The time has come...

I'm not afraid of taking the 1299 to the track, but I don't see the benefit at this point. No need taking it to a novice track day when guys on bicycles will be blowing by me! Although I do see the upside of starting on one bike and progressing with that bike...as it would be great as a point of reference.

Oh for sure there are better bikes to learn and/or start out on. No doubt.

I just don't understand the idea of purposely riding something crappy on the track and riding the Panigale on the street. That is backwards IMO. The track is where it matters.

As a novice, I fail to see any substantial benefits of taking the 1299 out to the track. Especially since bicyclists will likely be passing me out there! The only reason I'd take the 1299 out is because I think progressing on one capable bike will let me gauge my progression on the track. As opposed to taking my stock gsxr 1000 and wants to upgrade as I gain more confidence. I feel that gains in my ability will/could be lost in the bike upgrade etc. It will be harder to discern better lap times / riding improvements if I'm learning more and jump to a more capable machine.

Umm, I am not disagreeing with you.

On the contrary, I actually DO agree with you.

I wasn't speaking necessarily about "as a Novice", I was just speaking in general.

Yes, as a Novice who is looking to improve as best and as quickly as possible, you would be better off taking a lesser bike to the track.

In my opinion, there is a big benefit in taking your "street bike" to the track. You will learn the limits of you and the machine as one unit, and you will get more confidence and a better margin when driving that bike on the street. In many ways you will be a safer driver in normal traffic, as it takes more for you to panic and freeze up because you feel more at home driving it.

Indiana Jones said:

As a novice, I fail to see any substantial benefits of taking the 1299 out to the track. Especially since bicyclists will likely be passing me out there! The only reason I'd take the 1299 out is because I think progressing on one capable bike will let me gauge my progression on the track. As opposed to taking my stock gsxr 1000 and wants to upgrade as I gain more confidence. I feel that gains in my ability will/could be lost in the bike upgrade etc. It will be harder to discern better lap times / riding improvements if I'm learning more and jump to a more capable machine.

Click to expand...

1299, aside from its manic power, is one of the SAFEST bike you can ride on the track, and this tremendously aid the new track riders,
being overwhelmed on the fast environment, all of you your body inputs the causes of mistakes, chances of you catching yourself when the rear step our of the front tucking are much slimmer than an experience riders

speaking from my own experience

It really will depend on your riding aggressiveness. You get all types at track days. There are really slow guys on very expensive machines, and there are really fast guys on beaters (and vice versa, you get the fast guys on nice machines).

Get your first day with the GSXR under your belt and you'll have a better idea of what you will need moving forward.

I spent years on a beater 2000 R6 knowing that the only thing that matters was my riding, not the bike. Now that I've upgraded to the 1199, I can concentrate on making the bike go faster. If you're a balls-to-the-wall rider, you may want to use something that can get binned without much money. If you ride to 95-100% of your ability, any little mistake and you're going down. Personally, I ride at 80-90% to give myself that extra cushion for mistakes. If you're like me, you'll be able to move to the 1299 faster because you know how you ride. If you're all out 100%, get a 5 year old 600 and have a blast.

Personally, I started riding on the track on a Gixxer 600. I had an R1 street bike but wanted to start on something smaller. So i found that Gixxer and bought it from a racer. It was already track prepped and ready to go.

Saturday was fine. In the last session on Sunday i was taken out while passing somebody on the outside in a pretty fast turn (he lowsided and his bike slid into mine). To this day that is the worst crash of my career. It resulted in me being unconscious for 48 minutes, plus a broken collarbone, 2 broken ribs, torn ligaments, brain swelling, etc. That is why i hate it when people skimp on safety gear because they will just be "taking it easy" or because they are "just riding in Novice". The worst crash of my career happened while riding 10 seconds off of a race pace, in the Novice group.

Anyway, the bike was totalled. Instead of buying another one, i just started riding my R1. I found myself thinking "no way should that guy be passing me on that bike". It didnt take me long to realize skills are much more important than the bike.

So i parked the R1, got another 600 and spent some time doing lots of track days, several track schools, etc. Fast forward some years and now when i get on a 1000, it is a different story. There is something to be said for "riding a slow bike fast" and it is great being able to lap most of the Advanced group on a 600. There is nothing worse that a Liter bike "straightaway hero" who makes all of his passes on the gas on straights. But with that being said, there is nothing more rewarding than riding a "fast bike fast".

Few things are as difficult and as rewarding as riding a Liter bike at race pace. Once you get to racing a Liter bike, everybody is fast. There are no "straightaway heros" because everyone has a lot of power. Contrary to popular belief, when actually riding a Liter bike fast, you have to carry good corner speed, get on the gas early and hard, push your brake markers and do everything else you do on a 600. The difference is that you have to do so while the bike is trying to rip your arms off and you have to not only manage wheel spin, but wheelies also.

^Man that sounds terrible. Especially considering the crash was no fault of your own.
I've got a total of around 12-13 trackdays under my belt. I'm riding intermediate and am enjoying the R6 more than the 1098 as it is just so much easier to manage.

Nothing wrong with taking your brandspanking new 1299 to the track, there was this guy yesterday on superlagera on the track, no problems

I took the 1199 out brand new with USDESMO at CMP, they looked at me like wtf... You boy start in the beginner group ... LOL.


Little did they know, I won the trackday that day.


What I always liked about trackday son your road bike, you will always get to know it better and that helps a LOT on the street.

For just track or racing, take something you are ready to throw in the bin after 10 min.