Changed the way I ride

This time a year track bikes are selling super cheap. Racers are already working on next years project.

Check out WERA Motorcycle Classifieds – WERA Motorcycle Classified ads, and Motorcycles - NESBA TrackTalk Forum for example.

killthrash said:

I agree with the points above, but there's also a flip side to not caring about laying down a bike at the track. I'm a track nut, so believe me, I like going fast. But speed isn't EVERYTHING at the track. The 1199 has inspired me to be more agile in the way I ride, being so light and compact. It's less effort to ride the 1199 at speed than my old CBR.

And sometimes riding a cheaper track bike inspires people to be more reckless than they should. Remember, your not just laying down your cheap track bike, you're putting your body in harms way. What's the price tag on a broken arm these days? I know how much it ran in 2005 And trust me, it's more than the cost of repairing an 1199.

Just my two cents.

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This was certainly the case for me.
I bought a cheap 06 R6 that raced in ASBK for one season then sat idle for around 6 months... I picked it up for a bargain price thinking I would be really able to push my limits and I almost died trying too.

10 months unable to walk, 2 operations and still a bunch of metal plates and screws permanately installed in my leg and I tell you I am much faster and more confident tracking my Panigale that I ever was on the R6.

The Panigale is far easier to ride fast and is less fatiguing than most bikes I've ever ridden.

And don't forget about all the electronic rider aids that keep you in check such as EBC, TC and ABS, why would you want to throw yourself down a race track on anything less?

Old track bikes are cheap for a reason.

That's the reason I bought my Panigale.... To experience it on the track!

Copiya said:

This was certainly the case for me.
I bought a cheap 06 R6 that raced in ASBK for one season then sat idle for around 6 months... I picked it up for a bargain price thinking I would be really able to push my limits and I almost died trying too.

10 months unable to walk, 2 operations and still a bunch of metal plates and screws permanately installed in my leg and I tell you I am much faster and more confident tracking my Panigale that I ever was on the R6.

The Panigale is far easier to ride fast and is less fatiguing than most bikes I've ever ridden.

And don't forget about all the electronic rider aids that keep you in check such as EBC, TC and ABS, why would you want to throw yourself down a race track on anything less?

Old track bikes are cheap for a reason.

That's the reason I bought my Panigale.... To experience it on the track!

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I'm sorry to hear about your accident. I'm not trying to turn this thread into a way to scare people into not going fast. Trust me, I posted a youtube video on this forum of me going well over 145+mph on the track.

Just want to keep everyone's mentality in check, and note that going REALLY fast on a cheap track bike sometimes comes back to bite you in the ass.

Yeah it can and I might also add:

When I rock up to a track day and see too many of these older track bikes in my group I always ask to change groups.

It seems that in most cases the guys going hell for leather on the older bikes are the ones mostly having the crashes if not causing them for others!

Damn killthrash that was bad. Does the arm ever return to what it was, a hundred percent?

And did you have any trouble with your proprioception?

Like I said in my original post; If you can afford to track a Pani, more power to you.

In my experience, it's the squids and wannabe's that red flag the sessions, not the older guys on the older bikes. If I read his signature correctly, Jarel is involved with track day organization so would be more qualified to comment or give accurate stats than any of us.

I agree that money spent on track school is 100% worthwhile. It was afterwards that I sought a trackbike to fully exploit what I had learned in school.

(My point was that I do hold back when riding my Italian exotica compared to riding my other bikes)

prasen said:

Damn killthrash that was bad. Does the arm ever return to what it was, a hundred percent?

And did you have any trouble with your proprioception?

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The strength is back to 100%. I still have problems with range of motion from my shoulder they tore apart to get the rod and screw in. Also, the shoulder ligaments will sometimes rub against the screw head and cause some discomfort. All-in-all, I got very lucky that was my only injury, aside from a severe concussion.

Marcoma said:

Like I said in my original post; If you can afford to track a Pani, more power to you.

In my experience, it's the squids and wannabe's that red flag the sessions, not the older guys on the older bikes. If I read his signature correctly, Jarel is involved with track day organization so would be more qualified to comment or give accurate stats than any of us.

I agree that money spent on track school is 100% worthwhile. It was afterwards that I sought a trackbike to fully exploit what I had learned in school.

(My point was that I do hold back when riding my Italian exotica compared to riding my other bikes)

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I don't disagree with this either. If you can afford a cheap track bike, then definitely do it while you're still learning how to track ride. Because accidents do happen to the best of us and better not to be on your $25,000 bike.

I just wanted to add my two cents that having a cheap bike doesn't make it right to start going fast because while repairs to a CBR (the one I wrecked) might be cheap, repairs to your body aren't.

See you guys out there!

Copiya said:

This was certainly the case for me.
I bought a cheap 06 R6 that raced in ASBK for one season then sat idle for around 6 months... I picked it up for a bargain price thinking I would be really able to push my limits and I almost died trying too.

10 months unable to walk, 2 operations and still a bunch of metal plates and screws permanately installed in my leg and I tell you I am much faster and more confident tracking my Panigale that I ever was on the R6.

The Panigale is far easier to ride fast and is less fatiguing than most bikes I've ever ridden.

And don't forget about all the electronic rider aids that keep you in check such as EBC, TC and ABS, why would you want to throw yourself down a race track on anything less?

Old track bikes are cheap for a reason.

That's the reason I bought my Panigale.... To experience it on the track!

Click to expand...

I agree 100%. I purchased the 1199 to ride it! And I never ride above 85% of my ability on the track. Leaving room for errors.

This discussion is an common one and there are alot of opinions. I absolutely have a ball on an inexpensive bike, not because I will ride above my abilities because I can afford to crash, but because I just take one more concern out of my head. I LOVE taking the Duc out to coach novice and intermediate groups, the Pani has been called a "Hero Bike" by many other coaches that have ridden it because it truly is very easy to go fast and "corner low". I have more track miles than street miles on it.What I have to think about when riding the Duc is even if I ride 50% of my ability, I am at the mercy of every other rider. Anthem can tell you about my student basically T-boning me coming off a corner. I instinctively made moves to protect the bike!
On another note, we do track wrecks and make reports on causes. It is more typically people on streetbikes than dedicated trackbike. I think the word dedicated is key. Most of our customers with trackbike are regular customers and take riding seriously.They are the most likely to come to us for guidance and instruction, wanting to improve their skills, rather than just being faster than their buddies. Seeing a few friends on streetbikes doing their second thru fifth or so trackdays is nerve racking.
Most single rider wrecks are caused by leaking testosterone on to their tires, very slippery stuff!

^ Good point. Dialing down your own riding is one thing, but you can't control the Rossi wannabe who decides to collect you.

Your track situation seems the same as mine, where it's typically the street bikes that go down. There's not a ton of track riders where I am, and the ones that are serious have full on track setups. The guys who show up on their street bikes are usually casual riders who just want to have some fun on the odd Sunday. Our track is very fast (185mph straight w/ 100mph Turn 1), the surface is very patchy, and the runoffs are unkind to bikes, so having a bike that you don’t mind laying down is at least some peace of mind.

A friend of mine grew up riding, and is a very proficient track rider. So much so that he always brought his street bike and would ride it below the “maximum” to keep from binning it. A couple summers ago he asked me to go to a track event, and I declined because my track bike was down at the time. He told me to bring one of my street bikes, but I said no. That day, he wrote off his bike. After years of riding that track, on that bike, with thousands of laps under his belt, that was it. Sometimes the conditions are just right for a crash, regardless of your riding.

Anyway, kudos to you guys who are tracking your Panigales! Takes a lot of self-restraint to resist pushing it, especially when you know the bike and yourself can do more. Personally, I just know that if you track enough, it’s more than likely that at some point you’ll go down. Since my insurance doesn’t cover track riding, I just prefer being on something that doesn’t have me thinking “oh shit!” as I watch it slide out from underneath me. Haha

What track 11? Snannonville, Mosport?
While the track is a much safer 'environment' to go fast, going fast at the track isn't a safer place to be than going slow on the street. You are going fast along side others going fast. Earlier this year someone oiled the track going into a fast turn.Before it could be flagged, 8 or 10 bikes were on the ground. all walked away, but there was some ugly fairings!
Again, I LOVE wheelin' the Pani, but riding a dedicated trackbike is just a different experience. I rode with a group 2 yrs ago at Monticello and I brought a trackbike and my 1198. It was such a crashfest that I never took the Duc out, and was pushed to the grass 3 times that day on the other bike!

Last time I was at the track there were a bunch of guys there in a group, all with Rossi rep bikes. They had Rossi helmets, Rossi leathers and were wandering around the pit area with their girlfriends in tow holding parasols over them. You had to see it to believe it. These guys caused 14 red flags during the day. That pisses me off. I want to say that none of them should have been in B group but the truth is I shouldn't have been in that level - I was there to ride with some of my mates (no, none of my group crashed)

It was funny how many times my fat ass passed "The Doctor" that day tho.... LOL Deja Vu.

curious, I've got foremost insurance, and before I started doing track days on the pani this year I asked them, they said the bike is covered for track days (non timed track events). I was sure to document name date and time from the rep. She actually talked to the underwriters to verify this was correct.

I've thought about a track dedicated bike, but I think I'll stick with the pani. I'm pretty careful on the track. My main aim at track riding is to improve my road going skills and bike handling. Especially cornering. I'm just not terribly interested in riding blindingly fast.

zvez - a couple of my mates have had the insurance companies contest the "non timed event" clause when they tried to claim. In the end they all won over but most recently, the last guy to claim had his insurance reworded by the company (upon renewal) so he couldn't claim for anything at the track. Keep an eye on 'em

HI Marcoma,
Thanks a bunch for the heads up. I absolutely don't trust insurance companies as far as I can throw them.



QUOTE=Marcoma;42750]zvez - a couple of my mates have had the insurance companies contest the "non timed event" clause when they tried to claim. In the end they all won over but most recently, the last guy to claim had his insurance reworded by the company (upon renewal) so he couldn't claim for anything at the track. Keep an eye on 'em [/QUOTE]

zaster said:

My local track is set up to favor bikes around the 600cc size. Any recommendations from experienced track folks on what I should be looking for?

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R6 is an amazing track tool - I have a 2007 and after race bits, nothing I have turns better.