I did Auto Club Speedway at Fontana, CA last Friday, Fasttrack Riders Level 3/Fast group, and it was an awesome and pleasing experience.
Some background:
I've been there four times on my previous bike---a 2014 Monster 1200S that I modified more and more for track use. I always ran Intermediate group and my best time was 1:48.4. I felt like I could corner it okay and brake it very well. My top speed on the main straight was an indicated 158 mph.
And now the report:
I signed up again for Intermediate group but that got bought out by Susuki and other test teams, so I moved to Fast group and though it was a little intimidating at first, it turned out to be a perfect fit.
I have a V4S with 1,100 miles on it (600 baby miles) and very lightly worn stock Sueprcorsa SPs. Modifications include mirror and tail garage removal, charcoal canister removal, and addition of throttle spacers. The bike has all current recalls and updates and I'd say it runs like a champ. I weigh 173 lbs naked and decided, after some spirited test runs on the street, to run custom fixed suspension, up a few clicks on front and rear compression and rebound. I didn't adjust preload and somehow, it all felt pretty well dialed in.
DTC = 4
DWC = 4
Engine high
Engine braking = 1
Font/rear = 33/26 PSI cold
The bike is FAST! I hadn't been to the track in 5 months and within my first session, going easy to familiarize myself, I nipped my previous best time, on horsepower alone. I was now routinely hitting high 170s on the main straight and exceeded 180 several times throughout the day. My new top indicated speed was 185. And I dropped my PR by 6.7 seconds, to 1:41.7. I was pretty happy with that.
I spent most of the first and second sessions rewiring my brain as far as braking markers go. On every straight I was going WAY faster than usual, but the brakes are also very very good and I found that my braking was done 50 and sometimes 100 meters too early. Wow. I chiseled that down over the sessions, but still have plenty of braking fat to lose. The rear got light a bunch of times under heaviest braking, but it all felt stable and fun.
The knee was dragging all over the place when on my previous bike it was a rare thing and only on my best corners. The bike has wonderful steering feel and it leans over very far if you want it to. My corner speed was definitely up everywhere.
The acceleration out of corners was outrageous. With DWC = 4, and my throttle style, I was getting routine small wheelies in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and the front end was light I'm sure in 4th when I was really trying to get max drive onto the main straight. The bike accelerates so hard and the front gets so light that it became unsettled a few times and I got some wobbles, but the steering damper played its part well. I'll dial that up a few clicks for next time"¦ and adjust my style to be smoother on the throttle. I want to "carry speed" instead of "forcing speed."
The quick shifter worked perfectly all day---and, in fact, 100% perfect ever since I bought the bike. I've heard the issues and feel lucky not to be affected. The auto-blipping downshifts are so confidence inspiring during heavy braking and really help cut time I think. I shifted into neutral twice throughout the day, but am pretty certain it was user error. One must be deliberate and sure with shifting, I know, and I was probably trying to be too quick and stab at it.
The bike seemed to use about 1.5 gallons per 20 -minute session. It was sunny and temps got to 85 degrees F, and my engine temp was rock steady at 3 bars the whole day. I was worried that it might get too hot, but it was always steady in the green.
The track is heavy on the left side of the tire and by the early afternoon, my left side was done, and in the 85 degree sun, things felt greasy. Traction control was kicking in more and more and I was getting more rear tire spin and slides. A couple big ones actually but I just stayed on the throttle and rode it out like a pro, haha. Super fun!!
Back to throttle style, I was really trying to pin it entering the main straight, but this bike has so much power that you really cannot pin it everywhere you'd like. In the afternoon session on a greasy worn rear tire, I was lifting the front, wobbling and unsettled in 3rd and broke the rear loose in 4th"¦ in a straight line! Everything recovered fine but I have gained a bunch of respect for a bike of this power. It's a wild, wild animal and I think a smoother throttle style is advised and what I'll be adjusting to.
Level 3 was great as I was almost never held up and had many laps of clear riding. I was passed a few times each session, but didn't feel too out of place. I was experimenting with a low entry into turn 1, but that never panned out and I was pretty slow through there. Some of my lines need work and there is plenty of fat left to lose.
The bike is beautiful and everybody in the paddock loved it and wanted to chat about it. It was a good day. The bike is so good that it feels like cheating.
And now the issue:
I experienced a new issue that I hadn't before. In 3rd and 4th gear under heavy throttle on the straights, at like 10k+ RPMs, the engine cut power for a split second, unexpectedly and for no discernable reason. This was not DTC or DWC or the rev limiter kicking in, but it felt like there was a fueling hiccup. This definitely unsettled me and the bike somewhat, but fortunately I had no incidents. These came in small flurries over a single lap in my 3rd session, so I aborted and pulled into the pits. I was low on gas (about 1.5 gallons in the tank) and refilled. I also turned off then on again the DQS. And all was fine for sessions 4 and 5, but on the first straight in session 6 (again, low on gas), it happened again and I aborted the day, displeased. The bike is now at the shop and the tech spit balled that it may be related to the inline valve on the vacuum line that used to go to the removed charcoal canister, or an issue with the fuel tank, or who knows what. They are currently investigating. I'm hoping it'll be an obvious cause and robust fix. Otherwise, the bike performed flawlessness and has outrageous performance.
Videos:
My second session, building to a decent time. I'm following my brother early for easy warm -up laps, as we don't currently use tire warmers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIvbxtKNi34
My brother's cam and some neat editing. He was there on his 2017 BMW S1000RR with full Akro system and Stage 1 BrenTune. His bike is FAST too! He hit 189 indicated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa3pby07fh0
