It’s expensive! The entry fees are only the tip of the iceberg. Lodging, meals, tires, gas (bike and transportation to the track), brake pads, oil, filters, coolant (water-wetter), leathers, helmet, back-protector, knee-sliders, bodywork are just a few of the additional expenses you’ll potentially encounter. And that doesn’t even include the additional maintenance expenses to your bike. It’s cheaper than racing, but not by much.

You don’t have to ride EVERY session. I know it will seem that in order to get your money’s worth, that you need to be on the track every moment your entitled to. Don’t fall for this false value. If you start feeling tired after 10 minutes of a 20 minute session, pull into the pits and rest for 5 minutes or just stay in until the next session. If you feel bad (tired, ill, uncomfortable, harried, off) skip a session and see if things improve. If the very beginning of the session intimidates you with large groups of bikes all dicing with each other, let them go out first and get tired and you come out 5 minutes after the session has started and when everyone has finally strung out along the track. Don’t feel compelled to be on the track unless you WANT to be there and feel like you are physically and mentally 100% ready to be there.

Don’t obsess about lap times. In fact, if you are thinking about getting a lap timer DON’T. Nothing takes the fun out of a trackday faster than worrying about how “fast” you are. It also inhibits learning because you become focused on times rather than techniques. And if it turns into a competition with other riders, then it’s likely to lead to a crash.

There are many more suggestions I could offer but ya gotta end this somewhere.

Try different lines. A trackday is a good chance to experiment with early and late apexing, different braking points, different countersteering techniques, using bodyweight to influence trajectory. Don’t just do the same thing over and over (no learning takes place).

Try to relax your arms as much as possible. When on the straights, consciously open your grip on the bars and make sure you can flap your arms up and down a little. If your arms are rigid and you can’t relax your hands, you’ll never make it to the end of the day. Ever hear of arm-pump. Racers get surgery to relieve it because when you’re trying to hang-on to one of these beasts, your arms can get so full of blood that you can have trouble opening your hands and flexing your wrist. I’ve had a hand swell up bad enough that I had to ice it and sit out 2 sessions before I could ride again.

Another way to give your arms some respite is to use your legs when you are braking. When you brake, all of your body weight gets transferred into your arms. You end up trying to modulate the brake, the feather the clutch, the blip the throttle and steer the bike all while your trying to support you full weight. Not a good situation. If you can squeeze your knees into the sides of the gas tank very tightly while you are braking, you can take at least half the weight off your arms. This makes all those other delicate tasks much easier.

Don’t use the rear brake at all. This one was hard for me for a long time and I found myself going into turns with the rear wheel kicked out sideways because I’d locked it (fun if you know what your doing, a terror if you don’t). You know how they say that on the street 70% of your braking is with the front wheel, well on the track it is 100%. We all know what stoppies/nose wheelies are …. 100% front braking. If the rear tire is off the ground or seriously unweighted, it’s useless as a braking tool. Learn to love your front brake and you will be much happier on the track.

If you know how to do clutchless upshifts, the benefits on the track are huge. For starters, your clutch hand will only have to work half as much of the time. Secondly, your upshifts will be much quicker and your drives that much stronger off the corners. This is an advanced technique, so if you’ve never done it, trying it a t the track for the first time is not a good idea. But if you’ve done it smoothly on the street, the track responds even better. I won’t explain how to do it here, as it requires lots of timing and feel. If you want to learn more, look it up online and practice it on the street before you ever try it at the track. I don’t recommend clutchless downshifts as it too easy to lock the rear wheel and damage transmission and drive components. Unless you are a top-level racer, the only times you should use the rear brake are in the pits and if you run off the track.

Remember to BREATH!!! We have a tendency to hold our breath when things get tense. Just like relaxing your grip and flapping your arms, make sure you are breathing.

Looks where you want to go! I know everyone already knows this, but it’s especially important on the track. I guarantee at least once (and maybe several times) you will get into a corner hot (faster than you want to be going) and if you just consciously crank your head around to look for the apex, then the exit, you’ll make it! Always look at the solution, NOT the problem. If you watch someone else crash or ride off the track, and you don’t look away, you will join them.

Usually, in the Beginner and Intermediate groups, passing in a turn is only allowed around the outside of another rider (this keeps someone from stuffing it up the inside of you, falling, and taking you out too). The best thing you can do to insure faster riders can get by you without incident, is to leave some room between yourself and the outside of the track (try about 10 feet minimum). I know that you think you need ALL the track to do that hot lap, but if you are using all of the track you better be turning Ben Spies lap times or all your doing is taking up too much space.

If you are finding it difficult to pass someone, but it’s obvious you are faster, there are two different strategies that have been successful for me. One is, as you follow the other rider, stay wide at the entry to the turn (delayed apex). Most riders turn in early and run wide. If you stay wide and turn later, you’ll end up inside of them and on the gas at the exit while they are still trying to finish their turn and get on the gas. If you then move over to the inside line, they will be forced to come around the outside of you into the next turn. Just be aware this strategy may backfire if they do the same thing to you at the next corner.

The second strategy is to out brake them into a turn. This can be intimidating but works well on somebody on a fast bike but with little confidence on the brakes. If you realize they are braking earlier than you into most corners, try to be inside of them as you go down the straight, when they start braking stay on the gas just a tad longer, enough to go by them, then start your braking. You’ve put yourself slightly in front of them on the inside line (block pass) and they must go around the outside now to pass you.

Don’t ever look behind. Your only responsibility is to avoid people in front of you. It’s everyone behind you’s responsibility not to run into the back of you (this is why you remove the mirrors).

Hold a predictable line. What is the worst thing you hate about car drivers? When they do something you don’t expect! Try not to make any radical moves on the track. Pick a line and stick to it. And especially don’t change your line to “let someone by”. It’s their responsibility to find a way around you, not yours to make way for them. I had a guy run me off the track because he thought I would pass him on the left so he moved to the right. I was already passing him on the right when he decided to move over.

Be SMOOTH in all your interactions with the bike. A lot of trackday providers relish the rain because it causes people to be cautious and smooth right off the bat. The key here is squeezing controls rather than jerking them. It’s tempting to twist the throttle to the stop coming out of the corners and knife the brakes on the way in. Both will put you on your head and you’ll wonder what happened. Being smooth equals going fast.

Unless you are using tire warmers (very few of you), each session you should give your tires 2 complete laps before you start really pushing. Rubber needs time to heat up to work it’s best and it builds heat by the normal flexing of the carcass while just riding in a straight line. Weaving doesn’t heat a tire faster, racers do it to get the feel for the steering response of the bike, not to warm there tires. Treat your tires like they are new when you first go out. Don’t accelerate hard, brake hard or lean hard until you crossed the start /finish the 2nd time, then things should be up to full temp. Obviously a cold day changes this for the worse.

Tire pressures is critical, and typically it should be set lower than the manufacturer recommendations. A few years ago we were running 30 front/30rear psi, but it may be different these days. It’s best to ask a couple of the regulars who uses the same tires you have on your bike. Pressure is not about stiffness, it is mostly about achieving the right heat build-up. After a good session your tires should be hot to the touch and the pressure should have risen about 10% from ambient temp. You should check your tire pressure several times during the day.

If you run off the track for some reason don’t do anything sudden. Get the bike upright, get your butt up off the seat (dirtbike style) and slow using primarily the rear brake. Don’t try to get back on the track right away (you may get deflected off the pavement edge or hit someone who’s now on the line you were previously occupying). Slow down to walking pace, check behind you and re-enter the track only if it’s completely clear. Make sure the step-up at the edge of the pavement isn’t so tall it will jerk your front wheel out from under you.

If you crash, let the bike go. Hanging onto the bike won’t improve anything. And you don’t want a sliding bike using you for battering-ram practice. The typical crash is a lowside and the bike slides away from you. You come to a stop, get up and curse your luck. But a highside, (usually caused by too much throttle coming out of a corner) can throw you over the hndlebars, then you’ve got a bike potentially looking to run over you. Realize this one thing, no matter what fantastic stories you’ve heard about “controlling” your crash, it just doesn’t happen. Once you are down or off the bike, you’re along for the ride. Whatever is gonna happen, is gonna happen. So just relax as much as possible and wait for the scenery to stop moving before you attempt to get up. If you are still physically on the track when the sliding stops, and you can physically move, try to get off the track toward the nearest edge. Don’t worry about your bike, your health and safety come first. If you feel you are really hurt, just stay put. (and if you come upon this scene, remember what I said earlier: look for the solution, DON’T look at the crashed/crashing rider. LOOK AWAY! Save rubber-necking for the highway (or actually, NEVER). Don’t even thinking about stopping for a downed rider, even a friend (that’s what the safety crew is for). Many trackday organizations call your day DONE if you crash.

Next-up and last (Part 5 - Miscellaneous)

Get the best night’s sleep you can the night before (it’ll be tough because you’ll be anxious/nervous) and for Pete’s sake don’t drink a bunch of alcohol the night before (save it for afterward, if at all).

The concentration required to ride on the “edge” for a couple hours can be exhausting. You’ll be amazed how “brain dead” you are by the end of it all. Keep this in mind on the drive home. You ain’t gonna be very sharp and if you have a long drive ahead of you (somewhat typical since most of us don’t live next to a track).

Get a track map and look over it carefully, while it won’t come close to actually riding the track, it will help orient you in a general way and eliminate confusion. And if there is some way to play a video game that has THAT track available, many real racers find this a good way to get some “experience” before they ever arrive.

Make sure to have a solid plan for getting to the track and where you’ll stay the night before, how long it will take to drive, the days schedule. What we are trying to do here is prevent the unexpected. If you get flustered before you actually start riding, the rest of your day will be haggared and hurried, adding to your mental stress.

Fill out forms in advance if possible. Or at least have all the information you’ll need readily available.

Put all your gear together in one place. All trackday organizations will want to inspect your gear, and if you’ve got it strewn all over the place, you’ll waste a lot of mental energy trying to find it all. Most trackday organizations require helmets less than 5 years old (the date of manufacture will be located on a sticker inside the helmet or on the chin-strap).

Introduce yourself to your neighbors/pitmates. Not only will friendliness pay off on the track, but it’s likely you’ll need help from them during the day at some point (borrow a tool, diagnose a problem, help jump start your bike, borrow a chair, etc.). Besides, you’ll probably have a lot in common with anyone that wants to engage in this kind of activity.

Next-up (Part 4 - Riding)

Wear earplugs! Enough said.

If you can get one of those cage fans on a low pivoting base, it makes a great way to not only keep you cool in the pits, but you can turn it 90 deg (level with the ground) and sit your helmet on top of it and it will dry before your next session. There’s nothing quite as miserable as putting a sweat soak helmet back on your head. Just don’t forget to bring an extension cord.

Bring a comfy chair. You are going to spend a lot of time sitting and BS-ing between sessions. Bring something you’d want to sit in for several hours, not some crappy metal folding chair.

Shade is incredibly important, you need to be out of the sun when you’re not on the bike. Ever see those umbrella girls at the races? They might be there because they look good, but they are also there because the sun will sap your strength. I have something called an EZ-Up, which is like a portable tent with no sides, and provides excellent solar relief. It will also keep the rain off you in that other potential weather condition.

Bring tools to be able to perform basic tasks on your bike. You’re NOT gonna do an engine teardown at the track, but you might need to tighten your chain, replace a lever, make a suspension adjustment, tighten a bolts that’s coming loose. Speaking of loose bolts, some extra hardware in common sizes is a good idea in case a fastener goes AWOL. Bring a tire pressure guage. Also, zip-ties, duct tape, safety wire and Locktite should be in your “toolkit”.

Food. This is huge. The only things you should eat during your trackday is stuff that digests real fast and has lots of energy. The best is fruit, powerbars and maybe a little cheese. Many tacks and schools provide a lunch … skip it! (or you you can save it for the ride home). No burgers, fries, sandwiches, chips, cookies etc. until the day is over. Not only will this stuff stay in your gut much longer (making you less comfortable on the bike) but it will also put heavy demands on your blood flow which will make you lethargic and make it hard to concentrate (especially the session right after lunch). Light snacks after every session and no big meals until the end of the day. And don’t even think about drinking alcohol until it’s all over (besides being totally against the rules, it just plain unsafe). And if you do want to have a beer after your done, don’t forget you may have a long drive ahead of you. My personal rule is no alcohol for 24 hours before you get to the track and then not until you arrive home.

Hydration. This is probably the most important single thing to remember for having a successful trackday, especially if it’s hot (anything above about 80 degrees). You will sweat like you can’t believe working that hard with all that gear on. Drink everytime you get off the bike. You don’t need a lot, just make it regular. Personally, I only drink water but sports-drinks designed replace electrolytes can also be good thing to alternate/mix with the water. Don’t do the energy drinks! They’ll buzz you up for about 15 mintues but then you’ll feel even worse when they wear off. Don’t wait until you start sweating and feel thirsty to drink. The human body doesn’t get the urge to drink until your past the point of actually needing it.

Next-up (Mental Preparation)

Whether it’s your first time at a trackday or your 100th, here are a few things that I’ve learned about having a successful experience:

(Part 1 – Bike Preparation)

Buy a set of extra levers (clutch, front brake, rear brake and shifter). Any crash, even a mild low-side, or even dropping your bike while unloading it is likely to snap a lever. Without an extra, you’re done for the day. How would you like piss away a couple hundred dollars over a $25 part.

If you are using a “streetbike”, disconnect the headlight and taillight (usually required by trackday organizations). If you tape over the headlight, but don’t disconnect it, the heat from the lights can melt tape and cause a seriously cooked-on mess that’ll be a bitch to clean-up later.

Remove turn signals and mirrors (again, usually required by trackday organizations). It saves weight and there’s less to break if you crash. If you can’t refasten stuff like bodywork with the existing hardware after you’ve removed stuff, zip-ties work great as a substitute.

I highly recommend aftermarket bodywork. Yeah, it’s not cheap, but it’s a lot cheaper than replacing your factory stuff. And just in case you think you’ll never crash, think again.

Use the stickiest tires you can get. It doesn’t matter what brand, we all have our preferences, but all the major manufacturers make tires that are designed for the track use. Your tires should be new or almost new (no less than 70% of original tread depth, again usually a trackday organization rule). I would also make sure the date of manufacture is within the last 2 years. The older a tire gets the harder it gets (which mean the slipperier it gets). And don’t even think about running a sport-touring tire.

If you’re planning to do this more than once you should safety wire your bike (some trackday organizations require it, but usually only for the Advanced riders). It’s still a good idea. Even if you just wire the various fasteners that keep the fluids in the bike, that’s a great start. There’s tons of information online about wiring a motorcycle for track use.

Things wear out fast on the track. Keep an eye on your tread depth, brake pad thickness and chain slack, these items can go away in a hurry, especially on a hot day.

Bring 5 gallons of fuel with you. While some tracks have fuel available, you will spend double or more at the track. And don’t fall for that gotta have the 100-octane stuff. Your bike won’t go 1 MPH faster on the expensive stuff, and believe it or not, it might actually make your bike slower. If you are coming from a long way away, wait until you get to the town where the track is before you buy your fuel (you don’t want to burn gas, toting gas or have a bunch of flammable liquid in your vehicle for a long time) and if you have even a remotely stock street bike, just buy the premium grade from the local gas station. It’ll work just fine.

As for fueling your bike, it’s easy to forget to put gas in your bike while you’re at the track; so many other things are going on. Put half a tank in the bike before you even leave for the track. Then after each session, pop the lid and check the level. When it gets down to a ¼, bring it back up to half. Why not fill it up you may ask? Fuel weighs roughly 6 lbs per gallon. Do you really want your bike to be trying to be pulling an extra 10 lbs around all day, that it doesn’t need too?

Next up (Part 2 - Physical Preparation)

The school focuses heavily on bike setup, linking turns together, throttle control and riding position. Combine this with extensive personalized one on one instruction and the highly challenging Arroyo Seco Racetrack, and you have a great school package. Throughout the weekend I gained improved body position, more confidence trail braking, better interpreting the feedback the motorcycle is giving me and how to adjust the suspension to improve the overall handling of my motorcycle.

I also returned to Euro Motorsports for another fuel map, focusing on improving the response using VP U4.2 fuel. Mark Ledesma of Euro Motorsports was able to improve the overall map though the midrange and smooth the off to on throttle transition. The new map improved the ability to ride with maintenance throttle though turns and provide a stronger drive out of the corner.

Finally, I was excited to find out that I had been included as the rider of the month by CCS/SW.  It is great to be able to represent both myself and my sponsors to all of the other racers and spectators this weekend.

As the race weekend arrived, two of my close racing friends had their truck and trailer stolen. One of my friends lost his racing motorcycle and the other lost most all of his gear and equipment. I extended all what I could to help out my two competitors and provide transportation, shelter and what ever equipment that was possible. The Local CCS/SW racing community came together and supported these two racers with leathers, equipment, spare motorcycles, transportation and even a new race bike. If for no other reason the CCS/SW racing community is number one in my books for how they helped one of their own.

Onto the race weekend, again we had near perfect temperatures in the mid 70’s. As summer is just around the corner in Phoenix Arizona, this is expected to be the last of the cool race weekends for a while.

Round #3 of the CCS/SW series was a combined event with USGPRU, providing even greater competition in the Lightweight events. With this in mind I put allot of effort into focusing on what areas are lacking in my riding to improve my finishes.

My primary sponsor KurveyGirl.com has just become the Track side dealer of Vesrah brake pads. This gave me an opportunity to try the RJL compound pads on my SV650. Many of my competitors have recommended the RJL pad, so I was excited at the opportunity to try out the Vesrah brake pads. During the race weekend I gained greater confidence on the brakes and the ability to go deeper into many of Firebird raceways corners than I ever have before.

The first race of the day is Lightweight GP. Because of the GPRU Attendance, the grid for LWGP was the largest single race grid of the day. 18 racers and I lined up for the start. My start was better than expected and I found myself going on the inside of turn #1 and coming out in 8th place. I started to put in an effort for some better lap times but alas It was not to be. I was slowly picked off by 3 other racers and settled into 11th place, closely following 10th place. As I was getting ready to try to make a challenge for 10th place, another racer had a bad crash and was laying on the track. With the race red flagged, the race was called final in the pits.

My second was the Lightweight Superbike race, and while I was eager to do better, my start held me back. I finished an acceptable 11th place, but I found that I had done my best lap time up to that point, with a 1:04.014. My race weekend goal was to achieve at least one lap below 1:03.99, and this was close enough to call it good.

The third and forth races of the day were a back to back affair. I am not fond of riding two races back to back, but maybe I should change my opinion. In the Lightweight superstock race I got another one of my patented bad starts and found myself in 6th place. I quickly gained ground on Devin Hymer and became parked behind him. I spent several laps working on a way around Devin, but to my luck Devin had a mechanical problem and I was able to get buy for 5th place.

Pulling into the pits for just a few seconds to catch a drink of water, I was out for the Thunderbike race. Again I had another one of my patented bad starts and found myself dead last going into turn #1. I put my head down and immediately passed racers going into turn #3 and 5 and finally by the end of the first lap I found myself running in second place with the race leader in view. I was passed a lap later by a motard rider, which I was mistaken and was not racing in my class. I did my best to keep the race leader and motard racer in view for the rest of the race. By lap 7, I checked and I had a large gap on the next rider back and I slowed down to cruise to the finish. Once getting into the pit I was told that I was in 2nd place in the Thunderbike race, and I had gotten my best finish ever.

The icing on the cake was, with clear track I was able to put down a number of good laps with a best lap of 1:02.921. This was my best times ever on any motorcycle on Firebird East. I was excited by the new level I achieved.

None of this would be possible without my sponsors. Kurveygirl.com and the new Vesrah pads helped out a great deal. As always the combination of the M4 exhaust and the Mark Ledesma U4.2 map provided me with power that allowed me to keep chase with everyone on the track. Being a big guy, when something gives me an advantage over someone half my size, it must be the best.

Team: 2up Racing By Myself. / Event: CCS/SW – January 12^th and 13^th, 2008 – Round #1

Sponsors: Kurveygirl.com / M4 Exhaust / Euro Motorsports of Scottsdale

Preferred Tire Vendor: / Jim Cox Racing (Dunlop Racing Tires)

Spring time temperatures fell upon the Phoenix Arizona area for the first round of the 2008 CCS/SW racing series. Many would find racing in January a bit strange, but for phoenix this is the norm not the exception. The weather was a near perfect with clear skys and a high of 65°F.

As with any start of a new season the days running up to the first race is filled with expectations and challenges. The big change for the 2008 season is that only the SV650 will be raced leaving the older GSXR750 parked. With this new focus, it was felt that the SV650 needed some minor improvements and upgrades. But as the 2007 season had just ended in December, time was very tight.

My team mechanic Brice had just a two short weeks to complete a seasons worth of neglected maintenance. New plugs, chain, shift star, FI tune, brakes and fluids were put in and the bikes was prepared for the upgrade of a new exhaust and VP U4.2.

The most important upgrade for 2008 is the addition of a M4 Full Exhaust system to the SV650. The general opinion is that the M4 Exhaust provides the best power and midrange performance for the SV650. While talking to the staff about a M4 Exhaust, an opportunity for racer support for 2008 became available. 2up Racing by Myself is excited to carry M4 as one of its sponsors for the 2008 season.

While time was tight, M4 exhaust was able to get a complete exhaust system for the 2003 SV650 in time for the first race. The system fit and finish is first class and the installation was quick and painless. A big thank you to all at M4 for their quick action over the holidays, as this is most companies down time.

Euro Motorsports in Scottsdale, AZ continues its efforts to become phoenix Arizona’s, performance powerhouse. Euro Motorsports has just installed a new Dynojet Dyno, and was able to get it running by 4pm Friday night, right before the race weekend. Euro Motorsports staff went above the call of duty, and arranged a midnight dyno tune session for the SV650. The staff at Euro Motorsports worked late into the night building FI Maps both Pump Fuel and VP U4.2.

The first event of the CCS/SW season was run on Firebird Internationals Main racetrack that uses the Dragstrip as the main straightaway. Within the first few laps, it was obvious how much of an improvement in power the new M4 Exhaust system created. I was able to keep in touch with racers that I never could before. Considering my sizable girth many people were impressed by my new found speed.

Mark Weiss, my very trusted advisor and mentor provided some invaluable advice on where I was losing some valuable time. I spent my Saturday practice time applying his advice and improving my corner exit speed.

For 2008 I have decided to run the best race tires Dunlop offers for the SV650. The UK Made Dunlop D209GP provides improved front end grip over the US Made Dunlop D209GP tire I ran last year. The confidence to trailbrake into turns and get on the gas sooner while leaned over helped a lot this weekend.

The first race of the weekend was the Lightweight GP, which is the premier race for the SV650 class. A grid of 16 racers lined up for the 12 lap race, and the first turn was crowded but all got through cleanly. After a few passes in the first two laps, I settled into 11^th place. All the while just a few feet behind me lurked Alan Chook waiting for his chance to pass. Unfortunately for him I did not put a wheel wrong for the rest of the race.

The next race was Lightweight Superbike with a larger grid of 17 racers. This turned out to be my best race of the day with a 6 lap battle for 10^th place with Paul Patterson. Paul and I swapped places several times and drafted each other going into turn #1. Unfortunately I forgot to make a downshift in one of the last corners and that derailed my attempt for a final turn pass.

Lightweight SuperStock was the third race of the day. The start was less than spectacular, being too aggressive with the clutch and to much throttle, created a wheel stand start with a second wheel stand after the first recovery. Running dead last into turn #1 and a good 250 feet behind the next competitor, some hard racing was to follow. When I reached 8^th place, I started battling Devin Hymer, and got around him on lap 6. I was not able to hold off the charging Devin Hymer on the last lap going into Turn #1, and again a missed shift derailed plans for a final turn charge.

The Final race of the day was Thunderbike. After my best start of the weekend, I was able to get around two racers in the first turn. Again I found myself battling with Devin Hymer for 4^th place. Unfortunately I could not keep up with Devin and settled for a strong 5^th place finish.

Overall this was a good start to the 2008 season. My lap times have improved, and I am now able to keep with all my competitors down the long straightway due to the power combination of the M4 Exhaust and Euro Motorsports tuning of my motorcycle.

 I spent a recent weekend with about 30 like-minded nutcases in Primm, Nevada learning how little I really knew about riding off-road. I started riding in the dirt pretty late in life, about age 35. Fortunately, several experienced friends gave me plenty of practical suggestions to get me through my initial rides. And over subsequent years, I acquired additional ideas that helped me refine my craft.  But over the last few years I could smell the stagnation of a lack of fresh information. So it didn’t take much cajoling from one of my early mentors to convince me to sign-up for professional instruction.

Besides, the fact that I could combine it with a preceding week of riding in AZ this time of year didn’t hurt.

In case Jimmy’s name isn’t familiar to you, he was Cycle World magazine’s off-road editor for a bunch of years. He also competed in numerous long distance dirt events including the Baja 1000 and the Paris to Dakar. In the later, he took 3rd place in 1994. So the guy pretty much knows what he’s doing. The fact that he rides a BMW GS1200 means he tends to attract the Beemer crowd, but all brands, displacements and skill levels are welcomed. Jimmy performs all the same drills he asked us to attempt, but on the big and very heavy GS.

The class lasts 2 full days and costs about $600 and includes a very complete lunch both days as well as dinner the night in between.

The class had quite a diverse group of attendees. In addition to the expected GS, HP and X-Challenge BMW groups, there was substantial representation from the Austrian and Japanese faithful also. One guy even gave it a go on A Suzuki 650 V-Strom. The age seemed to range from mid-20s well into the 50s and maybe beyond. Even the fairer gender had several representatives. This mix demonstrates a  large diversity of riders in the off-road community.

We spent the first day doing drills. While this may not seem very interesting or challenging, it really let’s you know where you’re at and some of them were things you normally wouldn’t attempt while just out for a trail ride. My favorties were:

Purposely locking up the front wheel to get intimate with the sensation, and then reacting appropriately by releasing the front brake. I’ve always been very uncomfortable with a sliding front wheel but as I gained the “feel” for it, I started purposely trying to hold it on as long as possible and “enjoyed” it. The low sun angle this time of year allowed us to see the spokes stop rotating and feel the difference during the transition from rolling to sliding and back. Fantastic!

I also really enjoyed practicing unweighting the front wheel to assist in clearing objects which may be encountered out on the trail. It didn’t take long for this to turn in wheelie practice due to the ease with which the WR would hoist the front end.

 The second day we went trail riding and interspersed it with a few additional practical drills. We divided ourselves into “hard” and “easy” groups and took separate trails to various rendezvous points. I choose the hard group and was rewarded with several very challenging sections that really test my mental and physical envelope. Perfect!

My most remembered moments were:

On a first stop of the second day, during a demonstration of ledge ascent/descent, Jimmy used me as an example of how vertical a bike bike can get without going over.

Later in the day, some of the riders in the easy group were given a chance to try something a little harder. When the first two members of the hard group got stuck going up the steep climb, most of the courage gathered earlier in the day by several members of the easy group waned. Most headed back down the easy way. As the third starter, I motored past one of the zero-velocity climbers and made it to the top without event. Serious accomplishment confidence!One of our stops was a sizable sand dune. My first attempt at a long, steep sand climb was successful and exhilerating, so I did it several more times, gaining additional confidence and knowledge.

No one was made to do anything they didn’t want too, which kept everyone basically in their own personal comfort zone.The biggest lessons I learned were: I should be spending most of my time on the pegs (sitting takes away stability and control), the front brake is still more important than the rear (even in the dirt), smooth throttle application keeps your wheels in line and in control and it’s better to slow down and have more time to react to a hazard than hammering it and hoping for the best.

I definitely give this class my highest rating and will probably take it again next time my skills need a jump start. And if you find yourself looking for a top notch school to improve your own personal off-road riding skills…….

http://www.jimmylewisoffroad.com/Jimmy_Lewis_Off-Road_Riding_School/Ji mmy_Lewis_Racing_Inc._.html 

Rhino

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CLASS MEMBER JASON LIEBRECHT

A couple months ago I went to Firebird West which was a technical track at 1.1 miles with eleven turns.  The SV was rather well-suited for that situation.  Firebird East, even though its claimed to be 1.25 miles, is a faster flowing track with only one slower second gear turn.  Check ‘em out:

Anyway, I found there to be three hard braking points at the approaches to turns two, four, and one.  This is where the SV was a little lacking.  There is always room for rider improvement, especially in my case with turn four as I struggled with it all day, but the extra HP for a better drive and faster top speed was missed a little.

For this and future track days, I picked up a lap timer to provide a measureable of improvement, etc.  After yesterday, I almost wish I hadn’t.  My buddy I pitted with, also had this timer and we pretty much rode together all day.  Session #1 was 1:10’s, session #2, was 1:06’s, and session #3 dipped into the 1:04’s according to his timer.  Mine simply was not working and it was pissing me off. 

I’ve found that I need a clear head to ride ’sportingly’ (nice word) whether its through the mountains or on a track.  Things went south after I started focusing on the lap timer versus the laps themselves.  Next session was (for me) 1:08’s, then the next two were 1:07’s.  My wrists were absolutely killing me and GB noticed that the clip-ons were cranked inward pretty far and suggested that I move them outward.  GREAT advice.  I relieved the pressure some during hard braking some, but I think it was too late.  I was good for only 8-10 laps at a time then had to come in.  As of this moment, I can’t really make a fist without a reasonable amount of pain.  There is no doubt that I have not bee riding and that I need to start getting back my motorcycle muscles, but I am hoping that the next time will be improved comfort due to the clip-on change…and me learning to squeeze the tank with my thighs when hard braking.

We got the lap timer working correctly, and things clicked again…well almost.  Through some bs’ing and further advice , I changed up a couple of things and it made a huge difference.  The track flowed better on the back side and I was braking later into the turns on the front.

GB said the day before “every turn can be taken faster than you think”.  He was right, especially on the approach to turn two.  I was thinking that I needed to be in second gear which had me braking way too early.  On the last two sessions, when I had my mojo back, I chose cones much further ahead and took the turn in third gear and it made a huge difference in speed and flow.

I still struggled with turn four, but got it more figured out the last session or two.  I had the good fortune of following an expert into the turn to get his line through the whole thing.  Seeing that whole turn in action, and feeling it at speed made a difference.  I still suck in that area, but things are better.

All in all it was a good day.  It was on a Friday, and I could have been working!  A couple of funny quote I heard that I thought were worth sharing:

• “Don’t crash, don’t die, and don’t make me look like a cunt!”  - from Jack the British owner/operator of the track day organization.
• “If there was no crashing, we would never upgrade our bikes” - from Joe the expert guy parked next to us

I have to admit that I put myself under a little pressure with the MUST of not crashing.  That and the fact that it had been since 2001 since I was on a track had me a little apprehensive in the beginning.  That said, I can think of worse ways to spend a Saturday!

My newly acquired track bike is a ‘99 SV650 that was already converted to the hard life of track beeotch.  There are three reasons I bought this bike: cheap, needs nothing, and excellent reputation for short courses.  All three proved true.

The day started with the opening session taking place around 8:30am for my group and it was still a little cold.  This actually helpedme keep my head on straight to not ride over my head with new tires and a cold surface.  I spent the first session getting a feel for the track layout and the bike I had never ridden before.  It was a strange situation to be in - new to a track and knowing nothing about the layout or the ‘good’ (lines).

As I got more sessions under my belt things strted to click.  The lap times came down little by little, but the consistency improved greatly as well as my comfort level.  By the fourth session or so, it was game on.  I couldn’t wait for my session to start because I thought I had the track figured out and was in a little groove.

We were in groupings strictly by motorcycle size.  With a 650 twin, I was in the ‘lightweight’ group along with two-strokes, ‘tards, and vintage.  While I respect the old timers on the vintage bikes, they only served as pilons to practice passing.  In the later sessions after lunch, the vintage guys were paired with the roadrace license newbs.  That was rather nice because it cut the quantity of riders in my group by one third.

The sixth session was my best with a couple of faster guys getting around me in an area to which I was struggling.  I was able to hang with them long enough to realize that a series of turns where I was braking twice, could be done with no braking at all.  I greatly appreciated the free lesson fellas!  Anyway, that made the whole section of the track flow much better and I went faster with less effort.

I made a couple of mistakes towards the end of the day as fatigue increased right along side of courage.  Both times were FUBAR’ing the braking at the end of the straightaway sending me off into the asphalt runout.  In fact, both times were due to a little experimentation with my legs.  I must learn to squeeze the tank with my legs when under heavy braking to relieve the pressure from my forearms and my forks.  I got it right once (only once) and found myself waiting for the turn.  That equated to going into the turn a little deeper before braking.  The other two times were not so good.  The first mistake was accidentally up-shifting as I squezed the tank, totally borking my necessary engine braking to make the turn.  The second time was similar, but no mis-shift.

Overall I had a lot of fun.  Admittedly more fun than I thought.  I was able to keep the red mist at bay for the most part and kept a cool head.  Its the first time I did nothing to the bike except put fuel in her (damn…another gender reference).  I ran Dunlop Qualifiers with street compound and have no complaints.  This bike was so easy to learn to ride that it’s definitely keeper.  I have identified some areas that I can improve and will work on those before I go down the bike mod path.

So there it is.  A track day adventure wrapping up about three months of anticipation, excitement, and a little drama. 

GB - I have to give you a golf-clap for bugging me enough to get me off the fence.  While I cannot give you credit for having the bug (I have been thinking about getting back on the track for about two years now), it’s a lot easier to jump in when you have a willing accomplice and partner in crime.