Joined Jul 2016
272 Posts | 175+
Spokane, WA
With almost 2k miles on the Pani, it was finally time to bring her out to the track where she belongs! Coming from an 06 gixxer thou, which I have done hundreds of laps at my local track, most recently at a mid A group pace, I must say I came in from my first session just a tiny bit dejected. It literally felt almost like my first trackday all over again. My pace felt considerably slower, and just wasn't feeling at home on the bike.
First thing I noticed going into the first corner on the first lap of the first session is.. "Holy crap this seat is slippery!!" Now I see what the big deal is about with the racing seat on this bike. Never had a problem with the stock seat on the gixx. I seemed to get used to it a little more on the second session and thereafter, but it was still affecting my confidence and definitely not ideal... Racing seat ordered.
Next thing I noticed on the front straight was the insane amounts of torque and horsepower compared to my 11 year old suzuki! Shifting from 4th to 5th at redline caused a very slight wheelie and speed wobble! Doesn't help that I'm about 125 lbs fully geared up! This thing is insane. Braking is also world's apart from my old Suzuki. The brakes on the Pani are amazing, although on my last session I was braking for a hairpin when the bike didn't seem to be slowing much, so I started squeezing a little harder, bike still didn't seem to respond for a second, then all the sudden they grabbed like crazy. Then it kind of happened again in the next corner. Called it quits and went home after that, day was nearly done anyways, but not sure what that was about. Everything checked out fine visually in the pits. Maybe a pad upgrade is in order?
Quick shifter - Had few missed shifts throughout the day where I would up-shift and it would jump back down to the previous gear. Didn't help my confidence not knowing if it would jump a gear in the middle of a corner. Never did thankfully. Stock rearsets and quickshifter, but with reverse pattern. Other than that, having the autoblip downshifts is amazing!!
Suspension - My first session was in dynamic mode with all settings on default for race mode. The next session I put it into fixed mode with my suspension tuners settings optimized for me. Instantly I was feeling a little more comfortable on the bike, and the wheelie and speed wobble on the full throttle 4th to 5th shift was gone. Everything from mid-corner to straights, the bike just felt much more stable for me in fixed mode. Still thinking about going with a lighter rear spring, maybe fork springs too since I'm so light. The pre-load on forks and shock are all the way out, and it can still be pretty harsh on the road sometimes. On the track however it seemed pretty good, and tire wear was good too, so still not sure about changing springs just yet.
All in all I had fun, and both me and the bike came home in one piece which is all that matters. I'd say by the end of the day I was at a fast B group pace, so I've still got some learning to do which is part of the fun as well. I was trying to hold back a few percent anyways since wrecking my brand new $30k bike would be a very bad day. Not to mention everyone in the pits telling me I better not wreck it. No pressure there. We'll see how I feel with the racing seat on my next trackday. I honestly think that will make a pretty sizable difference.
First thing I noticed going into the first corner on the first lap of the first session is.. "Holy crap this seat is slippery!!" Now I see what the big deal is about with the racing seat on this bike. Never had a problem with the stock seat on the gixx. I seemed to get used to it a little more on the second session and thereafter, but it was still affecting my confidence and definitely not ideal... Racing seat ordered.
Next thing I noticed on the front straight was the insane amounts of torque and horsepower compared to my 11 year old suzuki! Shifting from 4th to 5th at redline caused a very slight wheelie and speed wobble! Doesn't help that I'm about 125 lbs fully geared up! This thing is insane. Braking is also world's apart from my old Suzuki. The brakes on the Pani are amazing, although on my last session I was braking for a hairpin when the bike didn't seem to be slowing much, so I started squeezing a little harder, bike still didn't seem to respond for a second, then all the sudden they grabbed like crazy. Then it kind of happened again in the next corner. Called it quits and went home after that, day was nearly done anyways, but not sure what that was about. Everything checked out fine visually in the pits. Maybe a pad upgrade is in order?
Quick shifter - Had few missed shifts throughout the day where I would up-shift and it would jump back down to the previous gear. Didn't help my confidence not knowing if it would jump a gear in the middle of a corner. Never did thankfully. Stock rearsets and quickshifter, but with reverse pattern. Other than that, having the autoblip downshifts is amazing!!
Suspension - My first session was in dynamic mode with all settings on default for race mode. The next session I put it into fixed mode with my suspension tuners settings optimized for me. Instantly I was feeling a little more comfortable on the bike, and the wheelie and speed wobble on the full throttle 4th to 5th shift was gone. Everything from mid-corner to straights, the bike just felt much more stable for me in fixed mode. Still thinking about going with a lighter rear spring, maybe fork springs too since I'm so light. The pre-load on forks and shock are all the way out, and it can still be pretty harsh on the road sometimes. On the track however it seemed pretty good, and tire wear was good too, so still not sure about changing springs just yet.
All in all I had fun, and both me and the bike came home in one piece which is all that matters. I'd say by the end of the day I was at a fast B group pace, so I've still got some learning to do which is part of the fun as well. I was trying to hold back a few percent anyways since wrecking my brand new $30k bike would be a very bad day. Not to mention everyone in the pits telling me I better not wreck it. No pressure there. We'll see how I feel with the racing seat on my next trackday. I honestly think that will make a pretty sizable difference.
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