

run well, they don't build power as

quickly as literbikes and are eas-

ier to steer, lean, and decelerate.

Q: Who's running fi berglass

fairings? What's the benefi t?

A: Almost everyone who is

racing is running fi berglass fair-

ings. That's the standard material

for the vast majority of race body-

work. It's less expensive and lighter

than stock bodywork, and usually

crashes reasonably well and can

be repaired after a get-off. Most

riders can install racing bodywork

at home, with hand tools.

Another benefi t is that race

fairing kits are designed with an

enclosed belly pan. It catches oil,

coolant, and fuel in case any of

those systems spring a leak—be-

cause it sucks to crash in your

own oil, and no one else at the

track appreciates crashing in

your oil, either. That's why most

racing series mandate the use of

enclosed belly pans. They work. I

have had a radiator get punctured

by debris fl ying up from the track

and found out when I got back to

the pits and saw a pool of fl uid

in my bike's belly pan, instead of

coating my rear tire at speed!

Another benefi t of fi berglass

fairings is the cost. Woodcraft sells

an Armour Bodies kit for a 2015-

2018 BMW S1000RR for $

plus shipping. It includes the up-

per, lower, tail section and front

fender. The stock lower halves

(right and left) have a suggest-

ed retail of $305.35 each; at re-

tail, just the OEM fairing uppers,

sides and lowers exceed $1,600.

Hotbodies has equivalent pricing,

with free shipping, and a 25% dis-

count for racers.

So instead of running stock

bodywork, many riders take it off,

wrap it in bubble wrap, and stick it

in the garage rafters or some other

out-of-the-way, secure place. Con-

sider having someone vinyl-wrap

your new fi berglass race bodywork,

and it will stay shiny and chip-free

for several seasons. Unless you

crash. Then you peel off the wrap,

fi x the part with a fi berglass repair

kit from a local auto parts or paint

store, and have it wrapped again.

Q: How do I know if a used

track day bike is any good?

A: Buying any used mo-

tor vehicle is a gamble. The best

thing to do is to get to know the

owner, fi nd out how the bike has

been used, and ask around. Un-

like buying street vehicles, a track

day bike has to be used in public

in front of a small, relatively sta-

ble population of fellow gearheads.

For example, if someone was in-

terested in purchasing my used

Suzuki SV650 racebike and want-

ed the lowdown on the machine,

they could attend any WERA West

race and watch the bike in action,

watch what I do to it in the pits,

and ask other racers in my classes

what they know about the motor-

cycle. Try doing that kind of re-

search with a street-only machine!

The other bit of research I've

learned to do is based on experi-

ence and relationship-building. If

you've developed a good, ongoing

relationship with a shop or tuner,

ask them what they know about a

particular year, make, and model

of a motorcycle. They often can let

you know if you are in for nasty

surprises or if the reliability re-

cord of a bike is typically solid.

Q: Anyone use their ZX-14R,

VFR800 for track days?

A: Yes. And the same holds

true for pretty much any motorcy-

cle you want to insert in the ques-

tion above. There are a group of

riders who take Harley-Davidsons

with shoulder-high handlebars

and front-set footpegs out to track

days in California. You'll see riders

on full baggers, vintage stuff, and

sometimes a supermotard totally

hauling. Remember, at a track

day, the idea is to have fun, and

you can do that on any motorcy-

cle. If it makes you happy to ride

it, tape up or sticker the headlight

lens and hit the track.

Q: I am trying to fi nd informa-

tion about track days at (fi ll in the

blank name of track) ...

A: The Trackday Directory

you’re reading right now is a great

resource for the location and oth-

er information about track days in

any part of the U.S.A. or Canada.

Just turn to page 74 to fi nd which

organizations hold events in your

area, then look up their schedule

starting on page 62.

Q: How do I fi nd out ...

A: You can read the Inter-

webs until your eyeballs bleed and

you'll get a ton of opinions. I fi nd

it much more helpful to get to a lo-

cal track day just to look around.

You can see for yourself what mo-

torcycles actual track day riders—

Online Questions

GETTING ON THE TRACK:

(Above and Below) Riders having

fun on their streetbikes during

a Tony’s Track Day, no sportbike

required. Photos by Arcy Kusari.

(Bottom) A Yamaha YZF-R3 tach

hits redline, without problem.

Laura Orozco poses with a race-prepped Kawasaki Ninja 400 she or-

dered new from Jeremy Toye at Ninja400R.com. The bike came with

Hotbodies Color Form fi berglass bodywork, with embedded color (in this

case, blue) and an enclosed belly pan to help contain any leaking fl uids.

12—Roadracing World, Trackday Directory 2019